The Keepers of Hell Box Set

by Danielle James

  As Lucas broke the kiss to come up for air, he saw something in her eyes. Fear. She pushed him away and screamed at him. “I will never go back! Get away from me!” And then she turned into flames before disappearing completely.

  Lucas woke with a start, breathing heavy and confused. He sat straight up in bed. His cock was rock hard on his belly and he was sweating. What a dream! What did she mean she would never go back? Of course she was coming back, he thought. She was his mate. He just had to convince her of it. But first, he needed to bring her back to Ash to help with the cluster fuck that was going on. Then, he was going to make sure she never forgot who her mate was.

  With a determined sigh, Lucas lay back down on his back. He took his cock in his hand, remembering the way she tasted in his dream. He hoped that she tasted that good in person. He was going to find out, Lucas vowed as he began to stroke himself.

  Chapter Six

  Lucas had been walking for hours. There were only so many streets to walk down in the small town that Ash insisted was where he would find Ryver. Lucas was fairly certain he had traveled them all. Twice. He kept going, though. He knew it was a matter of time before he caught her scent and was able to track her.

  Just the thought of her made his jeans tight. Damned those dreams he had. It was bad before, the way he wanted her after only seeing her once. Now his imagination had gotten involved and taken hold of his cock. From the way things were going, that imagination didn't plan on ever letting go either.

  Lucas was about to give up and go back. Maybe they were mistaken about where to find her. Hell, it was like looking for a needle in a stack of needles. He pulled the small photo out of his pocket and looked at it again. He was used to finding people. That was what he did, or at least, what he used to do. Lucas was very good at finding his mark and taking it out.

  Except he wasn’t supposed to take her out, he was supposed to bring her back in one piece.

  The photo was aged and yellowed. It looked as if it were taken in the twenties. But still, he could see that she had long, shiny black hair that waved as it passed her shoulders. Her facial features were petite and her eyes were black in the picture, even though he had seen for himself that they were blue. Mali had given him the photograph and Lucas took it. Not because he needed it, but he kept it because he wasn’t ready to tell anyone that he could recall every feature of her face with perfect detail. He normally did not have that kind of memory, but she was no ordinary woman.

  He shoved the photo back into his back pocket and kept on walking. What was the name of this town? Lewisport. That was it. A tiny, hole-in-the-wall town that had maybe one thousand inhabitants, if you counted the ones that lived in the county but kept the city address.

  He walked along the strip mall in hopes that she would be out and about. It was going to be much more difficult if she was a recluse and stayed indoors. Then he was going to have to check each and every house.

  Just about the time he resigned himself to do just that, he saw a flash of black silk. He hurried to catch up with the woman wearing it and he knew, just knew, it was her.

  “Ryver!” he called out. The woman’s back stiffened but she kept going. “Ryver!” he yelled out, accenting both syllables of her name. He finally ate up the distance between them and gently grabbed her arm.

  She spun around and gave him one serious death glare, but he couldn’t focus on that. Her eyes were blue; brilliant and bright, like the afternoon sky on a clear day. Her alabaster skin looked like fine porcelain, her petite nose set atop a bow shaped mouth with a pouty bottom lip. She was beautiful. So beautiful, that she was almost painful to look at. Almost, yet Lucas couldn’t stop staring. He knew his mouth was hanging open and he knew he should say something to her, but he couldn’t. His mouth refused to work and his brain had checked out on him in the presence of this woman.

  It was true. She was Lucifer’s daughter. She had inherited her looks from her father. Her body was slender but not skinny, curved at her breast and her hips creating a perfect hourglass. Oh, to get his hands on her hips and hold her to his body. To kiss those lips… his brain took off on its own in his private fantasy.

  “I said, excuse me!” she said to him in a very irritated voice. She yanked her arm out of his grip and turned to leave.

  Lucas watched her move with fascination. Every move she made was elegant and graceful, yet she moved with the confidence of someone with an exceptional amount of restrained power. He had seen it many times on the field. He couldn’t believe he was watching her go.

