For Hell's Sake (Queen of the Underworld Series Book 1)

by T. L. Anderson

  “Oh Hell, you’re a reality TV type too?” He moans as he plops down next to me. “You and Levi really do have a lot in common. He’s going to flip when he finds out.”

  “What’s this show? And what the heck are they doing?” I watch as someone slaps one girl and a fight breaks out, men shouting, women screaming, even wigs flying.

  “Trash TV.” Aries’ voice breaks my concentration on the ridiculousness.

  “Huh, well, I like this trash TV. It’s funny. I bet I’ll see some of them downstairs in about fifty or so years. How cool will that be? I’ll actually met a celebrity I recognize!” I grin as I turn back to the show.

  “Fucking A, you are just like him.” Aries walks in front of the TV, effectively cutting off my view. “Let’s get a few rules straight. One, you are not to leave this apartment without one of us. Two, we are not taking you outside this apartment, so don’t try to con one of us into it. Three, we are not watching trash TV all day. And finally four, once we figure out the issue with the portal, you’re going home and staying there.” He crosses his arms as he stares me down.

  “Geez, calm down, Dad.” I mope. Although, if they bring me food and let me watch some more of the funny orange people at the beach, it might not be so bad. I could hang out in here for a while. My stomach growls on cue. “Hey, where is the food? I’m famished and it’s kind of starting to hurt a little.” I rub my stomach to calm it down.

  “None of this is right.” Ryce runs his hands through his hair.

  “What? Don’t you all get hungry?” I try thinking of what they’d enjoy eating. Ryce probably likes spicy and manly foods—meat and potatoes. Lex seems like a sensible type who’d eat something that’s actually healthy for him. Levi I already know likes pancakes. Aries probably eats bark and poops out berries or some shit.

  “No, I mean we do eat for the taste of it. But we don’t get hungry.” He eyes me as he crosses his arms.

  “Then why am I so hungry? I mean, I’m from Hell like you all. Shouldn’t I only eat because it’s fun and not because—” My stomach rumbles again. I point to it. “—well, because of that?”

  “That’s what I meant by this isn’t right. We think…” Ryce starts to speak.

  Aries clears his throat. “Enough. I’ll call Lex and see where they are. Ryce, come with me into the other room for a minute.”

  My eyebrows raise as he doesn’t budge from the couch. The tension in the room grows as he outright ignores Aries’ command.

  “Hey, I’ll be good. I’ll watch the trash TV, and I won’t leave. Trust me, I’m too hungry to even try to outrun you guys.” I smile, but neither of them return it.

  “Not funny,” Ryce says as he pushes off the couch to follow grumpy ass to the other room.

  Clicking the volume button, I turn the show up just in time to hear one of the girls call the other a bitch. My kind of show.

  The door opens twenty minutes later, and the sweet smell of hot food hits my nose. Bursting off the couch, I run to the door and grab the bag from a stunned Levi’s hand. “I’ll take that.”

  I drop it onto the table and pick up the containers, opening each one until I find the pancakes. I grab one, roll it up, and take a huge bite. It’s a little dry, but it will do.

  “Um, how about I show you how to eat a pancake.” Lex moves closer and grabs a plate and silverware like a civilized human. I knew it—he’s the one who eats the healthiest.

  “Don’t you eat it like this?” I mumble around a mouthful of food.

  Levi stares in horror as I demolish the first pancake.

  Lex chuckles. “Don’t mind him. I don’t think he’s ever met someone who could out-eat him.”

  My cheeks heat as I advert my eyes to the table.

  He takes a pancake out of the container and places it on the plate. He puts butter on top and spreads it around. “Butter is optional—I don’t usually eat it, but I figured you might enjoy it. Then you want to add the syrup. This will help it not feel like cotton getting stuck in your throat, and it enhances the sweetness.” He pours a generous amount of syrup on top and cuts up the pancake. Sliding the plate to me, he holds out a fork.

