a fist connected with her cheek. The last thing she saw before her eyes shut was her favorite Indian restaurant. They had the best tandoori chicken and garlic naan bread.
Nausea churned and she had to close her eyes against the world spinning around her. One arm wrapped around her throat while the other grabbed both hands behind her back. He wrenched and her shoulder screamed in agony.
Her eyes flew open when the wind cut off abruptly. She found herself in a narrow stairwell. This wouldn’t end well if she didn’t escape. Renewing her fight, she squirmed and tried to bite him, but couldn’t reach his arm. Throwing her body around, the Daeva’s hold finally loosened. Air surrounded her a second before she was falling to the ground.
One of her hands flew toward the wall but ended up wrapped around the neck of his shirt. Riiip. The sound of cloth tearing filled the space right before her hold loosened and she was once again falling.
Her head smacked into the stairs and her feet flew over her body before hitting the next step. She ass over ended it to the bottom with him going along for the ride. Cracks echoed and stole her breath. His big ass landed on a leg then his shoulder slammed into her chest. By the time she landed in a heap at the bottom, she’d cracked a few ribs along with her femur.
Every cell in her body screamed for her to grab a bottle of tequila and head to the bathtub. Everything hurt. There were many times in her life she was sore from training or fighting, but nothing compared to this moment.
For the first time in her existence she was ready to say fuck it and beg for death. She couldn’t take much more. Thankfully, the despair passed quickly. The Davea was on his feet before she managed to pull herself two feet away. Her scalp protested sharply when he grabbed a fist full of hair again and drug her into the room. There were metal shelves off to the right, but she couldn’t see what was on them. She was too busy trying to hide her terror.
Demons were despicable creatures and this one topped them all. She caught a glimpse of a table with candles, jars and what looked like intestines hanging off the side right before she went flying through the air. She landed in the middle of the room on her bad leg and collapsed.
Tears streamed down her face as she held back her screams. He would get off on hearing her anguish and fear. This demon was strong as hell and prepared to take her life. At this point she didn’t think she’d be getting out of here, but she’d be damned if she gave this asshole any pleasure.
“You are vital to the next step of my plan.” The demon prowled to a smaller table set off to the side in an alcove. The large knife he picked up glinted black like his eyes in the dim lighting. He had a freakin dark blade. She’d better gird her loins or resign herself to becoming this jerk’s source of pleasure for God only knows how long. “There is so much power coursing through your veins. It’s exactly what I need.”
Chloe sucked in a shallow breath. “You’re mistaken, that’s just gas.”
She flinched as he crouched over her and kept still. In, out. It was easier to focus on slowing her breaths than anything else. The sharp tip ran across her cheek. Don’t move. There was already a shallow slice along her jawline. It would scar thanks to the dark blade.
Orange flickered in her vision. Lifting her good leg, she moved fast. When her foot connected with the demon’s chest and he flew backwards, she relished the pain her movements caused her battered body. “Fuck you.”
The Daeva started laughing and rolled to his knees. She was glad to see he wasn’t moving like silk anymore. She’d hurt him. That didn’t mean she was going to be able to escape.
Taking a minute to scope her surroundings, she wanted to curse when she noted the only exit was the stairs she fell down. It wasn’t surprising to see at least two dozen body parts scattered around.
From her position on the floor, she couldn’t see if there were any symbols written on the floor, but her skin prickled in a familiar way. Demonic energy had been expended here. Not that it was all that surprising, but she wanted