  Go? No! He needed her to stay! He found his voice and called after her. “Wait!” He forced his feet to move and caught up to her once again. “Ryver, please,” he said.

  She spun around on her heel. “I don’t believe we know each other,” she said.

  “I’m Lucas,” he told her. “And you are my assignment.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Tell your boss to go to Hell,” she said. Then she thought for a moment, “No wait, tell him to go to Heaven and be blessed.” She turned with a satisfied smirk on her face.

  “Can’t do it,” Lucas told her.

  “Why the hell not?” she demanded. “I told you not to come begging me for help. I’m not part of that world anymore. I am not going. Thank you for stalking me, but I really must go now.” She turned to leave again.

  “Now wait a minute,” Lucas barked. “Don’t you even want to know why?”

  She shook her head. “I do know, and I don’t care.”

  “Well, too bad, because I am supposed to bring you back and that is what I plan to do,” he said as he took her arm again. He would drag her if he had to. There was no way he was going back without her.

  “Get off me, you creep!” she shouted, and then she pulled her fist back and snapped it forward. It connected with Lucas’ jaw. Hard.

  He stumbled back and tripped over something, he didn’t see what, and fell on his ass. He looked up at her just in time to see the fire flash in her eyes and then she was gone. Disappeared into thin air. Lucas stood up and brushed himself off. He looked around to make sure no one saw their little disagreement and, luckily, no one did. He rubbed his throbbing jaw. She was beautiful in general, but when she was angry, oh man. When she was angry… This is going to get interesting, he thought to himself as he started after her.

  The child of the devil himself was no doubt stronger than she let on. Lucas wondered what kind of power she might have as he power-walked to catch up to her again. “Ryver!” he called out to her retreating back. “Just wait!” Lucas pressed his lips together. She was beautiful and fast. He closed his eyes and focused. Lucas felt his body dematerialize as he flashed. He appeared right in front of her.

  Ryver stopped dead in her tracks and narrowed her eyes at him. “Now that was just rude,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Go sniff somewhere else, wolf.”

  Lucas grinned at her. “I’m not trying to be rude. You are. Just talk to me. Just for a minute, will ya? And how did you know I was wolf?”

  “I know more than you think I know,” she replied.

  “Well, I’m not going anywhere until you at least hear me out,” Lucas told her. “Coffee. Let’s just have coffee and talk. If you don’t like what I have to say, then I’ll go back and tell Ash that you’re not interested.”

  Ryver considered the wolf’s suggestion. She did like coffee. She also liked looking at the shifter. She liked the way he talked, what with that sexy as sin voice and all that muscle. His eyes were an intense blue, the left one with a tiny scar near the corner. His nose was straight and noble, sitting atop of full lips that promised more than Ryver was willing to consider. She had always had a thing for a man in uniform, and even though he was wearing fatigues, it was still hot. The camo cargo pants hugged his hips and barely encased the muscles of his thick thighs. The light tan t-shirt stretched over his wide chest, leaving little to the imagination. What she liked best though? It was the shiny silver dog tag that hung around his neck. All of that, combined with
the dark brown wings on his back that only she could see at the moment, made him one delicious sight. Of course, she would never admit that out loud, but what could it hurt to look at him a little longer? She also knew that what he said was true. He was never going to let her be until she talked to him.

  “Fine. One cup of coffee, but don’t get your hopes up.”

  She motioned with a wave of her hand for Lucas to follow her. As she crossed the street, Ryver tried not to look back at him. He was definitely following her; that much she knew. It wasn’t just her common sense telling her as much, either. She could feel him. The heat of his body was like a beacon to her, telling her exactly where he was. Ryver had felt it in Hell, but had brushed it off. Now, she had time to consider it. If she closed her eyes, she could almost see it. An aura of heat and light that the angel gave off beckoned her mind. She could feel the pull in her chest. This one was special, but the question was, why? That weird pull was the biggest reason she agreed to talk with him.

