Hammer Down: Children of the Undying: Book 2 (10 page)

“Lazy bastards. Not that I wouldn’t let you ride me, sweetheart.” He squeezed her ass. “But not until I’d had my fingers between your thighs. I bet you bite when you come.”

The mental picture his words painted was intoxicating. “And you like the thought of my teeth on your skin.”

“Depends on where you sink ’em.” He worked a hand between their bodies, his knuckles skimming the edge of her pants. “Where would you let me sink mine?”

“I’m not nearly so picky.” Flip, easy words, handy for hiding how deeply his touch shook her. “Bite me wherever you want.”

“That’d be just about everywhere.” His fingertips were hot as they grazed her bare skin. Rough breaths fell against her cheek, almost panting, proof that he wasn’t nearly as unaffected as his cocky, casual tone implied. “Fuck, I wanted to do you slow, but I’m losing my damn
mind
. Can’t think about anything but being inside you.” He traced his tongue around the shell of her ear and proved the words with a low groan.

The wet trace of his tongue made her hands clench in his shirt, and the fabric ripped a little. “Shit, sorry. Take it off.”

A rough denial as his fingers jerked at her pants. “If you weren’t wearing these, I’d be fucking you already.”

Devi bit his jaw. “You’d be fucking me already if you didn’t talk so much.”

“And I’m talking—” He froze, his hand halfway into her pants, and cursed as his gaze jerked to the door.

She heard it a second later, pounding footsteps coming down the hallway. Zel backed away and eased her to the floor. She wanted to withdraw, smooth her hair and take a moment to compose herself, but there could be trouble. If there was, it was likely to affect her crew.

So she jerked open the door as Cache skidded to a stop outside of it. “What happened?”

Cache couldn’t hear her words, but she apparently had no trouble interpreting her meaning. Her fingers flew, three quick gestures in a row.
Tanner. Guard. Fight.

“Fuck.” Devi grabbed her vest and shrugged into it with a quick glance at Zel. “Tanner’s found trouble. A fight with a guard.”

He swore and jerked his shirt back into place, seemingly oblivious to Cache’s too-curious appraisal. Devi turned back and signed to Cache.
Where?

Cache pointed behind her, toward the hallway that led to the main common area and the tunnel to the rest of the compound.

Zel appeared at Devi’s shoulder. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Somewhere in the compound…” She scrubbed her hands over her face. The last thing they could afford after Cache’s potential snooping was violence. “We have to stop it. Come on.”

She didn’t wait for him to follow, too preoccupied by the knowledge that they were heading into a fight that likely involved more than one halfblood. The same demon heritage that made them such fierce warriors also gave them enhanced senses.

She had Zel’s scent all over her, and vice versa. Which meant that, in very short order, the complications Zel had wanted to avoid would come crashing down around them.

Twenty yards from Devi’s door, Zel heard the first sounds of conflict and broke into a run. He left Cache behind before he hit the common room, but Devi kept up with him until they reached the doors that led to the tunnel.

Zel skidded to a stop just in time to watch Drake close both fists around the back of Tanner’s shirt. The guard who’d been assigned to the door—Bran, this time—shouted his protest and snatched at Drake’s arm.

Bran was no match for Drake. In the tightly structured hierarchy that kept the soldiers in place, no one stood higher—no one except Zel.

He opened his mouth to shout an order, but the words died as Tanner hooked his ankle under Drake’s calf and wrenched his body in an impossibly tight circle. It was fast, faster than Zel had ever seen a human move, and tore his shirt from Drake’s grip. If the halfblood had been any slower, he would have ended up on his back. But he managed to free his leg and regain his balance in time to duck out of the way of Tanner’s fist.

Zel found his voice. “Drake!
Stand down
.”

The halfblood snarled, but he didn’t even look at Zel as he launched another volley of quick jabs at Tanner. “No draw. We fight ’til someone wins, that’s the rule.”

“Only boys fight humans. Are you going to move back into the youths’ barracks next?”

Drake didn’t rise to the bait. “He can yield anytime he wants.”

Tanner expressed his disinterest in that by dodging Drake’s next swing and planting a heel in the back of Drake’s knee. The move threw him off balance, and he almost fell.

