Fallen by Suzanne Wright

CHAPTER THREE

Ending his call, Maddox looked at his sentinel, who’d been waiting patiently on the sofa at the opposite end of the office. “Well?”

“It’s true,” replied Hector. “Another lair was wiped out earlier today—no survivors.”

Maddox swiped his tongue over his front teeth. “It’s safe to say that someone seeks to cull the population of descendants. Maybe even to eradicate our kind altogether.”

“Do you think maybe that’s why Viper has asked to meet with you?” he asked, referring to the president of the Black Saints— an MC club that popped up out of nowhere six months ago. “Think he wants to make it his business?”

“It’s possible. But I don’t see why he would. Neither he nor any of his ‘brothers’ are descendants; they don’t even have demonic blood.”

“But they are angels who’ve fallen, much like our ancestors, so we’re one of the closest species they have on Earth to their own.” Hector twisted his mouth. “I heard a rumor about the president.”

“That some believe he’s an archangel? One of the infamous Seven?”

Surprise flickered across the sentinel’s face. “Yes. Do you think it could be true?”

“Possibly.” Maddox crossed to the sofa opposite Hector and sank into it. “If so, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. All the members of the Seven are dangerous.”

“If I remember the ancient stories about them rightly, there’s Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel, Samael, Azrael, and Raguel. Which one do you think Viper could be?”

Maddox shrugged. “It’s not as if we can contact someone up above and ask who’s missing.” He drummed his fingers on the armrest. “I’ll find out what Viper wants tomorrow during our meeting. Moving on, did you find out who’s trying to cause dissension among our lair?”

“From what I can tell, the whispers originated from Euan and Marcella.”

Maddox exhaled heavily. “I thought as much.”

“Yeah, that was my guess as well. But I was hoping Euan had nothing to do with it, considering he’s your cousin. I don’t think he truly cares much that Raini isn’t a descendant, but others do. He’s capitalizing on how uneasy they are that, for the first time in history, a descendant’s anchor is a breed other than our own.”

Which was why both Maddox and his demon had been utterly shocked to realize that Raini was theirs. Being far too jaded, Maddox had thought himself impervious to such an emotion, but shock had slammed into him hard that night. When his demon snapped out of its stunned state, all it had wanted was to form the bond and leave the anchor mark on the hollow beneath her ear, declaring she belonged to them.

“They don’t know what it means, or if it even means anything,” Hector went on. “But they are nervous about having Raini around, because she could see things she’s not supposed to see.”

“She only comes here once a month, and she only ever comes through the side door and then up to my office. Although the window overlooks the dance floor, she can’t see the VIP area from here. In any case, I always give the lair advanced notice of her arrival. They know to curb their … activities until she’s gone, just to be on the safe side.”

“I know. As do they. But they’re still nervous about her coming here. And Euan is claiming that your inability—or refusal, whichever—to stay away from Raini is both a demonstration of weakness and an indication that you don’t have the lair’s best interests at heart.”

Pausing, Hector rolled his eyes. “He simply wants to be Prime—always has. Those of us who’ve claimed our psi-mates understand it’s not so easy for demons to keep a distance from their anchor. Hell, I couldn’t have kept my distance from Carmen,” he added, referring to a sentinel who was Hector’s mate as well as his anchor. “The lair’s attitude toward her might change once they’re used to her.”

“Are Euan and Marcella working together to cause issues?”

“No. Marcella’s not implying you’re weak. She’s simply trying to play on how nervous people are, making them imagine all sorts of scenarios that might occur if Raini learned and leaked our secrets—claiming Knox Thorne would be a problem and that he’d stir up the other Primes. In truth, what Marcella wants is to be your co-Prime, and she’s observant enough to sense that you want Raini in your bed. Marcella therefore sees her as a threat. I think she’s hoping that you’ll walk away from your anchor if enough of our lair pressure you to do so.”

“She should know better.” Maddox didn’t respond to pressure.

