Lacy shook her head. “No, I am positive it was you.”
Ash stood from his chair and stretched his wings. “Who wants to tell me what she is talking about?” he said through clenched teeth, his eyes narrowed. He linked his hands together by the fingers and stretched, cracking his knuckles.
“When I was trying to get my students out of the school, I heard a voice telling me where to go and what to do. It was him!” Lacy exclaimed with a huge smile. “And it was you who got the kids to safety, wasn’t it?”
Ash raised one eyebrow at his two angels. “Tell me you two didn’t interfere,” he said in a low voice.
“Well, you see…” Antonio started but Jake interrupted him. “It was me. I did it. All of it. I told her where to go and I got the children out of the school before it blew.”
Ash looked at him skeptically. “Antonio, did you have anything to do with this?” he asked.
Antonio shifted his weight from one foot to the other before answering. “I opened the grate over the fan so the kids could get out,” he admitted.
Ash turned to Shelly. “And you saw all of this because Jake won’t let you out of his sight,” he accused.
Shelly looked at the floor. “I couldn’t let it happen,” she said softly.
Ash paced back and forth in front of them, muttering under his breath about insubordination and termination. “Now look,” Jake said to him, but Ash raised his hand in a stop motion and Jake’s mouth closed up tight, rendering him unable to speak. Jake’s lips pressed together in irritation, but he knew better than to mess with Ash when he was angry.
After several trips across the room, Ash finally turned to his small crew. “After all we know, and after everything we have been through so far, you interfered. You have no idea of the consequences that you have brought on us! Do you think God will be pleased to know that you’ve messed with his grand design? Do you think I’m happy about disobeying orders? Which one of you is going to explain this to Him? Not me, I didn’t do it.”
Lacy dropped her head and looked at the floor. She hadn’t meant to cause trouble, only to thank the angels who helped to save her students. The man in front of her was scorching angry and talking about God Himself. She couldn’t help but feel like she messed up big time.
But why would God be upset about saving children? It didn’t seem right at all. Not the God she grew up believing in. She couldn’t imagine a God in any Christian religion that would condone the killing of hundreds of kids. “Why would God be upset about this?” she finally voiced. “He is loving and kind and I just can’t imagine that He wouldn’t be willing to forgive these guys for doing the very thing He created them to do. Protect. They protected innocent lives.”
Ash turned to her and growled. “We are not supposed to interfere.”
“Where is that written?” she demanded.
Ash’s eyes changed from blue to red right in front of her. “God said so.”
Lacy’s first instinct was to back away from Ash, but after the life she lived under the thumb of an abusive man, she was not going to be bullied now. What was the worst he could do to her? She was already dead and in Hell. She planted her hands on her hips and looked up at him. “When.”
“When Jake died in the explosion at the church!” Ash bellowed into their faces. “We wanted to help get everyone out of the church, but He wouldn’t let us!”
“Did anyone die besides Jake?” Lacy asked him with one eyebrow raised expectantly.
Ash stopped growling and backed off. He thought for a moment. “No one,” he answered her in a much calmer voice.
“And don’t you think He knew that?” Lacy suggested, waving a hand in the air. “Don’t you think that God was all-knowing and He knew that Jake would be the only casualty? Leaving him free to join you. Maybe if you had helped him, I don’t know, you might have done something that changed something and maybe someone else might have died. I don’t see how God meant not to interfere at all. Ever.” She shook her head. “I would think that I would like to hear that specifically before I let a school full of children die.”
Ash mentally stumbled back. She was right. No one but Jake had died, and he was meant for the Guard. Could she be right about the whole not interfering thing? He was going to have to ask about that. Damn her for being so rational. “Look, I don’t know, okay? Just, nobody interfere with anything else. Let me get some damned answers first.”
Ash stomped back to his seat behind his desk and went back to typing at his computer. “Tell her what you’re doing,” Elizabeth reminded him softly. She moved behind him and started rubbing his shoulders while he worked. It was as if Lacy hadn’t just taken the wind out of his argument.