Devi shot past Zel before he could stop her. She landed one good swing on Drake’s jaw, snapping his head back. Then, in a blurring flash, the halfblood struck back. His hand cracked across Devi’s face, hard enough to send her spinning.

Zel barely heard Tanner’s outraged roar as the storm inside broke free. It didn’t matter that Devi recovered with remarkable speed, that she was already straightening. Zel covered the intervening space at a run, snatched Tanner by the arm and flung him out of the fight.

It was too easy after that. Drake was no match for him, never had been—and he knew it. Zel was the wind, the angry, unstoppable fury of a hurricane. He grabbed Drake’s arm and spun, whipping him around to gain momentum before smashing him into the wall.

Halfbloods weren’t as hardy as their demonic parents, but they were a good bit sturdier than humans. Drake was already shaking off the impact when Zel pivoted again, this time letting go halfway through the turn.

His opponent hit the ground and skidded a few feet, and Zel waited until he dragged himself to his knees before speaking. “Meet me in the challenge ring or accept a demotion for disobeying orders.”

Drake spat blood and glowered up at him. “I accept your challenge,
warrior
.” His tone turned the word into a mocking epithet.

Zel ignored it. “Private or public?”

Drake’s eyes flashed red. “Public.”

His pulse pounded in his ears. Violence slid under his skin, and Zel didn’t even care if the reckless challenge blew up in his face. “Tonight, then. Now get the fuck out of here.”

Drake rose, but spared Tanner and Devi a crude gesture and one last scathing look before turning to leave.

Zel couldn’t look at Devi, not yet. Sex had turned to violence too fast, and seeing pain in her eyes would push him over the edge. “Bran.”

The guard appeared a second later, sporting a puffy, reddened eye. He lifted his fingers to his split lip and winced. “Drake started it, not the human.”

It was all Zel needed to know, and with anger riding him hard there was no point in testing his control with the presence of another halfblood. “Tell me the rest later. And spread the word.”

He didn’t have to say anything else. Bran hunched his shoulders and took off, taking care to keep his steps to a fast walk instead of a flat-out run. Within the hour, the entire settlement would know a challenge was in the offing.

Behind Zel, Devi swore. “You can’t
do this
right now, Tanner. You know that.” Her voice shook, though it sounded more like anger than fear or anguish, removing the worry of how his instincts would react to her terror.

Zel turned. “Is he hurt?”

She snorted. “Only his ego.”

The man’s ego shouldn’t be hurt at all. Tanner moved like gravity couldn’t catch him, too fast to be truly human. The fight must have been a blur to Devi, and should have been a blur to Tanner, as well. Nothing in his record had given any indication of demonic heritage, but Zel of all people knew records could be falsified.

One easy way to find out. He took a step and extended his hand to Tanner. No words, no explanation, just the silent challenge. The man didn’t hesitate, clasping his fingers in a firm grip that was utterly without magic.

Human, then. Zel released his hand. “I need to talk to your boss.”

Devi nudged Tanner back toward the visitors’ area. “Go let Juliet check you out. Make sure you didn’t knock anything loose in that hard head of yours.”

“Dev, are you sure—”

“Positive. Go.”

He didn’t look happy, but he left. With no other distraction, Zel was forced to look at Devi. At her face, which bore an angry red mark that made rage boil up again so fast his hands shook. Curling them into fists was the only way to hide how tenuous his control was. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” She rubbed her face. “He didn’t break anything. Charming guy, by the way.”

“I’ll take care of him.” It was ill advised, but he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to touch her cheek. “He shouldn’t have done that.”

Devi lifted both eyebrows. “I appreciate your concern, but he’s not the first person to hit me, and he won’t be the last.”

Zel clenched his jaw to stop his angry, instinctive words of protest. It took a few steadying breaths to find something marginally more acceptable. “Not within these walls.”

Her eyes softened a little. “Now, that part
is
your responsibility.”

“Yes. It is.” He had a hundred things to do. Word of his challenge would rock the community. Lorenzo and Hailey would be frantic to get in contact with him. He had to prepare, to consider the political firestorm that would sweep through Rochester if he lost.

