Page 61 of Soul Redeemed

“Tava?” That’s different. I like it.

Idiot. She skirted around him, but at the stroke of her ass, instinct kicked in, and she swung around, fingers digging into his throat while she held the brawny male pinned to the wall. “You touch my ass again, and I will snap your head from your neck and use it for tetherball. Got it?”

Eyes wide, he nodded. “Yeah,” he rasped against her throttling. “Got it.”

Another fluttering of her wings beneath her skin alerted her to danger, and Thais released him, letting him fall to the floor while she scampered out the door.

Once on the streets, she kept a brisk pace along the sidewalk, angling her head low to avoid catching anyone’s attention.

And then it struck her.

Why the hell was she hiding?

She held out her arms, stilled marred by the Demortis scars. The disguise had been in place the whole time.

Even so, the creeping sensation of paranoia swept over her, and Thais willed the thoughts away. “You’re Ava. Not Thais,” she whispered. “No one is after you.”

A force slammed into her from behind like a Mack truck, knocking her forward until the cold concrete crashed into her face. An ache throbbed deep inside her bones, while intense pressure at her back locked up her lungs.

“Oh, Ava,” a voice said beside her.

Whatever held her down allowed her enough movement to turn her head toward the speaker, and her gaze took in a lanky human male kneeling alongside her body.

He removed his glasses, exhaled on the glass, and wiped them with his shirt before setting them back over his eyes. “I’ve missed you, sweetness. We’ve looked all over this goddamn city for you.” From his coat pocket, he tugged a black case, and from the case, he pulled a syringe.

Thais wriggled in her captor’s grasp, kicking out like crazy.

Before she could lift the veil and reveal herself, everything turned black and the human male fizzled into the void.

29

Ava tilted her head, trying to catch Calix’s attention. Laying strapped to the bed, he’d been staring off for the last couple of hours. Although she’d managed to get him to his room, with a bit of help from Xander, he’d not said a word since she’d offered to find him a succubus.

Had that set him off, somehow?

Xander had suggested that she tie him up in preparation for his next ravenous frenzy, otherwise she hated the idea of chaining him like some kind of wild animal.

“Calix,” she whispered, stroking a finger down his cheek, but the gesture didn’t so much as summon a blink.

She needed a break. Maybe giving him a few minutes alone would allow him to gather himself. It’d only be a matter of time before his hunger would strike again, and as Ava hadn’t fed for most of the day, the craving for blood kept hitting the back of her throat with an intense dryness, and she figured she’d need to gather her strength for whatever was yet to come.

Without a word, she padded out of the room, closing the door as she backed herself into the hallway.

“How is he?” At the sound of Gavin’s voice, Ava spun around to find the eldest brother standing behind her, arms crossed and concern etched deep into his expression.

“He won’t talk. Just stares off at nothing.”

“He continues to starve himself?”

Casting her gaze away in shame, Ava nodded. “I’ve offered to find him a female, but he refuses.”

“Ava, it’s not my place to tell you any of this, but as he gets worse, so might his triggers.”

“Triggers?”

He jerked his head for her to follow, and she trailed behind as he led her down the stairs. Reaching his office, he ushered her toward one of the seats across from his desk.

As he plopped in his chair, Ava was suddenly taken aback by the intimidating presence he held when behind a desk. Regal and dominant, all at once.