kicking up dirt and leaving clouds of dust in their wake. Tanner’s hound fell into fourth place, its pace fast and steady.
“It’s got this, it’s got this.” Bouncing lightly on her toes, Devon cheered the hound on. The whole thing was so intense, her heart was in her throat.
The hellhounds leapt over fires, swerved around oily pits, and neatly avoided the bubbling puddles. They also body-slammed and bit into each other’s flanks as they warred to take first place.
Inside the box, Devon and the others urged Tanner’s hound on. Outside, spectators chanted names, shouted words of encouragement, and cursed any hellhounds that tried to cheat.
Oh, and they did cheat. One mercilessly shoved a competitor straight into a sticky pit. Another leapt onto the back of the hellhound in front of it; sending it smack bam into a bubbling puddle and using the body as a bridge to avoid it.
Tanner’s hound kept its focus firmly on the race, but that didn’t stop it from almost ripping off the ear of its competitor when said competitor tried tripping it up.
As Tanner’s hound skated into third place, Devon grabbed Harper’s tee. “It’s closing in on the others.”
Harper put her fist to her mouth. “It can do this. It can so do this. Come on, come on!”
Raini slapped her hands to her cheeks as the hellhound behind it chomped down on its tail. “Oh my God, what a little fucker!”
Tanner’s hound roared but didn’t slow down. Didn’t retaliate. It just kept on running, its legs a blur as it rocketed along the track.
The voices of the spectators became louder and more frantic as the hounds approached the final part of the track. Which was right around the time that Tanner’s hound veered around a pit and picked up speed, hurtling into second place.
Khloë danced from foot to foot. “Second! It’s second!”
An orb of hellfire whizzed through the air and smashed into one of the other hounds, almost sending it skidding off the track. Then another ball was hurled. And another. And another.
Devon snarled. “Whatever sicko came up with the idea that the spectators could shoot at the hellhounds in the last section needs—Motherfucker!” she cursed as an orb smacked into the head of Tanner’s hound. Its pace faltered ever so slightly, but it kept on going.
Harper patted Devon’s arm. “See, the hound’s okay. It’s fine. The track-people allow the orb-throwing because they like that the race is—”
“Pretty much anyone’s race, yeah, it makes it more exciting,” finished Devon. “But I don’t have to like it.”
She almost jerked back when a ball of hellfire hit Tanner’s rear leg so hard that it was a sheer miracle the leg didn’t crumple beneath it. Even more amazing was that the hound put on a burst of speed, its paws thundering along the dirt track … and bolted into first place.
The whole room exploded into applause as it crossed the finish line.
Devon literally jumped up and down. “It won! The crazy fucking canine won!”
Most of the spectators outside cheered and bounced on their feet. Others roared in annoyance, crumpling their tickets.
Smiling so hard her face hurt, Devon put her hand to her chest and let out a relieved sigh. “Okay, this is just far too intense for me. I don’t think I’ll be coming again.”
Harper snorted. “You always say that, but you always come back.”
Totally true.
It wasn’t long before Tanner joined them in the private box. He made a beeline for Devon, even as he accepted congratulatory nods and back-pats from the others. “Hey, kitten. Did you miss me?”
“You mean when I was hurling balls of hellfire at you? Yeah, missed every time.” She went easily into his arms. “How’s your head?”
“All right.”
“And your leg? It looked like those orbs hit you pretty hard.”
“I’m fine.” He pressed a long, lingering kiss to her mouth. “You hungry? I need something to eat, I’m starving.”
“Tanner, you have a visitor,” Levi called out, his voice carefully neutral.
Devon turned toward the open door … and stiffened at the sight of Eleanor standing there.
Tanner growled. “The fuck?”
Eleanor raised her hands in a gesture of peace. “I’m here to apologize.”
“Apologize for what exactly?” he clipped, crossing to the doorway with Devon at his side.
“For pushing you both so hard,” Eleanor replied. “I genuinely hadn’t thought anything serious would happen between the two of you. If I had, I wouldn’t have—”
“Wrecked Devon’s apartment?”
Eleanor gave him a somewhat haughty look. “I’m not so petty as to anonymously vandalize a woman’s home merely because she stands in