The Darkest Pleasure

He thought perhaps he'd subconsciously entertained a ray of hope that one day he could make Danika his, totally and completely, without worrying that he would hurt her, need her to hurt him or that she would become a killer afterward. Foolish hope. Hated hope. Truly a demon.

It's for the best, he assured himself. His angel deserved only goodness. She deserved a gentle man, someone who would make her laugh. Someone who would not fill her with disgust. With herself, with him.

Just like that, jealousy awoke inside him, a beast far more ferocious than Pain, screaming inside his head, scratching at his skull.

'You're squeezing my hand,' Danika said on a pained gasp.

Instantly he relaxed his grip. 'I am sorry.' Would he ever be able to let her go?

'I'm tougher than you think,' she said. 'I'd just rather not face one of your friends with my bitch-slap hand broken.'

She meant the words as a joke, probably hoping to lighten his mood, but he took them to heart. Here, in the fortress, she needed every ounce of her strength. His friends were a threat to her well-being, and she would never be welcomed as Ashlyn and Anya ultimately had been. Fighting to bury a swell of emotions, he lifted her palm and placed a gentle kiss on the inside of her wrist. 'I will be more careful with you, I swear it.'

A shiver moved through her.

They reached the end of the hall and stopped. Torin's door was closed. Muffled voices carried through the wood. Laughing voices? Reyes's brows drew together as he knocked. The voices ceased abruptly.

Cameo opened the door and Reyes was momentarily rendered speechless with shock. Beautiful as always, petite and dark headed and a vicious warrior only a rare few had been privileged enough to witness in battle—and live to tell the tale—she usually remained alone or in the shadows while at the fortress. Not by choice, he thought, but because the men could not be around her without wanting to kill her. She carried all of the world's misery in her silver eyes and tormented voice.

He'd never heard her laugh before, had never seen her smile. Or not since those long-ago days before they'd opened dimOuniak. That he'd now witnessed both here, and with Torin, who could not touch another living thing skin to skin—even an immortal—was shocking. Torin usually avoided women like the very plague he harbored inside his deceptively healthy-looking body. He could not have one, so did not usually tempt himself with the presence of one.

What the hell was going on?

'What do you want?' Cameo asked.

Dear gods, the agony. Listening to her was like sinking into a nightmare.

'Why am I suddenly eyeing the hilt of your dagger and hoping to plunge it into my chest?' Danika whispered, confused and a little dazed as she gazed at the female warrior.

To his knowledge, she had not crossed paths with the female warrior last time she'd been here. Which meant this was her first encounter with Misery. The first was always the hardest. 'Cover your ears and close your eyes.'

For once, she didn't question him and rushed to obey.

'I need to speak with Torin,' he told Cameo.

She propped her hip against the door frame. 'Well, you can come back later. I was here first. This your woman?'

'Yes,' he said, adding without pause, 'You can come back later.' He had to glance away. His chest was hurting, and not in a good way. Was a…romance brewing between Cameo and Torin? Stranger things had happened, he supposed. Like Danika, staying here with him when she could have run again.

'She's pretty.'

Exquisite, if you asked him. 'Leave, and I will give you the black dagger you admired. The one hanging on my bedroom wall.'

Anticipation instantly showered her features. Damn, he'd been looking at her again. The ache returned to his chest. He rubbed the spot just above his heart as Cameo flicked a glance over her shoulder, paused, then faced him once more.

'Fine. I'll go,' she said, and stepped around him. As she disappeared down the hall, she called, 'But I'm coming back in a few, so make it quick.'

Reyes reclaimed Danika's hand—he couldn't go long without touching her in some way—her icy skin heating again. She opened her eyes, those magnificent green angel eyes that both cut him and soothed him.

'What happened?' she asked, still a bit dazed.

'Cameo is the keeper of Misery.'

'Ah. That explains a lot. Poor woman.'

Lips twitching, Reyes led her into Torin's bedroom. A sophisticated computer system consumed the far wall. Monitors flashed different colors and scenes, some displaying the steep hill their fortress rested upon, some the city and its people.

Torin rested in a swivel chair, facing them, arms locked over his chest. He had white hair and green eyes, a shade darker than Danika's, that gleamed wickedly. 'What?' he said in the same put-out tone Cameo had used.

'Is there something you want to tell me?' Reyes asked him.

Torin's gaze swept over Danika, intent, before returning to Reyes. 'Something you want to tell me?'

'No.'

'Well, there's your answer. Why are you here?'

'My family,' Danika said, urgency now humming from her. She stepped forward, caught herself and inched back. 'Do you know where they are? Aeron mentioned a small town in Oklahoma.'

'That info could have been useful a few hours ago.' Torin turned and faced his computers. His skill with them was the reason the warriors were so well moneyed. 'The guys and I had a chat this morning before they left. Lucien asked me to look for that very same information. See, when you and your family were last here, I placed dye in your food.'

Reyes caressed her arm, hoping to relax her. Thankfully she did not erupt at the admission.

'Yours wore off a lot quicker than it was supposed to,' Torin continued. 'Don't know if it was because you were scared and sweating more or what. The dye was supposed to remain in your system for months. Still, your sister dropped off next, then your grandmother and then your mother. I haven't seen a glimpse of any of you in weeks. Don't worry, I know what you're thinking. I should have placed a tracking chip in your shoes, but didn't think of it until now. Live and learn.'

Reyes doubted that was what Danika had been thinking, but he remained quiet.

'Anyway, I've been at the computers for hours, searching for even the slightest glimmer. Nothing.'

Danika had stiffened in expectation—and hope?—only to sag in disappointment. He released her hand and wound his arm around her waist, willing his strength into her body. She sank against him. For comfort?

'Until,' Torin added, fingers tapping over the keyboard, 'this.'

Danika stiffened again. 'What?' Excitement dripped from the word, saturating the air.

Without glancing up from his monitor, Torin waved a hand in the air. 'You've seen Paris bake cookies, right? His skills are pathetic, I know, but that's beside the point. When you eat those cookies, they break down and seem to disappear into your system. Only, they don't disappear. There are lasting effects. Fat, cholesterol and so on.

'Our dye is a special blend of ingredients that modifies a human's body chemistry so each individual gives off a signal all her own. The lasting effects are far stronger than that of a cookie. Better, I remembered they're still traceable even when the dye itself has worn off.'

Now Reyes was the one to stiffen. Ashlyn had almost died when she'd ingested an 'ingredient' meant only for immortals.

Realizing the path his mind traveled, Torin added, 'I wouldn't have used it on the women if Sabin hadn't already tested it on a few Hunters.'

Slowly Reyes relaxed. Danika, he realized, was breathing heavily. He squeezed her tight.

'Five minutes,' Torin said, 'and I'll have a printed map of their current location. You can call me later when you're close to them, and I'll tell you if they've moved.'