Bittersweet Seraphim (25 page)

“Hey, ass pillow, could you stop squeezing my hand like it’s your dick? I’m working here.”

Jason leaned forward and head butted Jack. He saw stars for a moment but was able to keep his grasp.

“If you two don’t knock it off, I’m going to spend all my time left alive kicking you both in the balls,” Kate hissed. “I just found my father, and we’re getting him out of here.
No matter what
.”

Jack shook his head, sure he’d be unconscious if he hadn’t been chock full of Lucy’s power.

Emma came close to Kate and touched her, beckoning the half-breed to look at her. Kate resisted, and Jack knew she was pissed. He looked over his shoulder and saw Everett pacing the perimeter, seething. This protection wasn’t permanent.

“Your name is Kate.” Emma either missed the fury in the woman’s eyes or ignored it. “And you’re good. So good. You are a being created from singular, pristine love. Such a beautiful creation, a testament to God.”

Kate’s mouth dropped open, and she inhaled. Emma’s words had been such a surprise.

“You have doubt, but that’s part of everyone’s burden. With my wings I can feel your past and your future, and you’re here for a reason, sweet girl.”

Emma pulled Kate’s hair off her shoulders and kissed her cheek. The angel then walked close to Nero, whose nose flared at her wings. He flinched a few times when she reached for his hands.

“Hmm. An old one. You’ve seen so much time. May I, please?”

It was like she was anesthetizing them with kindness. Nero lifted one hand. She placed it between two of hers and hummed. “I hope I have enough energy for this,” Emma murmured as she began to work. From their contact point, she healed his wounds, cleansing him. His skin glowed, his bloody hands became unmarred, and his dark hair took on a glossy sheen. It was mesmerizing. Jack shook his head and looked at Kate. She smiled, and Jason pulled her closer to kiss her lips gently.

Oh! So it was like that? No wonder Ms. Kate was so distressed by Emma. The angel’s head whipped around like the kiss was an alarm.

“Love?” Emma fluttered just above the surface, bypassing Ransom, who reached for her wings. She moved before he could clasp a fist on her feathers. Jack caught his eye and shook his head. It was getting tiring holding the wall, and the minions were starting to attack it.

Emma flew to the center of their circle, tucking her wings close to fit in the small space. She touched Jason and Kate’s joined hands. “How perfect. You’re worthy of him and he of you.” Emma lifted their hands to her lips and kissed them. Jason and Kate looked like newlyweds.

She stepped back into Jack’s chest. He couldn’t embrace her because his hands were busy, but she leaned against him like he was a wall. Jack kissed her shoulder and nosed her hair out of the way so he could kiss her neck as well. Emma turned and hugged him around the neck.

“They’re going to break down that wall. How long?” She smiled, despite her question.

“Soon. I can’t hurt my minions. They’ll have us cornered.” He exhaled. “One of us has to challenge him for the Devil’s position.”

The dragon showed its teeth and the poodle growled. Jack turned to see Nero had stepped closer to the circle.

“It will be me,” he said, coming farther forward. “My daughter receives safe passage—”

Emma moved so quickly, it was as if she were made of mercury. She obviously stole Nero’s voice, as his lips continued moving with no sound. Her hand had clasped in a fist. Jack knew Nero was pissed. Jack had hated it when Emma did that to him in Heaven. He shook his head and went to make the proclamation himself, but speaking of pissed, he found his voice captured as well. A quick glance told him Jason had the same affliction.

Emma put a single finger on Jack’s lips. “If Everett wasn’t here, would the minions listen to you?”

Jack tried a million curses, but none came. He didn’t like the look on her face. He’d seen it before. He just shrugged and mouthed, “Maybe.”

“Try hard. I love you.”

She kissed him so thoroughly—he was lucky Jason and Kate had such firm grips on him or he would have forgotten himself and pulled her to him. She flew out of the circle and approached the divider. Everett approached as well, the minions’ attacks now dwindling. The whole room seemed to center their attention on Emma and Everett.

Jack felt rising panic, but he held tight and focused his energy on maintaining the wall. He’d be shouting, cursing if he could. Her wings were iridescent, and she didn’t look back. She seemed so slight compared to the army she faced, like a perfect white rose in the center of a garbage dump. Jack screamed anyway, his voice useless.

“Everett. It’s me. I’m what you want,” she told him. “The minions? Running Hell into the ground? It’s all to get to me.” She sounded so sure, but Jack watched her clenched fist shake behind her, the feathers on her wing quaking.

Everett smiled a crocodile’s smile.

“So how about you get what you want?” She scanned the crowd, and Jack saw her in profile. So pretty. He tried to drum up some sort of weapon from Lucifer, tried to call him telepathically. The dragon whined.

“I’ll hold you down by your wings.” Everett licked his lips.

“Fine. Bitch, I formally challenge you to a battle to the death. This is a winner’s crusade to become the Devil.” Emma peeked over her shoulder, missing Everett’s victorious dance.

It was done. She’d uttered the words—the correct ones, goddamn it. He had nothing to offer. He had no way to stop her. She gave him a sad smile. Then she turned away.

