Page 38 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

“No.”

“Natia,” Jed’s angelic voice whispers through the clouds.

“Pesky protectors,” Ty mutters before he slams his lips against mine. I grit my teeth and knee him in the balls. God or not, he’s still male. He roars, steps away and clutches his nuts, fury and lust flashing across his face. No wonder he’s best buds with Lawrence.

“I want Lawrence in exchange.”

“No,” he grits out.

“Fine, then I want his head.”

He chuckles. “I will take it into consideration.” He backs away as Jed’s shouts become clearer.

“Over here!” I shout.

“Seventy-two hours, Natia.”

Jed appears behind him, a lasso of power whipping through the air. Ty disappears. Jed grunts and reaches for me. “You okay?”

I nod. “Get me out of here.”

“Gladly.” He grips my hand, the world spinning as we arrive in a narrow hallway. There’s an undercurrent scent of bleach which is doing a less than stellar job of masking the scent of despair, pain and violence.

Zee’s marching up and down the small space, his dark outfit splattered with multicolored paint. Emi’s sporting a similar look and is busy performing a mini manicure with one leg propped against the wall. Where the hell did she find a nail file? She glances at me with a quirked eyebrow and gives me a once over from head to foot. “What happened?”

Zee spins on his foot and stalks towards me. He grabs my arms before he rubs his hands over me briskly. I glance down, finding myself covered in the same array of paint. Smacking his hand away, I mutter, “Hey, hands off the goods.”

His jaw grinds as he takes a step back and folds his arms. “Answer Emi.”

“Typhon, he found me.”

Emi drops her nail file and straightens to examine me. “And you lived?”

“She’s his new queen, remember,” Zee says through his teeth.

“He wants the Jar.”

“He knows you have it?”

I nod. Zee’s arms unfold and he runs his hands over his head. “Did you not consider lying?”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t have the key so the Jar is useless.”

“And he accepted that?” Emi asks.

“No. I have seventy-two hours to give them to him.”

“Or what?” Jed asks.

“Or he kills people I love.”

“I see he’s not lost his sledgehammer approach to getting what he wants,” Emi mutters.

“Okay. Key first, King of Monsters second… or third. I need a list.” I glance down the hallway. “It smells like death and despair in here. Where are we?”

“The basement,” Jed mutters, stalking down the hallway towards a steel door dented in several places. My mind is waving a huge red flag as Zee and Emi follow him.

“What’s in there?” My feet freeze and ice skitters down my spine. Jed presses his hand against the scanner. The door makes a hissing sound as it swings open.

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