“I’m putting you in the system,” he said to Lacy without looking away from the screen. “Every soul has to be accounted for, whether it’s here or in Heaven. Those who are unaccounted for cause problems.”
“Like a new employee,” Lacy said to no one other than herself. “I feel like I’m in orientation.”
“You are,” Elizabeth told her. “And after this you will go to your funeral and then get you in uniform.”
Lacy wondered what kind of uniform she had to wear. Antonio and Jake were not dressed in uniforms, but they were angels. They were both wearing jeans and t-shirts. She hoped it wasn’t going to be anything too horrifying, like that ugly pink shirt she had to wear when she worked at the hotel forever ago, or the puke green button-down she had to wear at the burger joint. And did the vampire woman say her funeral?
“It’s a mind trip and a half, let me tell ya,” Jake whispered to her.
Lacy nodded and sat down in the chair across from Ash. She waited patiently for him to finish typing. Her eyes kept going back to the corner of the room where the man sat quietly in the cage. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was a statue he was so still.
But he was nice to look at, she thought. Brown hair that covered his forehead and almost hid his eyes hung in waves around his face. About a day’s worth of growth covered his square jaw; his deep brown eyes looked lost. He had broad shoulders and layer upon layer of muscles. He looked like a Norse God that somehow managed to get lost and land here. Of course, she had no way of knowing anything about him other than his outward appearance, but she found that she was curious about him. Where was he from before coming to Hell? What had his life been like? How long had he been here? What had he endured in Greed? These were all questions that Lacy was fairly certain she would be getting answers to in the near future.
CHAPTER TWO
“Ok, I think that about does it,” Ash said aloud, leaning back in his chair and stretching his back. Lacy looked up from the gaming console to see what he was doing. She had given up on the wait and be patient thing and took to playing video games with the others. “I have a meeting with Rogue in a few minutes, but after that we should have just enough time to get you to your funeral,” Ash continued, shutting down his computer. The man stood up and took his mate’s hand, and then the pair left the office without another word.
“He doesn’t say much, does he?” Lacy asked.
“Not too much,” Antonio told her, “but he is a good man. His temper is a little wonky sometimes, but Ash is truly a reasonable man.”
“Unless it’s about Elizabeth,” Jake added. “Then all bets are off.”
“Like you guys aren’t the same way,” Shelly piped in. “You would kill, maim, and dismember if you thought we were in trouble.”
“That is so true,” Jake agreed, kissing her lightly on her lips.
“He said we should have just enough time,” Lacy said, changing the subject. “My funeral wouldn’t be for at least three days, and that’s assuming there was anything of me left for them to find and identify.”
“You are handling the whole, dead thing, surprisingly well,” Jake told her. “I’m not sure how to deal with that. Most people would be confused or angry or at least, in denial. How do you do it?”
Lacy shrugged. “I knew
I was dead the moment that man raised his gun. If not for that, the twenty or so bullets he put in my body would have done me in. But did I stop there? No! Of course not. I had to go all the way and make sure I was blown up too. I have always believed in a higher power, and Heaven and Hell. It’s not that big of a leap for me.”
“Well, you are right. Your funeral would take several days, but it has already been three days on Earth,” Antonio told her. “Time passes differently here. Could you imagine an eternity of slow moving time?”
“It’s been three days?” Lacy asked.
“You get used to it,” Jake assured her.
“So what are your stories?” she asked.
“Demon,” Shelly said, pointing to her chest. “I run Greed. Always have.” Then she went back to playing her game.
“I was a firefighter,” Jake told her. “I wasn’t the best man on earth, but I like to think I have some redeeming qualities.”
“Vampire turned restless soul turned angel,” Antonio said. “It’s a long story, but now I have been charged with helping Ash get things running right here and getting his Guard in order.”
