Pure Hell (Seventh Level Book 1)

by Charity Parkerson

  * * * * *

  A loud roar rent the air as Kieran swiped his arm across his desk sending everything on top of it flying across the room. Kylie watched his fit of rage explode through sightless eyes. It didn’t matter. Liam was gone. Nothing mattered.

  Justice and Septem stood patiently by awaiting Kieran’s fury to pass. It was intense but brief and before long, he was straightening the lapels of his jacket as if nothing happened. Reclaiming his chair, he relaxed and stared at Kylie seeming as lost in his own thoughts as she was in hers.

  “I was so sure you were the answer,” he said after a moment.

  Feeling ridiculously as if she should say something, she muttered, “Sorry.”

  “It is done,” he said dismissing her and turning his attention to Septem. “Leave him with nothing.”

  A gruesome smile stretched his lips. “With pleasure,” he growled as he disappeared in a wisp of smoke.

  Kieran glanced in her direction. “Shit. I should have had him drop you off on his way.”

  “Drop me where?” In spite of her numb haze, she couldn’t shake her need to know everything, even if she no longer cared what he did with her.

  Kieran slammed his hand down on his desk causing her to jump. “Miss Trace, you are in hell. You have been in hell since the moment you died and it does you no good to continue denying your surroundings. I swear you remind me so much of my son. Everyone has their place in this world and the sooner you accept yours the better.”

  “I will take her,” Justice said interrupting what looked to be swiftly becoming a tirade.

  Coming to his feet, Kieran waved his hand in Kylie’s direction and a door appeared in front of her. “Knock yourself out,” Kieran called over his shoulder as he strode from the room.

  As soon as they were alone, Justice threw the door open on the cage. Stooping, he lifted Kylie into his arms. He cradled her against his chest. She didn’t attempt to fight him. She didn’t have the will.

  “Let’s get you out of here before he changes his mind.”

  The room shimmered around them and began to change until Kylie was staring at the familiar walls of her apartment. “Sheesh. Hell reminds me an awful lot of home.”

  Justice let her feet slip to floor but continued to hold her until he sure she was steady on her feet. He glanced around the room warily. The words Septem etched into the walls seemed to hold him fascinated. “You didn’t deserve this,” he said after a moment.

  “Sure I did. I wanted more than I should.”

  He shook his head. “But you got less than you were due.” He brushed her hair away from her face. “It is unfair.”

  In spite of her dire circumstances, she dredged up a smile. “You’re determined to pity me, aren’t you?” Her humor fled as quickly as it came. Tears clogged her throat as the full impact of the day hit her all at once. Her sister was dead. Everything was gone and an empty eternity stretched out before her. “What am I supposed to do now?” she asked. Her voice came out in a whisper.

  “You will do what souls do. You’ll languish in between.” His words were matter of fact but he scrubbed his hand against the back of his neck as if he was uncomfortable saying them. “Look,” he began slowly. “You don’t have to be here alone. I mean, I’m allowed to go wherever I want. Shit. This is coming off like a bad pickup line.” He ran his hand over his eyes before starting again. “I just mean if you get too bored or if this all gets to be too much then all you have to do is say my name. I’ll come play poker with you or some shit.”

  It was a tiny glimmer of hope in an otherwise stream of nothingness and it meant more than she could say. Swallowing down her tears, she said the only thing she could. “I’d appreciate that.”

  Chapter Seven

  One hundred and fifty-three minutes. That was the exact amount of time it had taken Mark to go from everything to nothing. He’d worked it out in his head while chilling with his ass hanging out of a hospital gown. There were only so many things he could concentrate on to keep from going out of his mind. He had it broken down into increments. It had taken him ninety minutes to decide he was wrong for the way he’d treated Anne when she’d woken up from her dream. There had been fifteen minutes in which he’d paced the floor outside the bedroom door working up the courage to apologize. Depending upon which clock he went by in his house, he’d spent around eight minutes repeatedly reading the letter she’d left for him. He recalculated the time in his head. That gave him one hundred and thirteen minutes. He’d allowed another twenty minutes to pass while he tried to reach Liam. Giving up, he’d taken to the streets and headed for the only place he could think of where she might have gone—Kylie’s.

