“He was mine first. He’ll be mine again. You don’t hold a candle to me,” she ground out through clenched teeth. “You’re in my way and I want you gone.”
So much for taking the high road . . . “You are delusional.” I laughed at her and she tensed in like a bomb about to explode. “You’ve been used so many times you probably give out frequent rider miles.”
“Did you just use a ‘yo mama’ joke on me?” she yelled. Her face burned red and her fingertips sparked.
“Yep. Yep, I did.” I grinned. “And I have more where that came from. Ethan is not yours. Never has been and never will be. Look, I get that you’re horny, but you need to find someone who will appreciate your widely spread talents.”
“My talents made him come till he begged for mercy and I’ll have him begging again as soon as I get rid of you. You’re just a stupid weak half-breed and I always get what I want.”
Pushing the image of Lust and Ethan naked together aside was difficult, but since she was coming at me like a freight train, I had no choice. I tapped the angel wing tattoo on my chest, a gift from my Baby Demons, and prepared myself to either kick some ass or get mine handed to me.
Her anger made her sloppy. I stood completely still and let her advance. Right before she landed a mean right hook, I dropped low and took her out with my leg. The thud of her body hitting the wall and then the ground was music to my ears. Rolling over, I brought my elbow down on her face and took complete pleasure in the sound of bone crunching.
“Bitch,” she screeched and raised her arms to the sky. A strong stream of sparks flew from her hands, but as she stood she was unsteady on her feet. Blood poured from her nose and lip. “You’re going to pay for that.”
“You really don’t want another piece of me,” I panted and rolled my eyes. I stayed low in case she tried again. What I wouldn’t give for a sword or a throwing star.
“No, I don’t want any part of you, but I know some people who might.” She flung her arms in a circular motion and a shimmering door appeared. It was translucent and golden flames licked up the sides. There was no heat and I wasn’t sure if it was real or a mirage . . . Lust vanished and I had a bad feeling I was fucked. I backed myself against the wall and began to inch away. Why did I follow her out? Ethan was so damned right about green not being my color. It was an outstanding lesson, but would I live to tell? I didn’t for one second believe she was gone. With my back plastered against the wall I had slightly better odds of seeing where she might attack from next. Of course from behind was the last thing I expected, but I was in Hell—a place where all your night-fucking-mares can come true.
She flew out of the wall and shoved me through the door with such force my head snapped back and I saw stars.
“Say hello to your mommy for me,” she hissed as flames engulfed me. “It was good knowing you. I promise to take very, very good care of Ethan.”
Fucking. Awesome. The crazy slut was sending me to the Basement and I had a feeling no one would be happy to see me there. I killed their leader, my disgusting daddy, and I was certain that as happy as Satan was about that, the nut jobs in the Basement would not agree.
***
I thought the waiting area of Hell was creepy, but it had nothing on the Basement. The ride through the portal had been violent, smelly and hot. While the flames didn’t disfigure me, they practically destroyed my Prada halter. My boobs were being held up by threads. Great. Gonna flash my goodies at some evil Demons. Never thought I put those words together in a sentence. Ever.
Crude stone walls and uneven rock floors were illuminated by torches. The odor was putrid and exactly how I had thought Hell should smell. Where were the Demons? With great caution, because of my heels, the floor and the simple fact that any slight movement could expose my knockers, I made my way down a dank hallway. Go toward the sound . . . the horrific sound of wailing souls being burned till the end of time.
How was I going to get out of here? The portal had disappeared once it spit me out and I had no clue where another one might be. As I passed the torches the flames extinguished. Did the Demons know I was here? Were they going to pop out and yell surprise? Fuck.
Silence. An eerie silence stopped me in my tracks. What happened? Why weren’t the souls screaming? Did they get turned to ash? I was under the impression they had to burn for eternity. God, I wanted out of here, but that was clearly not in the plan thanks to Lust. Time to deal with the icky Demons and hopefully not have to kill a ton of them. I wasn’t sure how that would go over upstairs.