Revealing the Monster (Playing with Monsters #4) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,107

a suit, the white cuffs standing out against his olive-colored skin. He had black hair that looked as if it had blue highlights in the dimly lit club. A smile played on his lips while he studied me carefully.

“Hello, my darlings. What a pretty shell you’ve chosen this time,” he purred, which caused the furies to echo the sound, followed by something akin to sighs exploding from all three. His hand lifted, and Erie growled in warning.

Everything inside of me pulsed, and no matter how much I wanted to pull away from this man, I couldn’t. It was as if his touch controlled all of me, or more to the point, the furies. Lust ripped through me, and my body grew heated with need.

A soft moan mingled with a sob, which had my hackles rising, even though I still couldn’t pull myself from him. His gaze held me prisoner, while his touch turned me into someone else, something else. Fear ripped me apart, and the longer he touched me, the more I succumbed to his power.

“Get your hands off of her, Fred. She’s off-limits,” Erie warned with a tone I’d never heard her use before.

“Of course, she is,” Fred chuckled. “She belongs to me and only me now. I created the furies, and whoever they inhabit becomes mine. I dare anyone to intervene against me.”

“Challenge accepted, asshole.” Lucian’s voice exploded into the room as something wet and warm splattered against my face.

Lucian’s rage was palpable. His glowing blue glare met mine, and I exhaled the breath I’d held. The wards began shrieking and pulsing inside the club until Lucian whispered in a foreign language and disarmed them. His armor pulsed, swirling in eddies around his large frame. The male’s body crumbled to the floor, and Spyder grabbed the head, tossing it in a bag before he threw it out the door.

“Lucian,” I swallowed, relief at him coming for me, making my limbs heavy.

“Do not fucking talk, Lena,” he warned with barbs in his words. Turning, he leveled Erie with a murderous look. “I asked you to protect her inside my club, Mórrígan. I warned you not to leave with her, and you agreed to the terms.”

“Oh, no. You don’t get to ask the crazy goddess to babysit and not expect me to steal the babe.” She chuckled but straightened when he didn’t laugh her off. “Lena is safe.”

“You call that safe? He wasn’t supposed to know she held the furies inside her. Period. She didn’t look safe, Mórrígan. Had Asmodeus left with her, he would have been within his right to claim her. You think he’s on your side? He isn’t. He’s on the side of whoever can offer him the most to add to his body count and stature in the hierarchy of Hell, Erie. Lucifer owns him, and if you think Asmodeus won’t run and tell him what Lena holds in her, you’re crazier than you’re pretending to be.”

“Everyone knows she houses the furies, Lucian. That’s not a secret,” she stated, narrowing her gaze on him before slowly shifting her focus to where I stood. “It’s not just the furies, though, is it? You hid something within them, didn’t you?”

“If you value our friendship, Mórrígan, you’ll cease speaking of it right now,” Lucian warned in a barely audible tone.

“Done,” she agreed without question. “Lucifer followed us here. I have something for you,” she said smoothly, holding the bag with his severed hand. “I believe the words you are looking for are, thank you, Mórrígan. I couldn’t have done it better myself had I thought of doing such a thing.”

“You used her as bait. I will never thank you for using Magdalena as a fucking lure for the Devil. Had you slipped up, she’d be gone right now. You fucked up and broke my trust.”

“I asked her to bring me—”

“You keep your mouth shut until I say otherwise,” he snapped, using the compulsion he held to enforce me to comply. My lips closed, and my stomach sank at the anger burning in his stare. Lucian wasn’t just angry; he was hurt. “I’ll deal with you when we get home.”

“Are you staying long enough for a drink?” Vlad asked, pushing a bottle of scotch toward Lucian.

“No, we won’t be staying. The guild was attacked.”

“I know. I sent word to Synthia and Ryder, since they alone can bypass the codes and locks that sealed the lower levels,” Vlad disclosed. “There have been some developments in Faery that are keeping them from