Page 11 of Forbidden (Dark Delights #3)

The night was as clear as it could be beneath the smoggy clouds of LA. A stray sheet of newspaper blew across the parking lot as Ira emerged from Wolf’s black car, and his stomach fluttered with nerves as he faced the unassuming facade of In Extremis. Storm had texted them ahead of time, letting them know there was no sign of paladins and that it was safe to use the front door. Still, anxiety sat like a stone in his gut.

“I don’t like this,” Wolf said as he led Ira with obvious reluctance toward the front door.

“Neither do I, but at least if we get it over with now, we can hopefully get her off our backs for a while,” Ira said. He didn’t want Wolf to worry about him, so he’d been maintaining an air of confidence all afternoon in an attempt to soothe his halfling’s frayed nerves. Truthfully, he was terrified to be in the room with Lilith. Even knowing Talon would be there to have his back wasn’t enough to quell the lowly simmering fear he felt. Lilith was formidable. She had hundreds of halflings in the city cowed. If she ordered them to do something—like hunt Ira down and cleave his head from his shoulders—most of them wouldn’t hesitate. Getting on her bad side would make all of their lives significantly harder. The best thing he could hope to do was show her the deference she wanted, swear he meant no harm, and maybe it would be enough to appease her interest in him.

“It’s not too late to turn around,” Wolf said. “I can take you back home. Lock you up and throw away the key.”

“Is that supposed to be threatening or reassuring?” Ira asked with a laugh.

“Both?”

He chuckled, reaching over and threading their fingers together. “Talon will be with me. Everything will be fine.”

“I still don’t like it.”

“I know. I’d worry if you did.”

Wolf cast him a halfhearted smile.

Storm stood like a sentry at the reinforced metal door, his hair like a beacon in the darkness. “Good luck in there,” he said, and Ira was strangely endeared. The halflings weren’t anywhere near as frightening as the guild would have their members believe. “Talon and Hawk are already inside,” he added, opening the door for them.

Ira blew out a breath as they stepped inside, and Wolf’s fingers tightened around his. He drew strength from the touch. Wolf wouldn’t let anything happen to him, and he would protect Wolf, too. They would be fine. He would make sure of it.

The crowd out on the dance floor was a gyrating afterthought as he followed Wolf to the bar. Xyra was cleaning a glass, her midnight blue hair spilling down her back, and she gave them a wave when she noticed them .

“Are you good?” Wolf asked, cradling one side of Ira’s face. “Thirsty?”

“I’m fine. I just want to get this over with.” His stomach might revolt if he tried to put anything in it right now, and that would ruin his calm, confident appearance.

“I’m ready when you are,” a new voice said, and Ira turned to see Talon standing beside them. He jerked his head toward the booth where Alex, Luke, and Malachi were sitting. “Malachi’s keeping an eye on those two while we’re away.”

Wolf nodded. “I’ll keep one eye on them, too. Don’t worry.”

Talon inclined his head. None of them were taking any chances. They had enemies on both sides, and they could only trust each other.

“Whenever you’re ready, then,” he said to Ira.

Ira took a deep, fortifying breath.

“You’ve got this,” Wolf said, rubbing his hands up and down Ira’s arms. “Just let her talk. Let her make her stupid threats. Let her feel like she’s got us right where she wants us.” His crimson eyes cut toward Talon, darkening with intent. “But if she lays a fucking hand on him…”

“I’ll sever it from her arm and feed it to her,” Talon promised. “Consequences be damned.”

“Gross,” Ira breathed, but it was nonetheless reassuring. He didn’t want Lilith to lay a hand on him, either.

Wolf passed a hand down his back, and then hummed. “You’re sweating.” He stroked up and down his spine, where his shirt was damp.

“Well yeah ,” he said. “I hate this. I’ll do it , but I hate it.”

At Wolf’s conflicted look, he held up a stern finger.

“Do not offer to do anything to make this go away. I’m not putting you in harm’s way. I’m doing this, and when the time comes, she’ll know exactly how I feel about what she did to you.”

