For Hell's Sake (Queen of the Underworld Series Book 1)

by T. L. Anderson

  Ryce’s hand shoots out and grabs the item from me, relieving the weight from my arms. He shakes his head at me as he turns his attention back to the creepy guy dressed in black. “We agreed on a price. I’m not renegotiating,” Ryce commands as he crosses his arms.

  “Here’s the thing—you didn’t tell me what you need it for. So, the extra money is to keep our mouths shut.” The guy leers at me, his pupils dilating more. He shifts toward me, but Ryce steps in front, blocking his view. “And you didn’t say she’d be involved, so that’s an extra 10 percent to cover my ass. I may look stupid, but I can tell when the situation requires a little something extra.”

  I peer around his arm to try and see the asshole ripping us off. An extra 10 percent? Another guy with darkened pupils drops three duffel bags by our feet. The sound of metal clanking rings out as they hit the ground hard.

  Ryce’s lips widen as he grins, “And that 10 percent was just waived since the goods may be damaged along with another 10 percent discount for dealing with your slimy, greedy ass. Take what we offered minus the discount or we walk. And don’t forget we bring in a lot of your customers, so I’d think long and hard before you try to rip us off again.”

  They stare at each other as no one speaks. The guy glances over his shoulder at another person. This one is dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, nothing fancy or noticeable. He nods his head at creepy guy, then turns and walks away. Weird.

  “Fine.” Creepy guy kicks the bags closer as Ryce tosses a bag at his feet. “Take your shit and get out of here.” He sneers at Ryce, then turns his gaze on me. “You, sweetheart, are more than welcome to stay.”

  Without warning, Ryce has him pinned against a truck, knife casually pressed into his throat. He moves his lips closer to the guy’s ear, but I can’t hear what he’s saying. I watch as the color drains from creepy dude’s face, and he nods, averting his gaze from mine. “I figured you see it my way,” Ryce barks. The minute he backs away, the guy scrambles to his feet and takes off.

  “What was that?” I watch as the others scurry away, leaving Ryce and me alone in the alley.

  He bends down, snatching up all three duffels with one hand. “Just letting him know what I have in store for him when he ends up in Hell. I offered to make it happen sooner if he didn’t back off.”

  Snorting, I pick up my pace to walk beside him. “You act like I’m helpless. I am the devil—I have a little magic up my sleeve to deal with assholes.”

  He mumbles, “That’s why you were killed twice already?”

  “Hey, those weren’t my fault. The car came out of nowhere, and if you all hadn’t distracted me, I wouldn’t have been in the middle of the road to die.” He opens the trunk of the car and tosses in the duffel bags. “And the other one, if he wouldn’t have caught me off guard, I would have read the signs sooner. I was distracted in the moment.”

  Slamming the trunk shut, he turns to face me. His obsidian eyes are outlined with a light orange, not that fiery pissed-off red they were the other night. “And what had you so distracted you couldn’t tell the guy was a predator? You’re the devil, like you said. You can sense evil.”

  I bite my lip as I avert my gaze. I don’t really want to tell him how I was thinking of finally sleeping with a guy, that’s how I missed the signs he was a crazed murderer. “Speaking of that. Is that why some people’s eyes turn black when they’re near me? I noticed it that night and today again. Some aren’t as noticeable as others, but creepy dude back there and another one I saw before had completely black eyes. No whites were showing at all.”

  He steps closer, backing me up against the trunk. His arms slide next to my hips on the back of the car, trapping me between him. “Funny how you changed the subject so quickly. Could you have been distracted by something you’re ashamed of?” He leans down, his face inches from mine. I can taste his aftershave on my lips. I swallow, afraid to speak.

  I shake my head, but I stop it halfway. Even I’m not convinced with my denial.

  His lips turn up. I notice he has a little stubble growing in around his face, leaving a nice five-o’clock shadow. Reaching up, I run my fingertip over it, gently pricking my fingers. His irises brighten, the orange spreading and turning red toward the pupil. “What are you doing to us?” His eyes flit between my lips and my eyes.

  “Me? You all are giving me whiplash with your mood swings,” I rasp.

