Redemption (The Keepers of Hell Book 3)

Redemption

Danielle James

©copyright 2015, Danielle James

Redemption is a work of fiction. All of the characters, places, and events are fictional, and any resemblance to any real person, place, or event is coincidental and unintentional.

Published by Danielle James

Cover art by Cynthia Lucas Fantasy Covers

Cover Model Grigoris Drakakis

Cover photo taken by Tasos Wraiopoulos

A special thank you…

As always, I want to thank my wonderful editor, Lisa Miller, for always being available to hear ideas or to brainstorm with me. You cross all my T’s and dot my I’s like no other. You are priceless and I couldn’t do it without you.

I want to thank my betas for reading and being so very opinionated. You girls are the best.

I would also like to thank Greg, who puts up with my endless hours at the computer and listens to me talk about my characters as if they were as real to him as they are to me. You have always supported my brand of crazy and I love you for it.

~Danie

Redemption

Then…

     Jake knew he was dead. First there was the fire at the church and then the entire building collapsed. Second, the fact that his body was being hurtled down a freaking tunnel that never seemed to end was a great big, flashing, neon light. He was dead and there was no going back. He was drifting away from his former life and into the afterlife and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

     And then, there was a light at the end, just like so many people claimed to have seen. Jake felt himself smile and allowed the tunnel to take him to it. The faster he traveled, the better he felt. Until he actually started getting closer to the end. He could see where the light came from, and it wasn’t Heaven. Not unless Heaven’s gates were made of fire.

     He was going to Hell. All the things he had done in his life were finally coming back to haunt him, and it would be for all eternity.  Fighting for money to feed his gambling addiction had cost him so much more than that happy marriage he originally thought. It had cost him his soul.

     As he approached the flames he tried to fight it. He tried to turn around and run back to his life, where he could make changes. He tried, but it was no use. Hell had a proper hold on him and that was where he was going, whether he wanted to or not.

     As he hurtled through the end of the tunnel, Jake landed on his ass on a hot, concrete floor. He took in his surroundings, only to find that it wasn’t really a floor, but a cave. And there was a huge ass wall of fire in front of him. He crab walked backward away from the flames until his back hit a wall. Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe he could run. He got to his feet to do just that when he heard it.

     “I hear that’s one hell of a ride,” a man said.

     Jake turned to see the man who spoke to him. He was tall, with short black hair and deep blue eyes. On his back was a huge pair of black wings that twitched as the man studied Jake.

     Jake’s heart stopped in his chest before thundering back to life. Wait, wasn’t he dead? Didn’t the heart stop in the afterlife?

     “Yes you are dead,” the winged man said. “Your heart still beats with your soul. You have a choice to make and I suggest you consider all your options first.”

     “What choice?” Jake asked.

     “You can go on about your destiny, go to Heaven or Hell, I am not privy to which, or you can work for me,” the man said.

     “I don’t think making a deal with a demon is a good way to save my soul,” Jake told him.

     The man rolled his eyes. “I am not a freaking demon,” he growled. “I am an angel. A-N-G-E-L. See the wings? Demons don’t have wings like this.”

     “Oh,” Jake said. What the fuck else was he supposed to say? “What do you want from me?”

     “I need an Elite Guard to help me protect things, up there and down here," the angel said.

     “And if I don’t?” Jake asked.

     The angel shrugged. “I guess you go wherever you’re supposed to go.”

     Jake thought of all the things he had done in his life. He was surely going to Hell, one way or the other. The question was, would it be as an employee, or as a resident? It really was a no brainer. This may be his only chance at redemption.

     “I don’t really think I have a choice,” Jake answered.

     “There is always a choice,” the angel replied.

     Jake considered his options again. No, there really wasn’t a choice. “At your service,” he finally said, sticking his hand out for a shake.

     The angel took his hand and pumped it twice before letting go. “Name’s Ash. Welcome to Hell.”

Now…

     What the hell did I just agree to?
Jake wondered as he followed the man. Or should he call him by his name? Or should he call him Sir? The way the angel was walking away, Jake wasn’t going to get the chance to call him anything if he didn’t move his ass. “What exactly should I call you?” he asked as he ran to catch up.

     “Ash will be fine,” he answered.

     Jake started to ask what his new job would entail, but that was just about the time they approached the wall of fire. “Um,” Jake said, warily eyeing the fire.

     “It’s just for show,” Ash told him and then walked right through it. Just walked right into a huge wall of fire like he was walking through a doorway, like it couldn’t burn him even if it wanted to.

     Maybe it was just an illusion, he thought. Maybe if he looked at it from another angle he would see that it was just a trick. Jake turned his head and squinted sideways at the fire. Nope. Still looked like fire to him, and he was an expert on fire.

     “You coming or not?” Ash asked from somewhere Jake couldn’t see.

     “Well, here goes nothing,” he muttered as he forced himself to step forward. Sweat broke out all over his body as the heat from the flames wrapped around him. He reminded himself that it was either this or spend all of eternity paying for his sins. Jake forced his feet to move forward. Who the hell filled his shoes with concrete? They felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each. When he could go no further without touching the flames, he hesitated once again. Maybe he wouldn’t burn for all the shit he did. Maybe if he said he was sorry, he could still go to Heaven.

