To Hell and Back Read online

  Luce laughed so hard he nearly choked. Maybe Keiko wasn't so bad, after all. Her perceptions of Persephone were pretty close to his own. But if she was the granddaughter of a monster, what did that make her? An underwater creature that preyed on men?

  Mel caught his eye and nodded silently.

  Damn. Maybe Keiko wasn't going to Hell, either. Pity. She'd have made a good harpy.

  "So Persi was here in Japan a week ago, but now she's gone? Oh well, thank you. At least we're one step closer to finding her, even if I have no idea what she was doing here. I certainly didn't send her, so whatever mission she's on is one of her own making." Mel lifted her cup in both hands and inhaled deeply before sipping at the contents. Her happy smile told Luce he needed to drink some, too.

  The tea was so bitter that Luce choked on his first mouthful. How could Mel tolerate the horrible stuff?

  Still smiling, she sank her teeth into one of the pink, round cakes, revealing a darker pink interior. Mel offered the cake to Luce. "Take a bite of this; then, with the sweetness still on your tongue, taste the tea."

  Luce hesitated. Koyane seemed intent on his own tea, but Keiko was watching him as if she was just waiting for him to make a fool out of himself. Mel wouldn't give him bad advice, would she?

  "They're my favourite, so if you don't take it, I'll happily eat the whole thing myself. Maybe even the whole plate," Mel said. Her eyes danced with restrained laughter.

  Luce leaned forward and nibbled on the edge of the cake. It tasted of sugar with a faint hint of flowers and fruit, so he took a bigger bite. With his mouth full of the sticky stuff – what had Mel called it? Oh, that's right, a manju – Luce slurped his tea. His eyes widened in surprise. Of course, Mel was right.

  "I could live on these," Mel said, then laughed. "Well, if I could live on cake and tea." She straightened and her smile faded. "Okay, you've well and truly sweetened me up. Time to hit me with the bad news, Koyane."

  Glances darted between Koyane and Keiko until Luce wanted to smash their heads together. "Just spit it out," Luce snapped. "We didn't fly halfway around the world to watch you two make goo-goo eyes at each other."

  Koyane sighed. "The difficulty lies in Keiko's secrets, which are not mine to tell."

  Mel gave a tiny smile. "Would it be enough to say that she, like the rest of us, isn't human, and leave it at that?"

  Keiko nodded gratefully. "The problem is the Liancourt Rocks. People here call them Takeshima and Koreans call them Dokdo, but neither can agree on who owns them. They're rocks in the middle of the East Sea – the people here call it the Sea of Japan. So many names, it's hard to keep track. And that's what makes it worse. Both countries claim them and they were brilliant for fishing. But with both countries fishing around them, that's no longer the case. Some species haven't been seen there for over fifty years – it's not just overfishing, it's extinction."

  Who'd have guessed? The girl was an environmentalist at heart. Or was the little sea monster just protecting her own food supply?

  "To force a solution, my people decided the best way to do this was to propose a business arrangement that benefited both countries."

  There was a whole society of sea monsters? Luce tried not to grin. He wondered if the men found prickly Keiko attractive.

  "The proposal is an abalone farm, where the shellfish is processed on-site into a superior dried product, though we'll be using traditional recipes." Keiko grinned. "My grandmother's secret recipe, in fact.

  "Now, in order to protect our stocks and sea cages, we require assurances that no Japanese, Korean or foreign fishing activities occur within our little fish farm, and either the authority to police it, or assistance from both countries. The price we pay for this will be in the form of concessions to both Japan and Korea in pricing our product. We sell it to them cheaply, up to a particular quota. I have investors from both countries backing this project, so it's an international company, neither Korean nor Japanese."

  "How do they feel about a Japanese girl in charge, or were you thinking of letting someone else manage your farm?" Luce asked. Being the devil had its high points – you never played the devil's advocate when you worked on your own behalf. It was cheaper, too.

  Keiko shot him a withering glance. "I am a citizen of New Zealand, where I was born." She cleared her throat and continued, "Everything was going swimmingly, with both Japanese and South Korean authorities willing to come to some sort of terms. Until they set a date for formal discussions to take place and decided that they needed a North Korean delegate present. North Korea engaged a consultant to represent them – Han Dong-Suk."

  Luce burst out laughing. "You're kidding me, right? That can't be a real name!"

  "Mr Han is a businessman whose main business interests involve the facility management of nuclear power plants," Mel said softly. "He most certainly is real, and even more real is the lesser-known fact that he has access to North Korea's nuclear arsenal because of his experience with radiation containment. And with his political contacts in North Korea, he's usually a stabilising element, not a disruptive one." Mel turned shrewd eyes on Koyane and Keiko. "What's changed for Mr Han?"

  Keiko giggled. "He acquired a new asset. Her name is Sun-Hee and she's quite the little socialite. And now Mr Han is hell-bent on destroying my islands as a token of his love for his bride."

