Damned and Desperate (24 page)

Aedan stomped up to us, and I jerked back, realizing I’d been busted ogling another man. And just when I thought Aedan was about smack me with a verbal tongue-lashing, he bore down on Mar with a thunderous expression. “Who the hell is he?”

Oh, how nice Aedan is so concerned with my wandering eye. Oh, no, wait. He’s too wrapped up in his ex-fiancée to notice. Lovely.

Mar looked over at the Adonis, then up at Aedan, her eyes overflowing with tears. “I-I….”

The stud threw back his head and laughed. “Do not feign innocence with me, my sweet rose.” He pulled back the collar on his shirt, revealing a path of angry red nail marks. “I still bear the prick from your thorns.” He held out a hand to Mar. “Come, my flower. Let me taste your nectar.”

Holy fuck!

Mar looked at me with this crazed look in her eyes like she was a caged animal. “What are you waiting for?” she shrieked. “Destroy him!”

Aedan didn’t even bother looking at me as he waved a hand behind his back. “Hold on, Ash.” He kept his gaze centered on Mar. “Who is he?”

And just when I was about to snatch that hammer from Aedan’s belt and whack him upside the head, the Adonis let his trousers fall to the floor. Holy fuckity fuck! The guy was hung, and I mean elephant trunk hung. I couldn’t help myself. I’m a woman after all, and the two biggest dicks I’d ever seen in my life were being paraded before me. How could I not compare them? My gaze alternated between the naked Adonis, who was strutting around Mar like a rooster, and Boner, who’d gone eerily still and deathly silent as he leaned against the wall, gaping at the other guy in mock horror.

Tears streamed down Mar’s face as she looked at me with pleading eyes. “Zap him. Please!”

Ah, hell. As much as it pained me to destroy a perfectly good piece of man meat, this donkey dick freak show was getting out of hand, especially since Adonis’s pecker was starting to gain some altitude. Just as he turned on his heel, strutting back toward Mar like a model on a catwalk, I hit him hard, wincing at the searing pain in my palms.

Aedan turned on me with a scowl. “I told you to hold on.”

Okay, pain forgotten. I was too pissed off to worry about a few blisters. I dropped my hands, rolling my head around like a possessed diva. “I heard you, Aedan. What I don’t get is why you give a shit about your ex-fiancée’s ex-boyfriend.”

His sun-kissed skin turned beet red. “Because she… I know he’s….” He paused, backing up as he raked fingers through his hair.

I held up a silencing hand. “No need to finish.” I already knew he was jealous Mar obviously had another love. “So you weren’t the only man in her life.” I threw my hands in the air as steam practically shot out of my ears. “Get over it.” And then a wave of emotion hit me like a bullet to the gut. Holy shit. He so wasn’t over her. Like an idiot, I’d been trying hard to ignore all the signs, but I could only play the fool for so long. I fought hard to push back the tears that threatened the backs of my eyes. I would not let Katherine and Mar see me cry. I would not!

Jack came up beside me, whimpering in my ear before planting a big sloppy kiss on my cheek. I turned, burying my face in his fur as a lone tear slipped out. I rubbed my cheek against him, hoping no more tears escaped.

“Ash,” Aedan whispered as he came up behind me, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. I shrugged him off, spinning around and wiping another traitorous tear off my cheek. “Don’t touch me!” I screamed so loudly the walls practically shook.

Aedan flinched, but he held his ground. “It’s not what you think.”

“It’s exactly what I think, Aedan! You drag Boner out of her bed. You act like a jealous ass when her nettle shows up. Admit it. You’re not over her, Aedan, and I don’t think you ever will be.”

His shoulders fell, and he had this sad little boy expression, as if I’d canceled his Christmas. “That’s not true.”

“Then why, Aedan? Why do you still obsess over her?”

A muscle twitched in his jaw as he looked at me with eyes harder than steel. “Because it’s my job.”

