Fashionably Hotter Than Hell: Book Six, The Hot Damned Series (29 page)

“Damn you, Heathcliff,” Raquel shouted from a far away place. “You can’t die on me. You promised you wouldn’t die. I’m a Master fucking Vampyre. I don’t need your macho caveman bullshit tendencies. I need you… I need you to live,” she sobbed hysterically.

She shook me, but it felt like someone else’s body was moving. A reddish haze covered everything in my vision and with sickening clarity, I realized I hadn’t killed Vlad. Raquel was above me crying like the world was ending. Tears fell from her eyes and onto my face.

I had to tell her to run. Vlad was still here. He wanted to hurt her.

Where the fuck was Jean Paul? Words refused pass my lips as my joints sizzled agonizingly with the silver from the stake streaming through my blood.

“You will not die. You will not die,” she ground out as she bit down on her wrist and pressed it to my mouth.

Her blood poured over my chin along with my own that refused to stay within the confines of my body. She was so very beautiful, even in her distress. Her shouts grew softer even though her beautiful lips continued to move frantically. Slowly she began to fade away.

I was drowning in my own blood. I couldn’t thrash or even explain. The stillness of my body was not a comfort. It was a failure. The fire raging inside me was a combination of the silver winding its way through my system and fury. Fury at not having ended the life of the man that wanted to kill the most important person in the world to me.

I knew it was too late. I knew there was no way to reverse the effects of the silver, not to mention I was fairly sure the fucking stake went through my heart. The heart that was breaking slowly as I watched my mate come apart as she mumbled garbled words at me and pressed her soft lips to my face. The world was so fucking unfair…

Her scent was faint, but it was there. I needed to remember. I wanted to take it with me. I needed…

I loved her with my heart, my soul and now my life… but it was good.

She was good.

She would live.

I could close my eyes.

I’d saved her.

And then my beautiful world that held Raquel as the center of the universe faded to black.

Chapter 24

“Well this is some fucked up shit,” a hushed female voice said.

“Be quiet,” another snapped in frustration.

The pacing around the area was rampant and the whispering nonstop. Tension filled the air and the staccato tapping of heels on hard wood produced the rhythm of a disjointed tap dance. The rustling of papers and far off sounds of splashing water slightly muted the drumming of the feet on the floor.

“This was an enormous mistake,” the loudest of the men informed the crowd. “It’s against the laws of nature and we’re not even sure who in the Hell is even in there now.”

“I don’t care,” a woman said flatly. “I’ll know.”

“Was this selfish?” a different female asked quietly.

The woman with the flat voice replied coldly. “In the same situation you would have done exactly as I have done.
Do not
judge me until you’ve stood in my shoes.”

The silence was long and then the movement recommenced.

“It’s been a week, child. There are only hours left. If you haven’t said your goodbyes… the time has come,” a kindly male baritone said trying to comfort the flat voiced woman.

“If anyone so much as utters a goodbye, I will end you. If you have no faith then I’d suggest you leave,” she hissed.

The raw pain in the woman’s tone was heartbreaking. Her belief in a miracle was undeterred even though she seemed alone in her convictions. A soft murmuring of words jumbled together assuring the poor woman that they would stand by her floated in the air like muffled music in a somber key.

“I know you people don’t want to hear anything more from my fucking trap, but there were stipulations to this deal,” the woman who’d spoken first revealed.

“What are they?” the woman with the flat voice asked tonelessly. “Actually I don’t care. He is owed a favor and I called it in. What’s done is done.”

“Well… because it wasn’t technically you he owed the favor to, he tagged on some motherfucking extras,” the foul mouthed one replied.

“What in the Hell else on a shit stick did that pompity ass-jacking buttknocker want?” a higher angry female voice demanded.

“That we swear on our lives this never happened and that if something goes awry we are to destroy… ”

“Stop,” the woman with the flat voice snarled. “I won’t hear this.”

“You have to,” the loud man insisted. “Are you willing to end him if he’s not who we want him to be—who we knew?”

“Again,” she ground out. “I won’t hear this.”

“Fine. Did they find the other bastard yet?” the loud male asked tightly.

“No, but there isn’t a corner of this earth where he’ll be safe. The entire army of our race and that of the Angels are searching,” came a terse reply.

“When they find him, he’s mine,” the woman in pain growled. “The Holy Ones have promised to mute his power and have given me permission to destroy him… slowly.”

“As is your right, my child,” the gentle voice of the kind male told her.

“I want everyone… to leave,” the broken woman said haltingly. “I want to be alone.”

“Is that safe?” came a new voice. “We don’t know… ”

“I
know
,” she whispered in reply. “I will always be safe in this place. Go. Please.”

The hesitant pattering of feet leaving faded away slowly. Whatever the woman was waiting for she clearly wanted to wait alone.

“Are you sure?” a solitary and grief-filled voice asked.

“Yes. I’m sure.”

The quiet was nice and I hoped the woman would be okay. She was so broken and so sad. I wished to comfort her, but I wasn’t really here. My physical and spiritual self was balanced somewhere in limbo. It was tiring, but it simply was what it was. Helping was out of the question as I was set to leave to go somewhere. I didn’t know where, but I knew the time had come for me to depart this plane.

A cool hand touched my face and drops of warm water caressed my lips and chin. The flat voice of the woman wasn’t as lifeless now that she was by herself.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I’ve prayed constantly that what I’ve done hasn’t caused you pain… but I simply couldn’t let you go. I spent over two hundred years running from you because that’s what I thought was best for you. But I was wrong and stupid. The Angel owed you and I made him pay. What he did was unnatural and he didn’t want to do it, but Pam kept hissing like a snake and eventually he caved.”