“And so should Euan. No one agrees that you’re ‘weak.’ Nor are they unaware that he’s only trying to undermine you because he wants your position. They also know what Marcella’s true problem is with the situation. But the lair is still uneasy.”

Initially, Maddox had been just as uneasy about Raini. He didn’t like the thought of his fate being tied to that of another. More, having an outsider around was not wise. So he’d resolved that he’d leave her alone; that he’d go on as if he’d never met her. But avoidance wasn’t his thing. Nor was denying himself what he wanted. In spite of everything, he wanted a place in Raini’s life; to be able to see her from time to time; to ensure her safety, as was his right.

He also wanted to fuck her until neither of them could move. They’d get to that part eventually.

Making a place for himself in her life hadn’t been so simple. He’d never blamed her for being angry on discovering he was her anchor. How could he, when he knew he was not what she needed? But he was a selfish creature, so when he’d seen an opportunity to firmly plant himself in her life, he’d taken it.

Did he feel bad about it? No. Employing dirty tricks to get what he wanted wasn’t new for Maddox.

“Your demon has got to be riding you hard, wanting the anchor bond,” said Hector.

“Not as much as it once did. It settles for a while if it sees or hears from her.” Maddox had originally thought that the strength of the bond’s ‘call’ would dull if he and Raini were apart. Having no contact with her had only made it worse, though.

Being close to her did dull it for a while, just as it soothed his demon. But Maddox suspected the reason the entity was no longer so angry was that—given Raini was now part of their life—it believed Maddox would eventually succumb to the temptation to claim her.

Raini’s mind abruptly touched his. Maddox.

The pain and weakness in that one word made him tense. What is it? he demanded.

And then there she was right in the middle of his office with Carmen, slumping to the floor like a sack of spuds.

Maddox was at Raini’s side in an instant, gently rolling her onto her back. She’d passed out, he realized. His demon hissed on seeing the wet crimson stain on her tee. Maddox flipped up the material and cursed at the vicious stab wound. It was ugly. Jagged. Blistering.

He joined his palm to her own and pushed power inside her. Red as blood, it pumped through her veins, lighting each one as it traveled up her arm, down her chest, and made a beeline for the gut wound.

She arched, her amber eyes snapping open and gleaming with pain. She tried snatching back her hand, but he held it tight.

“Shh, I know it hurts.” Because there was nothing soothing about the power inside him, even as it healed her.

“Burns,” she bit out.

“I’m almost done.” The blisters were shrinking, the blood was clotting, and the skin was knitting back together. He briefly glanced at Carmen. “What happened?” he asked, a hard bite to his voice.

“I didn’t see everything,” replied the sentinel. “I had to wait for the Underground’s elevator to come back down and take me up to the basement—she’d gone ahead of me with her crew. When I got up there, she was on her knees on the floor with a dagger buried in her stomach. It was weird. Glowed white. Her friends had surrounded her, their backs to her. She yanked out the blade just as I teleported to her side. I brought her straight to you.”

His demon roared inside his head. Maddox was not what anyone would call emotional. Not much moved him one way or the other. But when triggered, his anger could be a feral thing. It could pound inside him like a heartbeat, driving him to hurt; avenge; kill. Right then, it did exactly that. And his demon encouraged him to act on it.

Grinding his teeth as he fought to keep a lid on his rage, he examined Raini’s wound. Seeing that she was fully healed, he released her hand and scooped her up. “Did you get a good look at the person who threw the dagger?” he asked Carmen.

“Yes, his astral self was popping in and out of view. I didn’t recognize him.”

His demon hissed again, still pressing Maddox to go search for the fucker who’d hurt their anchor. But there was no way Maddox could leave her right then.

As he carefully laid her on the sofa, she looked up at him, her eyes hooded. “It stripped my power from me.”

“What did?”

“The dagger. It took my power from me. Like a magnet.”

His inner entity froze. The last thing any demon needed to be was vulnerable. Right now, Raini was as good as human. “There’ll be a way we can return it to you.”

