Revenant(86)

“Cujo, halt!” Than barked, and the steer-sized beast, not yet fully grown, skidded to a stop. But that didn’t mean he suddenly got friendly. No, the mutt crouched, still snarling, still thinking it could kick Revenant’s ass.

Damn, Rev hated those things.

With a glare that promised the hellhound a swat with a rolled newspaper the size of an oil tanker, Rev dumped the vampire onto the floor and set the basket of mewling cats next to him.

Thanatos, the blond braids at his temple swinging, jogged over. “Ewan, shit.” He crouched next to the bloody vamp on the floor. “He missed roll call this morning. We figured he’d stayed out too late and had to hole up at daybreak. Did you do this to him?” He scowled at the jiggling basket. “And what’s up with that?”

“Present for Logan. And no, I didn’t fuck up your vampire, but thanks for thinking the worst of me,” Revenant drawled. “I saved him from Gethel. You’re welcome.”

Figuring he wasn’t going to get a round of applause or anything, Revenant prepared to flash out of there, but before he made it, Thanatos introduced Revenant’s spine to the wall and was in his face, teeth bared as fully as the hellhound’s.

“Where is she?” he snarled. “You had better tell me she’s dead.”

“She’s alive and kicking and due to give birth any moment,” Revenant said, enjoying the fury that built in Thanatos’s expression with every word. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Thanatos… he just didn’t like being attacked for no fucking reason.

“You piece of shit.” Thanatos gripped Revenant’s jacket lapels and slammed him against the wall again. “She tried to murder my son. And you can casually talk about her like she’s a happy housewife with a pregnancy glow?”

It was really tempting to lay the Horseman out, but the sight of Regan, standing in the dining room with Logan held protectively close to her chest, made something tumble inside his own chest. How many times had his mother held him like that when demons opened the door to the cell? How many times had she endured watching her son ripped away from her so either he or she could be beaten?

So as much as he’d like to shred Thanatos for being a dick, he wasn’t going to do it in front of a mother and her child. Instead, he used a tiny thread of his power to throw the Horseman backward, right into the stupid hellhound. The mutt yelped, and Thanatos hit the ground, only to pop back to his feet, fully armed and armored.

“Don’t do it, Horseman,” Revenant warned. “I have a raging Satanic headache and little patience. And keep in mind that I didn’t have to bring back your vampire.”

“What, you want an award for doing the right thing?” Thanatos signaled for Cujo to stop inching toward Revenant. “You want kudos? Bring me Gethel.”

“No can do.”

Thanatos sheathed his sword but remained armored. “You know, when we found out you were our uncle, that you’re an angel like our father, we hoped you’d at least try to become part of the family. But you don’t know what family is, do you?” Thanatos’s diatribe shouldn’t have bothered Revenant, but like earlier, when Blaspheme laid into him, the words cut deep, because no, he didn’t know what a family was. And he didn’t realize until this moment that he wanted to know. “Family doesn’t protect the monster under the bed. Only monsters protect other monsters.” He threw his hand out at the door. “Get out, Uncle. Go to hell where you belong.”

Revenant got out, but as he dematerialized, he realized Thanatos was right. He did belong in hell, and he always had.





Twenty-Five





Despite a crazy childhood that involved a lot of moves and name changes, Blaspheme had always felt like she was on the right side of luck. But lately, it seemed as if her luck had run out, and maybe it was a coincidence, but it all seemed to have started the moment Revenant came into her life.

She’d known better, but he’d wormed his way past her defenses with his oddball charm and heart-wrenching vulnerability when he told her about his childhood. And then he’d gone and saved a patient she’d nearly killed, earning her eternal gratitude.

Then it turned out that Revenant was exactly who she’d thought he was from the beginning.

A cold killer with no conscience.

Gods, what an idiot she’d been. And really, she had no one to blame but herself. She couldn’t even blame Revenant. He was a meat-eating shark, like he’d said, and she’d expected him to become a vegetarian. Tiger sharks couldn’t change their stripes, and neither could a Shadow Angel.