"I find that hard to believe. Your evil empire would have crumbled by now if that were true. I'm just one person. Hardly that important." I jerked my arm away and tried to run for the door.
He was faster, leaping over the bar to land directly in front of me. I stepped left, he stepped left. I stepped right, he stepped right. We shuffled back and forth a couple times before I realized too late he was just toying with me. In the blink of an eye, I was pressed against the bar, the wooden countertop at my back and the beautifully dark fallen angel at my front.
"Now we both know that's not true. Nothing is more important to me than you." He leaned in, licking a warm line along the vein pulsing in my neck. He pressed his erection against my thigh and sighed, the warm air hitting the wet skin gave me goosebumps. "You are my crowning jewel. Prized above all others. It's time to come home. Where you belong."
My head fell back and without even being aware of it, I'd grabbed the paring knife used to prep garnishes off the bar top and pressed it to my neck. Right on the spot where he'd licked me. A single tear rolled down my cheek as I pressed the small blade harder against my skin.
"Jax, no! Stop."
My hand stilled at the sound of Dane's voice.
"This is none of your concern, Sin Eater."
"If it has to do with Jax then I'm making it my concern."
"You're already short a soul. Don't forget your place."
"And you're breaking the rules. I'd say what you're doing counts as coercion."
With a short bow and tip of his imaginary hat, the prince of darkness disappeared. I threw a couple twenties on the bar and grabbed the Grey Goose before meeting Dane on the front stoop. He took the vodka, drawing a deep pull straight from the bottle. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth before handing it back.
"Of all the bars in Baltimore, you wind up here."
"I was staying with a friend and decided to stop for a drink. How was I supposed to know he'd show up?" I wasn't entirely sure Thomas the angel and I were friends, although I'd spent so much time with his alter ego Tommy I couldn't help considering him one.
"Who, Thomas? Your guardian angel didn't warn you about this place?" Dane seemed less than pleased, suspecting who provided my accommodations the night before.
"No, no, he didn't. Why don't you tell me what's so special about Mount Royal, Sin Eater."
Dane reeled back as if I'd slapped him, obviously surprised to hear me call him by his official title.
"I wanted to tell you. I tried to tell you, the other night outside of the restaurant. You took off before I had the chance." He reached for the bottle, taking another swig of liquid courage. "This wasn't the life I'd have chosen for myself. Being a Sin Eater is the only thing I've ever known. It's been a cursed and lonely existence, but it brought me to you. And for that alone I'd do it all the same all over again."
He stepped forward, closing the few feet between us and pulling me into an embrace. His lips were on mine seconds later in a passionate kiss. I wrapped my arms around him and deepened the kiss, opening myself up to him. There was a connection between us, one neither of us could deny any longer. Minutes ticked by with our mouths interlocked, until the sounds of an audience gathering at the foot of the stairs, patrons no doubt waiting to get into the bar, forced us apart.
Chills ran down my spine as my demon alarm started going off, alerting me to the presence of more than one demon in the crowd. I pulled away, reluctant to let go of Dane, yet desperate to alert him to the danger closing in around him. He nodded his head, already aware of the beasts in men's clothing.
"We should probably go."
"So you can see them. I knew you saw Lazarus in the alley."
"Yes, I can see them. Can we please go somewhere else and talk?"
"We can't just leave these people here," I hissed, surprised he'd suggest such a thing.
"Look closer, Jax. There aren't any people here."
"What? What do you mean?" I turned, facing the group at the foot of the stairs to get a better look.
"The tavern is neutral ground for angels and demons. One of the few places on Earth where they can both step foot. Bargains are struck, deals are made. That is the most danger you'll find yourself in here. Unless, of course, he shows up."
I tested the waters, walking down the steps to see if anyone tried to stop us. When the crowd parted, I kept walking, Dane right behind me. He grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers in mine.
"If this is like a safe zone, maybe we're better off talking here." Still suspicious, I refused to turn my back on them, certain we'd become fair game and they'd attack once we'd gone far enough away from the bar.
