Underworld Lover (A Guardian Angel Romance #2)

by haron Hamilton

  “Stop, Josh,” James blurted out. “Doris said we had to wait for Father. His instructions were to wait here.” James crossed the room to cut Josh off at the door.

  “No. No. I’m done waiting. She’s dying. She’s dying for me, because I couldn’t save her. She thinks she’s saving me, and I have failed her.”

  “But don’t you think Father knows how to handle it? Don’t you think he has a plan?” Daniel asked.

  “Have you forgotten how many of his angels I have turned? You think he really cares about me? A grand scheme to get rid of me once and for all—that could be his plan. But Melanie shouldn’t have to pay the price for this.”

  “I’ll go with you,” James said.

  Josh shook his head. “No, James. You need to stay and protect Daniel until Claire comes back. Stay with Angie and Daniel, my friend.”

  “Josh, please, let me help you,” James pleaded.

  “Don’t let him come, Angie,” Josh said to her. He addressed Daniel, who had put on his jacket. “You can’t help, Daniel. This is not your fight. You need to live for Claire and the baby. What I do now is pure suicide.”

  “Then don’t go!” Angela called out. “James, listen to me. If she’s already gone, why does he have to sacrifice himself?” She turned and faced Joshua. “Stay and fight on with us.”

  Josh rolled his shoulders and turned his head from side to side, a loud crack emanating from his neck. “Because, Angie, I cannot live with myself for letting her walk straight into his trap. Without her, there is no life, no battle to be won. I have lost everything.” He walked over to James. “My friend. I have asked you for nothing before. Stay and guard them here. Wait for Father. Please protect them.”

  Solemnly, James nodded and stepped back as Josh tore out of the room and jumped into his car.

  In of his rearview window, Josh saw a pair of dark angels take flight from the rooftop of Daniel’s house and follow along behind the black Hummer. Their gangly dark bodies swooped and rose in uneven bursts of flapping wings. Covered in ashen, dark rags, they looked more like killer kites who had survived one hundred years in the Heavens without a tether. Josh wondered if he would even make it to Melanie’s, if they wouldn’t snatch him for a quick meal. He concentrated on his driving and honed in on the direction of her thoughts.

  His cell rang.

  “Yes?”

  “Jonas here. I have bad news.”

  Josh took in a deep breath. “Yes, I can see things have taken a turn for the worse.” One dark claw scraped across his windshield and Josh overcorrected, practically running a car off the road. It wouldn’t do any good, but he ducked down in his seat anyway. The creatures soared almost vertically above him. They didn’t appear to be revving up for another fireball, but Josh wasn’t going to slow down even if he caused a crash. Another near sideswipe earned him a flurry of honking horns by enraged motorists.

  “You okay, sir?”

  “Yeah, I’m fucking great. Playing dodge ball with these black bastards on the freeway.”

  “I’m close. Want a hand?”

  “Jonas, gotta concentrate. I’m looking for Melanie.”

  “Lose the car. You might make it faster.”

  “Can’t. I need the car for her, if I’m not too late…”

  “I’m at the flower shop. Felix is dead. Looks like Peter’s work. Door’s wide open, cops coming any minute.”

  “And Melanie?” Josh held his breath.

  “No sign of her. He’d take her to his house by the transport station, I’m guessing.”

  “Yes, that seems to be where her thoughts are coming from.” Josh was hit with another of Melanie’s waves of sadness, this one much stronger than the last.

  “I love you, Joshua. Goodbye for now.”

  “Oh God. Oh God. I’m too late, Jonas! I’m losing her.”

  “Meet you there,” Jonas said and disconnected.

  Josh’s gripped the steering wheel so hard it almost snapped. His eyes watered and he could hardly see, but he arrived at the transport station. The warehouse district looked more gray and abandoned than ever.

  The winged creatures above joined a line already gathered on the roof ridgeline. From the way they jockeyed for position, Josh saw they had a pecking order, just like chickens on a roost, more bird-like than human. He realized this group could do a quick number on a town, terrorizing the population with their killing and maiming. They screeched like huge dinosaur parrots.