  I eye the food, and even I can admit it does look better than I imagined. I take a small piece onto the fork and pop it into my mouth. A long moan slips past my lips as I lick the syrup from them. He’s right—the hint of butter mixed with the sweet syrup is amazing. I sit at the table and place the plate in front of me. I stab multiple pieces of the pancakes onto my fork at once and shove them into my mouth. They taste delicious, but I feel like my insides are ripping out of me from no food. If this is what hunger feels like, I’m going to torture the ones that cause hunger when they get to Hell, myself. Maybe a few centuries of feeling your insides rip out, they’ll get the gist.

  “Try some protein. It might help with the hunger pains.” Lex slides me a plate full of yellow fluffy things and a piece of brown meat.

  I poke at a piece of fluff and watch it jiggle a little. Interesting. Popping that into my mouth, I let the salty and spicy taste rest on the tip of my tongue. “Holy shit, this is really good. What is this fluffy thing?” I shovel more into my mouth with a bite of the meat.

  “It’s an egg and that’s sausage,” he chuckles. Another moan slips past my lips as I taste all three items at once. This is my favorite so far. Yup, if all food is like this, I’m okay being hungry.

  “Holy shit. Watching her eat is like watching someone orgasm,” Levi mutters. My cheeks heat again as I peek at him from under my eyelashes. “Let me know when she’s done,” he grumbles as he storms out of the kitchen.

  I watch after him. “Did I do something wrong?”

  I glance at Lex and see a small smirk on his lips. His head is cocked sideways as he stares at me. “No. You’re doing something, but it isn’t wrong.”

  Swallowing down the food in my mouth, I fight the dirty comment on the tip of my tongue. Something about the way he’s watching me tells me I might be closer to the truth than I realized. I definitely am willing to be trapped on Earth with them for a little while longer.

  11

  It’s been four long and excruciating hours since I finished eating. The TV show I was watching is now over, and all that’s left is news. Which honestly, I couldn’t care less about. No wonder all the humans are either depressed or pissed off. They’re constantly bombarded with death, destruction, and pure evil all day long. Turning off the TV, I toss the remote to the side and glance out the window. The sun’s still shining, and I can hear cars drive by every few minutes. I’d rather be out there than stuck in here. Basically, I left one prison in Hell for another. Except I have four stubborn-ass men as my guards now. Fuck me.

  Walking to the window, I plaster my face to it trying to see below us. We’re only two stories up; if I jump, I shouldn’t be injured too bad. Although, I’d rather not have a broken leg while trying to run. I let out a sigh.

  “Realized it’s not worth maiming yourself to jump out the window?” Lex slides next to me, his unstyled hair hanging in his eyes. Brushing it away, he leans against the window, glancing down below. “Try not to be too mad at him. All of this is not what he expected. Actually, none of us expected it.” Lex turns his head toward me and smiles. Shifting he turns towards me, his shoulder resting on the glass, his gray eyes assess me.

  “What didn’t you expect?” I watch as his stare flits between my eyes and mouth. Instinctively, my tongue slides across the bottom lip.

  His arms tighten as he moves slightly closer. I can feel the heat radiating off him from the short distance. “You. You’re not what I expected,” he whispers. “We’ve worked together for millennia, but I guess I’m starting to see the real you aside from the torment and damnation part of your job.”

  “I guess I can come off as a cold hard bitch down there. But you’re not what I was expecting either.” I turn to face him. I want to reach up and move the hair from his face so I can see his heated eyes better. Fighting off the urge, I clench my ha
nd into a fist at my side.

  He reaches up, his fingers tracing along my cheek. A burst of heat and chills shoot down my spine. The hint of fresh air and grass warms me as he gets closer, our bodies only an inch apart. His hand rests under my chin as he tilts my head back, pulling my gaze to his. “You are definitely not what they expected. But that may be a good thing. It may be what we’ve been needing.”

  My body feels weak, and the urge to move closer battles it out inside of me. What would he do if I closed the distance between us? Would Lex back away or let me? He must have read the intentions on my face as a small sad smile curves at his lips. He moves his head, closing the distance. At the last minute, he slides his cheek against mine and rests his lips next to my ear. My eyes flutter closed, every nerve ending in my body firing with each passing second. I can’t believe I’m feeling this toward one of the assholes who wants to imprison me back to Hell. What is wrong with me?

