The Keepers of Hell Box Set

by Danielle James

  “Don’t run away from me,” he told her, moving his large body closer. “Please.”

  Now how was she going to argue with a face like that? Besides, she didn’t have anywhere to run.

  Jamie secretly enjoyed the effect he was having on his mate. Her heart rate picked up every time he spoke and she tried to look at him covertly, although she wasn’t very good at it. She found him attractive which was a good thing. Now if he could just convince her to trust him. When that happened, he was going to take his time getting to know every inch of her body and soul. He was going to start with those tiny feet of hers, working his way up her shapely legs, right on up to—

  “If I am so bad, why haven’t they killed me yet?” she asked, dropping an ice cube on Jamie’s fire. Damn, what was he thinking? He wasn’t, not with his brain, anyway. “Ash doesn’t just go around killing people,” he told her. “He’s a good man. You’ll see. When they couldn’t get any information from you, they had all but decided to do it. I stopped him, and I will not let any harm come to you.”

  Laura believed him. She could see the truth in his brilliant eyes. It felt good to be protected. The way he looked at her was incredible. It was intense, yet honest. She found herself leaning closer to him. Closer. So close she could feel the heat coming off his body and smell the scent of his skin.

  “Laura,” he whispered her name, moving closer to her as well. They were centimeters from touching. Jamie lifted a hand to cup her face and Laura leaned into his touch. His breath caressed her lips. He was going to kiss her.

  “Well, what did you find out?” Ash demanded, appearing in the office.

  Jamie cursed under his breath and moved away from Laura, albeit reluctantly. “So far, she remembers nothing.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Ash growled. He turned his angry stare to Laura. “You betrayed me. You betrayed us all.”

  Laura was honestly frightened and couldn’t bear to look into Ash’s angry face. She did remember making an amulet for him, but he seemed so much younger then. His face was leaner now, worry lines etched into his brow. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t know what happened. I would never do those things.”

  “But you did,” Ash reminded her. “Now you’re going to help us put him back.”

  Laura knew he was talking about Balthazar, but she didn’t have any idea how she would help. “I will do whatever you want me to,” she told him. “I don’t know how to put him back or make any of this right, but I will help you.”

  “Are you going to let her out of this cage now?” Jamie asked.

  “Hell no,” Ash shot back. “I can’t and won’t trust her. I know she’s your mate and you want to protect her, but right now that cage is the safest place for her to be. For all of us.”

  Jamie opened his mouth to argue when four angels came busting through the doors. “We found something,” Kaia said excitedly.

  She barged in with Lacy, Liam, Kaia, Jensen, and Antonio behind her. She thrust her hands out, revealing a box in Ash’s direction.

  He took it from her and looked it over. “Jake found something like this,” he said. “They got back a few minutes ago.”

  “We found one too,” Lacy said, handing over her box.

  “We believe these were used to contain the horsemen,” Antonio told him. “And if Macy is right, we may know where to find the fourth.”

  He quickly explained what they discovered to Ash. When he was finished, Ash looked thoughtful. “I agree,” he said. “But we are not going in half-cocked. We need to find him and see what he is up to.”

  “Does anyone have any ideas on how to open them?” Kaia asked. “We tried, but no luck.”

  “Us too,” Lacy told her.

  “As far as I can tell,” Ash said, “you don’t open them.”

  Laura watched from the cage, taking note of the golden boxes. Something on the side seemed to almost glow, some kind of design that she couldn’t make out from her position in her cage. Jamie had stood next to her, looking out from the bars as well.

  “You need to get out of there,” Ash told him. When Jamie opened his mouth to argue, Ash said, “No arguments, I need my guard right now. Deal with her later.” With a wave of his hand the door opened. Jamie rested his hand on the small of Laura’s back for a moment, enjoying just touching her, before doing as he was told.

  “What exactly do we do with boxes we can’t open?” Ryver asked as she and Lucas came into the room.

  “I don’t know yet,” Ash admitted, “but it’s a start. It’s more than we had.”