  Josh guessed this tall structure was the Director’s house. He pulled up to the front door and the creatures let him exit the car. He heard the distinctive sputter of Jonas’ chopper as it arrived behind him.

  Peter’s voice pierced the gray air of morning as Josh opened the front door and waited. “Oh, perfect timing, Josh. Come on up and see what Melanie and I have been up to.”

  Cursing under his breath, Josh lamented the lack of surprise. Jonas had turned off the bike and Josh saw him standing in the perimeter, behind a pile of scrap metal.

  The director had been waiting for him, possibly going to make him watch as he claimed her.

  Or perhaps he’s done it already.

  He stopped himself from thinking about it. He turned one last time to look at his accomplice. No sense Jonas has to die for my stupidity. He stepped back outside, nodding to his new friend and motioned for him to stay put. Josh turned and entered the house, racing up the stairway to certain doom.

  So be it. He decided he would live until he got his revenge, or he would die trying. Whatever he faced, he’d make it his mission in life to deal with it. Keep her alive. Keep her safe.

  Somehow.

  Peter was playing Wagner, an opera in German. Josh thought this an unlikely choice for a seduction. But then, he had to remind himself, this wasn’t about seduction, it was about winning, about power, of being the strongest. Had he been like this in his dark past? Yes, probably. He thought about the lives he had ruined, telling himself he was doing them a favor.

  At the top of the stairs, Josh saw Peter standing with his back to him, watching over the gravel of the rail yard and abandoned buildings. His kingdom.

  Peter turned slowly and smiled. “Your buddy doesn’t want to join the fray? Or is he afraid?”

  “Not his fight, is it?” Josh uttered through clenched teeth. The muscles in his throat were constricted and his tongue felt swollen, constricting his air. He quickly scanned the room, looking for Melanie. He found the light to a bedroom on and the door ajar.

  But no sound. “Melanie, are you there?”

  There was no response.

  “I presume you want to see her? To say goodbye at least to her present form?” Peter motioned to the bedroom. With dread, Josh ran through the doorway to find Melanie’s lifeless body sprawled on the bed. The wrist of her right arm was swollen, tinted purple by a bruise, and buckled from within. Josh knew there was an injury there, had felt the pain of it happening. He bent to kiss her lips, which were cool, but not the icy lips of the dead he was so familiar with. There was no pulse as he checked her neck. She was slipping away. He could not read a thought from her.

  “Beautiful, isn’t she?” Josh heard Peter say behind him.

  “She’s gone, s-s-sir.” Josh hated how the words stuck in his throat.

  “Already? Oh, my. The pill works faster on such a delicate creature.” He walked over to Josh. “But then you know this.”

  Josh felt his eyes turn red. He was losing control over his urge to just vaporize the director, even at certain cost of his own life and everyone he cared about if he failed.

  “Careful, careful.” Peter said as he answered with his own tinge of red. “I care less about her than you do, and if you attempt to stop me from taking her, I will vaporize her, Joshua. Search your soul. You know I will do it, man.”

  Josh sat down next to Melanie on the bed. He held her hand, fingers moving over the injured portion, as if, in death, he could mend it.

  “And she means little to me if you’re already dead. I can
find another. I have the power to take whomever I want.”

  Josh kept rubbing Melanie’s stiffening forearm, which was getting colder and bluer by the minute. His heart was sinking.

  “You know, I like having the woman you can’t.” Peter’s evil grimace sucked the air out of the room.

  You don’t have her yet, you bastard.

  Still, Josh knew it was only a matter of time before the director would claim his trophy and lord it over him. It was the only good reason to endure staying alive, even if he had to look into her dark tortured eyes.

  He was almost moved to tears. He felt sorry for every disappointment, every pain in her life he had caused. He grieved he was not the man to be able to save her. Just the man who could endure anything, even his own humiliation, to see that some portion of her spirit remained alive. Dark or light, any part of her was better than a life without her.