  “Not yet. We can’t, just yet,” he whispers before placing a gentle kiss to my cheek. My stomach flips as tingles shoot down to my toes. Obviously my body is not on the same wavelength as my brain. Backing away, he breaks the magnetic hold between us, leaving me off-kilter. “I’m going to go. Give you some space. Don’t give up just yet.” Glancing to the window and back to me, he nods and walks away into the other room. Taking my sanity with him.

  These guys are going to be the death of me. I pace around the room, my entire body riled up from the encounter earlier with Lex. Every time one of them touches me or watches me with their heated gaze, I want to scream. They must be masters of torture, because they’re literally killing me every second I’m near them.

  Grabbing the pillow off the couch, I toss it at the window, hoping to destroy the ghost of a memory that won’t leave me alone. I need to get out of here. The guys are all in the other room, discussing something top secret. At least I assume that’s what they’re doing, Aries made it sound like I wasn’t invited to the party they were having. In fact, he yelled for me to not leave this room. My stomach starts gurgling again. Great, not only do I need to eat while I’m here, but apparently my body doesn’t realize that it doesn’t need food every five minutes.

  I head toward the kitchen, which is technically attached to the living room, so I’m not leaving this room per se. So bite me. I flip off the closed door where Aries is. Opening the fridge, I eye up the contents. I ate everything they brought me this morning, I think Levi only got one piece of sausage out of the entire assortment of food. He didn’t seem very happy, but hey, at least he didn’t have to watch me eat four pancakes, three eggs, and four sausage patties. I don’t know if he would have survived over all the enjoyment I was getting from the taste of real food.

  There’s an empty ketchup bottle and two beers in the fridge. No food. They weren’t kidding when they said they don’t need to eat. Who can survive off this? Slamming the door, my skin starts to burn as my anger rises. How dare they kidnap me and keep me in this boring godforsaken place, while there’s a whole world out there I could be exploring?

  Storming into the other room, I jiggle the doorknob to the bedroom, but it doesn’t budge. Of course they’d lock the freaking door on me. I might be able to actually interrupt whatever master plan Aries has in action. I form a fist and rap on the door. The walls shake with each fist I hit against it. My arms shake with the effort, but it’s making me feel a little less like murdering them. I suppose murdering a door is better than a fallen prince. Even if all I want to do is skin them alive right now.

  “Go away.” Aries’ deep voice reverberates through the door.

  My vision blurs as I beat the door harder this time. If he thinks he can just ignore me and boss me around, he has another thing coming. I slam against the door over and over. Repeatedly. No one can ignore that.

  The door whips open and I stumble forward with the momentum of my built-up swing. My fist lands hard against a chest. The person on the other end sucks in a gasp of air with the impact as a groan slips past their lips. Levi’s wide eyes stare at me as he grips his chest, trying to suck oxygen back in. Oops. Wrong one. But he deserves it too since he locked me out. Plus, he ate the last sausage.

  My eyes narrow on all four of them. Lex looks amused, Levi’s gasping for air, and Ryce stands against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His black eyes are expressionless, but I can tell he’s amused by the upturn of his lip.

  I whip my narrowed gaze at Aries and glare. “Let’s get something straight here.” Walking over to him, I poke my finger against his chest as I stare up at his large frame. “I’m the queen of Hell. You do not get to kidnap me, lock me away by myself, and leave me to starve with only beer and ketchup in the fridge. If you don’t let me explore the world outside those doors, I swear on my existence, I will make your life worse than hell for the souls when we get home. You may not be afraid of the hellhounds, but I know exactly where I’m going to ban you to. Purgatory should do you some good for a few centuries. All of you.” I glare at each one. The others’ eyes are widened, my words striking a mix of fear and hesitation into them.

