Redemption (The Keepers of Hell Book 3) (5 page)

CHAPTER NINE

     Jake was never going to get used to traveling at the speed of thought. It was disorienting at best. It made him nauseous and dizzy. He shook his head and focused his eyes, willing his stomach into submission. Jake took in his surroundings and realized that he was indeed, back on Earth. He was standing in front of a house. It was a small one-story home nestled in the heart of a neighborhood that could have been anywhere in middle class USA. The shrubs around the front of the house were neatly trimmed and the walkway was lined with small flowers.

     He had landed himself in suburbia.

     “Quaint, isn’t it?” Antonio asked from right behind Jake. He jumped and spun around.

     “Give a guy a heart attack next time,” Jake muttered.

     “Sorry. I was just making sure you found the place all right.” Antonio moved to stand beside him. “No worries, no one can see you standing here like a stalker.”

     “Good to know,” Jake said under his breath. Because stalking was definitely something he wanted to add to his work experience.  “Why am I stalking her?”

     “Because the boss man told you to,” Antonio answered.

     “Am I supposed to keep her safe? Is someone after her? I don’t get it.”

     “Your assignment is to watch her,” Antonio reminded him. “And report back to Ash. He can’t keep his eyes open on everything all the time.”

     “I get that but...” Jake started, but a noise from inside the house gave him pause. “What the hell was that?” he asked.

     Antonio shrugged. “Let’s go find out,” he said and flashed himself into the house. Jake followed.

     He was surprised at how easily he was catching on. He was getting used to traveling, even if it did make him sick, and he was getting used to the wings on his back. It was as if they had always been there. He didn’t dwell for too long on that though, because once he was inside the home, he could plainly see what was going on and that made him sick in a whole different way.

***

     “You are useless!” the man snarled. The woman, Lucy, Jake presumed, was sitting on her haunches in the corner of the room, hiding her face behind her hands. “All I asked for was some dinner!” the man continued shouting. “Something edible! And then you try to feed me this shit?” he slammed a pan full of fried chicken onto the floor. Hot grease went everywhere. “You trying to poison me?” he snapped.

     “No,” she cried out. “I just thought...”

     “No,” he interrupted her. “You don’t think. You just do what I say. I can’t believe that after I have it in me to marry your sorry ass that you couldn’t show a little more appreciation. What does it take to get a steak around here?”

     “We couldn’t afford it,” she whispered.

     “We might have been able to if you hadn’t wasted my hard earned money on that damned habit of yours!” he snarled at her. He stomped over to where she was cowering and yanked her up by the collar of her shirt. “I told you not spend my damned money!”

     “I didn’t,” she begged him. “I swear! It was a gift!”

     “From who?” he demanded. “Are you cheating on me? Who are you fucking enough that they want to buy you gifts?” he pulled his fist back preparing to strike.

     “My mother!” she shouted at him.

     “Your mother was a whore who had you when she was a child herself. She doesn’t love you and never will. Lie to me again,” he dared her.

     She shook her head. “I’m not lying.”

     “Never talk to me that way again!” he shouted and struck her hard in the face.

     Jake couldn’t watch it anymore. He took two steps to show that son of a bitch what was what when Antonio stopped him with a hand around his bicep. “Let me go,” Jake hissed.

     “You can’t interfere, man,” Antonio said.

     “What? Am I supposed to sit here and watch her get beaten to death? This woman is supposed to be a guard?” he shook his head. Jake was glad they couldn’t see or hear him. “She can’t even defend herself! This is why having a woman warrior is insane!”

     “Do not be so quick to judge,” Antonio reminded him. “The heart of the human is stronger than you think and usually forged in courage. Courage comes from trial. This is her trial.”

     “I can’t sit by and watch this,” Jake growled. “I’ll kill the bastard.” And then he went outside, spread his wings, and took to the sky.  He muttered something about tiny penises and sick fucks as he shot out of sight.

     Antonio knew that Lucy was going through hell, but he also understood that her soul called to Ash for a reason. Jake was right. Her soul wasn’t ready to be a warrior. Yet. But one day, it would be. Antonio had watched the scene unfold, just as Jake had. But he had seen something Jake had not. He saw the fire in this little woman’s eyes. He could easily see that her soul was broken, her spirit trampled down under the weight of this pitiful excuse of a man, but that would change one day.

     Too many people were abused by the hands of those who pledged to love them. It was an unfortunate fact of life. There would always be predators and there would always be victims. The soul’s fate, however, was in their own hands. Some would break and die from the abuse. Others would grow into an abuser themselves, but a select few would rise above their situation and become fighters. They would fight for their freedom and they would continue to fight to keep it. Those were the ones that made a difference in the lives of the people around them. Those were the ones who stood up and said, “No more.” And not just no more for themselves, but no more for others as well.

     Lucy was one of those.