“Come get me,” she called.

Emma shot straight up, spinning like a drill, and she pierced a hole in the cave ceiling, neat and clean. Jack’s voice was restored the moment she was out of sight. He immediately tried to rescind the challenge.

“As former Devil and future Devil, with the power of Lucifer coursing through my veins, I challenge your position, right now.”

Everett just laughed and spread a pair of flame wings. He mimicked Emma’s maneuver and created his own escape hole, debris flying and landing on the minions.

Jack’s heart crumbled because he realized he couldn’t leave Hell to save her. His soul was trapped in Hell. He fell to his knees as the wall collapsed between his little group and the hundreds of minions on the other side.

Chapter 29

Dean wanted to fight someone, something, anything to help his sister and mother, but he was bound by chains and threats. Violent had also been restrained in the same cage. His evil grandfather had Seriana and the naked guy in another cage and his mother in a separate one. The group of surrounding minions was full-on partying, and Vittorio accepted their praise like a preening peacock.

A persistent grinding noise caught Dean’s attention. The naked man was almost out of his bindings. How the Hell he’d managed to get out of the thick chains was a mystery. But as Dean watched, he used sheer strength to break free from the last bit. Seriana, clad only in her indecently wet sheet—his shirt was gone now—watched with wide eyes as well.

Obviously, keeping them wet allowed Vittorio to control them. The threat of electricity was a huge motivator, and Vittorio was nothing if not efficient at moving unwilling prisoners. Dean noticed he, Rebecca, and Violent were surrounded by puddles.

The man prowled toward Seriana with tremendous focus. And Seri didn’t look scared, which made no sense. Had she been drugged? Instead of touching her, the man stopped and stared at Vittorio until he turned around. When the old half-breed did so, the naked man pointed at the floor.

Vittorio looked at him curiously for a moment, then finally seemed to understand. “Ah! Our specimen would like to mount in private. See how evolved he is? Lower the cover, and bury the cage.”

Dean watched a half-breed press a few buttons, and the sound of ancient machinery filled the room. Slowly, the cage holding Seriana and her attacker disappeared from view. The man was strung tight, every muscle ready to pounce. Vittorio smiled indulgently when his crowd began to boo. He fumbled with a remote until a large screen on the wall lit up. “That’s a heat-sensor camera!” he announced proudly. “We can still watch. The most important thing is that Seriana gets a seed inside her.” Vittorio motioned to the screen.

Dean’s hands shook with fury, and he yanked on his chains. If the naked man could get out, he could too. He pulled and pulled, then paused to check on Seriana. The man was removing her chains. He made it look so easy, but Dean was rubbing his skin raw. He tried his feet, kicking and tugging. He realized he was bellowing with the effort now, but as the man lowered his sister to the floor of their cage, his brain saw red. He didn’t even see Vittorio approach, but as the electricity coursed through his system, he knew he was getting a reprimand. The last thing he saw was the man appearing to thrust into his sister.

Seriana could hardly draw a breath. He was on top of her, whispering.

“I need them to think this is done,” he explained. “Are you okay?”

Everything was in the right spot for them to mate, except her sheet still covered her. She shivered as her body responded to his primal movements. She wanted to tilt her pelvis up to meet his. She didn’t.

“There are cameras on us. Tell me, Seriana. How did you avoid your grandfather all this time?”

He was calm as he caressed her. Anyone watching would assume they were doing anything but having a conversation.

“We ran. My brothers and I. My mother—”

“I know her. She’s very brave. I’m sorry to see her back. I hoped she had escaped.”

Seriana’s eyes began to adjust to the dim light. She put her hands on his face. “Surely you have a name?”

“I’m sure I did, but I don’t remember it. I want to escape, and I would like to keep you. All these years, the only steady diet I’ve had is you. Facts about you, sometimes clothing with your scent, a fuzzy picture. I’ve not had blood in…a long time.” He pulled her hands from his cheeks and kissed her palms, inhaling deeply.

“I want to name you.” She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. It was a crazy place to fall for someone, but as much as he’d been conditioned for her, she felt her heart had somehow been conditioned for him.

He growled. “And I want to claim you.”

He thrust deeper, her sheet working its way up her thighs. She twisted her hips until there was nothing between them but want.

He paused before entering her, tension rippling through his body at the effort. She hooked her legs around his back and tilted her pelvis up. With one strong motion he was in.

Seriana gasped. It was in every sense a mating. Her permission had unlocked something in him he’d been holding back. He went at her relentlessly, religiously. She could not hope to keep up and instead just hung on for the ride. He began biting her and moaning in a way that sounded like he was gearing up for a fight.

“Come with me,” he growled around his words, daring her to lose control. Seriana forgot the camera, forgot the fear. His scent and his presence pressing into her released the vampire. She pushed when he pushed and met him in the middle. He’d been fast before; he was incredible now. She increased her tempo until she just had to bite his shoulder. His blood poured into her mouth as his release poured between her legs. Ecstasy blinded her, and he grabbed a fistful of her hair and a handful of her ass as he left his DNA embedded deep inside her.

“Your name is Mine,” she whispered as he collapsed on top of her.