  Aries snorts. It builds into a chuckle and then an outright laugh. He bends over, his hands on his knees as his shoulders shake with each passing second. Not the reaction I was expecting. My jaw drops, no words coming out at the sight before me. The others, still hesitant, stay silent. I may have a little control over them, but who am I kidding. It’s only fear that keeps them from laughing right now too. They hate purgatory, the wretched souls stuck down there drowning out your thoughts and existence for all of eternity. Most don’t recover quickly when they’re removed. Although the princes wouldn’t be left in a crazed state, they’d just be slightly damaged. I hope.

  “You seriously think you can send us to purgatory?” His laughter ebbs as he stands up, clenching his side, a smile plastered to his face. “Don’t you get it? We were sent to Hell to work alongside you, not under you. You hold no rule over us. Down there or here.”

  My stomach drops as I swallow past the lump in my throat. Is he telling the truth?

  “Aries, give her a break, man. We’ve left her alone in a tiny apartment for five hours. She’s never been up here before. Don’t you remember how exciting it was the first time we stepped foot up here? If I remember correctly, you couldn’t stop going to the whorehouses for a bit in the 1800s.” Levi cuts in.

  A low growl passes Aries’ lips. “Don’t you think I get that? But we’re supposed to protect her. Not let her get herself killed for a third time.”

  “Come on, if she’s with one of us, what’s a little fresh air going to do to her?” Levi nudges my shoulder.

  “Yeah, I promise I’ll stay with one of you the whole time. I just need to get out of here, I’m going crazy. And I’m hungry again, which is strange.” I bite my lip as I think about what foods I want to eat next.

  He runs his hand through his hair, then pinches the bridge of his nose. A smile bursts on my lips as I know his answer before he says it.

  “Fine. Take her to the grocery store to get some food, but come right back.” He steps closer, towering over Levi. “And she’s your responsibility. If she doesn’t come back in one piece, I’ll send you to purgatory myself, but I won’t be as gracious as her. You won’t come back out for a long time. Got it?” he growls.

  Levi stands straight, his hands clasped behind his back. He nods. “Yes, sir.”

  Aries turns his attention to me. “And you, if you so much as step out of line or divert from the grocery store, you won’t be let out of this apartment again until we go back to Hell. Do you understand?”

  I stand up straight and fling my hand up to my forehead, saluting him. “Yes, sir!” I yell.

  “For fuck’s sake. Get out of here.” He shakes his head and turns back into the room.

  I glance at the table in the corner that’s covered with papers and maps galore. There’s a nice arsenal of weapons laid out on the bed. Ryce shifts in front of me, pulling the door slowly shut. He doesn’t show
any emotion, but he winks as he shuts it with a click.

  Freedom at last!

  12

  The grocery store is like nothing like I expected. There’s food everywhere. You can literally walk up to a frozen section and buy ice cream or frozen pizzas.

  I toss another bag of chips into the cart.

  “Don’t you think you have enough chips? There’s ten bags in there already. Don’t get me wrong, I love chips too, but they do lose appeal after the first three bags.” Levi tosses a bag of chocolate-covered peanuts into the cart.

  “See, these ones are spicy cheese, the other ones are regular cheese flavored. And some of them, like this bag here, is ranch flavored.” I turn back to the shelf to see if I missed anything else. “You have to have an assortment of flavors. Especially when I’ve never tried a chip before.”

  I see a jar of pickles down the next aisle. I bend down and grab it, almost falling over from the size of the container.

  “They have regular size pickles, you know.” He grabs the jar out of my hands and looks at the size. “This is a bulk size. Most people buy these little ones.” He lifts up a jar an eighth of the size of the one I did.

  I glare at him. “Heck no. I want the massive jar. Put that tiny thing back.”

  He chuckles as he puts the economy-sized pickles into the cart next to the rest of my junk food.

  “I’m thinking if we don’t come back with a few healthy items, Lex will have my head.” He shuffles things around, picking through the massive amounts of sugar I’ve accumulated.

  I search the shelves for something semi-healthy. There’s a box of veggie crackers that don’t look appetizing at all. This should do. I toss them in and smile like I’ve accomplished a huge feat. He shakes his head as he continues heading toward the fruit and produce aisles.