Wolf smiled, small and pleased. Talon’s dark eyes glimmered like starlight, and Ira felt as though he’d impressed him with his conviction.

He sucked down one more breath, and nodded. “Okay. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Talon fell into step with him around the bar and toward the back corner where the black door waited to swallow them like a hungry beast.

“You said she’s not a problem in the future,” Talon said, quiet and careful, like he was afraid of being overheard.

Ira nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“Focus on that. Try to keep calm. But if you’re afraid, that’s fine. She’ll want you to be. She’ll expect you to be. It might even be better for you if she thinks she has you under her thumb.”

“I know.” Yes, there would be a time in the future when things were better, but it was hard to remember that when Lilith was very much a problem in the present. His heart pounded, and his palms were damp as he opened the door and slowly ascended the black stairs.

He knocked on the closed office door, glancing nervously at Talon, who gave him a encouraging nod.

“Come in,” a smoky voice called, and he pushed the door open.

Lilith was beautiful, like a porcelain Cleopatra sitting on a black leather throne. Her glossy black hair was long, falling past her shoulders. Her lips were the same ruby red as her eyes, and her long fingernails were solid black, stark against her pale, delicate-looking fingers.

“I don’t believe I requested to see a leviathan,” she drawled. “You can go, Talon.”

“I can, but I won’t,” Talon said, sweeping the door shut behind him. “And you didn’t request to see the prophet, either. You threatened Wolf.”

Her expression cooled. “He shouldn’t have told me no.”

“You should’ve minded your business. What he does with the human doesn’t concern you.”

“He’s my bartender.”

“I’m here now,” Ira said, cutting the argument off before it could escalate. “You wanted to see me, so I’m here.” He hesitated, then asked, “ Why did you want to see me?”

She smiled, and it reminded him of the Cheshire cat. Gleaming white teeth in the relative darkness of her dimly lit office. “Sit, little prophet. I have some questions for you.”

“I’m not a fortune teller,” he said as he sat with a sigh. Talon hovered behind him, and he’d never been so grateful to have a monster at his back. “I can’t give you specific answers about what the future holds.”

“Did I say I had questions about the future? I am very old, young human. If there is anything I’m certain of, it’s the passage of time and my place within it.” She didn’t stand from her seat at the desk, which set him at ease. The further away she stayed, the better.

“Then what?”

She tapped her chin with a glossy black fingernail. “You and the halfling. Why?”

He flushed. “I don’t know exactly.”

She tsked . “Come now. You wouldn’t forsake your precious guild on an uncertainty. Tell me what made you leave all you’ve ever known for a creature like Wolf.”

He didn’t want to tell her how Wolf made him feel. That no one had ever made him feel wanted the way Wolf did. He didn’t want her to know that he’d do anything for him. That was far more leverage than she needed.

“You’re not the only one, as I’m sure you’re aware. Two others from your guild have taken demon lovers.” Her eyes flicked toward Talon and away. “I want to understand why. Their presence here— your presence here—threatens my enterprise. Apparently the guild holds grudges, and they don’t like that some of their soldiers have left. Coming here puts a target on all of us.”

He had to spin this in a way that didn’t give her any intimate knowledge about the depth of their feelings for each other. Turning her attention on the guild might be the best way to do that.

“We’re expendable to the guild,” he said, keeping his expression and voice calm while his mind ran like a hamster on a wheel. “We’re raised from a young age to believe that we’re fighting for a cause bigger than ourselves. Many paladins give their lives fighting demons. Even more wind up carrying lifelong damage from the injuries they’ve sustained over their years of fighting. The prophets don’t do battle, but we’re… sheltered in a way the paladins aren’t. We aren’t supposed to interact with the paladins, because we might give away secrets—reveal visions we’ve seen and alter the course of the future. It’s… lonely.”

She arched one finely sculpted brow. “You expect me to believe you fell in with demons because you were lonely ?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “Kind of? I can’t speak for the others, but Wolf is… possessive and… all-consuming. He wants me, and that’s… nice.”

