To Hell and Back (Mel Goes to Hell Series Book 4) (22 page)
Read To Hell and Back (Mel Goes to Hell Series Book 4) Online
Authors: Demelza Carlton
To Hell and Back
is the fourth book in the Mel Goes to Hell series. After this comes
The Holiday From Hell
.
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And if you'd like another taste of Hell…read on for TWO bonus chapters from
The Holiday From Hell
, the next book in the Mel Goes to Hell series.
Tears streamed freely down Keiko's face. "It was an honour to have met you, Mere-san. I only wish you could have stayed longer."
Mel caught Koyane's fleeting smile and tried not to laugh at the siren's disappointment. She leaned close to the girl and hugged her. "If you want something from the Indian Ocean, you must first offer their leader, Sirena, a favour that creates a deep debt. Send your brother to provide a service that no one else can."
The girl's eyes shone, unshed tears shimmering over her resurrected smile. "Thank you, Mere-san."
"You already have my gratitude, Murielle-sama, and my deepest apologies for taking your precious time when you are needed elsewhere." Koyane lowered his eyes and bowed deeply again. Mel could feel his shame at the need to call for help.
She touched his cheek, not breaking the contact as he straightened to face her. "I help where it is needed. There is no shame in it. None of us are perfect. Thank you for your care and hospitality. I hope we may meet for longer next time." It was her turn to bow, though just a shallow bob of her head.
"Be well, take care and travel safe, Mere-san," Koyane replied. He hesitated, then added, "Please convey my well-wishes to your fallen angel and my hopes that next time you grace my house, you will allow me to extend my hospitality to him, too."
"Thank you, Koyane. It was a pleasure to work with you again.
Go-kuro sama desu.
Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu
." (Thank you for a job well done. I am sorry to leave you with work still to do.)
"
Osaki ni shiturei itashimasu.
" (Thank you for all your hard work.)
The formal farewells said, Mel headed through the departure gate. Security, ticket and passport checks progressed quickly and she soon found herself outside the duty free shops in the departure lounge.
"Miss?" Mel glanced up to meet the eyes of the uniformed airport hostess. "Your lounge is this way." The girl gestured at a set of doors to Mel's left.
Mel thanked her and slipped into the shop that sold her perfume. If Luce was using it to scent the bed linen in her home, she'd need another bottle or perhaps two. Not to mention a bottle of some lovely Japanese whiskey to share with Luce.
Fifteen minutes later, the sealed duty free bag clutched in her hand, Mel sank into one of the business lounge armchairs. A waitress brought her a pot of green tea and Mel settled down to enjoy the last hour before her flight home to Luce.
Time flew and Mel roused at the sound of her boarding call. Time to go home.
The steward who took her ticket ushered her to a first class seat and Mel smothered her laughter. Patrick, Luce and now Koyane were conspiring to give her unaccustomed luxury, but they were correct that her body required such pampering right now. In her present state of health, she needed to sleep on this flight.
She glanced at the dinner menu as the plane left the runway, smiling as she noticed the oysters Luce would have ordered if he was by her side, as he should be. Soon.
Mel managed to finish the little entrée tart and most of her lobster main course, but she waved away the offer of dessert. All she wanted was a cup of milk and sleep, she thought as she watched the steward make up her bed. She mumbled something about being woken for breakfast in time to eat before the plane landed and the steward seemed to understand. More exhausted than she could ever remember being before, she crept into her bed and slept, promising herself that the next time she closed her eyes, she'd be in Luce's arms.
Mel waved to the taxi driver as she headed into the HELL Corporation building. She'd timed her arrival perfectly between the lunchtime crush and the mid-afternoon coffee crowd, so she slipped into the near-empty office without anyone noticing until she passed Mephi's desk.
Mephi's relieved smile set her on edge. "Thank Heaven you're back. It's been Hell here without you," Luce's PA breathed.
Glancing at Luce's empty office, Mel asked, "Where is he?"
"Giving a presentation to all staff in the seminar room. I only got out of it because someone had to take his calls. When did you get back?" She eyed Mel's suitcase. "Did you come here straight from the airport?"
Mel laughed. "Yes. I figured I was needed here."
Mephi dropped her voice to a barely audible whisper. "Go home. Take a shower and a rest, and unpack. The trouble here can wait. I'll tell him you'll be in tomorrow. You don't need to deal with Lord Prick today. He's been nothing short of impossible since he got back. Don't wear a skirt to work tomorrow – I've never seen a man more frustrated, in more ways than one. And when he's the Lord of Hell…well, he's the devil of a man who always gets his desires. Don't make it easy for him."
It hurt to hear Luce described in such unflattering terms, but Mephi didn't know Luce like Mel did. "I'm sure I can handle him."
"That's what he wants. And I think he'd sell his soul to handle you, so watch out," Mephi said darkly.
Mel bobbed her head as she had to Koyane in the airport. "Thank you for the warning. I'd best be going, then."
Once out of the executive offices, she knew exactly where to go – Mephi's warning be damned. She hadn't come home to wait another day to see him.
Mel approached the closed seminar room doors. She could hear Luce's voice booming as he reprimanded someone. Her thoughts darted to her first media conference here. She didn't want to fall to her knees, speechless, on the stairs again. Focussing on her breathing, Mel decided to wait a few minutes until she was perfectly calm.
She heard the doors open and close. Footsteps padded on the carpet.
"Don't go in. Get out before he sees you. Go back to Heaven, or at least as far away from him as you can, so he can't find you, Mel. Please," Merih said, looking pained. "He doesn't deserve you and he has no right to keep you prisoner again. Escape while you can. I'll tell him I never saw you."
Mel managed a smile of sympathy for his pain. "I'm no one's prisoner, and Luce has no hold over me. Has he really been that bad?"
Merih nodded, biting his lip. "Since he got back from his last business trip. I've never seen him this angry – not in centuries. You should go."
"I'll go in. I need to know how bad this is," Mel said, pressing her hand to the door.
"If he does anything to hurt you, I swear we'll stage a mutiny," Merih muttered.
Mel pushed the door open and stepped into the seminar room. From the look of it, a mutiny was already underway.
The tale continues in
The Holiday From Hell
which you can get
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.
She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.
Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.
The Ocean's Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by her suspense thriller Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn't leave her alone.
Want to know more? You can follow Demelza on
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