     Antonio completely felt Jake’s frustration. He wanted to clock the bastard too, but he knew he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. He would allow Lucy to become the warrior she was destined to be. He let out his breath on a heavy sigh and stretched his wings to follow Jake before he got himself into trouble. And Lord knew that Jake was no stranger to trouble.

     It didn’t take Antonio long to find him. All he had to do was consider what he would do himself. It seemed too long ago, when Antonio had realized he was dead and was forced to deal with life. After his initial freak out session, Antonio had headed to the nearest bar. It took a huge amount of alcohol to affect a vampire, and the fact that when his family found him, Antonio was three sheets to the wind, was a testament to how much he drank.

     So it was no surprise to find Jake pacing back and forth in front of the nearest bar, cursing under his breath.  “Hey,” Antonio said softly.

     “How the fuck can I get rip-roaring drunk if no one can fucking see me?” Jake demanded, spinning on his heel to face the angel. His face was distorted with a combination of rage and frustration.

     Antonio’s heart hurt for the man. This was so much for him to take in all at once. Hell, it was no cakewalk for Antonio when it had been him in this position, he could only imagine what it must be like for a human. “Come with me,” Antonio said.

     “No, I’m getting drunk. Just as soon as I figure out how.” Jake turned his back on Antonio.

     “I know,” Antonio said to his back. “But unless you want to explain to everyone why you have a huge set of wings and are wearing chain mail, I suggest you let me help you.”

     Jake turned to look at him. “I’m listening.”

     “Come on,” Antonio said, walking around to the back of the building. Jake followed him.

     When they reached the back entrance, Antonio stopped. “What, are we breaking in?” Jake asked, eyeing the door.

     “No,” Antonio said on a chuckle. “First, you gotta get visible. Then we have to hide your wings.”

     “And just how the fuck do I do that?” Jake asked.

     “You have to want to be seen,” the angel told him. “Concentrate on that first.”

     Jake did as he was told. He felt his body shimmer, for lack of a better description. Then Antonio nodded at him in approval. “Now make your wings disappear.” Jake willed his wings away and they obeyed. He stood there in front of Antonio, who had done the same thing, a mere man. There was nothing to indicate that Jake had become an Elite Warrior or that he currently resided in Hell. Hell, he had decided, was not necessarily in one specific place, but existed everywhere. “Now,” Antonio said, “Let’s get a drink.”

CHAPTER TEN

     Jake followed Antonio into the little dive bar that he had chosen. It wouldn’t have necessarily been Jake’s first choice, but it was the first one he had come upon during his flight away from his charge.

     The air smelled of stale cigarette smoke, sex, and alcohol. The bar was lined with rough looking men, as were the tables. There were two waitresses on staff, it appeared, and one bartender. The girls looked tired and Jake was fairly certain that one of them was on Meth. The bartender was built like a tank and he made no secret of the shotgun he kept behind the bar. It was hanging like a trophy on a pair of hooks on the wall behind him; easy to access, and Jake had no doubt it was loaded and ready for action.

     “Nice place,” Antonio said under his breath as they found a clean-ish table to sit at.

     “Beggars can’t be choosers,” Jake replied, taking a seat.

     “Hi, boys,” their waitress said, standing by their table. “Whaddaya havin’?”

     Jake just knew they were gonna get the meth-head to wait on them. “Tequila,” Jake answered while trying not to make eye contact.

     “Make it two,” Antonio said. The waitress grinned at Antonio with a definite come hither look, never mind that she was missing half her front teeth and the other half were rotting away in her gums. Jake rolled his eyes. Stupid angel even smiled back at her. Jake thought the woman was going to faint.

     “Ok, sugar,” she cooed. “Be right back.”

     “Ew,” Jake grumbled.

     “What?” Antonio grinned. “What can I say? I have a way with the ladies.”

     “I never did understand Meth,” Jake grumbled.

     “Remember that I told you not to judge too quickly?” Antonio asked, throwing back his shot of Patron.

     “Yeah,” Jake said on a harsh breath after downing his as well.

     “That lady,” Antonio said, leaning forward with his elbows on the table, “she used to be a meth head. Now she’s clean and sober. She’s been working here for about five years now, paying her way through college.”

     Jake nodded his head, properly put in his place. People could change. He should know, he was one of them. The change, however, wasn’t always for the better. She might have changed her life, but the physical damage had been done. She was going to have a hard time replacing those teeth and she needed to gain weight in the worst way. Just the knowledge about their server made Jake respect her. He didn’t know how Antonio knew the things he did, and he didn’t ask. He had enough on his mind at the time. Jake held up his hand and motioned for the server to bring them another round.

     Within minutes, she was there with a double for each of them. “Keep ‘em coming,” Jake told her, throwing back his drink. “In fact, just bring the bottle.”

     The server smiled and sauntered off. She returned moments later with a full bottle of Patron tequila.

