They’d left him in there all day, no doubt as an interrogation tactic. What they didn’t know was that he could remain still for days and not give a fuck. His training had been more extensive than anybody would ever realize. A door opened in the distance, and heavy footsteps sounded down the long hallway, stopping in front of his cell, which was covered and protected by steel bars that even he couldn’t open. He looked up as three figures loomed on the other side. “I wondered if the trifecta of power and glory would appear at the same time.”
He was being a complete jerk, but when faced with three of the most powerful badasses on the planet, a guy had to have some pride. Plus, they knew him and might be able to get into his head. He had to prevent that at any cost.
The King of the Realm, Dage Kayrs, stood on the far left, tension and boiling fury in every line of his body. Even though he was hundreds of years old, his hair was mostly black, his eyes silver, and he could probably take down an ancient redwood with his pinky finger.
Next to him stood his brother, Talen Kayrs, who was the strategic leader of the Realm and had probably racked up a body count Pax couldn’t imagine. He was also Hope’s grandfather but still looked thirty with his dark hair, golden eyes, and dense muscles. One barely there silver strip showed in his hair from his surviving a plague years ago.
On the right stood Zane Kyllwood, the king of the demon nation, Hope’s father, and the one currently emoting so much rage that Paxton could feel his skin heat.
“You almost got her killed, Paxton,” Zane said evenly, his voice soft but filled with danger.
Paxton stood, determined to face these three on even ground. “Bullshit.”
One of Zane’s dark eyebrows rose. His hair was just as dark as Dage’s, but he had sizzling green eyes that, right now, weren’t anything close to human. If he walked out into the human world, they would know they had immortals living among them. “Excuse me?”
“That Kurjan squad wasn’t there for me, Zane. They were there for Hope. I don’t know how they knew she was there. How is her arm?”
“Don’t ask about her damn arm,” Zane snapped.
Paxton studied him, knowing better but still trying to slide into his mind. It was a new talent, one he was developing at a fairly young age. Many demons had the skill. Unfortunately, the ability to teleport had been taken from them years ago, before he’d even had a chance to see if he could accomplish the feat. The ability would be handy right about now. He mentally pinpointed Zane’s love for his daughter and tried to get inside his mind.
Zane’s chin jerked up. “Nice try, kid. Stop, or I’ll fry your brain so it’ll never be the same.”
“Then tell me about her damn arm,” Paxton said softly, more than ready to try again.
Talen cocked his head to the side. “You know, I might just have to kill him before we get the information we need.”
“If anybody’s going to kill him, it’s going to be me,” the king said.
“Oh, fuck no,” Zane said, moving closer to the bars. “He’s mine.”
Paxton knew he should be feeling fear right now. But truth be told, he just didn’t give a shit any longer. He’d broken Hope’s heart, and she would never forgive him. That was pretty much the end of him caring about anything. “How about you all have a go at me?” he offered, hoping he’d feel better if somebody knocked him out.
“You want that?” Zane muttered.
“Sure. You can go in alphabetical order. And, Zane, if you really are itching, then we can go in reverse alphabetical order. First names only, since you all have Ks for last names.” It was something that had always impressed Paxton. There were times, especially when he’d been younger, that he’d wished he could’ve been one of them. His father had hated his guts. So wearing Paelotin’s last name had never felt right to him.
It was Zane who spoke first. “You really don’t think I’ll take you apart?”
Paxton turned his focus entirely on Hope’s father. “I’m surprised you didn’t do it eons ago,” he admitted. “Do you know how many times I snuck into her room over the years?” Sure. It was mostly to hang out or for comfort when his father had beaten the crap out of him. But even when he’d gotten older, he’d snuck past the guards and the cameras to visit her.
“Of course I knew,” Zane exploded. “Do you honestly think I don’t know exactly who comes into my house?” The air grew hot and heavy with tension. “I knew you were there every time, Paxton. But you know what? Even when you were way too old to be sneaking into my girl’s room, I trusted you.”
It was like a blow to the solar plexus, and Paxton took it without wincing. Without even giving an indication of how squarely the punch had landed.
Dage studied him for a long time, silent, as Talen did the same, while Zane was so still it was difficult to determine if he was even breathing. But of course, he was. The guy probably didn’t even know that Paxton had learned all about the work he’d done as the Ghost, who most people thought was only a legend now. He wasn’t. Zane had been an assassin long ago.
The trio might be intimidating, but Paxton would never let any fear show. “How is Hope doing?”
“She’s doing better,” Zane said. “Emma has her hooked up to a bag of something, and she says the headache’s going away, although she has not been able to heal the fractured arm.”
Paxton barely hid his surprise that Zane had answered him finally.
“The twins told me how you stood in front of her and tried to save her,” Zane said. “Are you or are you not working with the Kurjans?”
“Not,” Pax said.
Zane’s gaze probed deep, and Paxton slapped shields into place over his mind. “Now would be a real good time for you to tell me what you’ve been up to,” Zane suggested, not so quietly. “Rumor has it you were able to fight way better than the twins expected.”
“I got lucky.” The urge to tell him everything nearly overwhelmed Paxton. But he’d been trained by the best. He knew how to kill, and hell, he pretty much knew how to die. Right now, he couldn’t tell them anything. “So long as Hope is safe, I don’t really care what you do with me,” he said honestly.
“Why’d you hack into my schedule?” Dage asked. “If you’d just called me, I would’ve given it to you.”
Paxton kept his lips tightly together. It had been so easy to hack into the system until Hope and Chalton had upgraded it. “I wasn’t going to kill you, King,” he admitted. “I just wanted to know where you were.”
Zane cocked his head to the side. “It’s almost like you want me to beat the crap out of you.”
If there was one thing in life Paxton knew, it was that he could take a punch. He’d spent the first half of his life taking them from his worthless father. Ironically, it was Zane who had rescued him. Zane and Talen, actually. “If that’s what you need to do, feel free,” Pax offered. He deserved it.
“It may come to that,” Zane said grimly. “First, we’re going to have a nice little chat with your uncle. The absent-minded professor has been your guardian this entire time—surely he can give me some answers.”