  A chill ran over his skin as Pamela trailed her finger down his arm. “I bet you don’t make it in time.”

  His knees were cold, he thought, forcibly tearing his mind away from those memories. The hospital gown was too short. Why didn’t they make things for people his size? Surely, hospitals had been treating tall people for as long as hospitals had been around. How long had hospitals been around, anyhow? The sound of screams of pain and terror filled Mark’s head. The smell of burning flesh assailed his senses until he wanted to strip away the layers of his brain that housed his memories.

  A short perfunctory knock landed on his door before it cracked open and Lee popped his head in. “Oh good. You’re awake.”

  Mark barely kept from snorting. Lee stepped the rest of the way into the room making sure to close the door behind him. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Mark recognized that smile. It was the one cops used when they were working a case. Lee’s next words confirmed his suspicions. “The doctor says you should be well enough to answer a few questions.”

  He made a mental note to forget to pay his hospital bill for a few months. “Yeah. Sure man. What’s up?” Mark’s voice came out sounding as if he’d eaten gravel. In all likelihood, he had. Snagging a nearby chair with his foot, Lee hauled it closer to the bed. Mark watched this show with very little interest. The cop was so non-descript, he bordered on boring. His average height combined with his brown hair and eyes reminded Mark of over a hundred other people he saw every day. They’d worked together in homicide for close to ten years now and Mark didn’t think he’d ever said more than five words to him in passing.

  “I thought you’d be happy to hear the family of the driver of the semi was grateful to learn he’d died a hero’s death. Of course, we spared them as many details as possible. They didn’t need to know he burned alive while trying to climb through the passenger window to save you.” Oh, this guy was an ass. No wonder they weren’t friends. “It’s a lucky thing you were able to crawl free of your car before it exploded.”

  The sound of metal screeching as Liam ripped the door away from the car frame rang through Mark’s ears. “Yeah. Lucky thing.”

  As if Lee could read his thoughts, he asked, “When was the last time you saw Liam?”

  When his glowing red eyes had been staring into his as the fire bounced from his body as if surrounded by a force field. “Um, three or four nights ago, I think? I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve lost track of time in this bed.”

  Lee eyed the long, stitched-up gash slashing across Mark’s temple. “I can see how that could happen.” Funny, Lee’s voice didn’t sound as if he saw a damn thing. “How about if we take things back a little further then? When was the first time you met Kylie Trace?” Mark could only stare at him blankly. “Did you lose that date, as well? Okay then,” Lee continued without waiting for Mark to answer. “Where did you first meet Kylie Trace?”

  “If you count meeting her as seeing her dead on the sidewalk, then I met her on the corner of St. Charles and Decatur.”

  Lee smirked. “So you had no idea Detective Stone had a sexual relationship with the victim prior to that date?”

  A million responses rushed to Mark’s lips, but only one fell. “What?”

  Leaning forward, Lee braced his elbows on his knees. He leveled h
is best cop stare on Mark. “Although your surprise seems genuine, I find it hard to believe you’ve worked as Liam’s partner for over seven years now and didn’t know his girlfriend.”

  “To be fair, I’ve worked with you for ten and I don’t even know your last name. Liam keeps shit close to his chest. Everyone knows that, but he’d never met Kylie Trace before working her case, of that, I’m sure. What does any of this matter, anyhow? Her killer confessed before offing himself.”

  Lee had a certain twinkle in his eye. It was the same look Mark’s grandmother got when she already knew the answers to the questions she was asking. Lee was trying to catch him in a lie. “If you believe everything you’ve told me so far, then it saddens me to tell you this.” Mark just bet it did. “Turns out, one of the local business owners had a security camera on the outside of his building. It points toward the corner of St. Charles and Decatur. It caught Kylie’s murder on tape. I gotta say, I’ve seen that video and the dude who killed Kylie reminds me a great deal of Liam Stone. So much so in fact, a search warrant was issued for his home. You want to take any guesses as to what we found?”

