Page 45 of Claimed
“Caine told us what you said. That you were hired to get the cases,” Ruin continues, pressing his forearms to his knees. “I know that you made a deal. I don’t need to know why, or what this Azz person has on you. But I need to know if he told you anything else. Did he give you a reason why he wanted the cases? A meeting place? Anything?”
My hands tighten in the folds of the sheet. “No. He didn’t tell me why.” I glance between them. “But Azz never tells me why he wants anything. He’s Mammon. He gives me a target. I retrieve it.”
“Is it always things like the cases?”
“No. Sometimes it’s art. Other times it’s information.”
“Information?” Gage asks.
I nod. “My last assignment was getting intel on a really old vamp named Hel.”
They all go very, very still.
“Onyx?” Ruin asks. “Can I call you Onyx?” I nod again. “Onyx, the man that bought the cases goes by Hel. Do you have any idea why Azz would want you to buy them instead?”
I hear the question but I can’t breathe long enough to answer. My pulse races and the room spins.
“I think she’s hyperventilating,” comes Gage’s voice.
Am I?
Gentle warmth grips my face and firm velvet lips press to mine.
A jolt goes down my spine and every ounce of my focus rivets onto a pair of steady crimson irises. Caine pulls back, his hands still holding my face. I stare at him from so close, the feel of his mouth already fading.
And I mourn the loss.
“What did you do?” Gage asks beside him.
“Made her hold her breath,” Caine says, releasing my cheeks. “It can stop hyperventilation.”
The room is quiet.
“Why was Azz researching Hel?” Caine asks.
They are all staring at me, but I can’t stop looking at Caine.
“Because his real name isn’t Hel,” I say, the fear I saw in Azz’s eyes the night I handed him the folder, filling the pit of my stomach. “His name is Helios Nightshade, and he is working with the Prince of the Levithan horde.”
Chapter 16
Caine
Onyx huddles in the chair across the room, a glass of imported scotch in her hand. I’m not sure if she has drunk any of it, but some of her color is coming back.
She is small in my shirt. The sheet. But there is an iron resolve in her. One that reminds me so much of Lilah.
“Thegods-damn Helios Nightshade?” Markus’ voice comes through the laptop speaker in a dulcet growl. He grips his head. “Son of a fucking bitch.”
“What are our orders?” Ruin asks him.
Markus exhales in a forceful push. “I don’t know why he wants the Brightex, Ruin. But whatever the reason, it’s not good.”
Everyone has heard the tale of the oldest vampire alive. His bloodlust alone is legendary. But the fact he has Markus so rattled, makes me very glad that Onyx is with us and not in his clutches.
I tense as the thought registers.
Am I … worried about her?
