Hell Hath no Fury (Dark Desires Book 2) Read online

  Hell Hath No Fury

  Dark Desires Book 2

  M.L. Mountford

  For my amazing husband and two wonderful daughters.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Hell’s Angel

  Mailing List

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  1

  Lilith

  He was dead. I sensed he was no longer connected to me. As he’d failed to complete his training, our link was still active. I could sense his energy, yet it had just been snuffed out. I wasn’t upset by it. He had been a means to an end.

  Daniel’s life had little consequence to me, as long as he had succeeded—as long as she was gone.

  “Is it done?” I spoke into my phone.

  “We are waiting for confirmation, your Majesty,” the voice responded.

  “I want to know immediately,” I said before I hung up.

  If Daniel had succeeded, there was no doubt in my mind that Louis had killed him. I was very aware of that when I’d sent him in there. His death had been unavoidable.

  I wanted Louis. I cared about nothing else.

  I waited, and it felt like hours, but it was mere minutes until my phone rang again. “Speak,” I commanded.

  “Your Majesty, Daniel is dead.” I knew that already. There was hesitation down the line—the person didn’t want to say any more.

  “Tell me, child,” I spat.

  “The girl lives. She was the one to kill Daniel, not Lucifer as we first believed. She is aware of Lucifer’s true identity now, though, your Majesty.” The voice was small, and I could hear the apprehension through the line.

  I didn’t answer. I simply hung up the phone.

  Then, I screamed, louder than I’d ever screamed before. It wasn’t fear that ripped through me; it was unadulterated rage. The windows in the old warehouse shattered all around me as I continued to scream from the bottom of my soul.

  The man who was tied to the chair next to me tried to cower. He was unable, though, as he was bound tightly. He was no one, just a plaything.

  I stopped screaming. I’d genuinely forgotten he was there while I’d been lost in my rage. I turned to face him. He was panting with pain; blood trickled from his ears, and I assumed his eardrums had burst. Tears streamed down his face, soaking into the gag forced into his mouth.

  “Shhh, it’ll be over soon,” I said soothingly while stroking his face. I yanked him out of the chair, breaking his bindings and holding him in front of me. In an instant, I savagely bit into his neck and felt his warm blood drip from my mouth and down my chin. I unforgivingly drew and drew before I finally ripped out his throat and dropped his limp body to the floor. The rest of his blood flooded from his torn-out throat, pooling beneath him. The crimson of his blood glistened in the moonlight, and I felt strangely soothed by the sight of it. There had been no reason to kill him other than me being pissed off.

  I looked into his glassy eyes as he bled out in front of me; it wasn’t a pleasant way to go, but I was not in a pleasant mood. He would have felt it—he would have suffered. I wanted him to be in pain. I wanted someone else to feel anguish like I was—it wasn’t fair I was going through it alone.

  I licked the blood from my lips, tidying up as I looked down at the man’s corpse at my feet. It was a waste, really.

  I gave it little further thought.

  She knew. All was not lost. The little tramp knew that he was the Devil.

  Luke, that’s what Tess had thought his name was. He’d had many names over the years, but he would always be my Louis. He was special to me, and I to him, despite what he might say. We shared things no one would understand; we had been there at the beginning.

  He said he was through with me, that it was a mistake, but I knew those were lies. He loved me as much as I loved him. We needed each other; that was why he’d done what he did all those years ago.

  Louis was mine—he had been for all eternity, and no one else could have him. Especially not some little human whore. I would destroy her, and then he and I would be reunited and remain together for the rest of time.

  Just because she knew who he was, though, didn’t mean this was over. Louis had a way of being persuasive; he could twist and manipulate everything. It was his skill. He could sway her. Sway her straight back into his strong arms, arms that didn’t belong to that little bitch.

  She was human, so he had to know it couldn’t last. She was so fragile and finite. Her life would end, since she was not immortal like us. What could he possibly want from her?

  I wasn’t prepared to take any chances this time. Whatever he wanted from her, he wouldn’t get it. I wasn’t going to let anyone else handle this. She couldn’t return to him—I wouldn’t allow it.

  If I wanted her gone, I’d have to do it myself.

  He’d know I was involved by now. I hadn’t wanted to get my hands dirty. Now, I had no choice. I could snap her neck like a twig—it wouldn’t be a hardship for me, and now I really wanted to.

  I’d have to kill Tess myself.

  2

  Lucifer

  Shit, shit, shit.

  “Tess, wake up for me, Tess.” I leaned over her, checking her pulse. “Come on, baby, stay with me.”

