“No one’s unstoppable.”
I spin her chair to face me and let my anger rise to the surface. “Listen to me, Zoe. They are. Regina can compel any human orotherwith only her voice. Force them to do almost anything she wishes. They are helpless to resist. Thorn? He is even worse. I told you I could influence my…chosen targets with my talents? See some of their thoughts?”
She nods, her lower lip trapped between her teeth.
“Thorn can seeeverything. He can force a man or woman to stab themselves in the heart with as little effort as you would spend to bat away a fly. And he lives toterrorizehis victims until they go mad from fear. Every. Single. Moment. Pure torture. These two are nothing you have ever seen. And you willnotgo up against them. Ever. You will lose, and then you will die.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Sin.” She shoves back at me, springs to her feet, and stomps over to the wall behind the commander’s desk. “This was my partner. The man who trained me.” Jabbing at Temple’s photo, she chokes back an oath. “And I had to kill him. I deserve to know why.”
“Because once you are under Thorn's thrall, you are nothing. No one. Whoever you were before? That is gone. Wiped away so thoroughly, your soul rebels and drives you insane. It is the worst kind of pain, knowing you used to be someone else—someone better—but having no memory of that time and no hope of ever reclaiming it.” My chest heaves, my throat tight. “The moment Regina first spoke to your partner—for she always initiates the contact—his death was assured. You...you showed him mercy.”
Zoe doesn’t move, her expression unreadable, but when I take a wheezing breath, I can taste her emotions. It would be so easy to glamour her, and between healing my broken bones and reliving the worst experiences of my very long existence, the temptation is strong. Turning away, I struggle for control—something I have not had to do in centuries.
“Sin.”
She’s close enough to drop her voice to a whisper. “How do you know all of this?”
My fingers shake as I shed my jacket and unbutton the cuff of my dress shirt, rolling it up to my elbow. Facing her once more, I hold out my arm. “It took me years. To scar the skin this deeply. But the ink is spelled. It returns. Every decade or so, it seeps through. When that happens, I take two weeks somewhere full of people. Somewhere wild. Las Vegas. Monte Carlo. Ibiza. Somewhere I can find a soundproofed room to hide my screams as I burn my flesh over and over again. Somewhere...I can feed to my heart’s content to replenish my strength each night until I no longer have to see the reminder of thethinghe made me into.”
Zoe’s green eyes take on a slight shimmer as she lays her hand over the scars. The familiarity of the touch, the empathy in her voice, do something to my heart I am ill prepared to handle. Emotions I have not felt since I descended into Hell flare to life, and I look away. Until her fingers tighten subtly. “You? Were…?”
“Yes. For hundreds of years, I was his slave. And the things I did...” I clear my throat when my voice cracks. “I have only scraps of memories. A blessing I am certain I do not deserve. After I fought my way free from his control, I dragged him to Hell. Both of them. But one does not simply drop two of the most powerful and vile creatures in existence at Beelzebub’s doorstep and walk away. Hell’s Prince is too cunning. Too desperate for more souls to torture for all eternity.”
Her breath hitches, and she locks her gaze with mine. “You were trapped there with them.”
Seven
Zoe
My partner has been to Hell. And not in the figurative sense. My fingers still rest over the heavily scarred skin on his arm, and I pull away, my cheeks flushing hot. “I’m...um...sorry...”
Sin waves his hand away like finding out you’re working with someone from the Underworld is an everyday occurrence. Maybe it is forhim, but not for me. “You could not have known. What remains to be seen is whether Commander Eve knew before she sent us out on this call.”
He picks up the tablet and taps the screen a few times, then gives me a curt nod. “All of the files have now been transferred to my secure online vault. I would rather not encroach on the commander’s private space any longer. There are soundproof conference rooms upstairs. We should claim one for the next few hours.”
Logic. I can work with logic. And detachment. His eyes are mostly one color again—a sapphire blue, but there’s still a hint of red surrounding them. His voice is cool and professional, and he straightens his shoulders as he buttons his sleeve, then shrugs into his jacket.
His defined muscles stretch the crisp black shirt. I shouldn’t look, shouldn’t notice, but even as shocked as I am by his admission, I’m not dead. And it’s been a long damn time.
Stop it, Zoe. He’s your partner. And a demon. Let’s not forget that part.
He pulls a keycard from his pocket. As he passes it to me, our fingers brush, and all of a sudden, it’s like someone lit candles all around the room. Light flickers over the back of his hand, and I think I hear him whisper, “Please, love. Hold on.”
“What did you say?” Jerking back, I stare up at him. “Hold on?”
“I said nothing.” Sin narrows his eyes, then nods at the rectangular piece of plastic. “That keycard works on all of the electronic locks in this building. You will need it. Even for the bathroom.”
Spinning on his heel, he heads for the bullpen, and I follow as he weaves among pairs of desks arranged in neatly defined rows. “That is yours,” he says, gesturing as he pulls out my chair.
The desk across from me is bare save for a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Nothing personal. No pictures, plants, or even a coffee cup. Mine is just as empty, but I have a photo of my grandmother and my favorite pen in my bag. It’s something at least.
“Aren’t we—“
“We are. I thought you might want to see your workspace.” Sin lifts his shoulder. “If not, follow me.”
“I don’t know about you, but I need coffee.” I veer off when the scent of stale brew grows stronger and head into the small break room area where I promptly run right into a seven-foot-tall man withfursticking out of the cuffs of his dress shirt. Oh my God. He’s...a yeti.
“You the new recruit?” he asks. His voice is deep and scratchy, making his words sound almost like he’s growling. “Kunchin.”
