Chapter Twenty-Three

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Shock plastering his face, Enzo ducked with a muffled oath and then winked out of view, concealing himself. The flaming orb instead whacked the doorjamb, charring the paint.

Spitting a curse, Levi fisted his hands. He caught a glimpse of Dez’s limp body near the front door and had to force aside the anger that tried sweeping through him. Aware via his peripheral vision that Clyde and Larkin were trading blows, Levi went to conjure—

A crackling hot orb whooshed through the air, heading right for him. He telepathically batted it away with a flick of his hand and then blindly hurled a series of hellfire orbs—all of which halted midair and then came sailing back at him.

The fuck?

Surprised, Levi jerked to the side, but one orb’s crackling heat grazed his temple. The others crashed into the wall, and a mirror fell to the floor. Enzo had obviously purchased the ability to repel.

Fire burst into existence as Knox returned. Moments later, he was gone again, taking Clyde with him as planned.

As Larkin joined Levi in attempting to thrash an invisible Enzo with orbs of hellfire, Levi touched Keenan’s mind and asked, You have Piper? She’s okay?

I’ve got her, the incubus assured him. She has a few cuts but she’s otherwise fine.

I’ll cover the front door.Larkin took up position there, her wings spread to block the exit, as she and Levi continued to attack Enzo as a team, careful not to accidentally strike each other.

Levi remained in the mouth of the hallway, blocking Enzo’s path to not only the fire escape but to Piper. Of course, Enzo wouldn’t know that Knox had transferred her to a room within the apartment. But if he tried making a mad dash for the fire escape, he might well stumble upon her.

Enzo’s shots repeatedly came from various angles as he evidently moved from spot to spot. That, together with his ability to repel anything aimed his way, made him a hell of a difficult target. The occasional grunt of pain rang out as an orb or telekinetic wave or chips of hell-ice hit their mark, but there weren’t enough grunts for Levi’s liking.

An orb slammed into his solar plexus, knocking the breath from Levi’s lungs. Another punched his upper thigh hard enough that his leg trembled. His demon rumbled an animalistic snarl, bombarding him with sadistic images of the torturous ways it wanted Enzo to suffer.

Gritting his teeth as his skin burned, prickled, and tightened, Levi lashed out with one hard blast of telekinesis after another. Meanwhile, his blood boiled as betrayal swirled in his gut. Enzo … Shit, this was a man Levi had trusted, respected, invited into his home, and more importantly entrusted with the safety of his mate. The whole time, Enzo had meant to fuck him over in the worst way—by taking from him the only person Levi had ever loved.

So many times Enzo had smiled at her, laughed with her, watched her back … and all the while he’d meant to one day kill her. As such, Levi would feel no devastation in having to end Enzo’s life. No, this male would suffer dearly, and there’d be nothing quick about it. First, Levi needed to detain the little fucker. Which would be a whole lot easier if Enzo was visible.

Levi couldn’t rely on his other senses to track Enzo. It was impossible to listen out for the sound of footsteps when the apartment was like a goddamn warzone. He could only track the location from which orbs came zooming toward him, but it often seemed that Enzo moved at an enhanced speed straight after striking.

More flames erupted from the floor as Knox returned. Wasting no time in joining the fight, the Prime said, Clyde is now shackled in a cell.

Good. The cuffs would ensure that the nightmare couldn’t use his gifts, which meant Piper would now be free of his mental hold.

Pinning his full attention on Enzo—or, at least, on the bastard’s general direction—Levi struck hard. Larkin and Knox did the same.

Their surroundings took a large brunt of the attack. Orbs scorched the furniture and charred the walls. Framed paintings dropped to the hardwood floor with shatters of glass. A telekinetic hit sent the TV toppling backwards off the unit. Chips of hell-ice embedded themselves in the coffee table and pinged off the fireplace.

Nothing about the battle was easy. Even with three against one, it was a struggle to take out Enzo. Not simply because it wasn’t hard for the little shit to dodge blows but because he could repel them. Hell, Levi spent as much time evading his own hellfire orbs as he did Enzo’s. The same went for Knox and Larkin. Enzo didn’t really have to attack them. By repelling their blows, he was using their own gifts against them.

Still, other than to duck or weave, Levi didn’t pause or ease back. He kept up the pressure, as did the others. It paid off to some degree, going by the grunts of pain, snarls of anger, and curses of frustration that occasionally burst out of Enzo.

Levi telekinetically swept up the floor lamp and sent it sailing in the direction in which he suspected Enzo stood. There was a clang followed by a distinct grunt that made Levi’s demon bare its teeth in a feral grin.

He telekinetically lobbed more objects in that direction, but the others harmlessly fell to the floor. Levi swerved as an orb came at him from the left, but he didn’t move fast enough. The flaming ball punched his stomach, sending pain rippling through his ribs.

