He cleared his throat. “Do you like children, Darby?”
She snorted, coming out of her head and attempting to see into his. “That sounds like a loaded question, Hutch. Don’t be shy. Tell me what you’re really asking.”
There was a moment of silence before he opened up. “I’ve always wanted a family,” he revealed. “Three or four kids. Being an only child was a little lonely.”
She nodded her understanding, having been in the same boat. Sometimes she’d loved it, but there had been times—especially after her parents died—when a sibling might have made all the difference.
Hutch continued. “I love having honorary nieces and nephews, but I want to come home every night to the voices of my own children raised in arguments and laughter.”
“Three or four?” She pretended to ponder, but in truth, she’d always yearned for the same. Still, at thirty-two, they’d have to get working on it right away—Wait! What? She hadn’t even committed to Hutch. Couldn’t, until her baggage wouldn’t follow her to his door…which it already had. Dammit. How to give Hutch hope when she didn’t have much of it, herself?
“I like kids. I’ve always imagined having a few. But I’m getting older, Hutch, and there are a lot of things in my life that have to come before kids. It might not be in the cards for me.”
He sighed, long and loud. “Why are you constantly putting up road blocks?” Turning to her in the dark, he took her hand and placed it on his chest. “It’s pretty apparent how I feel about you, and I refuse to hold the words in any longer. I love you, Darby. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. The children I dream of are ours.”
She’d hoped he wouldn’t go there. Not because she was unsure of her feelings for him. She was one-hundred percent certain she loved him right back. But life wasn’t always straight forward, didn’t always hand you what you wanted. She was being stalked and threatened by a psychopathic bully, and not one part of her brain could move on to good stuff while Cy’s shadow cast its pall over her life.
She gave a sad laugh. “I know, Hutch. You’re pretty bad at hiding your feelings. Sooo…” She drew the word out, unsure how to proceed. “…let’s say I’m feeling, um, kind of the same, but can’t wrap my head around it right now with everything else going on. How much time will you give me to figure things out?”
His whole body relaxed against hers, his relief palpable. “As long as you need, Darby. I’m a very patient man. And if we can’t start on those kids, soon, I’ll settle for two. Or we can adopt. But know this. What you’ve just admitted to me is as good as a promise. When your problem gets solved, it’s a game-changer.”
She slid her leg over his prone body, nudging his cock along the way while placing kisses across his chest. “If I were a betting woman, I’d say the odds on are fifty-fifty.”
He drew her up over him, to straddle his renewed interest. “We have deities on our side, Darby. I’m putting our chances at closer to seventy-thirty.”
“An optimist.” She rubbed up and down. “I like that.”
“Mmm. I like that, too.”
The alarm rang at seven the next morning and Darby groaned. Two days, and she was already used to Hutch’s schedule, wanting nothing more than to stay in bed. But her internal clock change would do her no good when she had to go back to work Monday, so she struggled to sit up, pushing the mass of curls out of her face.
“Is it really morning?” came Hutch’s grumpy question from beneath his pillow.
“Rise and shine, Nightmare Man,” she teased.
“That’s right. If I sign that contract today, I’ll have a new title.”
“I kind of like it. It’s sexy and dark.”
“Right. Just the look I’m going for.”
She pulled the pillow away, ran a hand over his chin stubble and became serious. “You’ve got this, Hutch. Think of all the people you’ll be helping, doomed souls like Paxton and Gunni.”
“Don’t forget Galla,” he reminded her. “You must have heard Bel talk about him when you were pretending to be asleep in the car. That doesn’t worry you at all? Me dealing with the son of Satan?”
Darby chewed her lip. “She did say he’d have no power in purgatory, so I have to believe you’ll be safe.” She moved away and swung her legs out of bed. “Come on. The sooner we get your meeting started and ask the right questions, the quicker you’ll have your answers.”
Hutch grumbled, throwing back the covers. “You’re right. But I don’t have to like it.”
