He Loves Me, He Loves Me Hot

by Stephanie Rowe

  He couldn’t help but chuckle, despite the load in his chest. “Go harvest some souls, will you?”

  “You bet.” She bolted for the door, then stopped and spun around when Becca called her name. “What?”

  “Um…” Becca peeked surreptitiously around the room as if she didn’t want to be caught being supportive. “Call me if you get in trouble, okay?”

  “You got it!” Then Paige charged out the door, and they could hear fireball explosions as she ran down the stairs.

  Becca shot Yasmine an apologetic look. “Bill me for the damage she does, okay?”

  Nick cocked his head, recognizing the softness in Becca’s body language. It was so striking to see it, so the antithesis of everything she tried to be. “You made her day, Mom.”

  She glared at him. “Shut up.” Then she walked over the window and casually flipped the curtain aside to peer out, her brow furrowing in concern as Nick heard the screech of bus brakes.

  “That’s it.” Yasmine smacked her hands down on her thighs. “Watching Becca with Paige makes it so obvious. Who would want a child to succeed more than a mom?” They all turned to look at her, and she nodded. “Find Satan Jr.’s mama, and I’ll bet you find the person who’s causing all this trouble.”

  “His ma?” Nick grimaced. “Given that Satan Jr. is exponentially worse than his dad, the thought of his mother is just plain scary.” He looked at Becca. “Who is she?”

  “I don’t know, but Satan must.” Becca peeked outside again, then threw a fireball out the window, nodding with satisfaction when Paige shouted up her appreciation. “Let’s ask him.”

  “How? He ordered you not to bother him again until he said he was ready to see you.”

  She tossed him her cell phone. “No, but as his new man-friend, you could.”

  He caught the phone. “Satan’s in the middle of making love to his woman.” He tossed it back. “There’s no way he’ll be answering his phone.” He stood up. “We’ll have to go find him.”

  She rolled her eyes and dialed. When it went into voicemail, she shoved the phone in her pocket, scowling with frustration. “The clock keeps ticking and things keep getting in the way.”

  Nick touched her arm, surprised to feel the anger emanating from her. Becca’s feelings were simmering a lot closer to the surface than they used to. “Grab some of Dani’s clothes. I’ll be back in a sec.” He spun and walked out the door, and they could hear him jogging down the stairs.

  Becca realized she was still wearing Nick’s sweats and T-shirt. No bra, no underwear, and entirely not appropriate for taking on Satan. Snuggly and comfy, but not battle worthy.

  “I’ll find you something.” Yasmine headed for Dani’s dresser and pulled out some jeans, undergarments, and a black T-shirt. Yasmine handed Becca a pair of hiking boots, then waved at Jerome, who swung around to face the wall.

  Becca peeled off Nick’s oversize T-shirt and picked up the sports bra. A little small, but it was better than what she was wearing. She yanked it on, and then the shirt, eyeing Jerome as she tugged the too-snug jeans on. “Did the Council find a way for the Rivkas to survive without Satan’s life force?”

  His shoulders tensed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Becca frowned as she wrenched the zipper up on the jeans that were a couple sizes smaller than she would have liked. “Jerome, give it up. Nick told me about the experiments.”

  Jerome groaned. “I’ll kill him. That’s beyond top secret.”

  Becca snorted as she reached for the socks Yasmine had given her. “I’m about to go interrupt Satan’s lovemaking to save the woman you drove into Satan Jr.’s arms. I think you can manage to tell me about a few experiments. And you can turn around now. I’m decent.”

  Jerome faced her, with a sigh of resignation. “The Rivkas have to be supported by Satan’s life force. Nothing else from hell worked, and there was no way to repeat what the Markku did. Satan had changed the constitution of Rivkas to make them more dependent. They can’t store his energy, so we couldn’t do it.” His rubbed his fingers over Dani’s photo, which was still clutched in his hands. “Not only did every Rivka die, but everyone the Council tried to link them to died, as well. Everyone died. There’s no way to break free. We had the best scientists and historians and experts. There’s no way.”

  She felt a sinking feeling in her belly. “Did you try linking Rivkas to each other? They’re both from hell.”

