Chapter Thirty-One

Dante

Cal had his men positioned strategically through the area. All that remained was for Seth to lure the Doctor to them. Dante paced around the warehouse. He wasn’t doubtful that Seth could bring the witch to them. What triggered his anxiety was the concern he felt for his lover. Dante almost lost Seth to the darkness of his emotions once before. If the anger and negativity took over Seth again, Dante wasn’t sure getting him back would be as simple. With time passing between Seth’s death and him choosing his path, the chance of losing him entirely, increased. Dante refused to allow that to happen. Not only had he promised Seth that it wouldn’t, Dante couldn’t tolerate eternity without him.

“Relax. Everything will go according to plan,” Cal said stepping in front of Dante.

Dante’s gaze shifted to Seth’s week-old body which still lay in the center of the room. His stomach rolled from the smell that wafted toward him. He felt as though it was the proverbial train wreck so horrific you wanted to look away but couldn’t. Sadness and irritation washed through him knowing that no one had found—or collected—Seth’s remains.

Cal cleared his throat, pulling Dante’s attention away from the grisly scene. From the look on the man’s face, he wasn’t immune to the sight.

“I’m not worried about getting the confession,” Dante said. He looked to the cop in frustration.

“It’s Seth, isn’t it? You’re afraid he’ll poltergeist out again,” the cop said pointedly.

Cal rubbed the back of his hand along his jaw while he glanced toward the body; unshed tears shadowed his eyes. Cal’s expression bleak, the sight of Seth’s corpse had clearly shaken the seasoned veteran.

Releasing a sigh, Dante nodded. “This has to work, Cal. Time is working against us. Each moment that passes brings me closer to possibly losing him. If the Doctor sets him off again…” The unspoken words hung in the air between them. Dante couldn’t bring himself to discuss it further. “Losing Seth is not an option. I won’t allow that to happen,” he said straightening his posture.

Cal placed his hand on Dante’s shoulder, the corner of one lip turned up. “Good. The two of you deserve each other. Seth needs something good to happen after all he’s endured.”

Feeling a stir in the link they shared, Dante turned as Seth appeared near him. He relaxed further when Seth drifted closer to him and the undercover cop.

“I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone for a few minutes.” Cal stepped away, grinning. “Make it quick; there’s no time for the mushy stuff right now. I’ll be in the unmarked van across the street, waiting for the cue. When I see anyone else come in, I’ll activate the tap and start recording.” Giving the two a wink, he headed out leaving Dante and Seth alone.

“Are you okay?” Dante inquired.

Dante positioned himself between Seth and the corpse in an attempt to shield him from the sight. Feeling Seth shudder, Dante snuggled his lover closer to him. When Seth looked over to his mortal shell on the floor, Dante winced. Tenderly caressing Seth’s cheek, Dante used a single digit to urge his attention back to him. Dante’s anxiety eased further as he wrapped his arms around Seth and kissed him on the forehead.

“I will be.” He curled into Dante. “Even more so now that I’m back with you,” Seth whispered. “I was angry and cold but not close to losing myself. The Doctor’s magic is powerful. I never realized it until he proved he could touch and hurt my soul.”

“I’m not going to let that happen Seth. I promise you’ll stay safe,” Dante said. He hoped he sounded calmer than what he was feeling. Hearing that the Doctor had threatened Seth spiked Dante’s need to nail the mob boss to the wall higher.

“That’s not all.” Seth’s embrace tightened around Dante. “I had to lie to get him here.” He winced. “I hate lying Dante; it goes against everything I believe in.”

“I know; that’s one of the many things I love about you. Telling a lie in this instance was okay though. It needed to be done to get him here.” He rubbed Seth’s back soothingly.

“I told him you had a copy of the photos and if he didn’t come, you would hand them over to the cops.”

Dante laughed deeply. “Well that is a creative one,” he smiled. “As long as he comes, that’s what matters. One little fib won’t be tested once we get his confession. This is going to work, Seth. I don’t have any doubts about it. How soon do you think he will get here?”

“He was right behind me when I left the hospital. Maybe another ten minutes—fifteen at most.”

“I hope it’s not long; this needs to be over with soon.”