She weakly shook her head. “I already took it back.”

Maddox blinked. “You took your power back?”

“It was mine.” Her eyes fluttered closed. “Brace yourself. My Prime, my girls, and their guys will be here soon. Good luck with that.” And then she was out.

“She’s right,” said Hector, “they’ll come.”

Carmen nodded. “And they won’t be happy that I took her.”

Maddox looked from one sentinel to the other. “Wait for them outside. Bring them up here when they arrive.”

Carmen hesitated to leave. “I apologize for failing you. Failing her.”

“You didn’t fail anyone,” said Maddox. “You did exactly as I told you to do. You saw she was in danger, and you brought her to me.”

Carmen swallowed and then followed Hector into the elevator. The metal doors slid closed, and Maddox found himself alone with his anchor.

He sat beside her on the sofa and lifted her head to rest it on his thigh. She didn’t stir or make a sound. He wasn’t surprised. If she’d fought whatever power was in that dagger, she’d have expended a whole lot of psychic energy—that was always draining.

Seeing her this way only increased his demon’s fury. It wanted blood. Wanted vengeance. It would get it at some point, but not right then.

Maddox sank his hand into her soft hair and glided his fingertips along her scalp. He allowed himself to touch her occasionally, wanting her to get used to his touch. But he hadn’t tried to take it further, because he wanted her to feel comfortable around him; wanted her to trust him. More, he wanted her to realize that his wish to have her in his life wasn’t about sex.

He’d done his homework on Raini. Very in-depth homework. He knew a lot about her, including that she didn’t particularly like being a succubus. More to the point, she didn’t like that so many of the men who pursued her only did so because they were caught up in the succubae spell.

Many coveted her like one would a shiny, expensive car. They sought to claim her. Possess her. Own her. Some had even been so deeply ensnared that they’d become obsessed with her.

If Maddox had guessed correctly, she worried that he only wanted her around because he was caught up in the sexual, compelling allure she radiated. She worried that he didn’t truly care about her safety or well-being; that he was simply subconsciously driven to have her in his life, like many others were before him.

He got that. He could understand it. Little did she know, but he was resistant to compulsions—including that of succubae, no matter how powerful they were. That didn’t mean he didn’t want her in his bed.

A man would have to be dead not to want Raini Campbell. She was beyond beautiful. Bedroom eyes. Long, thick lashes. Plush mouth. Perfectly symmetrical face. Flawless skin. Full, round breasts. Shapely legs. Curves that made a man think of sex and sin.

Maddox would make his move eventually, but not until she trusted that he wasn’t under the influence of the allure she radiated.

Hearing the whir of machinery, he lifted his head. Soon enough, Hector stepped out of the elevator. Behind him were Raini’s coworkers, Knox Thorne, and three of Knox’s sentinels. Their eyes went straight to the woman sleeping on the sofa, her head still resting on Maddox’s thigh.

Harper eyed him. “Your sentinel said her wound is healed.”

“It is,” Maddox confirmed, again stroking his fingertips along Raini’s scalp.

“Was it necessary for your demon to take her?”

“She needed healing, so yes. I won’t apologize for putting her before what you would have wanted.”

“You can’t only be her anchor when it suits you.”

He didn’t credit that statement with a response. He wasn’t going to justify himself to Harper Thorne or anyone else.

Devon crossed to the sofa and gave him a small smile. “Thank you for healing her. She’s very important to us, you see, so we’re a little on edge after seeing her be hurt.”

The hellcat settled on the other end of the couch and placed Raini’s feet on her lap. Harper perched herself on the armrest while Khloë sat on the floor and put her hand on Raini’s leg.

Noting how disapproving the males looked at the sight of the women so close to Maddox, he almost snorted. They were safe from him purely because they meant something to Raini.

He looked at Knox. “I don’t suppose you managed to kill the demon who attacked, considering he was astral projecting.”

