by Jayde Scott
"About time you did," Dad said.
I didn't respond because I couldn't be bothered to trigger yet another argument. "When do I start?"
"Now. I'll send someone over to pack your bags." He didn't even blink as he opened the folder again, reading through the bullet points.
"I've thought about a few companies we could hire for the billboards.
You might want to give them a call and get a quote."
"Whoa!" I held up my hands. "Pack my bags? I can't move back here." What about Dallas, my job and the life I'd built for myself? He couldn't expect me to leave everything behind.
Dad peered at me; our gazes locked in that fierce yet silent battle that'd been going on between us ever since I realised he might seem intimidating, but that was just his job. In real life, he liked to let his hair down like everyone else.
"If something comes up, I can't afford not being able to get hold of you," Dad said.
I shook my head. "That's not going to happen. You always know where I am."
Dad cocked a brow. "I might consider getting rid of Kinky and that tiny angel. You know how much you always complain about them."
Kinky squirmed on my shoulder, but kept quiet as he always did in Dad's presence. I could sense his nervousness though. Apart from the job of being a companion, there wasn't much else a personal demon could do. Given Dad's reputation for getting rid of surplus baggage, who wouldn't start sweating? As much as I was tired of Kinky's antics, I wouldn't want him to disappear. Besides, he might just decide to spill the beans about Dallas. This was my chance to instil some much-needed respect into him.
"You'd get rid of them both?" I tapped a finger against my lips.
"That's a temping offer." From the corner of my eye, I watched Kinky's eyes turn as big as saucers.
"Do we have a deal then?" Dad held out his hand.
I grabbed it and gave it a quick squeeze. "I'm moving back in for a week tops, and I'll keep Kinky for the time being. Let's see how he fares."
I left with the promise of moving my things that afternoon and arrived home to Dallas's still unpacked boxes cluttering the hall.
He gave me a peck on the cheek. "I missed you."
"Sorry I took so long."
"Water under the bridge." He smiled. "See, we have a lot in common. We even use the same expressions."
Forcing my lips into a grin, I pulled him on the sofa, unsure how to tell him I might be away for a while. Putting distance between us wasn't going to do our relationship any favours.
"What's wrong?" Dallas cupped my face, inching closer until our noses almost touched.
I took a deep breath, meeting his gaze. The warmth in his golden eyes sent shivers down my spine, my immortal body felt weak and dizzy. "I have to leave."
He blinked. "What?"
My heart sank. "I'm so sorry."
A thin line formed on his forehead. "Okay, I admit skipping the dating part was my idea, but I didn't agree on skipping the whole
'living together' thing."
"We're not skipping it."
He snorted. "Could've fooled me."
"A family emergency has come up. My father needs me to stay with him for a while."
"Oh, Cass. I'm so sorry. Is he okay?" He sounded so concerned, I felt bad for lying to him.
"Yes, he's fine. It's just the family business needs me. We might lose everything if I don't go down there and fix it."
Dallas nodded. "Sure, I understand. Do what you have to do.
Family's everything. Besides, we can still see each other every day."
I hesitated. Leading the type of campaign Dad envisioned might take all my time, particularly since I had no idea what I was doing and needed to learn as I moved along.
"You probably don't know but I give killer back rubs, you know, to help you deal with all that stress," Dallas continued.
That sounded like divine. But visiting Hell? Unless he pierced a dagger into his heart, or someone like me took him down there, that wasn't going to happen. I squirmed. "It's not that easy."
"Why not? You don't want your father to meet me? I know I was sweating up a storm at the restaurant. It was a volcano in there. I promise not to sweat all over your dad."
I giggled inwardly. The poor lad could never handle Hell where it was a million times hotter. I shook my head. "It's not that."
"What then? Are you afraid of hopelessly falling in love with me?" He cocked a brow and pulled me closer. "You want to tell me, Cass. I can see it in your eyes. No one can resist my charms. Now, tell me the real reason."
