Part 30 (2/2)

'But only if Gina stays unharmed.'

Ben smiled. 'The only harm that will come to Gina is from you. And you would never do that, would you, Derek?'

Chapter Twenty-Two.

W e can't just stay up here and do nothing,' Ryder said, pacing the beach and glaring at Lou. e can't just stay up here and do nothing,' Ryder said, pacing the beach and glaring at Lou.

'I agree,' Dalton added. 'I can't believe you let him go down there without us.'

'We're a team of hunters,' Punk complained. 'Not singular. A team. G.o.ddammit, I'm itching to get down there and kick their a.s.ses.'

Lou crossed his arms and sighed; he'd known this was coming. He should have alerted them right away, but he wanted time to communicate with the Realm first. The other Keepers were outraged that he had allowed Derek to attempt to breach the surface and head underground in search of Gina.

Gina's life was undoubtedly forfeit, the Realm had surmised.

A hunter could kill thousands of demons, save thousands of lives.

A valuable hunter should never compromise his own life in search of one lost soul.

Sometimes the Keepers didn't have a grasp on reality, either.

And the Keepers didn't understand how much Derek loved Gina.

Lou did, though. So he listened to them argue, accepting their recriminations for what they considered his bad decision, and in the end nothing had changed. Derek had done the right thing. Maybe not what he should have done for the good of the Realm, but he'd done what was right.

And dammit, if Lou had done that years ago, his beloved Anna and their children might still be alive today. If he had put his wife and children ahead of his duties as Keeper, if he had walked away from all this and hidden them, they would be alive now. But he had put his duties as Keeper first. He had put the Realm first, and his wife and children had died because of it.

The painful memories twisted his gut. Burying them deep, he focused on the hunters.

'You realize you could all die down there,' he stated.

Mutinous expressions greeted him. Even those of the newest hunters.

'We could all die up here,' Trace argued.

'If it were one of us down there, and there was a chance we were still alive, he'd have sent the whole team down after us,' Shay argued. 'And you know d.a.m.n well Gina would be the first one in line to go.'

'We succeed or fail as a team,' Olivia added. 'If Gina is down there and alive, and Derek is obviously convinced she is, then we all need to help.'

They had all bonded. He couldn't be prouder of them.

'Pack as much ammo and weaponry as possible.'

'Now you're talkin',' Punk said, grabbing his gear and loading up his weapons.

'Just one thing before you go,' Lou said, stepping up to the table where the weaponry was stored.

Dalton paused and raised a brow. 'What?'

'I'm a little rusty on the weaponry, so while we're traipsing through the jungle, give me a refresher course. I've a mind to kick a little demon a.s.s myself.'

'Oh, h.e.l.l yeah!' Linc said, clapping Lou on the back.

It was time to reenter the world of demon hunting.

Lou wanted Derek back, and he was d.a.m.n well going to face the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds himself.

Okay, this whole captured, damsel-in-distress bit was wearing thin. Gina had grown tired of being tied up and used as a p.a.w.n in whatever sick, twisted game Ben was playing with Derek.

She'd rather be dead than used this way.

'Derek, just let them kill me,' she pleaded as they bound her once again to an icy cold dirt table.

Derek stood next to Ben, his gaze unfocused as he shook his head. 'I can't let them hurt you, babe. Sorry.'

Well, this just sucked. Ben was going to have to die, and soon.

As soon as she figured out how. Maybe pleading with Derek, convincing him they weren't going to let her off unscathed, would do the trick.

'They're going to use me to make more of those half demons. Use my body to make more of them.'

Derek looked to Ben, who shook his head. 'You have my word she will not be used that way. She is your mate, and you are a child of the Sons of Darkness.' His lips curled. 'We do hold some things sacred, you know. We would never use the mate of one of the Sons that way.'

She didn't believe a word he said. Surely Derek wasn't buying into his bulls.h.i.+t. The Sons of Darkness thought very little of females. 'What about my mother, Ben? Where's my mother? You turned her into a baby-making machine for your twisted creatures.'

Ben moved to her side, running his cold fingers along the inside of her arm. Refusing to curl away in revulsion, she kept her gaze focused on his.

'Ah yes. The lovely Rebecca. She turned out quite a few half-breeds for us before she had to be destroyed.'

It couldn't have hurt more had he plunged a knife in her heart. A part of her had always held out hope that her mother was still alive somewhere. Foolish, but childish dreams faded slowly.

Ben's words shattered that dream.

Her mother was dead.

This pain was unbearable, a hollow ache so deep she really did want to die. But she refused to let him see it, unwilling to shed a tear in front of this monster. Instead, she let the hatred inside her flow, so that was the only thing he saw.

He arched a brow and inhaled. 'The sweet scent of anger. It fills my soul, lovely woman. You will be an a.s.set to the Sons of Darkness.'

Gritting her teeth to fight back the tears, she said, 'I will kill you.'

He looked down on her and smiled, patting her arm in a patronizing manner, treating her as if she were nothing more than a tiny bug. 'If you say so.'

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