Then, I stepped in front of her, begging her to turn around as she took the last step off the pier, her blood overrun with alcohol. I screamed at her to back the fuck off. I tried, in vain, to materialize somehow and yank her back. Nothing worked. I dove in the water and accompanied her as she let herself sink, eyes wide open and staring at me without seeing me. She didn't die alone, I was there with her; a dying on the inside.
"I can hear you thinking."
I chuckled at her raspy voice, her body stretching like a kitten before falling limp.
"Is that so? What is it I'm thinking, Spunky?"
Her hand slowly slid down the length of my stomach, inching dangerously toward my dick; to his utter delight.
With a grin plastered on my face, I tightened my grip on Gabby's hair and started to bring her beautiful face closer to mine. I wanted to kiss her, taste her in her waking moments and inhale her sweet scent into my lungs.
Less than a second after I heard the loud double knock, my door burst open and Samael stood at the entrance, his grin a mile wide. As quickly as I could, I covered my girl up with my body as best I could.
"I accept verbal, written or sexual 'thank yous'," he announced, leaning against the door jam.
Gabby jolted wide awake, hiding herself beneath the down comforter, screeching obscenities his way.
I tried and failed to hide my chuckle, shaking my head at Samael's antics.
"Why would we do that?" I asked.
"Well, first," he began, ticking off his list on his fingers, "I'm responsible for your little love nookie."
"I'm pretty sure I'm responsible for that." I answered, "Now get the fuck out."
"Nah, I've got something I need to say to your little angel."
"You creep me out, Sam." I heard Gabby's muffled voice from beneath the covers.
Samael and I both laughed at that. She was right. The Angel of Death was nothing if not creepy.
"Well, I'll have you know, Gabrielle, that I'm only a creeper down there." He said this while pointing his index finger downward.
"In Hell?" she asked.
"On Earth. Hell isn't all that bad, you know. What with all the partying, drugs and sex galore." He was so full of shit, it was nauseating.
"Sounds like L.A." she muttered.
"It's safer than the City of Angels, believe me. The only one causing unwanted pain is Shaytan himself and no one argues with that crazy fucker."
"Samael, seriously. Get the fuck out."
"Look. I wanted to say something." He straightened his posture, all joking aside. A look of determination etched over his perfectly chiseled face.
"I'm the reason you're here. I spoke with Ernest about it but that old man already knew." Shaking his head, he lowered his gaze before pinning Gabby with an intense gaze.
"I did it for Hunter. And for you. This past decade, he's been pining for you and your life was going to shit. So, when you started walking to the pier, I put ideas in your head. I whispered sweet nothings of pain disappearing under the water. In my defense, you really didn't take much convincing but still..." Letting his sentence trail off, he shoved his hands inside the pockets of his tailored suit pants and grinned like a ten year old waiting for forgiveness.
"I know," she said. "I heard you earlier."
"So...we good?" That little shit, he felt zero guilt. But deep down, I knew he was doing this for me. For her, even. Eternity would be long time for her to wonder why she had given up so easily. Samael was taking her guilt away and placing it on his shoulders.
Everyone on Earth always gave him a bad name but Samael had the hardest job of all. Collecting souls was never an easy task. Not even for the evil doers. Every life taken was a piece of Samael that withered away.
For as long as I'd known him, he never got close to anyone because emotions were difficult for him. Of all of us, he was the only one able to travel from Heaven to Hell whenever need be. Collecting and distributing souls was his assigned job and he'd been doing it for eons. It was a heavy burden and joking, being crude and all around creepy was his way of lightening up his fucked up role in this universe.
"How about you get me out of Purgatory and into a permanent home and I'll forgive you?"
"Deal."
Little did Gabby know that Samael had no power in that domain and that decision had probably already been made by Ernest. I was curious as to her assignment.
"Get out, Samael. Leave me alone with my girl, will ya?" Exasperated, I threw a pillow from behind my head and nearly hit my target. The door closed behind him as he threw me a wink over his shoulder.
"We have a meeting in ten, kid. Get your ass dressed."
Chapter 17~ Gabby
"Gabrielle. It's nice to see again. You look much better than last we met." Ernest greeted me with grandfatherly eyes that searched my face.
"I feel much better, thank you."
"Good, good." Turning to Samael and Hunter, he directed us all to have a seat in the plush couches strategically placed around a round glass-top coffee table.
We were in Ernest's office, a place I had never seen before. Progress, right?
"Our Lord and I have spoken extensively about Gabrielle's file. We have come to the conclusion that she indeed walked
