Page 60 of Sin and Salvation

“There you are, love,” Crow growled.

Zane had sprouted claws. As I watched, he dug them into the guard’s throat, and the demon went down, shuddering and frothing at the mouth. As Zane withdrew his hand, I saw clear venom trickling from the tips of his claws.

So his snake wasn’t just for decoration. He was actually venomous.

Aeron nudged against me, and I buried my fingers in the stiff ruff of fur at his back. My voice didn’t want to work.

I’d honestly believed that they’d abandoned me, and now I felt shame for ever feeling that way. They’d taken me for a mate; of course they wouldn’t have abandoned me.

I’d allowed Maxime to crawl inside my mind once more, feeding me bullshit and lies that I allowed to crush me.

He wasn’t going to survive this.

“There’s explosives under the club,” I finally gasped. It wasn’t what I wanted to say, but the shame of not believing in them made it impossible to confess what I’d believed.

“We know. Gian ‘fessed up. It’s been taken care of.” Zane’s eyes were almost entirely scarlet, with his power flowing through him. “Did they hurt you?”

I shook my head, then winced. “Concussion. When they took me. Otherwise, no.”

Crow reached out, cupping my face. A guard slid around the corner, aiming a gun; without looking, Crow sent dark fire streaking towards him.

The guard was nothing a charcoal-black lump within seconds. Crow kissed me gently. “Can you feel Maxime?” he asked, fire flickering in his gaze.

I concentrated, and found a spark of life. Its taste was familiar: rotten, poisonous.

“Yes,” I said.

ChapterThirty

My mates weren’t the only ones here.

As we pursued our prey upwards, we came across packs of the Black Hearts, ripping through Maxime’s guards.

One or two were guarding rooms full of noncombatants; any demon who had laid down arms was spared. I doubted the ill-treated assistants and interns had been willing to lay down their lives for Maxime.

But no matter how quickly we moved, the taste of Maxime’s power flickered, sometimes strong, sometimes weak. He was several floors ahead of us, likely using both elevators and stairs, whatever was faster.

Once again, almost too late, I remembered why Maxime would be fleeing up instead of down.

“He’s got a private helicopter.” I paused on the stairs, gasping for breath. Everything ached until I felt the cool touch of Zane’s claws on the back of my neck.

His power flowed into me, reknitting the damage done inside my head. Everything hurt for one terrible moment, then the pain vanished.

Healing and poison. I should’ve guessed; he was an Alpha demon, his magic two sides of the same coin. Zane gripped my hand as I stood upright, feeling completely normal, but he was careful not to allow his claws to pierce my skin.

“He’s planning to escape via air,” I told them. “There’s a helipad on the roof.”

“Then we must be faster.” Crow moved like lightning up the stairs.

Now that I was healed, it was much easier to keep up. I took them two at a time, Aeron on my heels.

Then I felt Maxime’s power flicker. I frowned, reaching out to trace it.

He wasn’t on the roof. He was in his office.

I jerked my head silently at the exit door, and Zane raised an eyebrow. I just shrugged in return; I had no idea what Maxime was planning, but he sure as hell wasn’t up on the roof.

I pushed the door open on a corridor I knew all too well. It was dead quiet up here; the sounds of gunfire had long since been left behind.

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