I stepped back. Paxdon stood next to me with a bright smile.
“Fine, but he hates when I interrupt his morning sex time.”
Anger washed over me. I didn’t wait for the model to let Lucifer know I was there. I gripped the ivory handles and turned the knob. He would have to face me one last time.
2
Lucifer
“You lied to me,” my daughter whined as she sat next to her mate on the couch in my office. It was the same thing she’d said numerous times that day, but I needed her, and I wasn’t about to admit that out loud.
“I didn’t lie. It was all in the contract. Next time, you should read binding contracts before signing in blood.” I tapped the pen made of bone on my desk. My plan was finally falling into place. Every night, I fought the urge to go to Gemma’s room. I couldn’t go there until I had an idea of how to fix everything. I’d already let her down once. There was no way I was going to let that happen again.
“I still don’t understand why you signed the contract.” Atieno kissed my daughter on the head.
“Because you were dead,” I said.
Pandora and Atieno had fought someone who was killing people in New Orleans. When Atieno dropped to the ground, Pandora thought she’d lost the love of her life. My daughter could bring people back to life, but when she did, someone else would die. She begged me to bring back her true immortal boyfriend, but nothing in the contract said I had to bring Atieno back, because he’d never actually died. I’d only had Pandora sign the contract so she would do her part and run hell while I took a vacation. I had no intention of really taking a vacation, but I did need someone to direct the souls while I helped Gemma figure out her next step.
My eyes drifted to the framed photo on my desk. It was of Gemma sleeping in my bed. Each day, she spent more time asleep, and it frustrated me that nobody had a cure. I’d had the cameras installed for security. More than three hundred years earlier, someone had worked hard to keep us apart. I wasn’t going to sit back and let that happen again. And when I found out who’d done it, that person would die a thousand times for hiding Gemma from me.
“Did you hear a word I said?” Pandora asked with a frown.
Pandora looked so much like her sister Paldon. My grandkids were also spending the week in hell. Paldon and her mate, Ryker, were taking care of pack business. My daughter had made me promise not to give them anymore pets. She hadn’t liked it when I’d given the twins a dragon. I still didn’t understand why I had to keep the dragon in hell and not let it live on their land.
“He’s not listening,” Atieno said rudely. “We will get through this.”
I heard everything they were saying as I checked the list of incoming souls. Pandora pulled herself out of her mate's arms and walked across the room. She sat down in one of the massive chairs made of bone. Those chairs were a constant reminder of what I did to people when they crossed me. A thousand years before, a demon had tried to take over hell when I was out partying. When I returned, I tortured him for years before boiling the skin off his body and turning him into a chair.
Since his arrival, Atieno had worn a permanent frown. He had a perfectly pressed suit, almost as nice and expensive as mine. The man knew how to dress. Atieno didn’t just work for the FBI—he was also the shifter king. He’d taken over the job a few years before and was trying to clean up the council.
“How do you expect me to do your job?” Pandora asked. “I don’t understand which rings of hell to send people to.”
Pinching my brow, I leaned back in the high-back red velvet chair. “Use your best judgment. You're both in the police field. You should understand the different levels… or just send everyone to heaven and let God deal with it.”
“No.” Atieno let out a sigh. “We are not going to piss God off, but you need to put together a better note sheet than that.”
I glanced over at the piece of paper on my desk and smiled. “Level one, petty fuckers. Level two, douche bags. Level three, pimps. Level nine, fucktards. And everyone else in the middle. That seems perfect. I’m not sure how much more I can spell this out for you.”
“Lucifer,” Pandora groaned out as her fingers sparked magic. “Fucktards is not any way to categorize this. Serial killers, rapists, pedophiles, and liars—those are the categories. Which level they go to is what I need to know.”
“Honestly, where I send them depends on many factors. If they have a dumb name, they might go to level nine,” I said flatly. “If you really need to know, I can get you a book, and you can study the guidelines of hell.”
