“Good evening, Sasha,” he said with a pleasant smile. “Going somewhere?”
She was about to shove past him when she noticed a small pistol in his hand.
“Stay awhile, won’t you?”
Backing up, she kept hold of Amanda and tried to think of what to say, reminding herself, over and over, he didn’t know she was Anabo. “What’s with the gun? Are you so desperate for new members, you’ve started threatening to kill them if they won’t join?”
He came inside and closed the door, forcing her to move backward, into the room where Brett and East were still laid out and Julianne was working on another bottle of vodka. His dark eyes traveled the room in a blink before he focused on her. “Strong enough to take down two eighteen-year-old boys. I wonder, Sasha, how did you get to be so strong?”
“I was angry. Upset. Brett was torturing Amanda.”
“That boy, Jack. I thought he was different, and now I know why. He’s turning you.” His gaze moved to Amanda, cowering behind Sasha. “Are you ready?”
It was several heartbeats before she said hesitantly, “Yes, sir.”
“Repeat after me. I forswear God and Heaven.”
“Don’t do it, Amanda. Don’t say it.”
“I … I … what was it, again?”
“I forswear God and Heaven.”
Sasha heard her swallow. “I forswear God and—oomph!”
Sasha elbowed her, making her double over and clutch her stomach.
The pistol was against her cheek. “Put your hands on your head and don’t say another word. I have no qualms about blowing your brains out.”
Of course he didn’t. She prayed Amanda would cling to her hesitation, that she’d falter and lose sincerity. If she didn’t mean it, she couldn’t swear it.
“I forswear …” Mr. Bruno began for her.
She could move away from Sasha now, but she didn’t. Instead, she came closer. From behind her, just over her shoulder, she whispered, “I forswear God and Heaven.”
“I pledge my soul to Eryx, now and forever.”
“I pledge my …” She drew in a deep breath, but before she could finish, Brett stirred and lifted his head.
“Jesus, what happened? Amanda, what’s going on? How did you get up?” He focused on Sasha and scowled. “I should have thrown you over that cliff with Reilly.”
Amanda stiffened behind her. “You mean it was your fault Reilly died?”
He blinked as if he was confused. “What? No, of course not.” Trying to get to his feet, he fell back against the wall and sat there, dazed. “Bitch ignored me, dissed me. I showed her, though, didn’t I, East?” He frowned. “East?” He swung his gaze to Julianne, who was sucking down vodka like it was water. “Did Sasha do that to him?”
“Yep. She’s a regular Superwoman. Or part cat. Shoulda seen her move.”
“Sasha?” Amanda grasped her sweater. “Can we go now?”
“Leave if you like,” Mr. Bruno said, “but you’ll be going alone. Sasha and I are taking a little trip together.”
With the pistol resting against her temple, she didn’t have much choice but to say, “Go on, Amanda. There are keys in my pocket.”
“Th-thank you, Sasha. I’m so … sorry.” She reached into Sasha’s pocket for the keys, then slid around her, gathered up her clothes from the corner, and limped out. Moments later, there was the sound of an engine turning over.
“She’ll go to the police.”
“Maybe, but we’ll be long gone, so it’s no matter. Julianne, tie her up.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“To Eryx, of course. Special delivery. Nice work getting her here, Brett.”
He already knew she was Anabo. She’d been baited. Dread washed over her. “Why would Eryx be interested in me?”
“Oh, please, let’s not play the game. You’re Anabo, and I have orders from Eryx to bring you to him.”
“How do you know?”
His shaded eyes were pure evil. “Your mother told him about your birthmark.”
“Liar. My mother would never pledge her soul. Never.”
He laughed then, like he was really amused. “Your naïveté is incredible. And misguided. Everyone is susceptible. Didn’t you know?”
“She wouldn’t. I know you’re lying.”
He shrugged. “Believe what you will.” He reached out and jerked her sweater up, peering at the skin below her breast, at the little A that was the mark of death. “There it is, just where she said it would be.”
