Good Intentions (23 page)

between us, I cherish it and would not will ingly relinquish it for anything. Not for the highest crown in hell and my freedom along with it.” “You say that,” Rachel frowned, “but only one of us in this conversation is capable of lying.” “Yes. But you know I am tel ing the truth.” Lorelei held her gaze for a long moment. Her tone softened. “He has changed me. I resented it at first. Now I continue to change, and I embrace it. I mean you no harm. I am no longer your enemy. I may never be ‘good’ by Heaven’s definition, but if I no longer take the sort of actions you are meant to combat, why should we be hostile?” Rachel’s innocently beautiful face was thoughtful as she watched Lorelei. “What’s your idea of less than hostile?” “In the time that we have had this conversation, how many ways have you imagined destroying me?” “One hundred sixty-four.” “We might start there.” “…sixty-five,” Rachel corrected. * Drew had a good chance to unload on Rob once Wade and Alex grabbed the heavyset man’s arms from behind. He was a fit, muscular guy with several years of kung fu and more than a few street fights under his belt, and he understood better than most the need to keep an opponent off-balance and hurting. He pummeled Rob’s face, chest and gut with rapid-fire blow after blow, committing everything he had into each punch and kick.

Battered by this assault, Rob fought through the pain to wrench free of Alex’s grip, then twist mightily to hurl Wade bodily into Drew. Free to move, Rob swatted Alex backward over the pool table behind him with a rough arm. Jason had been waiting for it. There hadn’t been room to help, nor was he the trained fighter that Drew and Wade were. But he was smart, he was loyal, and he had found more than one barstool that had Rob’s name on them. The second he had a clear shot, he smashed one across Rob’s chest. Rob staggered, but then lurched forward to grab Jason by the neck and shove him to the floor several yards away. It was enough time for Wade and Drew to recover. Drew put his foot into the side of Rob’s knee while Wade tackled him. The fight had gone on like this for several minutes. No one had any il usions that they were getting anywhere. There were plenty of broken pool sticks, stools and overturned tables, though. Rob simply wouldn’t go down. Alex struggled to get to his feet. He found an eightbal on the floor and grabbed it as he rose. Rob had forced Wade to the ground, stomping on his side. “Didn’t wanna do things this way with you punks,” Rob growled, “but now I guess I’m gonna have to shove my money down your—!” Alex cut him off by slamming the eightbal into the side of Rob’s jaw. Rob gasped and grunted under the constant assault. It wasn’t like he was unharmed; things were simply not going anywhere. His strength refused to wane. Alex had a sinking feeling that he knew what Rob was—and that finally gave him an idea of what to do. Drew went at Rob again, giving Wade a moment to recover. Jason was already coming back. Alex turned to Wade, looking him over until he finally found what he was looking for. Outside of school (and, sometimes, even then), Wade never went anywhere without a pocketknife. A good one. “Jason,” Alex croaked, “see if there’s a meat cleaver in the kitchen.” “What?” Jason blinked.

Alex yanked the knife off of Wade’s belt, then hauled his friend back to his feet with Jason’s help. “I’m serious! This isn’t just a brawl!” Jason nodded and limped off, quickly as he could, to the kitchen. Then he said to Wade, “We gotta get him pinned down for just a second. On his bel y. I’ve gotta get at his back.” “Okay?” Wade mumbled. He’d been a bit too thrown around to question the request. It sounded reasonable to him. He tackled Rob from behind, wrestling with him in an effort to grab onto one of Wade’s arms. Rob countered, slipping free and bashing Wade back, but by then Drew had figured out what Wade was trying to do. It seemed like as good an idea as any. Drew grabbed Rob’s arm, twisted, and then wrenched him into a pool table at the hips, causing Rob to double over. He kept the twisting hold locked in as tightly as he could, one hand clutching Rob’s wrist and the other pressing him down firmly onto the table at the shoulder. Wade recovered and grabbed at Rob’s other arm. Coming up behind him without any hesitation, Alex pushed the material of Rob’s sport coat up out of the way and yanked Rob’s dress shirt and undershirt free from where they were tucked in under his pants. thankfully, Alex saw, Rob was the type to wear suspenders rather than a belt. “What’re you doin’?” Wade asked. He could feel Rob’s strength returning. They wouldn’t be able to hold him down but a second or two longer. Alex roughly unclipped Rob’s suspenders, then tugged the pants down for some slack. Finally getting a clear shot at Rob’s backside, he put the knife flat and sideways against the older man’s skin right above the crack of his ass and shoved up and in. The sudden roar of rage, pain and panic that burst from Rob was beyond human capacity. It frightened al four young men, but nobody let up. In the kitchen, Jason spotted a meat cleaver and hustled back to the others. Holding their opponent down on the table, however, Drew and Wade looked on in shock as Alex kept cutting. Something had appeared, almost in an eyeblink, over the skin where Alex cut. Alex grabbed at the long, flailing bit of flesh and pul ed as he continued to cut with the knife. Rob kept screaming. Desperately, Alex put everything he had

