Catching Hell

by D. B. Sieders

  Maybe that was why he and his brother kept living with me.

  “Time to sort this mess out,” I muttered, blowing a greasy lock of hair out of my face and nodding at Mara. The look of post meal contentment drained from her face along with the blood. She was terrified of facing the boss, with good reason.

  “I’m sorry.” Mara took a step back, her gaze darting wildly. “He knows my name—my real name—he summoned me to do his bidding. I had no choice.”

  Crap on a cracker. That was how the bastard demon had done it. To know a tempter demon’s true name was to have power over it. The more powerful the summoner, the more compelling the summons. My colleagues and I knew the lower-ranking demons and tempters we tracked only by their street names or classification, so we had to rely on negotiation, diplomacy, bribery, brute force, and skill in hand-to-hand, or rather demon-to-demon, combat to rein them in or subdue them.

  Mara’s voice brought me out of my philosophical musings. Damn it, I had such a hard time staying on task. “I can’t go back to the hell realm. I’m sorry, Jinx, I just can’t. He’ll kill me.”

  Mara had fled the hell realm to escape a nasty demon who’d put a hit out on her. She held refugee status, but it could and would be revoked if she broke the rules.

  The succubus took a step back and seemed on the verge of bolting. She’d go into hiding if I couldn’t talk her down. Then I’d have no way to protect her from the boss or from the demon who’d used her to get to me.

  “Mara, you can’t run. I’ll have to chase you and trap you, and I really don’t want to do that.” I placed my palms up, one empty and one holding the demon-filled jar, and took a slow, careful step in her direction. “It wasn’t your fault. I’ll make sure the boss knows that. I’ll take care of you. He’ll be more interested in this,” I said, nodding toward the jar.

  “You can’t protect me from your boss or from the demon who summoned me,” she said, pleading, gaze darting from my face to the angry trapped demon. “You don’t even know what he is. You won’t keep him trapped for long.”

  I took her arm, gently but firmly, and gave it what I hoped was a reassuring squeeze. “I won’t let you take the fall for this. I promise.”

  I braced for her skepticism and another round of protests, probably an attempted escape, but she surprised me, gazing into my eyes as if I’d hypnotized her. It couldn’t be Hannah. I didn’t feel her.

  But I felt that strange sensation again. The bubbly thing that had held on to Hannah in the alley had returned, only this time it was calmer, like a gentle hand instead of a red-hot grappling hook. Mara must have sensed it too. Her stiff shoulders relaxed, and the wild-eyed look of panic fled from her gaze.

  Even weirder, I could taste her terror and anxiety, like I’d drawn it out of her. Lucky for me, demon emotions tasted a whole lot better than demon essence.

  “Okay,” Mara said, nodding while Lacey stood dumbfounded. Lacey had pushed herself off her car and was fiddling with her curly red locks as she stared in slack-jawed awe. Apparently, I had impressed her too.

  Whatever. I had questions that needed answers and a demon to deliver. I dragged Mara a few feet before she stopped, jerking me back as she stood frozen with a similar expression of disbelief and wonder plastered across her face, just like Lacey.

  Then I realized they weren’t staring at me. They were staring at the vision in front of the door to HQ, his broad shoulders nearly obscuring the entrance to our lair. Tall, dark, and stunning, shadows wafted around him as if caressing his form, accenting his curves and edges from the chiseled features of his impossibly handsome face to the lean muscles of his body. The demon hunter who’d recaptured Murkowski’s demon. I recognized the hoodie, though the hood no longer covered his head and face, and that wasn’t all.

  He was magnificent, he was a god, and he was exactly as he’d appeared when Mara took his form.

  Only he was the real deal. And he was supposed to be dead.

  Mara tugged on my hand and let out a little gasp. “Wow, he’s perfect. I thought you’d dreamed him up. I had no idea he was real.”

  “Oh, he’s real, all right.” Shock and disbelief gave way to all-consuming rage. Ten years of searching before coming to the heartbreaking conclusion that he was dead, forever beyond my reach, and he shows up now? Where had he been? Why hadn’t he come back when I summoned him?

