Lethal Rider

Disappointment penetrated her drowsy haze, but in her belly, the little pony squirmed, and she smiled. She might gripe when he kicked up a storm, but movement was a good thing, and she was always comforted when she felt him.

“Let’s find your daddy, kiddo.” Daddy. Wow. How far Regan had come from first thinking of Thanatos as nothing but a sperm donor, to being a father, and finally, a daddy.

She showered and dressed in one of the new outfits Limos had brought her, silently thanking the Horsewoman for not having terrible taste. Limos might dress in girly, bright things, but she’d chosen much less flashy clothing for Regan. The black fatigues-style maternity pants and olive and black top were neat and practical, and the black leather sandals added a feminine touch without being too dainty.

Hellhound on her heels, Regan headed to the great room, but was greeted only by silence. “Thanatos?” she called out.

A faint “In here,” came from the library, and she scooted inside to find Thanatos hunched over a large wood and leather object in the corner.

The hellhound plopped down on the floor behind her as she moved closer to Thanatos. “What are you doing?”

“Working on a project.” He glanced up, his gaze heating when his eyes met hers. She flushed, remembering what they’d done last night. “I made you some pancakes. And waffles. And bacon and eggs.” He gestured to the three covered platters on his desk. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, and you said you can’t cook.”

Her stomach growled. “I like it all. Thank you.”

She lifted one of the covers off a platter and tossed a strip of bacon to the hellhound before taking one for herself. And geez, was she really feeding demon dogs now? This baby was turning her all mushy and stupid. God, she hoped that wore off once it was born.

And once it was safely living with Gem and Kynan.

The thought that had once come so easily now made her stomach clench. She rubbed her belly, feeling the shifting movements under her palm. A foot or hand pressed up against hers, and her heart swelled.

I’d do whatever it took to make sure that being with me was what was best.

Regan wanted to be what was best. But could she make it happen?

“You aren’t eating,” Than murmured, not looking up from whatever he was doing. His hair hung down across his face, shielding his expression, but his bare arms flexed as he used slim metal tools to etch designs into hardened mahogany leather. “Will it spark your appetite to know that Viktor is innocent of plotting to kill our son?”

Thank God. She was relieved for the baby, but also for Thanatos. He’d needed that. Badly. “How do you know for sure?”

“I took him to Orelia, my tattoo artist. She didn’t find any deception in his actions. But I don’t suggest that you use your gift on his tattoo. Apparently, he wasn’t always a good guy.” Than looked over at her, one braid catching on his shoulder, and she had the urge to reach out and twirl it in her fingers. “Viktor will be taking the others one by one. Afterward, will you have a problem using your gift to read the tattoos? I was with Viktor for his, so Orelia could tell me about it, but I don’t have time to sit with everyone.”

“Of course,” she said. “It’ll be nice to be useful.” Taking a bite of bacon, she craned her neck to get a better look at what Than was doing. “Do you do this often?”

“Yep. I have a shed in the courtyard where I make historical reproductions. Keeps me calm. I need a distraction while I’m waiting for Viktor to come back with Artur.”

“He means a lot to you, doesn’t he?”

When Than didn’t answer, she reached out and ran her finger over the curved wood base of the project he was working on. “It’s beautiful. What is it—” She snapped her mouth shut, finally seeing what he was working on.

A cradle. Thanatos was making a cradle.

“What do you think?” His voice was velvet soft as he ran his palm lovingly over the smooth lines of the exposed wood rockers and then across the finely tooled artwork in the leather that had been stretched over the frame.

Regan couldn’t speak. In the silence broken only by the hellhound’s panting breaths, her gaze flicked to the designs—animals, all in a fluid Celtic style.

Finally, she found her voice, but what could she say? Could he still be hoping to raise the child himself, even after his own servants had tried to kill the baby? Even though every evil being on the planet would be gunning to kill the baby in order to start the Apocalypse?

She got it now … she so got why he’d want to keep the baby. But until the threat from Pestilence was gone, neither of them could raise this child.

She settled for, “It’s beautiful. Amazing.”

He seemed to know what she was thinking, and very gently, he gripped her shoulders and turned her to him. “I know your plans for our son. You know I hate them. But we’ve fought too much as it is, so with the time we have until he’s born, we’re going to work through this.”

“That sounds so reasonable.” She gave him a small smile. “Not at all like the man who stormed Aegis Headquarters and kidnapped me.”

“Yeah.” He blew out a breath. “I was a little worked up.”

“It’s understandable, given what I’d done to you.”

“We’re past that. You’re the one who said we need to not take the easy way out. To talk about things.”

She inhaled sharply. Was she ready to talk? He was right; she’d said they needed to. Like normal people. Yes, because an Aegis warrior with demonic powers and the fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse were perfectly normal.

“Okay,” she said, bracing herself. “Since we need to talk, I want you to know that if things go well with Pestilence… you know, we stop him…” She counted out three pieces of bacon and fed them to the hound. Than waited patiently, which was weird. “So anyway, I was thinking that maybe we could work something out with the baby.”

Swallowing hard, Than closed his eyes. When he opened them, it was as if a tiny, new light glimmered in them. “We’ll beat him, Regan. We will. For now, let’s concentrate our energy on stopping this damned Apocalypse. We’ll figure out everything else after that.”

He was such a contradiction sometimes. His uncontrollable rages could mean death for thousands, and yet, when he was calm, he was one of the most reasonable, caring people she’d ever met. She couldn’t believe she’d once thought of him as a monster with a heart of ice. Now she’d seen that heart melt at the prospect of having a family, and somehow her own heart had opened up to let him and the baby in. But what if it was too late to figure out where their relationship stood?

Regan’s stomach wrenched. “We might not have much time.”

“Not ‘might’,” he said gravely. “Don’t. While I’m dealing with my vampires and keeping you safe, Limos and Arik have been working on a plan to trap our brother, and Ares is going to arrange for Idess to take him to Azagoth.”

Right. The Grim Reaper. Last year he’d said that the guy was possibly his father, but as far as she knew, he hadn’t confirmed the theory.

“And if Azagoth isn’t your father?”

“We’ll be screwed if we fail to stop Pestilence when our son is born. The one definite we have is that I heard from your colleagues this morning. Arik said Kynan will be delivering your Guardians and the qeres today.”

For some reason, now that the Guardians were on the way, she wasn’t sure she wanted them anymore. The tension between her and Thanatos was practically gone, and at this point, The Aegis could destabilize everything. Besides, some secret part of her wanted him all to herself.

“Thanatos?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to be okay with what we’ll have to do to your brother?”

Thanatos swallowed, making his tats undulate wildly. “I’ll have to be.”

“I would think that even given all you’ve done and been through in your life, if there’s one tattoo you’ll need,