  “Did Jamie have any luck with the witch?” she asked.

  “Hell no,” Ash told her. “She claims not to remember any of it.”

  “She might be telling the truth,” Ryver said hopefully. She walked over to the cage to see Laura again. Something was still off and it was bugging her. “Maybe we can—”

  “Or she could be lying just like she has done this whole time,” Ash growled. He started to continue, but a loud crashing noise and shouting interrupted him.

  “Would you just listen to me?” Jake shouted as he and Shelly busted through the office doors.

  “Why would I do that?” Shelly shot back. “You have no desire to listen to me!”

  “I was only making a suggestion!” Jake shot back. “It could work! If you would just turn off the psycho for a minute—”

  “Psycho? So, what? Now that my dad is out there, breaking the fucking world as we know it, that means I must be crazy? What are you? Sane? I know! You’re a cunt rotting sphincter worm!”

  “Soulless ginger!”

  “Cock waffle drizzled in snot!”

  “Penis peeler!”

  “Dick swallow!”

  “Cum dumpster!”

  “Hey!” Ash shouted over them. “Get a fucking room, but not mine!”

  “What the hell?” Kaia asked, wondering when the shooting was going to begin.

  “Oh, don’t worry,” Lacy told her. “This is foreplay for them.”

  “What in the hell is going on here?” Ash demanded as his guard and his demon mate both turned to face him with equal amounts of fury.

  “We, uh, had a little disagreement,” Jake said.

  “Little?” Shelly squealed, “You’re a fucking idiot.”

  “Watch it there, demon,” Jake snarled at her.

  “Fuck off, human,” she growled back.

  “Hold on,” Lacy said, pushing calm into her two friends. “At first, I thought you were just doing what you do, but this is a little too real here. What happened?”

  Jake and Shelly couldn’t fight the effects of Lacy’s gift and cooled down immediately. “All I did was suggest that Shelly might have some idea of Balthazar’s next move.”

  “Yeah because I am his evil spawn and must have some kind of psychic connection.” Shelly snorted. “Just because we share the same blood does not mean that I am like him.”

  “I didn’t say that,” Jake retorted. “I just thought it was worth a try.”

  “We have tried using Shelly’s blood to find him,” Ash pointed out. “It didn’t work.”

  “I know,” Jake answered. “I just thought that maybe there was enough power in this office that maybe, just maybe, we could give her a boost and see if she could connect with him. Ya know, see what he’s up to.”

  Shelly rolled her eyes.

  “It might be possible,” Ryver said, breaking her attention away from the witch for the time being and joining the conversation. “If Shelly is willing.”

  “I don’t want to be in his head nor do I want him in mine,” she answered.

  “Then we can’t force you,” Ash said. “It is something to think about for later. We have asked enough of you so far.”

  “Thank you,” Shelly said, and then, turned to Jake. “I told you it wasn’t happening.” She turned on her heel and stormed out of the office.

  “Shelly wait,” Jake said, taking off after her.

  “Well that was interesting,” Jamie mused. �
�They do this often?”

  “Not like this,” Antonio told him. “I think we all need a break.”

  Ash growled under his breath. “We don’t have time for a break.”

  “They need to remember what it is they are fighting for,” Antonio told him. “Everyone is on edge. We need to regroup. You know I’m right.”

  “Fuck it all,” Ash grumbled. “Fine. Everyone take the night off. Tomorrow, we do this.”

  Chapter Eight

  Jamie watched as everyone filed out of Ash’s office. “Is there any chance you might let Laura out in my care?” he asked.

  “Not a chance in hell,” Ash replied.

  “Mind if I move into the cage, then?”

  Ash sighed heavily. He waved his hand and the cage became bigger, allowing for Jamie’s larger frame. “I’m going to my personal quarters,” he said. The door is unlocked until you go in. After it closes, it will lock again until I let you out.”

