The Fighter (Book 1)

Chapter 8

Zack was silent on our journey back to the Purity building, strolling casually with my hand in his as if we had never trained–as if I had never gotten so close to his demonic personality. When I was unlocking my door, Zack tensed up. I could feel it, despite the fact that he was behind me and we had no means of physical contact at the moment.

“Something doesn’t smell right,” his voice was low, almost a growl, but maybe that was just his voice. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

“Why?”

“If someone is in there looking for you, which I think is the case, then it’ll be better that I go in since I have more arm strength than you,” he said. “It’ll just give me some peace of mind if you’re not in their direct line of fire.”

“Fine,” I sighed, leaning my back against the wall and crossing my arms over my chest. A dark shadow moved toward me from the end of the hall, disappearing into the air like water vapor. I wondered if I was dreaming it.

“Make a sound and I’ll shoot,” a hooded figure said in front of me, pressing a gun under my chin. I raised an eyebrow, letting the male pull me away from the wall. He shoved me down the hall, toward the elevator, and I let out a frustrated sigh. “Look, I’m sorry to have to do this, but-”

“This oughtta be good,” I muttered, getting the barrel of the gun pressed into the side of my neck.

“I know what you are,” he hissed in my ear. “Everyone knows. People want your blood. They want your power.”

“So, what? You’re going to lock me in a basement and drain enough of my blood to almost-kill-me, but leave just enough for me to still live? Sell it for…what? Girls? Drugs? Alcohol?” He loaded the gun. “You’d be hard-pressed to kill me. Get more shit from me if I’m living.”

“So why doesn’t your pretty ass just cooperate? Either way, I’ll get something from you.”

“Because my pretty ass has a boyfriend, and doesn’t see it fitting to let some piece-of-shit kidnapper say something I want to hear from my boyfriend and my boyfriend only,” I stopped moving, letting the kidnapper walk into me. “My boyfriend, the banished demon, and my boyfriend’s brother, the banished angel, won’t be too happy to find out about this.”

“You’re dating Zack Wells?” he sneered.

I turned around sharply, “You think that’s funny, asshole?” I jabbed a finger into his chest, “I’ll have you know that Zack Wells is the very best thing that has ever happened to me, and I’d like to see you try and be a better anything than him.”

He shook with laughter, soft laughter, like giggles. “I never believed a word from Tay’s mouth. You really are feisty,” he doubled over. I risked a glance behind me, seeing nothing. This asshole was gonna get what was coming for him.

I brought my knee into his hooded face, smiling when he cried out in pain.

“Goddammit! That hurt!!” he pulled off his hood, tilting his head toward the ceiling to stop the river of blood gushing from his nose. Despite the broken nose, he was beautiful. Like a Greek statue.

Then I felt my breath catch.

I had seen him in almost every book I’d read about the Greek gods.

“Was smashing my nose really a good idea?” he rolled his violet eyes in a smirk. I stepped back, and he stepped forward, closing the distance between us twice as much. “What the hell has Zack Wells ever done for you? He’s an Empathizer, and those shits are weird. You know I could be the best thing to ever happen to you, right?”