  He nodded. “They have no life force to generate. It didn’t work.”

  “What about Satan Jr.?” Yasmine suggested. “It wouldn’t be a big deal to risk his life, and he’s got Satan’s life force.”

  Becca looked at her in disbelief. “There’s no way I’m walking away from Satan to put myself into Satan Jr.’s hands.”

  Yasmine set her hands on her hips, her face tense. “Then what are you going to do? My daughter’s life will not be sacrificed for Satan’s sake.” Her fingers twitched as she took a step toward the dresser, her eyes glancing toward it. “I won’t let you take out my daughter.”

  Becca tensed, suddenly certain Yasmine had a gun in there. “She’ll be fine. I owe Nick.” She yanked on the boots, ignoring the waistband digging into her stomach. “You know, Yasmine, you’re kind of an oxymoron.” She stood up. “You heal me, and then you freely admit that you won’t mind if I die.” She was suddenly glad she hadn’t accept Yasmine’s comfort earlier. To have it taken away was far worse than never getting it originally.

  Yasmine drew her shoulders back. “You would do well not to judge what you do not understand, young lady.”

  “I’m not young. I’m a hundred years old. You’re what, fifty-seven? Old in human terms, sure, but not in my world.”

  Yasmine’s eyes flashed. “Until you have buried a husband and done the unthinkable to protect your children, you are nothing but a baby.”

  Becca saw the pain in Yasmine’s eyes and knew suddenly that there was worse out there than what she was living. She gave a slight incline of her head. “I’m sorry.”

  Yasmine nodded. “Apology accepted.”

  Nick appeared in the doorway with a duffel bag over his shoulder. He’d changed to black boots, a pair of black jeans, and a leather jacket that had enough bulges to suggest he was ready to take on an army. His eyes glittered, and he looked ready to fight. He held out his hand. “Ready to go find the leader of hell and kick his ass?”

  She wrapped her hand around his, trying to revive her will after the discouraging conversation with Jerome. If he was right, what the hell was she going to do? “I won’t let you kill him.”

  He met her gaze and he frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  She lifted her chin. “Nothing.”

  But he tightened his grip on her hand, and she felt him tap into her core and get the answer for himself. He cursed quietly, and she lifted her chin and met his gaze. “I’m not giving up.”

  He looked down at her as they started to fade. “Fuck giving up,” he said, “I hate losing.”

  And just like that, she had hope again. Barely a flicker, but it was something.

  It was what she’d needed.

  And she’d gotten it from him. Not from herself.

  Unsettling, but at the same time, it made her feel…lighter.

  Eighteen

  Nick frowned as Becca rubbed the back of her wrist over her eyes six hours later. They’d been searching all of Satan’s haunts for him, including his two mansions in hell, his flat in London, his Caribbean island getaway, and all the five-star hotels in New York City.

  He’d been at none of them.

  They’d tried calling Satan, but as Nick had predicted, he wasn’t answering his phone.

  The last few times they’d shimmered, Nick had noticed that it took Becca a little longer to get them to fade and then re-form. She’d lost some of the sparkle in her eye, and he was starting to get concerned. “How are you feeling?”

  “Fine.” She scratched her collarbone, and Nick narrowed his
eyes.

  “You’re itchy.”

  “No, I’m not.” She dropped her hand, and then rubbed her fist over her thigh. “I’m fine.”

  “It’s the Terrors, isn’t it?”

  Her gaze flickered to him. “I can handle it.” She held up her hand and stepped back as he reached for her. “Don’t touch me. If Satan’s nearby, he’ll sense it when our life forces mingle. You’ll be dead in a heartbeat.”

  The stubborn set of her jaw told him he wasn’t getting anywhere, and the paleness of her face told him time was running out for her. “Becca—”

  “So, this is Iris Bennett’s house.” She turned away and gestured at a quaint red brick house they were standing in front of. White trim, well-manicured bushes, and a bright blue door. “Thanks to her legacy as an ex-Guardian, she lives in one of the nicer neighborhoods in purgatory, while her fate is being decided.” She set her hands on her hips and studied the house. “I wouldn’t have thought Satan would lower himself to seduce Iris in such plebian surroundings, but I suppose if he had to hang out in purgatory in order to get Iris naked, he’d do it.”

