Fallen Into Hell: Fallen: Book 2

by Layna Snow

  The doctor’s suggestion was met with silence. Everyone wondered how Connor would take the news of his turning, if he would understand the implications of extra blood, but it seemed to go right over his cute little head. “Did I lose a lot then?” he asked.

  And Sasha could only nod. She didn’t want to tell him with Gage around. She wanted to tell him when she could explain, and comfort. Or when Marco could explain, and someone else could comfort. She didn’t really care.

  “How long have I been out?” he asked, and Sash made eye contact with Gage, hoping he’d understand what she wanted.

  “We need to talk about that night. Tell me what happened? Tell me why I now have two alpha teams that can’t operate!”

  Connor frowned, his blue eyes opening and focusing on Gage. She was sure that the light hurt, and his wince only proved it, but she couldn’t turn it down anymore, then the rest of them wouldn’t be able to see.

  “My team can operate without me. Was anyone else hurt?” he protested, as if annoyed at the insinuation that he hadn’t trained his team well.

  Gage moved farther into the room. “No, they aren’t. And yes, they can. But they refused. They said that they will not work if you can’t lead them. Sasha’s team can’t work. She has them so dependent on her, that they’d just run around in circles. I asked them to do a training exercise and they failed.”

  Oh, they were so great! Needing her to lead them, needing her every direction! She was sure Marco would be fine, but the team probably wouldn’t follow him. He didn’t have enough cleavage!

  “Why are you smiling, Sasha? That isn’t something to be proud of.” Gage insisted, but obviously he didn’t get what made a good team! She did. Equal parts love and dependence.

  The same things that formed a good relationship.

  Which, was probably the reason she didn’t have relationships. Valkyrie didn’t mate for life! They just messed around and if they got pregnant, they’d raise another little Valkyrie, teaching her in the arts of poisons and potions. Because the child was always a Valkyrie, and it was always female.

  “Whatever you say, captain!” she saluted, turning back to the patient. “You wanna start, Sugar? I wasn’t there for the beginning.” She prompted.

  He cleared his throat and nodded.

  “My team staked out the area. We saw the Witches, eight male and six female, go in. They brought a bound woman with them. What happened to her?” Connor asked, his eyes almost shining. Actually, they were probably glowing, given his new vampy status.

  “Her body was found nailed to the floor and torn into pieces.” Gage said, his voice devoid of any emotion.

  This was the man she was used to. The one that kept apart from people and locked his emotions down. Well, anything negative. Anger could bring out his beast and then everything would be demolished. Nothing wrecked a building like an enraged Berserker.

  “Oh, that makes sense,” Connor continued, “We saw through one of the windows that they were placing the struggling woman on the floor and so we went in the front. Colt had to pick the lock, and that took time.”

  Sash nodded, “So that’s why the door was open.”

  Connor nodded, and swallowed again. “I’m thirsty or hungry, I don’t know which. Can I have some water?” he asked. And it broke Sasha’s heart. She wanted to give him what he needed, but she knew that he wouldn’t take the news well.

  “Not until you’re done.” Gage answered. And she felt the need to hug him for it. Shit! She was turning into a sap!

  Connor nodded and took a deep breath. “We were quiet entering. We knew that they were in the back and we hoped to make it in and take out a few of their people before they killed the girl. But they must have had someone watching. Someone shot at us and it just missed Steel’s arm. He knocked over the tables to provide some cover but we were at a bad angle, and we couldn’t get off a clean shot. We had some tranq darts, and we got one or two, but it wasn’t enough. And then the girl screamed and we called for backup.”

  She could tell that his voice hurt. She could tell that he didn’t want to continue talking. He had lost a life, and she knew it would weigh heavily on him. He had that conscience thing. Pesky!

  “We got the call and came in. I-“

  “Where were you?” Gage demanded.

