Hell in a Handbasket

by Mila Young

  “Do you think Freeman had something to do with this?” I ask the question that’s still left unanswered.

  “I’m not sure,” he confesses.

  “Do you think the spine was ever here?”

  His gaze darkens. “No. I don’t.”

  It would explain why I can’t feel anything around here.

  “It all must have been a ploy to get us out here,” he goes on.

  “Or me. Snake-eyes did say they wanted me.”

  He pauses and straightens his spine, his body tensing with anger, but he doesn’t answer.

  “But why?” I press.

  He doesn’t reply right away. After a few silent moments, he finally says, “I don’t know.”

  He’s lying…

  I push for more. “Maybe Sir Surchion sent them? Or do you think someone else knows about me and Sayah?” Honestly, I don’t know what’s worse.

  He turns and strides away from me. He stops in front of one of the tents, clenching and unclenching his fists. “I don’t know.”

  Another lie…

  I’m about to call him on it, but his head snaps up as if he’s caught sight of something, and my body ices over. Another surprise attack? Have the shifters returned?

  “What? What is it?” I ask, throat tight.

  He walks over to a nearby patch of thick brush and vines and pushes them aside with a swift swipe of his arm. Hating being left in the dark, I hurry to his side and peer through the weeds. What I see sets my heart back into a frenzy.

  Another dead body. This one also sunken, wrinkled, and grayed. Soul drained. Unlike the snake shifters, this man has blond curly hair and waterproof overalls and boots on. Not camouflage gear and face paint.

  “Oh… my…” Acid climbs up my throat, and I swallow it back down. In these past few weeks with the demons, I’ve seen more corpses than I’d like to. Personally, I’ve reached my limit.

  I glance at Cain. His expression is contorted in fury, his lip curled in a silent snarl.

  "Freeman," is all he says.

  Guess he hadn't been in on this ambush after all. Or if he was, he was double-crossed and got what he deserved in the end. But only demons can drain souls like this, as far as I know. And that means another demon had been here and taken his soul. Not Cain.

  Another demon…

  Not good.

  “Cain—”

  He cuts me off by turning sharply, snaking his arms around me, and snapping back into his demon form. The second his wings expand, he lurches us both into the air. I yelp with surprise and cling to him, wrapping my legs around his hips and my hand behind his neck.

  “Shit!” I cry out, my heart jumping into my throat.

  As we ascend, I peek down at the swamp, which gets smaller and smaller as we spear upward. We’re moving so fast, my stomach does an excited flip-flop. It’s an exhilarating feeling. Nothing like take-off in the plane had been.

  Nearing the canopy, I catch a glimpse of something ghostly pale against the dark greens and browns of the Milo Swamp below. Something unfamiliar but familiar at the same time. But soon, we burst through the treetops. The brightness of the midday sun whites out my view, and I’m forced to close my eyes against the harshness of it.

  Wasting no more time, Cain tightens his grip on me, shifts directions, and flies us both toward the safety of the mainland.

  CAIN

  As the jet readies to take off and bring us home to Vermont, I become lost to my thoughts. I’d been tricked, led into a trap that almost cost us our lives, and for what? Because I have been too preoccupied with Aria and her gifts? Because my obsession of finding these relics has blinded me to the everyday dangers we face while on Earth?

  Being leaders in a supernatural underground enterprise has always been a risky job. Being demons has put other targets on our backs for decades. It’s no secret we’re unliked and unwelcomed here, but we’ve always managed to stay one step ahead of our enemies.

  That is… until Hell decided to step up to the plate.

  A demon devoured Freeman’s soul. No other supernatural is capable of leaving a corpse like that behind. I know the signs when I see them, and if my assumptions are right—and they usually are—the snake shifters were hired by a demon. A demon who is looking for Aria.

  Maverick.

  He’s the first person I can think of. Is it a coincidence he’s been trying to recruit Dorian and Elias to Lucifer's side and just sent Dorian a note asking who Aria is, only for us to run into an overly complex trap with bounty hunters and one of my workers dead? Doubtful. This has Maverick written all over it.