  Jamie nodded and went inside, closing the door behind him. Once it clicked into place, he could feel Ash’s magic surrounding it, sealing them inside. His mate was sitting in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest. Her arms were over her knees and she had rested her head on her arms. She seemed so small and afraid right then, and it was instinct for Jamie to go to her. He had to comfort her.

  “Ya know, there has got to be something more comfortable to sit on than the floor,” he said as he folded his body into a sitting position next to her.

  “I feel most comfortable in this corner,” she told him.

  “I wonder why that is,” he mused aloud. “Do you even ever sleep?”

  “Not that much,” she admitted. “I still feel mistrust for the angels. I know I shouldn’t, but I do.”

  “And me?” he asked, unsure he wanted to answer.

  “You’re different,” Laura admitted. “I don’t feel like you would ever betray me or try to hurt me.”

  “That’s because I wouldn’t,” Jamie told her. “Come on, get up.”

  “No, Jamie wait,” she argued, but it was useless. He had already stood and taken her hand, pulling her up with him.

  “I am not going to let you wallow in self-pity,” he warned her. “You’re going to get some rest tonight, and then tomorrow we’re going to figure out a way to make them understand that you weren’t yourself when you did all of those things.”

  He led her to the small cot that had become her bed. “I can’t make up for all those horrible things,” she told him as she sat on the edge.

  “I saw you in Limbo,” he said, kneeling in front of her. “I saw the fire and defiance in your eyes. My mate is a strong woman that has an iron will. You just have to be willing to put on your big girl panties and try.”

  Laura laughed at him. “My big girl panties, huh?”

  “Yes. And then I will take them off of you,” he growled.

  Oh, didn’t that bring about a whole bunch of mental images? In her mind's eye, she saw Jamie leaning over her, his torso naked as he slowly pulled her panties off her body. Or maybe he would do it with his teeth. Laura resisted the urge to press her thighs together to quell the sudden ache that had formed there.

  “And after I take them off,” he continued, knowing full well how he was affecting her, “I am going to cover you in my scent. There won’t be anyone in Heaven, Hell, or on Earth that won’t know that you are mine.”

  “You don’t even know me,” she argued.

  “I don’t have to know where you grew up. All I need is what I see in your soul. It’s a beautiful revelation to me, a gift of knowing where I belong.” He ran his hands up her thighs, moving them outward and holding her hips. “You are my mate. Believe it or don’t, but don’t run from it. You will not be in this cage forever, and when you’re out, I’m going to make you believe it.”

  Laura shook her head. “No,” she said. “If what they say is true and I did all of those awful things, then I deserve whatever punishment Ash wants to give me. I really don’t deserve to be anyone’s mate.”

  Jamie sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

  “No,” Laura agreed. “You went and got yourself locked up with me. You’re stuck for the night.”

  “Then I guess I better get comfortable,” he said, lying down on the floor next to her cot.

  Laura laid down on her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. If he wanted to sleep like that, then so be it. Who was she to argue? If that big, beautiful man wanted to sleep on the floor, she was going to let him.

  He really was beautiful, she thought as she stared at the ceiling. Not just his face, which was perfect, or his body—also perfect in her opinion—but his soul was beautiful, if not a little misguided. All of her life, Laura had wanted someone to love her unconditionally, and now he was there, offering just that. She may not be familiar with vampire mates, but she knew enough to know that vampires mated for life. It wasn’t something that was taken lightly, and it had been the sole reason she was still alive. She owed him her life.

  She rolled over so that her back was to him. How in the hell was she supposed to sleep with him in there? Not that she slept much anyway, but still. Her mind wandered back and forth from the enormous vampire on her floor to the boxes the angels had returned with. She just knew there was something missing, something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on, or something that would be a game changer. But what?