  “Well, my team was around the building, pretending to be homeless men and women. Angie pretended to be a hooker. A little before, I picked up a guy at a club and made out with him a bit across the street. That kind of thing is normal in that area. Wouldn’t draw attention. I was done when I got the call, so I crossed the street to meet up with my team. They were in the small alley beside the building. I told them exactly what to do and we broke up.”

  “You took Marco with you.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement.

  “Of course. And wasn’t it good that I had.” She said, glaring at the big man. “We opened the door and started shooting. I used my bow and I hit a couple. Marco used the dart gun and hit a couple more. He should be commended, by the way. He hates that thing, but he did it for the good of the cause.”

  “Why should he be commended for doing what he is supposed to do? That’s like congratulating a person for not being a serial killer.” Again, Gage was straight faced.

  “Axel would have,” she defended.

  “Well, Axel isn’t here and he left me in charge. If you don’t like it, then wait and take it up with him. Now continue.”

  Sasha bristled at the order, but rolled her eyes. The sooner they were done this, the sooner that party-pooper could leave!

  “Fine. Then I went in because if I was hit I wouldn’t die. Connor and his team are… well you know!” Mother of shit! She couldn’t say it! “I threw the smoke bomb I was working on, and the baddies dropped.”

  “Did you test it before using it?”

  Sasha growled. “There wasn’t time! I just finished it. Besides, what harm could it have done?”

  “So you brought safety equipment? You had gasmasks for your team, and Connor’s team?”

  She shook her head. “No, okay, I could have done better! I could have brought some, but I didn’t think about it! It was a no win situation. We had to get to the girl, then we had to get out!”

  “But you didn’t get the girl. And you didn’t get out. Where was the rest of your team?”

  Sasha rolled her shoulders. She was definitely putting something in his coffee. Maybe not to kill him, but it would make his afternoon hell, and his bathroom really smell. “They went to the back, but the doors and windows were locked.”

  “And you don’t have anyone who can pick locks. You didn’t train your team to run well. Maybe they could have gotten in and gotten to that Demon. Instead they were ineffective, and you paid for it. They will be re-trained before going out again. You will all be tested. We have other teams, Sasha. Ones that work better than yours did.”

  No, maybe she’d just kill him.

  “Gage, enough! It was a bad situation. Now, what happened after? I passed out, didn’t I? There was a Demon, and it attacked us, tearing at Sasha’s arm,” Connor started.

  “Which is fine now, by the way,” She broke in, just to ease his mind.

  “I hit it, and it did something to my chest. But, it doesn’t hurt? And I’m so hungry. How long was I out? What the fuck happened?” Connor demanded.

  And before she could say anything, Gage showed his lack of diplomacy. “The Demon was killed, and all the Witches were detained. They weren’t part of the Alliance. They were just dumb people wanting power. It was a bad lead. Last night was a botched mission. You were killed, Sasha was poisoned, but she managed to make an antidote when she woke up.”

  “So, I was resuscitated? That doesn’t make sense. Why doesn’t my chest hurt?”

  “Because you’re not Human anymore. Marco turned you. On Sasha’s orders.” Gage stated.

  Jesus fucker! She wasn’t going to tell him like that! Because she knew how he’d react. She knew he’d hate her forev
er. And she was right.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? You turned me into a creature that feeds off of Humans like a parasite! You thought that was a good option?” He glared at her and she could feel his distain.

  If looks could kill, she’d be bleeding on the floor. “Connor. You would have died! You know that-“

  “I’d rather be dead than be a monster! How could you do that, Sasha? I thought you were my friend. And you turned me into this… thing!”

  Actually, she felt like she was bleeding. His tone so scathing that she was sure that she was cut up. She tried to explain, but no words came to her. The one time that counted, and she was speechless!

  “Get the hell out of here!” He yelled, pulling himself up on the bed.

  She could tell he was tired, and, didn’t even ogle his chest. She just left. Because no matter what he thought she’d rather he be a monster that hated her, than be lost forever.