She narrowed her eyes like she didn’t quite believe him. “You left your guild behind for nice ? ”

“I left my guild behind because I knew he would make me happy. Far happier than I was with them.”

Her gaze sharpened. “You knew. You’d seen it in a vision?”

Adrenaline fizzed through him. It was fine. There was no reason to panic. “I did, yes.”

“What else have you seen?” She leaned forward.

There it was. He knew she’d ask eventually. His mouth was dry as bone. “Like I said, I can’t give you specifics.”

“You had specifics about fucking Wolf. You must know other things. Like the other humans who have left the guild. What are they going to be doing at this new base of theirs?”

He paused to take a breath and calm his racing heart. “They need money. They’re working as private investigators. And they still patrol at night, killing the monsters. They’re no danger to anyone here, though.”

“Will there be others?” she asked, studying him intently. He felt like a bug under a microscope.

“Others?”

“Other humans who leave the guild. There have been three of you so far. It seems too strange to be a coincidence.”

“I-I don’t know.”

She cocked her head slowly, and he felt distinctly like a hare to a fox. “You’ll have to lie better than that, little human.”

The scrape of a shoe on the floor caught his attention. Right. Talon was behind him. He wasn’t alone. Lilith seemed to realize it, as well, because her gaze flickered over his shoulder to the leviathan, and her face soured.

“Fine,” he said, endlessly grateful for Talon’s careful reminder. “I do know, but I’m not telling you. Just like I’m not telling the guild or Shadrach or anyone else who asks me to tell them about the future. I can’t tell anyone anything, because it might change things. And changing things could be catastrophic. I’m not given these visions because I’m meant to intervene. I’m just meant to witness it. I won’t tell you what happens or what I’ve seen. I don’t care what you threaten me with.”

Her mouth pursed into an unhappy moue, and her eyes darted between him and Talon. No doubt, he’d be eating those words if Talon hadn’t been there.

“I just want a little assurance that having you holy men hanging around my club and my people won’t have any ill effects on my business,” she said, sitting back with a practiced, relaxed air. “I’m sure you understand.”

“Well, then you can rest easy,” he said, standing. “I can tell you with confidence that we will cause no problems for your people or your business. Wolf will continue to work as the bartender here. Talon and Malachi will be occasional customers who stay out of your way. And the guild is fracturing from within. I don’t know yet how that’ll turn out, exactly, but it can only be a good thing for a demon running a business in this city, right?”

She inclined her head, looking smug. “I suppose so.”

“If it’s all right with you, I’d like to go back downstairs to Wolf now.” He didn’t bother asking her not to threaten Wolf again. She’d do whatever she wanted, no matter what empty promises she gave him now. He could content himself with the fact that her days were already numbered, one way or the other.

“Yes, you can go. Perhaps we’ll meet again, on more even footing next time,” she said with one last glance between him and Talon, who turned toward the door to hide his smirk .

“Perhaps we will.” But I really hope not.

Talon held the door open for him, and he did his best not to rush through like something was chasing him. As soon as the door closed, he blew out a breath and ran his hands over his face.

Talon ushered him down the stairs, chuckling. “You did well. There aren’t many who could stand up to her like that.”

“I definitely wouldn’t have if you hadn’t been there.”

A strong hand clapped him on the shoulder. “You helped Alex, and Wolf has been a good friend for many decades. It was the least I could do.” At the foot of the stairs, he added, “Besides, that bitch needed to be taken down a peg or two.”

Ira laughed weakly. “Great. Next time, I’d rather someone else do it. That was enough excitement for me.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself,” he said, reaching for the door. “You did a lot better than—” He opened the door a crack, but whatever he saw on the other side had him pushing it shut, twisting the knob so it wouldn’t make a sound. He turned the lock quickly and whirled around.

“What—”

Talon slapped a hand over his mouth, his other hand going to the back of Ira’s head to keep him from pulling away.

“Don’t make a sound,” he whispered. “There are paladins outside the door.”

Oh, God, Wolf.