Dante cradled Seth’s face and licked into his mouth, passion whipping through them. Reluctantly, Dante released Seth from his arms moments before the door opened. Making out the silhouette of a man walking toward them, he squared his shoulders. He thought it strange the witch would come by himself but, given the man’s powers, the Doctor probably thought there was nothing which could harm him.

“No one has come to clean this mess up yet?” the Doctor sneered as he spotted Seth’s body. “I suppose it isn’t surprising,” he said smugly to Seth. “You were a nobody when you were alive. I’m sure everyone forgot about you minutes after you died.”

“Charles Cook, I presume?” Dante tried to keep himself calm—a feat that tested his willpower when he’d prefer to attack the witch and make him pay for what he was doing to Seth. Dante could feel the magical power radiating from the Doctor. The markers on his soul outed him as a witch and confirmed what Dante had believed about him.

“Observant one, aren’t you? Don’t get any funny ideas. I have people waiting for me,” he responded coldly. “Furthermore, if anything happens to me, there are people outside the mob who will make you pay for my demise.” The statement held no emotion; it almost felt as though he was talking about the weather or any other common occurrence rather than harming another person—or worse, killing them.

“So you’re admitting you are part of the mob?”

“I’m not just part of it; I am the boss of my little family. Or in this case, coven. It’s quite a bit like the ones I’m sure you’ve heard of.”

“Why would your type be so interested in someone like me, Seth, or those like us?” Dante asked. He hoped to uncover the reasons a coven of witches would become part of the mob, or deal with anything other than witch issues.

“Your kind has always been a thorn in the side of those like me,” the Doctor said bluntly. “Enough talking. Let’s make this quick. The stench of rotting flesh is making me ill.”

“Are you saying you can’t stomach the aftermath of what you’ve done?” Dante asked bluntly.

“Whatever are you talking about?”

“Seth’s death—or should I say his murder. You can’t handle the rancid smell of what you’ve caused?” Dante asked trying to hold his voice steady.

“Oh, that?” The Doctor waved his hand toward the decomposing cadaver in the center of the floor. “I don’t care what happens to the bodies after they die. Normally, I don’t even waste my time getting my hands dirty dealing with the pests when they’re alive. Seth was a special case,” he smirked evilly.

“I want to know why you killed Seth.” Dante pinned the Doctor with a pointed look. He hoped that if he spoke Seth’s name enough without the Doctor denying it was him, that it would hold more weight in court.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he said condescendingly. “Seth had something which belonged to me. The photographs were private property. He stole them; I took payment in return.”

“You’re serious. The price of having something you wanted is a person’s life?” Dante could barely believe the witch cared so little about a person’s life, while at the same time, a doctor who had taken the Hippocratic oath—a vow to uphold specific ethical standards. “What was it that you wanted so badly that Doctor Carmichael had to pay for with his life?” Dane asked.

“His death was simply a means to an end,” the Doctor shrugged negligently. “He had a job that I wanted, so I took it. This conversation is beginning to bore me.”

The Doctor stifled a mock yawn.” How about you hand over the photos you have, and no one gets hurt?”

“What is so important about these photos? You seem to be going through quite a bit of work for some insignificant pictures?” Though Dante already knew what was on them, he wanted to keep the witch talking. He hoped that with enough incriminating information and a solid confession, the courts would be able to move the trial along more rapidly.

“You have me perplexed with your questions. Nosey and clueless as well. Seeing as you’re so interested, perhaps telling you is a good idea. It would give you an idea of what I would do to get what I want. Right now, that would be to get rid of a pesky bug such as yourself,” the Doctor smirked. “Your boy,” the doctor nodded toward Seth, “He took photos of me killing a man who happened to be his neighbor. It was quite the easy task, although the blood made for a horrible clean up situation. There were less messy ways of killing him, but at the time I didn’t want to take the time to torture him as I did with Seth.”

Dante fought to control his temper with the witch’s apathetic comments. He needed to remain calm and not screw this up, not only for the sake of helping Seth, but to get the fucking witch behind bars.

“Didn’t you get the original memory card from Seth’s old editor, Robert Nelson? That has the photos on it. That would seem easier than trying to get them from someone who may, or may not, have what you need.”

“Nelson was supposed to have destroyed that already. Considering he is in debt to me, I know he would do whatever I tell him to. I doubt Nelson wants me to hurt his quaint little family.” The witch smirked arrogantly.