  19

  The small room was eerily quiet as Sophie waited. She expected for someone to come down the hall any moment, and after the Demon’s last comments, she wasn’t sure if it would be her guys, or someone else looking to take her.

  And when had she started calling them hers? They didn’t belong to her, in fact they didn’t even have a relationship with her. Now that she talked with El Diablo, their pact was void. They didn’t help her get there, and so she didn’t have to stay with them, right?

  And why did that thought make her feel sad?

  It wasn’t like she had a connection with them. She only knew them for a few days now. Two, if she was being specific. It was too soon to form an attachment, right?

  Maybe she was just upset that she would be missing out on the wonderful experience of learning more about her sexuality. She would never get another chance like this. And, to be honest, no guy would ever be good enough now.

  Besides, didn’t she read somewhere that sex for girls made them feel emotionally more than it did for men?

  She didn’t delude herself. She knew that the guys just wanted her for sex, and really, that was more than she had before, and that was enough.

  Oh sugarplum! Why was she analyzing this so much? It didn’t matter, because it was over.

  And really, she had other things to worry about. Like the footsteps that seemed to come towards her from the tunnel to the right.

  She wanted to hide behind the statue, but managed to hold her ground. They’d come through anyways, and it wasn’t like the statue would hide much of her. She wasn’t that skinny.

  She wanted to cringe, to make herself as small as possible, but there was no way. And there was no time. The halls didn’t echo like one would expect, and before she knew it, people were coming out of the tunnel.

  “-will kick his douchewaffle ass if I need to. No, don’t try to talk me out of it. You know I’m right!”

  Sophie could have cried when she heard that wonderfully sarcastic voice. She could have, but she didn’t. Instead she rushed towards the sound.

  Adrian came out of the tunnel first, his weapons drawn as he turned towards the noise she must have made. She didn’t notice, too caught up in her relief and she threw herself into his arms. At the last second he dropped the knives, which she knew probably saved her life.

  “Shit! Phie!” He said roughly, wrapping his strong arms around her and pulling her close to his body. She wanted to be closer, but his breastplate of his armor was in the way. Either way she was so happy to see him. “I might have killed you! You dumb woman! If I hadn’t have dropped my knives, you’d have been gutted! Fuck. That would have been horrible! Coming all this way to find you only to kill you!”

  Sophie pressed her face against the warm armor, feeling tears fill her eyes. She only just met them, but she knew what to expect with them. She knew that they would protect her and she knew that they would do a lot for her. These past few hours were anything but predictable, and she could feel her energy draining along with her anxiety.

  Adrian chuckled as he stumbled farther into the room, his movements jerky. “Looks like Death is eager to see you too, Babe. Maybe you should peel yourself off of me and give him a nice ‘Hello’, before he starts to get jealous, hmm?”

  She could hear the growl from beside them and looked up to see the big black man looking down at her. His eyes were hot, and… happy? It made her chuckle silently. As if she would forget him!

  Sophie let go of Adrian and he reluctantly lowered her the few inches to her feet. He didn’t seem to want to release her and to be fair, she didn’t want to go. She wanted to be pressed to his body for a long time, but she wasn’t going to ignore Thane. And she wanted to be pressed to him just as badly.

  She didn’t even get close to him yet when he rushed forward the last few steps and swung her up into his tight embrace.

  He was shirtless and she felt a powerful serenity wash over her as she pressed against his warm skin. This was where she wanted to be. These men were who she wanted to keep her safe, were who she wanted to spend time with.

  She pressed a kiss to one large hard peck before running her cheek over it. She could feel his heart beating, could feel how strong and powerful it was. It was comforting, reassuring, soothing. It was like a balm for her soul, his scent washing away the thick, darkness that clung to her still.

  “Sorry,” he grunted, and she could feel his lips press to her hair in a gentle kiss. She wanted to soak it up, but she couldn’t let him think it was his fault.