The intercom app on Hutch’s phone chimed an hour later, just as they’d finished up breakfast. The ID said, “Harvey”. Hutch tapped his device and responded. “Yes, Harvey?”
“Mr. Bates, James Fettergard is here to see you. Shall I send him up?”
“Please. I’m expecting him.”
“Very good, sir.”
Darby took their dishes to the sink to rinse. “How do you think he’ll take it?”
“Before or after he checks my pupils and sniffs my breath?”
She chortled. “I think he’s known you long enough to figure drugs and alcohol don’t play a part, mental issues however…” she trailed off.
“Yeah, he’ll think I’m crazy.” He huffed. “I’m not supposed to use that word, but in this case, I’d say it’s pretty apt.” The front doorbell rang. “Showtime.”
Darby dried her hands and moved so she could see the door open. A handsome black man walked in, a huge smile on his face. He embraced Hutch. “Damn, man, you scared us all, and look at you! You’re fine. Normal.” He laughed. “Wait. Did I say normal? I take that back.”
Hutch grinned. “Wait a few minutes. You’ll really be doubting your use of that word once I tell you what’s going on. But before I blow your mind, I’d like you to meet Darby.” He beckoned her forward where he looped an arm easily, over her shoulders. “Jim Fettergard, this is Darby Peltor, my girlfriend.” He said it like a dare, but Darby only smiled.
“If one can be called that at my age,” she responded and stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Darby. But can I ask for a quick favor?”
She wondered what he could possibly want. Coffee?
He pulled his phone from his pocket. “My wife asked, uh, pretty much demanded I send a picture of you two.” He held it, expectantly, waiting for her approval.
“Go for it,” she said, snuggling closer to Hutch, placing a proprietary hand on his abs. Jim’s wife would understand the significance of the possessive gesture.
“Great.” He snapped the shot and sent it off. “Now can a guy get some coffee? I had to cancel one meeting and postpone another to answer your summons, so I’ve only had one dark-blend this morning. Not nearly enough.”
“I’ll get it,” Hutch said. “You two get settled.”
Darby slipped from beneath his arm and gestured Jim into the living area, taking a seat across from him on one of the two couches.
“Do you know what this is about?” he asked, opening his briefcase on the coffee table and setting up his laptop.
“I do. But I think you should hear it from Hutch’s lips.”
“Interesting.” He regarded her curiously. “Is this to do with your situation?”
“Partly, but not entirely.” She shook her head. “And stop trying to lead the witness.”
He broke out into hearty laughter. “You and my wife, Amy, are going to get along great.”
“I look forward to meeting her.”
Hutch entered the room with coffee, and put the mug down in front of Jim, who looked up with anticipation. “Okay. Now spill it. What brought me here today?”
“You’re going to find this impossible to believe, but before the morning’s over, I promise, you’ll know I’m not crazy.”
“Just spit it out, Hutch. I’m not closed-minded. If you two have already married and need some papers drawn up, or if you want to change your will, I’m your man.”
“None of those, Jim. Yet.”
He threw her a significant look. “I need you to look over a contract I’m supposed to sign, and make sure my rights are fully represented.”
“Okay. A contract between you and…” He typed on his laptop, then paused.
“Me and a woman named Beletseri.”
He typed again. “Last name?”
“She doesn’t have one.”
He snickered. “Like Beyoncé?”
“Kind of. She’s beautiful, but she’s a goddess from Hell.”
“Now, Hutch. There’s no need to get nasty. If she’s displeasing or hard to work with, I suggest not signing anything with her.”
“No, Jim. She’s not objectionable. She’s a goddess. A real goddess.”
Jim eyed Darby worriedly. “Um, do you think you should be so effusive about this woman with your lady right here?”
Hutch sighed. “Let me start again. And just listen until I’m through. Beletseri is a goddess who lives in the Underworld. She sent me to purgatory—which looked like a coma to you—where she subsequently placed me in Darby’s dreams. Nightmares actually. It took a bunch of time, but I helped her out and proved my worth, so I was allowed to come back. The minute I awoke, I knew I had to find Darby, so I drove to Minneapolis to meet her. We, uh, hit it off, to say the least, and here we are.”