  My own brother. I knew he’d do anything to get what he wanted—it’s in his nature, after all, as Greed—but I never thought he’d turn on me. Especially after I saved his life after our father suspected him of treason during our coup attempt. He had been helping us, of course, but to spare him, I took the blame. Elias and Dorian stood by my side, and we took the punishment together. Maverick was a coward and ran the moment he was free.

  I’ll never understand why Lucifer was so eager to kill Maverick but gave us banishment. A prolonged torture, I suppose. It’s impossible to try and find reason with that demented mind of his.

  But for whatever purpose, it’s clear Maverick is now under Lucifer’s thumb and is searching for Aria. She isn’t safe. And he apparently knows about the harp, too, which means things are about to become a lot harder and more dangerous. For all of us.

  If only I could speak to my brother, maybe I could convince him to stop this useless effort to gain our father’s approval. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and he never will. And if I can’t make him see reason, I can always just beat sense back into him. I don’t want to kill him, but I will if I must to keep everyone safe. Especially Aria.

  And what of Aria’s shadow, Sayah? The way she grew to a monstrous size and was able to speak was astonishing. But unleashing that kind of power comes at a cost. The creature steals Aria’s life every time she manifests. She’s becoming more and more uncontrollable. But Sayah may not be doing so purposefully. She did save us in the swamp, after all, so what her true intentions are, I really don’t know.

  I’m not sure what to make of any of this yet. I need more information.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Aria’s voice snaps me out of my mental spiral. I look over at her, finding her forehead wrinkled with concern.

  “Yes,” I lie, a bit too quickly for it to be believable. So I sit up straight and let out a long sigh to settle myself. “I’m fine.”

  “You know, I probably shouldn’t be condoning this, but…” she drops her tone and glances around nervously for anyone in earshot, “...maybe you should eat again? It makes you feel better, doesn’t it?”

  She’s right to speak cryptically about it. The stewardesses are human, after all. She’s also right. Once we get home, I’ll have to take another soul to replenish my strength. The shifter missed the center of my heart by centimeters. I’ve never felt that weak before in all my existence. I know being on this plane hinders our powers, but I never considered to what extent. When that blade struck my chest, I swear death touched me, as if it was letting me know it can still come for me in this world.

  We are going to have to start being more diligent about feeding to keep our energy up. Especially with what is coming our way.

  “Don’t worry about me,” I tell her, but that only increases the worry lines between her brows.

  “I thought you’d died,” she says, emphasizing the last word. The pain on her face surprises me. My death would make it easier for her to break free of her contract, and she knows this. Yet I heard her scream when I fell.

  For all our bickering and the hateful words we spew, it seems she does care about me. Somewhat.

  I think back to the broken necklace I still hold in my shirt pocket. The one she ripped off her neck and threw at me on the staircase. If I offer it to her again, will she accept it? Has this trip changed anything between us
at all? I want to think so, but I truly don’t know.

  The rumble of the engine grows louder as the plane starts down the airstrip, quickly gaining speed. Like the previous take-off, Aria grips the chair’s armrests and squeezes her eyes shut. She holds her breath, puffing out her cheeks, and my eyes land on the freshly bandaged spot on her neck. Anger stirs, knowing I couldn’t prevent it from happening, but I’d been impressed by her courage to do what she needed to break free. It only makes me admire her more.

  As the plane lifts into the air, I reach over, grab her by the wrist, and tug her close to me. Her eyes fly open, and when she realizes she’s sitting in my lap, her cheeks blush pink.

  “I don’t need you to hold me again,” she says, but her arms are already gripping onto my shoulders and her eyes are locking with mine. The fear she held a moment ago is now gone, replaced with a lustful hunger she’s trying desperately to hide from me. When she speaks again, the words come out in a breathy whisper. “Like you said before, the take-offs and landings are the worst part.”

