Dirty Deeds (Paranormal Erotic Romance) (10 page)

“That bargain doesn't mean shit. No one will bother to cash it in. Without me, things would be chaos. Even more so now.” The angry words vibrated the air around them as he paced. “I do, however, get the pleasure of administering some of Melody's punishment at my own hand and I can hardly wait.” He turned quickly, catching her off guard. His hand gripped her chin and forced her face upward.

At the last second she squeezed her eyes closed, remembering not to look at him.
Don't look. Don't look. Don't look.

“You're not the only one who can do the job, Harold. There is someone to replace you.” Drake said it so quietly, she almost didn't hear him.

A rumbling laugh exploded in front of her. She couldn't escape from the sick and twisted sound.

“And who would that be? You? That's hilarious. A half-breed?”

A growl exploded from Drake and he snapped. “This half-breed just beat you, so face it. You know as well as I do how things work around here. Rules are rules.”

“I make the fucking rules,” Harold snarled, baring his teeth. Very sharp teeth that had given her nightmares on more than one occasion.

“Not this time. You made a deal, gambled with your position and life, and you just lost. No amount of bullshit will get you out of it this time. Now get the hell out of my bedroom.”

“If you take my job you'll never get to return to your precious home or the woman who waits there.”

Harold's words lashed across her as if he'd slapped her with the sharp edge of a knife. His hand loosened, releasing her jaw and she stumbled backward, a faint tremble rippled through her body. A woman? She'd never once considered Drake could be involved with someone else. Even as a sexy demon, she'd managed to fuck everything up.

She implored Drake with her gaze to deny, to rage, to call him the liar he had to be.

“Leave my sister out of this.” Drake lunged for Harold and more demons arrived blocking Drake from her boss.

“Sister? He meant your sister? Not wife or—or girlfriend?” She stared at Drake, desperate for confirmation.

“Just a sister, love. You're the only woman for me.”

“Aww, so sweet. Now I need to throw up.”

“Shut up, Harold!” they yelled in unison.

Drake moved, faster than any human, grabbed her around the waist, and hauled her close to him, his heat enveloping her. One of Harold's guards raced forward in attack, claws extended and aimed at her throat.

Melody grabbed his claws, forcing his hand back until he howled in pain, giving her the opening she needed. She drove her own nails into his throat before pushing him away. Blood gushed down his chest and onto the floor.

Melody gazed at the injured demon, amazed at what she'd done. Well, he'd gotten what he deserved for trying to hurt her. She was getting pretty sick of being pushed around.

“I'm impressed, babe.”

She inclined her head, “What does that mean that you can't get back to your sister? Is she in some sort of trouble?” Time was ticking, but not having all the facts threatened to drive her nuts.

“Yes and no. They like to use her as a sort of leash for me when I don't toe the line. She belongs to a demon, but he's not a bad guy and I suspect she doesn't hate being there, even if it is technically against her will. So she's safe, but she's not allowed to leave or move through hell, much like me when I’m in residence. The deal is as long as I stayed here, Harold had to offer her his protection, which in most places of hell is enough to keep the worst of the demons in line.”

“But if you break your end of the bargain?”

“Then all deals are off, and he and his crazy ass sister are fair game. Enough explanations. I'm bored now. Let's go.” Harold's gaze darted to the clock.

“Wait.” She took a step away. It still didn't fit. “I don't understand. Why is everyone so afraid of you?”

Harold snorted behind her. “It's not fear, but revulsion.

Drake ignored him and continued. “My mixed heritage makes me unique. Able to occupy both heaven and hell, although not welcome in either. It gives me an unpredictable power that can't be controlled by the likes of him.” Drake's chin lifted toward her boss.

“Okay, I think I get it.” Finally. “You need to find a way back home, a loophole of sorts, that allows you to get around some of these assholes that fear what they don't know?”

“Exactly, and until you came along nothing stuck. Harold found a counter to everything we tried, and more than once my sister took a punishment for me, so we quit trying. Decided to bide our time, knowing eventually he would fuck up.”

“Enter Melody, the bungling Sex Demon unable to fill her quota.” She tried to swallow the lump forming in her throat.

“Yes,” he whispered.

“What now?” This was the part she didn't like. The one selfish answer that would save her and ruin him.

“Now I take over that bastard's job because his fuck up backfired against us all.”

“Not gonna happen, Drake. I'm not going anywhere.”

Drake glanced over at the big clock hanging on the wall behind the bed. “I beg to differ. In about thirty seconds you'll be leaving whether you want to or not.”

Harold glared at Drake, his power obviously having no affect on Drake. The demons around Harold fidgeted, obviously anxious about what they overheard. Suddenly two of them leaped in Drake's direction, catching him off guard and pulling him to the wall where they attached him to the metal cuffs hanging there.

“Wait. Stop.” She had to do something. Drake couldn't give up his chance to help his sister. “I'll go with Harold and then you can go home.”