Lacy digested the information. There was a lot to take in. She didn’t have to worry about her old life catching up with her. She didn’t have to worry about a lot of things anymore. “I just realized,” Lacy said, “I don’t have to worry about paying bills anymore.”
“Nope,” Antonio agreed, propping his feet up on Ash’s desk.
“You know he hates it when you do that,” Jake reminded him.
Antonio shrugged. “He’ll get over it.”
Jake shook his head. “One of these days he’s gonna toast you.” Then he turned his attention back to Lacy. “Being an angel does have its perks.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“Like having whatever you need, when you need it,” Jake told her. “Money, car, handcuffs…”
Lacy scrunched her eyebrows at him but didn’t ask. “So, that would be nice,” she said. “I got hacked after I changed my name but there was nothing I could do about it. If I had reported it, then the government would be looking into my account and I didn’t want them finding out that I was not who I claimed to be.”
“Who hacked you?” Antonio asked.
Lacy grinned. “Someone who ran a bogus company called Suck a Dick.”
Jake snorted. “Seriously?”
Lacy nodded. “I shit you not. That was what the charges on my account said. Instead of reporting it I had to eat the loss, and I closed my account.”
“How much did they get?” Jake asked.
“Who cares about that?” Antonio shouted, leaning forward. “What about that name? Can you imagine?”
Jake raised a brow at him.
“How would you answer the phone?” Antonio snorted. “Hello, Suck-A- Dick?”
Jake laughed and Lacy giggled under her breath. She had wondered that exact same thing; she just hadn’t broadcasted it.
As if the universe was in line with the situation at hand, Ash’s phone rang. Antonio and Jake looked at each other with identical grins. “Do it,” Jake dared him.
Antonio picked up the receiver. “Hello, thanks for calling Suck-A-Dick. So that I may direct your call properly, are you a giver or a receiver?”
Lacy barked out a laugh and smothered it with her hand over her mouth. Jake grinned from ear to ear, but Antonio kept his face straight.
“I’m sorry, but our CEO is not available right now. Maybe I could tell you about some of the services we offer. We have something for everyone, all the way from the Naked Firecracker to the Deluxe King Kong Chocolate Dong. The Naked Firecracker is great for beginners; it has a short fuse but pops off quickly. Great for practicing. The Deluxe King Kong Chocolate Dong is ten inches of titanium covered in rich milk chocolate. It requires exceptional stamina and is recommended for professionals only. However, if you are interested in becoming a professional, might I suggest our Tramp in Training Program? It has ten levels of proficiency, all for one low monthly fee.”
By this time, Jake was rolling on the floor with tears in his eyes and Lacy was doubled over in her seat, desperately trying not to encourage him. Of course, their amusement only spurred Antonio on.
“I see,” he said into the phone. “I can do that. I can fit you in for a consultation tomorrow at five. Wonderful!”
Ash walked into his office and glared at Antonio, who had his feet on the desk and was talking on the phone! He had leaned back in Ash’s chair and he was willing to bet the angel had any number of food particles in the seat.
“I will give our CEO the message,” Antonio said, grinning at Ash. “Thank you again for calling Suck-A-Dick and you have an explosive day!”
He leaned forward and placed the phone back on its cradle.
“What the fuck was that?” Ash demanded.
Jake, Antonio, and Lacy broke into wild laughter. Lacy started to hiccup, which only made it worse.
“What did you three do?” Ash demanded, looking at the phone like it was infected. “Why are you telling people to suck a dick?
“Not telling,” Antonio managed, “teaching.”
“You’re teaching people to give blow jobs?” Ash said, his voice climbing with each syllable.
“Gah!” Lacy peeled with laughter. She wanted to explain it to Ash, really, but she couldn’t catch her breath long enough.
“Enough!” Ash barked at them. “I want to know what’s going on and I want to know right now. The three Musketeers had better start talking.”
Antonio sat up straight and sobered his expression. Jake and Lacy were sitting on the floor with their hands over their mouths. Every other second, there was the tiniest giggle from Lacy.