Inwardly cursing Enzo to hell and back, Levi sent out telekinetic slaps and punches. Some landed, some hit the wall, others rebounded back at him. He couldn’t hold back a flinch when a hellfire orb crashed into an injury on his chest. I am so done with this fucking shit, he growled.

He’s showing no signs of tiring or backing down, said Larkin, a note of pain in her voice. Her face and wings covered in burns, she sent more black chips of hell-ice darting through the air like bullets. I’d say he’s ready to die here.

He knows we’ll hunt him for the rest of his days if he escapes, Knox pointed out as a stream of hellfire poured out of his palm but hit only the wall.

He’ll still bolt if he gets the chance, said Levi. An orb abruptly slammed into his face, narrowly missing his fucking eye. He grunted when his injured thigh was slammed by a second orb. He telepathically deflected a third, knocking it off course and sending it crashing into the wall.

The adrenaline pumping through his system dimmed the pain, but not quite enough. Not now that his body sported so many blistering burns.

Larkin flapped her wings. A cold breeze sailed at where Enzo had likely stood but seemed to hit nothing. More flaming orbs were blindly lobbed by Knox. Another hail of black chips zipped through the air. Yet more telekinetic blows blasted outwards from Levi’s palm. But nothing collided with an unseen figure, nor was anything repelled.

Levi’s nape prickled with unease. Down, he told both Knox and Larkin. Trusting them to duck low, he sent out a telekinetic wave that shimmered through the air like a heatwave. No grunts, no growls, no sounds of anyone hitting the floor.

Levi’s stomach knotted. Could Enzo have somehow moved past them? Past Levi? It should have been impossible, but panic gripped Levi all the same.

His demon urging him to check on Piper, Levi telepathically—

A finger jabbed his side.

Pain crashed into his head first and then rocketed through his entire system. It was an agony he’d never before felt. It seemed to fry every synapse, sharply zap every nerve-ending, and overload … everything. His eyes felt like they’d explode. His skull felt like it would split apart. His heart felt like it would violently burst and shatter his ribcage.

The pain was so bad it turned his stomach. Almost retching, he dropped to one knee, every breath he took hurting his throat and lungs. Even as a guttural cry of sheer agony tore out of him, he sent out another wave of telekinetic energy.

There was a loud thud followed by a pained curse, and then he heard footfalls fleeing further into the apartment. His vision graying with the pain, Levi urged himself to fucking pursue … but his legs almost went out from under him when he tried to stand.

Hands clamped around his upper arms. “You’ve got to get up,” said Larkin as Knox raced past them. “Now, Levi. Up.”

Her nerves wracked by fear and dread, Piper restlessly paced up and down in front of the bed, her demon equally hyper-edgy. Even as she knew that Levi, Knox, and Larkin could take out Enzo without her aid, she hated not being part of the battle. It galled her to sit it out. But she hadn’t objected. It would be stupid, given she wasn’t at her best right now. Expending so much psychic energy fruitlessly fighting the hold that … whatever his name was … had on her mind had left her woozy.

Still, having no idea how the battle was going made it hard to stay put. She wished she could at least see what was happening. Hearing the sounds of complete chaos didn’t help in the slightest. “You have to go out there, Keenan.”

“The others have this,” he assured her, leaning casually against the wall, though anyone could see he didn’t want to be holed up in here anymore than she did.

“But Enzo can conceal himself, and he bought a gift he seemed eager to use that could cause a lot of pain,” she said.

He gave her a stubborn look. “I promised Levi I’d ensure you stayed here. He was terrified that you’d be killed, so his head was already a mess before the battle even started. If you go out there, you’ll distract him—he can’t deal with that right now. And you admitted you’re not feeling at your best.”

She exhaled heavily and halted in front of him. “I didn’t say I should go out there. Yeah, my pride is suffering here, but I’m not going to let that lead me to make dumb decisions. I’ll stay right here. You, however, could go out there.”

His brows snapped together. “What? No way. I’m staying.”

“Did you promise Levi you would?”

Keenan hesitated. “No, but I said I’d ensure you didn’t leave this room.”

“And I won’t, I swear. Help them, Keenan. Enzo obviously isn’t making this easy or it’d be over by now. He’s fought often enough with you guys to know how you fight. He’s exploiting that. After all Enzo’s responsible for, I’d say Levi might just use the death touch. I want to save him from that, because I know he’ll never forgive himself. Except I can’t do that personally. I’m asking you to do it for me. To do it for him. Please, Keenan, I’ll—”

An animal sound of pain ripped through the air.

The bottom fell out of Piper’s stomach as horror punched through her. “Levi.” Without thought, she raced to the door, yanked it open, and stumbled out into the hallway … just as footfalls came toward her. There was no one in sight, but she knew … Enzo.