  Soph shook her head, pressing another kiss to his chest. He didn’t do anything wrong. He tried to protect her, but there were too many of them and they were in a tunnel with two sides and no place for her to hide. It was she who was sorry, who should feel guilty. She was the one who didn’t bring anything to the table. She should have protected herself. Or maybe it was the fact that she brought danger to them at all.

  ”I’m sorry too,” she mouthed against him, hoping that he understood. Hoping that he’d forgive her. That they both would.

  “I can’t wait to get you back to the cave, get you some place where we can strip you and show you not to worry us so much.” Adrian said, his tone lighter. “I didn’t get to fuck you, and after all that training I put in, I deserve something, don’t I?”

  Sophie’s heart sank a little. And she really didn’t know why.

  She didn’t even hear Thane’s growl, or see Sin roll his eyes.

  Didn’t know what she expected. She knew that Adrian was only in it for the sex. She knew that he wouldn’t feel anything for her. They did this a lot, he even told her that the afternoon when they trained. He was a player, and she was a convenient body.

  But she had hoped, in vain obviously, that things were different. That she was different. She could actually see herself falling for these guys. They were larger than life, filled her in more ways than just physical.

  But this wasn’t a romance book. And she shouldn’t expect happy endings where everything worked out. This was life. She’d have to guard herself better in the future.

  But they didn’t have a future. She’d have to tell them that when they returned. It was time for her to leave.

  “Fine… time to take her back. She’ll need to walk so we can have our hands free to fight. You can walk, can’t you Phie?” Adrian asked, and she nodded, even though she doubted that she could. Her legs were achy and weak from all the walking she had done. And she was exhausted from all the terror. Near death experiences could take a lot out of a girl!

  But she would try, because they asked her to. And because she didn’t want to be a hindrance anymore. She didn’t want them to think of her as that weak woman who needed them to protect her.

  Thane lowered her down, and held onto her to make sure she had her balance. After a second, he let go and nodded at Adrian.

  Soph tried to keep up as they walked down the tunnel. She tried to stay between the guys but Adrian was a good few feet in front of her, and she was sure that Thanatos was struggling to walk slow enough not to bump into her. He h
ad long legs, and she wanted to collapse on the ground and cry.

  Finally, after a few kilometers, Thane took pity on her and picked her back up. She wanted to protest, but she just let her head loll against his chest as he caught up with Adrian and urged him to move faster.

  She was too warn out to be grateful. Too tired to thank him. She just let things go on, because really, it didn’t seem like she had much of a choice in her destiny. Even her lucky penny had been rigged, and domineering people just continued to take over her life. So, for the next few hours, she’d let things go. She wouldn’t fight it.

  And then, she’d take back her life and live it to the fullest.

  She had no idea how long they walked, but finally they reached the dark hallway that lead to the guy’s cave.

  Thane put her down, her hands reaching to grasp a wall in order to keep her balance. Her legs felt like limp noodles. Her muscles protesting all the recent activity. Her body begged for rest, but she couldn’t rest yet. Even these dark tunnels held danger. She figured that out recently.

  Soph leaned against the cool rock, letting her cheek press against it, pulling strength, and peace from the very essence. She wanted to be as solid, as hard as the rock. To be as emotionless. She didn’t want to fall apart or fall in general! How would they find her on the floor? Not that she thought they would go in without her.

  And leave their sex-doll outside?

  Soph sighed and shook her head, not wanting to deal with that information yet. She would eventually think about this, analyze this, but not now. She would have plenty of time once she went home.

  The thought made sorrow press in on her. Made pain fracture through her body, anew. But she pressed it back with all the determination she had.

  “Come,” a deep, raw voice rose from the darkness, as a large hand settled on her arm. As much power and violence as that hand contained, Thane was gentle as he led her back into the cave.

  The soft illumination showed her that the place had been torn apart, and for a moment she thought that someone else had been there, but the guys didn’t seem concerned. In fact, Adrian looked a little guilty.