  They rounded a corner and Ryver came to a stop at a small coffee shop. “I mean it,” she warned him, “One cup. Then I’m out.”

  Lucas nodded and gave her a lopsided grin as only a wolf could. Ryver’s insides all but turned to mush when he looked at her like that. Damn him and his good looks and those damn shifter pheromones. It had to be that. There was no other explanation. He reached around her and opened the door wide, allowing Ryver to walk in first. Of course, he had to go and be a gentleman too. The thought both intrigued and irritated Ryver.

  There was only one other customer in the shop so Ryver took a seat in front of the window. Lucas walked up to the counter and smiled at the woman behind the register. He knew immediately the effect he had on her by the way her pulse sped up and the heat that crept up her face. “Two mocha frappuccinos, please,” he ordered for himself and for Ryver. “Whole milk.”

  The lady immediately bustled to get his order ready and Lucas remembered that he was dead and broke. “Damn it,” he cursed under his breath. Then he felt something in his palm. He raised his hand to find several bills in it. Angels always have what they need when they need it, he remembered. The woman handed him the drinks and Lucas handed her the money before meeting Ryver back at their table.

  He pushed the coffee over to her and said, “Now, let’s start by you telling me how you know what’s going on?”

  Ryver sipped the brew slowly, watching the wolf with a wary eye. She wasn’t sure how much she should tell him, or why she even wanted to. “I was born of Hell,” she finally answered. “I just know things about it.”

  “Why were you banished?”

  “Because I didn’t fit the description my father had in his head about how evil his daughter should be,” she answered him.

  “Why won’t you help us?” he asked her.

  “What is this? An interrogation? I’m not one of your POW's. I don’t have to tell you a damned thing,” Ryver bristled.

  “Whoa,” Lucas said, sitting back in his chair and putting his hands up in a defensive gesture. “First of all, I don’t take prisoners. Never have. I watch my prey and when the time is right, I pull the trigger. I don’t believe in torture. Although,” he paused for dramatic effect and rubbed his jaw, “For you, I may reconsider that.”

  Ryver rolled her eyes at him. “How about this,” she offered. “Quid pro quo. Why are you in Hell?” One of the many things Ryver could do was see a soul’s final destination. Hell was not where Lucas was supposed to be.

  The wolf shrugged. “I’m a killer.”

  “I see,” Ryver said with a thoughtful nod. “So working for Ash is what? A way out of your punishment for the lives you took?”

  “You don’t mess around with the pleasantries do you?” Lucas asked her. “Not exactly. He offered me the job. I figured I was going to Hell one way or the other. At least this way I’m not a demon snack on a daily basis.” He shuddered inwardly as he remembered his little trip to Murder. It was not a place he wanted to see again any time soon.

  “You can’t really think that by working for Ash you can erase your sins, do you?” she asked. Her eyes were intelligent and piercing.

  Lucas shook his head. “No, I don’t. But it puts it off for a while I guess.” Then he shifted his weight to lean his elbows on the table. From the look on her face, Ryver did not approve. Good. “Your turn. Lucifer is your father. Who is your mother?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered him honestly. “He never said and I never looked. All I know is that she was an angel.”

  “So that makes you an angel,” Lucas said, looking over her shoulder. “Where’s the wings? Can I see them?”

  Ryver snorted. “No. I haven’t used them since I was banished. I want nothing to do with that life anymore.”

  “Is that why you won’t help us?” he asked her.

  Ryver nodded. “I don’t have a dog in that fight anymore,” she said. “It is not my problem.”

  Lucas could see the sadness in her eyes. This woman thought she didn’t care, but the truth was, she did. He wouldn’t push her on it, though. She was stubborn at best, and he knew if he pushed her too far, he would get nothing from her. If he got nothing from her, then he would likely never see her again. The thought was crushing to him and his wolf howled in protest. No, he was going to have to find a way to keep her around and ease her into her role.

  And what exactly was her role? He didn’t know. All he knew was that Ash wanted to talk to her and Lucas wanted her for other reasons.