“You're leaving today,” she pointed out. “I don’t have time to read a book.” She waved her hands in the air and shot a spark of magic. It went through the Jean-Michel Basquiat painting I’d had one of my demons steal. If I hadn’t needed her to run hell, I might have sent her to the ninth circle.
“My bad,” Pandora mumbled as she looked at the painting, which was now ashes.
“That was worth one hundred nineteen million dollars,” I groaned.
“I said sorry.” Pandora ran her hand through her hair. “My powers are changing each day and getting harder to control.”
Both Pandora’s and Paldon’s powers had increased since they’d turned thirty-five, and they would keep getting stronger. After they’d both mated, their powers had increased even more. I didn’t know how much stronger they would get.
“It’s fine. I’ll have Edgar kidnap Jean-Michel Basquiat from heaven for a few days.” I would need to have that happen while I was gone. God hated when I took his angels to do things for me. Pandora’s punishment would be having to deal with my do-gooder brother.
“I’m not sure stealing people from heaven should happen.”
“I’m not stealing—I’m borrowing. When he finishes the painting, Edgar will take him back. Simple.”
“The grim reaper stopped by earlier.” She handed me a piece of paper. “He wanted me to double-check the list. How do I know what to do with them?”
“You need to clear your mind and reach out.” I ran my finger over the paper and reached out to each soul. That was the true way to figure out how evil people were—not by what sins they’d committed but by how far they might go. Some souls were so damaged they would never be able to do good again.
“See, I can't do this.” Pandora stood and paced in front of my desk. “I can’t reach out and touch anyone's soul.”
“But you can. How do you think it works when you bring someone back from the dead? You are my only living child who can truly do my job. I want you to take over for me permanently.”
Pandora’s eyes widened. “No… you said one week.”
I had said that. It wouldn’t be for a very long time, but one day, Pandora would take over running hell. Books written about the prophecy had assumed I would have a son to take my place. People thought it would be a child between Gemma and me. But when someone chose to change the future by splitting us up, a new prophecy had formed, and if it was correct, Pandora would need to learn how to take charge.
Pandora leaned across my desk, knocking over the jar of pens. “Why does Atieno think we are going to be here longer than a week?”
“This time, you will only be here a week, in hell time,” I said.
“I know what you’re doing.” Atieno glared at me.
“I’m going on vacation.” I nodded toward the packed suitcase. “I should be back by the end of the week.”
Gemma’s looked peaceful in the photo on my desk. I wouldn’t come back until her name was cleared and I’d found a cure. Not finding a cure wasn’t an option.
The doors to the office flew open, and Gemma stood on the other side, hot as hell in a pair of leather pants and a white shirt. My expensive suit pants became painfully tight. Next to her stood my best friend Paxdon, holding my two grandbabies.
“I don’t care who you are sleeping with. We need to talk.” Gemma tapped her foot.
I moved across the room and reached out, but she pulled awa
y from my touch. “You are the only person I want to be with,” I said.
“Your secretary said this is your normal time to have sex with someone.” Even though her face was utterly blank, I could hear the hurt in her voice.
“Whoops, my bad,” Alexia, my assistant, said from behind Gemma.
I usually encouraged my staff to be assholes, but nobody was ever allowed to disrespect Gemma. The smell of brimstone filled the room, and I called for my demons. Seconds later, the reception area was full of two-foot-tall demons who did everything I asked. I didn’t have to speak the words. They knew what to do. Alexia’s screeches resounded as the demons carted the ex-Victoria’s Secret model down to her new home.
“I should feel bad.” Gemma's eyes followed the demons to the elevator that led to the lower levels. “But the woman was a bitch.”
“You won’t ever have to worry about her again.”
“Who are you?” Pandora asked her as she walked over and grabbed one of the babies from Paxdon.