  Mark could only gesture helplessly. He couldn’t imagine what they’d found but he was willing to bet it wasn’t good. “Kylie’s fingerprints were all over the inside of his house. His bed was covered in Kylie’s DNA proving their relationship was a sexual one. Additionally, there were items very personal in nature indicating the relationship had been going on for some time. Oh, another thing, he seems to have left town in a hurry. We found his cell phone in the yard between the front door and driveway. According to his call log, the last incoming call he received was from you. Would you care to tell me again how you didn’t know anything about Kylie and while you’re at it, you can tell me what was said in your final call.”

  Mark couldn’t answer. He was rendered speechless. Anything he said at this point would sound as if he was lying and the truth would get him locked up in a mental institution. However, he did know the truth. He’d tried to deny the things he’d seen, but Pamela’s presence in his car as he’d been sideswiped by a truck had not been a hallucination. “You think you’ll make it in time? You’re wrong.” Mark jumped as Lee’s cell phone rang.

  “Detective Leraunt.”

  Huh, so that was his name. Now that Mark thought about it, maybe he had heard someone mention it before. He was grasping at anything to keep from remembering Pamela’s chilling smile as the headlights appeared a split second before his world exploded.

  “Where’d they find it?”

  Mark forced himself to pay attention to Lee’s side of the conversation. He would need to hang onto his sanity if he was ever going to find Anne.

  “Interesting. Can you text it to me? I have someone here who might want to hear this. Thanks man.” Lee stared down at his phone’s screen. His expressionless face gave nothing away as he waited for whatever news he wanted to share.

  Deep in the center of Mark’s gut, he knew it wouldn’t be good. He prayed it wasn’t Anne’s body they’d found. Dread rose up inside him until he knew he’d be sick if anything had been on his stomach. A man’s mind could only stand so much. By the time Lee’s phone beeped with the incoming message, Mark was ready to strangle the information out of him. His hands curled into fists in his attempt to hold back. Even when Lee finally spoke, Mark couldn’t make them relax.

  “Liam’s truck was found by a state trooper out on Old Crawford road at Nantucker pier. There was a note in the seat. They were nice enough to text the contents of the letter to me so I could read it to you since it’s addressed to you and all.”

  Mark gave a short nod indicating his readiness. At this point, he was braced for anything or so he thought. “Mark, I’m so sorry, but I have to make things right. Kylie deserved so much better than she got from me. I have to set her soul free.”

  His heartbeat pounded inside his ears and he couldn’t breathe. It was the note Anne had left for him to find. The same note Mark had left sitting on his bed.

  “Now, it’s not signed, but all things considered I think we both know it was Liam.”

  “I know no such thing,” Mark answered angrily. He couldn’t even look Lee in the eye.

  “I think it’s safe to say you’re suspended pending further investigation. My advice to you, Mark, is to get yourself a lawyer.”

  Lee stood to leave. He almost made it to the door before Mark broke. “Anne.” He didn’t say anything else. He couldn’t. As the last person to see her, he would be the first suspect in her disappearance. If he wound up in prison then there would be no one searching for her who knew the truth.

  “Kylie’s sister, Anne?” Lee asked sounding confused.

  Mark locked his back teeth together and nodded.

  “She flew back to Tennessee three days ago after arranging to have Kylie’s body cremated and her apartment cleared out. I don’t see any need to upset her further with this information until we wrap up our investigation, do you?”

  Three days ago, his ass. “No, I don’t,” Mark agreed. This thing, it was bigger than he realized. Its roots ran deep. No one was looking for a girl who wasn’t missing, except she was. Satisfied with his answer, Lee left him alone. In that first moment of total silence, everything became clear. A wall had risen between him and the rest of the world. He’d unwittingly peeked behind the universe’s curtain and now nothing would ever look the same. He needed to learn everything he could about his new reality because he wasn’t backing down. Anne was depending on him.