"Normally I'd agree but just because they won't hurt us doesn't mean they won't listen to what we're saying. There's no secrets inside Mount Royal. You never know which side is listening."
"So all the deals struck here?"
"Are insignificant in the grand scheme. Just political pandering and maneuvering."
"Glad to know nothing changes after you’re dead."
"Come on." Dane smiled and pulled me toward a small park by the art institute. Students milled about, shuffling to and from classes, completely ignoring us as we sat down between two unique modern art sculptures.
"I can't believe you know about demons. I mean, I can. I sort of suspected as much the night I fought Lazarus– that you could at least see them even if you didn't know what they were. Except you do know they exist and you sat there and lied to me about it at dinner. You tried to convince me it was all bullshit. Why?" I stretched my legs out, crossing them at the ankles and tried to appear casual.
The immediate danger from the Devil and his minions gone, I should have saved my own ass and hightailed it home instead of sitting less than two blocks away from the bar. Never the less, I needed to hear Dane's explanation. Because despite everything, the lies, the deceit, I wanted him to be on my side. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, I desperately clung to the hope that the outcome wouldn't be the same.
I hoped I wasn’t about to get burned.
"You know what I am, what I do. Sin Eaters upset the balance. We set souls free, gaining them entrance to Heaven when they'd otherwise been marked for Hell. Neither side appreciates it—I offer a loophole, a way to God outside of his Son. Let's say the angels aren't my biggest fans."
"So what, you just absolve the worst society has to offer and they get to bask in heavenly glory? Rapists, murderers? Child molesters? You give them a way into Heaven?" I couldn't hide the bitterness in my voice. The scum of the Earth figured out a way to be saved. I, on the other hand, was still walking around condemned.
"Some do, for the right price."
"Do you have a price?"
"No. I keep to the code, honor the old ways. Most of the time, I let nature take its course, which is why I'm not a wealthy man. However, there are some of my kind who've forgotten the rules."
"And the Devil?"
"He likes me even less. I've put a hurting on his quota over the years. Every once in a while, I'll find a soul, one particularly attractive to him. In order to keep the balance, he calls in a marker. Sometimes all I have to do is walk away. Other times, it's more complicated." He glanced at me, then quickly away. He didn't meet my eyes again, just fiddled with the grass as he spoke. "I freed a suicide—she was sick. Plagued by nightmares even when she was awake. Her family, the doctors, they tried everything. In the end she found her own solution."
"Sounds familiar." My thoughts drifted to my mother. Joan. Was she consciously aware of who I was, her daughter? Was getting to the shelter a mother's last attempt to save her child? Or was she too consumed by the visions, the message, and only cared about getting it out?
"It does, doesn't it? The Devil found me shortly after, said I'd upset the balance and called in a marker."
My stomach soured. I was the mark.
"It was before I met you."
As if that made a difference. He had kept up the charade until Thomas forced his hand,
leaving him no other option other than the truth. Or his version of it. Maybe we weren't on neutral ground after all. I'd yet to see an angel. Based on what he'd said so far, it was a hell of a lot more likely he was still on the job.
"I must not have made a great impression. You've been lying to me, working against me all this time."
"From the moment I first saw you, I've been trying to figure a way out of this. It really was a coincidence, running into you at the gym and then again at the shelter. I was supposed to stay away. I just… I couldn't get you out of my head. So I followed you to the bar.” Dane fidgeted, clearly embarrassed by his actions.
“That night in the alley, I wasn't supposed to intervene. I just couldn't stop myself. I thought he was going to take you away or worse, kill you. I'd only just found you, and yet the idea of losing you terrified me. You weren't the job. Your mother was. I was supposed to keep her from finding you. That's it, nothing more. After my stunt saving you from Lazarus, the Devil wanted retribution. I either kept up the ruse or faced all of the sins I'd freed people from over the years." His shoulders dropped, almost crumpling in on himself.