  Thank fuck, I thought when I finally found a pulse. I pulled her to me, cradling her unconscious body. She was alive, but I wasn’t convinced that she was okay.

  She’d taken quite the beating from that motherfucker. I still couldn’t quite believe that she’d killed him. I’d stood open-mouthed and wide-eyed as I’d watched her end him; shock and disbelief had surged through my body.

  Another emotion darkened my mind: anger. I was absolutely livid, both with Daniel for nearly taking her from me, and with myself for not being able to protect her from something like that—someone like him.

  Irrationally, I also felt a tinge of anger that Tess had snuffed him out. It was precisely that, though, irrational. She’d had no other choice. What the hell had I expected? She was fiercely independent, and I knew she’d done it so she’d be free of Daniel forever.

  But it galled me immensely that I hadn’t been the one to dispatch of him. I’d have annihilated him, made him suffer and pay for everything he’d ever done.

  Not immediately, though. He would have died, but first I’d have taken him to Hell and prolonged his agony. I’d have delayed his inevitable death with long, drawn-out, painful torture. I would have made him pay for every single thing he’d done to Tess.

  He would have suffered before I
eventually peeled his skin and flesh from his bones. Then I would have staked him through the heart, centimetre by excruciating centimetre, until I watched his body decay in front of me.

  As it stood, though, he was gone. His soul would never be mine. He’d simply ceased to exist when Tess had impaled him. No one knew what happened to vampires when they died; they were simply gone.

  Though Tess had robbed me of my time with Daniel, I couldn’t begrudge her her vengeance. She had seen a way out, and she had taken it. I couldn’t blame her for that.

  Looking down at her now, I felt only concern. I had to get her to a hospital so that she could be checked over. She was bloody, bruised, and still unconscious. I stood gently, ensuring I kept her body close, protectively pressed up against mine.

  I portaled us to a hospital, the best in the city. It was important to me she had the best care, the best doctors.

  As I made my way to the desk in the emergency room—Tess still cradled against me—the nurse saw me, stood, and moved toward me.

  “What happened?” she asked, her eyes studying Tess’s unconscious body.

  “She was attacked, I brought her straight here.” It didn’t matter what I said—I fully intended to make everyone forget she’d ever been here.

  “Follow me. What’s her name?” asked the nurse, moving through the waiting area to a long room with multiple curtained cubicles. I answered her questions as we moved, then stopped behind her when she motioned us through one of the curtains.

  “No, we’ll need a room, a private one,” I said matter-of-factly. I wasn’t rude, but it definitely wasn’t a request—it was an order.

  The nurse shook her head and turned to face me, but immediately stopped when her gaze met mine. She could feel the power that radiated from me. I’d been told it was oppressive, like every fibre of your being was heavy. As if your body was having an internal battle within itself, a fight for dominance that would only ever end one way.

  It didn’t take long for the nurse to submit; there wasn’t much fight in her. I assumed she was coming to the end of a long shift. Her body and mind felt tired, weary, and she surrendered to my control quickly. She nodded and moved from the cubicle.

  I once again followed her as she led us to a private room. It was comfortable enough—as comfortable as hospital rooms could be. I gently placed Tess on the bed; she’d not once moved since I’d cradled her against my body. The gentle rise and fall of her chest against my body was the only evidence she was still alive.

  The nurse began to check Tess over. “Sir, I’m going to have to fetch a doctor to assess her. She has some nasty-looking wounds.” She returned five minutes later with a doctor. Thankfully, he seemed to have just started his shift, and he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to go.

  They both glanced at me as I stood next to Tess’s bed. I was holding her hand—not willing to leave her side. “Sir, I’m afraid we must ask you to leave while we examine her, if-”

  “I’m not leaving,” I hissed in the doctor’s direction. There was no way I was leaving her alone, not now—maybe not ever.

  “We really must insist. We’ve got a lot of tests to do. Sarah here will show you to the waiting room.” He motioned for the nurse to escort me out of the room.

  I’d love to see her fucking try, I thought to myself.

  I turned my focus on both of them, eyeing them both. I fed them my influence like waves rippling through the room. I felt when the power hit them.

  I rarely used my powers of persuasion, I didn’t need to, but this time I had to. Both nodded at me and began to check Tess over—I let out a grumble when the doctor asked me to move so he could assess some wounds on Tess’s face. I reluctantly agreed and moved to a seat in the corner of the room. I wouldn’t leave, but I would let them work.

  They cut off her clothes, exposing more wounds and gashes on her torso, arms, and legs. Her beautiful skin, which was usually ivory, soft, and supple, was now varying shades of blue and black, and dried blood seemed to be everywhere. She looked utterly broken. I noticed there was heavy bruising on one side of her ribs, and I was pretty sure she’d once again cracked at least one of them.