Dante opened his mouth to speak. He hoped all the crap the witch was spewing would be enough to lead the cops to Nelson’s house with a search warrant. Not that he wanted to get the editor, or his family, into any trouble. What he had wanted was as much substantial evidence as he could get to speed the trial along. There wasn’t much time left for Seth.

The metal door slammed open, and a group of cops poured into the warehouse with weapons drawn, cutting off the discussion.

“Don’t fucking move!” Cal shouted, his gun trained on the Doctor. “Cuff him,” he ordered the uniformed officer standing closest to the witch, and began to read the Doctor his rights.

“What are the handcuffs made out of?” Dante asked, interrupting Cal. He was relieved the authorities hadn’t taken longer to arrive.

“Iron. Like you said.”

“Good.” Dante nodded.

“What the hell?” the Doctor exclaimed. “You fucking little shits set me up!” He started to weave a spell. Magic crackled in the air as he backed away from the cop.

Dante stepped behind him in hopes that he would halt the witch’s escape. While the cops encroached upon them, the Doctor turned to bolt only to be cut off by a circle of police officers. He struggled against the cop who had pulled his arms behind him. The iron cuffs around his wrists both restrained him and cut him off from his magic.

“You’ll pay for this!” the Doctor exclaimed, glaring at Dante and Seth. “Don’t think that you will get away with this.”

The policeman who cuffed the Doctor, finished reading him his rights and lead him out of the warehouse. Dante—with the help of Cal—got the wires removed and the recording turned off. Pulling Seth into his arms once more, he kissed him tenderly. “I love you, Seth. You were fantastic.”

“Can we leave please?” Seth asked quietly, his gaze darting to his former body then back to Dante.

“Get outta here you two,” Cal said while pulling out his cell. “There’s nothing more that you can do. We got the confession. It should hold up in court. I’ll call forensics now and have them pick up,” he motioned toward the body in the center of the room, “and get photographs. Then I’ll call Lacey and let her know we found the body.”

“Make sure she has someone with her when you tell her please,” Seth pleaded. “I don’t want her alone when she gets the news.”

“Okay kid,” Cal agreed while dialing his phone. “I’ll have her come to the hospital, and we can talk there.” He gave a wry smile as he connected the call. Lifting the cell to speak with Lacey, he gave Dante and Seth a nod then walked outside.

“When would I know if I get to ascend? How long will it take?” Seth looked up at Dante, his brows knit together. “I wouldn’t have to go before the council would I?”

Dante wished he could answer every question Seth asked. Unfortunately, he had limited knowledge of how ascending took place. Helping a soul reach its final resting place—regardless of where that might be—wasn’t part of Dante’s job as guardian. That responsibility landed on those angels who were a part of Killian’s caste. Dante worried that the platinum-blond angel would cause issues with Seth’s transcension. It appeared as though Killian didn’t want Seth to ascend. The egotistical angel was blatantly vindictive and jealous.

“From what I remember correctly, as soon as your soul is ready and you’ve achieved what you need to, then you have the choice to ascend. There isn’t any council meeting that takes place where you have to stand before them,” Dante explained. “How long? I can’t give you an exact answer on that.

“As soon as you’re presented with the choice, it’s up to you, he continued. “Then once you do choose, it should be right away.”

Dante had hoped that when the Doctor was in custody, Seth would be given the option of ascending. If he were honest with himself, Dante would admit that he didn’t know why Seth hadn’t been drawn back to the crossroads already.

“No matter what I do, I may not be able to ascend,” Seth whispered. “What if I didn’t do enough good in my life, so everything I do in the afterlife won’t make a difference?”

Dante could hear the concern in his lover’s voice. The angel’s own fears reflected back at him, mirrored in Seth’s eyes. He hooked his fingers under Seth’s chin tenderly. Tilting his face upward a bit more, Dante leaned down to taste Seth’s lips. All the love he felt for the young, handsome man poured into that kiss.

“Don’t doubt yourself, Seth. I believe in you. There were many lives that you touched when you were alive; many people you helped. You need to believe in yourself as much as I do.”

Seth nodded then wrapped his arms around Dante tightly. “I believe you, Dante. Thank you for believing in me as much as you do.”

“Let’s go, love. There’s nothing more we can do here,” Dante whispered to Seth, leading him out of the warehouse into the bright, clear day.