How could I defy that confident smile? Or perseverance. "We're going to California."
"Oh." A shadow crossed his features, his forehead creased into a frown. "How long are we talking, babe?"
"A while."
He ran a hand through his hair and paused for a moment, as if pondering, avoiding my gaze. "There's email, video chat, telephones, and texting. We'll stay in touch. I'm not letting the most fantastic thing in my life get away."
I opened my mouth to speak when Kinky let out an exaggerated sigh. He'll find someone else in a heartbeat.
"No, he won't," I hissed.
"What?" Dallas asked.
I smiled. "Nothing."
A hottie like him? Kinky smacked his tongue.
He'll be faithful, Pinky said.
Don't listen to him. All he knows about mortals is what he's been spoon-fed on a fluffy, white cloud.
As usual, Kinky's argument made sense. He might not be the most congenial being, but he knew human nature better than an angel who used to spend most of his time cheering along with Carry Grant while watching movies from the fifties. We barely knew each other but somehow, the idea of being away from Dallas wasn't an appealing one.
"Cass?" Dallas asked, giving my hand a squeeze. "Are you okay?
Listen, babe, we have something so special...something that sizzles.
We both can't deny it." My attention snapped back to him. He continued, "No other girl has ever taken my breath away like you have. Leaving before things have even properly started sucks. But you go do what you have to do. Your family depends on you. I promise I'll be waiting right here for you."
I took in his broad shoulders and toned quadriceps. Yeah, right.
He'd find someone else in no time. "Want to come with me?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.
He laughed. "What?"
I shrugged. "It was just an idea."
"Sounds like a good one. I thought you'd never ask. California, here we come."
"I hope you like it hot."
"Are you kidding?" He jumped up like an excited kid, making my heart skip a beat. "The hotter the better. I can't wait to catch up on my tan."
"Pack plenty of suntan lotion...and your darkest pair of shades."
My pulse spiked as he inched closer and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me to his chest. I buried my head in the crevice of his armpit, breathing in the musky scent of his deodorant.
"When are we leaving?" Dallas asked.
"Tonight." I groaned inwardly because now we'd really have to fly to California to make this journey look authentic. I wished I could just tell him who I was and what we were doing, but there was no way in Hell he'd understand. So I beamed at him and jumped up, dragging him to his feet. "Come one. We've got lots of packing to do."
Chapter 6 – Disneyland
"Ladies and gentlemen," the pilot announced through the intercom. "Thank you for flying Southwest Flight 156 to Los Angeles.
We'll be landing shortly. I hope everyone had a pleasant journey. The weather here's ninety degrees, so make sure you get out your shades.
Have a wonderful day and thank you for flying with us."
Dallas pushed his sunglasses down the brim of his nose.
"California here we come." I laughed. He looked so adorable with that giant grin on his face.
The flight attendant's voice echoed through the aircraft, "Folks, please gather all of your belongings as you
exit the plane. If you do leave something behind, please ensure it's something we want. And one last note, no leaving small children or ugly spouses."
Dallas chuckled.
The plane jerked and I hit my head against the seat. Were we landing or were we being shot down? I turned to face Dallas and pointed to his seat belt. "Fasten up tighter, babe, because it's going to be a very bumpy ride."
"Bring it on." Dallas flashed me his carefree grin, all white teeth gleaming.
My lips pressed together in a line. He had no idea what I was really talking about. A bumpy ride didn't even begin to describe my whacky family.
Sitting on the bed in a cheap motel in Los Angeles, I wondered what I'd been thinking dragging Dallas into my affairs. Since our flight landed two hours ago, I'd been brainstorming ways to smuggle Dallas into Hell without his knowing, but I had yet to come up with something useful.
Knock him over the head and drag him in there by his hair, Kinky suggested.
Pinky tsked. Neanderthal.