“No, Melody, you can't do that.”

She flinched at the anger in his words.

“I have to.” Tears pooled in her eyes, making her vision blurry before they splashed onto her cheeks.

Harold grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. “Smart decision, sweetheart.”

“Heed my words, all of you. I'm taking this job and soon you'll belong to me. If you don't free me now, I'll be your worst fucking nightmare. Far more scary than even the Gatekeeper.” Drake’s face contorted with violence—
rage.

“Don't listen to him. He's just grasping. Doesn't want to lose his pretty pussy.”

At Harold's words, something clicked inside Melody and grief turned to fury, which she directed at him. Without connecting with his gaze, she crashed her head into his already broken nose. He let her go to grab at his head, and his howls of pain echoed around them. Prepared to fight the others, she gasped when they all took several steps in Drake's direction and one even unshackled him.

“You little ungrateful bitch.” Her head snapped back when Harold grabbed her hair.

“I created you and I can damn sure take you out of here if I please.” His hands tightened, pulling her in the opposite direction from Drake. He was almost free from the wall, but he wouldn't make it in time.
Good
. It was better this way. The room shimmered in front of her eyes, and she knew it was over. Harold's call was up and as long as she and he were connected, she'd be going down with him.

“It's for the best, Drake.” More tears fell from her eyes from both the pain in her scalp and the ripping of her heart at the prospect of losing him once again.

“No, Melody!” Drake bellowed, startling the demons trying to help him. “Stop him. Don't let him take her.”

Demons rushed her, grabbing at her clothes as she faded.

“Let go. I have to do this.”

A growl sounded behind her but she didn't care. The pain started to dim as a numb and lifeless feeling crept up her legs and torso. She had only a few seconds left.

“I love you, Drake. Save your sister. Don't let any of this be in vain.”

“No! Melanie!” He tore from the wall, chains and all.

The wild frantic fear on his face was the last thing she saw before they faded into nothingness. The sound of her real name ringing in her ears. Darkness surrounded her as that familiar sensation of freefalling took over. Usually she worried about how and where she would land, but not this time. Sobs wracked her body and nothing mattered but the frantic grief she'd seen on Drake's face.

An orange glow formed before her eyes, her only indicator they were about to reach their destination. Her body landed on the black ashen ground. She didn't even bother to get up. Whatever was in store for her didn't matter anymore.

“Get up, Melody,” an unfamiliar voice spoke.

Curious, she lifted her head. A blond-haired man dressed in all black stared down at her. She wiped at her eyes in a lame attempt to staunch the flow of tears. She turned back to look for Harold, but no one was behind her. In fact, nothing, literally nothing, was there. She'd landed in a void of some sort. Was this the ultimate form of torture for her? To be surrounded by nothing for the rest of eternity.
Great.

“Where am I?” She sniffled.

“Trapped between worlds,” the stranger said.

“Why?” Although she didn't see what difference that would make.

“Because you don't belong to Harold anymore since he violated his terms of employment by bringing you with him. So he's gone to his destination without you.”

She shuddered, afraid to ask where exactly that was. Definitely not a happy place, that's for sure. Forgetting about Harold, hope dared to bloom inside her. “Does this—does this mean I'm going back?” She sat up and brushed soot from her clothes.

“Do you want to go back?”

“Hell yes, I want to go back.” She scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could. Dignity be damned.

He cocked an eyebrow in warning.

“Um—sorry, I mean yes, please. I would like to return to my job.” She bit her lip and held her breath. Could this be real?

“I thought you hated your job?”

“Maybe, maybe not. But I do want to go back. I can work harder at filling my quota. I swear it.” And she would. With a chance to see Drake at stake, she would do anything.

He held up his hand. “It's not me you have to convince.”

“Who then? Tell me. I'll do whatever it takes to get back.”

“Always the impatient one, even down here I see.” A deep rumbling male voice drawled from behind the stranger. He stepped to the side, leaving her face to face with Drake.

“Oh thank God.” She ran to him and flung her arms around his neck.

His laughter tickled her neck. “You might want to be careful about thanking God right now, babe. He's not exactly the popular man down here.”

“Oops.” She covered her mouth with her palm and snickered. “I keep forgetting.”

“No worries, my love, we have plenty of time for you to get used to the ins and outs of this life.”

“What does that mean? We get to stay together?”

“Looks like it. Although, lucky for me, I got to you before you made it all the way home. Even with Harold's, and now my ability to know where you are, I physically can't go that far.”

“I'm sorry, Drake. I don't want to be the one that keeps you away.” Fresh tears threatened. Jeez, when had she returned to her crybaby ways?

Warm, rough hands stroked her face, wiping them up one by one. “Don't cry. This is what I wanted. I'll figure out another way. Besides that's the way things work around here. There are always choices and sacrifices to be made in every decision.”