  * * * * *

  It took two weeks for Kylie to accept Liam wasn’t coming for her and another two weeks to wonder if she should make some attempt to drag herself from bed. There was no point. She didn’t need to eat or go to work any longer. There wasn’t anything waiting for her. She relived the time she’d spent with Liam in her head so many times she began to wonder if it really happened. That was the problem with having too much time to think—it was making her insane. Perhaps her time with Liam had been part of her punishment. What if it was a sick joke? Panic welled inside her at the thought.

  “Justice,” she whispered half-expecting nothing to happen. A weight settled around her feet.

  “I thought I would hear from you before now.”

  She moved her head from beneath the blanket, bringing Justice into her line of sight. “I was afraid,” she admitted.

  A puzzled look crossed his face. “Surely you don’t think I’d hurt you.”

  She shook her head. “I was scared you weren’t real.”

  Standing, he circled the bed. He yanked the blankets away from her body. “You’ve been too long in this bed.” Grabbing her hands, he pulled her to her feet. “Sulking time is over, sweet stuff. It’s time to do something else.”

  “There is nothing here to do.” She could hear the whine in her voice.

  He flashed a wicked smile. “That’s because you haven’t been spending time with me.” Walking backward, he held onto her hands. He smiled in such a way she couldn’t resist. A goofy smile of her own came out of nowhere. “There we go. See, you still know how to have fun.”

  Tripping over her feet in an attempt to keep up, she asked, “Where are we going?”

  “We, my lovely sidekick, are going shopping.”

  Excitement shot through her. “We can go shopping?”

  “As I said, I can go anywhere I’d like. It would give me pleasure to take you shopping. What do you want the most?”

  “Shoes!” she cried without an ounce of shame.

  He threw his head back, laughing at her over-the-top enthusiasm. “Then shoes you shall have.” He held his arms out to her. “Your chariot through hell awaits, my darling.” Skipping the way a schoolgirl would, she leaped into his arms giggling the entire way. In a matter of a few minutes, Justice had taken her from rock bottom to more lighthearted than she’d felt in…ever. There was never a time she could remember when she wasn’t worried about people thinking she was crazy or that they were going to kill her, but no
w all those things had happened. There was nothing left to lose. It was funny how freeing it was.

  Holding her stare, Justice smiled down at her as the room shimmered and disappeared. They reappeared behind a well-known shoe store she’d visited several times while she’d still been alive. Letting go of her legs, Kylie slipped to the ground but Justice didn’t release her straightaway. Instead, he slid her down his body making sure they both felt every inch of the other. Her throat went dry. His gaze dropped to her mouth. She wondered for a second if he would kiss her or if she would turn it down if he did.

  In an attempt to diffuse the mounting lust surrounding them both, she pasted her best smile on her face. “I don’t have any money so I guess we’re only window shopping.” Justice’s expression didn’t change. If anything, it became more intense.

  He backed up a step. “No one can see you, so I say do whatever you want.”

  She danced in place at the possibilities. “What about you? Can people see you here?”

  “If I choose,” he answered with a shrug. Linking his fingers through hers, he pulled her toward the store. “Today, I think I will make them all look the other way. After all, you do need new stuff.”

  Her laugher rang off the walls and he smiled at the sound. “Aren’t you going to get bored doing this?” She asked a few minutes later as she tried on a pair of three-inch red heels that made her legs look sexy as hell. Justice shook his head and eyed the shoes with interest.

  “Those are nice and no. Boredom is standing with your back pressed to a door all the damn time while demons hump each other.”

  She turned her nose up at the description and slipped the shoes off. Stuffing them back in their box, she tossed it back on the shelf. He pulled it down again. “Hey, you looked really hot in these.”

  “It’s not as if I have any place to where them. I just enjoy trying them on.”

  He lifted one eyebrow looking more wicked than any man should. “I can think of a few places.” He shoved the box under his arm. “You’re keeping them.”