I ignored them because I just realised I had another problem I didn't consider while extending my invitation: how was I going to explain Dallas's arrival to Dad? What happened to my resolution to keep his existence a secret until I knew for sure our relationship was going somewhere? As usual, my big mouth had to speak before my lazy brain kicked into motion. It was too late to change plans now, so I'd have to find a way to prep Dad before he blew my cover and Dallas found out he dated Lucifer's daughter.
I knocked on the bathroom door. "Dallas? Are you remodeling the bathroom?" He'd been in there for ages. What took him so long?
"Just a second," he yelled back.
I returned to my place on the bed and started tapping my fingers on the brown covers. No one ever made me wait. He was lucky we had a connection, otherwise I might've been inclined to make him aware of this tiny detail in a rather unpleasant way. Like kicking the door open and pulling him out of there and into the scorching depths of my father's abode.
Ten long minutes later, he finally made his entrance, dressed in faded blue jeans, and a black shirt, showing off his muscles. His usual leather jacket was draped over his arm. A dog tag adorned his wrist.
Why it took him an hour to slip into his attire was beyond me. While I found he looked absolutely hot, I doubted Dad would be particularly keen on the rocker style. He ran a hand through his dark, shaggy hair, making my heart melt.
Dallas stopped in front of me, brows drawn. I raised my brows.
What was he waiting for?
"Well?" He held out his hands. "How do I look?"
"You're wearing that?" I pointed at the tight shirt.
"Well, yeah. It's my best outfit. I thought it'd make sense to keep it informal, but not too casual."
Not too casual? I laughed. "Great. Now can we go?" Dad had given me ten minutes and I was turning up twenty-four hours later.
He'd be barking mad.
"Do you think I should change into something else?"
"No, you're fine. You'll make quite the impression, trust me." I jumped up and grabbed my phone when he pulled me close against his chest.
"I hope so," he whispered, touching my cheek. "You look beautiful."
This was it, the moment of our first kiss. Our gazes locked, blood rushed to my cheeks. My breathing caught in my throat. Before I could decide whether to try my latent abilities at mind manipulation and force his lips onto mine, he let go of me.
"I'm sorry. You know I want to kiss you more than anything, but I wouldn't want to be the reason why you're late. I want your dad to like me," Dallas said. "Settle for an IOU?"
Funny that he shouldn't want to be the reason for our lateness when he had just spent more than an hour in the bathroom to get ready. I turned to the door to hide my disappointment. The same moment, an idea popped into my head.
The rental car was parked across the street. Dallas held the door open for me as I jumped onto the driver's seat, and we speed through the mid-morning traffic, heading southeast.
"Have you been here before?" I asked, even though I imagined knowing the answer. Dallas was a born and bred Brit. I doubted he'd seen much beyond Scotland.
"I spent three months backpacking through the US, then another one in Canada. What about you?"
I daren’t avert my gaze from the heavy traffic. "I've been to a few places. My father's always emphasised the importance of seeing the world." It wasn't a lie. Dad always said nothing was more important than being accustomed with your potential customers, which is why he had forced me to visit what he called the greatest battlefields on earth: from the Austria-Ottoman Wars in 1529, the Spanish Conquest of Peru in 1532, and the Napoleonic Wars in 1815.
Throw in a few police chases and the odd suicide, and I'd basically seen it all.
"We have so much in common, we'll get on like a house on fire."
Dallas made it sound like a joke, but I could sense the nervous undercurrents.
I leaned over and patted his knee. "Don't worry. He'll love you." I wished I could believe it, but truth was I'd never brought a boyfriend home before, let alone a mortal one. So, I had no idea how Dad would react.
"Is that Disneyland?" Dallas pointed at the white towers in the distance.
"That's Cinderella's Castle." I craned my neck, wishing I could see more than just the towers, even though I had seen it a million times. The fairy tale castle located at the middle of the park was beyond magical, with beautiful, white walls, tiny windows and lots of sparkle. As a little girl I always dreamed of living in a place like that.
"What are we doing in Disneyland?" The frown on Dallas's face told me he didn't share my enthusiasm.
I cleared my throat. "He lives there."