  Naked. An image of Becca flashed into his mind, and he could feel the softness of her body under his hands again, feel the hum between them as he reached inside her…and the void she always threw up to keep him out.

  She glanced at him as she headed up the cobblestone walkway, then spun around and grabbed his arms. “Stop looking at me like that! This is serious! Satan will kill you if he thinks you care about me.”

  Her grip felt cold against his skin, and he flipped his hands over to holds hers. “Exactly how bad do you feel right now?”

  For an instant, he felt her greedily draw on his energy, and she slammed up a wall. “I can’t.” Then she ripped her hands free and spun back to the door.

  He could feel her shuddering as she lifted her hand to the doorbell, and he fisted his hands by his side to keep from grabbing her. That brief touch had told him exactly how much she was worried about all of them. Him, Dani, Paige, Theresa, and Yasmine. Worried that Satan was going to think she cared about them. Worried she was going to have to kill all of them. And absolutely determined not to let that happen.

  She hadn’t wasted any concern on herself, not that he was surprised.

  She dropped her hand without ringing the doorbell, her face scrunched in frustration. “I can’t interrupt him. You have to do it.”

  “Hang on.” He set the duffel bag on the front step and pulled out the powerwasher he’d snagged from his ma’s garage. He left it on the step and jogged around the house, where he found a hose neatly curled up on a hook on the side of the house. He turned on the spigot, then grabbed the end and tugged it back around front, where Becca was standing with a small smile on her face.

  “You’re going to powerwash him?”

  “Yep.” Nick kinked the hose to cut off the water flow, then screwed the end of the hose onto the powerwasher. “The water won’t kill him since it’s not purified, but it should be fast enough to melt him a bit before he can dodge it and kill me.” He slung the strap of the powerwasher over his shoulder and aimed the nozzle at the door. “You know, he’s going to disown me as his man-friend after this.”

  “I thought you didn’t want to be his man-friend.”

  “Better than his enemy.”

  “Sometimes.”

  He kicked the door with the toe of his boot. “Open up, Satan. It’s Nick Rawlings.”

  “My man-friend!” There was a scuffle from inside and a yelp from Iris, and then the door was flung open, revealing Satan in all his manly glory. “Today you die!” He lifted a glowing finger, and Nick shot him in the gut, which instantly began to melt.

  Satan shrieked and slammed his hands over his crotch. “Do not attack my manly bits!”

  Nick kept the flow going, not daring to slow it down. “I just want to talk to you. Can we talk?”

  “No!” Satan’s voice was laced with pain as he doubled over, protecting his crotch. “I must kill you for interrupting my lovemaking session! As soon as you stop, I shall—”

  Nick shot him in the mouth and grinned as Satan’s ranting turned into muffled garble. He felt Becca’s amusement and glanced at her. “Want to have a go at him?”

  She shot him a disbelieving look. “Really?”

  He held the gun out to her, keeping his finger on the trigger so the water didn’t slow. “It’s all yours.”

  She reached out, then dropped her hands, an envious gleam in her eyes. “I really shouldn’t.”

  He grabbed her hand and set it on top of his. “There. I’m still doing it, but you can enjoy it, too.”

  Her fingers tightened over his where he was holding the trigger down, both of them ignoring the sputtering howls of outrage from Satan. “Better than roses, for sure.”

  “You’re so low-maintenance.”

  “I don’t know. I think most guys would consider flowers to be a little easier than powerwashing Satan.”

  “Most guys are pansies.”

  She smiled, a genuine smile laced with a flicker of true happiness that made him want arrange for her to powerwash Satan forever. “So true.”

  He put his free arm around her shoulder and held her close while they stood together and watched Satan scream and writhe under the water, her fingers never leaving his on the trigger. “If I ever get married, this is what I’d want to do for my honeymoon,” she sighed.

  He raised his brow. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  She glanced at him. “Nick—”

  “Stop.” They both turned back to Satan to see Iris standing behind him, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes glistening with outrage.