Jim’s face grew more and more concerned as Hutch’s tale unfolded, but to give him credit, he didn’t interrupt.
“I did such a good job, Beletseri, or Bel as she likes to be called, wants me to mediate on behalf of others she’s bringing in to face the same test. Already there are two men, Paxton and Gunni, who are set to be introduced to nightmares, so she wants to get things moving.”
Hutch stopped and gestured that Jim was free to respond. His face showed his worry.
“Blood flow to the brain. Impeded while you were in your coma.” He turned to look at Darby. “I’m not sure where you fit into the delusions, but there has to be a reasonable explanation.”
Darby gave him a look filled with sympathy. “I know it’s hard to swallow, but in…” she glanced at a clock on the wall, “…two minutes, you’ll hear Bel’s voice and—”
“Some kind of remote communication? A recording?” he interrupted; his eyes troubled.
“I’m afraid not, Jim.” Hutch clearly didn’t like his friend’s distress. “We’re also expecting—”
A flash lit up the room and an enormous, dark-eyed, dark-haired…god appeared.
“I hope I’ve got the right address.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
With Jim’s mouth hanging open, Hutch approached the god and offered his hand. “Marduk, I presume? I’m Hutch.”
The immortal took the gesture. “Good. I have the correct place. Bel has a history of being…unreliable.”
Did Hutch hear dislike, or simply caution in Marduk’s voice? He backed up a few steps. “You obviously have history with her, but you approve of this venture, right? If not, you wouldn’t be here.”
The god’s hard face became harder. “I’m here as a favor to Ereshkigal, my queen.”
“Ah, yes,” Hutch nodded, confused now and wondering how to proceed. “Bel’s mentor. She is onboard with what Bel’s doing.”
“She is. The program has been designed and approved to enhance Beletseri’s rehabilitation.”
Ahh. A word he could run with. “Rehabilitation?” he led. “Would you care to explain?”
Before the god could answer, Darby jumped up from her seat and cleared her throat. “Hi, Mr. Marduk, I’m Darby. And I’m sorry for the immediate inquisition.” She sent a withering look toward Hutch. “We’ll get all the explanations we need after we make you comfortable. Would you care to take a seat? Can I get you coffee?”
The god brightened. “It’s just Marduk, and I’d love some coffee. Black, please.” He took a seat on the couch next to Jim who hadn’t moved a muscle, eyeballing him suspiciously. “And you are…?”
“J…J… Jim.” His voice caught several times before he strangled out his name.
“He’s my attorney,” Hutch interjected, giving his friend time to recover. “I thought it best if he looked over the contract for me.”
“A commendable course of action, one to which I’ve already approved.” Bel’s voice came out of nowhere and Jim visibly jumped. “You brought the contract, Marduk?” She purred his name and Marduk’s face took on the visage of someone sucking lemons.
“I have it.” He reached into the air and a clutch of papers appeared in his hand. “Ereshkigal has already signed them, and I’m to be witness to the execution by Hutch.” He laid the stack on the table.
Darby bustled back with the biggest mug in Hutch’s cupboard filled to the brim with steaming coffee. When Marduk’s fingers surrounded the beverage, the cup size vastly diminished in appearance. Were all deities larger than life?
Jim gave a great lurch, but appeared to wake up from his stupor. “Do you mind if I have a look?” He indicated the paperwork Marduk had put down.
“Feel free.”
While Jim regained his composure and began going over the language in front of him, Hutch dug deeper into Marduk’s obvious animosity toward Bel. “Tell me how you’re acquainted with Bel.”
“I’ve known her for a very long time.” He took a sip of his coffee and sighed happily, not offering any additional information.
Hutch decided to approach from a different angle. “Bel? Would you like to chime in, here?”
He could almost see her shrug. “Marduk has a tongue. He can tell you what he obviously wants to get off his chest.” She sniffed as if unconcerned.
Marduk took another long sip before curling his lip in derision.
