Lucien's Hell Bound Angel (Hell Bound Series) (21 page)

             
“And what would that be?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

             
“Your ticket back into Heaven.” She smiled.

             
Slamming her fist into the punching bag, Athena envisioned Lucien. She’d been up since the crack of dawn and had changed into a pair of sweats. Slipping out of Chance’s hotel room, she wandered around until she found the gym. She wanted to train. Needed too because she felt that Lucien had made her weak. He had made her look like a fool in front of everyone. The council in Heaven, Chance, and most importantly herself. Throwing a kick, she envisioned it landing right in Lucien’s face.

             
“Boy, I would sure hate to be on the receiving end of that kick.” Chance chimed as he watched from the door.

             
Spinning around, Athena sighed as Chance sauntered over to her with a towel. Handing it to her, she wiped the sweat clear from her chest and head.

             
“How long have you been down here?” he asked leaning on the punching bag.

             
“A few hours.” She replied tossing the towel aside. “Just training.” She replied punching the bag harder as he stepped behind it and grabbed hold of it.

             
“And blowing off steam?” he asked trying to pick her brain.

             
“That obvious?” she grunted, throwing another punch at the bag.

             
“No,” he said shaking his head with a smile. “Not at all.” He teased as she giggled.

             
“There’s that beautiful smile I know.” He replied.

             
“Yeah well, you always knew how to make me laugh.” She said as he stepped back in front of the bag.

             
“I tried.” He shrugged.

             
“I feel like such an idiot.” She replied

             
Shaking his head, Chance disagreed. “Don’t feel like that. You just—look for the best in everyone.”

             
“Everyone but demons!” she protested. “Why was he any different?!”

             
It was apparent that she was past the point of feeling sorry for herself. She right out fuming and he had never seen her angry.

Ever.

              “Maybe because he was your Charge.” He said as a matter of factly.

             
That was the thing that kept her feeling guilty. After her meeting with the council it seemed obvious that she failed to keep Lucien from straying. There was no other explanation as to why her mission got cut short. Noting the look on her face, Chance felt uneasy.

             
“What is it?” he inquired.

             
“I screwed up my mission Chance. I was supposed to protect him—”

             
“But nothing.” Chance snapped.

             
He was not about to let her slip back into the blame game. She was not to blame for a demon finally showing his true colors.

             
“He is a demon. Evil to the very core and you were only doing your job.” He replied.

             
“You’re just—”

             
“Telling you the truth.” He said cutting her off.

             
Smiling, she grabbed the towel again before cleaning herself off again.

             
“Spar with me.” She offered and Chance laughed as he held his hands up in submission.

             
“No way. Not with what I saw.” He replied.

             
“Come on. You could teach me a few things.” She insisted still smiling.

             
“I have a better idea.” He insisted. “Why don’t you go take a shower and we’ll go to breakfast.”

             
Raising an eyebrow at him, she thought for a moment before responding.

             
“Ok, but after you have to teach me a few things.” She insisted.

             
“’Not gonna happen.” He replied as they headed out of the gym.

             
“Why not?” Athena inquired walking down the hall.

             
“Thea, I haven’t trained in ages.” He said truthfully.

             
“Still doesn’t mean you don’t know what you’re doing. You were trained by Michael of all people.” She noted and he knew she was right.

             
That type of training didn’t just disappear, no matter how much time had passed.

             
“Thea—”

             
“Pweease?” she begged with puppy dog eyes and a tiny smirk.

             
“Don’t do that.” He replied stopping at the elevator doors and pushing the button.

             
Stopping with her back facing the elevators doors she pouted a little bit more and he shook his head. Whining this time, he finally caved.

             
“Fine.” He sighed, dragging the word as he rolled his eyes.

             
“Yaay!” she squealed as the elevator bell rung and the doors slid open.

             
Looking passed her he saw the elevator had been full of men dressed in black. Spotting guns tucked in holsters under one of the guy’s jacket, one thing in his mind clicked. Reflexes kicking in, he grabbed Athena and threw her behind him. Decking the burly guy in front of the crowd in the face, he grabbed the gun from his holster. The other men rushed out of the elevator and Chance let off fire. He took down a few guys as Athena scrambled to the ground. Grabbing a loaded gun, she began firing as Chance grabbed a guy and they tussled. A tall guy, with dark long hair stalked to her as she squeezed the trigger, but with just her luck the gun jammed. Tossing it aside, she barely had time to react before the guy reached down and tugged her up by the hair.

             
Grabbing the guy by the wrist, she threw a punch only for him to catch her fist. Wincing in pain, she barely had time to react before the guy pulled her in and twirled her into his arms. Holding her close, he took in her scent.

             
“You smell so sweet.” He replied seductively as his fangs unwillingly emerged.

             
Squirming, Athena tried to her free as his tightened his grip. There was no way she was letting another demon feed off of her unwillingly.

             
“Get off of me!” she shouted as he drew closer to her and she could feel his hot breath on her neck.

             
“I just want a taste.” He replied tearing the bandage from her throat and going for a bite.

             
Over my dead body.” She bit.

Elbowing him in the gut, she stomped on his foot, crunching bone. Letting out a yell, he shoved her to the
ground. Slamming into the marble floor, she felt him grab her foot as she tried to crawl away. Dragging her back, she looked up to see two guys fighting with Chance. He was showing them a thing or two, but was obviously too busy to help her. The guy she was fighting was twice her size and not but muscle on muscle. Which left her wondering.

