“Come in,” he said, stepping aside so she could enter.
“Jack,” Reese said cautiously. “What’s going on? What’s wrong? What happened?” She bit her tongue after the third question, knowing she was pushing it. Instead, she focused her eyes on the man as he shut the door and waited for his response.
“It’s Andie.” His back was still towards her, and she could see the tension clearly in the wrinkles that clung to his white collared shirt. “She’s gone.”
Reese tilted her head and took a step towards Jack. “What?” she asked, not sure that she heard him correctly.
“Andie is gone,” he repeated, and then turned towards her.
“Gone?” Reese blinked once, twice. “As in, gone? Disappeared? Kidnapped? Gone?” When Jack nodded, Reese felt herself get frustrated. “Then what are you doing here? Why aren’t you changed? Why are you at home, wallowing in her disappearance rather than out on the streets looking for her?” She reached out and slapped him across the face. “Get you’re shit together, Jack. You’re an angel! What the fuck are you doing?” She noticed Beverly leaning against the hallway entrance that would take them to the kitchen. “Sorry for the language.”
“Reese, I’m crazy about Andie,” Jack told her, and he seemed as surprised about the slap as Reese was giving it to him. “I can’t lose her. And I’m afraid if we go out and something happened…”
“You aren’t going to do her any good by worrying like this–”
“It’s my fault. This whole thing is my fault.”
“Jack, get dressed. We’ll go find her together. Think for a second: do you know where she might be, who might have taken her? Anyone with a grudge against you, who might want to hurt or incapacitate you in any way? Anything?”
Jack thought for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed and darkness touched him. Reese took a step back just because of how intimidating he looked in that moment.
“I have a very good idea of where she might be.”
33
“So what’s the catch,” Keirah asked, tilting her head to the side and looking at Hades from the corner of her eyes. “Do I have to give you my soul in return for his, or something like that?”
“This is not something to joke around about, Miss Shepherd,” Hades told her. Though his voice was low and soothing, Keirah found that it got on her nerves. How was he so calm always? Did he ever get riled up or upset to the point where he shouted? Did he always have control over himself? “Souls are vital to the function of Purgatory. Usually, if one were to leave, another would have to replace it. It keeps the balance and ensures everything continues to run smoothly. Without chaos.” He looked at her then, as though she were responsible for any and all chaos that took place right now.
“However,” he continued, keeping his eyes on her. “Noir never really died, so his soul doesn’t need to be replaced. You see, a demon is created, just like angels are. They are not born, they are made. Crafted for a sole purpose. When they are sent here, they died on earth and need to pay a penance of sorts. Once the penance is paid, they are released back to earth. If the penance is not repaid, they stay here until it is.”
“So Noir would have been stuck here forever, essentially?” Keirah asked, curiosity clear in her voice.
“Essentially,” he agreed. “His penance would have been to stay here without his chaos. His life here would be monotonous, boring, completely void of any meaning whatsoever. Not exactly a punishment, but something that would have drove him crazy. The punishment he faced–before you showed up here, of course–would have been watching you live your life without him. Watching you move on. Watching you become happy with a life he would have abhorred. Being with a man he hated. Having children. Perhaps going to school. Getting a degree. Working on your career. A traditional, boring life.”
“He saw me?”
Hades shook his head. “No. He ignored you, though he had the opportunity to watch you. In his room, he has a mirror that allows him to watch you and only you, when he was out of the Vortex. Now, I cannot be sure if he took advantage of doing so, but I know, for the most part, he did not. He ignored you.”
“Oh.” Keirah wasn’t certain, but she felt disappointment flare through her veins.
“I wouldn’t take offense to that, Miss Shepherd. I say this not to make you feel better, but because I want to be completely honest with you about everything before we agree on this deal. He ignored you. But not because he didn’t care. In my opinion, it is precisely because he did care that he did not want to watch you. I believe he figured you would move on with your life, and did not want to watch you do so without him. Noir does not come off as someone who wants to be forgotten, you see. He wants to know he had an effect on you. And clearly, he did.”