  Jamie listened as Laura fidgeted on her cot. He couldn’t even bring himself to call it a bed, it was so small. He knew that he had given her far too much to think about, and he silently cursed himself for it. Telling her about the demon and her part in it all was necessary, but did he really have to promise himself to her? That was what he had essentially done. She wasn’t ready to accept it, and he didn’t blame her. But he knew that those actions were not her own. He remembered when he first saw her in hell. She was seething with contempt and hate, but now all he felt from her was a bone deep sorrow. Regret. Fear. None of those were good for her.

  He had to do something to help her. “Okay, I’m never gonna sleep like this,” he said, sitting up. “You’re up there moving around like a busy bee. Scoot over.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” she asked, raising a brow. Surely, he didn’t mean to … oh yes he did. Without waiting for her to do as he asked, Jamie was pushing his large body onto her cot. “We are not going to fit,” she laughed as she tried to scoot over.

  That was a sound worth hearing, he thought. He was going to have to make her do it more often. He finagled himself onto the tiny cot and tried to lay back. Half of his body was hanging off, but he was going to make it work.

  “Here,” he said, lifting his arm. “Let me hold you. It’s cold in here anyway.”

  Laura looked skeptical, but finally gave in. She laid her head on his shoulder and allowed him to wrap his arm around her back. She didn’t want to admit how good it felt to be in his arms, his heat penetrating her skin. She wasn’t about to move, either.

  How long had it been since she took comfort in another person? She couldn’t remember. Jamie didn’t even have to try, though. Just being there with her gave her strength. She had so many questions and so few answers. Her arm itched to hold onto his waist, but she tucked it tight against her side.

  “If we’re not going to sleep then maybe we could talk?” he rumbled.

  “What do you want to talk about?” she asked without raising her head.

  “Well, let’s see. We have all night to get to know each other. I’ll start. I was born in Texas,” Jamie began. Laura listened to him talk about his childhood and where he went to school. He talked about his family and wondered if they would miss him. It occurred to her that he didn’t go to his funeral, like the others did. He had been in Limbo when the human world was laying him to rest. Her heart hurt for him, knowing he would never hear his loved one’s last respects. “Anyhow, that’s when I met Ms. B. You know, Lacy. She was my teacher my senior year and she saved my life.
She saved us all. That’s why I became a SEAL and a vampire. I wanted to keep my promise, to make her proud.”

  “I can’t imagine anyone not being proud of you,” Laura told him.

  “Thanks, but I’m not perfect. So, what about you?”

  Laura studied the man beside her. He was a stranger to her and yet he was so familiar, as if she had known him for years. Her memory was still so fuzzy and she wished that she could just remember him. His eyes were a pale green and filled with adoration. It was a heady thing to be looked at the way he was looking at her, as if she were the only person in the world that mattered. He hadn’t left her side since Ash let him in her cage.

  An image of Jamie flashed through her mind like an old black and white photograph. He was standing in a forest, but there was no color. It was exactly how he had described Limbo. Was this a memory? Her heart jumped in her chest at the thought. But of course, it could also just be her mind making a desperate attempt to create something, anything that could connect her to the amazing man who had already claimed her as his mate.

  She didn’t even really know what that meant. He was a vampire, after all. Sure, vamps lived out in the open nowadays, but she had never met one in person. The idea of all those deadly teeth had always made her uneasy, but when Jamie smiled and his extra sharp incisors peaked through, it filled her with a sense of excitement. It made her tingle in all the places it shouldn’t. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have those fangs sink into her skin.

  “Or we can do whatever it is that you’re thinking about now,” Jamie said in a husky voice.

  “How do you know what I’m thinking?” she asked.

  “Your heart sped up and I can smell the change in hormones in your body. Something has you turned on.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” she lied. She couldn’t make herself look at his face, but she knew he was staring at her with those eyes.

  “Laura,” he warned. “Look at me.”

  “I’m just going to go to sleep now,” she said, forcing her eyes closed. She felt his chest rise and then fall again in a defeated sigh. Forcing herself to block everything else out, Laura focused on the sound of Jamie's heartbeat under her ear. They rhythmic thumping was exactly what she needed to put away the thoughts and feelings of the day and just be there.