Page 59 of Torn Between Two Worlds

Only her pulling back ended the kiss. “Stryder, no, you need to leave.” She looked as if she was focusing for a minute, and then she cursed. “No. Damn this fucking cell! No!”

She was shaking, her body moving so violently, he was amazed she was standing. He pulled her into him.

“Shh, sweetheart. Shh. If the cell is the issue, then let's go. Trap or not, I'm taking you home.” He scooped her up and approached the cell door. Seeing the lock wasn't latched, he frowned. It really was a fucking trap. Pushing the door open, he walked cautiously through the cavern. He couldn't hear much, but occasionally he felt a demon's presence.

“Stryder.” She stirred in his arms and pointed to the left of them.

She'd managed to open a doorway, but it was to his house. Within seconds, his brothers had pushed their way through and stood next to them, the demons visibly waiting on the other side.

“Where the fuck did you go?” Fasheem's voice was a growl.

The doorway sparked out of existence taking out their escape option with it.

“Right here, dummy. She can't control the doorways sometimes, so shut the fuck up about it, and let's go.”

The brothers fell in line, and they continued to walk through what was clearly an underground tunnel system. No one talked, Ciara continued to cry softly, and he felt like an ass. But he wasn't leaving her there another minute. Once he was sure she was safe, he was going to leave someone guarding her, and go back there and take the whole fucking group down one by one for daring to touch her.

Stopping at what appeared to be an intersection of some sorts, he felt Demarcus's hand on his shoulder.

“See if she can open another. This is too easy, Stryder. Something is coming, and I would feel a hell of a lot better if all those demons we signed up were in here to help.”

Ciara stiffened in his arms, and he didn't know what from, the idea of opening a doorway or that they were teaming up with demons.

“Sweetheart? Demarcus is right, can you do it?”

She nodded, and he could see revulsion in her eyes, but she did it. In front of them, the doorway opened, and he called out to those in wait, “Come, my brothers. War is coming, and your Horsemen and their seconds request your help!” His voice boomed in the cavern, and the answering cry from the demons was loud and hearty as they began to race through the open doorway.

Hundreds of them joined them, and he was tired of waiting. “Open a doorway to your room, please. Do not fight me on this, Ciara. This needs to end today. Now, and if you're here, I'll be distracted.”

“Hell no, Stryder. Do you know how many people I had to kill while you were gone? I'm not leaving.”

He couldn't help but smile. It was the most conviction he'd heard from her in the last hour since he’d found her. “Sweetheart, either you're going to do it, or I'm going to do what Fasheem helped me figure out. I can flash you there, only you'll probably land on your cute ass or even smash your face into something because the landing sucks. So your choice. You open it, or I will.”

His eyes flashed black, and she twitched in his arms. Without warning, she straightened up and kissed him. Briefly, but just enough to kindle a fire of lust inside him again. Damn their situation because all he could think about was apologizing for being an ass to her, but he had to deal with the fight first.

Fire seemed to glow from her eyes. She was still pissed at him and probably more so for him making her leave. However, she jumped from his arms and nodded at his brothers.

“Thank you. I am sorry you're doing this because of me. Sorry, all your stories may be shot to hell. But thank you.”

The shimmering to her room opened just behind them, right as he heard the footsteps pounding from the tunnel in front of them.

“Shit.”

He wasn't sure who said it, but he sure as hell didn't disagree.

Jameson laughed. “So much for the element of surprise.”

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He snarledat the sight rushing them toward them. The fuckers would surely only be the first round. They'd probably set off some damn alarm, and he couldn't be happier to let the killing begin. Without a thought against it, he pressed his lips to Ciara's, savoring the taste of her and praying it would not be the last time he was able to do as much.

His voice was almost inaudible over the shouting. “I love you. Run, leave!”

She nodded and began to walk to the doorway. Stryder turned back to the mess of demons and humans that approached them, ready to end it.

Jameson, Demarcus and Fasheem were next to him their Horsemen all in control, and he welcomed War. He growled low at the advancing trail of Initiative members, but it was Demarcus' booming voice that filled the dank cavern.

“Time to die, ass wipes. Just like every other fucking time. Don't you get it yet? We might not be your ideal lifeforms, but you're just plain dip shits.” Demarcus grabbed the scythe off his back and began to swing. Death using his merciful weapon and severing heads left and right.

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