Lethal Rider

Stubborn jackass. “Has it occurred to you that not all of your servants are loyal? One did give me the drugged wine.”

“That was a doppelganger. My vampires are loyal.”

She stared upward, hating that she was going to give him ammo for his my vampires are loyal thing. “There were two daywalkers. One of them saved me from the other. He said he was going to take me to you.”

Than smirked. “See?” Then his smirk fell away, replaced by a hard, grim line. “What were my vampires doing there?”

Crap. She’d walked right into this. “The Aegis captured them,” she muttered.

“They what?” She took an involuntary step back at Than’s shout. “You told The Aegis about my daywalkers?” He pinned her in place with a gaze as piercing as an arrow. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, given your history of betrayal. You Aegi just can’t stop looking for ways to fuck with us, can you?”

There was no arguing with that, because he was right. She wished she could change so much of what had happened, but the best she could do was protect the innocent life that had come as a result of The Aegis’s machinations.

A fist pounded on the door and she jumped. Ares didn’t wait for an invitation. He shoved open the door, and once he was inside the room became impossibly small. She hadn’t seen either Limos or him since Limos’s wedding night … all communication with the Horsemen had been through Kynan, and she had no idea how he felt about her. Oh, she knew he was on board with making sure the baby was safe, but he might very well hate her as much as Thanatos did.

“Is everything okay?”

“Obviously,” Thanatos snapped, “I haven’t killed her, so yeah, everything’s okay. You don’t have to hover.”

Please hover …Regan casually shifted toward Ares. Maybe he’d get her out of here and back to headquarters. Although if Thanatos could sense the baby, he could find her wherever she went. She needed some sort of ward.

Thanatos’s gaze zeroed in on her like a hawk’s, and although he didn’t move to block her, she got the impression that he was ready to spring if Ares tried to snatch her.

“We have to keep Regan safe.” Ares held his hand out to Regan. “Now, let me take her back to The Aegis.”

She started to move toward him, but Thanatos put himself between her and Ares. “She stays here.”

“Not an option,” Ares growled. “There’s a reason you live out here in the middle of nowhere. Humans aren’t safe around you.”

“I would never kill my own child,” Than said. “How can you think that?”

“I don’t think you would,” Ares said softly. “Not intentionally. But sometimes after you go to a scene of death, you return home still in a murderous rage. Do you remember how we had to get Cara away from you once?”

“This is different. Cara isn’t my child.” Thanatos hit the wall with his fist. “If the situation were reversed, if Cara was pregnant with your son, would you let her out of your sight? Would you let her go somewhere where she could be vulnerable to Pestilence?”

“Never,” Ares admitted. “But there’s no danger that I would accidentally kill her.”

“Thanatos,” Regan said, “The Aegis has protected me for almost nine months. They can handle another couple of weeks. Even with tonight’s breach, I’m safer there than here with your vampires.”

“I’ll get to the bottom of that. My vampires won’t touch you again.”

She snorted. “Just let me go back. You said you can sense the baby, so I’ll never be out of your reach.”

“I’m not stupid, Aegi. You’ll use Aegis magic or some shit to ward yourself so I can’t sense my son.”

She hoped the guilty heat in her cheeks didn’t show. “That’s silly.”

“Than,” Ares said, “let me take her. It’s best that you don’t get attached to the child.”

“Why not?”

Oh, God, Regan did not want to do this. Not while he was so worked up.

“Why not?” he repeated, this time making his question sound like a threat.

“Because I’m not keeping it.” Taking a deep, bracing breath, Regan stepped forward. “Someone else is going to raise this baby.”

* * *

Unfuckingbelievable.

Thanatos stared at Regan and Ares in disbelief. He wasn’t even sure he could find his voice. So instead of talking, he jammed his hands through his hair and paced. The awful tension was winding up to a fever pitch inside him, part anger, part global violence and death, part sexual need. If the way Ares was clenching and unclenching his hands was any indication, he was feeling the tension too. Battles must be on the rise somewhere.

Sure enough, as Than stalked around, trying to keep his head on his shoulders, Ares wheeled toward the door. “I have to go. I’ll send Limos.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“We’ll talk about this when I get back.”

“Fuck that,” Than bit out. “Why are you siding with Regan over me?”

Ares slammed his fist into the doorjamb, but he didn’t turn back to Than. “Believe it or not, brother, we’re doing all of this for you. What would you do if something happens to that baby, either because of you, or because it was vulnerable to Pestilence? I know what it’s like to lose a child, and I swear by all that’s unholy, I’ll prevent the same from happening to you. You and that baby are our priority, and until Regan gives birth, she’s part of that deal.” Ares stalked out of the room, leaving him alone with Regan.

“Listen to me, Thanatos—”

“Tell me, who is this someone else you want to raise my son?” A long silence stretched, and the temper Ares was talking about cracked wide open. “Who?”

“There’s no need to shout,” she snapped.

He sauntered toward her, and although her eyes flashed with fear, she stood her ground, even as he came up against her so her swollen belly touched his. “You are carrying my son. You can’t expect me to sit idly by while you throw him away like garbage after you’re through with your scheming.”

“How dare you assume that I’m throwing this baby away!”

“What else am I to assume? Do you want this child?”

Her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment. “I’m not mother material.”

“That’s not an answer. Let me put it another way. When you set out to seduce me, did you want this baby?”

She hesitated, glancing away before meeting his gaze. “No.”

Her answer widened the fissure in his temper. No child, intentionally conceived, should be unwanted. “So the child is nothing but a tool for The Aegis. A pawn. And you’re nothing but a brood mare.”

“That’s a little harsh.”

“Then soften it for me.”

She took a step back, and he moved with her, keeping the pressure on. “I volunteered to save the world.”

“You volunteered to play whore for your colleagues,” he growled, taking a perverse pleasure in her gasp of outrage. “So here’s the deal. You will remain here until you give birth, and then you’ll leave the child with me while I decide your fate.”

“Go. To. Hell.” She doled out the words like rare Neethul throwing stars, each barbed and edged with acid.

“You took my seed through trickery. You won’t take my child, too.” He got down in her face. “Was it your idea? Or when The Aegis came up with the proposal, were you so desperate for a cock that you jumped at the chance to fuck me? How many men have you fucked for your job? How often has The Aegis whored you out?”

She slapped him so hard he took a step back. “How dare you?”

“How dare I?” He snared her wrists and flattened her against the wall, although he tempered his strength, unwilling to jostle her. “Are you really going to play the self-righteous, wounded party? You stole from me, Regan.