     Oh, who was he kidding? No amount of apologizing had convinced his ex-wife to forgive him, and it sure as shit wasn’t going to work now. He had spent his whole adult life fighting fire and had jumped into flames so many times he couldn’t count them. He had run headlong into burning buildings. He supposed on some level he had always known he would burn, and he was preparing himself. He could do this. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and stepped into the flames.

     Surprisingly, the flames did not harm him. Jake felt a small smile tug at his lips and he took three more long strides until he was on the other side of the flames. Ash was waiting for him with an expectant look.

     “Glad you could make it,” he said sarcastically.

     “Well, it isn’t every day you’re asked to walk through fire,” Jake told him.

     “Isn’t it?” Ash asked. “For you, one would think it would be a piece of cake.”

     “So not the same thing, man,” Jake told him. “Fighting fires in life is much different than walking through the fires of Hell.”

     “Point taken,” Ash conceded.

     “What is this?” Jakes asked, pointing to a set of metal doors.

     Ash cocked his head slightly to the side and raised a brow at him. “It’s an elevator,” he said slowly.

     Jake snorted. “I can see that,” he said. “There is an elevator in Hell?”

     “I was pretty impressed my first time here too,” Ash told him as the doors opened. “Come on, we have a lot to do.”

     Jake followed the angel into the elevator and watched as the doors closed on one part of his life as he was being taken to whatever was next.

CHAPTER ONE

     Jake didn’t know what he expected when the elevator doors slide open, but it wasn’t what was on the other side. Brimstone and flames? Sure. Screaming and agony? Why not. A carpeted hallway that was lined with wooden office type doors? Not a chance. But that was exactly what he saw. The carpet was a soft gray and in pristine condition. It crushed easily under his feet and cushioned his every step. The doors were each polished to a high shine, and even the brass door knobs were gleaming. It was clean. Official. It looked like a freaking office building. Definitely not what one would expect the inner workings of Hell to look like.

     Ash stepped out of the elevator and Jake rushed to follow the man. He briskly walked down the hallway and then stopped at a heavy set of double doors. There were designs carved into the thick wood and there was no handle. Jake watched as Ash laid his palm on a screen and then the doors clicked open. He pushed through them and Jake followed. High tech Hell. Who would have thought?

     The inside was just as professional looking as the outside.  A massive mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room and it had a huge leather chair behind it. It had all the things a desk should have on it. A computer, papers, pens, and even a few personal items. There was a photo of a woman in a wedding dress with her groom. The groom wasn’t Ash though. Jake wondered if the devil had a family, or if the photo was there just for show.

     There was a chair in front of the desk and there was another in the corner of the room. A small side table had a huge bouquet of flowers sitting on it. Flowers! In Hell!

     “Have a seat,” Ash told him, and Jake settled himself into the chair in front of the desk while Ash dropped into his own chair behind the desk. “We have a few things to discuss,” he continued, booting up his computer and tapping his fingers on the desk while he waited for it to do its thing.

     “I’m kind of lost here,” Jake admitted.

     “Not what you expected?” Ash asked with a half-smile.

     “Not even a little bit,” Jake answered honestly while shaking his head. “I was expecting something… I don’t know, more hellfire and damnation?”

     Ash laughed. “I had that same sentiment. You will get the full tour later. Right now, I have to get you into the system.” Ash started tapping away at the keyboard.

     “Into the system? Like an employee?” Jake asked with a shake of his head.

     Ash nodded but didn’t look away from his screen. “Something like that,” he said. “We have to make sure that all souls are accounted for. If you are dead and you’re not in Heaven or Hell, then we have to assume that you’re stuck in Limbo. Nobody wants to be there. So to save us the trouble of going and getting you from somewhere you’re not, I have to put you in the system under my charge.”

     “Oh,” Jake muttered. Of course he would have to do that. Why wouldn’t he? Because all of this seemed perfectly normal, right?

     The phone on the desk rang and Ash picked it up without looking at it. “Yeah,” he said into the receiver. “What do you mean, he got out?” Ash asked slowly, finally taking his attention off the computer.  “I’ll handle it,” he said. Then he depressed the button to end the call and made another one. “Mali, yeah, can you get Shelly in here please. Tell her to bring the soul with her. Thanks.” Then he dropped the phone back onto its cradle.

     “I apologize,” he said to Jake. “It seems we have a small situation that requires my immediate attention. Please, make yourself at home. There is a fridge over there,” he pointed to a little nook in the back of the room, “with soda and other refreshments in it. This won’t take long.”

     Jake nodded, and no sooner than he stood from his chair, there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Ash said as he nodded once at the door. It clicked open and a woman dragging a man behind her came through. He didn’t pay much attention to the man, but
she
was magnificent. Red and blonde hair cascaded down her back in fiery waves that begged a man to run his fingers through it. She was tall for a woman, and perhaps a little on the thin side, but that was far outweighed by her beauty. Sapphire blue eyes sparkled from under thick lashes and he could tell she was pissed.

