Angels of Darkness

They feel that they are ordained to take your place. Subspecies 61, the ‘normal’ human, has no value to them, except maybe as an occasional food source in a pinch.”
    â€œThey’re cannibals?” Her voice spiked a little.
    â€œOnly some of them. I meant a food resource for their war animals. Do you know what a daeodon is?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œIt’s a nasty breed of entelodon, a prehistoric boar. Picture a predatory pig, twelve feet long, seven feet tall at the shoulder, jaws like a crocodile. It eats anything, and once you mess with its genetics, it gets smart and breeds fast. They need a lot of meat.”
    When he opened his eyes, he found her looking at him. Karina sat submerged so deeply, only her face floated above the water. Warm color had returned to her cheeks. Her hair, slicked by the shower, swirled in the roiling water.
    Mmmmm. Mine.
    Lucas could reach out and pull her to him and run his hands up and down her body, to feel the heavy fullness of her breasts, the curve of her ass . . . If it wasn’t for fatigue, and the fact that she trusted him, anchoring him to the spot, he might have done it.
    His thoughts must’ve reflected on his face, because she pulled as far from him as the tub would allow. A haunted look claimed her face, sharpening her features. Like a stray dog, he thought, shivering, scared, and ready to bite. He held the key to her: turn it one way and break her; turn it the other and the pressure would ease. He’d been just like that a few years ago. The memory of being scared of everyone was still fresh.
    â€œYou know I can’t stop you. What consequences do you fear?” Karina asked.
    â€œRight now I just don’t want to fight with you,” Lucas said. “I fight with Arthur, with Daniel, with Henry. I’m tired.” And he wanted her to stop jerking back every time he looked at her. It made him feel like he was a monster and he had enough help with that already.
    â€œIf you want peace, let me have Emily.”
    â€œNo.”
    She clenched her teeth.
    â€œMaybe later. Down the road.”
    â€œWhy not now?”
    Irritation flared in him. “Because I can’t watch the two of you every moment of every day and you are stealing knives.”
    â€œThe knife was for protection. I won’t take another one. I won’t try to stab you again . . .”
    â€œIt’s not me I’m worried about.”
    She became utterly still. “Oh, my God.” Her eyes widened. “You think I would hurt my own daughter?”
    â€œYou wouldn’t be the first one.” Not by a long shot. “Shock is a bitch. Especially when mixed with venom fucking with your hormones.”
    â€œShe is everything I have.”
    She looked on the verge of tears. He forced himself to sound calmer. “And that’s why you could slit her throat the second I gave her to you. You’re both my responsibility. I said I would keep you safe. I don’t want you to hurt her or yourself.”
    â€œI had the knife since breakfast,” she told him. “You sent me into the room with Emily. I didn’t kill her. If I’d tried, you couldn’t have stopped me . . .”
    â€œHenry was monitoring your mind. Had your stress level spiked, he would’ve shut you down.”
    â€œThen ask him if I tried to kill her or myself. I had the opportunity. I got the knife so I could hurt you. Not myself.”
    Lucas rose and crossed the tub, pinning her between his body and the tub wall. The feel of her body against his shoved him right to the edge. In his mind all the leashes he put on himself were snapping one by one. Karina turned to the side, trying to hide from him.
    â€œLook at me.”
    Karina looked at him. Lucas peered into her eyes, looking for some sort of indicator of sanity. “If you had a loaded gun in your hand, would you shoot me?”
    â€œNo. If I killed you, I would be next. Either Daniel, Henry, or Arthur would murder me, and Emily would have nobody.”
    An honest rational answer. “Do you want to die?” He wanted her. He wanted to crush her in his arms and see her want him.
    â€œNo.” She shook her head.
    â€œWhat do you want?” He knew what he wanted. She was right there, caught against his chest. His heart was beating too fast.
    â€œI want to escape,” she told him. “I want to go back to my life.”
    She was sane and stable, or as sane as