Page 41 of Deadly Reckoning (Broken Ashes #7)

“What else can you tell us?” I say out loud as I lean back in my chair, trying to put some distance between us.

My emotions are all over the damn place, and I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing. I do wish that I had Betty with me again. Not that I could have brought her in here, but that’s not the point.

Maybe I could get her registered like dogs are registered, my official emotional support gun.

That’s definitely not possible.

“He has developed a serum that can control all supernaturals, regardless of their strength, although for some, it needs to have a trigger word added to it. Some have been injected with it for long enough that it just needs topping up,” his expression darkens, “and some have been given a stronger dose than everyone.”

“Is there any way to tell that these people are being controlled?” I ask, trying to stay on subject.

Dimitri shrugs, “For some, it’s obvious. For others, it’s not, there’s no way to tell, but the control is all-consuming, you can be screaming inside, and it won’t make a single shred of difference.”

I growl, and my eyes switch to their supernatural ones.

Dimitri leans forward, his expression heated, “Fucking stunning.” He inhales deeply, surprise crossing his expression. “You smell like fire and brimstone, ash and smoke.”

I frown, my expression going back to normal as I say, “Er, thanks.”

Dimitri’s rumbling chuckle sounds throughout the room as knowledge fills his expression, “Hellfire, Love, you smell like Hellfire.”

My frown deepens as confusion rolls over me. Why would I smell like hellfire?

Fuck.

My eyes widen, and I look at Dimitri curiously. He knows what I’m asking without me having to say it out loud, and he nods.

Hellfire, that’s why my fire doesn’t respond like normal fire, it’s fucking Hellfire.

But how?

I’m an angel.

Angels don’t have Hellfire, do they? Maybe they do? I mean, we don’t really know anything about angels, do we? My assumption that they don’t use Hellfire is based on human lore, which is more fictional than not.

The Voices stir, and I have no idea what they’re trying to tell me. I do know that I need to focus right now.

Spotting the paper and pencil on the table for the first time, I frown when I realize just how consumed I have been by Dimitri. I mean, there could be someone else in here and probably wouldn’t have fucking noticed. A quick glance around shows that thankfully, there isn’t.

“Can you write down all of the locations that you know that Casimir may be?” I ask Dimitri.

I’m hoping that he gets the message and doesn’t say anything more about it because quite a few people will have access to these tapes, and that’s not something that should be common knowledge.

“Yes,” he replies simply and then pulls the paper toward himself and starts to write. As he does, he says, “You need to be really fucking careful, Neith, he’s dangerous as fuck and I don’t want him anywhere near you.”

I gulp and then push down my reaction to his protectiveness.

“I know. He’s already tried to take me out a couple of times,” I reply.

In retrospect, I should have known better.

Dimitri’s head snaps up, a snarl on his lips as rumble of power shakes the room, but his voice is deceptively calm.

“What?”

His power isn’t calming, and I can’t let him show any more than he already has. It’s really fucking important that he doesn’t. So I do the first thing that I think of.

Rushing around to the other side of the table, my hands cup his stubbled cheeks, and he freezes, his glowing red eyes locked on mine.

“You need to calm the fuck down right now,” I hiss.

“Do you fucking hear me. I am fine. I am safe. You know what I’m fucking capable of better than anyone else, Dimitri.

I have Coen with me, I have a group of men that I know you saw on the Choosing, they all protect me like you would.

” I smirk, “Well, not quite like you would, but just as fiercely.”

His eyes go back to normal, the power dims, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

When his head tips to one side slightly, his eyes closing as he nuzzles my hand, my heart shatters.

Fuck.

The door opens, and Dimitri’s eyes snap open as I take a step back and glance over my shoulder at Doc.

He hasn’t come in here all guns blazing. Which means he understands to some extent what just happened.

Dimitri looks at him, “You’ll protect her?”

“With my life, and at the cost of others,” Doc replies with absolutely no hesitation.

Dimitri’s eyes light with approval as he simply nods. His gaze tracks me like the predator he is, as I move around the table to take my seat, and Doc sits next to me.

Funnily enough, I never feel like prey when he looks at me like that. I love it.

“I’ve written down all known locations,” Dimitri says. “You should know that he doesn’t stay in any of these places for very long, and I’m not really sure if he even uses them more than once, but these are the places that I met him. He is far stronger than he should be.”

The worry is evident in his tone.

“We’ll be careful,” I tell him.

“Is there any way I can convince you not to be involved at all?” Dimitri asks me.