Piper didn’t bother hitting him with hellfire. Instead, she yanked up her tee, exposing her stomach. She could only assume that Enzo’s eyes landed on the death ballad brand, because footfalls stumbled to a halt and then a male humming filled the air. His body flickered into view like a faulty light bulb. His dazed eyes were locked on the music score, and he didn’t seem to sense Knox coming up behind him.

She jumped as Enzo slammed face first to the floor. He was somehow flipped onto his back, and then his hands and feet were pinned in place. It was only then Piper remembered that Knox had psychic hands.

Her only concern for her mate, she dropped her tee back in place and was about to shrug past her Prime when she noticed Levi and Larkin prowling down the hallway. Relief fluttered through Piper. Both demons looked a little worse for wear. Okay, a lot worse for wear, but they were alive and in one piece—that was what mattered.

Levi’s gaze raked over her, thoroughly scrutinizing her from head to toe. In a minute, I’m gonna kiss the breath from your lungs. Right now, I’m going to deal with this piece of shit here.

She had no objections to any of that.

Twisting his mouth, Levi glared down at a still-humming Enzo. “Let’s snap him out of his daze, shall we?” He crouched down and briefly touched Enzo’s leg.

The humming abruptly stopped, and awareness bled into the male’s eyes. He blinked a few times, taking in the scene. Pure fright lit his gaze, and his entire body tensed. He jerked upward—or tried. Knox’s psychic hands held him down, but that didn’t stop the idiot from writhing and squirming so intensely his face reddened.

Piper felt a smile curve her mouth. “Doesn’t feel so good to be helpless like that, does it?”

Enzo bent his head back and tossed her a sneer even as he continued to struggle.

“I can’t tell if he really thinks he’ll get free or if he’s just trying to entertain us a little,” said Levi, a taunting note in his voice.

Panting, Enzo stilled. “I should have killed you when you were on your knees just then.”

“One knee,” said Levi, sounding remarkably calm. “And yes, you should’ve. Not that you would have managed it. If I hadn’t taken you out, Knox or Larkin would have.”

Enzo barked a laugh. “Not even three of you could kill me while working as a team.”

Levi, Knox, and the other two sentinels exchanged looks, and then all four were chuckling.

Enzo scowled. “What the fuck is so fucking funny?”

Smiling, Keenan scratched his temple. “You really have no idea what you were up against just now, do you? If they wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”

“You didn’t see how hard they struggled to get a few licks in,” said Enzo. “I had them chasing their own asses.”

“No, they were taking care not to kill you,” said Keenan. “See, we all agreed it would be more enjoyable to make you suffer for many months on end—hell, maybe even years. Centuries would be my choice.”

Piper’s demon all but cackled as the blood drained from Enzo’s face.

“It should have occurred to you before,” Levi told him. “Or had you honestly convinced yourself that you had a real shot at defeating us?”

“I ran rings around you,” Enzo snarled.

“Oh, you fought pretty well. Using gifts you purchased, so that doesn’t make you powerful. If you hadn’t been able to repel what came at you or moved at what appeared to be supersonic speed, you wouldn’t have lasted anywhere near as long as you did. And if it hadn’t been for that other ability you bought, you wouldn’t have gotten past me.”

“You couldn’t even hold Piper captive without help,” Larkin taunted. “You weren’t prepared to hurt her unless she was powerless to retaliate.” The harpy let out a sound of pure disgust. “You’re nothing.”

“You’re also wrong about Gian,” Levi told him. “He killed your father in cold blood, not self-defense. Which I would have thought you already knew, given you have access to the lair’s reports.”

Enzo’s face flushed. “It was a cover-up. My brother—”

“Wasn’t right in the goddamn head,” Levi finished. “Not even as a small kid. Your mother was scared of him. You claim you were his protector, but it wasn’t really your father you saw as the main threat to Gian. No, you wanted to protect your brother from himself. You knew he could easily do something that would land him in the Chamber. I’ll bet you even suspected he’d kill your father if given the chance.”

His lips clamped shut, Enzo shook his head wildly.

“You want to blame me for his downfall because you either can’t handle or simply refuse to face the truth of who and what Gian was. The reality is that you never could have helped him. No one could have.”

“He was a kid!”

“He was twenty-four years old. He took pictures of teenage girls,” Levi added, his voice growing colder. “He used to hang around outside their school. He kept offering them rides in his car.”

“And you twisted all that to make him seem like a sexual predator in the making.”

To Piper, it sounded like that was exactly what Gian was.

“He tried to pin your father’s murder on you,” said Levi.

Enzo froze.

“Gian claimed you telepathically talked him into it all the way from your cell in the Chamber,” Levi went on. “He said you threatened him; that he feared you; that he only went near those girls because he’d seen you follow them around and that he was ‘looking out’ for them.”

“You lie,” Enzo ground out.