  He leans forward, closing the distance between us. This is it, the moment I’ve been waiting an eternity for. My heart skips a beat as I imagine what my first kiss will feel like. His body heat radiates through my clothes as he presses into me. Breathing in, I let his scent envelop me as my pulse races. My body shakes with anticipation, each slow movement killing me. His lips meet mine, and the minute they touch, electricity shoots through me and down to my core. Parting my lips, I invite him in, needing to taste him.

  A loud whine causes us both to freeze. My arm instantly feels numb, then starts to burn with each passing second. Pulling apart, I glance down to where the pain is radiating and see a small hole ripped through my shirtsleeve and a trail of blood trickling down my skin. Another whine and a whoosh of air passes by my head. He grabs me and rolls to the side, tucking us behind the car.

  Holy mother of demons. My first kiss and I get shot! Of course, it’d be my luck that I’d get in a shoot-out during my first ever kiss. Those fuckers are about to pay. My skin starts to heat as my vision blurs. Ryce pulls me against his chest and plants his lips on mine again. Our mouths move in unison, both of us tasting each other like there’s no tomorrow. The gunshots disappear as I wrap my arms around his neck. Another loud bang jolts us as a bullet ricochets off the car hood. All right, maybe there won’t be a tomorrow.

  “What was that for?” I pant as I crawl farther away from the front of the car.

  He moves behind me while furiously texting into his phone. “I didn’t want to take the chance of ending up in limbo and not remembering our first kiss. I needed to make it right.” More bullets hit the car, pieces of steel and glass raining around us. “Now, if I die it’ll all be worth it.”

  Be still my chaotic heart.

  My stomach drops at the thought of any of them dying, which puts a damper on everything. Shouting followed by gurgling noises cut through the hail of bullets. Peeking through the back window, I see Aries grab a hold of one of the men and silently slit his throat before he even knew what hit him. Levi is stalking another one, and he swiftly grabs him from behind and twists his neck, rendering him dead. Lex’s stormy eyes are intent and focused as he fights with one of the larger men, wrestling the large metal tube from him that I was holding earlier. Just as he gets the upper hand, someone from the shadows jumps out, yanking Lex to the side. The guy in the shorts from earlier lifts the metal tube and points it at our car.

  “That can’t be good,” I mutter. As the words fly out of my mouth, Ryce wraps his arms around my waist and transports us to the far side of the alley, just as a loud explosion rocks the ground under our feet. The car is engulfed in flames. “What the fuck was that?” I scream. The smell of singed hair hits my nose as I see the ends are curved from heat damage.

  “That would be a rocket launcher. Overkill usually, but comes in handy during tight situations. It obliterates whatever object you’re aiming for.” His warm hands still sit on my waist as he holds my back against his chest. I can feel the rapid beat of his heart beating against my skin.

  “I’m guessing if you didn’t get us out of there, there wouldn’t be much left of us to reincarnate if we could?” Leaning against him, I let each beat be a reminder that we survived.

  “No, we wouldn’t have survived. Not even magic can repair that damage, especially with the portal broken.” His sullen mood seeps into me as I picture a life without him or any of them. Tears prick my eyes as I fight off the images.

  The scene around us is silent, no more bullets flying or men shouting. I glance at the pile of bodies that Lex and Levi are disposing of. “So much fo
r gathering supplies. I can’t even do that without almost killing us,” I mumble.

  His body shakes against me as I hear a deep rumble in his throat. “I suppose not. We better get back to the safe house. We can’t keep you out in the open like this.” Squeezing my hands, he holds on tight as he transports us back to the apartment. The last thing I see is a fuming Aries before we’re gone.

  16

  The moment our feet hit the ground, yelling ensues. At least he had the forethought to teleport us into my own bedroom away from the others. He holds me against him as we both listen to the guys in the other room. The words could have been dead, what was he thinking, and I’m going to kill him all float under the door from their conversation.

  “Maybe we don’t have to go out there. They won’t notice if we don’t come back right away.” At least I hope it works that way. I’m not in the mood for a verbal lashing at the moment. In fact, I’d much rather take a bath and wash this stench off me. Plus, being almost killed scared me more than dying.

