Nick scoffed. I don’t know, disembodied voice in my head. I have one heck of an active imagination. You’d do well not to underestimate it.
In his mind, Nick saw himself as he wanted to be. Confident. Suave. Sophisticated. Tough. Like Kyrian, Talon, Caleb, and Acheron. The epitome of badass respectability. Not the pathetic loser dork who banged his arms and feet into everything he passed. One who bumped his head anytime he neared low-hanging signs or plants.
Just once, he wanted to walk into a room, without tripping over nothing, and not have someone snicker or comment about his clumsy awkwardness or foul clothing.
Kill him and it’s all yours. Everything you want. You will be the very top of the food chain. No one will ever dare to mock you again.
Nick tightened his hold on Thorn’s throat. It was so tempting. All he’d ever wanted in his entire life was respect.
And the voice was correct. Right now, he saw terror in Thorn’s green eyes as he struggled against Nick’s iron grip that would not be broken. Gone was any hint of condescension or contempt. Thorn definitely wasn’t smirking now as he began turning blue and his eyes bulged.
I could kill him and no one would care. Who would miss a creature like Thorn?
No one. It would be easy.…
So very easy.
But as Nick felt Thorn’s weakening grip on his hand, he loosened his hold. I am the Malachai. The baddest beast in the land. What would killing Thorn really prove?
A truth he already knew? That he was stronger? Better?
What was the point? He didn’t need blood on his hands to show the world who and what he was. Nick already knew, and so did the people who mattered to him.
The devil take the rest. He didn’t owe them anything. And they weren’t worth his life.
Definitely not worth his soul.
Nick Gautier had nothing to prove to anyone in this, or any, realm.
But he still had people to protect. People he cared about and loved.
With that in mind, he slackened his hold to give Thorn some breathing space. “Do you yield to me?”
Thorn growled at him.
“That’s not an answer.” Nick traded hands and increased the pressure on Thorn’s throat again. “Do I really have to kill you on the front lawn of Bubba’s house? Is that truly what you want? Because, no offense, killing you is not the way to get my girl to kiss me at the end of the night. And I’d much rather snuggle with her than step over your dead body and tick her off. Pretty sure you’d rather I not kill you, too. Or am I wrong? Are you suicidal? Do we both go home happy or will I later be defacing your corpse because you got me in the doghouse?”
Thorn’s eyes glowed red in the darkness. “I will follow no one ever again. And that includes you.”
“Good. ’Cause I’m not leading. There will be no battle and you’re not being summoned to my army or to any kind of fight on my behalf. The only war I want is the solo one against my own stupidity—which seems a losing battle most days. And while I’d like to defeat that, I don’t want to end the world or you or anything other than this ridonkulous standoff.… However, I will kill you if I have to, to stop this, but I hope it don’t come to that. Honestly, all I expect is for you to crawl back to your hole and stay there like a nice demon lord. Because the next time I confront you, boy, I won’t show mercy. You will bleed and I will be in the perpetual doghouse with both the women in my life. Got it?”
Kody started for Nick, but Caleb caught her arm. She glared at the demon. Did he not understand what was going on? If they didn’t do something fast, it would be over for all of them. “Nick’s metamorphosing.”
A slow smile broke across Caleb’s handsome face. “Yes, he is.”
How could he be so nonchalant? So happy? Did he want Nick to become a bloodthirsty monster? If Nick gave in to his dark powers, Caleb would suffer as much, if not more, than she would. Especially now that Nick knew his real name.
Terrified, she glanced to Nick, who was about to finish Thorn off, then back to Caleb. “We have to stop it! If he becomes the Malachai—”
“Kody,” Caleb said in an even tone, breaking her words off. “Can you not understand what they’re saying?”
She shook her head. “It’s demonkyn. I only know a handful of words.”
“Yeah, well, I know a few more.”
All of a sudden, Nick stood and backed away from Thorn. With a glower of fury at him, Thorn slowly pushed himself to his feet. She expected him to attack Nick again.
Instead, he saluted him, then gathered his demon minions and Tabitha and her sisters, and left.
Completely confused, she stared at Nick as he went to check on Savitar and Acheron, who were still lying as lumps on the lawn. By the relieved expression on his face while he felt for a pulse, she knew they were okay.
And while that thrilled her, it didn’t take away her shock at Nick’s actions. She gaped at Caleb. “He’s in control of himself?”
Caleb nodded. “Completely. Somehow he pushed the darkness out and resisted it.”
How? It was unheard of. No one turned down Noir. And they definitely didn’t do it like this.
As Nick headed toward her, he gave her that devilish grin that never failed to speed up her heartbeat. But as fast as that smile came, it vanished with a curse. Clutching his chest, Nick fell to his knees on the lawn. Then he collapsed.
Petrified, she ran to him. “Nick?”
Arching his back, Nick screamed out. He shook all over. She met Caleb’s and Simi’s wide-eyed stares as they joined her by his side.
“What is this?”
They shook their heads in unison.
Kody knelt and placed her hand to Nick’s cheek. “Sweetie? Can you hear me?”
He bit his lip and cursed again. “It burns like fire.”
“What?”
He pulled his shirt down so that he could blow across his chest. And as he did so, an ancient symbol formed over his left pectoral. It was a circle that held Noir’s emblem on top and Azura’s on the bottom. The mark of their ownership.
But why was it appearing on his temporary body? That made no sense at all.
Swallowing hard, she met Caleb’s wide gaze. He paled instantly. “What is this, Caleb?”
“He’s marked.”
She understood that part. The demon was being evasive and she wanted to beat him for it. “Elaborate.”
Caleb shook his head slowly. “You really don’t want me to.”
“Oh, I really do.”
Caleb grimaced and continued to hedge. “Why ruin all our days?”
“Caleb!” she snapped simultaneously with Nick.
Nick reached up and grabbed the front of Caleb’s shirt. “What is happening to me?”
“Your parents want their baby home, son. And this—” Caleb touched his mark. “Is their Tactical Trunk Monkey.”
Scowling at the term, Nick dreaded the answer in the worst sort of way. “What’s a Tactical Trunk Monkey?”
Caleb made another grimace. “In a couple of years, you’ll know exactly what I mean. For now, think of it like a homing beacon from hell.”
Nick stifled the fear in him that was trying to take over. Not a good time for that. He really needed his levelheaded sanity. Although honestly, he couldn’t think of anything better than to panic right now. For that matter, his sanity hadn’t proven all that beneficial, either.
Maybe freaking out would help?
Nick ground his teeth against the agony that continued to pierce him. “How do we get rid of it?”
“The Simi could barbecue your skin. That would take it off. Might take some muscles and other things, too. Should we try?”