Curse of the Fallen by Eve Archer
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dominick
“You’re sure about this?” Rami asked, as Tamiel led us through the back of the club, winding through corridors that were considerably less glamorous than the front of the club that was seen by guests. In the bowels of the building, the walls were dull gray, and the floors made of concrete, flickering fluorescent lights sending a sickly, yellow cast over everything.
“I’m sure.” I might have found Ella, but it wasn’t lost on me that Jaya and her demons had been the driving force behind her being taken. The Solano family might have been involved, but I knew the succubus enough to know that she’d manipulated them for her own desires, like she always did. Mateo wasn’t smart enough to see past her beauty and allure, although I suspected he wasn’t smart enough to see past much. The younger son, Anthony, struck me as cleverer, but even he’d allowed himself to be used by the she-demon.
Anger burned inside me as I thought about the rival family, but there would be time to deal with them later. Right now, I needed to deal with Jaya.
We finally reached the end of a narrow hallway, and Tamiel ducked into his office, holding the door for me and Rami and then shutting it behind us.
The room was not your typical club owner’s office. For one, there was no desk. If the handsome and fun-loving Tamiel ever did paperwork, it wasn’t here. Instead, the room reminded me of a private spa suite with a sunken hot tub to one side, the water bubbling and sending up steam, and a glassed rainforest shower taking up a corner. A fireplace burned in the opposite wall, a pair of sumptuous chairs flanking it with a well-stocked bar cart between them, and the crisp scent of eucalyptus tickled my nose.
The demon standing in the middle of the room looked as incongruous as the room itself, the sneer on her face defiant even as two Fallen held her arms tightly. “I thought you were busy with your human.”
Rami and I had managed to fight back Jaya and her demons before they’d entered the VIP room, but I’d been more focused on making sure Ella was safe than about finishing off her and her attackers. Luckily, my other Fallen had caught her before she could make yet another skillful escape.
“You don’t need to concern yourself with her any longer,” I said, my voice steady and smooth as I walked closer to the seductive demon I knew so well.
Jaya tossed her head, flipping her black hair behind her bare shoulders. The glow from the fire bounced off her tan skin and caught the red glint in her eyes as she stared at me intently. “I never cared about her, Dominick.”
It was hard to keep the memories at bay when I was so close to her, although they were probably not the same ones she kept alive. I’d spent so many nights entwined with her sweaty body, fucking her every way possible. Despite the pleasure it had brought me, I’d been punishing myself by letting the succubus quench her sexual desires. When I looked at her now, I didn’t see the desirable she-demon, whose mere glance could render a man powerless to her seductive allure. I only saw the demented creature who could never be satisfied, and who left a trail of men in her devastating wake.
“You never cared about me, either” I told her. “You only want to possess me, and you hate to lose.”
“She’s a human,” Jaya spat out, her voice thick with bitterness. “You can’t possibly be fulfilled by what she can do to you.” She eyed me up and down. “I know you, fallen angel. You have dark desires and unmatched stamina. How could a human ever be a celestial being’s match?”
“I’m not concerned with what she can do for me.” I shook my head. “You wouldn’t understand.”
Jaya scoffed. “Don’t tell me you’re becoming more of your angelic self again. Your fallen side was always much more fun.”
Rami shifted beside me, his impatience evident.
“I have never stopped being an angel.” I glanced to my fellow Fallen in the room. “None of us have. We remain divine beings. We just happen to dwell among humans—and demons.”
“For now,” Jaya said in a sing-song voice. “Your little human was surprised to hear that you might be able to return to the celestial realm. Even more surprised to hear that she was the key to all of it.”
I stilled, as did everyone else in the room, all eyes sliding to me. I curled my hands into fists. “You told Ella about the prophecy?”
Jaya smiled at me, clearly delighted that she’d finally gotten a reaction from me. “It seemed like the right thing to do, since you didn’t have the balls to do it.”
Rami put a hand on my arm as a warning, but I simply glanced at him and smiled. I refused to let the demon goad me into rage. She wanted me to react and lose my temper. She fed off sex, but unlike any other succubi or incubi I’d met, she also fed off hatred and fury. Her eyes glimmered with anticipation as she watched me, her tongue licking her bottom lip.
“I should thank you, Jaya.”
The hunger in her eyes faded. “Why?”
“You’ve made me realize just how much I love Ella and how little I care about the prophecy. When I first met her, her angel’s trace consumed me. How did she get it? How did she find me? What did it mean? But as I’ve torn across the world tracking her and learning more clues about her connection to the divine, I’ve felt my own divinity return. She means more to me than any prophecy or even potential redemption, because being with her is redemption enough.”
Jaya’s eyes narrowed, and she pressed her lips together, jerking her head away from me. My confession wasn’t what she’d hoped to hear, and my profession of love had dampened her hunger for my rage.
“Now I need you to tell me when you first learned about Ella and what other demons might be after her.”
She swung her head back to me. “You think it’s us demons you need to worry about?”
“We have been battling you at every turn,” Rami said. “Don’t try to pin this on the Solanos.”
Jaya laughed. “Now that’s funny. Those men were so easy to bend to my will it almost sucked all the fun from it. Not that they put up much of a fight when I suggested a move against you. Mateo lost interest after you tossed him from your house, but Anthony’s need to impress his father came in handy. He was more than willing to abduct your girl, especially since he took an interest in her himself.”
Jealousy stirred deep within me, but I’d seen no indication that Ella had formed an attachment to Anthony. She hadn’t been anywhere near him when I’d burst into the VIP room, and he’d made no attempt to return to her side.
“I’ll deal with both of them.” As much as I wanted to punish them, I couldn’t kill the men. They were the sons of a rival don, and they’d been nothing more than the pawn of a vindictive demon. I’d make them suffer, but I wouldn’t kill them. “But first I need to finish this.”
Jaya’s lips curled into an evil smile. “You’d better hurry, Don Vicario. I doubt you have long to save her.”
My breath caught in my throat, but I shook my head. “You can’t fool me as easily as you fooled the Solanos.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “It can’t be too hard, if one of your own Fallen has been betraying you and you still believe him to be loyal.”
Sharp breaths were sucked in throughout the room. For the first time since I’d been brought to the demon, my control slipped. I lunged forward and grabbed her by the neck. “Do not talk about my brethren.”
“Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you,” she managed to say. “I told Dan that killing her was a mistake, but you Fallen are a stubborn bunch.”
I dropped her and stumbled back. “Dan?”
I spun to face Rami, whose expression was stricken. Dan had been one of my most trusted warriors since before the fall. He’d been one of the first to agree to my pact and pledge his loyalty. He’d also been the only one with Ella when she’d been taken. And he was the one who’d offered to escort Ella and Sara out tonight.
I didn’t wait another moment before tearing from the room with Rami and Tamiel close at my heels, Jaya’s maniacal laugh echoing behind us.
