Page 13 of Promise of Hellfire

I peered at him through the darkness. “What happened? What were you thinking?”

He closed his eyes, and I caught sight of the mark on his face. My throat felt thick with emotion as he began speaking. “I met Ignacio over at one of the old factories. There was a fight there, and I wanted it. I just wanted to feel something other than rage.” His fingers made circles on my stomach as I traced his cheek. “I wanted the pain.”

“Why didn’t you come to me? Talk to me about what’s going on in your head?” I asked, curling close to his body.

He puffed up his cheeks and took a deep breath. His hand stilled on my skin. My gaze wandered over his body, looking at his injuries in the dim light, my hand drifting down his face. His bruises were still purple and red. In a few days, they would turn shades of greens and yellows.

His grip on me grew tighter, and he burrowed his face into my hair. “I’m fine now.”

I exhaled. This was the man who confessed his love to me over a voicemail apparently after being arrested. “I’m going to ask you again. Why didn’t you come to me instead of going out?”

His fingers brushed up my ribs. “You have enough to deal with. Then add Hunter to the equation. It seems we both have daddy issues.” He let out a low humorless laugh.

I pulled away as much as I could and grabbed his face. “This only works if we’re honest. If you need to lose yourself in something, lose yourself in me.”

He leaned his head forward and crushed his mouth against mine, bruising my lips with his urgency. This kiss wasn’t sweet or gentle like his usual kiss. He wasn’t taking his time to slowly explore my mouth. It was wild and frantic, with every ounce of emotion from his soul poured into it. He pushed me onto my back, his tongue swirling with mine as his hand trailed beneath my shirt.

“Is that so?” he murmured against my lips. “I meant every word of what I said earlier, baby. Do you know how I figured out I was in love with you? You were the only one I wanted to see. The first person I wanted to tell what happened.” His mouth trailed kisses along my jaw as he spoke. “I will do whatever I have to keep you safe. Even if it means burning this fucking city down.”

I pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “You need to get some sleep.” He sighed at me and tucked me against his side before closing his eyes. Silence enveloped the room as his breathing slowly evened out. I watched his chest rise and fall as he fell asleep in the dim morning light, exhaustion from the past several days finally overtaking him.

I gently traced the tattoos covering his chest. My fingers brushed against the red and purple skin on his torso and I frowned. His hair was tousled and fell in waves framing his face. It struck me again that he looked like a fallen angel that heaven had cast out.

Maybe after this was over, the wounds under his skin would slowly heal. I wasn’t sure what he planned to do about his father. Murdering him would be the most straightforward solution, but he was the last of Ethan’s family.

My throat felt tight from the emotion welling in my chest. ”Hey,” I whispered. “I feel the same way.”

The words felt right even though I knew Ethan hadn’t heard them. As I lay there watching, I let my mind wander. It wasn’t just Ethan I had fallen for. It was all of them, and if I were forced to choose, I would never be able to.

I eventually crawled out from underneath Ethan’s embrace back to the kitchen, hoping to find something to eat before tonight. A single blueberry muffin wouldn’t be enough to make it through the next twelve hours.

Hunter sat on the couch, scrolling on his phone while Dominic peered at his laptop frowning. Both were silent as I scrounged around the refrigerator, looking for something appetizing. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” Hunter called out from where he was sitting. “I just wanted to let you know we’ve invited people over for tomorrow.”

I closed the refrigerator door, unsure of what to eat. The mild queasiness over tonight wasn’t exactly helping me decide. “Why? I know tomorrow is New Year’s Day, but celebrating feels wrong.”

Dominic looked up and frowned. “It is, but we need to speak to Rory. After tonight, I’ll be able to come up with a better plan.” He closed the laptop and rubbed his hand over his face. “And at some point, you need to see Oliver. I’m sure he’ll appreciate the gesture. Well, I guess Marie will.” I chuckled at the truth of Dominic’s statement. Oliver’s wife was probably ready to murder him by now. Olly didn’t exactly strike me as a good patient.

Hunter stood up and stretched. “We’ll figure it out. First, you need to eat something. You can’t live off coffee today, princess.”

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at him knowing that he was right, even if I hated it. Even if the last thing I wanted to do was eat because my stomach felt like I had swallowed a swarm of bees.

Hopefully, tonight we would be able to rescue Lexi and the other women being held at the Rose. It was a long shot, but I didn’t want to leave any of them there longer than was necessary. I didn’t know what kind of condition they were in, but my best guess was that they were living in hell.

Chapter eight

Dominic

ItwasNewYear’sEve. Instead of celebrating by sipping champagne, watching the ball drop, or getting our girl naked, we were all going to the Ruby Rose that evening.What a long fucking week, I thought to myself as I walked into the elevator. I pressed my cheek against the cool metal of the wall and closed my eyes.

Between Hunter discovering that Ayers was his father and Ethan losing his shit when he found out his dad was involved with this mess, yesterday was a lot. Plus, add in women being auctioned off at a seedy strip club across town and one of Oliver’s dancers being held there. I rubbed my temples, willing the tension in my head to lessen.

Tonight, we were on a mission. We needed to step inside and see how tight security was. With a stroke of luck, we’d be able to see where the women were being kept and what condition they were in. I promised Rayne we would get them out tonight if it were at all possible, but I wasn’t holding my breath. Nothing was ever that simple.

When I stepped out of the elevator into the dim light of the parking garage, the icy late December wind swirled around me. I inhaled sharply as I stepped towards the black SUV the five of us would use tonight. The others waited in the vehicle’s interior and when I opened the driver’s door. They said nothing, each otherwise preoccupied. Ethan looked at his phone, chewing on his bottom lip. Hunter stared down at his hands, lost to his thoughts, and Ignacio glanced out the window. I started driving, the heaviness of the silence weighing on me. Rayne sat in the passenger seat, eyes darting between the men sitting behind her.

The tension was palpable, and the air felt thick. I cracked the window and cleared my throat. “What’s the plan?” I asked, my fingers clutching the steering wheel.

Hunter responded. “We’re going to go in there and order a few drinks. Try to blend in. When it’s clear, we can assess what security looks like. You, Ethan, and Rayne are going to search the rooms. Given that it’s a holiday, I’m hoping no one will really notice us.”

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