"You're pulling my leg. Does he work there?"
"He's a—" I hesitated, wishing I had made a list of plausible answers to possible questions. "He's managing the place."
"He runs Disneyland?"
"Yep. Not bad, huh?" I cringed at how far-fetched my lie sounded. Who in their right mind would believe it?
Dallas fell silent. I peered over at him and noticed the scowl.
Not good. Now he thought he was inadequate, lacking in the financial and educational department. Boy, what would he do when he found out I was an immortal queen destined to rule over Hell for the next billion years or so?
"He started as a cleaner and worked his way up," I said, realising this lie sounded even more improbable than managing Disneyland.
"Is Dad happy you're working in customer service?"
His question took me by surprise. I shrugged. "More or less. He thinks it's just a passing fancy until I join the family—" I stopped myself before I said more. "Let's just say Dad hopes I'll join the company."
"I suppose Dad wants you to join the team and skip the higher education."
"Something like that." I slowed down the car as we rolled into a parking lot. My fingers snapped the flip phone open as I kept his attention focused on me so he won't notice me opening the portal. "Is that what you envision for yourself?"
Dallas hesitated. "I don't know. Life's too exciting. There's so many things to see and do before I die."
Tanned people wearing Bermuda shorts and sweaty cotton tops were gathered in small groups, ambling toward the ticket admission in the distance. A few lingered around their vehicles, chatting or arguing. With my immortal eyes, I could see the door to the portal swirling around in a blur of bright colours. The air all around us smelled cleaned and crisp, like after a thunderstorm. Good thing humans couldn't see 'my gateway to Hell' with the naked eye. That certainly helped made the whole affair authentic, or so I thought until a loved up couple came dangerously close to the tiny particles. The air flickered, ready to suck them right in.
Oh, crap. I jumped out of the car and motioned Dallas to hurry up. We needed to get moving before someone passed through by accident and realised they might have bitten more than they could chew when they signed up for visiting Disneyland's Phantom Revenge theme.
&n
bsp; "Let's go." I locked the car and grabbed Dallas's arm, pulling him into the invisible shield a few inches away.
The strong energy crackled around us. I heard his gasp as we were drawn into the underworld. The temperature rose a few degrees; a hot gust hit us in the face. All moisture seemed to have evaporated from the atmosphere. No way would Dallas not notice the sudden and drastic change from concrete and chattering crowds to dirty ground and boulders everywhere. Although it pained me to spin yet more deceit between us, I whipped out my phone and punched in the order to knock him out.
My phone vibrated. An instant later, Dallas dropped to the ground. Kneeling next to him, I grabbed a bottle of water out of my purse and poured some over his face. His eyes blinked open, his hand wandered to his head. "What happened?"
I brushed his hair out of his eyes. "You fainted."
Sitting up, he peeled his shirt from his chest, fanning air as he looked around. "Last thing I remember is being outside of Disneyland by the ticket booth. Where did everyone else go?"
This was the hardest part. If I made a big deal out of it, he might see through my bluff.
I gripped his hand. "I'm so sorry. We were taking the staff-only entrance where no visitors are allowed. You said you felt lightheaded, but followed me along the path, and then you just dropped. Are you okay?"
He smiled. "Of course I am. How about we keep my fainting episode between us?"
"My lips are sealed."
He rose to his feet. The confused look on his face betrayed he wasn't quite convinced though as he peered around him at nothing but boulders and dead trees. "We're going to have to stop at the gift shop and pick up one of those fan spray bottles. You know, the ones all the tourists carry around the theme parks. I didn't realise it was this hot today."
Yet another delay wasn't an option. I'd just key it into my phone and let it magically appear. Smiling, I nodded. "It's awful, isn't it?
Imagine living here forever."
"I couldn't stand it."
"See why I left?" I could slap my forehead for my blunder. I was supposed to sell this place to him, make him want to spend the week here with me. "Look at the bright side, at least you'd never have to worry about heating bills."