  He hugs me tighter, then cups my cheeks in his hands. His thumb caresses the side of my lip as he stares into my eyes. Like before, the world slows as we both get lost in each other. Leaning his forehead on mine, he lets out a deep breath. Both of us are scared at what could have happened. Looking back up, a small smile pulls at the right side of his lip. “After everything we just went through, they can’t do anything to hurt you.” He places a gentle kiss against the top of my head and whispers, “They would never hurt you. We’re all scared. Just give them time.”

  My eyes close as I prepare myself to face this head-on. Demons don’t scare me, purgatory is a playground for me, deaders…well, they freak me out, but I’ll handle them. The guys terrify me, but in a good way. Who knew the devil could be scared? The sound of wood splintering from the other room and a loud grunt hits my ears. “Let’s go, before they kill each other.”

  Tilting my head up again, he gently places a kiss at the corner of my mouth before letting me go. My stomach flips, and I want to crawl into his arms, pretending like none of this happened. Instead, I take a deep breath, pull my shoulders back, and head for the door. Might as well deal with the second catastrophe of the day.

  I swing the door open and all three sets of red eyes land on me. The intensity causes my skin to heat as my vision starts to blur. Ryce squeezes my hand, the gentle reminder enough to bring me off the brink of destruction. Apparently, three riled-up princes are enough to have my monster trying to crawl out. Taking a step into the room, I falter as I maneuver around the broken coffee table that lies scattered around the floor. The tension in the air thickens as I walk to the couch and sit cross-legged. I’m going to be comfortable while they let their emotions rule them.

  Aries fists tighten at his sides as he stares at both of us. His nostrils flare, his skin slowly becoming translucent on his face. My eyes widen, and leaning forward, I stare at his face as it tries to form into something. He quickly turns away, plants his fists on the wall, and hangs his head. His shoulders move up and down rapidly as he slowly taps his right fist against the wall. Almost like he’s counting. Thump, breath, thump, breath. I glance to the others, their eyes a dull red now, but their anger still present in their expressions.

  A loud crack has me turning back to Aries as drywall rains down around him, his fist sitting in the wall like it’s supposed to be there.

  “We’re safe. Ryce saved us. No need to freak out anymore,” I say, trying to break the tension.

  “You’re not safe!” Aries bellows as he turns toward us. His eyes are still red, but his face is no longer doing that weird translucent thing. He turns his glare to Ryce. “You—this is your fault! You brought her to meet with the crew? What the fuck were you thinking?”

  Ryce stands still. Glancing up, I see the calm stoic expression on his face. He’s not raged out like the others nor is he defending himself.

  “You know you fucked up, don’t you?” Levi seethes. “And you had the audacity to beat the shit out of me over taking her to the library?” His fists clench as he moves toward him.

  I jump up and place myself between them; no need for a repeat of the other day. “Listen, you all need to calm the fuck down. You were all the ones who suggested I go with to get supplies. You can’t blame anyone but yourselves.”

  Levi doesn’t move, his gaze still boring a hole into Ryce. “Supplies, yes. Meeting with the crew and getting weapons, no. We meant food, flashlights. Things that can’t get you killed.”

  “Didn’t you understand the plan?” Aries interjects. “We all discussed it. You were to keep her safe and occupied doing pointless shit while we did the rest.”

  You have got to be fucking kidding me. Now my entire body feels warm as the tingles of electricity start to course through my veins. Monster or not, this bitch is about to be unleashed. “You all weren’t planning on including me in this as a team. You were just trying to appease me in the moment.” My voice sounds hollow and viscous to my own ears, the monster almost in control. “You think I’m worthless and beneath you. Maybe I should remind you of who I am.”

  Waves of heat start to warm my neck as my hair starts to flame at the ends. After seeing what the world is like, I don’t care if I wipe out this whole area.

  Aries’ hands go up as he tries to placate me. Stupid ass. “That was not what we were doing.” His voice lowers to the calm dull he uses when he’s talking to a deranged deader. Fuck him. “We were trying to keep you…”

  “Safe?” I scream. My hair fully is inflamed now, but I don’t feel the monster in control this time. She’s hiding or blocked. My rage is fueling everything right now. “Let me tell you something. I came up here without your help. I don’t need your safety net as you call it. Get over your alpha, stubborn, cocky self. You all are not responsible for me. If I want to help in all of this, I damn well will.”