A
thousand
things to do, and he couldn’t stop stroking his thumb over the satiny skin of Devi’s cheek. It would be so easy to finish what they’d started. Here in the hallway, with adrenaline still pounding through him. She’d almost let him take her against the wall. He could spill them to the floor, let violence bleed into lust and feed on her pleasure.

Later,
the wildness whispered. After he’d met his opponent in the challenge ring and driven him down. When his blood ran hot with the heat of battle and the glory of victory.

Arrogant pride demanded that she be there. “I want your crew to come to the challenge. I want to make it clear that an insult to my guests is an insult to me.”

She nodded slowly. “Are you going to have trouble with this? Because of me and my crew?”

“Trouble’s already there. All this will do is force it into the open.”

“Then we’ll be there,” she said simply. “Do you stage them in the network?”

“Yes. To the death.” And while a death inside the network had no lasting effects, he’d lost enough challenges as a youth to know what a powerful learning experience it could be.

Her eyes widened, telling him she also knew just how terrifying and disorienting the sharp drop from the network could be. Not many who died in virtual reality ever forgot the incident. “What does a challenge mean for you? Is it a way to knock your people back in line, or is this dangerous for you?”

She hadn’t forced him to stop touching her, so he eased his thumb over her neck and used the warmth of her skin as a distraction from his growing discomfort. “The leader of Rochester has never challenged anyone before. We’ll have a full house tonight.”

She tilted her head absently, the movement granting him better access to her skin. “You’re sure it’s a good idea for us to be there?”

“We’ll have a full house,” he repeated, wondering how the gentle arch of her neck could be so enticing. If he didn’t release her soon, they’d both end up on the floor after all. “Better for you to be there where everyone can see you’re under our protection. Hailey and Lorenzo will be with you, and a few of the top guards.”

Devi stared at him for a moment and blinked. “Don’t think this fight wasn’t partly Tanner’s fault. I don’t know how long I can keep my crew calm, Zel.”

“You won’t have to.” He shoved his hand in his pocket, where his fingers brushed the piece of paper Trip had given him. Tonight, he’d fight—and maybe fuck, if he was lucky. Either way, he’d have a clear head for the meeting in the early hours before dawn. “The situation with the spy will be resolved by morning. If you stay until tomorrow, we’ll be able to tell you if he transmitted any information about your crew and the attack. We made sure Nicollet knew he made it here, so they’ll have no reason to suspect anything went wrong on the journey.”

“Thank you.” She looked like she wanted to stay, maybe say something else, but she turned and left. He took two silent, involuntary steps after her before he caught himself. First, he needed to get a new guard on the door. Then he needed to check in with Trip.

Zel pulled his tablet out of his pocket and winced as the list of incoming messages scrolled up on the screen. Lorenzo’s name, then Hailey’s, one from Trip, another from Hailey, three in a row from his
mother
…

Sighing, he tucked away his tablet and set about doing his job.

Chapter Nine

Devi rubbed her temples and watched as Juliet materialized beside her. Instead of Cache’s new war room, she’d brought them into a simple square room with walls of riveted metal panels.

There were no doors because they didn’t need them. Still, Devi had to breathe deeply to fight a rising sense of panic. “Cache, how hard is it to program an exit? These boxes give me the creeps.”

Cache closed her eyes. Her lashes fluttered and her lids jumped, as if she was reading something written on the backs of them. Devi had seen her alter their surroundings plenty of times by making use of a conveniently materialized terminal, but this time she did it with nothing but her mind.

The walls flickered and a door appeared on the far side of the room, its wide glass panels offering a glimpse of rolling hills under bright sunlight. “Better? I bet I can even link it up with where we’re going.”

The fewer jumps she had to make, the better. “That’d be great. Not that I’m terribly excited about this anyway.”

“Two hot men beating each other to a pulp?” Juliet asked. “What’s not to be excited about?”

Cache’s expression twisted, her lips pressed tight together and her eyes hard as coal. “It’s disgusting. They
kill
each other. Trust demons to get off on that shit.”

“Plenty of humans do it too.” Juliet stretched slowly. “Including our dear Mr. Tanner.”

“Lay off, Ruiz.” Tanner had been unusually subdued since the fight that afternoon. He rubbed his thumb over the knuckles of his opposite hand and stared at the door. “Tomorrow we can leave this place in the rearview mirrors, and none of it will matter.”