  “Would you at least go and talk to Ash?” he finally asked her. “He gave me an assignment. If I come back empty handed, I don’t know what he might do to me. He seems pretty reasonable, but hell, who knows.”

  “I don’t know about that,” she said, draining the last of her coffee.

  “You would at least be keeping me from failing at my first assignment,” he offered. He stuck out his bottom lip and conjured the best puppy dog eyes he could.

  Ryver barked out a laugh and then covered it with a cough. “Um, yeah. I guess,” she told him. “But I’m still not helping.”

  “Wonderful!” Lucas exclaimed, getting up from his chair and moving to stand behind her.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded as his arms went around her waist from behind. She stood to protest, but his grip only got stronger.

  “I’m making sure you don’t change your mind,” Lucas whispered in her ear and then he flashed them both to Hell.

  Chapter seven

  Balthazar wiped the side of his mouth as he rose up from his meal. “This one was spicy,” he said with a sadistic grin. “Get me another.” He watched in satisfaction as the demons he had set free scampered to remove the remains of the Hispanic woman and fetch him another one. As a high level demon, Balthazar had enough power to control any and all lesser demons he chose. By opening the gates of Hell, he had effectively gathered himself an army. No demon could resist freedom. He had known this when he opened the portal, and the demons who had made it out before Ash and his Guards sealed it up were grateful. They were all too happy to be at his beck and call, and not just out of gratitude. Balthazar had opened the portal and let them out, he could reasonably put them back in. Of course, the demon had no intentions of doing that, but the lower demons didn't need to know that little tidbit.

  At first, his only wish was to be free of his prison cell. Now that the demon was out, Balthazar remembered how much fun it had been to play with the humans. Already he had a list forming of wonderful things he intended to do. The world was full of evil, and Balthazar couldn’t wait to exploit it. Politicians were easily swayed and could easily be bought. Gang bangers and mobsters were at an all-time high population. Hell, he could start a war if he wanted to.

  But first, Balthazar had to get the new leader of Hell off his back. The portal was supposed to be a distraction that should have kept the leader busy for centuries. Who knew the fucker had such good connections? The damned team of warrior angels that were constantly guarding it was m
aking it easy for Ash to scry for him. Ash. What the fuck kind of name was that for the king of Hell? Balthazar shook his head. Good name or bad, the man was getting closer to him. Every day Ash and his band of misfit angels used Shelly’s blood to scry for Balthazar. Each time, they got a little bit closer. It was getting tiresome having to keep on the move all the time. If he hadn't been so powerful, Balthazar would have been caught already. But he could sense the spell that would lead the angels to him, therefore, he wasted no time picking up and leaving.

  Balthazar had no doubt that he could take the angel, but with the help of his Guard, it was damned hard. They had powers. Heavenly powers. Powers that Balthazar couldn’t compete with. Not when they were all together. No, he was going to have to handle that guard if he was going to have anything resembling peace. But first, he was going to have to separate them. If he hadn’t killed the witch, he could have asked her for help. Too bad that she died along with her human companions when the portal opened. Stupid humans. He had not anticipated the power Ash and his angels had, nor had he anticipated the warrior angel that was helping him.

  Ash was searching for him, Balthazar was sure of that. But, if he created enough drama on earth, perhaps he could stretch the angels thin enough to destroy them, one by one.

  Chapter eight

  Ryver didn’t have time to protest the wolf's abduction. One minute she was engaging in polite conversation, the next, she was standing in Hell. "What the hell?" she demanded as he finally let her go. "You can't just go around abducting people!"

  Lucas shrugged. "You agreed to come," he reminded her. He forced himself not to think about the way her slim body felt pressed up against his. Just those few seconds was enough to send his libido into overdrive. He knew, without a doubt, that Ryver was his. His. He was going to claim her, just not until the mess in Hell had been cleaned up. First things first, he thought. "Where is Ash anyway?" he asked, more to himself than not.