into his right hand as the knife continued to slide through muscle, tendons and skin. A moment later, Alex had cut the demon’s tail free. Rob’s roar of anger turned to a wail of agony and humiliation. Drew and Wade, still holding Rob down, found their job was easier now. Rob had suddenly become noticeably weaker. Jason returned in time to see Alex throw the tail down on the table. Alex grabbed at Rob’s coat and started cutting. “There’l be wings, too,” Alex grunted. “Jason, gimme the meat cleaver.” “What the fuck is this, man?” Drew burst. “Demon.” “Demon?!” al three of Alex’s friends repeated. “Yeah. He is,” Alex huffed. He looked up at Jason. “He’s got horns, too, and they gotta go. Think you can find a hammer? One with a claw head?” He took the meat cleaver from Jason and then glanced at Drew and Wade. “Okay, I didn’t tel you everything before, but you guys would not believe the week I’ve been having.” * “He has lain with me, yes. And two other women, one of whom he has longed for deeply. I believe there is strong potential for that relationship to grow.” “And you’d step aside for that?” Rachel asked. “I believe if things were approached correctly, there would be no need. Nor any need for deception,” she added after

seeing Rachel’s sour look. “I must ask: are you jealous?” “I don’t…I don’t know,” Rachel frowned finally, looking down at the ground. “I care about him. He’s such a good person. I want him to be happy. If he’s happy with you, I can accept that. It’s not jealousy that I feel, I don’t think, because I’m not angry that he’s with you. But I’m frustrated and resentful that…that I can’t be with him,” she admitted softly. “Why not?” Lorelei asked. “Angels have occasionally loved mortals before. Al owances have been made. I would imagine our situation would be a perfect case.” Rachel went pale. “Are you on crack? Do you know what has happened to those angels?” “I do. Tel me, Rachel: were your feelings for Alex strong enough, would that deter you?” “I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.” “I know desire. You have not explored yours yet. Nor has he explored his feelings for you. Yet he has a burning desire to be with you, quite apart from his feelings for myself or Taylor or anyone else. That feeling is terribly strong and exquisitely beautiful…much as his feelings for me.” “Desire isn’t love.” “No, but love often includes desire, and I’ve enough experience to know that what I sense in him—in us al —is something I have never felt before in al my time in this world. Given my activities, that tel s me al that I need to know.” “You aren’t afraid of being pushed out?” Rachel asked. “I’m pretty awesome.” “You are,” Lorelei nodded, “but no. I do not fear being pushed away. I am quite confident in my relationship with Alex. If I did not know him so well , I would not be speaking to you of this now. Are we settled that we need not be enemies?”

The angel looked at the succubus thoughtful y. “Maybe. I wouldn’t push past that.” “And you’re not jealous?” “No. well . Only of time, maybe. Opportunity. But I’m not bothered by his relationship with you.” “Rachel, you might well be amazed how much room there is in his heart…and in our bed.” Rachel gasped. She glanced around, blushing, and then looked at the stars, or more pointedly away from Lorelei. The succubus stepped closer, her breath hot on Rachel’s ear. “Alex wants you, Rachel. The two of you have such great potential for joy. I would not interfere. I would even help.” * Stripped of his tail and wings, and with his horns smashed off of his head, Rob gave the guys no further trouble. He lay crumpled on the floor, gripped with agony. It gave them a breather, during which Rob was fitted with Jason’s noise-canceling headphones. Tool blasted into the demon’s ears at max volume so Alex could breathlessly summarize his situation with Lorelei and Rachel. “If she’s your guardian angel, why didn’t she show up?” Jason asked. “She can’t see me when I’m with Lorelei. Maybe she can’t see me with this guy so close by, either.” “Well , so what do we do?” Wade asked. “Ah mean, we can’t just smoke this fucker, can we?” “Wow, man,” Drew blinked. “That’s harsh.” It was a reminder of how far Wade had been from home. “Yeah, but have we got another option?”