  They both lifted their fingers off the trigger, and Iris caught Satan as he oozed to the floor in a misshapen pile of mushy male. She eased him down and then turned to them, her fists clenched and rage vibrating through her body. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t let him kill you when he reforms.”

  And he’d thought Satan was the one he was supposed to worry about.

  Becca stepped in front of him. “I’m so sorry to interrupt, Iris, but we have serious problems going on. I had no choice but to come—”

  “I don’t care if hell is breaking loose. I will not permit hell’s business to be conducted in my house.”

  “Actually, hell is breaking loose, now that you mention it—”

  Iris held up her hand. “Get away from my house.” Then Satan moaned and Iris squatted next to him, propping his head up with her hands. Nick noticed that it was already starting to re-form, and there was a bit of a gleam in Satan’s eye as Iris’s cleavage dangled in front of him. “Are you all right, darling?”

  “I am in much pain,” he declared. “A full-body massage will be necessary to revive me.”

  “We think Satan’s ex-lover is out to get him,” Becca said.

  Iris immediately stood up, and Satan’s head thunked back to the carpet. “She can’t have him.”

  Satan sat up, his belly still looking like a bowl of pudding that had been attacked by a vicious five-year-old. “My love is jealous! How delightful!” He pulled himself up using the banister, leaning against it. “Give me one more minute, man-friend, and then I will kill you.”

  Nick looked at the gleam in Satan’s eyes and knew Satan was going to attempt to do exactly that, and then Nick would have to kill him. Sure, it would save his sister, but it would kill Becca, and Nick was just not up for that. So, he needed to give Satan a reason not to come after him and force him into a decision he didn’t want to make yet. “I interrupted you because your favorite Rivka is dying, and I thought you could help.”

  Satan jerked off the railing, his eyes going so wide that Nick could see the whites all the way around his corneas. “What? You lie!” He grabbed Nick by the neck and threw him up against the wall, pressing his face against Nick, oozing fury and deep, unabating terror. “It is not funny joke.”

  “It’s not a joke,” he growled, willing himself not to lunge
for Satan and take him out. Keep it together, Nick. “Look at her.”

  Satan swung around and looked at Becca, who was feverishly scratching her arms and shifting her weight. Her skin was sallow and her eyes were bleary. He dropped Nick instantly and swept across the room and grabbed Becca’s shoulders and shook her. “How dare you die! That is not permitted! I order you to live! I order you! Do you hear me?”

  Becca winced. “Let go of me.”

  And then Iris was beside him, her hand on his arm. “This isn’t helping, darling. Stop shaking her and let’s go into the living room and find out what this is all about, okay?”

  Satan didn’t loosen his grip, staring at Becca as if she would disappear right before his eyes. “You die now?”

  “No, not now.”

  “Not in one minute?”

  She sighed. “Satan, trust me, you can survive without me, I promise.”

  “No!” He started shaking her again. “You do not die!”

  Nick stepped up and quietly moved next to Becca. “You’re hurting her.” He kept his voice as calm as possible, but he knew his anger was building, and he set his hand on Satan’s arm, his fingers digging in just enough to get Satan’s attention. “Let go of her now.”

  Satan jerked his gaze to Nick, then his eyes narrowed. “You care about my Rivka?”

  Becca cursed and Nick shook his head, tapping his foot against Becca’s to reassure her. “I’m using her for my own means, and if she dies too soon, she’ll be useless to me. Release her. Now.”

  Satan cocked his head. “What is your reason?”

  No way was Nick getting his sister involved with Satan. “It’s personal.” He tapped his fingers on the back of Satan’s hand. “Let go.”

  Satan’s eyes flashed, and he released Becca to face Nick, his index finger beginning to glow red. “You are man-friend, which is why I did not kill you immediately, but there is no reason not to kill you now.”

  “I can keep Becca alive.”

  “I keep her alive,” Satan corrected. “Only me.”

  “Now you’ve done it,” Becca muttered under her breath. Then she cleared her throat. “Satan, here’s the deal. Satan Jr.’s mom is mounting a major assault against hell and you. We need to have a chat with her. Who is she?”