Now and Forever (Lux Series)

Trapped

Daemon PoV.

Sweat dripped from my nose as I braced my forearms on the cold leather of the punching bag. I needed some release, other than on the scum Luc was bringing in to interrogate. They were all old associates of Antony, some were gang members, international drug dealers and established politicians. My knuckles were red with blood but anger still boiled in my stomach.

Dee tentatively touched my shoulder.

"I miss her too" she whispered, "but she wouldn't want this, she left for a reason, to keep you and all of us safe."

"I can't live without her, Dee" I whimpered, I wiped the sweat from my face.

"You might have to learn to" Dee said tentatively.

"You don't mean that" I growled, "I saw how you were in those interrogations, you wanted to find answers just as much as I did."

I turned to face her. "That was before you ripped out the throat of that gang member" Dee glared. She shifted her weight, I knew despite her frail appearance that she could do just as much damage as myself. I had never and would never underestimate her. "You are burning yourself out too quickly. If you're not careful the bodies will start to pile up and even Luc wouldn't be able to hide our whereabouts from Burnie."

"I know" I said, I melted into the concrete floor. The cold concrete was a welcoming embrace as my own body pulsed with heat. I peeled off my sweat soaked vest, and threw into the floor. "But I can feel her getting further and further away, and I can't stand it Dee. I feel.....weak."

"You, Daemon Black, are not weak!" Dee bellowed. I raised my head in shock, "you have proven your strength, more times than I can count. But the solution to this isn't finding Katy." I screwed up my brows in confusion and an open question. "The solution, is to find Antony and find a way to reverse the experiment."

"What do you think we have been trying to do?" I growled.

Dee bent down and slapped my knee, I was shocked at the burst of aggression. "Don't be a smart ass!" She demanded. "I mean focus on that. Rather than worrying about something you can't change."

——————

After a cold shower, I strutted into the lounge where everyone was sitting. Luc stared at me as if he could burn a whole through my head. I gave him a wink and I could see his purple eyes going molten with anger.

"Alright then team" I announced. "What happens next?"

"Next?" Luc grumbled. "NEXT!? Thanks to your plans so far I have had to bury yet another friend of Antony's. If Antony hadn't noticed his dwindling numbers then he definitely has now!" Luc slammed his fist on the table in anger and it split in half with a huge bang.

"Luc.." warned Dawson, he sat quite relaxed but he was still studying the room and evaluating everyone's movements.

"No!" Luc interrupted, "I am not going to bite my tongue for this selfish bastard. He needs to hear that Katy isn't the only one who is lost to this monster. He has done far worse and will do far worse, if we don't find him. And if you keep destroying our plans we will never get close to him."

I sat there and let the silence drag out into a painful torturous quiet.
Dee sat up and said "What if we set up the perfect setting?"

"What the hell are you on about?" I said rubbing my eyes.

"Think about this" She stood up and began pacing, "create the perfect situation which Antony wouldn't be able to resist. Draw him out of hiding."

"You have forgotten an important thing" Beth said, "we don't know where Katy is to draw him out of hiding. He has made it very clear that he isn't willing to put all that money into creating another creature-"

"Katy is not a creature" I growled in aggression, and Dawson returned the flaring nostrils in warning.

"That is not what I meant and you know it" Beth exclaimed.

"What you said made me think" Dee gestured to myself, "you said that you can feel her getting far away but you never felt the bond snap. So she is in the country." I nodded with understanding, "but far enough to possibly have gone to the airport or the docks, but Antony would never have let her leave the country. I say we check with our contacts in the prisons to see if they have any new inmates."

"It is worth a try" Dawson spoke for the first time in several moments.

"What a bullshit plan" Luc muttered under his breath.

"It is better than any plan you can think of" I growled. I surveyed his expression and challenged his to think of something better.

He eventually gave in. "Alright" he said, "I will check will my contacts in the prisons, but I'm not making any promises."

I softened my expression.

"Thank you" I said with a genuine smile.