The only people alive who knew where her birthmark was located were her mother and Jax. Now she understood why Jax had been so upset this afternoon. He had paid a lot of money for the ring so Mom could bring Sasha to Russia, which meant she had no reason to sell the painting. Jax read between the lines and knew she wasn’t selling—she was giving the painting, and Sasha, to Eryx. That’s why her letter was so cold, why she said to bring only one bag. Sasha wouldn’t need clothes if she was dead.
Breathless with grief, she swayed, afraid she’d pass out because the rush of blood to her head was so swift. Somewhere in Heaven, Dad was waiting for his wife, and she’d never arrive. Somewhere on the other side of the world, Mom was waiting for her to be delivered to Eryx. Had she been promised immortality in exchange for Sasha?
Mother of God, she didn’t know anything could hurt this badly.
Where was Jax? Would he go home, find her gone, and come looking for her? Would he be too late? She wasn’t marked, so he’d maybe never find her. At least he wouldn’t arrive just in time to see her die, like Phoenix had with Jane.
Unless Eryx contacted him. Would he do that, just for the twisted pleasure of watching Jax witness her death?
“Was Amanda worth it?” Bruno asked.
“I’d do it again.”
“Even though she left you here?”
“She’s not stupid. What could she do except get herself killed?”
He bent and picked her up, turned, and walked toward the door. “You’re close to crossing over, aren’t you? Another day or so and you’d be Mephisto.”
Stiff in his arms, she constantly twisted her wrists, desperate to get loose from the rope. Just how strong was she?
“Escape is impossible,” he said smugly, walking toward his car. “I can outrun you, and despite your unnatural strength, I could squash you like a bug. Even if you break the rope, you’re not going anywhere.”
In the middle of plotting her escape, and with the depressing fear that he was right and she couldn’t do it, sixth sense told her Jax was near. She could feel him, out there, somewhere. Then she caught the scent of cider and cinnamon, and her heart soared. “I don’t have to break the rope. You’re toast.”
A wall of black appeared, and Bruno stopped in his tracks.
The Mephisto had arrived.
Watching them materialize out of thin air, she remembered with perfect clarity the night she met Jax.
“Of all those three billion guys, why would you pick me? I’m a freak.”
She wanted to tell him she’d never pick any of those other three billion guys, because he was all she wanted. He was her freak, and she’d love him forever.
FIFTEEN
MR. BRUNO TRIED TO DROP HER AND MAKE A RUN FOR IT, but he was too late. Jax flew at them, his trench coat opening wide, enveloping them in darkness. She’d barely had time to catch her breath before she was blinking in the light of day, lying on the ground. On sand. She felt it beneath her cheek. Lifting her head, she saw Jax standing over Mr. Bruno, his arms raised while he shouted toward the sky. She couldn’t understand him.
Jerking her hands, she finally broke the rope, hurried to untie her ankles, then scrambled to her feet. They were in a desert, with soaring dunes, rippled by wind waves. No vegetation of any kind. A desolate place where dawn was breaking. They were very far from Colorado.
Mr. Bruno cried desperately, sobbing, begging Jax to spare him. He looked toward her, his eyes filled with tears. “Please, please,
don’t let him do this! Save me!”
She watched in fascinated horror as the sand beneath the man began to swirl, like a tornado, a vortex of fury. Jax kept chanting, arms raised, his trench coat flying out behind him, until the sand suddenly sucked Mr. Bruno under, and his crying pleas were silenced.
She was watching Jax’s arms slowly lower when Key appeared with Julianne, Zee with East, and Phoenix with Brett. All three were thrown to the sand, and Jax raised his arms again, beginning his strange chant to the sky.
Brett looked at her, crying hard. “Sasha, help me! I’ll die down there! Tell him to stop!”
East was still dazed, but managed to say, “Done for.”
Julianne was drunk, not completely aware. She glared at Sasha. “I hate your guts.”