  Why was he back now?

  My eyes stung and my chest went tight. No, I would not cry. Damn it, I would not cry in front of him. I wouldn’t let myself drown in years of grief. I couldn’t. Anger was better.

  He smiled. The bastard demon who’d disappeared all those years ago without a word stood before me and had the audacity to lift his full, sensual lips into a smile—nay, smirk—as if he could win me over with a grin and a wink.

  I jerked out of Mara’s grip and marched over to him. He watched me with interest. Drinking my body in with his sultry gaze, his eyes flashed red with the light of some faraway corner of the hell realm made of fire and sin and forbidden pleasures. His gaze grew wary, however, as I came closer. He squared his shoulders and adjusted his stance as if braced for impact.

  He wasn’t dumb.

  I slowed, taking a moment to savor the sight and scent of my long-lost demon, and sighed. He was even more beautiful than I remembered. He looked away briefly, as if chagrined, but not before a rush of pain flashed in his otherworldly gaze.

  No. That vulnerable, wounded, sexy-as-hell act wasn’t going to get him off the hook. He owed me answers.

  I would not run to him. I would not wrap my arms around him and sob. I would not hold on to him and never let go. My poor, wounded heart wouldn’t survive when he disappeared again.

  I smiled and ran my fingers over his chest, reveling in the sensation of his hard muscles as they tightened in response to my touch. He parted his lips as his gaze filled with hunger.

  “It’s good to see you, Jane.” His voice was low and husky.

  “Welcome back, Dominic,” I said, before planting a gentle kiss on his sensual lips.

  Then, I reared back and punched him square in the jaw.

  Chapter Seven

  He rubbed his jaw and looked more amused than annoyed, the prick. Come on, that had to have hurt. My knuckles ached so bad I thought I might have fractured them. I prepared my aching fist for round two, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me close as he loomed over me.

  “I probably deserved that,” he said, gaze growing serious. “I owe you an explanation. I don’t expect you’ll forgive me right away, but—”

  I tugged out of his hold and took a step back, planting my sore hand on my hip while trying not to wince or drop the jar holding Murkowski’s demon. I seriously needed some ice for aching fist of fury. “Right away? How about never? I thought you were dead.”

  I squared my shoulders and gave him my best glare. “You’re lucky I didn’t stab you with my knife. And don’t bother with the explanation unless it involves alien abduction.”

  The corners of his lips twitched as he fought back a smile.

  “Alien abduction with anal probes,” I added. “I hope they went good and deep too. Without lube.”

  Lips still twitching, he coughed and cleared his throat before speaking. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but aliens had nothing to do with my disappearance.”

  “Whatever. It’s not like I care.” I didn’t mean a word of it. Of course I cared. My heart was racing, and my stomach had filled with butterflies. I was dying to know what had happened, where he’d been, why he’d walked out on me.

  But I would rather die than admit it. I wouldn’t tell him how much I’d missed him. How I still dreamed of him at night. How I sometimes peeked in the corner of my closet, hoping against hope the grown-up version of my childhood demon companion would miraculously appear, take me in his arms, and never let me go.

  He grinned again and took a step forward as if daring me to back away. I refused to give him the satisfaction, but I really hated it when people did
that, especially demons over six feet tall. I already had to look up at him. This close, I was bound to get a crick in my neck from throwing it back far enough to meet his gaze.

  Thankfully, he did me the courtesy of leaning down, his gaze locked on my mouth before it rose to meet mine. God, those eyes. I’d almost forgotten. The first time I’d seen him, I’d been frightened by his red eyes. But when I’d looked closer, I realized they weren’t red at all. His irises were a vivid shade of green with sparkling red light swirling and twinkling within them, as if he glowed from somewhere deep inside.

  I shook my head and channeled my scorned woman fury, glaring at him.

  “But you do,” he said, his smile widening in triumph.

  “I do many things.” I cocked my head to the side. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

  “Care,” he said, low and sensual.