Why had all the bad guys she seemed to run across always seemed to be so fit? Did they
all have some kind of evil gym that no one knew about?

Those thoughts were interrupted the moment he flipped her over and knelt to her. Manifesting an orb, she got cut short as he clutched her wrist. Squeezing tightly, the white light disintegrated as she let out a cry that grabbed Chance’s attention.

“Thea!” he called.

Looking over to Athena had cost him. One of the guys grabbed him as the other began to wail on him.
Gripping a hand full of her hair, he tugged her toward him as she struggled to pull away. The elevator bell rung and the doors opened once more. Chance’s eyes slid over, afraid to see more men. To his surprise, Lucien strode out. Taking in the scenery, he stalked over to Athena.

“No!”
Chance shouted as a punch landed in his jaw.

Reaching down, Lucien grabbed the guy by the hair and yanked him off of Athena. Throwing him to the floor, he stood over him
and grabbed him by the shirt before he began to punch. Anger rattled him to his very core with every punch that landed in the guy’s face. Feeling bones crunch, he knew he’d broken the guy’s nose and more because his face was a bloodied mess by the time he finished. Heaving heavily, he released the guy and turned to Athena who was watching him like a hawk. Her vision blurred, she wasn’t too sure that what she was seeing was right.

Stand
ing over her, Lucien pulled out a silver gun. Sucking in a breath, she was ready to kill him if he meant to use it on her. Looking away from her, he took the safety off. Aiming the gun, he shot the guy punching Chance. The moment he fell to the floor, the other guy released Chance and reached for his weapon, but it was too late. Lucien had planted a bullet between his eyes. Putting the gun away, he extended a hand to Athena. Looking at it hesitantly, she wallowed hard. Their eyes met and at that instant all the doubt she had about him washed away. Grabbing his hand, he pulled her up gently and pulled her in close. Examining her, he let out a relieved sigh.

“Get away from her.” Chance barked pulling her back.

Baring his teeth, Lucien nearly growled. He had half the mind to use the gun on his waist on the guy. Killing him seemed tempting, but he was sure that Athena would never forgive him. Tossing the fantasy aside, he got back to the reason he was there.

Pulling free of Chance’s grip, she stepped into Lucien’s face. Looking up to him, she searched his face to see if she could find the same menacing glare she saw the night before. The only thing she found was concern.

“Why’d you help us?” she asked confused. “Weren’t they your new buddies?”

Sarcasm was dripping from her words as she said them. He could hear the pain in her voice, and all he wanted to do was
pull her in and kiss her. He wanted to tell her every secret he was a burden to but knew that would be the end of Dezmon. Until he had a true plan, he was going to have to stay silent. Keeping her in the dark was a sure fire way to keep her away from him he hoped, and alive. If what Dante and Hazel had said were true—he would die if he was the sole reason she died.

“You don’t have a lot of time.” He insisted.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she shoved him.

“Why’d you help us?!” she screamed as it echoed down the hall.

“No one gets to hurt you.” He replied furiously, bawling his hands into fists at his sides.

“I guess that’s only reserved for you
, huh?” she sneered as his eyes flickered to the wound he’d left the night before.

Bowing his head, disappointment washed over him
.

“
Thea, let’s go.” Chance insisted grabbing her by the arm.

Again, she shoved him off. There was no way she was leaving without a true explanation. It was more than obvious to Chance that Athena had been head over hills with the asshole standing in front of her. As much as he wanted to throw a punch at him, he couldn’t because the jerked had saved both their asses. So, his next option was to hightail it until they were safe. Had they met again, he would surely knock the pompous jerk on his ass. He wanted Athena to look and care about him the way she was about Lucien.
It was obvious that would never come.

Drawing her hand into a fist, she threw a punch and hit Lucien dead in the mouth. Splitting his lip, he licked it as he stared at her. He knew he deserved that one and her giving him his just desserts was only making him want her even more. He felt himself getting aroused and knew there was no time for that.

“How could you do what you did to me?!”she shouted as tears welled up in her eyes again. Hell, she was strong, but her love for him was tearing her apart inside.

“I’m not any good for you.” He said truthfully.

Knowing his promise to never lie to her, he was doing just that. Omitting the truth wasn’t lying. It just wasn’t saying a few things out loud. So, he was in fact honoring their agreement. He wished to hell that had made the promise not to hurt her again like she asked, but he knew that would only be a lie in itself. He wasn’t a good person to begin with so he gave her the next best thing.

The truth.

“Did you even really love me?” she inquired as her tears finally fell.

That tore his heart to shreds. Knowing he not only hurt her physically, he’d hurt her emotionally. Erasing that pain would be something impossible. Bruises healed, but the pain of the soul remained forever. Swallowing hard, he stood quiet.

“Answer me!” she shouted shoving him once more.

Lying to her and saying
“no” would’ve been the easy solution, but he couldn’t. He
wouldn’t
dare say “no”. It hurt him deep inside to see her crying and he wanted to make it right by simply saying “yes”. The word she needed to hear, but he couldn’t. Deep down, he loved her like no other and he was sure she felt the same. The night he’d taken her to bed had been etched him his mind and would remain there for all eternity. But he couldn’t say that to her. So, he just stood quiet, staring at her with cold eyes. Suddenly growing light headed, Lucien grabbed his head and cradled it in his hands. Shaking it off, he looked up to her again. This time, concern was laced in his eyes. Noticing the shift, Athena tried to grab him concerned but he pulled away.