"You knew? You knew she was my mother? And you kept it from me to save your own ass?" I lashed out, smacking him hard on the face, backing away from him when he reached for me.
"I deserved that. And more. Please, just hear me out. I damn my own soul for the sake of others, but I don't have to live with them, their sins. Do you know how old I am? How many sins I've consumed? It would destroy me."
"I've heard enough." I got to my feet, disgusted with the level of deception both sides were capable of. First Tommy and now Dane. Admittedly, the latter hurt a hell of a lot more.
"I didn't know she was your mother. I didn't know what you were, not until dinner. I didn't ask questions—at least not the right ones. And Thomas didn't say anything. He never made a move to stop it. He just kept circling you and I couldn't figure out why you were at the center of it all."
"Shut up. Shut up. I can't trust you. You're a fucking liar."
"I know I don't deserve your trust, but I'm asking for it all the same. I want to help you. I've been doing some research, finally started asking the right questions. I know what you are. You're the key. Please, let me help you."
"I think you've done enough already." Swatting his outstretched hand away, I backed up a step.
"I saved her. In the end, I'm the one who washed her sins away. Not your precious Tommy. Think about that. I've always been on your side. Even when I wasn't supposed to be. Remember that when they try to convince you otherwise." Dane stepped forward in an attempt to close the distance between us.
At that moment, a nondescript black sedan pulled up to the curb and stopped.. Thomas rushed out of the passenger side, wrapping his arms around me in a bear hug and snatching me off the sidewalk. The driver strained to reach back and open the rear passenger door. It flew open and Thomas shoved me inside. I heard Dane shouting, arguing with Thomas as the car door slammed shut.
The back doors locked with an audible click, sending me into panic mode even though I knew Thomas wouldn't hurt me. His friend, the driver, I wasn't so sure about. Still on my back after being tossed onto the seat, I kicked repeatedly at the window hoping to break the glass. It didn't so much as crack. Thomas jumped in and the car pulled away before his door even closed.
I sat up, facing the rear window as my captors and I sped away, watching Dane chase after us until we reached a speed that outpaced him on foot. Huddled over, out of breath, he stopped running. And then he shrank from my view until he disappeared entirely.
A piece of my broken heart stayed there with him.
FIFTEEN
The car finally slowed as we approached an empty, rundown warehouse across the street from the H & S Bakery. There'd been several attempts at a neighborhood revival but none of them had taken hold. Still, people held on to hope that with enough renovation, change would eventually take root. What they never understood was meaningful change didn't just come with infrastructure. Trash still over flowed from the can on the corner, skitting across the street like urban tumbleweed. Taggers still left their marks in a rainbow of spray paint along the plywood construction fencing. Despite the developers’ best efforts, the city remained the same.
The driver killed the engine, threw on the e-brake, and exited the car. Blond hair blew back from his face in the light breeze, exposing a familiar jaw line. Even with his back to the window, I could see the resemblance.
"Is he your brother?" I turned my attention from the agitated man waiting outside for us to the angel riding shotgun.
I tried not to freak out, to stay calm, take in the surroundings, the details. If I got out of here, it wouldn't be because I lost my cool. I wasn't entirely sure if I'd been kidnapped or not. They never bothered to bind or gag me. Just tossed me in a car and drove away from the person I was already walking away from. Albeit in a rapid and violent manner.
Thomas tried to warn me about the Sin Eater, told me to stay away. And I didn't listen. I was sort of stubborn like that.
"Yes, he is my brother, in more ways than one." Tommy opened the door with his right hand, grabbing my arm with his left. "Are we going to have a problem?"
"I don't know, Tommy. Are we? You plucked me off the street, threw me into a car, locked me in like some common criminal in the back of a patrol car, and drove me halfway across the city to an abandoned warehouse. Does any of that seem like a problem to you? Because it sure as hell seems that way to me." I tugged on my arm, trying to jerk it free. "You're hurting me, Tommy. You want to let go?"