“So because he was never human, he would have been condemned here for eternity because Noir never would have redeemed himself.”
“But you, Miss Shepherd, are his redemption.” He offered her a soft smile. “I had a feeling, when he first arrived. Not only did you sacrifice everything to get here–your sister, your family, your education, your career, the little friends you did have, a chance at a normal life–but you’re here. For him. You offer him a hope he never would have had, ever.”
Keirah felt the weight of his words settle on her, and she couldn’t be sure how to feel. As usual, she decided to keep her mouth closed, keep her words to herself. Instead, she decided to focus on what they meant, especially since they came from a third party outside observer who didn’t have any real ties in her relationship with Noir.
“You have more power over him than you realize, Miss Shepherd.”
This was getting to be too much. Keirah felt her cheeks burst into flame at his words and she couldn’t help but look down at her feet. She needed to say something, anything in order to shift focus.
“So all we have to do is walk up that staircase and we’re back on earth?”
“Yes.” He turned back towards the staircase in a sweeping gesture. The movement resembled a royal flourish, but Keirah had a feeling he did not intend for it to be so. “I believe it will lead you to the Sahara, since that is where Noir was placed initially on earth, once Lucas Burr and Hell decided they did not wish for him to be present there anymore. From there, it is completely up to the two of you where you will go and what you will do with your lives. Should you return to Onyx, you will still be Keirah Shepherd, with your history exactly the way it’s always been. Just because you’re here for a portion of time does not mean it’s erased.”
“How long have I been gone for?” Keirah asked. “I mean, in earth time? Does a day here equal a day on earth?”
“More or less,” Hades replied. “I would not worry about that. I would worry more about what the catch is, and think about the consequences of your actions.”
Keirah furrowed her brow once again. “Consequences?” she asked. “I don’t understand.”
“Every action has a reaction,” he explained. “A known terrorist can’t just disappear from a city he’s been terrorizing for years without some kind of fallout, whether negative or positive. I’m not quite sure what your intentions are once you get back to earth–if you get back to earth–but should you choose to return to Onyx, you can’t simply reintroduce him to the environment without consequences to those actions. In the entire time that you’ve spent with him, Miss Shepherd, have you given any thought to how you and your life are affected by all of this?” He pushed his brows up, his hands placed behind his back.
“I–” Keirah was about to respond but stopped herself. She refused to look at Hades, but allowed herself a minute or two to process his question. Had she thought about the consequences of her actions and what it would mean for her life?
No. She hadn’t. She didn’t really take the consequences of her actions seriously. She had given up her schooling, her career, her sister, her family. She had been arrested and beat up by desperate cops. Yet… she didn’t really think about what all of that meant.
&nbs
p; Hades allowed himself a small smirk. “Exactly what I figured,” he said, a slight dash of arrogance tainting his tone. “You need to take this time to really think, Miss Shepherd. Is he worth your life? Is he worth your plans? Is he really, truly, one-hundred percent worth giving everything up for?”
“He gave everything up for me,” she pointed out to him. “Or else he wouldn’t be here.”
He smirked. “That is not what I asked.” He turned around now so his tall, sturdy frame blocked the staircase from Keirah’s point of view. “Once you leave–if you leave and are able to get through everything, accomplish what it is I have set out for you–you cannot come back here. If Noir dies again on earth, whether it is for you, by you, in any which way, he will not be allowed to leave again until he serves his penance. Which means he will be condemned here forever. You and I both know that.”
“And me?” Keirah tore her eyes away from Hades’ shoulder, as though she could somehow see through him, to that staircase. She listened to what he told her, let the words sink in without any hesitation, but her mind was busy coming up with plans, coming up with scenarios. Perhaps she didn’t give herself time to think of the consequences of her life, but she knew she was good at planning, strategizing, doing everything she could to ensure she knew what to expect.