The Prime shook his head. “But we have the dagger.” He stepped closer to Maddox and held up the blade. There were no smears of blood, so Knox must have wiped it clean. There were, however, strange runes carved into the steel—some of which Maddox had seen before.

“An incantor either made that dagger or simply inscribed the runes onto it,” said Maddox. “That blade wields magick, which explains why Raini said it stripped her power from her.”

Devon gasped. “Stripped her power?”

“She took it back, which is probably why she passed out.” Maddox noted that none of the women looked surprised to hear that Raini had been strong enough to wrench it back. Knox and his sentinels, however, exchanged a look.

The elevator whirred to life again. Moments later, Carmen walked into the office swiftly followed by Jolene Wallis and two of her sentinels.

Jolene’s gaze locked on a pale, unconscious Raini. Like that, her expression hardened, and the walls of the building began to tremor.

“She’s okay, Grams,” Harper quickly assured her.

Jolene’s eyes snapped to Maddox. “Her wound?”

“Healed,” Maddox assured her.

The tremors slowly settled. “You’re handy to have around,” Jolene told him. Her mind then touched his. Of course, that won’t stop me from peeling the flesh from your bones if you hurt her.

She will never come to any harm while with me, said Maddox.

Jolene turned to Knox. “I want to know exactly what happened.”

“What happened,” began Knox, “was that Raini got caught in the crossfire. The demon who threw this dagger was aiming for me. He hit her by mistake.”

Taking the blade to examine it, Jolene frowned. “Why throw this at you? It’s not as if a stab wound is likely to kill you. And what the hell are these marks on the steel?”

“Maddox believes they were made by an incantor,” replied Knox. “According to Raini, that dagger stripped her power from her, but she took it back.”

“She did?” asked Jolene, looking appropriately surprised, but Maddox wasn’t buying it. As a very proficient liar, he knew when he was looking at someone just as skilled at it.

“There are demons who make a living stealing abilities from others and selling them on the black market,” Maddox cut in. “Some work alone; some are part of very profitable businesses. It could be that the person who threw that dagger meant to steal and sell your abilities,” he said to Knox.

“I know of someone from another lair who was once targeted in such a way,” said Jolene.

Her sentinel frowned at the blade. “But how can that store power?”

“You would have to ask an incantor how it works,” said Maddox. “Allegedly, such weapons suck in a demon’s concentration of power. Later, the weapon is emptied. Each of the abilities manifest themselves as orbs of glittering dust. Or so I’m told.”

“And how would the orbs be passed onto someone else?” asked Khloë.

“If what I’ve heard is correct, only the dagger can impart a power into a person,” replied Maddox. “The ability is drawn back into the blade, which then pierces the ‘buyer’s’ skin to pass it on. But … an ability won’t integrate itself into a demon’s psyche unless that psyche was built to control it, so the effect is usually only temporary. The power can even corrupt and kill a demon if they’re too weak to hold it.”

Devon’s brow furrowed. “Then why would people bother to buy them? Where’s the sense in taking the risk?”

Tanner looked at her. “People will risk a lot of things for power.” He slid his gaze to Knox. “It’s possible that the demon tried stealing your powers simply because he knows you’re powerful—he might have even done it on the off-chance that the rumors are true and that you can conjure the flames of hell. But there’s also a chance that someone hired him to specifically target you.”

Jolene nodded. “If that’s the case, they might try again, Knox. You should keep your guard up.”

“I always do,” said Knox.

“I’ll show the dagger to Ella,” said Levi. “She may be able to tell us who enchanted it.”

“She’s an incantor?” Maddox asked him.

Levi only nodded.

Turning to Jolene, Knox held out his hand for the dagger.

Jolene closed her hand tight around the hilt. “Raini is one of mine; this injured her.”

“Yes, it did,” Knox allowed. “But it wasn’t meant for her, it was meant for me. And Tanner’s right, whoever used it could make another attempt to target me. I intend to find them before it happens. I don’t want anyone else getting caught in any crossfire. I’m happy for us to work together on this, but I need that dagger or Levi can’t show it to his friend.”