  I don’t know if it’s the fact that we almost died in the swamps, or if the idea of having her is just as intoxicating as the painful thought of losing her, but I can’t help myself anymore. I crush my mouth against hers, the need for her taking over all common sense.

  As if a switch has gone off inside her, her tongue sweeps into my mouth, and she’s kissing me back with the fervor I crave. The beast unfurls inside me, and like in my office, we begin wrestling for dominance through our kisses and wandering hands.

  I can’t get enough of her. Her scent. The feel of her. Her little moans as my fingers wander over her shoulders and along the curves of her breasts. I can never seem to get enough.

  Typically, when I’m with a woman, my goal lies primarily with satisfying my own needs, but with Aria, her pleasure heightens my own. Just seeing the hunger in her eyes, hearing my name on her lips and knowing I am the one fulfilling her desires makes me want to serve her for the rest of eternity.

  I’ve never felt like this before. The power she has over me is overwhelming. Commanding. Unnerving. I fear I’ll never escape it.

  Grabbing her by the waist, I spin her away from me and open my legs wide so she can sit in between them. Since I’ve broken our kiss, she’s about to protest, but once she feels my erection pressing into her back, a gasp escapes instead. We’ve barely done anything, and I’m so hard it hurts.

  She peeks up at me and murmurs, “What are you up to?”

  I answer by letting my hands drift down her arms. Goosebumps rise under my palms, and she trembles against me.

  Her head rolls back. “Cain…”

  If the last thing I hear before my death is my name upon her lips like that, I’ll die a happy man. I begin to leave a trail of kisses along the curve of her neck, and my hand glides to her right breast, which I squeeze greedily. Another moan escapes her.

  “Do you remember our limousine ride the first night I took you to Purgatory?” I whisper in between kisses. The night she’d brought herself to orgasm in front of me and I was left dazed by her beauty but furious for being unable to indulge.

  “H-How could I forget?” Her voice has turned into nothing more than breathy pants now. Despite the lace bra she’s wearing and the fabric of her shirt, I can still feel the beaded tip of her nipple easily. My finger traces it, and she squirms.

  “You don’t know how badly I wanted to have you then.” My tongue swirls below her earlobe. “To have you like this…”

  I find the hem of her skirt and slowly, torturously, pull it up along her thighs.

  Suddenly, Aria turns rigid in my arms. “Cain, wait,” she says. “The stewardess…”

  Peering across the plane, I see one of the attendants in the back room looking our way with wide eyes. Having realized she’s been caught spying, she quickly glances away and pretends to busy herself with something else. I, for one, have never cared about onlookers. If they wanted a show, I’d give them a show, but it’s clear Aria is still uncomfortable with the idea, so I reach over to the controller and press the privacy button. The automatic curtain closes, blocking us from the attendant’s work area, and a red light blinks ahead.

  “There. Now no one will bother us,” I say.

  Still unsure, Aria remains stiff against me.

  I begin pressing my lips down her neck and shoulder again. That seems to help her relax a little. With my other hand, I pop the button on her shirt. “Now, where were we?”

  “I think you were about to show me what you wanted to do to me in the limo that night?”

  “Ah, yes. That’s right.” I fist her skirt and wrench it up. She gasps.

  I slide two fingers up and down her panties, right along her seam, and find them drenched already. Perfect.

  Pulling the fabric to the side, I repeat the action, but this time, her entire body twitches in response. I smile.

  “Spread your legs for me,” I say. Without hesitation, she does. I take the opportunity to push my fingers inside her, two at once.

  “Ah…”

  I pump them in and out slowly, stretching her, letting her become accustomed to my presence without hurting her. Soon, I’m sliding into her heat easily, my fingers coated in her wetness.

  Pulling out, I direct my attention to her clit instead, rubbing the sensitive little nub and loving the way her muscles jump. Her breathing picks up.

  Her hands find mine—one on her breast and the other between her thighs, and she grips both, encouraging them to keep up the torture.