“I suppose that depends,” he told her. “What you do on earth depends where you go. Perhaps you will be condemned to serve a penance here as well. Perhaps you will be sent directly to Heaven or Hell. Only you can make that choice, with the choices you make now.” He shot his brows up. “Now do you understand the consequences? Now do you understand why it’s so important to think about what this really means for you?”
“I understand, yes,” Keirah said, “but regardless of the consequences, my choice is and will always be Noir. If he somehow winds up back down here, I will find him again. There’s no doubt in my mind. There’s always a way. People are willing to pay anything when the right price comes along. I am confident we will be together forever, however long that might be.”
“Romantic.” His smirk was still on his face, but the word didn’t seem particularly complimentary.
“Not necessarily,” Keirah replied. “It’s just honest. A fact.” A pause. “Now, can you please tell me what the catch is?”
“You’re ready to leave?”
“I’m ready to be with him without anything looming over our heads. I’m ready to focus on each other even for just a few days.”
“Fair enough.” He moved his body and positioned it back so he faced the staircase. “In three days’ time, you and your companion will have the opportunity to leave Purgatory and get back to earth. I cannot tell you where you will end up. Like I said, it will most likely be at a desert or a rain forest, someplace where the environment itself it torturous. How you get back to Onyx or go wherever you wish to go is entirely up to the two of you.”
Keirah nodded. “Understood,” she said.
“You will lead Noir up the staircase,” Hades continued. “He will follow you. He will be right behind you. The catch is that you are not allowed to look back. You claim to love this soul, and perhaps you do. But without trust, there is no love. You must trust that he is following you. You must trust that he remains right behind you.”
“And if I were to look back?” Keirah asked, her mind exploding with possibility. “What happens then?”
“If you were to look back, Noir would be condemned to Purgatory, like I said. You would be forced to leave, and you wouldn’t be allowed back.” His steel blue eyes took in Keirah, took in the angle of her jaw, the roundness of her cheeks, took in her dark, calculating eyes, and something in him realized something. “You aren’t… plotting something, are you Miss Shepherd?”
She furrowed her brow, looked at him through hooded eyes. “I’m sorry?” she asked.
“Plotting.” Hades repeated, though there was no frustration in his tone. “Somehow, you managed to swindle Henry into getting here. I know you did, because Henry would have charged a high price. Something like your soul. And since your soul is still clearly in your possession, I know you got around it. You’re clever, Miss Shepherd. Calculating. I can see it in your eyes. And if you’re clever enough to get around Henry, then I know you’re going to attempt to give me a problem. I’m telling you right now: don’t do it. You will regret it.”
Keirah wasn’t sure whether to be on guard or flattered that he took her as a threat. She hoped her face was a mask of innocence, because she was plotting something. “I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about,” she murmured.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Do not play coy with me. You do not know me well enough to get to me. You are not that resourceful. Whatever you want to try, I’m telling you don’t. And if you do, I can promise you–I do promise you–that you will not like the consequences. Are we clear?”
Keirah allowed a smile to crawl onto her face. “Crystal,” she told him.
34
When Andie woke up, she had the sudden urge to keel over and wretch those delicious pancakes she had for breakfast that morning. She gagged a few times, leaning as far over herself as she possibly could in case something did come out, it wouldn’t get her clothes dirty.
It suddenly hit her that she had been kidnapped. When she realized her current predicament, her blood ran cold and she warily looked around. She was in some sort of vacant warehouse with cardboard boxes scattered around. Whoever originally owned this place must have cleared out a while ago.
