“What do you want from me?” she hissed.
Another smirk. “Notfromyou, gorgeous. It’syouI want.”
She frowned, attempting to process his words.
“Asmia!”
She heard Echo’s voice coming from outside, the shout bouncing off the concrete.
“Go, Echo! Run!”
Of course the male wasn’t going to listen. He was a soldier, not a pansy.
Echo’s response was a grunt.
It was Perfidious’s demonic laugh that amped up her fear.
“What did you do to him?”
“Don’t worry. As long as you do what I say, he’ll be fine.”
“Let him go,” she insisted.
Perfidious stepped out of the apartment, turned, looking down the hall as he lifted his hand. Suddenly Echo was standing before him, Perfidious’s hand buried deep in the male’s chest.
No! God, no!Asmia sucked in air, tried to scream but nothing came out.
The demon’s gaze returned to her. “I’ll make this simple, sweetheart. You have two choices. You take a little trip with me and the male walks away unscathed. Or…”
Echo groaned, eyes squeezing shut as agony ripped through him.
Perfidious chuckled. “Or I rip his heart out of his chest and you can mourn his dead corpse. Your choice.”
“Let him go,” she insisted. The rage built inside her, but she was unable to move, frozen from Perfidious’s control.
“Asmia, no,” Echo hissed. “Don’t you dare go with him.”
Unable to look anywhere except into Perfidious’s eyes, she saw his intentions as clear as day. He gave her a glimpse into the future. Echo lying on the ground, his heart cast aside, lifeless eyes staring up and seeing nothing.
She would not be the reason for his death.
“I’ll go with you,” she ground out. “But you have to swear to leave him alone.”
Perfidious’s hand retreated from Echo’s chest, the male falling to the ground in a heap. The demon held it up to show he wasn’t holding Echo’s heart.
“It’s time we made our exit,” Perfidious stated, holding out his hand for her.
This time when she tried to move, her legs worked. Knowing Echo’s life was at stake, Asmia didn’t attempt to escape, rather walked up to Perfidious and placed her hand in his. She shivered when he touched her, hatred boiling deep in her gut.
“Care to say goodbye?” Perfidious taunted as they stepped over Echo’s body.
“We will find you,” Echo declared, his voice so low she could hardly hear him. “I promise you, Asmia. We will find you.”
She nodded, holding the male’s gaze. Asmia could see the pain there, and it made her chest ache. He felt responsible though he shouldn’t. This was clearly her destiny, likely long ago etched in stone.
“It’s okay, Echo. I’ll be fine,” she said, oddly thinking that was the first and only time she’d ever lied to him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