  “Your strength surprises me, my Dark friend, if I can call you that. I’d have thought you would fly into a rage and I would get to burn you, send pieces of your body all over her.” Peter continued to look down at him. “But this—this display of control—is impressive, if I do say so myself.”

  Josh felt the stab in his heart that Peter’s comments generated, but kept hold of Melanie’s hand, getting used to his first few moments of unbearable pain—for however long Peter would allow him to live. He was fairly certain Peter wanted to see him squirm under the torment of actually watching Melanie turn, bound to Peter forever. Josh decided he could do it. He was strong enough to show her he honored her gift, her request to save him. And that would have to be enough to show her his undying love, the only gift he could give her, for now.

  Peter’s black eyes sparkled with devilish delight, looking intent on picking a fight. “What a scene! If your recruits could see you now.”

  Josh glared at him and felt the molten strength of his anger pool behind his eyes. It didn’t have the desired effect. Damn it. He loves this.

  “Oh, sad work, this.” Peter clasped his hands together and touched his chest. He left his right palm rest over his heart, as if drinking the sweet elixir of Josh’s pain. Josh willed a show of strength.

  I am not afraid to show you the pain, you evil bastard. There’s a limited supply of it, so eat up.

  Peter smiled. “We’ll see if we can make this last more than a couple lifetimes—even more than a couple of your lifetimes.”

  Melanie’s hand continued to get colder and colder, in spite of Josh’s touch.

  “Time’s up. I’m impatient to have my way with her. I don’t want the decay to destroy her lovely body. What, my friend, do you think is her best feature? Her breasts, or the sweet little place between her legs you thought belonged to you?”

  Josh was going to erupt.

  Peter held out the palm of his hand. “If you don’t control yourself, you’ll miss the show. And then she’s worthless to me.” He grinned. “We go to transport now,” Peter said curtly. He turned to look back at Josh, still sitting by Melanie on the bed. “I will let you bring her. It’s the last time you will touch her human flesh. I’d like you to feel what you’ve lost forever.”

  Josh didn’t answer, but slid his arms carefully under her shoulders and her knees. He positioned her head so it rolled against his chest, as it had done before in life. He was filled with regret for those times. But her head resting there, even in her human death, was a small comfort, at least. In his heart, he wasn’t quite ready to let her go.

  Even though her arms were not wound around his neck the way she used to, the weight of her body was no problem. She was as light as he remembered, her face just as angelic. Josh followed Peter as they descended the stairway to the ground floor. Josh’s boots crunched on the front yard, its gravel covering devoid of anything living. Peter turned again to address him, walking backwards, watching him carry the lifeless Melanie.

  “She died for you, you know.”

  Josh raised his head to watch the gloating on Peter’s face. “She was a far better person than I,” Josh said to the director, who squinted. “Pure of heart and spirit, who will die for the love of another. I’m surprised the readers will accept her… Peter.” Josh saw his opponent register having been referred to by his biblical name, and not “sir.” The use of the word “sir” was out of the question now.

  “She died of her own hand.” Peter’s voice was haughty.

  “Claire has told me there are some Guardians who have done the same. They died to protect another loved one.”

  Peter’s face lost its smile. Josh stopped in his tracks. Melanie’s head had rolled back and away from his chest and hung limp, her chin pointed to the sky. At her closed eyes, he saw an extremely thin line of golden light following the crescent of her lower lid. Then it disappeared.

  Josh checked her pulse. There was still no vibration there. But something inside Melanie’s body began to writhe and come alive. Josh couldn’t believe what he was feeling.

  Melanie started to struggle in Josh’s arms, her arms and legs moving. She broke free and tried to stand. She was wobbly, holding onto Josh’s shoulder. Then she opened her eyes. He grabbed her just as he thought she might faint.

  She whispered in a raspy voice, “Joshua. I came back to you.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. He looked up at Peter, who had been distracted by the arrival of Doris and the taxi transport in a cloud of dust.