“No, no lies. I never told you before now because I didn’t see the sense when it would only hurt you. Now, well, I couldn’t give a whisper of a fuck if you’re hurting. In fact, the thought does nothing but please me.”

Did Gian really do that? Piper asked, unsure if her mate was just dishing out some emotional torture.

Oh, he did it.Levi began to circle Enzo. “I knew he was bullshitting me, of course. For one thing, he wouldn’t have heard a single telepathic word you spoke while you were chained up. For another thing, I examined the death scene, I felt what he felt as he killed your father. There was no fear or panic. There wasn’t much of anything. A little excitement. A little triumph. Mostly curiosity. As if he wanted to know how it’d feel to take a life.”

Swallowing, Enzo again shook his head. “Gian wasn’t like that.”

“Sure he was. Your father’s soul only confirmed all I suspected—Gian struck while he was sleeping. Your brother didn’t kill himself because I wouldn’t listen to him. He simply didn’t want to face punishment. He smiled at me before he slit his own throat, Enzo. In his mind, he was outwitting me.”

“You’re lying! It’s all fucking lies!”

Keenan looked close to rolling his eyes. “No wonder he and what’s-his-name came together and made a deal. They’re so alike with their insistence on only seeing what they want to see.” He glanced down at Enzo. “Well, the pair of you went and fucked up.”

“I regret nothing.” Enzo flicked Piper a look. “I might not have ended her life, but I hurt her plenty over the past few months,” he taunted Levi. “I even almost killed her with that blow to the brain. She lived in fear—”

“You think you can piss me off enough to make me kill you?” Levi shook his head with a snicker. “I’m not so easy to manipulate, and you’re not as smart as you think you are.”

Enzo began to shake. “I’m not going back to that Chamber.”

Levi’s eyes bled to black as his demon took control. “Oh yes, you are. And you will stay there for a very long time. I will be a most regular visitor. I have had months to think up some … interesting plans for our time together. I think you will find them creative, albeit agonizing. Just to give you a little sample of what will soon come …” The demon hovered its hand above Enzo’s chest.

The asshole bucked with a hoarse cry, his hands fisting, his face creasing with pain. It seemed to go on and on and on, but then the entity lowered its arm.

Enzo sagged, breathing heavily, his eyes wet with unshed tears.

“He’ll be ready and waiting for you,” Knox told Levi’s demon. Flames then spurted out of the floor and surrounded both Enzo and the Prime. Mere seconds later, the two males were gone.

Levi’s demon stalked to Piper, its black eyes drinking her in. “I loathe seeing you injured, little nightmare.” It gently grasped her jaw and turned her head this way and that as it examined her face. “Every single one of those wounds will be revisited on him.”

“Don’t forget to rub chili in them,” she said.

Humor glimmered in its eyes. “That I can do.” It then retreated, and Levi’s gunmetal gray gaze once more locked on her.

He carefully drew her close, mindful of her injuries. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. She saw everything there in his eyes—his relief that she was alive, his anger that she was wounded and might have been killed, the lingering echoes of whatever panic he felt at knowing she was in danger. Considering that was a two-way street, Piper wondered if he saw the same emotions in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “I know he hurt you bad, I heard you—”

“Shh, I’m fine.” Levi dabbed a reassuring kiss to her mouth. “It wasn’t a physical injury he gave me. It was phantom pain. Hurt like a fucker, though.” He smoothed a hand up her back. “Tell me exactly what happened from start to finish.”

Piper inhaled deeply. “Well, Dez knocked on the front door …” Once she’d relayed the entire story, she added, “How did you find out that Enzo was the one who wanted me dead?”

“I didn’t. Not until Knox pyroported us inside the apartment.”

And what a nifty ability that was.

“I thought that only the nightmare was holding you hostage. We worked out that he was the killer when a guard at the prison hummed that damn song he loved and claimed Janelle’s partner often sang it.”

“Oh. I thought maybe Celeste really had known who’d targeted me.”

Levi snorted. “She didn’t have a single useful thing to say. I’ll tell you all about that conversation later. First, there’s something I need to do.”

Piper frowned. “What?”

“Head to the Chamber.”

“Wait, why?”

“I need to see for myself that the two bastards who wanted you dead are contained, baby. I trust that Knox saw to that, but I need to know it. I have to be sure that they can’t get to you again. Plus, my demon’s not going to settle until it has visual proof of that. I won’t be long. Keenan and Larkin will be right here with you.” He glanced at the harpy. “You’ll stay with her?”

“Of course,” replied Larkin. “If you guys want to sleep in my spare bedroom tonight, feel free to do so. It’s gonna take a while to clean this place up. The damage in the living room is … wow.”

“Thanks, Lark.”

As Knox returned to his side in a burst of flames, Levi pressed a kiss to Piper’s forehead and then said, “I’ll be back soon.”