  “Lucia, none of us thought or said you can’t handle your own. We were just trying to keep you out of harm’s way.” Lex, the ever sensible one, steps forward. “We got scared. If you died today, where would you have gone?”

  Well, when he puts it like that. I reel in the frustration at being treated like a child and think of it that way. Ryce and I were scared too in the moment, but we had each other to lean on. They didn’t. I suppose walking into a rain of bullets and not seeing us safe would have been worrisome.

  “We thought you were dead.” Levi steps forward and holds up my arm, the entire shirtsleeve soaked in blood. I forgot about that. He pokes at the wound.

  I hiss as I snatch my arm from his grip. “Don’t do that.”

  His eyebrow cocks as he grabs my arm again. This time though, he’s gentle as he assesses the wound. “It’s a flesh wound, but it needs to be cleaned.”

  “You are our responsibility,” Aries interrupts. He takes my arm from Levi. Instead of inspecting it though, he holds me still as we stand only inches apart. “This is your fault. If you would have stayed put in Hell, where you belong, none of this would be happening. Don’t you get that?” He backs away a little, eyes narrowed as he clenches his jaw. “You are the problem, not us.”

  “Fuck you,” Ryce growls. “Get the fuck out of here with that shit before I plant your face through that wall.” He stands behind me, his entire body shaking with anger. Aries looks between the two of us, then to the others, who are all standing next to Ryce now. When did that happen?

  “So this is how it’s going to be?” His vein throbs in his neck as he juts his chin toward us. “Well, hopefully you all don’t get yourselves killed, because I won’t be there to save you.” He turns, storming toward the door. Calling over his shoulder, he yells, “You all can’t see past her at the bigger picture. Your emotions are going to get her killed.” The walls shake as he slams the door.

  Silence surrounds us, the chaotic mess of our existence scattered along the floor. I thought this is what I wanted, to be treated like an equal. But with three of them standing behind me, my heart aches still for the one wh
o walked out the door. I never thought I’d be craving the attention of the only people I’ve known my entire punishment. After an eternity of not speaking, now their silence is like knives to the chest.

  “To hell with him. We don’t need his overprotective and careful plans anyhow,” Levi grumbles as he kicks a piece of wood off to the side.

  I turn around and look at each of them. Ryce’s jaw is set in a firm line, his eyebrows turned down. Levi says he doesn’t care, but the crossed arms as he paces paints a different picture.

  “Come on, let’s get this cleaned up.” Lex slides his hand into mine and guides me toward the bedroom. Now that he mentions it and the tension is out of the room, my arm starts to throb. He walks me into the bathroom. Lifting me, he sets me on top of the counter as he searches for the first aid kit. I pull my ripped shirtsleeve to the side and glance at the wound. There’s a small tear in my skin, but thankfully no bullet. Just a graze. I let out a sigh.

  “This shouldn’t take too long, but it will hurt a little.” He opens up the kit and pulls out a cleanser along with a few gauze pads. Washing his hands first, he then grabs the gauze and pours some clear liquid on top. His fingers gently cup my arm as he looks into my wide eyes. “Take a deep breath, and as I clean the wound, slowly let it out. It’s going to sting.”

  Biting my lip, I nod my head as I suck in the biggest breath I can. I turn to watch as he slowly starts cleaning the wound. My jaw clenches as a hiss pushes past my lips, all thoughts about breathing out leaving my mind. “Fuck.” I squeeze my hand into a fist, digging my nails into my palm.

  “A few more seconds.” He grabs another clean gauze and puts some gel-looking stuff on it.

  “I’m starting to think people are crazy for shooting each other. This shit hurts.” I flinch as he puts the gauze on my arm, then starts wrapping a bandage around it to keep it in place.

  “Thankfully this is just a graze. Otherwise we’d have to dig the bullet out first.” He’s focused intently as he tapes off the bandage and makes sure it’s secure. He starts to clean up the blood and dirt-soaked gauze. He holds it in his hand but doesn’t move. “You know he’s not trying to keep you out of helping us. He’s just worried.”