Page 38 of Hellfire

I wrapped my hands around the back of her head and kissed her silky hair. “Thank you, sweetness. For not giving up on me.”

Her palm returned to my face. “Never.”

“And I’ll take you up on the offer to skip, Cole.”

My brother tucked his arm closer to my body, flanking me between him, my bonded, and Talon to my rear. “Nothing’s getting through us, brother.”

Luna’s mouth curled at the corners with a partial smile.

Talon’s fingers burned on my shoulder. “You ready to go inside?”

CHAPTER 14 - BLAZE

One problem down, on to the next. The dark symbol Venellan gave me to show Gable burned a hole in my back pocket, the darkness inside me reacting to it. I was ready to purge this filth from me and uncover the mystery of Luna’s mind map.

Luna rapped her knuckles on Gable’s shop door.

He answered moments later, gesturing for us to get inside quickly. “Come in.” Once we piled inside, he poked his head out of the door, glancing left, right, then straight ahead.

I wasn’t the only one with hang-ups.

“Have you been having trouble with snakes?” Talon asked, the soldier in him always near.

Gable shut the door, and my heart thudded at the sound, my anxiety subsiding, but ever present. “They’re watching me, but they left yesterday when your scouts cleared them out.”

Darkness ricocheted through my body, and I shuddered. They waited outside for me. For all of us. We couldn’t leave. We had to stay here where it was safe.

No. Tonight, we figured out how to end this.

“I’ve got someone I want you to meet.” Gable strode out back, and I hung back, checking that the locks were engaged.

“It’s safe here.” Talon wrapped an arm over me, having to drag me out back, because my legs refused to move.

We emerged into his open-plan loft, lit by swing lights and lamps, and I squinted at the sudden brightness scalding my eyes. When my eyes adjusted, I narrowed them, bearing the light, spotting a man in designer clothes seated on the sofa with Mary.

“Hi, Mary.” Luna made a dash for Gable’s sister, running a palm over her shoulder in greeting.

Talon, Cole, and I stood in a huddle by the edge of the sofa.

I felt bare without my powers and ability to read sacred flames. Stuffing my hands in my pocket, I took the moment to study the inside of the loft, unable to scan for dark magick sigils that might be invisibly marked on the walls. There was no way in hell that I’d call back the darkness to sniff it out.

Motion in the corner of my eye brought my attention back to the sofa. A man rubbed underneath his generous mouth with a tattooed and ringed finger. The darkness inside me howled at the man, responding to his shadows, indicating he meddled in the dark arts.

Luna cast an appreciative gaze over his body, and Cole’s grip on her shoulders tightened possessively.

Gable rested on the arm of the chair next to the man, throwing a casual arm over his shoulder. “Guys, this is Castor, an associate of mine, versed in dark magick.”

Talon made the first move, closing the distance and throwing out a palm. “Good to see you again, Jackal.”

Jackal.

The name sounded familiar, and I scanned the memory banks. Everything was a little fuzzy lately. The Jackals Wrath MC. Ancient Egyptian demigods. Rough and ruthless. The wailing in my head deafened me, and I knew this guy did bad things for a living. Murder. Revenge. Bribery. Unspeakable things with dark powers.

“Is this the curse you mentioned?” He whistled, approaching Talon with a confident swagger, studying his stone composition, muscles, horns, and wings like a scientist.

“It’s me, Talon. We met the other day,” my brother replied. “Every sunset I turn into this.”

“You’re one heck of a warrior, Darnax.” The biker reached up to test the sharpness of my friend’s horn, and Talon shoved him away, refusing to be assessed like a science experiment. “Nice underwear, Superman. Tell me more about your curse, maybe I can help.”

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