Out of all days for her to be kidnapped, though, it just had to be the day of Melinda’s bachelorette party. This was most inconvenient, to say the least. She let a frustrated frown touch her features, trying to piece who would take her and why. If this had to do with Jack Phillip, billionaire, it might be to acquire a large sum of money. If this was the case, Andie wasn’t particularly worried because Jack would pay the ransom and there wasn’t a good possibility that Andie would be hurt in any way. However, if this was an attack against Jack Phillip, also known as the Black Wing…
Well, then what would she do? Jack couldn’t reveal who he really was in fear of the danger that would surely come to him, his home, his company, and to her. Was her life worth less than those Jack, as the Black Wing, would no doubt save? Maybe it didn’t even have to come down to that at all. Maybe they didn’t know who she was and just wanted money. Her head started to sear in pain, an affect from the chloroform they no doubt used on her. She wouldn’t have gone without a fight, that much she knew.
“Well, well boys,” an unfamiliar voice drawled as he drew nearer to the woman. “Look who’s up and alert – and who hasn’t thrown up on the floor. Congratulations, Miss Shepherd. I commend you on your ability to hold your bile.” He flashed her what might have been a charming grin if Andie wasn’t tied to a chair with a massive headache to end all other headaches.
From the chair Andie was tied to, she could hear low footsteps headed in her direction. She sucked in a sharp breath and tried her best to put on a look of contentment – anything, really, except fear, deciding to ignore the comment he had directed at her. She had been in this position before, but then again, it wasn’t like Bill really knew what he was doing. Now, though… Lucas Burr before her certainly seemed to look like he knew what he was doing.
“What do you want from me?” Andie tried to make her voice sound firm, but due to the chloroform, it was still sort of tipsy and came out sounding as though she was drunk. No matter. Her face conveyed what her words could not, contorted into scowl, her eyes narrowed, her jaw locked together.
Burr chuckled at Andie’s attempt at being tough. Women these days, always thinking they were stronger than they actually were. Sliding his hands into his pockets, the man slid into a kneeling position so he was now eye-to-eye with his prisoner, that smirk still chiseled onto his face. If Andie wasn’t tied up, she’d probably sock him.
“You’ve been quite the nuisance, Andrea Shepherd, haven’t you?” he asked her, co
cking his head to the side as his eyes took in her face.
“I’m sorry,” she all but spat, and then gave him a smirk of her own. “I didn’t realize I answered to you, asshole.”
“You know,” the man said, amused and upset at how freely she spoke to him, “I’m surprised how that mouth of yours hasn’t yet got you into trouble, Miss Shepherd.”
“Don’t worry,” Andie cracked. “It has.”
“I’m the devil,” Burr said bluntly. “I’m here to recruit souls for my army, and Black Wing is making the process difficult at the moment by giving everyone here hope. Can you believe it? Hope, in Onyx. However, Jack has some hope of his own. Your sister told me everything, Miss Shepherd. She came to me, desperate for Noir, and I told her how to get him back.”
The color drained from Andie’s face. Keirah helped Burr get her just to get Noir back?
“Why do you want me?” Andie asked. “I don’t understand.”
“You wouldn’t. Your puny little mind wouldn’t be able to comprehend it. If I take away Black Wing’s hope–that’s you–he won’t have the fire in him to provide people hope. Which means people will lose their faith and turn away from God. They’ll turn towards me.”
“So you plan to kill me?”
He nodded. “In front of him.” He began to pace in a dignified manner, his chin tilted up, his hands behind his back. “He’ll never forgive himself. I just need to know where he is, so I can get word to him.”
“I’m not going to tell you,” Andie murmured, though the confidence she had had nearly disappeared by now. He was going to use her to get to Jack, and she couldn’t let that happen, no matter what.
Burr grinned at this, as though he expected her to say something along those lines. “I was hoping you would help me out,” he told her, standing up. “You are a member of the fairer sex and I would really not wish to hurt you, but heed my warning: Black Wing is something I want more than anything. He is more important than your life. If you do not tell me what you know about him, why he cares for you so, you will feel excruciating pain. Do I make myself clear?” He arched a brow at her.
The Dark Paradise Trilogy Box Set Page 85