I led Gemma to my desk and pulled her onto my lap as I sat down in my chair. It felt good to have her in my arms. Years before, she would sit in the same place as I worked. When she’d disappeared, I wanted to blow up my palace. Instead, I’d turned into a playboy and spent years sleeping with anyone who looked like Gemma.
“Gemma?” Atieno asked.
“It’s been years, Atieno.” She smiled at him. “I thought you might be dead, since you never came looking for me.”
I didn’t think it was possible, but Atieno paled a little. He was already pretty pale for being half vampire, half tiger. “You sent me a message. I did what you wanted.” Atieno narrowed his eyes.
“What did it say?” I demanded.
“Gemma could no longer stand how Lucifer treated her and planned to spend time in Nirvana.”
Nirvana was the one place I would never go. The place was lovely, but it also held the person I feared most—Mother Nature. Just thinking about her sent a chill down my spine.
“Nirvana would be ten times better than where I spent the last three hundred years. I still can’t believe you guys all believed those messages without talking to each other about them. Atieno, we spent years together, and you never even tried to contact me.”
Someone had gone to great lengths to make sure Gemma had stayed locked away. She’d said the Titans had done it, but they wouldn’t have had the power to cover their tracks. “I’m the fucking dark angel. Who the hell thought they could do this to me? I’m going to skin that person alive and watch the blood drain from their body.”
“Dude… that was messed up.” Pandora bounced the babies in her arms. “Let’s try to keep the blood and gore to a minimum around the babies.”
“They don’t understand,” I said.
“You’re right,” Atieno said. “I should have looked for you. But our bond was never severed. I figured when you were ready, you would come back.”
“Bond?” Pandora glared at Atieno.
He reached over and gripped her hand. “Not the same bond as we have.”
Gemma gagged on my lap. “He’s my blood brother.”
“You have the same parents?” Pandora asked.
“No,” Mother Nature announced as she walked into the room. “When Atieno was abandoned and sent here, Gemma was told by the gods to give him powers. Each time she transfers powers from the gods, a little piece of her transfers into the person.”
“What are you doing here?” I growled.
“Rumor has it Gemma came back, and I wanted to see it with my own eyes,” Mother Nature said, clasping her hands together in delight. She glided across my office until she was only a few feet away. “I’ve missed you, my dear.” She wrapped her arms around Gemma.
“Funny how everyone was under the impression I was in Nirvana,” Gemma bit out. “I have to wonder why you never corrected anyone.”
Mother Nature stepped back and glared. The room temperature dropped drastically. Snow fell from the ceiling, coating the floor and desk. If I didn’t stop her soon, I would have two feet of snow to deal with.
“Stop it.” I glared up at Mother Nature. “Now, tell me why you kept it from me that Gemma wasn’t with you, when you were one of the few people who knew how close she and I were.”
The snow stopped falling, and the temperature warmed back up. I held back a groan as the snow melted into puddles, soaking the papers on my desk.
“Gemma sent me a message. She said you were a cheating piece of shit and she was taking a break from everyone.” Mother Nature shrugged. “I didn’t blame her, though I was a little hurt that she sent a message and didn’t come to me herself.”
“I can’t believe you guys,” Gemma snapped. “Not one of you actually looked into me leaving. Three hundred years.”
“That is pretty messed up,” Pandora said. “If Paldon doesn’t call me the next day, I go looking for her. If we ever get in a fight, we wait, like, two days before hashing it out. If anyone close to me ever sent a note saying they needed a break, I would hunt them down and cuss them out for not explaining what was going on. Instead, you let someone you all claim you are close to disappear for three hundred years without trying to find her.”
“You are my new favorite person.” Gemma stood from my lap. “You want to help me take down some Titans?”
“No,” Lucifer and Atieno shouted at the same time.
“I would, but I’m under a dumb contract to run hell.” Pandora frowned. “If you can wait a week, I will help you.”