  The yellow cab, chock full of people, came to a sliding stop. Bodies piled out. Josh saw James, Angela, Daniel, and Claire. He saw a tall man in white robes unfold himself from the back seat.

  Father?

  With his white robes billowing behind him, Father flew at Peter and held his face between two powerful hands.

  “Vengeance is mine!” he boomed as golden fire from his eyes set Peter ablaze like a torch.

  Angela ran to Josh and quickly spirited Melanie away. Claire and Daniel jumped in to help, taking Melanie to the transport.

  Wearing dark goggles, Doris raised the trunk and had buried her head deep inside, rummaging for something.

  Josh’s attention was piqued by the sounds of a shrieking winged dark angel as it descended upon him. He barely had enough time to send a stream of red laser to its chest, which created a hole large enough to insert a man’s head. The thick rubbery wings and torso fell to the ground and did not move.

  Josh vaporized another pair of winged angels who were headed towards the transport. A third angel was able to veer off quickly. A long red flame shot out from behind the taxi twice, and caught the creature on the second flare. Josh could not believe that he saw Doris with a flamethrower, her face wrinkled up, her white teeth flashing the most horrible grimace Josh had ever seen. He thought it was as close as he would ever see to the little feisty angel in rapture.

  Another golden arc of fire hit another winged creature, scorching its wing and sending it to the ground, wounded and screaming. Josh watched as Father ran over to it, and with two powerful hands, ripped the wings off the creature. Bloodied but not mortally wounded, the angel ran for the door of the transport station.

  “I’ll go stop him,” Josh yelled out.

  “No. Let him go. He can’t harm us now,” Father answered just as he dodged a fireball from another creature. Josh sent the beast falling when he seared his left wing. Father repeated the wing removal procedure, and the creature ran off screeching to escape with the other one. The creatures called out one last time before entering through the doorway. None of their kind answered, and Peter’s remains lay in a puddle of black molten ash. Josh heard the transport take off.

  Father smiled as he inspected the front of his white gown, now stained with red.

  Another blood-curdling scream behind Josh jolted him. He turned in time to see Doris flame another angel, the largest and the only one left flying. Doris turned around quickly, searching the sky, looking for latecomers. Josh was sure there was some military training in her background and wondered why Father had chosen her to drive transport instead.


  A warrior angel who drives a taxi between Heaven and earth.

  They carefully searched the gravel field, littered with the smoking remains of several winged dark angels, making sure they were all dead. The air was full of the stench of them, so much so it made Josh sick to his stomach. His nose itched.

  Daniel was on his way over to Josh when another winged creature appeared from around a building and snatched the painter’s arm and leg, pulling him toward the building. Before the winged angel could drag his prey to feast on him, a red laser beam exploded the angel’s head. Father and Josh turned in the direction of the beam—across the yard from where they were standing. As Daniel raced away to rejoin Claire, Audray made her way from the shadows at the perimeter of the yard.

  Josh noticed not a hair was out of place as her long locks bounced on breasts that were hard to miss under a red stretchy turtleneck sweater. Her black leather pants looked like they had been poured on her body. Unlike Josh’s black knee-high boots, Audray’s red boots had a four-inch high heel and extremely pointed toe with a silver tip.

  She barely gave Daniel a look, but headed straight for Josh. For a minute, he thought she was coming punish him.

  He mustered up his courage, standing tall to address her.

  “Audray, what a surprise. Honestly…how…” he began.

  “You don’t want to know what I had to do to get this power,” she answered.

  “I can only imagine,” Josh softly replied, with a chuckle. “The director is dead.”

  “Yes, I saw.” She looked into Father’s face as he joined Josh’s side and said to him, “I release these dark angels to you.” She lowered her head but did not bow.

  “I cannot accept them into Heaven. They have a lifetime to live as humans first to determine whether or not they will be admitted.” Father was stern. Josh saw Audray’s sumptuous body had no effect on him whatsoever.

  “So be it. I release them to their human lives, then,” she turned. Authority looked good on her, Josh thought.