     “This is crazy,” she announced as she hauled her cargo behind her, dragging the man by his arm while the rest of his body got up close and personal with the carpet. “You know that situation you asked about on your first day? Well it happened. Little Liam here decided to help someone else. And then he walked right up to the freaking doors and they opened for him! Just opened right up!”

     Ash studied the man who was no doubt scared shitless. Shelly was the leader of Greed and apparently, someone had finally seen the error of his ways. “Come, sit.” He told the man. “What is your name?”

     “L- L- Liam,” he stammered. Shelly yanked on his arm, forcing him to stand taller.

     “Shelly, let him go,” Ash told her.

     She did and the man almost fell on his face. He moved quickly to the chair that Jake had been sitting in only moments earlier and let himself fall into it. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I don’t know what I did.”

     “Shelly says you helped another,” Ash reminded him.

     “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to,” he replied. “He was so tired. And he had a family. I just wanted him to finally have enough to pay his way out.”

     Ash nodded. “And you did this knowing you would not get out?” he asked.

     Liam nodded. “I don’t deserve to be out,” he muttered.

     Ash scrubbed his hand over his face. “Ok, I can’t deal with this just now. I have things to do and this is unprecedented. I have to do some digging to find out how to handle this.” He turned to Shelly. “You can go,” he told her. “I'll take it from here.”

     Shelly nodded her pretty head and turned and left without another word. Jake watched her go. Shelly…what a pretty name. It fit the pretty demon. His heart skipped a beat when she walked in and he was actually disappointed when she left. Whoa, wait. Since when did he find demons attractive? Good gravy, if he wasn’t going to Hell to begin with he was certainly going now. Oh, wait, he was already there. He shook his head and wondered if any of this would ever make sense.

     “As for you,” Ash said to Liam, seemingly unaware of Jake’s inner turmoil, “I have to keep you where I can keep an eye on you until I figure this out.” Ash pointed at the man and his body lifted from the chair and was carried on the air to the corner. A steel cage appeared out of thin air and Ash motioned with his hand for the man to go in. He floated in and the door closed with a loud clang. If it hadn’t all been about twelve on his weird-shit-o-meter, Jake would have found the man’s face comical as he floated into his cage.

     “I’m sorry, Jake,” Ash said, finally getting back to where they were. “I just have one more thing,” he said. He picked up his phone again and said, “Hey, Love, can you come in here for a moment?”

     Another second passed and a woman with long, dark hair came into the room. She smiled and went straight to Ash. She leaned down and planted a kiss on his cheek. “What’s up?” she asked.

     Jake couldn’t stop staring at her. She was beautiful, yes, but it was the way she moved. Graceful but fast. Damned fast. And she looked very familiar. And then, it connected in his brain. “I know who you are!” he gasped. “You’re a doctor at the hospital. And you,” he said, turning to Ash, “you were at the wedding. You both were.”

     Elizabeth smiled and her fangs showed through. “Holy shit,” Jake mumbled. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” He shook his head. He lived in a world where some paranormals chose to live out in the open, so it shouldn’t have surprised Jake that the lovely doctor was a vampire. She hadn’t always been, that much he knew, but it looked good on her.

     “I need you to contact Antonio,” Ash told her. “I don’t know what to do about this,” he said, pointed at the man in the cage.

     “Can do,” she said. “It’s nice to see you again, Jake.” She zipped out of the room as fast as she entered it.

     “Wow,” Jake breathed.

     In an instant, Ash was out of his chair and had Jake’s body slammed against the wall. His arm was over Jake’s throat, cutting off his air supply. “Never look at her,” Ash growled. Jake’s eyes widened in fright. The leader of Hell had him pinned and the man’s eyes were glowing red. “She is mine,” he bellowed. His voice was deep and had an echo to it, almost as if two people were talking at the same time. Hadn’t Ash been adamant that he wasn’t a demon? Jake was having a pretty hard time believing that statement at that moment. The man looked like evil incarnate.

     Jake forced air into his lungs and grunted out, “Sorry, didn’t mean it.”

     Ash let go and Jake’s body dropped to the floor in a heap. He gulped in air and rubbed his neck. “I wasn’t saying anything bad about her,” he managed to say. “She is pretty, but not my type, man.”

     The low growl emanating from Ash was not a promising sign.

     “I was only remarking on how weird this shit is,” Jake continued. “I knew I saw you before but didn’t know where. Now I do. I saw her too.”

     Ash forced himself to calm down. “There are some very important rules here,” he said through gritted teeth. “Elizabeth is mine. No one touches her. Ever.”

     Jake nodded. “Acceptable,” he said.

     “No innocents are harmed. Ever,” Ash continued. Jake nodded. “And don’t fuck with me.”

     “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jake said.

     “Ok,” Ash said, getting back into his chair and suddenly acting as if he hadn’t almost tore Jake a new one. “Where were we?”

     Dear God, what had he gotten himself into?