Page 95 of Court of Evil

Turning back to Eric, I press the taser into the meat of his thigh and arch a brow. “Do you remember how you vomited when they did this to me? Let’s see if you’re as strong as I was then.” I turn it on and watch as the current courses through hisbody. His bellows ring out as he jerks in the chains, the smell of burnt flesh filling the air. I let the current flow for a while before flicking it off and pulling back. He slumps into the wall, breathing heavily as he watches me, the black veins crawling farther across his face.

“You can’t win,” he wheezes. “You’re weak?—”

“No, you are. You always were, and so is Black. You’re all weak, scared, little men afraid of dying, so you turned yourselves into the very thing you hated, and yet you’re still scared, otherwise you wouldn’t be hunting me. Don’t you see, Eric? Your precious major is terrified of me, even now when he’s a monster because he knows I’m stronger than him and I’ll win. Even when he was human, he was scared of me. I’ll show you why soon enough.”

“You’re wrong. They’ll be here soon, and you’ll be dead,” he hisses.

“Fine, don’t tell me anything because you just told me everything I need to know.” I stand as he blinks. “They aren’t all here yet. They are buying time, trying to trap us, which gives us the time we need to prepare a defence.”

I head over to Fang to check on her. Compared to the others, she is not used to this kind of thing, but she seems to be thriving, going through my weapons and picking some out. I crouch at her side and take the knife she chose then hand her another. It’s more ornate than the others, and it was my father’s. “It will be better for your smaller hand,” I explain. “You’re little and quick, but they are trained, so stay out of their reach as much as you can and throw it if you need to.”

She nods, covering my hand on the knife. “I’ll be fine, babe. Stop worrying, okay?”

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this. You’re still grieving your brother?—”

“He’s gone, Tate. Nothing can change that. I’m very lucky I got to say goodbye thanks to you. I’ll meet him again someday, but that’s not today, so until then, I plan to live my life to the fullest and tell him all about it.” She smiles softly. “I’m not sad. Okay, I’m a little sad, but I got to spend so much of my life with him. I won’t regret that or dishonour his sacrifice for me. He came to you, Tate, for a reason, and now so am I. I’m not going anywhere. We will kick these small-dicked hunters’ asses, and then I’ll follow you everywhere.”

I can’t help but smile despite the situation. “Fine. Remind me to teach you some fighting moves when we have time.”

“Having you touch me all over and pin me down?” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Looking forward to it.”

Shaking my head, I kiss her gently. “Stay behind me today. Don’t fucking die.”

“You’ve got it.” She returns to the weapons as I stand, just as the others return.

Jarek grins as I look to him. “We spelled all but one vent entrance. I figured we can let them think they won. I might have even set a few traps.”

“That’s smart,” I say.

“Don’t sound so surprised.” He grins. “Let me show you.”

I nod and glance at the others. “I want someone watching Eric at all times, two on the door, and two on the back entrance. They won’t move without us knowing.”

“So we just wait?” Jarek asks as he falls into step beside me.

“For now. There’s no point in trying to fight our way out. Besides, I want them all here. They think they are trapping us, but it will be the other way around.” I smirk.

“Good plan.” He points at the vent and the corridor before it. “You can’t see much, but they will have to walk through here. We’ll know about it, and so will they.”

“Great, anything else?” I ask as I turn to Jarek.

“One more thing. This way.” He turns and strides down another corridor, pointing at a double door to the right.

“In here.” He swings a metal door open, and I step in, scanning the room, but I see nothing.

“What is it?” I turn just as he barrels into me. My hands automatically go up to his throat as I hit the desk hard behind me. His face is above mine, yet I don’t feel any fear. “What are you doing?” I ask.

“We might die tonight.” He shrugs, his sneer turning cocky and confident. “I figured if I’m about to die, then I might as well do the one thing I’ve wanted to.”

“What’s that?” I hedge, feeling something pulse deep within me as I stare into his eyes.

“Fuck you, hunter. Isn’t that obvious?” His lips crash onto mine.

It takes me by surprise, but I melt into the kiss, desire coursing through me as he lifts me up onto the desk. Magic flows across my skin, and my clothes disappear. I jerk away, my eyes wide. “The attack?—”

He grins. “You’re talented enough to listen for them while I fuck you.”

“Jarek,” I warn.

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