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Since learning of the boycotting extravaganza, Maddox had begun telepathically checking in more than usual. He also came to Raini each night, and he always took her at least twice before leaving. He never stayed over, but she hadn’t expected that he would. They weren’t a couple, they weren’t building anything. Plus, Maddox seemed the type who liked to sleep alone; who liked his space.
His demon always surfaced during sex, even if only briefly. It had developed a habit of biting her—usually on her neck, but any part of her seemed to be fair game. The bites were never hard enough to draw blood, but they weren’t light little nips either. She’d once mentioned it to Maddox with a raised eyebrow. He’d only shrugged, blasé.
Just then, the studio’s phone began to ring. Khloë sighed. “I need to get that before Harper starts barking at me.”
“Khloë, you need to get that!” Harper yelled from the shop floor.
The imp rolled her eyes. “Too late. Come on, let’s go.”
Raini followed her out of the office, closing the door behind them.
“Khloë, phone!” Harper again shouted.
Crossing the shop floor, the imp raised placatory hands. “Untwist your panties, sphinxy.”
Harper frowned, pausing in tattooing a woman’s foot. “Sphinxy?”
“It’s a word,” said Khloë. “Aunt Mildred used to—”
“Oh no,” Devon cut in, turning from her client to the imp. “Do not mention that fictional woman in my presence.”
Reaching the desk, Khloë shook her head. “I can’t believe you don’t remember her.” She lifted the phone and answered the call with her receptionist voice.
Needing to grab some supplies to get her station ready before her next client arrived, Raini headed into the stock room at the rear of the studio. She made a beeline for the shelf that—
Hands clamped around her arms from behind, her surroundings flashed white, and then she was dumped on the ground. A cold, hard, damp ground. Before she could even think to react, hot pain blazed along her upper arm.
Hissing, she twisted, a ball of hellfire in hand … but she was alone. Whoever had brought her here had swiftly left. Where was here? And why did it smell of must, mildew, decay, and dirt?
Her inner demon rose to full alertness, absolutely furious. The power within Raini slinked to her fingertips, ready to protect and defend.
Raini touched the throbbing spot on her arm. Her fingers came away with blood. The bastard who’d brought her here had sliced her arm, probably with a blade. Oh, she was gonna drop-kick a fucker.
She rubbed at the floor to wipe the blood from her fingers and glanced around. Taking in the gray stone walls, stacked crypts, plaques, urns, religious statues, and burned-out candles, she felt her stomach bottom out.
A mausoleum. She was in a fucking mausoleum.
One that wasn’t well tended to, given the spiderwebs, dead leaves, layers of dust, scabby mold, and the miserable look about the place. Why the hell would someone bring her here?
Struggling to her feet, she noticed that the stone walls were carved with … was that Latin wording? It was hard to tell. With only one window, the place was pretty damn dark.
The air was stale, clammy, and so bitterly cold she shivered. She could hear water dripping and scuttling sounds that had better not be rats. But there were no voices, no footsteps, no indication of people inside or outside.
Not feeling inclined to stick around, she reached out to touch Maddox’s mind. But failed. Like something was blocking the mental pathway. She tried reaching for Harper. Again, it didn’t work. The fuck? She tried contacting several other people— Jolene, Khloë, Devon, Ciaran. Not once did her psyche manage to touch that of another.
Her pulse began to speed up, and her demon became even more tense. Cursing beneath her breath, Raini made a beeline for the stone door a few feet away, shuddering when a stray spiderweb ghosted over her shoulder. Ew.
She shoved, pushed, and kicked the door. It didn’t open. Fuck.
She tossed a ball of hellfire at it, hoping the flames would consume the stone. They didn’t. They merely licked at the door before shimmering away. Some kind of power or magick acted as a barrier. Hurrying over to the small window, she saw that it was welded shut. She blasted the glass with hellfire, but the flames did nothing. Her breathing turned quick and shallow, and she swallowed hard.
Trapped. She was trapped.
A deep growl sounded, echoing in the large space, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. She spun on her heel and tracked the sound. Her heart jumped as she saw a pair of red eyes watching her from the shadows. Understanding rapidly dawned on her. The preternatural measures in place weren’t there to keep her inside, they were meant for something else. And she’d just been dumped in here with it. Oh, shit.
