Inferno (Book 4 The Kindred Series) (19 page)

“Luther!” she hissed.

“Stay out of this one,” Luther said
softly.

Frustration boiled through her. Devon
pushed Julian back another step, blocking his attempt to get at her
father again. Julian snarled, lunging forward. A startled cry of
horror escaped Cassie, she tried to jerk free of Luther, but he
held her tight. Julian slammed hard into Devon, knocking him back a
few feet but Devon managed to keep her father protected from
Julian’s rampage.

Julian went at him again, using his
shoulder he slammed hard into Devon’s ribs. The loud cracking of
bone echoed through the air. Panic and horror tore through her as
Julian shoved Devon into the wall with enough force to rattle
things off the shelves near them. Cassie lunged forward, determined
to get to them, to stop them before they really hurt each
other.

Luther’s grip on her held momentarily,
but then she burst free of him. She was darting forward when Liam
stepped in front of her, his eyes narrowed. Cassie glared fiercely
at him, but he continued to block her. A fierce shout snapped her
head back to the fight. Devon had somehow managed to rotate their
positions, he now had Julian pinned against the wall, his hand
wrapped tight around his throat as he lifted him off the
ground.

Cassie squeaked in horror, Liam
continued to block her as she tried to step around him. “Liam!” she
hissed.

“Stay back,” he warned.

Julian swung out hard, catching Devon
beneath his chin and snapping his head back. Devon staggered back a
step, but he did not lose his grip on Julian. Devon lifted him
easily away from the wall, acting as if Julian weighed no more than
a feather as he slammed him back into the wall. Julian’s eyes
rolled for a brief moment, but he quickly regained control of
himself.

Cassie dimly realized that they were
not actually trying to kill each other. If that was the case this
fight would be a lot more brutal. However, they were hurting each
other. “Calm down,” Devon growled, placing his hand firmly against
Julian’s chest.

“He’s mine!” Julian spat, his face
twisted with fury as his gaze briefly landed upon Derek.

Cassie froze; her limbs went numb as
Devon’s gaze came slowly toward her. She could see the hesitation
in his face, the fierce want for something more, the fierce battle
he waged with himself between making her happy, and satisfying the
monster within himself. Those red eyes burned into her. For some
strange reason, the unexplainable urge to cry seized hold of her. A
lump formed in her throat, her eyes burned as she blinked rapidly.
There was something in his gaze, something so lost and wounded, yet
loving and protective that it left her breathless.

Devon turned slowly away from her,
focusing upon Julian once more. “Yes, he’s yours,” Devon relented.
“But you can’t kill him until we know what he knows.”

Cassie cried out in horror, she took
another step forward but Liam blocked her again. She glared
fiercely up at him, her hands fisting at her sides. He was really
starting to get on her nerves. “Fine,” Julian relented.

“Wait!” Cassie cried, her eyes darting
frantically to her father. Liam moved to block her again. “Get out
of my way!” she snapped, frustration boiling rapidly through her as
she fought the urge to punch him in the face.

Liam hesitated for a moment, but
finally relented and stepped slowly aside. Cassie bolted past him
as Devon released Julian, letting him slide slowly back to the
floor. Though his reddened neck had to be killing him, Julian did
not raise a hand to it. He took a step toward her father, but
Cassie instantly thrust herself in between them. “No!” she shouted,
throwing her arms wide to block him.

Derek was still making strange noises,
his chair pounded up and down on the floor as he tried to hop it
further away from them. Though it was strangely out of place in the
pulsing tension of the room, the sudden thought of Chunk tied to
his chair trying to get away from Sloth in The Goonies popped into
her mind. She shook it instantly away, her father’s life was at
stake here she had to keep her mind focused on the
present.

“Cassie…”

“No,” she interrupted Devon sharply.
“This is not going to happen. I know that you both hate him, but I
will not let you kill him in cold blood. I know what a monster he
is, but he is still my father!”

“Cassie…”

“No!” she screamed again, sick and
tired of all the crap. Sick and tired of all the fighting and
anger. Why can’t we all just get along flashed through her head,
but she knew that it was impossible. And she also knew that she
would not allow anyone to be murdered in cold blood. Not while she
was around. “No!”

The chair stopped clattering across the
floor as Derek came up against a shelf. Merchandise rattled against
the metal shelves, but nothing fell to the floor. A strange whimper
escaped the man. Cassie winced, hating his terror, even if he had
done worse to her, even if he did deserve it. Devon and Julian took
a step toward her. They would never hurt her, but she was acutely
reminded of the fact that they were larger, and far more powerful
than she was. No matter how much of a fight she put up, they could
forcefully move her out of the way if they chose to do so. Though
she didn’t think Devon would do that to her, Julian seemed
determined to get at Derek.

Narrowing her eyes, Cassie braced
herself for the battle. They would have to go through her to get to
him. She glanced back at the sounds of shuffling behind her. Dani
and Luther had taken up residence in front of her father. Chris
glanced rapidly between Cassie and Derek before sighing softly and
moving reluctantly over to stand behind her. He glanced briefly at
her before dropping his head down. Melissa eventually moved to
stand beside Chris, but Liam and Annabelle hung back, seemingly
torn, and looking more than a little confused.

Devon took another step closer. Panic
descended upon her, he was going to force her to move, and if he
did so, things would never be the same between them again. She
could never forgive him for standing back and allowing her father
to be viciously murdered. Her heart lumbered painfully in her
chest. His beloved emerald eyes were caring and intent as he
stopped before her.

“Cassie.” Her arms trembled, she braced
herself for him to grab hold of her and move her, but he did not.
“Cassie, that man is not your father.”

The breath whooshed out of her in an
explosive exhale. Her chest constricted tightly, disbelief and
confusion swirled through her. “What?” she gasped, shaking her head
forcefully in denial. “That can’t be… What!?”

