Warrior's Hope (Dark Protectors #16)(57)

The cells here at demon headquarters were a little rougher, cut into the rock and fronted by solid, transparent glass that couldn’t be broken. He kept his thumbs looped casually in his jeans pockets as he looked inside. Paelotin sat on the floor, which was hard onyx marble that also didn’t shatter. Nothing could break that surface, and Paxton had seen groups try as part of their training. Bones broke when smashed against that floor.

It came in quite handy.

He nodded at the guards down the way, and they returned the gesture, not moving. Good. He tapped in a code on the keypad, and a door snicked open just far enough for him to walk inside. It rolled silently closed behind him.

Paelotin stood to his full height, his fangs dropping low. “Surprised to see you,” he said.

It was a gift not many vampires had, the ability to speak clearly and enunciate each word with their fangs extended. But Paelotin had mastered it years ago. Paxton knew that expression well. When he was a child, it hadn’t boded well for him. Now, he couldn’t give two fucks. “Had a nice talk with Zane Kyllwood,” he said, keeping his voice low and controlled, like always.

Paelotin threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, I bet that was a good one. Did he deny it? Did he deny that he’s your father?”

“Not only did he deny it, we conducted a DNA check just to be sure,” Paxton admitted.

Paelotin stopped laughing, and his eyes hardened to that mean, sharp, hate-filled glint he’d always had. “It doesn’t matter. There’s no way you’re getting within two feet of the princess, even if she’s not your sister, and you know it.”

He’d gotten a lot closer to Hope than that the night before. But Paxton saw no reason to share that fact. “It’s time you told me everything you know about my mother.”

Paelotin snorted. “Boy, I’m not going to tell you anything.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Pax said calmly, pulling his hands free and rolling his shoulders.

Paelotin laughed again, the sound grating in the small cell. “I’ve beaten you since you were five years old. You couldn’t take me then, and you can’t take me now.”

“Maybe,” Paxton said, still softly. “But I’ve spent the last three years learning how to take my enemy apart, and you don’t come close to what I’ve already dealt with.”

“Is that a fact?” Predictably, Paelotin charged.

Paxton neatly sidestepped him, and the man smashed into the clear wall. He bounced back and turned, swinging shockingly fast and catching Paxton in the side of the jaw. Pax’s body didn’t move, but his head jerked back. Pain exploded through his head. But he forced a smile. “Is that all you’ve got?”

Paelotin charged again, and this time, Paxton took the hit midcenter. Ducking, he wrapped his arms around Paelotin’s stomach and twisted, flipping the man off his feet and shoving him hard to the ground headfirst. Something popped, and Paelotin screamed, kicking out and nailing Paxton in the nose.

Pax retaliated by grabbing the offending ankle and twisting until several bones fractured. Then he continued to twist. Blood spurted. Paelotin bellowed and punched out, hitting Pax in the shin. Paxton dropped him on the ground, and without missing a beat, kicked him in the ribs. He was wearing steel-toed boots. Paelotin growled, jumping up in another tackle that threw them both against the back wall.

Paxton almost casually dropped both elbows onto Paelotin’s shoulders, knocking him to his knees on the hard surface. Then Pax punched him in the nose and the teeth, hearing cartilage crunch and enamel shatter.

“You know, I don’t really give a shit about you,” Paxton said, not feeling much of anything. He should hate the useless bastard, but he just didn’t. “However,” he said, “I’ll never forget the time you tried to hurt Hope.”

As he said her name, he stuck one finger right into Paelotin’s eye, blinding him. The warrior shrieked, scrambling to reach for his face. Paxton tossed him to the ground, kicked him several times in the groin, and then dropped with a knee on his broken ribs. Paelotin shrieked.

Paxton smiled, in complete contrast to the violence he’d meted out. “Okay, so we’re going to try again. How about you tell me about my mother?” he suggested softly.





Chapter Twenty-Four


“We can’t find them,” Collin said, typing rapidly on a keyboard. “They’re gone.”

They sat in the smaller conference room in demon headquarters, one that was used by different teams at various times.

Hope put her head back and sank onto the heavy leather chair. “We are unable to trace the sisters from Paris,” she repeated, her stomach lurching. “Natalie and Annette Toussaint.” The Kurjans had them, and who knew what was happening to them.

Libby reached over and patted her hand. “We did what we could. We had to catch...” She winced. “Paxton.”

“Agreed,” Liam said from across the heavy oak conference table. “We had to catch him, or we wouldn’t have known that there was a bomb in your head. I’m sorry about those two females, but we will continue trying to track them down.”

Collin waved a hand, and a map came to life on the wall at the end of the table. “I found another enhanced female. She is in Florence, Italy.”

“Send the note to another squad,” Hope said. “We have too much going on here to go to Italy.”