  “Do not.” It sounded lame even to me. I looked away so he wouldn’t see exactly how much I did care.

  He leaned in closer, moving slowly lest I unleash my fist of fury on his vulnerable jaw or perfectly straight nose. His hot breath caressed my ear as he whispered, “I saw what you did with the succubus—what you wanted to do with me. I wish it had been with me. I missed you so much…”

  I was about to snort in derision, but he sounded sincere, his voice filled with such longing. Was it? Did he long for me the way I still longed for him?

  It didn’t matter. He’d hurt me. I could admit that to myself, even if I’d never in a million years let him know. I couldn’t trust him. He was right about one thing. I did care enough to want answers.

  But not enough to beg for them. I had my pride—the only thing I had where he was concerned. And if he wanted me to listen, he was going to have to work for it.

  “Liar.” I resisted the urge to rub my cheek against his as I whispered, “And the only thing I want to do with you is watch you burn in hell.”

  He pulled back, still smiling, but this time it didn’t reach his eyes. “If that’s what you truly want, you’re ten years too late.”

  What was that supposed to mean?

  Then it dawned on me. “You were summoned to hell? You’ve been there all this time?” Why hadn’t he answered my summons? If he’d survived this long in the hell realm, he must be as cunning, devious, powerful, and strong as he was deliciously attractive. Surely he could’ve come back or at least contact me had he wanted to.

  I shook my head and stopped focusing on his masculine beauty and magnetism. I’d thought he was dead, but he’d been alive all this time. And he’d stayed away. He hadn’t cared about me as much as I’d cared about him. That had to be it. It was the only explanation that made sense.

  Damned if I let him know how much that hurt. “Why are you back now? And why did you catch Murkowski’s demon for me? You didn’t bother telling me back in the alley. Of course, you didn’t bother to identify yourself either. You always had terrible manners.”

  “You were doing remarkably well on your own, and I wasn’t sure you’d welcome the help, or the distraction, especially if you knew it was me.”

  Okay, he had a point, but still. “Fine, but what about—”

  He held up a hand and cut me off. “The demon? I trailed him as far as midtown before I caught him in an ambush. I know his type. Messenger demon. Emissary of a high-ranking demon lord who has no business entering the earth realm. I’ll interrogate him and find out what he’s up to.”

  A messenger demon working under orders from a demon lord?

  Demon lords were barred from traveling to earth and interfering in earth’s business. It was the reason demon travel was highly regulated. Nothing more powerful than tempters, who were weak and vulnerable in the hell realm, were permitted on earth under the same refugee status that allowed Mara to stay.

  Sounded like someone was breaking the rules to come after me and my demon. And I was going to find out why, not D.

  “No, I’ll take him to the boss, and we’ll interrogate him. It’s my job. My case. You stay out of it.” I poked him in the chest with my index finger, which now resembled a good-sized sausage link. I needed to take something for the swelling.

  Amusement returned to his gaze as he crinkled his nose. “As much as I’d love to continue this conversation, I have a meeting to attend. You do, too, but I’d suggest you shower first. You smell fouler than the pit of Hades. We’ll talk later.”

  My cheeks flamed as outrage and humiliation flooded my being. He turned and walked toward the entrance of headquarters. My headquarters. What business did he have—

  Realization dawned. He had a meeting. The tall, dark, and dastardly demon was off to a meeting with my boss, the boss.

  I marched over to him and placed my hand on the doorknob, blocking his access. He could’ve easily pushed me aside, but he simply paused and stared down at me, one brow arched.

  “You aren’t…working here, are you?” I asked, dreading the answer.

  He grinned again, the fiend, before answering. “Not officially. I’m here as a consultant.”

  My jaw dropped. “A consultant? On what? We’ve never used consultants before. And who called you?” Presumably someone at HQ had been able to contact him, which meant the boss had been holding out on me. I was starting to think the boss had been a big fat liar on all fronts.

