Hell's Belle - Eve Newton Page 0,46

and discover that depiction and accidentally touch it, or if he senses your power and can take it from you…I dunno, Annabelle, a thousand other possibilities. Maybe he is already out of the painting and lying in wait for you to open the door. Or maybe Luc isn’t even behind the door. Maybe it’s some ancient family heirloom that holds immense power, or maybe, it’s nothing.”

“Give it to me so that I can find out,” she implores me.

“Can’t do that, Sis. You don’t even know what it opens, and you know you won’t take precautions when you do find out. Lest I remind you that if you get hurt or killed, so will I. I may want out of this world on occasion, but I’ll be damned – again – if I let it happen on someone else’s schedule.”

Her face goes hard as she ignores my suicidal comment. Not out of selfishness, but because it hurts her. “Oh, so your traitorous ass is only worried about you,” she snaps.

“You know that isn’t true,” I say, sad that she would think that about me. “I will do anything to protect you, Belle. I’m the only one who has your back to protect you from yourself. Let me find the door and open it. If your dad is in there, great, but if the other Lucifer is with him…then we need to act carefully and with planning. Once that door opens, we may not be able to close it again. Do you hear me?”

“Yes,” she says sulkily, dropping her arms from their defensive stance. “I hear everything you’re saying. But you should have come to me. Discussed all of this with me the minute you got your hands on that box.”

“I wanted to see if I could find the door first. I didn’t want you to be disappointed.”

She flings herself into my arms and I hold her close. “I just want him back, Shax,” she whispers.

“I know and we will get him, without releasing the original Lucifer.”

“Keep me informed of your every move,” she orders, pulling away from me.

I nod and she vanishes.

I flop back to the floor and sigh. My sister doesn’t roll for anyone. This isn’t over, not by a long shot. I need to find that door before she does or there might be Hell to pay for all of us.

I get to my feet and vanish as well, needing the space that the cliff tops offer. Shadow comes here to be with the other Griffins and the other varieties of winged creatures.

I know that she won’t come to me, but if she sees me, she will know that I need to see her and find me later when she is ready.

21

Annabelle

I’m livid. I’m shaking, I’m that angry. Shax had no right to keep this from me. I knew there was no point in ransacking his room for this box and key. He would have hidden it too well. I do get everything that he said about Lucifer, but he just doesn’t seem to get that I want my dad back, that our mother needs him back.

“Rah!” I roar and throw a fireball at the top of the stairs as I stalk towards them. A little imp servant shrieks and bounds off, his little wings flapping behind him.

I sigh. There is too much raging inside me now. I’m going to shift if I don’t do something about it.

I take in a deep breath, count to three and smile.

It doesn’t help but it does keep the smile on my face as I think about Gregory. That kiss. I know that it was Sid behind it, but it was Gregory’s body, his mouth ravaging mine, his cock pressing against me.

On top of the rage, I’m now getting hot and bothered.

I turn on my heel and head back to the bedroom to change into something a little sexier before I head down to the sin bin. I need entertainment and I need pain. I strip off my denim skirt and white shirt as I look through my closet. I pull out a black satin and lace bustier that barely contains my huge tits and a black leather skirt that skims my ass. I carefully get dressed and then sit to drag on my thigh-high black boots. I fluff out my hair and add a bit more red to my lips. I feel a slight pang in my chest, which catches me off guard.

“Aleister,” I murmur.

The need to go to him almost overwhelms