  Hellfire erupts in my chest, and my demon surges forward. My spine tingles as my power pushes through me, but I hold back. This is not the place to release my wings. Instead, I channel all my energy into pleasing the irresistible woman in my arms.

  I increase my pace, stroking her faster and faster. Her head falls back again, pressing into my shoulder, and when she groans loudly, I know she’s close to reaching that high.

  Her nails bite into my flesh. She’s gasping for breath, and I’m entranced by her all over again, just like in the limo.

  “Come for me, Aria,” I growl and nip along her jaw. She’s moving her hips in time to my strokes, grinding against me at the same time. If she keeps it up, I’ll end up coming, too.

  She cries out, her entire body shuttering as her climax peaks. Her thighs squeeze together, capturing me in between them, but I continue to play her through it, not really wanting it to end.

  The second her muscles relax a little, I sink my fingers inside her again. I imagine it’s my cock plunging into her over and over, knowing just how good that tight little pussy of hers feels.

  This time I’m relentless, using my fingers to fuck her hard and fast as she rides out the last of the orgasm. Her screams of pleasure are music to my ears.

  I hold her tight as her back arches, her body convulses, and her pleasure slowly starts to unwind. When she finally relaxes against me, a smirk forms across my face. Of course, if I were at my full strength, this would’ve just been the beginning for us. I would fuck her right here in the middle of the plane’s cabin until her screams could be heard from Heaven itself, but I’d have to settle for this for now. At least until I can drain another soul and heal myself more.

  As I withdraw from her, Aria brushes her skirt down before twisting to face me more on my lap. Her brilliant smile is all my pulse needs to pick up speed again. Before I know it, I’m cupping the side of her face and leaning in for another kiss. Nothing aggressive this time, just the softest brush of the lips.

  When I ease away, her gaze searches my face, the smile fading.

  “What is it?” I ask, afraid I might have made some kind of mistake.

  “Don’t scare me like that again, okay?” she replies softly.

  It takes me a minute, but I realize she’s talking about what happened in the Milo Swamp with the shifters. The worry and hurt in her expression should have given it away.

  “Promise me that you won’t die,” she insists.

  I
t’s a foolish thing to promise her—I’m a demon, after all, one with very deadly enemies and some very dangerous deals on the horizon—but I hate seeing her fearful like this. I want to ease her anxiety, and the only way I can think to do that is by feeding into the lie.

  “Okay,” I say, “I promise.”

  “Good.”

  It seems to have done the trick, because she leans into me and rests her head against my chest. Unsure what I should do, I take a chance and wrap my arms around her. She sighs contently and closes her eyes, telling me I made the right choice.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Dorian

  The moment Elias hears Cain and Aria’s car turn into our driveaway, he leaps to his feet.

  “They’re here,” he says anxiously.

  We’ve been trying to contact Cain for hours, ever since we learned where Sir Surchion’s been hiding his treasure, but the phone’s been going straight to voicemail and his texts have been left unread. I know I encouraged him to enjoy his time with Aria, but shit. I hadn’t meant for him to cut off all communication with the outside world. It’s so unlike him.

  Something must’ve gone wrong. That’s the only logical explanation I can think of, and it only makes me even more thankful they’ve returned home.

  The sound of tires crunching on gravel grows louder and then stops. Footsteps and then the turn of the doorknob. Elias and I walk into the foyer to greet them the moment they step foot through the door.

  Aria steps in first, looking a bit disheveled with her shirt undone at the top and her hair a bit tangled at the ends—all good signs at first… until I see the bandage taped across her neck.

  My stomach drops. “Holy shit,” I gasp.

  Elias must have seen it too because he glances between her and Cain, gaze darkening. “What the fuck happened?”

  “Uh…” Aria turns to Cain as he strides inside.

  “In the parlor,” Cain says shortly, and with his command, we all move into the front room.

  No one sits. The air is buzzing with unsaid words, and I can tell by the way Aria’s shifting side to side on her feet that she’s itching to tell us what happened to them on the trip, just as we’re anxious to tell them our news.