The sound of soft sobbing pulled at my heart and again I wanted to comfort this sad woman, but again… I wasn’t really here.

“That’s why I did what I did. Maybe it
was
selfish, but I found a loophole and I took it. You hadn’t turned to ash yet. I begged on my knees and I’d do it again. The Angel told me there was a fifty percent chance it wouldn’t work—that you would permanently die anyway, but I didn’t care. If there was even a one percent chance of you coming back to me, I would have taken it. It’s okay if you need to go—I’ll let you go,” she said in a choked voice. “But I’ll follow you. This life means nothing to me without you in it. Nothing. I love you, Heathcliff. I will always love you and I’ll be with you soon.”

I heard the swish of what sounded like a wall opening and the clanking of metal. The presence of the woman drew near again and I caught a faint whiff of her scent. It was familiar and made me want to stay even though I knew it was time to go. Maybe I could delay a little while longer. She was kind and strong and smelled so damned good. This Heathcliff was a very lucky man to have her love and devotion.

I’d stayed for such a long time even though there were others that pulled for me. For some unknown reason I was still here. Maybe it was the woman.

The feather light touch of lips on mine soothed me and the thought of leaving was less appealing. Suddenly I longed to kiss the lips that pressed against mine, but I was trapped in a place that held me tight.

“I’ll wait for you to turn to ash and then I’ll take my own life with this sword. It’s a beautiful sword. You would like it. It’s not frilly or girly. It’s a piece I wanted to give you as a gift. I had it made for you over a hundred years ago knowing I’d never give it to you… and sadly I was correct.”

She was quiet for a few moments and then I was aware of a slim hand holding tightly to mine.

“It’s only fitting that I use this sword to kill myself. It feels full circle,” she explained with conviction.

It was lovely that she wanted to die for me. I wondered what I had done to inspire such loyalty.

Wait. What the fuck? She was going to kill herself?

Was I dead? I didn’t feel dead. I mean I couldn’t move or talk or see… but I could hear her. I could smell her. She was mine.

I couldn’t remember her fucking name, but her face was clear and beautiful behind my closed lids—her red hair, her full lips, her soft skin.

Goddamn it, was I dead or not?

“I heard that shit,” a different female voice huffed as I heard her march back into the room. The voice sounded vaguely like one I should know. “He would be furious if you offed your ass after he died saving your sorry butt.”

“I said I wanted to be alone,” the one who was mine snapped.

“And I want world peace and stiletto heels that don’t crunch my fucking toes and give me blisters.”

“Oh my God, Astrid,” the one whose scent kept me here groused. “If he’s gone, I have nothing. Nothing. I will follow him till the end of time. And there is no such thing as stilettos that don’t crunch toes.”

“I call bullshit on all of that except the crunched toe part. First of all, Heathcliff’s not gone yet. If you pull a fucking Romeo and Juliet thing and whack yourself right before he wakes up, I will be so fucking pissed I will find you in the afterlife and beat your ass,” Astrid vowed.

“There are only minutes left,” my girl said harshly. “Just leave.”

“Have you tried smacking him in the head or giving him titty twisters?” she suggested.

“Ummm… no.”

“He hates titty twisters. All guys do. Watch and learn,” Astrid said with frightening determination in her voice.

This Astrid was all kinds of crazy and I hoped she wasn’t referring to me in reference to the
titty twister
. Unfortunately she
was
referring to me and she twisted with gusto.

I wanted to shove her away. I ached to make sure the one who was mine didn’t hurt herself. I needed… Son of a bitch. I needed to kill Vlad.

I needed to make love to Raquel—my mate.

And I really needed to throw my titty twisting cousin across the room.

Now.

“Off,” I choked out in a voice that seemed to belong to someone else. “Off of me. Now.”

“Holy shitballs on fire, I can’t believe that worked,” Astrid squealed.

I pried open my eyes and was greeted with the gaping open-mouthed stare of my cousin.

“Mother humpin cowballs,” she yelled. “Your eyes are silver.”

“And my nipples are on fire,” I shot back weakly. “Where is she? Did she harm herself?” I demanded as I tried and failed to sit up.

“Do you know who I am?” Astrid demanded. “Do you know who you are?”

I closed my eyes and let my heavy head fall back on what I assumed to be a bed. “I am Heathcliff. You are my certifiable cousin, Astrid. My mate Raquel is somewhere in this room and if she doesn’t come to me right now, I’ll explode.”

“I’m here,” Raquel cried out as she wrapped her arms around me and planted little kisses all over my face and neck. Her tears fell freely and she gently ran her hands over my still sluggish form. “Are you really back?” she whispered biting back her sobs.

“I’m here. I’ve been here, but I didn’t know I was me,” I told her as I tried to remember what had happened. “You made a deal with Roberto?”

“I called in your favor. He brought you back,” she said and waited for my reaction.

“I was dead?”

She nodded and chewed nervously at her bottom lip.

“How in the Hell did he do that?” I asked, shocked. I knew Angels had enormous power, but bringing back the dead… or undead as it were.

“If you’d been human, he couldn’t have done it,” Pam volunteered as she and the King rushed back into the room.

Ethan and Jean Paul followed close behind and everyone stared at me with wonder.

“It’s him?” Ethan asked cautiously.

“
Him
has a name, asshole,” I said with a fatigued grin.

“Oh good. It is him,” Ethan confirmed as a huge relieved smile stretched across his lips.

“I titty twisted him,” Astrid volunteered with a wicked glint in her eyes.