Sasha watched the sand begin to swirl, then quickly looked up before they disappeared, focusing on Jax. He never looked down, didn’t appear to hear Brett’s cries for mercy. When it was quiet again, he slowly lowered his arms. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, unable to look away from his black eyes.
Ty appeared just then with Melanie. She didn’t beg, but looked up at Sasha and said spitefully, “It won’t be long before your mother joins me down there.”
“What did you ask for in exchange for your soul, Melanie?”
Her eyes were wild and evil. “Your mother’s complete downfall. She lost her job, her honor, and she was sent back to Russia, where she’d sworn never to return.” Melanie laughed, and it sounded like a crazy person’s hysteria.
“Why do you hate her so much?”
“Because Tim was in love with her. Did you know that? He would have left me for her, but she picked Mike. When he died, everyone thought Tim had done it, because he was still in love with Katya. But it wasn’t Tim.”
“Who was it? Who betrayed my dad?”
Jax was raising his arms.
Melanie looked at him, and the first sign of fear came into her eyes. “Make him stop and I’ll tell you.”
Jax continued, and she knew he wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t stop this any more than he could stop breathing.
“Good-bye, Melanie.”
“Please, Sasha, I’ll tell you, I swear. Just make him stop!”
“I can’t.” She scanned the faces of his brothers before she looked again at Melanie. “Even if I could, I wouldn’t.”
“Just like Mike, self-righteous and perfect. I hated him, all my life, but I got mine.”
“What did you do to him?”
She shouted as the sand sucked her under, “It was me! I ratted out the arrogant son of a—”
Silence reigned. Now she knew who Tim threatened to call whenever Melanie went off. The CIA. He had known what Melanie did, and held it over her head as a way to control her. Sasha moved her gaze from the innocent-looking sand to Jax’s solemn face. “Didn’t Melanie just take the oath a few weeks ago?”
He nodded.
“But Dad was killed last year. Why would she do that to her own brother if she—”
“Evil exists in the world, Sasha. It’s why my father has a job. Not everyone who commits evil acts is a lost soul. Humans have been tempted by evil since Eve ate the apple.” He smiled wryly. “Except the Anabo.”
“Where are we?”
“Saudi Arabia. The Empty Quarter.”
One by one, his brothers disappeared. When it was just the two of them, he took a step toward her. “You’ll never know how many times I died tonight when I came home and you were gone.”
“From the game?”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t go to the game. We found all we needed to know about the Skia meeting, and with the heavy snow today, we decided to take down Bruno and the rest tonight. We’d placed the doppelgängers, and were about to pick them up to bring them here, but I was worried, so I went by the house to check on you. I went to your room, thinking you’d be in bed, asleep, but you weren’t there. You weren’t”—he swallowed— “anywhere. And I was so afraid, because Eryx knows, and you were away from … the mountain. I didn’t know where …” He rushed at her and squeezed her so tight, she couldn’t breathe, crying against her hair. “Oh, God, Sasha, please … don’t hate … that you have to … stay.”
She wrapped her arms around his middle and clung to him, crying because he was crying. “Jax, I had already decided to stay.”
He went still. “You did?”
“I can’t turn my back on all this, on Eryx and what he does to people.” She moved so he had to lift his head and looked up into his eyes, surrounded by spiky black lashes. “And I don’t want to leave you. I love you.”
His black eyes welled with more tears.
She went on tiptoe and kissed him.
“What if I never … I don’t know if I can love you like I’m supposed to. I’m crazy in love with you, but is it the same? Is it what matters?”
“I don’t know, but we have a long time to figure it out.”
The wind whistled across the dunes, blowing sand against them. “After they come back with the others, we can go home.”
Home. Where she would live for the rest of time. It was way too weird a concept to really wrap her mind around, but she could at least think about the near future. “Can I stay in your room?”
“I would love that. My feet hang off the end of your bed.”
