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My fingers tightened their grip on his, and I blinked back the stinging tears. Why was I getting so stupid and emotional? Fane had only come because he wanted the Infernal Sol. It had nothing to do with me personally.
A shudder ran through the building and groaning reverberated. Fane yanked me into another hall moments before the ceiling caved in. His arms shielded my head as dust and debris rained down a few feet away.
I buried my face in his bare chest and breathed him in, letting his heady scent calm the tremors racing through me.
“You okay?” Fane asked, his lips close to my ear.
I nodded against him. “I’m just ready to get the fuck out of here.”
He pulled back, staring at me for a prolonged moment before he continued down the hall with me in tow. “There’s a secret passageway that leads outside. No one knows about it except Karn and maybe Ziva, but she’s dead thanks to you.”
My gaze lowered to his bare ass. “Are you going to run around the Underworld naked?” Not that I was complaining or anything.
Fane stopped in front of a large painting. “As much as you’d like that, Ididbring clothes.” He ran his finger around the gilded frame until a click echoed, and it swung open, revealing a dark tunnel. “Stay close.”
“Not a problem. I’d rather not get lost in a secret passage in the Underworld.”
The demon shifter peeked over his shoulder, the faintest hint of a grin pulling at his mouth. “If you got lost, I’d find you, remember?”
I had to be hallucinating that smile and flirtatious tone.
True to his word, after ten minutes of wandering through the gloomy tunnel, we exited at the east side of the mansion, far from the front door where most of the guards and guests had escaped. Fane grabbed a canvas bag of clothes hidden in the bushes and slipped into jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a pair of boots. More chaos spilled onto the cobbled street as curious demons emerged from buildings.
Fane scanned the perimeter. “We’ll head to Logan’s place. It’s too long of a walk, so I’ll find a bike to steal.”
I shook off the fatigue and shoved back the horrors of the last few hours, maybe days. “Please tell me you mean a motorcycle and not a bicycle, especially not one of those tandem contraptions we both have to pedal.”
Fane smirked. “I don’t think we’re the type that’s into tandem bikes. I’d rather walk and carry you—” A string of curses rumbled beneath his breath, and he tensed as three figures moved in the shadows. He used his arm to push me behind him.
“There you are, Mav. We were starting to worry.” A high demon stepped forward and gave a knowing smile, his silver hair tinted red in the streetlights. “I see you found your girl.”
Fane gave a curt nod as the high demon and two dux demons shortened the distance between us. “There were too many guards in the front. We had to find another way out.”
“Friends of yours?”I asked through our mental link.
“They helped infiltrate Karn’s to drop the magical bombs.”
The high demon hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “Let’s get back to Savannah then.”
Fane shook his head. “Sentries will be all over the door tonight, searching for the two of us. We can’t risk it, Perry.”
Perry, the high demon, crossed his arms, crinkling his Iron Maiden t-shirt. Piercings ran along one ear, and a hoop with a silver ball hung from his septum. “That wasn’t the plan. We were supposed to get you in to find her and then take you both back to Savannah.”
“Plans change. I wasn’t expecting to kill Karn, but he had her pinned to a wall and wasn’t going to let her go.”
Perry’s face blanched, and the dux demons stopped scanning the street, giving Fane their attention.
“Shit. You killed the fucker?” Perry dragged his hand through his locks, pulling on the roots. “I was not anticipating that.”
The dux demon on the left grinned, making his blue eyes glow. “Ruin won’t mind that Karn’s dead.”
Perry rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck as if he was loosening up for a fight. “This doesn’t change things. You can’t stay here. Karn’s allies will be pissed when they find out.”
“I know.” Fane stepped back until his body became flush with mine. “We’ll lay low tonight at Logan’s and head back to Savannah tomorrow. Trust me. I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary.”
The high demon nodded and then tilted his head to peek at me beyond Fane. “It’s nice meeting you, Tatum. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Uh, thanks.”
