“Hadriel?”
“He’s a twat, but it’s his power that keeps The Nether from crumbling, and also what created the fucking prison in the first place. I hope he’s rotting alone down there in Hell.”
“Lucy,” Axel growled. “Who is he?”
Lucifer clenched his jaw. “I think that’s Bishop, but it’s not him we need to worry about. Wherever Bishop is, Gideon isn’t far behind.”
“Why would we be worried about Gideon?”
“Because while Hadriel reigned over The Nether as some sadistic god, it was Gideon who held control over the Daemons.” Lucy’s usual flamboyant personality dimmed beneath a flash of sorrow. “He was the fucking king. If Gideon has Sam…” He let his voice drift off.
“This is bullshit!” Axel said in a burst of frustration, his beast crawling at his insides. “I don’t care who these fuckers are, we’re getting Sam back. Where the fuck is your fight, batboy?”
Lucifer growled, his wings bursting from his back to knock Sythe to the side.
“I never said I was giving up! Sam’s my friend too you little –”
“Enough!” Riley snarled. “Everyone take a breath. We’ll get Sam back.” His last sentence was aimed at Axel, who vibrated with excessive energy as he paced, unable to look at the CCTV footage any longer.
“What about Payne?” Titus said, his voice quiet and controlled, a stark contrast to the rising tension in the room. “Has she woken up?”
“Yep, and she’s pissed,” Sythe said. “No lasting injuries, but she doesn’t remember anything.”
“She’s lucky,” Jax grunted. “Last I checked there’s twenty-five dead and still counting. What about the guy downstairs?”
“Nothing from him,” Kace added. “He’s silent.”
Axel scrubbed a hand down his face, panic and frustration strangling his lungs as he swallowed past the needles in his throat. He couldn’t just stand there, discussing the situation so casually while every passing second Sam could be hurt. Or worse.
Slipping out of the room, Axel made his way back downstairs, Lennon barely acknowledging him as he approached. Axel reached down to grip his jaw, his mouth opening with a click.
“Fuck’s sake.”
There was no tongue, just a blackened muscle that had been crudely sliced.
“No wonder you haven’t talked,” Axel growled, releasing his hold. “Interesting way to keep your silence.”
Lennon’s head dropped, loose around his shoulders. With a frown Axel crouched down, moving closer. Lennon’s mouth twisted, sweat coating his forehead. Hours Axel had beaten him and not even a flinch, and yet now he sat there squirming. Blood was a faint scent, and dropping his gaze Axel found Lennon’s hands wet, his fingernails loose as he scratched them over and over again against the chair to leave red smears.
“You need a fix,” he said matter of factly, recognising the signs as he reached to grip Lennon’s jaw once more, his eyes not tracking. “Okay, we’re going to make a deal. You’ve taken someone that’s mine, so you’re going to take me to exactly where they’re holding him.” Axel’s grip tightened, hard enough he felt Lennon’s bones groan. “If you don’t, I’m going to peel every inch of your skin from your bones and watch as the drugs you crave slowly corrodes your mind. Understand?”
Chapter27
Sam
Sam closed his eyes, letting out a slow, unsteady breath.
The scents of dust, damp, and dirt.
The sounds of rapid heartbeats, cries of pain and inconsistent thunder as something rumbled high above.
It was too much.
Everything was too much.
“Do something, Samion!”
“You know I can’t control it!” Sam hissed at his father, his hold loosening on the weeping man at his feet. The shifter wailed and shook, pupils blown as his fist gripped an empty canister and deflated balloon.
