True Intentions (29 page)

Sam doesn't reply.

Vlad and William look at each other once again and smile sadistically.

"I see . . . . You're going to be like that, are you? Well, well . . . . We'll see how silent you are when you get in front of Lucifer. He'll get you talking for sure." William says. Vlad mirrors his friend laughter.

Sam shifts his weight, assessing how much he can maneuver while his hands are cuffed.

He frowns in frustration.

Not much . . . .

Sam would have never believed in a million years he'd be captured and lie at the mercy of the young man he couldn't tempt two hundred years earlier. He must have been right about William's evil side after all, or he wouldn't be a soldier of Lucifer today. Ironic, the one
who got away
was now
his
captor.

Looking around the floor, Sam notices a woman's thong underwear under the front passenger seat. It doesn't make much sense. He knows William has to be younger than he. William is too new for Lucifer to allow him to be intimate with humans. That brings up another question. Why would William be the guy chosen to approach Ava?

Maybe the underwear comes from William's
test
intimacy encounter. Lucifer would make sure William was ready to be intimate with Ava without forming an emotional connection.

Something wasn't right.

Why in the world would Lucifer choose William to begin with?

There are plenty of males Sam's age who have been around for thousands of years. Lucifer would want someone with experience to go after Ava's virginity.

So why choose William?

The most logical answer requires Lucifer to have awareness of the connection between Sam and William many years ago. Maybe the correspondent Sam told about the encounter remembered the connection. Is that possible?

It doesn't matter at this point. William was chosen to destroy Ava.

Seeing the woman's undergarment consequently triggers Sam to think about Ava and William being physically intimate. Has she kissed him, or
worse
?

"Do you remember me?" William asks.

Sam considers staying silent and not giving William the pleasure. But after thinking about Ava being intimate with him, he's dying to get some answers.

"Yes, I remember you well."

"I wondered when I would get to see you again. When I would have the chance to confront you." William says with confidence.

"Well, now is as good of a time as ever."

William laughs. He had wondered why a dark angel would put himself in danger for a
Mahatma.
Now that he knows Ava, he can understand Sam's fascination and why he sealed his fate. He also knows Sam is his competition. Having Sam around only complicates matters.

Would Ava choose her ex-boyfriend over him now that she knows Sam didn't betray her? Even though it wasn't part of his original plan, it makes the most sense to get Sam out of the picture once and for all. William is not about to take any chances.

What if Ava chooses Sam over him? The thought of no longer being part of her life is unbearable. He knows he is ultimately better for her—he can keep her safe and give her the love she deserves.

It's early morning, and William still has to drive ten hours to meet the other dark angels who will transport Sam to New York to face Lucifer. William is relieved he won't have to witness the conversation Lucifer will have with Sam before he destroys him.

Plus, he has to get back to Ava. Lucifer has no idea William became friends with Theo and Vlad. Theo was the angel Lucifer picked to seduce Ava, but William convinced Theo to "let him do it" as revenge against Sam. As far as Theo was concerned, William blamed Sam for making him sin and forcing him into this life of pure hell for eternity. Theo and Vladimir are clueless William isn't a dark angel like them. Even now, he must still keep this charade going. They can't find out William is an angel of God. He couldn't care less about Sam. His focus is getting back to Ava and moving her to safety before the others discover he isn't one of them.

"It was you that got me thinking after I couldn't assassinate that guy," William lies, making eye contact with Sam. "Maybe I couldn't commit murder, but I knew I could at least con people out of their money. So that's what I became—a swindler. I went around pretending to be an assassin, scamming people. But one day it caught up with me, and I was the one getting contracted to be assassinated. I had a choice to make, and this was obviously my decision."

William's life had changed after meeting Sam, but it changed for the better. He realized he couldn't live the life of a criminal.

"If I had never met you, I wouldn't have ended up stuck in this hellhole for eternity," William says, continuing the lie.

