Before she could take another step, a hand clamped across her mouth and someone grabbed her hands and twisted them behind her back. Her immediate reaction was to struggle but to no avail. Whoever held her was too strong and took care to stay out of the way of her high heels.
Then she caught a whiff of a distinctive odor.
Pheromones.
Damn it to hell, not these guys again.
“Well, well, I finally have you. You’re a hard woman to pin down, Ms. Tempest.”
Mina stared at the man leaning against the wall opposite the entrance to Jedd’s apartment. She hadn’t seen him for a very long time, but that didn’t stop her recognizing him. He was just as good-looking as he’d always been, but he needed to work on his human persona. Two little orange horns peeked through his curly black hair.
Neville .
Damn the man to hell, although heaven help her, he was already there.
A shaft of red-hot anger knifed through Mina’s gut, heating her blood and driving her temperature higher. She jerked her head around, trying to dislodge the hand covering her mouth.
“Oh, do take your hand away, Darryl, you darling boy. We can’t expect her to answer us if you’re stopping her talking, can we?”
Darryl— Darryl, you darling boy ?—removed his hand, but took hold of her upper arm instead. Mina twisted her head to look at him and discovered it was the man who’d first accosted her outside the nightclub.
She transferred her attention back to Neville as he let loose with a loud whistle. The door to the stairwell opened and the same group of incubi from the club slipped into the hallway, gathering around Neville.
Mina decided it was time to go on the offensive instead of standing there like a victim. “What the frickin’ hell do you think you’re doing, Neville?”
“Oh, I don’t think anything. I know .” He inspected his nails, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “My boys are here to suck you dry, my dear. Of course, I can’t do it myself. I’m really not into incest.”
He patted the cheek of the incubus closest to him. “Besides, I much prefer my boys. Women are so…fussy, for want of a better word. Just so much trouble. But with you out of the way, Lucifer will have to name me as the next Lord of Hell.”
Mina’s mouth dropped open for a moment. Good gracious, the man was mad. “You have to be kidding. You think I’ll stand for your bully boys holding me down and raping me simply so you can suck the energy out of me?”
“Oh no, my dear, you won’t be standing. You’ll be lying down.”
He laughed at his sick joke and waved a hand at the incubi. “Take her into the stairwell, my darling boys. It shouldn’t take long with so many of you.”
She didn’t bother telling him the incubi couldn’t suck all the essence out of her because of her smattering of succubi blood. Instead, she kicked out at the men as they started dragging her toward the stairwell. She’d be damned if she’d let Neville do this to her.
Opening her mouth, she yelled at the top of her voice, dodging the hand of one who tried to cut her off. She twisted. Squirmed. Fought against the hands holding her. The breath rasped in her throat. Her heart raced. Her muscles grew taut as tension gripped her body.
It was a no-win situation. The men were too strong for her. They moved her closer and closer to the door to the stairs. Then she heard the sound of running feet and a yell that echoed down the corridor. The incubi hesitated and that gave the imps rushing toward them, Brel-ez at their head, enough time to launch a rescue.
The imps might have been small, but when their dander was up, they were vicious. Kicking, biting, going for the genitals, they attacked the incubi. In the resultant chaos, Brel-ez pushed Mina away. She landed on her butt on the carpeted corridor, her mouth open in shock.
The men took flight, racing for the stairwell. Neville screamed for them to hold fast but they ignored him. When the last one disappeared,