Was this guy for real? I looked up into his unwavering expression, imagining bullshit flags were waving back at me. “So what you’re telling me is it’s your job to obsess over your ex-fiancée?”

His hard shell finally cracked, his shoulders caving inward. “Ash, please.”

He grabbed my hand, but I shook him away. “Don’t touch me! Just don’t!”

I backed up against Jack, and his low growl sent vibrations across my skin. He hung his heads between us until Aedan stepped back.

I covered my ears at the sound of an ear-splitting cackle, like a dying cat in heat. Jack whined as I turned my head in that direction, not surprised to see Katherine red-faced as she pointed a finger at us.

Oh, how nice to have Katherine witness my shame.

Good thing the demons were behind in technology, otherwise Katherine would have posted our little fight all over demon Facebook and GhoulTube.

“Why would you laugh? Why?” Mar admonished her. “Our parents did not raise you to be cruel.”

Katherine splayed a hand across her chest as a smile tugged at her lips. “I beg your pardon, but being fated to eternal damnation does that to a person.”

Mar knelt before Katherine, holding her hands in a prayer pose. “Is there no goodness left in you?”

When Katherine’s snake coiled up on her head, hissing at Mar, Boner pulled Mar back.

Katherine had the same cold and calculating look in her eyes as her serpent. “There was never goodness in me.”

Mar’s lower lip quivered. “I don’t believe it.”

Katherine flashed a rueful smile, one I would have sworn I’d seen before. “How could I have possibly lived up to your memory? You were perfection in our parents’ eyes. You were the one Aedan wanted to marry, but after you died, he settled for me.” With a snarl, she waved a hand in my direction. “Just like he’s settling for her.”

Ouch. She could have thrown a knife in my chest. It would have hurt just as much. Damn her for pointing out the obvious, and damn me for taking so long to see it.

“I wasn’t so perfect, Katherine.”

Katherine answered with a snort of disbelief. I, on the other hand, was starting to think more and more about Katherine’s smile, and it dawned on me where I’d seen it before. It was the same smile Mar’s German stud had worn. Weird. Katherine and the German stud also shared the exact same hair color. Come to think of it, Mar’s parents both had auburn hair like Mar. How had Katherine ended up as the only Murphy with blonde hair?

“Forgive me.” Mar pushed herself off the floor and fluttered toward the cave exit. “I need to be alone for a moment.”

“Me, too,” I mumbled, following her.

“Take Jack with you,” Aedan said behind me. I didn’t bother turning around to acknowledge him. Besides, I already felt my doggie trotting at my heels. I wondered if Aedan wanted Jack to keep me safe or keep Mar safe. In the end I decided not to give a fuck. I ducked through the narrow passage and flew after Mar.

Callum O’Connor

I fought against my restraints until my chest heaved and my limbs shook. I even tried burning my way free, ending up scorching myself instead. What were these webs made of and why couldn’t I penetrate them?

A shadow fell across the cavern, followed by a glint of steel. I stilled, my heart pounding loudly in my ears.

I screamed when I saw the blade above me.

“Be quiet or Zahaka will hear,” Shadow hissed.

Wait a minute? Shadow?

“Silver is the only substance strong enough to penetrate the web,” he said as he worked the blade across my bonds.

After a few tense moments, my restraints were broken, and Shadow helped me into a sitting position.

“Thanks.” I rubbed my sore wrists, eyeing Shadow’s dark features. “How did you find me?”

He sighed. “You made me have second thoughts, so I went exploring. I found Mother keeps a scythe. I don’t know where she got it, maybe your brother.”

“The Sergeant had one, too,” I said, realizing why she didn’t want me to find Sarge. She had his scythe, and she was probably intent on keeping it. That also explained why she didn’t want me to go looking for him. “Her demonlings probably got to the Sergeant before the Marshal did,” I said. Which meant they’d let the Sergeant get captured. They’d probably delivered him to the Marshal themselves.