Sam rolls his eyes.

"I see. So your ending up in hell is my fault? Maybe if you would accept responsibility for yourself, rather than blame others for your decisions, you wouldn't be in this hellhole. Is that why you went after Ava, to get
back
at me?"

"Maybe that was just an added bonus. I was just doing my job. The duty Lucifer needed to have done. It had nothing to do with you."

"Why would Lucifer send you after her? He could have chosen anyone with more experience with humans. Why choose you?" Sam asks, not hiding his disapproval.

"Why don't you ask him while you're being destroyed?"

Vladimir chuckles loudly. He enjoys witnessing this verbal confrontation.

"Oh, William . . . you're more naïve than I thought. I will place my bet on the theory you will end up destroyed by Lucifer before I am." Sam says. He has no intention of making it to NY. The visual of William facing Lucifer brings a smile to his face. After all, if William fails in his mission to destroy Ava and obtain her soul, Lucifer will show no mercy.

Failure is not an option when dealing with the devil.

William narrows his eyes.

Sam wonders if he has struck a chord. By the irritated look on William's face, he may have already had a partial failure with his interactions of Ava, or he would be bragging about his conquest.

One can hope . . . .

* * * * *

Another hour into their journey and Sam is losing his patience. He's growing tired of deliberating about how to get out of this mess.

He decides to try one of the ideas that had entered his thoughts more than once on this road trip.

"I need to use the restroom. You need to pull over at the next rest stop," he says without giving further explanation.

"Screw you." Vladimir mutters. His eyes don't leave the road.

Sam maintains a perfect poker face as he replies. "Fine. I don't care. I'll just piss all over your car. See how that comes out of the carpet."

William looks at the authenticity of Sam's expression and immediately gives Vladimir instructions. "Pull over next stop. I'll be ticked if this douche bag pisses all over my HUMMER."

Sam turns his head, so he is staring at the back of the vehicle. At least that way they won't see the smile wash over his face.

Chapter Thirty-Nine - Resurrection

I lie in bed unable to establish enough motivation to remove myself from the warmth I feel under the covers. It's Sunday morning, and I'm guilt ridden for telling my mother to go to church without me.

I'm pretty sure she could tell something's up. I couldn't hide my emotional wounds last night when William dropped me. She saw the tears in my eyes. When she asked what was wrong, I insisted it was nothing.

She didn't pry with any more questions, and, in turn, I didn't offer any insight on what was happening.

How could I possibly explain what is going on in my life? It's not like I can tell her Satan is hunting me down to take my soul. Or that Aiden died because he had a special gift.

I have a terrible headache. Probably from all the crying I've done in the last twelve hours. I'm torn to pieces. Not only have I pushed Sam away and hated him without knowing the truth, but now there is a good chance he's dead because of me . . . .

I was led to believe he betrayed me by my best friend since childhood. She is the one I should hate.

Why hadn't he told me the truth?

The more I contemplate that question, the more I realize the answer. I would have most likely never believed him.

I made up my mind after reading her letter and seeing that picture. There was nothing Sam could have said that would have changed my mind.

My eyes are still red and swollen from the constant crying. Over and over my conscious mind echoes,
he is dead because of me.

I faintly hear my cell phone beep. My intuition tells me to ignore it and stay put.

But guilt overcomes my desire to sleep.

What if it is my mom and she's hurt?

Could I live with myself after ignoring her calls for help?

I remove my covers, exposing my half naked body. The only clothing I slept in was my underwear. I hadn't even mustered the energy to brush my teeth before plunging into bed last night.

I walk over to my dresser and pull the annoying cell phone out of my pants. Four missed calls. I glance back at my alarm clock in dismay. It's only 9:00 a.m. Who in the world would have called me that many times so early in the morning? I don't recognize the number on my phone. It is an unknown number to my contact list. I hesitate, unsure of what to do next.

After a moment of deliberation I decide to call the number back and see who has been calling persistently all morning.

