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Shit. Shit. Shit.
Elias raises his hands in surrender, slowly easing off of me to get up. “I wouldn’t do that to you. It’s just—it’s not what you think. I’m trying to—”
Aiming the gun in my direction, Preston fires, sending a bullet ricocheting from the concrete floor to the drywall behind me. “Shut up! I knew this was too good to be true. I knew she was too far into your head for you to make the right decision.” Preston glowers and points the gun again. “I damn fucking knew that she let Hell get too deep inside her. She’s the fucking slut of Satan. She’s dragging you down with her.”
Hey now. I haven’t even slept with Lucian yet.
Preston glowers at me. “I won’t let her. This ends here.”
I brace to be shot. I brace for my life to end. What I don’t expect is for Elias to flick his lighter, drawing Preston’s murderous glare away from me. It’s all I need to launch forward. I crash into the bastard at the same time Elias ignites the candle wick, sending billowing flames around the circle as a portal to Hell opens up.
Swinging his fist, Preston punches me in the cheek. Pain explodes through my head, and my eyes burn with tears. I haven’t been hit like this since Joel. The action sets me off, shadowing my vision. I flail my hands, smacking Preston over and over again. Elias shouts something I can’t decipher, my anger stealing the world around me away.
Preston manages to get an opening in between my hands and shoves me off. I hit my back on the floor with a gasp, the air exiting my lungs in a painful breath. I can’t roll away fast enough. Tackling me with his heavy body, Preston grabs my head between his hands. His nails bite into my cheeks as he prepares to break my neck.
“Preston, no!” Elias shouts, rushing toward us. “Stop!”
I scratch at Preston’s arms, trying to get him to stop.
“This must be done, brother.” Preston snatches a knife from his belt and swipes it at Elias, cutting the fabric of his pants. “Stay back or I’ll make it painful. You have to let her go. God will bless us for following his will.”
“You don’t even know what the hell God’s will is that you’re truly following. Now let her go. This is your last chance.” Elias stands nearby, his voice deepening with his warning.
“You’ll have to make me. I won’t let her drag you down with her. Not after everything you’ve done.” Preston flares his nostrils, fighting against my Hell strength. His determination and position stops me from getting leverage. I’m trapped.
“Preston, please. Please.” Elias’s voice cracks.
Preston doesn’t listen. He doesn’t respond.
I squeeze my eyes shut at the tightness of my muscles in my neck. Preston keeps twisting, turning my head in an agonizing position. I can’t scream or concentrate on anything but trying to scratch him. He doesn’t even flinch as his flesh gathers under my nails.
Gunfire rings through the air and blood and brain matter splatter across my face. I stare in shock, my hearing muffled from the pop. Preston’s dead body slumps on top of mine, still trying to trap me even with his death.
I screech and fling him off with all my Hell strength, the pain and exhaustion of the last few hours wearing heavily on both my body and soul. Haze turns my vision fuzzy as Elias stands above me. hellfire leaps toward the roof behind him, haloing him in fiery light. One second I stare into his glassy, steel-gray eyes as a man, and in the next, a huge foxlike beast with a coat the same color as hellfire towers in front of me. Long canines jut from its elongated mouth and two horns stretch toward the ceiling next to triangular ears.
I open and close my mouth, trying to form words, but nothing comes.
And with a blink of my eyes, the strange demonic apparition disappears and Elias stands before me once again.
Another figure joins him, and then another and another until five silhouettes hover around me, the world still glowing with the fire of Hell.
“Raven, shit,” Micah says, stepping closer.
“Fucking stay back. Dante will look at her and heal her if needed. You take care of the hunters.” Kase growls and locks his tail around Micah’s neck, pulling him back. “I’ll handle Elias. We’ll meet where we discussed. Make sure no one follows.”
“Don’t kill anyone else,” I murmur, stretching my arms up, waiting for any of them to pick me up. “It was all Preston.”
“You heard her. Lock them up, and we’ll deal with them later. We have more important things to do.” Dante scoops me up into his arms and buries his face in my hair. “Like taking care of our soul first.”
“And fucking taking out the guardians after,” Kase adds, picking up Elias without even asking him. He turns to Andre and kicks Preston’s body. “Take this fucker with you.”
“Gladly,” Andre says. “I have a special place for him. He will pay.”