“After I found the scythe, I went to speak to you and saw you were gone,” Shadow said grimly. “I found you just as Mother gave you to the dragon.”

I arched a brow, taking Shadow’s hand as I pulled myself up. “Do you still believe she is holy and benevolent?”

“No.” Shadow dropped his hands, his dark figure shrinking like a dwindling flame. “Forgive me for having been so blind.” He held up his silver dagger. “I would have freed the scythe from the web myself, but her demonlings are alerted by the slightest of sounds.”

I let out a frustrated groan when I realized what needed to be done. “We must get that scythe.” I had seen Grims use scythes to summon elevators. If Sarge got it back, maybe he and Shadow could get back to Purgatory. Maybe I could get to the top level of Hell.

“But how?” Shadow asked.

“I don’t know, but we can’t leave here without it.”

I froze at the sound of a distant boom.

“The dragon is returning,” Shadow breathed. “I think I have a better plan. Are your wings strong enough to fly?”

“They have to be,” I answered. “I’m in no mood to wait around.”

Ash MacLeod

This was weird. I was on the verge of breaking it off with my boyfriend forever, and I was more interested in finding out the truth about Miss Perfect. What would I do if my suspicions proved true? I already knew the answer. I’d expose the real Mar to Aedan. Would it bring me any satisfaction watching her fall from grace? Probably not, but the bitch had unfairly set the bar too high, making it impossible for me to compete with her image of perfection. Revealing her secret was the only way to level the playing field and maybe end Aedan’s obsession with her for good.

She flew over a cluster of small boulders, plopping down on one of them as she stared out at the dark body of water before us. I made Jack wait for me a few yards back as I fluttered after her. It was dark and musty; the only available light source was from the spider web hole behind us. I wasn’t as graceful as Mar when I tried to land, slipping over a rock and jamming my foot in a crevice, swearing as I jerked it free. Oh, well. My palms were still throbbing from dusting those nettles. What was a little more pain? I finally fell down beside her, trying to look into her eyes until she turned her back to me.

If she wanted to play the cold bitch, so be it. I wasn’t about to let up so easily. “So how many years apart are you and Katherine?” I pulled back my shoulders, pretending each word was a slap to her face.

“Leave me be.” She hunched over, burying her face in her hands.

I wasn’t about to fall for the pity bullshit. “Fine. I’ll go ask Aedan. I’m sure he’d be interested in my
theory
.” I emphasized the last word, letting her know that by theory, I meant the truth.

“Fifteen,” she said with a sigh.

I fucking knew it! The bitch is busted.

“That’s a pretty big gap,” I said in a mocking tone. I couldn’t help but gloat. I’d never been good at solving mysteries. I was usually the last to figure out the plot twist in books and movies, but I’d figured out this little riddle easily enough. Maybe because that German stud was too hot not to fuck, and I knew they hadn’t invented birth control pills when Mar was alive. This totally blew my other belief Mar was a virgin prude right out of the water.

“Are you going to tell Aedan?” I asked, and then I wondered how he’d react. Shock? Horror? I bet he wouldn’t have married Katherine if he’d known she was Mar’s daughter. That would have saved him a lot of grief, too. Damn, Mar! Why hadn’t she told him?

Mar sat up, her back stiffening like a two-by-four. “It’s not for me to tell.”

Of course not, because then his perfect little image of you would be shattered.

“Does Katherine know?”

“She doesn’t need to know.”

When Mar turned to me, I nearly recoiled in shock. Her face had gone as pale as a sheet, but that’s not what caught me off guard. There was a hopelessness in her drawn mouth and foggy eyes that made her look ghostly. No wonder she’d risked her soul to come down here and save Katherine. Mar wasn’t just some crazy loyal sister, she was a grieving mother. Her haunted expression had been caused by the loss of her daughter. She reminded me so much of my own mother. I remembered the same look in my mom’s eyes when I saw her visiting my gravesite. Good God, how had Mar kept it together for over a hundred years?