The phone rings once, and then a woman's voice answers. "Sam?"

"No." I say dryly, wondering why some girl would call my phone looking for Sam.

"Ava?"

"Yeah?"

"Ava, we have a situation. It is about Sam."

"Sam?" I'm confused.

"Ava, listen to me. I am going to come over and take you into hiding. Stay right there and I will be on my way."

"What? Who is this? Take me where? Why?"

"Ava, it's Kate. We need to hurry. You're in real danger. Your friend William isn't who you think he is. He's a dark angel. Sam went to his fraternity to destroy him last night. But this morning, when we were supposed to meet, he didn't show. Something horrible must have happened."

I can hear the anxiety in her distraught voice.

"Are you sure Sam went there?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Sam has either be captured or killed. Whoever is involved could be taking him to Satan as we speak. I need to get you to safety."

"Destroy William? He went to destroy William?" I repeat out loud, still unable to believe Sam may still be alive.

Before she has a second to respond, I beg for more answers.

"When? What time did he go to the frat house?"

"I'm not sure. Sometime yesterday in the afternoon or evening. We met earlier in the day and he acted like he would go there once it was dark and take care of William before he could destroy you."

I start to become fairly apprehensive while talking to her. Not only because I'm worried Sam may be dead or captured, but there's another part of me is concerned over William's safety. Sam wouldn't have known William is an angel of God.

"Stay right there, I'm coming over." Kate insists, hanging up the phone before I can respond.

Little does she know, I have no intention of staying put. I'm going to the frat house to undertake a huge challenge—saving both the angels in my life.

* * * * *

I'm not certain where the frat house is located on the UCLA campus, but I have an idea. I at least know the name of William's fraternity, and I know the limited area where the sororities and fraternities are located.

Luckily, it's daytime, which will help. The closer I get to campus, the more my anxiety starts to set in. I have been listening to the radio the entire drive, trying to keep my mind off what I might walk into. Even if I make it in time, how can I stop them from hurting each other?

It would be physically impossible . . . .

My only chance is to reason with them, to convince them of other alternatives. Of course, I don't know of many other alternatives. I am stuck. Sam was trying to kill William because he wanted to protect me. William was sent here to protect me by God, but probably wouldn't hesitate to destroy Sam if put in that position. Plus there is another significant factor—both of them are in love with me. And there's only one of me and two of them. I can't be with both. Someone is bound to get hurt.

William's fraternity is on the left side of the road. I slow down and stare carefully at the sign. I'm certain this has to be the right one. There's a part of me that wants to turn around and run away as fast as I possibly can.

I bite my lip and remember—
I think I can
. I taste blood in my mouth I pull into the yard not bothering about a stupid parking spot. I run toward the fraternity, praying to find them still alive.

I throw open the front door, and I don't care if anyone says anything about it.

There's no calming myself down at this point. I gasp for air from all the running. I stand at the doorway, not knowing where to even begin my search. There are frat guys everywhere. Some are watching TV and playing cards. There's one boy sitting on the stairs using his laptop. I rush past all of them, not stopping to talk to anybody. I run straight for the staircase, leaping over the boy on his computer. I hear a few whistles and some cat calls, but I don't care. I'm on a mission.

I stumble down the hall, trying to get a glimpse of all the names on the doors.

When I see a bedroom door left open, I look inside for any sign of Sam or William.

Nothing . . . .

Finally, when I'm at the point of despair and want to give up, I make out William's name on one of the last doors. I don't bother knocking. I force it open with my shoulder. The room is deserted. Items throughout the room are in disarray. Even one of the bedroom walls has a large hole.

My body tenses as I hear a voice calling me from down the hall. I peek out the doorway, not recognizing the voice. There stands William's friend Theo in the deserted hallway.

"Hi Ava, what's going on?" he asks.

"Where's William?" I demand, glaring at him suspiciously.