“I wasn’t really talking about sleeping, Jax.”
He was very serious, almost frowning. “Are you sure, Sasha? Absolutely sure? There’s no going back.”
She nodded. “Absolutely sure.”
He kissed her then, and she knew he was happy. Ecstatic, even.
She would be, too, except for one thing. When he lifted his head, she asked if she could see her mother. “I know what will happen to her”—she glanced at the sand—“but I want to see her, one last time.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’ll upset you, and wouldn’t it be better if your last memory of her is how she was before she took the oath?”
“I have to know why she did it. I can’t spend the rest of time not knowing. Please, Jax. Let me see her.”
He sighed and pressed her head against his shoulder. “I’ll ask Key.”
A few minutes later, Phoenix appeared and tossed Scott to the ground, followed by Ty, who had Mr. Hoolihan. Then Denys appeared, and Sasha clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out when she saw Chris land on the sand. Maybe she was changed, maybe she no longer felt compassion for the lost souls, but watching Jax send Chris to that dark pit far beneath the surface made her cry. Not for Chris as he was, but for the man he could have been.
SIXTEEN
SHE’D TAKEN A SHOWER, EATEN THE SOUP AND CRUSTY French bread Mathilda had brought, then watched the last of Sleepless in Seattle on the TV behind the Mephisto portrait while she waited for Jax to come back to his room and tell her whether Key had agreed to let her see her mother. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but when she woke, she was beneath the covers and he was there beside her, his head propped in his hand while he slowly stroked her hair.
He was on top of the coverlet, wearing only a pair of sweatpants. She drank him in, the shape of his chest, his shoulders, his muscled arms. She turned toward him and he kissed her, soft and gentle, murmuring words she didn’t understand, his arms around her, his hands caressing her, drawing the shirt up and over her head. He gently pushed her to her back and moved away, to join her under the covers. She knew he slipped out of the sweatpants, but she made no move to touch him, content to wait, to feel his hands against her skin, especially her breasts. “Your hands are so warm.”
“Are you cold?”
“Not now.”
He went to his elbow again and brought his face close to hers, so that their noses were almost touching and she could feel his breath against her lips, but he didn’t kiss her, whispering instead, “Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“You’re upset and grieving. I’m maybe taking advantage when you’re vulnerable.
”
He was this close to sex, but he was worried she might regret it, that she was only in his bed because she needed affection. She slid her arms around his neck and slipped her hands into his soft, silky hair. “I love you, Jax.”
“The first time with me isn’t going to be like it would be with a regular guy. There’s not only the usual complications. I think it will burn, because of the mark.”
“It’s okay.”
He settled his lips over hers and kissed her like he meant it, slowly at first, then deeper, more seductively, drawing her to him without saying a word or making a move. Her body took on a will of its own, straining toward his, pressing against him.
While he kissed her, tangling his tongue with hers, he kept one arm around her and let the other drift across her skin, lower and lower, until his fingers brushed against the hair between her thighs. He pushed her legs apart and touched her, so soft, so slow, until her urge to giggle passed and desire roared through her, putting every nerve on notice that something very big was about to happen. She moved constantly, her hands all over him, touching his hot skin, trying to pull him closer.
But he barely budged, stayed where he was, kissed her over and over, ran his lips down her throat and across her breasts, and through it all, his hand never left the apex of her thighs.
With no warning at all, she sucked in a deep breath and lost herself, blown away that anything could feel this incredible, this powerful—and she’d lived almost eighteen years without a clue. She was breathing as hard as if she’d run a race. “Awesome … that was … awesome.”
“You liked that, did you?”
“Only a lot.”
He kissed the tip of her nose before he moved to stretch above her, his weight against his arms while he nudged her legs farther apart with his knee. Then he was inside of her with one hard push, and his beautiful face had the strangest expression—like fear and joy, all at the same time. “I’m sorry … I thought it’d be like a bandage, better to make it quick.”
“It didn’t hurt, Jax.”