     Half a bottle later, Antonio and Jake were laughing like old friends. “You should have seen his face!” Antonio bellowed around hoots of laughter. “It was kind of purple because the blue dye mixed with the red from anger!”

     Jake howled and slapped the table at the thought. Antonio wasn’t that bad after all, he decided. Who could
not
like him? “I tied my college buddy to his bed while he was passed out one time,” he told Antonio, “I cut his clothes off of him and then called his girlfriend. Oh, man, she was pissed!”

     “Oh fuck no you didn’t!” Antonio howled. “Did she kick his ass? Tell me there was some serious ass kicking!”

     Jake snorted. “It took three weeks to convince her that I did it as a prank!”

     The men were laughing hysterically, but they didn’t care. They tried to sober up when their server, Molly was her name, came over with a tray of shots. “Here ya go, boys,” she said, setting several drinks in front of each of them. “Starting off with a Buttery Nipple, then moving on to a Wet Pussy, then a Blow Job, Sex on the Beach, and finally a Screaming Orgasm.” She pointed to each drink as she named them. “Compliments of the ladies at the table by the window.” She winked at Jake and then went on about her other tables.

     Jake looked at the drinks and then at the table of women who sent them over. “Well,” he exclaimed, “looks like we are getting laid by liquor tonight!”

     Antonio hooted and waved at the women. They giggled like school girls and waved back. “Yep, cause Lord knows that is the only way we’re getting any tonight!” They each took their shots in the order they were laid out in front of them.

     Antonio waved the server back and said, “Send those lovely ladies another of whatever fruity concoction they are drinking.” She smiled and nodded.

     “Man, I needed this,” Jake said, leaning back in his chair and feeling relief for the first time since he died.

     “Me too,” Antonio agreed. “I think that redhead has it for you,” he pointed out.

     Jake immediately looked around, but the redhead he was looking for wasn’t there. He wondered what Shelly was doing right at that moment and his dick perked right up to agree with him. He took a deep breath and willed that appendage into submission.

     “Oh,
that
redhead isn’t here,” Antonio said with a knowing smile.

     “I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Jake muttered around his glass before taking another drink.

     “I think, my friend,” Antonio said with a toothy grin, “I think you do.”

***

     Ash was sitting at his desk with Mali, trying to figure out just who some of the emails he was getting were actually from. “This just doesn’t make any sense,” Ash admitted, running his fingers through his hair. It was sticking up at weird angles from all the times he had done the same thing.

     “I know that Lucifer used to communicate with several humans that he thought of as pets,” Mali told him. “Unfortunately, I was not privy to who they were. He didn’t like to tell me much of anything.”

     “I think maybe Antonio might know a little something about this,” Ash said. “He seems to know a little bit about a whole lot.”

     “But no expert in anything,” Mali finished for him with a smile.

     Just then, Ash picked up his head. “What the fuck is that noise?” he snarled as he stood from his desk. It wasn’t the cat in the washer sound that he had come to think of when Antonio sang, it was much, much worse. And there were two voices. He moved toward his office door to open it, expecting the worst.

    As soon as Ash opened the door, Antonio and Jake burst into the office singing “Since you Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson at the top of their lungs. The pair had their arms around each other, less in a show of affection and more for support so that neither of them fell on their faces. The smell of liquor preceded them, but even if it hadn’t, the empty bottle of Tequila was a dead giveaway.

     “What the hell?” Ash said with irritation.

     “Hey bosth-man,” Jake slurred. “Watz happenenenening?” He held his hand out as if to shake Ash’s hand. Ash clapped his hand into his newest guard’s and held it steady for a moment while Jake staggered a bit.

     Ash eyed Antonio suspiciously. “Why do I feel like this was your fault?”

     “Nope, no sir,” Antonio belted out. “All his idear. Ol’ boy here needed a drink and ya know, frens don’t let frens fly dunk ‘lone.” He pointed to Jake, who was giving him the stink eye.

     “Snitch,” he mumbled under his breath.

     Ash scrubbed his hand over his face and took several breaths. Would he never catch a break? “Go to bed,” he commanded, “both of you.”

     “Kay boss!” Jake said, saluting Ash with one hand and holding Antonio with the other.

     “Right-Oh Capitan!” Antonio cheerfully chimed in. “Hi-ho, hi-ho, off to bed we go…” they walked, staggered, out of Ash’s office. They were weaving back and forth through the hallway, laughing under their breath. “Shhh,” one of them said. “Stand up straight, you fuckin’ dunk,” the other said. Ash even thought he heard Jake ask, “Doya think we kin git the redhead to go to bed too? She’s pretty.”

     Ash refused to bang his head on the wall. It was tempting, though. He sighed and prayed, “Dear Lord, grant me strength. Or patience. Hell, I think I am going to need both in spades.”