“I don’t know how we can,” Alex shrugged. “Lorelei says if she takes a tumble off my bike it’s not that big a deal. I mean this whole thing with cutting off his tail and wings hurts him more ‘cause it’s symbolic than because it’s an actual injury if I understand right.” “Can’t you cal Lorelei and ask her what to do?” Jason offered. “I can’t,” Alex said, scratching his head in embarrassment. “I would’ve already, but I don’t have her cel phone number.” “What about the angel chick?” “What am I gonna do, walk away from here with a cardboard sign saying, ‘Rachel, I need you,’ and hope I get far enough for her to see me while you guys stay here with this douchebag?” As he spoke, Rob groaned. He had just slipped the headphones half off. “I know what you’re thinking. Go ahead and kil me, it won’t matter,” he said, spitting out blood. “Shoot me, run me over, drop me off a bridge. Soon as my spirit gets back to hell , I’l tel everyone. Everyone. See how much peace and quiet you and that bitch get after that.” “Oh, well , now y’al ’re just goading us, asshole,” Wade huffed. He looked to Alex. “Can’t we take him to a priest and exorcise him or some shit?” Rob laughed bitterly, but then stopped when Alex said, “Lorelei said holy ground’s really bad for demons.” Everyone noticed Rob’s sudden attempt at not reacting. “Just gotta find a place that’s actually devout.” “What happens there, Robbie?” Drew asked. He grabbed Rob’s hair to turn his head so he could look the demon in the eye, but Rob pointedly kept his eyes shut. “Nothin’ good, looks like. So where do we go?” “Does it matter what religion?” Jason asked. “I don’t think so,” Alex said, shaking his head. “Lorelei and Rachel have both kind of said that it’s about how much

faith there is, not specific denominations or whatever.” “You’l never find a church pure enough in this town,” Rob hissed. “No reason not to try,” Wade said. “Can’t bring him in my car, though. Not enough room for us to watch him.” “Mine, neither,” Jason frowned. Drew promptly put his knee into the small of Rob’s back and began patting him down. He pul ed out a wallet and keys. “This looks like an SUV.” Wade took charge from there. He had everyone pul off their belts to put together restraints, then got the dismembered parts of Rob collected into a trash bag. He scrounged up disposable latex gloves from the kitchen and got everyone to wear a pair. Together, they hauled the battered and wounded demon to the front of the pool hall , unlocked the door, and drug him out to the only SUV in the parking lot without being seen. Jason took the driver’s seat with Wade riding shotgun. Drew and Alex, after taking a moment to fold over and shove back a couple of the seats, pushed Rob to the floor and took up spots on either side of him where they could hold him down. As Jason hit the ignition, the Escalade’s stereo blared: “Sweeeeet Caroline!” (bam bam baaammm!!) “Good times never seemed so good! “I’ve been inclined “To believe they never would!”

Jason quickly found the stereo controls and shut it off. Four pairs of shocked, horrified eyes looked down at the demon on the floor. “Tel me that was just a radio station,” Drew managed. “No,” Jason breathed in fright. “That’s a playlist. Neil Diamond is devil music.” * Rachel’s breathing grew heavy and deep as she fought to keep her eyes on the stars. She didn’t know why she was just standing still like this. She felt vulnerable before a woman whom she could bounce down the street like a basketbal . One hundred eighty-eight. “We are bound, Rachel,” Lorelei whispered to her closely. She stood behind the angel, a few inches tal er and seemingly older despite the marked disparity in power. “The three of us are bound together. Alex and I have found such joy in that bond. Such intimacy.” Lorelei’s quiet, seductive voice at Rachel’s ear was joined by fingers that gently combed through Rachel’s scalp just past her temples, pulling wet hair over her shoulder. The angel closed her eyes and shuddered. “There is no reason why you should not share in that joy,” came slow, soft words directly into Rachel’s ear. “I no longer serve hell . I serve Alex. I do whatever I can to make him happy. You yearn to do so as well . We need not be enemies…we could become very close. I promise you that would make Alex happier than any of us would imagine, and by extension that happiness would come to us. “But first you must explore your feelings for him,” Lorelei finished. “With him.” Lorelei’s lips were dangerously close to Rachel’s neck. The angel murmured something. “What was that?” the succubus asked.

“One hundred eighty-nine,” Rachel hissed. “You might consider other things you might do with me,” Lorelei suggested softly. “Ffffourty-three,” Rachel let slip. Lorelei smiled. “And with Alex,” she added. Rachel nodded, almost in a trance, but then her eyes snapped wide open. “I can’t see him!” * “This is my life from here on out,” Alex thought aloud as they drove. “Huh?” Drew asked. “This. Last night. Probably gonna have things like this happen al the time from here on out. They both said, once you have a run-in with the supernatural, chances are it’l keep happening. I’m gonna have to deal with one black-hearted piece of shit after another.” Silence reigned in the Escalade until Jason finally said, “Cool.” “Not cool,” Alex snapped. “What if this is what’s in store for you guys now, huh? What if one of you gets hurt?” Drew shrugged. “Take my chances.” Wade twisted in his seat. “Ain’t like we couldn’t have cut and run on you back at the pool hall if we’d wanted to, man,” he observed. “You don’t see us bailing out now, do you?”