  I watched as the doctor opened Tess’s eyes, looking into them with a small light. “Tess, can you hear me?” She didn’t respond, lying perfectly still.

  “Pupils are equal, round, and reactive to light. I want a CT head scan, though, make sure she has no head trauma. Actually, make that a full-body CT scan.” He moved a machine closer to Tess’s bed and squirted some clear liquid on her discoloured stomach. He then moved a wand from the machine across her stomach and up over her chest. A snarl threatened to leave me as his hand moved closer to her breasts. I knew he was helping, but I didn’t like him touching her at all.

  “Ultrasound looks clear, but we need some X-rays. Looks like she has some damage to her ribs that we should check on. It could lead to a possible pneumothorax,” the doctor said to the nurse while scribbling notes. “How did she sustain these injuries?” He turned and cast a quick look at me before going back to his notes.

  I once again tapped into my powers as I said, “That’s not important, and there’s no need to contact the police.” I didn’t need anyone asking questions about this—it was for me to deal with, personally. Both he and the nurse nodded in agreement.

  “Sarah, if you could arrange those scans. We also need to run some blood tests. I’ll be back soon. If anything changes, contact me immediately.”

  The nurse hooked Tess up to several machines that beeped rhythmically before taking blood and leaving us alone in the room.

  As I looked at her—now covered in a hospital gown, unresponsive, and looking like an empty shell—I thought back to how close I’d been to losing her. All because of Daniel.

  It wasn’t just Daniel, though; it was Lilith as well. She would die. There was nothing that could prevent that now. She had sealed her own fate. Despite her constant interference in my life, I’d allowed her to live. Not anymore. She had finally gone too far.

  Tess had vanquished her demons by taking Daniel’s life, and now I would do the same. Lilith was my responsibility, and I’d nearly allowed her to take something so important to me. Someone so important to me.

  In such a short space of time, Tess had become essential in my life. I had feelings for her I’d never had for anyone before. I loved her, or at least that’s what I thought this was.

  What had started as trying to get one up on Daniel had developed into something real. Feelings for Tess had slithered into me, wormed their way into my heart and taken me by surprise. Looking at her as she lay utterly helpless, I knew that I’d do anything to keep her safe.

  But now that she knew who I was and what I was, would she still want me? She’d already said we were done before she passed out, but I had to at least try to win her over. I needed to show her I wasn’t what she thought I was. Sure, I was the Devil, but I wasn’t all bad.

  If she didn’t choose me, it didn’t matter. I’d protect her regardless. Until her final days, never again would anyone harm her. She was under my protection, always.

  That was what you did for the ones you loved.

  3

  Tess

  Beep, Beep, Beep.

  Oh, God.

  I felt like I’d been hit by a train. My limbs were like lead weights, and I was unable to move. Everything hurt. Everything. My head was pounding, so much so that I could feel my own blood pumping with every painful heartbeat. Every single part of my body hurt.

  What the hell happened?

  I wracked my brain for anything that could explain why I felt like I’d gone on a date with a steam roller, but I drew a complete blank. There was only pain.

  Beep, Beep, Beep.

  I knew I wasn’t at my place—I could tell it wasn’t my marshmallow-soft mattress—so where was I? I had to open my eyes, see where I was, but it was a struggle. The darkness soothed my aching head, and I didn’t want to risk making the pain worse. I needed to know wher
e I was, though.

  I forced myself to open my eyes. I was right, the light was harsh and made my head throb harder. I squeezed my eyes shut to force away the blinding light.

  Come on, Tess, you can do this.

  Beep, Beep, Beep.

  I once again slowly peeled my eyes open, and the light wasn’t such a shock this time. As they adjusted, I realised they weren’t that bright. The lights in the room were dimmed, giving off a gentle glow. As I looked up, I saw a plain white ceiling with the odd sprinkler here and there. I continued to try and focus, to assess where I was. There were white walls and a closed wooden door.

  Beep, Beep, Beep.

  I turned to see where the slow, rhythmic beeping was coming from and spotted several machines, illuminated with numbers and lines. I took notice of the wires and followed them to find they were attached to me.

  I’m in the hospital. But… but why?

  I moved my gaze from the wires and monitors hooked up to my arm, to my other hand, which was being held—by a large, male hand. I traced my gaze up an arm, to a body, and up to the face of a sleeping man. He was slumped back in a chair which had been pulled close to the bed. He was asleep, yet his face looked anything but peaceful. He looked troubled. As I studied him I felt calm—soothed, even—by his presence.