“Fuck, hold on!” Echo tightens his grip on my shirt, coiling the fabric to help me stop spinning, but that’s when I hear the worst sound ever.
Rip.
Fuck. No.
My shirt is tearing, and I have seconds to get up, or I am going to fall. “Do it now, Delta!” Jerif shouts, his voice cracking against my ears like a whip.
Gritting my teeth, I twist again as far as my non-limber body can take me, and Echo swings me at the same time like I’m a fucking trapeze artist. I feel more than hear my shirt ripping some more as I strain forward with all my might to reach Iceman. The shirt shreds, my body slipping down as my hand slaps onto Iceman’s when I’m swung forward, but we can’t latch on, and I swing back again and oh fuck, I’m not gonna reach, and my shirt is gonna rip right off and—
With a grunt, Echo wrenches me forward again. My body slams against the wall of the cave at the same time that Iceman’s hand slaps around my arm, and then with a heave, he hauls me up.
My stomach scrapes against the stone stairs, ripping into my flesh, but I don’t even cry out at the burn of pain. I’m too fucking relieved.
I get dragged up, face-down, right on top of Iceman. We’re both panting, Echo too from the sounds of it, and those are the only noises I can hear other than the pounding pulse in my ears.
“Are you alright?” Iceman asks, his hand still firmly on my arm. I don’t even think he realizes he’s still clutching me so tightly. My arm feels like it was nearly yanked out of its socket, but I don’t care about that either.
“Yeah,” I answer shakily as I pick up my head from his chest to look at him. “Thank you,” I tell him, my eyes pricking with tears. “Thank you,” I repeat again, my whole heart and soul pouring out into those words. That was fucking terrifying.
His blue eyes burn into me, even as the coldness of his skin seeps through his suit to calm me. “You’re welcome. I told you, Delta, we got you.”
I nod my head gratefully as his words sink into me. I almost died. Holy shit. It was so close to things being over for me, and it all happened so fast. I’m shaky and reeling, and not at all sure how to feel. I probably shouldn’t be focusing on Iceman and what’s happening between my thighs. I should probably just sit here, grateful to be alive and promising the powers that be that I’ll use the rest of my life for good. But I’m a demon, so I’m not even sure what good that would be.
“Damn, that was intense,” Crux says, running a hand over the back of his neck. “We need to put a leash on her. I’m so sorry I didn’t fucking catch you, Delta.”
I look over, snapping out of the emotions splashing through my head, and see Crux helping Echo up from the ground. The shadow demon stands and helps me to my feet, allowing Iceman to get up behind me.
“It’s not your fault,” I assure Crux. “Really. Don’t feel bad. I don’t even know what happened. I’m not usually that wobbly. I feel weird, though. Like some fucked up combo that has me feeling invincible and also like I want to cry.”
“I smell blood,” Echo interrupts, his expression pinching with a frown. “Where are you bleeding?” he asks me as his pale hands start skimming over me.
My shirt is all stretched out and ripped from the hem up to about the middle of my back. All four guys come forward to stand around me, crowding around the steps, but Iceman keeps a steady hand at the middle of my back, like he’s worried I’ll fall over the edge again.
To answer Echo’s question, I lift the front of my shirt, giving everyone, including me, a look at where my stomach is all scraped up. It looks like I have another case of road rash on top of the road rash I already had. Crux sucks in a breath. “I’m fine,” I assure him before dropping the shirt.
“You should heal quickly, especially after we get you through your Ring and hopefully remove the rest of whatever block is on you,” Echo tells me.
“She might heal, but until then, she reeks of blood. Nothing calls trouble faster than the scent of blood,” Jerif says, arms crossed in front of his chest. “She’s making everything more complicated at every fucking turn.”
My eyes flick over to him, anger rising up in me. And here I was, giving him the benefit of the doubt. I thought maybe he’d been harsh with me to snap me out of my panic and force me to act—to get moving and reach for Iceman before it was too late. But no, I’m pretty sure he’s just a dickhead.
“Sorry to inconvenience you, Jerif,” I say, my tone on the edge of scathing. “If I live long enough to meet your mom, I’ll be sure to tell her all about what an asshole she raised.”
It’s a shot in the dark, because what the fuck do I really know about his mom? Maybe she thinks the meaner, the better.
But I know I hit the mark when his eyes widen slightly, and I see it—parental panic. I had it many times when my parents were alive and I was worried I was going to disappoint them and earn a lecture. I smirk at him and turn away, seeing Crux’s grin.
“Thanks for catching me,” I tell Echo. “I’ll try not to bleed everywhere and smell up all of Hell.”
Echo snorts and takes my hand as he starts leading me down the stairs again. “Come on. Now I really want you to meet Jerif’s family.”
“Fuck off,” Jerif says before leading the way again. Crux gives me another apologetic look and then follows