“Ameris said to call her back,” Antonio finally said. That was when Jake and Lacy lost it all over again.
“I’m surrounded by children,” Ash grumbled under his breath while shaking his head. “Children.”
Lacy snorted in an attempt to quell her laughter, but the result was that the guys thought that was hilarious in and of itself. “Stop it,” she wailed. “I’m gonna pee my pants!”
Ash stared them all down with his eyes glowing red. “If you don’t mind,” he growled, “we have business to take care of.”
Lacy sobered immediately and soon, the rest followed suit. “I’m so sorry,” she said to Ash. “We were talking and then something I said gave Antonio an idea and then…”
“Please refrain from giving him ideas in the future,” Ash told her in a stern voice. He took a deep breath to calm himself and then, in a much nicer tone, added, “I know that it is important to laugh. Sometimes it’s all you’ve got. But right now we are in the middle of some serious shit and we gotta stay focused.”
Lacy nodded. “I will try not to encourage him from now on,” she promised. “Wanna tell me what the big issue is, or should I just guess?”
Ash sank into his leather chair and ran his hands along the arms for a moment before speaking. “A while back Shelly was summoned,” he started. “She was taken by humans, or at least we think they were human, and with the help of a witch they were able to trap her and take her blood.” He waited for the information to sink in. He noticed that Shelly and Jake had taken a seat and Antonio was standing next to Lacy with his hand on her shoulder. “We don’t know exactly why they wanted her blood, only that with it they can do a multitude of debaucherous things that are nothing but trouble.”
“Like what? And is that even a word?” Lacy asked without thinking. She should really think first, she scolded herself. Ash appeared to be very understanding and approachable, but he was the leader of Hell. Hell! She thought that speaking out of turn was probably frowned upon. Should she bow to him, she wondered. No, that would not be happening she decided.
Ash could see that she was arguing with herself and waited for Lacy to come back to the conversation. He completely skipped her questioning his vocabulary. He was the leader of Hell; he could say whatever he wanted. She didn’t need
to know that he didn’t know if debaucherous was a word or not. “They could summon her again,” he said, “or even control her without her consent. We don’t know what they intend to do with it, which is why Jake is with her all the time.”
“And here I thought you hung around because you couldn’t get enough of my blindingly brilliant personality,” Shelly said sweetly to Jake, playfully punching him in the bicep.
“Oh, yes,” Jake agreed with a sarcastic grin, “it’s definitely your personality.”
“Guys,” Ash said loudly, “be serious for just a minute, will ya? Lacy seriously needs to know what she’s getting into.”
“Sorry, Dad,” Jake said, this time a genuine grin on his face.
Ash shook his head but continued. “Shelly doesn’t remember much about her time with the humans, we think due to a spell, but she did remember something about her father. Balthazar is in lock up downstairs and we intend to keep him that way.”
“I don’t understand something,” Lacy interjected. “If they wanted Balthazar, why did they summon Shelly? Why not just go after the demon they really want?”
“Well,” Antonio answered for Ash, “we don’t really know. All we can do is assume at this point. Maybe they didn’t know whom they were summoning. Maybe they needed Shelly’s blood to summon her father. There are too many what ifs at this point, so we need to be prepared for anything.”
“Ok, who is Shelly’s father?” Lacy asked. These guys sucked at explanations.
“Balthazar is my father,” Shelly told her.
“And why is he in lock up?” Lacy asked.
“Oh, my God,” Shelly breathed.
All heads turned her direction. “What is it?” Ash asked her. “Are they trying to summon you again?”
“No,” Shelly shook her head. “I don’t know why I didn’t make the connection before. My dear old Dad is in prison because he opened the gate. Lucifer wasn’t much on punishment for demons, but even he had to frown on that one.”
“Dear God,” Antonio mumbled. “The gate.”
“I don’t get it,” Jake admitted.
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