  D grew serious once more, brows furrowed and jaw ticking. “You’ve never faced such a powerful demon before. And you aren’t the only one. Your boss, the Arbiter, is concerned. We haven’t had such a high-ranking demon breach a portal in over a decade, and that one was the first in centuries. I’ve been tracking him through the hell realm and came here just after he did through…unofficial channels.”

  I froze, mind racing as I took it all in. Dominic was here. He knew more about the demon in Mr. Murkowski than my boss had bothered to share with me. I hated to admit it, but that would make him useful as a consultant.

  Wait, he’d called my boss the Arbiter?

  “The boss is called the Arbiter? Like a title?” I asked, incredulous. “How do you know him?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know what he calls himself on earth, but Arbiter is his title in the hell realm.” Then he furrowed his brow and studied me, like he was trying to figure me out, or maybe wondering how much he should or shouldn’t tell me.

  Or maybe he was wondering why I looked and smelled like a landfill.

  “We’ve been working here for years, and he never told us he had a title,” a slightly breathless female voice spoke, giving me a start.

  I turned to find Lacey and Mara behind me, eavesdropping on my conversation with The Betrayer, a title I’d just invented for Dominic. I’d have to print some business cards for him. I’d incorporate some miniature pitchforks and poop emojis.

  D cast a wary glance at Lacey and Mara before turning his attention back to me. “I’ve never met The Arbiter in the…flesh, but he and I share similar interests.” He emphasized the last word while staring hard at me.

  “Okay,” I said, backing away from the door. “Don’t let me keep you. The boss hates people who show up late.”

  He smiled. “Thanks for the tip. We’ll talk later.”

  My mind raced. Finding D and getting free of my demon was why I agreed to work for the boss’s demon-hunting organization. It wasn’t just because I was highly qualified, being demon possessed and all. I’d wanted D back. We hadn’t been able to find or summon D, and the boss had told me—not unkindly—that D was probably dead. I believed him. I’d given up hope.

  Oh, I was about to have it out with the boss. Big time.

  I backed off. D opened the door and strolled in with Lacey and Mara practically tripping over themselves to follow. I couldn’t blame them. D had a great ass, especially framed in tight black denim. He moved with the fluid grace of an athlete—I’d kill to have that kind of stride, so confident, as if he owned the place. D could definitely do swagger.

  “Stay out of my business and off my case,” I yelled.

  T
he show ended too soon once D disappeared behind the elevator doors. He’d be heading to the lowest level of the building. The boss occupied an expansive underground office that was a combination reverse penthouse and dungeon. At least I assumed he kept his dungeon down there.

  “So?” Lacey said, arching a winged brow and leveling her green-eyed gaze on me. “Care to spill?”

  “What?” I feigned ignorance.

  “Don’t be coy. Who on earth is that fine creature who fell from the heavens and into our office?”

  I snorted. “He didn’t fall from heaven. He slithered out of the pits of the hell realm like the demon he is. No offense, Mara,” I added.

  “None taken.” Her breathy succubus voice had grown breathier. “He is a demon. More powerful than a tempter, and a bad boy. But he’s so pretty.”

  Lacey laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t mind having him slither over to my apartment later. Unless, of course, he’s spoken for.” She turned her inquisitive gaze on me again.

  If she was expecting me to claw her eyes out or descend into a fit of jealous rage, she was about to be disappointed. I gestured to the elevator with a casual flick of my wrist, regretting the movement as soon as I made it. I winced again when I bothered to look at my injured hand. It had swollen to nearly twice its normal size.

  “Be my guest. Just be warned, he’ll ghost you. You may think you’ve captured and tamed the beast, but when you least expect it, he’ll disappear on you.”

  Lacey smirked. “Duly noted.” She looked at my hand and said, “You might want to wrap that up, but I have to say, I’m impressed. It was a nice punch.”

  “Thank you. I’ve been saving that for ten years. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need hot water, a few gallons of soap, and a serious convo with my inner demon before talking to the boss. Mara, you stick with Lacey.”

  Mara looked dubious, but Lacey shrugged. “Wanna grab some real food? Bet you haven’t been on an actual dinner date in ages,” she said, wagging her eyebrows at the succubus.