“I wish,” Gemma replied. “However, I’m not sure I have a week to live. When the Titans locked me away, something happened to me, and I’m dying. Evanora can’t find a cure. So I want to take down that person and the rogue Titan before I meet my maker. I’m hoping to stop in and see if God will give me a pair of white wings.”
“Nobody ever listens to me,” I said. “I will not let you die. I’m going to deal with the Titan, and you are running hell one day.”
“Not happening.” Pandora glared at me.
“Nothing to worry about now,” I told my daughter before turning to Mother Nature. “Now, you want to tell me how you found out Gemma was back?”
“You have a traitor.” Mother Nature shrugged as she grew a white daisy in her hand.
In hell, I always had traitors or a demon who was mad about something. Hell’s Facebook page encouraged posting dirt.
“You two need to make it seem like Gemma is still here after we leave. Everyone else knows I’m going on vacation.”
Nobody was allowed in my area of the palace. As long as I led Gemma back to my quarters, I could easily sneak her out. It had been years since I’d deceived my own, and the thought brought some excitement back to my world. Too many years of the same thing had gotten boring.
“On one condition.” Pandora grabbed a pen and paper from my desk. “I need you to do me a favor.”
“Absolutely not,” I growled. “I’m the fucking devil.”
“And you need a favor,” she pointed out. “You want me to run hell and cover for Gemma. I want you to owe me.”
I tapped my finger on the paper. “Technically, it should be Gemma owing you. I will sign as long as Gemma signs a favor to me.”
Pandora shook her head, and Gemma glared at me. “Fine.” I signed the paper. What Pandora didn’t know was that I would always come when she wanted.
3
Gemma
Wearing high heels wasn’t the best idea when walking through the jungle at the edge of hell. This wasn’t my first time being there. Lucifer and I would spend hours in that jungle before I was taken away. Now each step was a reminder of what we’d had and what he hadn’t cared enough about.
Over the last few days, I’d hoped he would come into the room and tell me everything was taken care of. It was nice to know he was actually working on a half-assed plan. I felt terrible for Pandora having to deal with hell for the next week but not so much for my one-time friend Atieno. I ground my teeth as I thought about
the people who I’d believed were my closest friends. Instead of looking for me, they’d believed a simple message. Nobody remembered who’d sent them the news or how they’d gotten it.
Hell’s forests were peaceful and refreshing, but the fresh air did nothing to help me feel better. Being around Lucifer, my body didn’t feel like it was getting worse, but it wasn’t back to where it had been at one time. I could sense the connection to the gods, but even that wasn’t as strong as it had been.
I tripped over a large branch and let out a very unladylike scream before flying to the ground headfirst. Before I’d gotten sick, I’d been able to run in high heels and fight. Now I couldn’t even walk in the woods.
“You need to watch where you’re walking,” Lucifer said, peering down at me as I lay on the ground of the jungle.
I took a deep breath before I stood up and brushed the dirt off my pants, trying to decide if I should take Lucifer's powers away for being an asshole. “Thanks for the advice. I’ll remember that next time before I trip.”
His brow wrinkled. “I didn’t mean it as an insult. I’m worried about you.”
“Really? But you didn’t care for the last three hundred years. Why now?”
“Women,” he said. “I thought you left me.”
Every woman, young or old, wished for a knight in shining armor. I thought I’d found mine. No matter what, I would have searched high and low for him. But he hadn’t done that for me. I guess that’s what happens when you fall for the devil.
“Because someone gave you a note from me telling you I was going to Nirvana. A note you didn’t keep. You didn’t even remember who gave it to you.”
I’d asked everyone about who had sent the messages that were supposedly from me. Not one person could recall how they’d gotten the note. Every sign pointed to magic being used, but it still upset me that Lucifer hadn’t come to me and demanded in person to know why I’d left.
“I think there is more to it, and I have Paxdon searching for info.”
Fated Mates of the Underworld, Books 1-3 Page 29