Jolene very reluctantly handed it over, but not before her sentinel took multiple pictures of it with his cell phone. She looked at Maddox. “I suppose you’ll do your own investigation.”

“I suppose I will,” said Maddox. He wasn’t surprised that neither Prime proposed the three of them work together on this. They didn’t entirely trust him. He wouldn’t trust him either. Maddox was loyal to few people. One of them happened to be the woman who was stabbed by that dagger, so he would of course seek to find out who enchanted it.

Knox narrowed his gaze on Maddox. “If you discover who was behind this before we do and you manage to get your hands on them, don’t kill them. I’ll have questions for them.”

“As will I,” said Maddox. But would he let them live a while? Only for the purpose of torturing them. Whether or not he called Knox would really depend on his mood.

After they spoke a little more about the dagger, people made moves to leave.

When Harper asked Levi to carry Raini, Maddox shook his head and said, “I’ll take her home.”

The sphinx’s nostrils flared.

Before she could object, he pointed out, “You don’t know the code for her house alarm anyway.”

“And you do?”

“Yes.”

That didn’t seem to please Harper at all. “Does Raini know that?”

“Of course.”

Harper’s lips thinned. She opened her mouth—no doubt to give him shit—but then her eyes turned inward, and he suspected she was having a telepathic conversation. Harper abruptly snapped her mouth shut and slid her grandmother a put-out look. “Fine,” she finally bit out.

Maddox wondered why Jolene, of all people, would ask Harper to let it go. But he didn’t enquire as to why. He simply stayed where he was.

As the group was too large to fit into the elevator, Hector escorted Knox and his companions out of the office first and then came back for Jolene and her sentinels.

Once the elevator began its descent, Carmen blew out a breath and turned to Maddox. “I think it’s safe to say you haven’t been welcomed into the fold yet. Which pisses me off, because you healed the little imp.”

“But I didn’t do it out of kindness or concern for Khloë, I did it for Raini,” Maddox pointed out. “And I extracted a fee of sorts from her.”

“Do you think they’d prefer to have you out of the picture?”

Maddox shrugged. He really couldn’t care less. “I don’t see how it matters one way or the other. I’m firmly in the picture now. I’m not going anywhere.”

Hector teleported back to the office. “They’re gone.”

Intent on making enquiries about the dagger, Maddox said, “Let’s get her home.” He carefully slid both arms under Raini and cradled her against his chest.

They teleported to her house. All descendants possessed the ability to teleport. He suspected that was due to their angelic blood, since angels were also able to teleport—something they referred to as “wavering,” since the air itself wavered when they appeared or disappeared.

In her bedroom, Maddox flipped back the coverlet and laid her on the mattress. He tugged off her shoes and, knowing she wouldn’t want to wake to find herself still dressed in bloodstained clothes, he took off her tee and jeans. The sight of her in only her underwear went straight to his cock, making it twitch and swell.

With a silent curse, he dragged the coverlet over her, felt the air chill … and realized her eyes were now open. But it wasn’t Raini looking at him, it was her demon. And he could see the agitation in those obsidian eyes.

He slanted his head. “You’re not very happy with me, are you?”

“You think you can control the bond’s call if you control her,” it said, its tone flat and cold. “You are wrong. You are also wrong if you believe she is truly under your control. She has too much fire for that—she just hasn’t let you see it yet. But if you push her too hard, she will push back. Harder. Then you will finally see what you have so far failed to realize.”

“And what’s that?”

The demon smirked. “She can kill you easier than she can breathe.” It then retreated, and those eyelids fell closed once more.

Hector sidled up to him. “What do you think it meant by that?”

Maddox pursed his lips. “I have no idea.”

“Do you think it was bluffing?”

“What I think … is that my anchor has secrets.” But then, so did Maddox.