Night of the Tiger(54)

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Not any longer.”

That didn’t sound promising. “Why doesn’t it matter?” Aimee resisted the urge to rub her hands up and down her arms. She was suddenly chilled to the bone.

He crossed his arms over his chest, looking totally relaxed. “Hades will have his way in the end. Stavros and Phoenix tried to defy him, tried to fight.” He slanted her a look from under his hooded eyes. “They both perished, as did the women who freed them.”

Aimee almost doubled over with pain. It was like being socked in the gut. She’d known her chances of coming out alive at the end of this battle were slim to none, but she realized she’d still had the tiniest sliver of hope until now. “What about the woman who freed you?” She had to know.

Mordecai smiled, and Aimee could practically feel a layer of ice encasing her even as the flames of damnation danced in his eyes. “After I fucked her, I killed her. Then I bargained with Hades for my freedom.”

It was nearly impossible to breathe in the presence of such evil. “And did Hades give you your freedom?” She couldn’t see the Lord of the Underworld giving something so precious so easily.

“With stipulations.” Mordecai walked over the bed and stared down at the rumpled sheets. Aimee could feel her cheeks heating. With the dents in each of the pillows and the sad state of the sheets, there was no mistaking what had gone on in the bed. “I lead his army and I can have whatever I want—power, money, women.”

“Everything except your honor,” she whispered. He flinched slightly as though she’d hit him, but other than that he gave no indication that what she’d said had hurt him in any way. When he turned around to face her, there was no sign of vulnerability, no weakness she could discern.

“I find I’m not all that concerned about my honor these days.”

She didn’t believe him. There was something about him, a sadness that seemed to surround him. It made her think he regretted his choice. But maybe her imagination was running away with her, and she was seeing what she wanted to see.

Going on the offensive, she took a step toward him. After all, if he was going to hurt her, he’d had ample opportunity to do so. “What do you want?”

His cocky attitude was back in the blink of an eye, making her doubt she’d ever seen even the slightest amount of sorrow or regret. “The question is what do you want?”

He stalked toward her, circling her slowly. She felt the brush of his fingers on her spine, the puff of his breath against her ear as he spoke. “What does Aimee Horner want most in the world?”

“Nothing,” she whispered.

He came to a halt in front of her. Grasping her chin between his thumb and index finger, he raised it until their gazes met. “Liar.” His voice was soft and low, a lover’s caress. He rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “We all want something. What would you do if I could give you back your parents? If I could turn back time to that awful day and have the drunk driver miss your family’s car? What would you do? What would you give?”

Hope leapt in Aimee’s breast. Her thundering heart threatened to burst free from her chest. Could he truly do that? “How?”

“All you have to do is betray Roric. And what does he really matter to you?” Mordecai smiled knowingly as he glanced toward the bed. “He might have heated the sheets with you, but believe me, he’d sacrifice your life in a second if he thought it would free the rest of those losers on the carousel or the precious Lady he’s so fond of.”

“I know.” It hurt to say it aloud, but Roric had never lied to her. His mission was what mattered to him, his honor. She respected him for that.

“And it’s not really betrayal,” he continued. “It’s more saving yourself and your parents. You have the power to do what’s right for your family. Will you throw it all away on an immortal warrior who cares nothing for you?”

Aimee thought about how gentle Roric was with her when they made love. His strength was enormous, yet he’d never hurt her, always tempering it so she got the most pleasure possible. She thought about his struggle to stay detached from her, the way he talked about the goddess he’d faithfully served since the dawn of time, how he worried about his friends and fellow warriors. Roric was a man to respect, and his mission was a just one.

As quick as hope had bloomed, it withered and died. She had to remember who she was dealing with. She was no dummy. She’d read her share of horror novels and comics, and the devil always got his due.

Slowly, she nodded, knowing she was signing her own death warrant and putting an end to all her hopes and dreams. She knew her parents would want her to do the right thing. They’d raised her to know right from wrong, and there was no doubt in her mind that what he was offering was wrong.