Devon’s eyes were caring, warm, so
unbelievably loving. “He’s not your father Cassie.”

Her arms fell limply to her sides,
shock stuttered through her. She shook her head, unable to believe
what he was saying. Just what the hell was he saying? “How could
you possibly know that?” she whispered.

“His blood.”

Cassie frowned in confusion. “Like
knows like, blood knows blood,” Julian growled. “That blood is
nothing like yours. It smells nothing like yours, and it certainly
doesn’t belong to a Hunter. He is not your father.”

Cassie couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t
think. She tried hard to process this information, but it would not
slip into place when her world was tilting so precariously at the
moment. “He lied,” Devon said gently.

Cassie shook her head. She wondered
where her anger was, but it completely escaped her as she could
find none when there should be lots of it. There was only a sad
acceptance, and a joyful relief that left her shaken and weak.
“He’s not my father?” she breathed.

“No.”

Cassie heaved a soft sigh, inhaling
shakily as she turned slowly around. “Ok, ok good.”

The man, this stranger that she didn’t
know, was watching her with wide, terrified eyes. The others had
moved out of the way, apparently having decided that he was now
fair game for Julian and Devon. A strangled cry escaped him; he
fought desperately against the bonds that held him to the chair.
Though she knew he was not her father, she still could not stop the
rush of sympathy that swamped her. Because of this man she knew
what it was like to feel trapped, helpless, at the absolute mercy
of other people. But where he had shown her no compassion, she
would show him some.

“Why did you lie?”

His eyes zinged rapidly around the
room, apparently looking for something that he would not find.
Wild, stuttering noises escaped him, but he formed no coherent
words. Cassie’s heart wrenched. She could not do this to him, it
was not fair. Devon grasped hold of her arm as she took a step
toward the strange man.

“Cassie.”

She touched his hand gently, needing
him to understand this, even if she didn’t. “It’s ok.”

He hesitated, his jaw clenching. Devon
gave her arm a brief squeeze before slowly releasing her. “Devon!”
Julian hissed softly.

Devon held up his hand, holding Julian
back when he came forward. “Wait,” he ordered gruffly.

“Are you out of your freaking mind?” At
Devon’s head shake, Julian continued. “Is she!?”

Cassie knelt before the stranger. He
cowered away from her, but she made no move toward him. Though she
did not like his terror, she did feel he deserved at least a little
of it. “Who are you?” The man simply stared at her, his breathing
rapid, his eyes still bulging wildly.

Cassie rested her hand lightly on his
leg, seeking to offer him some reassurance, but he instantly jerked
away. For the first time, something other than terror, shone from
him. He stared hard at her, his lip curled in revulsion. Cassie
sighed as she leaned back. It didn’t matter what she offered him,
he was still repulsed and disgusted by her. She found the fact
didn’t bother her as much now.

“Fine, you hate me, I don’t care. But
we need to know what you know.” She glanced toward where Julian and
Devon stood side by side. She was briefly amused by the fact that
they probably didn’t realize they were standing identically, with
their arms folded over their chests, their legs braced, as they
watched her with nearly identical expressions of disbelief. They
may not know exactly how they felt about each other right now, but
it was apparent that they were still very in tune with one another.
“If you don’t talk to me than Julian will be the one to find that
out.”

Julian’s full lips curled into a small
smile as he gave her a sharp, approving nod. The man sputtered more
disbelieving noises that drew Cassie’s attention back to him. “He
won’t hurt you…”

“Like hell!” Julian snapped, his
pleasure vanishing instantly. Devon placed his hand firmly against
Julian’s chest as he held him back. Julian glared fiercely back at
him, his eyes flaring red, and his temper heating at the thought of
being denied his revenge.

Cassie ignored him as she continued on.
“But this is going to happen.”

***

Devon stood silently; watching intently
as Cassie leaned forward again, instinctively going to comfort the
monster before her before she thought twice of it. She sighed
softly; her hands fell helplessly back to her thighs again. He
wanted to go to her, to pull her away from that man, to get her as
far from the monster as possible. But she would fight him and for
some reason, that he couldn’t even begin to fathom, she was bent on
comforting the man that had held her captive and tortured her
endlessly.

She had always been a bit of a puzzle
to him, but right now she was a downright enigma.

She sat for a moment longer, the deep
sadness in her eyes almost more than he could bear. But,
eventually, she stood slowly away from him. Though Devon wanted to
go to her, he remained where he was, waiting for her to come to
him. Whatever was going on inside her, she had to sort it out for
herself.

Finally, she turned and hurried toward
him. Devon opened his arms to her, relief filling him as he
enveloped her tightly. Bringing her close to him, he buried his
face in her hair, savoring in the delicious scent of her. He would
never understand her completely, and she would never cease to amaze
him, but he loved her more than he had ever thought
possible.

Pushing her thick hair gently back, he
kissed her silken skin lightly. She shivered as she pressed closer
to him. Her bright eyes met his, a soft smile spread across her
full mouth as he kissed her. A tightness began to build in him, he
clung to her as he fought the rising desire and lust that built
rapidly within him. He pressed his forehead against hers as he
pulled away, lightly stroking her face with his fingers.

“I need you to go out back with
everyone while I talk to Julian.” She opened her mouth to protest,
but he quickly cut her off. “It will just be for a minute, and
there is something that we need to discuss. And we need to get
those windows boarded back up.”

She frowned for a moment before nodding
swiftly. “Ok.” Devon did not want to release her; he did not want
her out of his eyesight for even a minute, especially with those
things running around. But this had to be done, and it would not be
long. She stepped out of his arms, frowning at Julian as she gave
him a fierce, determined look. “Don’t hurt him,” she ordered
briskly.