Page 24 of Soulless Angel

The Gods seemed to know that too because they stayed put, watching instead of trying to intervene. The slap did the trick. Raina touched her cheek where Daire had hit her. Eyes wide in disbelief, she punched him again.

It didn’t stop there. Raina’s fists kept flying. She hit Daire so many times I lost count. The skin beneath his eye split open, blood dripping down his face. Again he said something to taunt her, to keep her going.

That’s when Raina kicked him in the balls. Daire dropped to his knees, his face contorted in pain. I gasped, my heartbeat frantic.

She pulled out the knife, pressing it to his throat. A collective gasp went up from the crowd. Some jerk shouted for her to slice him open. I’m sure that’s what the Gods were all thinking too.

Grabbing his hair, Raina jerked Daire’s head back. She hissed something low, for his ears only. He nodded. What I wouldn’t have given to know what was being said. Ultimately, it didn’t matter. As long as it helped Raina heal.

She dragged the blade over Daire’s throat, opening up a gash that dripped blood down his chest. Then she jabbed the tip of the knife into his sternum before slashing it over his torso.

“This is going too far.” Lyra sounded as worried as I felt. “Someone has to stop them.”

Now she knew what Raina was capable of. The same woman who had threatened to have Jet killed was carving up my lover and enjoying it.

Blood ran from the wounds, staining the ground in front of Daire. He made no attempt to fight back now, taking whatever Raina wanted to give him. She slashed him a few more times and dropped the knife.

She leaned in close, snarling one more thing before walking away. She left Daire there on his knees, bleeding and clutching his sore groin. The crowd erupted in cheers. I felt lightheaded, like I needed to sit down.

“Are you okay, Clover?” Blaze grabbed my arm when I became unsteady on my feet.

“Yeah, I think so. It’s a little intense.” I let him lead me over to a clear patch of yellowing grass.

We sat down together while Cash went to check on Daire’s injuries. Raina came straight to me, her face crumpling. Dropping to her knees next to me, she flung her arms around my neck.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, Clover. If it helps at all, I feel a lot better now.”

“Good. I’m glad.” I meant each word. Nodding to the Gods who lurked nearby, I added, “I hope it was good enough for them too.”

“It will have to be,” Raina said. “I’m the goddess.” She forced a tight smile. “You should go be with Daire.”

He and Cash had disappeared into the house. I still clutched his shirt in one hand. Holding tight to Blaze, I let him navigate our way through the busy yard.

So much for our night out. Hopefully, now the Gods would let this go, and we would have peace.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CASH

As sexy as Clover was when dressed up for Paradise, it still didn’t compare to her usual multicolored self. This time she wore a ginger wig with heavy gothic makeup to help hide her from anyone who may recognize her from past visits. A barely there sheer black dress showed off the tiny thong underwear and black leather bra she wore.

I’d decided to go for a dressy casual look in suit pants and a white shirt opened to show off my chest, the sleeves rolled up. My red and black split dyed mohawk was pretty memorable. Hopefully this would be our last visit and we wouldn’t have to go back. I knew Clover was ready to be done with the place.

The Sinners had come through with more fake I.D. cards for us. They were growing frustrated with our inability to plant their devices. They’d managed to catch a few conversations from the restroom cameras planted during Clover and Daire’s last visit but nothing they could do much with yet.

“Remember the plan,” Daire said, stopping us at the front door on our way out. “Cash goes in the back to plant a camera while Clover stands watch. I don’t want her back there.”

The Sinners had given us in ear pieces to use to speak with each other, making it easy to stay in contact while we were separated. I fully agreed with Daire’s desire to keep Clover awayfrom the back room chaos. I was happy to put myself in harm’s way if it meant keeping her safe.

“Can you guys handle the job without me?” I asked. “We can do this another night.”

Blaze and Daire were spending the night hunting down a man who’d skipped bail. He’d been arrested for abusing a neighbor’s child. We loved jobs like this. Free rein to hand out some brutal punishment.

“I think we’ll manage without you,” Blaze assured me, punching me lightly in the arm. “Take care of our girl.”

Clover seemed reluctant to leave. Her gaze lingered on Daire’s bruised face. Raina sure hadn’t held back. She’d made sure to leave her mark on him, as he’d done to her. The slash mark across his throat had looked worse than it was, although it would leave an ugly scar.

“I don’t like the four of us being split up,” she said. “It doesn’t feel right.”

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