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I nodded, then watched as he gave Poe a menacing look before walking back the way he’d come. I wanted to run after him, to tell him what was happening, to beg for his help, but I couldn’t. I was stuck.

“What the fuck was that?” Poe bit out.

“My friend, she’s mated to a hound,” I said. “He just came over to say hi. If I told him to leave, he would’ve known something was up.”

He grunted and, with his arm still around me, dragged me away and down the main hall to make the exchange. Lars followed along behind us. “You tell that fucking hound anything and Luke dies, screaming, understand?”

Bastard. “I understand.”

We walked into a room, and Lars shut us in.

Poe held out his blood-covered hand and motioned for the bag.

I handed it over, and he yanked down the zipper, checking it was all there.

I’d adjusted Luke’s recipe, making it more stable, but none of it had been easy.

Just knowing I could be causing harm was making me physically ill.

He looked up. “Looks good. We want another delivery in two weeks, but this time double.”

“Double? That’s impossible. The ingredients are expensive. I can’t do it.”

He held his hand out to Lars, and the other demon handed him a roll of cash. “Tarrant is aware of the cost to you, and because of your good work, going forward you’ll be paid.”

“Which means Luke’s debt is paid, right? So this can end.”

“Wrong. It’s over when Tarrant says it is. He does understand that Luke left you in a difficult position, though, so he’s offering to be more accommodating, out of the kindness of his heart.”

Bullshit. He just wanted to make sure he got his drugs. “I don’t want your dirty money,” I fired back at him, even as fear made my knees weak.

“Either you take it, or you don’t, that’s totally up to you. But you will be required to fulfill your delivery either way or…do you really need me to spell it out again?”

No, I did not. Reluctantly, I snatched the cash from him, counted out the amount I would need for ingredients, and handed back the rest.

Poe grinned. “You’re adorable when you’re being all righteous and stubborn.”

“Are we done here?”

His gaze slid over me. “For now.”

I spun and all but ran from the room. I fought my way through the crowd, avoiding the area where I’d seen Lothar, and finally made it back outside. I wasn’t sure I took a full breath until I’d locked myself in my car and was headed back to my tiny studio apartment in the city.

I couldn’t keep doing this, and I knew they had no plans of letting me off. I was making them too much money.

I had to find a way out. Somehow, I had to find a way to make this stop.

Jagger

Maddox swung. I ducked, nailing him in the side.

He grunted and returned with one of his own, forcing the air from my lungs.

Maddox commanded our brothers here in Hell for our alpha. War made regular visits, and all of us, except Mad, took shifts spending time between here and the compound.

We’d been sparring for a while, both of us needing to blow off steam.

Mad always wanted to fight. Since the loss of his mate, my brother had been carrying around more aggression than he knew what to do with.

She’d been taken from him in the most horrific of ways, and he’d come back to Hell afterward with no intention of returning aboveground.

His pain had formed a hard shell around him, calcifying to protect him from the truth of what had happened, which was for the best honestly, but now all that remained was rage.

He slammed his fist into my stomach, and I returned with a blow of my own?—

“Jag! Phone,” Gus called.

I ducked Mad’s haymaker and stepped back, waving Gus in. Maddox wasn’t ready to stop just yet.

Gus jumped in like the eager pup he was, and I snatched up my buzzing phone. Lothar’s name was on the screen.

I hit speaker. “What’s up?” I leaped out of the fighting pit.

“Brother,” he growled out, and there was a whole lot of noise in the background.

Just from that one word, I knew something was up. “What is it?”

“Your female was at the fights and, Jag?—”

“She’s an EMT. It’s her job.” It was on the tip of my tongue to correct him, to tell him she wasn’t mine, but that would be a lie. It turned out she was. She always would be, I just couldn’t have her, that was the difference.

“Nah, not working. She was dressed to kill, and there with a demon. Poe.”

My chin jerked back. “What?”

“Had his hands on her.” He made a rough sound. “The demon kissed her, brother.”

I was vaguely aware that the sounds of fists hitting flesh had stopped, but I was too busy fighting down my murderous rage to pay much attention.

Since Lucifer told me the truth, I’d been working at coming to terms with the realities of it.

Reminding myself of why I couldn’t have her.

I knew Sutton would find someone eventually.

I just hadn’t thought it would be this soon, and not with a fucking demon. Especially a piece of shit like Poe.

The phone cracked in my hand, dangerously close to smashing to pieces, and I forced myself to loosen my grip.

“You need to talk to her,” Loth said. “You need to stop this before she’s in too deep with this asshole.” Rome said something in the background. “Sorry, brother, gotta go.”

We disconnected, and I stood there, fucking frozen, while red-hot rage throbbed through me. I hadn’t seen her in a week, but it felt like an eternity. Time moved differently down here. My week would be close to four weeks for Sutton. Had she already given up on me?

That’s what you want, asshole.

I growled, the sound as deranged as I felt.

“What the fuck are you standing there for?” Mad snarled behind me.

I hadn’t even seen him get out of the pit. “The shit with me and Sutton is complicated, brother. I need to be careful how I play this.”

“It’s not complicated. She’s your female, and she’s unprotected. What the fuck, Jag. Go and fucking claim her. Go claim what’s yours.”

I planted my hands on my hips, while every muscle in my body prepared to fight, to do exactly what Mad said. “You know why I can’t do that,” I said through clenched teeth.

“Yeah, brother, she is going to die one day, but at least you get to be with her.” His nostrils flared.

“This pain, this fucking nightmare I’m living in, it means I got to be with Jane.

Even if it was only for a short time. She was mine.

She loved me, and I know what that felt like.

You give that up? You’re a fucking idiot,” Mad snarled, then strode away.

Fuck.

My muscles tightened, twitching, and I tried to gain some semblance of control. It wasn’t working.

I turned to Gus. “Going topside. Let Mad know when he’s cooled down.”

Gus gave me a chin lift, and I got the fuck out of Hell.

I didn’t know what any of this meant? Or what would happen when I got to her. I only knew I had to protect her, and that Poe couldn’t fucking have her.

Sutton was mine.