Lucien's Hell Bound Angel (Hell Bound Series) (28 page)

He felt himself slipping away and he hated that there was nothing he could to do to stay. He hated that he had to leave her alone and in Hell none the less.
Reaching up, he wiped the tears dry from her face, only to grimace in pain.

“Save your energy.” She pleaded, placing a hand on his chest around the blade implanted
there.

She knew he was dying, and it would only be a matter of time before he conked out. He was going to die in her arms none the less. There was just so much blood.
Staring down at him, she tried to keep the smile planted on her face, but her tears were also endless. There was no way to save him and she knew it.

If only she had his power—

He struggled to say something, but coughed up blood instead. Her heart drummed against her chest as he began to fade in and out of consciousness.

“Stay with me!” she begged clutching him tighter.

‘I—” he gagged as his own blood filled his mouth.

The coppery taste was unwelcoming.

“Please Lucien, don’t leave me alone.” She cried laying her face on his.

Peering out into the dark, she saw dozens of piercing eyes watching her. A few had been easing closer and she knew she was going to be in for the fight of her life. Demons were not friends to angels of any kind. Tossing that thought aside, she focused on Lucien. He was the only thing that mattered. She wasn’t going to leave him until he took his last breath.

“Love—” his words were cut short as pain wrecked through him and he lolled as tremors shot through his body.

Sucking in a few more breaths, he struggled to hold on as she kissed him again.

“I love you too.” She muttered in his ear as she clutched him tight and he took his last breath before falling limp in her arms.

Shivers jolted through her as she
held Lucien tight. She had failed him for the last time. Closing her eyes, she let despair eat at her. Hearing footsteps approach her, she manifested a gun and sat up before aiming it. She was shaking, but was damn sure ready to kill.

“Get away from me or so help me God, I will end you.” She threatened as tears ran down her face.

Holding his hands straight up, Dante stared down at his son’s mangled body. Trepidation shot through him as he drank in the scene. He watched his son plummet to the depths of Hell, only to witness the beautiful violet eyed angel in front of him catch him. It was something he never dreamt he’d see.

“I didn’t come to fight.” He
said clearly.

Looking a
round, she saw the eyes still glaring at her, but they were staying put. Turning her attention back to the huge menacing looking demon in front of her, she blew out an exasperated breath. She realized he was the one the angels referred to as ‘The King of Hell’. Lucifer had been locked away deep in the pit and Dante had been the one to assume command over everything while he was away. Behind him stood four other demons, who were obviously awaiting his command. If they thought they were going to capture her, they were wrong.

“Then just leave me alone.” She ordered as she kept the gun aimed at him.

“I only want what’s mine.” He offered, finally allowing his hands to drop to his sides.

Sneering
at him, she nearly fired the gun. If he had meant her, he had another thing coming.

A swift bullet between the eyes
would definitely teach the bastard a lesson. She damn sure wasn’t in the mood for another filthy demon to try and claim her.

“I’m nobody’s property.” She barked.

“I didn’t mean
you
.” He said looking down.

It
suddenly dawned on her that he meant Lucien. When Lucien had told her his past, he had mentioned a Dante, but she didn’t realize he meant
thee
Dante. Lucien had been imprisoned by Dante and he was the one who had him doing his dirty work.

“No. He’s already dead.” She replied shaking her head.

There was no way she was giving up Lucien’s body. Especially to thee bastard wo made him feel like a worthless assassin. Lucien had been much more than that.

“Samael is trapped in there, but not for long. I need to imprison him before he stirs.” His husky voice rumbled.

Athena knew what he had said was true, but she just wasn’t willing to part with the man she loved. Shaking her head again, she refused. Grumbling, Dante let out a strangled breath.

“Lucien sacrificed himself in order to save everything he was taught to destroy. Are you really going to let all of that go just because you can’t say goodbye?” Dante ground out.

“What do you care? How do I know you’re not going to just tear him to shreds and dispose of his body?!” she shouted.

Taking another hard breath, Dante answered truthfully.

“Because he is my son, and I think he deserves for me to show him a little more respect than that. I have never uttered those words to another soul for centuries in fear of my enemies trying to assassinate him, but now I have no one to protect. I failed him.”

Athena was taken aback by his words, but she could tell what he was saying was not a lie. Thinking for a moment, she lowered her gun.

“I told Lucien there was no way to save you or his brother from Death, yet here we are. He proved me wrong.” Dante replied
with a smile.

A part of him was proud of his son, while another part mourned him greatly.

Athena sat there, caressing Lucien and brushing the stray stands of hair out of his face. Kissing him once more, she meant it as a goodbye. Dante was baffled at her affection towards Lucien. He had never seen an angel care for his kind.

“Take him.” she whispered as her tears kicked into high gear once more.

Nodding, Dante waved his hand and the four demons walked forward. Kneeling, they all grabbed a limb and lifted him gently above their heads. She watched as they carried him away.

“I’ve come for you Athena.” They both heard a voice reply.

Spinning around, Dante sneered as Michael’s white light seared him. Picking a fight with the guy wasn’t on his mind, but boy was it tempting.

“Never thought I’d see you down here again.”
Dante barked sarcastically.

“I make it my business to stay away from scum.” Michael zapped.

“What do you want?” Dante snarled, already knowing the answer. 

“I think you already know. Are you going to try and stop me?” Michael inquired gearing up for battle.

