more of her, and pain from his injuries sliced through him. He ignored it, didn’t care if he fucking bled out all over again, not when Scarlet was back in his arms, kissing him the way she used to, as if she could never, would never, get enough of him.
His heart expanded in his chest, his eyes stung, and his throat tightened—
She stiffened. The thud of those boots was louder. They were nearly on them. He dug his fingers into her waist, telling her it was going to be okay, that he had her, and hating that he was so fucking weak right then.
He waited for the boots to stop, for someone to shout or recognize who he was, but that thud only paused for a moment before carrying on. Obviously reluctant to disturb them in case it was one of his superior officers.
The footsteps faded away, and Scarlet tugged him closer a moment, then released him, taking her perfect lips away from his. He wanted to chase them, take them back, but he had to be careful.
If he gave too much away, if he told her outright who he was, who they were to each other, he might freak her out, she might run from him, and the powers Lucifer had given him wouldn’t come to be, would vanish into thin air. He wouldn’t be able to do what he was sent here to do…whatever the fuck that was. He wouldn’t be able to help his brothers.
Whatever his task here would be, he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be easy. But he’d do anything for the female looking up at him wide-eyed, her forehead still pressed to his. He’d keep her safe.
He’d try to make up for the evil he’d done. For the way he’d hurt…fuck, nearly destroyed his brothers.
Her breathing was heavy, cheeks flushed pink. “Yes, that was um…very, convincing.”
“You think?”
She nodded.
“Thanks. You were pretty convincing yourself,” he said, and despite being on the run in Hell and feeling as if he’d been crushed under a boulder, he smiled when she blushed deeper and had trouble meeting his eyes.
She dipped her gaze to her feet. “R-right, well, we better get going. They obviously haven’t sounded the alarm yet, but it’s only a matter of time. We need to hurry. It’s not much farther.”
She slid back under his arm, and wrapping hers around his waist, they walked, shuffling really, along the hall again.
A short time later, they reached a crossroads and carried on ahead. The farther they went, the more untraveled the cavern looked. Cobwebbed and abandoned. The hall suddenly came to a stop, the whole thing boarded over with scorched heavy timber.
Scarlet leaned him against the stone wall, gripped one of the boards, and pulled. It came free, and she leaned it to the side.
“What is this place?” he asked as she helped him through the space she’d made, then put the board back in place behind them.
She glanced up at him. “Lucifer’s old chambers are down here. Diemos closed off this wing and boarded up his rooms when he took over. I found the key in my room a long time ago, caught in a deep crack beside my bed. I have no idea how it got there, but every spare moment I had, I searched for the room the key fit.” She led him to a set of wood and iron double doors and pulled the heavy iron key from her pocket.
That couldn’t be a coincidence. Somehow Lucifer had engineered this. He had to have. “Why did you search?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I just had this feeling that I needed to find it. And when I found the rooms, I thought perhaps I might need this place one day. I don’t know why.”
“Why didn’t you come here a long time ago? You could have been safe here.”
She blinked up at him and shrugged again. She couldn’t explain it.
Tobias could.
She hadn’t known it, but she’d been waiting.
She’d been waiting for him.
Chapter 25
Gunner had never been in any kind of romantic relationship in his long life. He’d never bothered, had never wanted one, because his mate had always been out there, and it was only a matter of time before he found her.
Luna was finally here with him, and fucking typical, the world was on the verge of falling apart.
Nothing was how he’d imagined it would be. No. But he was happier than he’d ever been in his life, despite the impending doom.