"Not yet, not until we get inside. I've seen you at the gym. You love to work inside. You're not catching me with a short right hand. If you listen to what we have to offer and still refuse, we'll let you go. You can go back to your life, floundering amongst the mortals seeking refuge in the good deeds you think you've done whilst the Devil nips at your heels, ready to collect on the contract for your soul."
He pulled me out of the car, turning me so my right arm was chicken winged behind my back. I couldn't help it, I resisted, throwing my body forward, causing him to pull my arm higher until the pressure in my shoulder was excruciating. Anymore and it would have popped out of socket.
"Why do you insist on doing things the hard way?" Tommy's brother led us through the first floor of the empty warehouse to the freight elevator in the back. He pulled the rope, forcing the two metal grate doors apart and stepped inside.
"My entire life has been the hard way. I didn't know there was a different way to go."
Tommy shoved me in after his brother and closed the doors behind him. He pressed the button for the third floor, which was weird because I would have sworn the building wasn't more than two stories from outside.
The engine clanked into motion, my stomach dropping a little as we began our ascent. The elevator lurched past the second floor, coming to a hard stop on the third. I half-expected to be on the roof, where they'd drag me out of the elevator and toss me over the side. Were these two young men with their cherub faces actually merchants of death? Maybe they were in league with the Devil, more of his fallen angel kin. He'd tried more than once to get me to end my life, as recently as an hour before.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when the doors finally opened.
A training facility, complete with brand new equipment, sprawled out before me. A treadmill, weight bench, and sit up bench occupied one corner. A balance beam and balancing blocks of varying heights were in another. There was a speed bag, body bag, and two training dummies, one padded and one of the wooden martial arts varieties. A climbing rope hung from the twenty foot ceiling in front of a rock wall that lined one whole side of the room. Every untouched surface gleamed in contrast to the dingy cobwebbed floors below us.
None of it should have been there. None of it was possible. And yet, there it was.
"You wanted to talk. I decided it would be a conversation best had with visual aids." Thomas relea
sed me and walked out onto the bamboo floor, his arms outstretched to emphasize the gym.
"Am I supposed to be impressed? I could accomplish the same thing at the BBC." I knew he heard the lie—it was impossible to miss the awe in my voice. As much as I loved Baltimore Boxing Club, the warehouse contained equipment to train in all styles of fighting, not just traditional boxing.
"My brother told you we wanted to teach you, to give you all the weapons you need to truly become a demon hunter. Now you can see he speaks the truth with your own eyes." With an indignant look on his face, Tommy’s brother crossed his arms over his chest.
"Knowledge can be a powerful weapon, do you plan on arming me with that as well?" I was tired of being treated like a mushroom- kept in the dark and fed a bunch of shit.
After my last run in with the Devil, I couldn't deny the fact I needed help. Whatever mess I was caught up in, I knew I wouldn't survive it on my own. Dane lied about a lot of things, practically everything. The one truth he'd actually spoken was I was at the center of it all. Caught in the middle of some age old battle between angels and demons. I didn't have all the pieces of the puzzle yet, but I was slowly putting it together.
Left with little options, knowing I couldn't go back to the life I'd been living, trying to find a nonexistent loophole into Heaven, I decided it was time to make a stand. To pick a side, even if I wasn't entirely sure they were on mine.
"Tell me what I want to know, Tommy, tell me why I should fight for you."
"You spend your days helping those less fortunate than you, selfless acts for the most selfish reasons. We're offering you a chance to make a real difference, to save yourself."
"Nice try. Your brother already told me I wouldn't go to Heaven if I died." I squared off against Tommy's brother, whose name I'd yet to learn.
"She's seen too much, Thomas—knowing and believing are two entirely different things. This will never work. The best we can do is wait, hope that this one manages to stay alive long enough for us to find another way."
Payable On Death: A Jax Rhodes Novel, Book One (The Jax Rhodes Series 1) Page 9