Read Online Your Lycan or Mine? (Broken Heart Book 14) by Michele Bardsley - Free Book Online

better going into a hinky situation with him at her side. The man could throw a punch like Mike Tyson and pin bad guys with a well-placed stiletto. But Lilith wasn’t your average bad guy, and she’d already taken out Nor without lifting a finger.
    The four of them hurried as a unit toward the slight incline. Just as they reached the south wall, the rain returned with a vengeance. Ash was soaked in seconds, but it didn’t matter. Her mind was focused on their goal. She scuttled along the wall, turned the corner, and slipped toward the doorway. She stopped at the edge of the entrance and peeked around it.
    Candles offered dim light in the dark space. She saw the demon immediately. He was nearly seven feet tall, his obsidian skin as bumpy as a toad’s. His eyes glowed an awful red.
    Ash’s heart jumped into her throat. She knew instinctively that was the creature who’d tried to kill her in that Las Vegas alleyway. Jarod gripped her shoulder. His touch, like magic, shed the terror from her like molting skin. She could see the demon for what he really was, another evil fuck-twit to vanquish from this plane of existence. She’d let fear cripple her for a moment, a testament to the demon queen’s power and reach.
    But no more. It was time to focus on the task at hand.
    Kicking Lilith’s ass.
    Ash’s gaze shifted to the thin, trembling woman. Claire. An older version of the girl she once knew. Her old friend looked drained, her expression confused, her eyes glazed.
    Ash scooted back and leaned toward the men. “Surprising that asshole is our only advantage.”
    “We’ll take the demon,” said Jarod.
    Relieved, she nodded. “I’ll get Claire and destroy the complete vessel.” She’d have to put the pieces together then destroy it before Lilith managed to kill Claire and use the statuary as a conduit to this world.
    She slipped out a dagger from her left boot and then hurried into the crypt with Jarod and the two vampires right behind her.

Chapter Nine
    W HEN THEY ENTERED the sanctum , Claire looked at them, her eyes wide and glazed. She huddled in the corner hugging her purse, her thin body quaking as tears tracked her cheeks. Pure fear lit her gaze.
    Jarod, Patrick, and Lorcan headed toward the demon. Ash bee-lined to Claire. She bent down. “Claire? It’s Natasha. I’m here to help you.” She gestured to the altar that housed the lion’s body. “Do you have the owl?”
    Claire nodded. Her fingers were embedded in the purse, and Ash wasn’t sure if she could pry it out of the woman’s hands.
    “He tricked me,” she whispered.
    “I know.” Ash sheathed her knives then slipped her hands under the purse and tugged it. “C’mon, honey. Let go.”
    Claire’s fingers unclenched. Ash took the freed bag, unzipped it, and pawed through the contents. She found the owl head and pulled it out. Claire moaned in terror, covering her eyes with her hands. Ash put the purse next to Claire and patted her hand. The woman was in no condition to escape on her own. In fact, her breathing was too shallow and she was overly pale. “Hang on,” said Ash. “Just hang on.”
    Ash dropped the bright red owl head on the marble floor. It instantly shattered. She grabbed the lion from the alcove and threw it hard, relishing the sound of its destruction. She withdrew the snake from her pocket and dropped it, stepping on it with her boot heel. Obliterating Lilith’s vessel wasn’t enough. Not for all the pain the demon had caused. Ash stomped the bits into dust.
    Triumphantly, she turned toward Lilith’s demon flunky. It had fallen to its knees. Patrick and Lorcan held on to the monster’s arms, but it appeared to take some effort to keep him immobile. Jarod stood over him, silver balls of magic pulsed above his palms. The demon bared its teeth and growl. “I am the doorway for Lilith!”
    “Sorry, buddy,” said Ash. “The door’s closed.”
    The demon’s laughter echoed into the room. “My queen is more clever than