Read Broken Heart 06 Come Hell or High Water for Free Online

her. She's a means to an end. Like father, like son. Use, use, use ."
    Connor said nothing.
    "Give me the talisman that you stole from the hunters," she said, "and I'll leave."
    "You'll leave anyway once the portal closes."
    "Stubborn," she said on a long sigh, "so very stubborn."
    She snapped her fingers.
    The demon materialized in front of me. Reached out with sharp claws to grab my shoulders. Hauled me so close I flattened my palms against its clammy, blackened flesh.
    Its fetid breath made me gag.
    I cast a binding spell, but the red sparks drifted onto the demon and melted like snowflakes. Big surprise. I hadn't had my pint, and I'd already expended too much energy fighting the hunters. And Lilith's coil was sapping me, too.
    I felt sick.
    Lilith giggled. "She is adorable."
    The demon shook me until my head rattled like a bobble-head doll. Then he squeezed me so hard, I felt my ribs buckle. Agony jabbed me like thin, savage blades.
    "Phoebe!"
    I looked at Connor and saw Lilith lift her hand. Her nails grew long and sharp; then she raked his cheek. "Say her name again and he'll rip off her legs."
    My vision went gray, but I kept my eyes open, eyes that couldn't give in to the hot ache of tears.
    The demon sank its big, black teeth into my shoulder. Pain ripped through me as my flesh was savaged. The evil bastard reared back and grinned. My blood dribbled down its chin and my skin hung grotesquely from its mouth.
    Oh, no, you did not.
    Being pissed off made my magic surge.
    Light erupted from my hands.
    The twin blows propelled the demon backward. Its claws raked at my flesh as it scrambled to hold on. Pain spiked my shoulders.
    Without the demon holding me, I didn't have the wherewithal to stand. I fell to my knees, swaying, watching as it staggered into the table.
    It growled and stalked toward me, but Lilith held up her hand. The demon instantly halted; its hate-filled yellow stare ravaged me.
    "She's a little spitfire, isn't she?" She patted Connor's wounded cheek. "You know what just happened, don't you? Just so we're clear, she'll be dead in a day, maybe two, and not by my hand." She sent a fond look to her demon pet.
    "You bitch," said Connor, his voice ragged. "I willna let her die."
    Agony shuddered up my spine. I couldn't work up the energy to scream. The pain was excruciating.
    "I'll give you the antitoxin if you give me the talisman."
    "I only have half!"
    "But you'll find the other half, won't you? I bet you even know where it is."
    "I willna give you the means to escape your hell-bond!"
    I felt a shift in the atmosphere, and then a cold wind blew into the kitchen. Lilith's face contorted and she stamped her foot. "No! I'm not ready!"
    There was a sucking sound, and she and the demon disappeared.
    My bindings dissipated. I dropped forward to my hands, trying to stay on all fours. I couldn't find the energy to stand or to move. Pain throbbed in every nerve ending. Blood burbled in my throat. My vision went fuzzy.
    "Phoebe," muttered Connor as he knelt beside me. "Phoebe."
    I tilted to the side and fell into the strong arms of my demon husband.
    Then I passed out.

Chapter 5
     

     
    "Phoebe?" The ragged voice dragged me down, down, down, into a terrible, exhausting heaviness. "Please, m'aingeal . Open your eyes."
    "Can't." I felt weighed down, like a pallet of bricks pressed on me. Pain radiated from the back of my skull, down my spine, to every nerve ending. My lungs felt wet. I coughed, and rust-colored liquid dribbled from my mouth. Blood.
    A wet cloth pressed against my lips and the ick was wiped away.
    "Did I fall under a wheat thresher?" I asked. Gah. Even my throat hurt.
    "Worse," he said. "You'll be okay, lass."
    "Liar." I tried to work up a good bout of righteous anger, but I was too tired. I should be thoroughly pissed at Connor. He was the reason I was married to a demon. And the reason Lilith's pet beat the crap outta me.
    "I hate you," I said without much venom. "A lot."
    "I know, and I deserve