“Not this time. She doesn’t belong down here.” Dante replied stepping to the side.

There was no way he was going to allow the woman his son died for to suffer in Hell. His son had already paid the price for her. She had already showed him that she earned it.

Turning his attention back to Athena, Michael walked over to her. 

“I—”

“Have done your job and have other business at home.” He insisted holding a hand out to her. “Unless living amongst blood thirsty demons is where you wish to stay.”

She c
ould tell he was teasing her, and that baffled her because she didn’t know he was capable of telling a joke.

“Take care of him.” she sniffled looking over at Dante and he nodded.

“Watch out for Lilith.” Michael warned Dante and he grimaced at the name.

Grabbing his hand,
Athena closed her eyes as a white light surrounded them before they disappeared.

Chapter Twenty Two

Into the Night

Athena checked the clip in her gun before sitting up. She heard a noise and had to go check it. Months had passed since she had lost Lucien, and since then her whole world had changed. She was no longer a Guardian, but that didn’t mean she was safe. Since the whole debacle with Samael, demons were after her. They wanted to use her to reopen the gates of Hell. So, she went into hiding because protecting herself had been the biggest priority of all.

Chance had picked up and left her behind yet again. This time, she couldn’t blame him. She was the sole reason he had had Fallen from Heaven, and he knew she would never love him the way he wanted
her to. He asked for it and promised her the world, but she refused. Her heart belonged to someone else, and always would. So, with a broken heart Chance kissed her on the forehead and rode off into the sunset with a broken heart. She supposed he had his own journey ahead, one full of healing.  

             
Fisting the silver gun, she slid out of her bed and tipped to the window. The non-plush rug beneath her toes was unwelcoming, but she didn’t have time to complain. Pulling the dark shade back, she saw nothing but pouring rain and darkness. She moved to what was th
e most secluded part of town and laid low. Living amongst humans had been very enlightening. It made her feel more human. She never truly felt like she belonged in Heaven and Michael had fought to keep her there to protect her, but she refused. After being lied to for so long, she needed to figure things out on her own.

             
Something crashed in the next room and that jolted her as she spun around. Someone was definitely in the motel room with her. There was no time to play a game of hide and seek, so she went to the bedroom door. It opened the moment she reached it and she fired. The room lit up as the guy fell to the floor. Black blood oozed from him as another male came running at her. Letting off another round, she got him in the chest and he went down. Stepping over their bodies, she made it to the doorway to see about ten more huge guys, all dressed in black waiting for her. 

             
One fired a gun her way, and she fell to the floor to dodge the bullets.

             
“Don’t, you idiot!” she heard a husky guy’s voice command. “Our order is to bring her back alive.”

             
Great, that was all she needed. What else could go wrong?!              

Crawling to the bathroom, she
stayed low as she heard the idiots inching closer in the next room.

“You can come out. We won’t hurt you.” The same voice called and she scoffed.

There was no way she was listening to him. He was obviously the leader of the pact.

“Says the guy with
the group full of people who invaded my place, and shot at me.” She barked back sarcastically.

“
In all fairness sweetheart, you shot at us first. You killed a couple of my guys.” He replied.

“Well excuse me for trying to protect myself!” she shouted as she jetted into the bathroom and slammed the door
behind her as they rushed the bedroom.

Locking the door, she hustled over
to the bathroom window and lifted it. The banging on the door was nerve wrecking to say the least. The hinges were nearly broken in, so that meant she had nearly a minute to escape. Turning around, she fired at the door until the clip was empty. That brought her a little more time. Dropping the gun, she climbed the vent in the tiny bathroom and crawled out of the window. Falling, she ended up in a muddy puddle as the rain poured over her. Scrambling up, she ran towards the car that she had waiting, but there were already two burly guys standing there. Stopping dead in her tracks, she slipped on the mud and nearly fell.

They ran
for her, and she spun around as they ran after her. The mud felt disgusting beneath her bare feet, but she didn’t slow. Lightning struck and thunder roared as she sprinted as fast as she could. She could hear their footsteps steadfast behind her and it mirrored the pounding of her heart as the men who were in her house burst out the front door and started for her as well. She was damn sure outnumbered and in the middle of nowhere.

Running towards the trees, she struggled up the hill.
Making it to the top, she stopped the moment she saw a huge shadow emerge from the thick of the trees. He stalked out in what seemed like slow motion as she stumbled backward. Slipping on the wet grass and mud, she fell flat on her ass and back before slamming into the ground hard. Her vision blurred for a moment, but she shook it off. There was no time to be immobile. Looking over, her heart stopped.

Lucien stalked toward
s her, drenched in rain and he was carrying an oversized sword. Their eyes locked as he pulled out a huge sword. Her nightmares of Samael escaping Hell to find her were finally coming true. She was certain he was the one sending the men after her.

“No. No!” she screamed trying to crawl back as his wings sprung free. They were a crimson red laced with a pitch black lining.

Standing over her, he smiled briefly before standing in front of her. The men all stopped in their tracks as they fired at him. Athena stayed frozen on the ground as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. The men fired at him and he swung the huge sword effortlessly to deflect every bullet. The sparks flew as the bullets slammed into the steel blade. A few of them ran at him and he carved them all up, sending blood splattering in every direction. But the more he killed, the more they came. Some ran for Athena, but he caught them before they even got the chance to reach her.