Hutch wouldn’t want that attitude aimed in his direction.
“The goddess has a questionable past,” he sneered. “Has she told you the reason she can’t be here in person?”
“Uh, no,” Hutch allowed. “Although I have met her in her office.”
“Hah,” Marduk laughed sharply. “You mean her jail cell.”
Hutch forced himself to keep a neutral face. “Would you care to elaborate?”
“I’d love to. She and her husband, nine years ago, attempted to take over the world.”
Jim dropped several of the pages he’d been perusing and Darby sucked in a breath, but Hutch had met Bel, and remained unrattled. He couldn’t equate the woman he knew with the deed Marduk apportioned. “I’d be interested in hearing more.”
Bel yawned, loudly, somewhere in Hell.
“They wanted power.” His face took on a smug air. “But they failed, of course, due to my intervention and that of my friends in the Blue Hills. Sent to trial on six counts, they were convicted of three, and sentenced to a thousand years imprisonment.”
Hutch blinked, forcing back any emotional response. Still, wrapping his head around a thousand years took some doing. “Might I ask what the charges were, and which resulted in her incarceration?”
“Gladly,” he replied, and having finished his coffee, he set down his cup. “She was accused of intent to defraud, theft, unauthorized use of demons—”
A spate of explosive coughing erupted from Jim. It took several minutes before he got himself back under control, waving his hand for Marduk to continue.
“Kidnapping, inflicting bodily harm, and accessory to murder.” He finished by sitting back and crossing his arms over his massive chest.
Bel’s voice came strongly from the other realm. “Guilty only of inflicting bodily harm, use of demons and intent to defraud.”
“I want to hear more about the bodily harm thing,” Darby spoke up. “I don’t know how demons figure into things, and defrauding…well, I’ve known a lot of people who’ve committed that infraction. But hurting someone…” She sent a worried look toward Hutch. “I wouldn’t want a repeat of that with someone I, uh, l…like.”
Hutch nearly got sidetracked. Darby had almost said “love”, he was sure of it. For a moment, he wished his visitors would disappear so he could
make her admit it. But the company demanded he carry on. He cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t mind hearing further, Bel.”
There was silence. A lot of silence. And when the goddess spoke again, her voice had a humbling quality he hadn’t heard before.
“I’ll make no excuses.” Her remorse blanketed the room. “I was angry, and I flogged a DEA agent to extract information needed to defeat the Blue Hills gods. I hurt the man badly, and regret it to this day.”
“Did he die?” Jim asked, finding his voice, clearly caught up in the drama.
“He did not, thank the gods,” she heaved a sigh. “And he’s a deity today, having met and mated a lovely goddess from the Overworld.”
Marduk growled. “And just because he’s forgiven you, doesn’t mean I have.”
“Your opinion is of no consequence to me, Marduk.” Her tone grew dark, darker than Hutch had heard it. “Unless you attempt to turn Utu away from me.”
He scoffed. “Utu remains oblivious to the specifics of your crimes, and when your name arises I let those gods whose estimation of you has altered, answer his questions. Also, he and my son, Girin, have become good friends. I would do nothing to disrupt that.”
“Thank you.” Bels’ words were obviously pulled reluctantly, yet Hutch was impressed she uttered them at all.
He continued probing. “Was there a psychiatric evaluation performed as to why Bel did these things…craved dominion?”
“Indeed,” Marduk looked longingly toward his cup, and Darby noticed.
She leaped up. “I’ll get more.” She grabbed the empty.
“Thanks.” He cleared his throat, watching her walk toward the kitchen. “I won’t sugarcoat my part in this, but for the record, Bel’s subsequent actions were well over-the-top for what she suffered.”
He took the proffered coffee when Darby returned, took a large chug and spoke again. “Bel was secretary to the king of the Underworld for many years, conscripted into that service by her father. There were…are many gods and goddesses throughout Hell, ruling over portions of the Underworld, or sentenced there for crimes committed, but actual employees of the king were unheard of.
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