  Nothing expressed his power and virility like vaporising entire islands with a nuclear arsenal, Luce guessed. Humans could be so stupid sometimes. He bet the man couldn't satisfy his wife – that'd be why he felt the need to nuke things instead.

  "Why?" Mel asked.

  Luce opened his mouth to tell her his idea, then closed it to glare at Keiko, who was still giggling.

  "Apparently it's a doomed wartime romance," Keiko cooed. "Sun-Hee's grandmother or great-grandmother was in love with a man who came home safe from the Second World War, only to take up fishing. Because that was much safer. The Americans used the Rocks as a bombing range after the war, but the Korean fishermen didn't know that, so they were out fishing in the waters around the Rocks when some US planes flew in from the east and bombs rained from the sky. The woman's sweetheart was one of the unlucky ones – his boat got hit and he didn't come home. Sun-Hee was named for the old lady, who told her the tale when she was a little girl. To hear the grandmother tell it, those islands are a blight on the world. If they hadn't existed, then she wouldn't have lost the love of her life and been forced to marry her worthless husband, Sun-Hee's grandfather. Great-grandfather? Whatever. She told the story to Han once and he swore to level the islands to the ground before he lets anyone else bomb them."

  "Vaporising them before someone else can? That makes sense," Luce joked.

  "No it doesn't, stupid. Or not to anyone who isn't thinking with his dick, anyway." Keiko eyed his pants with a disdainful sniff. "Destroying the islands above the waterline will kill fish locally and pollute water and air for miles around, making the present situation even worse. At least with the islands there, contested between two countries, no one else is going to bomb them."

  Luce opened his mouth to respond, but Mel's calming hand over his distracted him.

  "I believe Luce was joking, Keiko-san," she said. "I'm sure he understands the gravity of the situation as clearly as any of us. You're planning a business venture at these islands and you'd like it to succeed for both personal and professional reasons; the Korean and Japanese governments, despite a long history of disagreement over the islands' ownership, are willing to reach some sort of compromise because they support what could be a highly lucrative business; yet Mr Han has brought all this cooperation to a standstill by his desire to please his wife by making a statement of power and military might." She scanned their faces. "So, it's simple. The key is Mrs Han. We need to get her to call off her husband."

  "We've tried that," Keiko said glumly. "She's told him many times she doesn't care about the islands and she wouldn't notice if he giftwrapped them or bombed them out of existence. And he
r husband won't budge." She stared intently at Mel. "Murielle-san, I've heard that you're a miracle worker. We'll need one of your miracles now. I've secured invitations to a private party the Hans are holding so you can meet them tonight."

  Mel beamed. "A party sounds lovely. Luce, you did bring a suit, didn't you?"

  "Let me take a picture," Luce begged, holding up his phone. He'd never used its camera before, but how hard could it be?

  "Of what?"

  "How lovely you look tonight," he replied, tapping the button which he hoped would take a picture. "You know I love you, right?"

  She laughed and blushed. "And I love you, Luce."

  Mel looked absolutely beautiful. Her cocktail dress was gold silk that shimmered and her only jewellery was a string of creamy-gold pearls that he'd never seen before.

  "Where did you get those?" he whispered, caressing her neck. They were definitely real, but such an unusual colour.

  She ducked her head. "They were a gift from a friend, a long time ago. Every time I've tried to part with them, they always seem to return to me, so I've decided to keep them. They feel almost like old friends themselves, after all this time."

  Luce mentally kicked himself for not having bought her jewellery. He'd never seen her wear any before, but now that he had, he could correct his mistake. Hopefully. "A friend? Or a lover? Was it Patrick? Or Koyane?"

  Mel laughed softly. "No, none of them. They were a gift from a grateful human leader."

  They moved up in the receiving line until they faced their hosts.

  "Han-san, may I present Murielle-san, who you already know, and Mr Luce Iblis, the CEO of the HELL Corporation?" Keiko said.

  Han inclined his head in a disinterested bow and turned his attention to the people behind them. At his side, the Korean girl dressed in something pink and frilly stared avidly at them, wiggling as if she was trying to dislodge a spider that had slipped inside the pink dress. Keiko repeated her introduction to Sun-Hee, who erupted in a fountain of giggles that grated on Luce's ear. It didn't help that this girl could have passed for Persephone's sister.

  "Call me Sunny, Mr Iblis," she simpered, stretching up to kiss his cheeks. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "My friend Keiko says you're a dick. I'd like to see that." She reached down and squeezed.

  Luce pried her fingers loose and stepped back. "Mrs Han, that will land you in a world of trouble that you can't handle."

  This only seemed to excite her further. "Oh, I love trouble, Mr Iblis. In fact, I'm often a very bad girl."

  Though he tried to resist it, the image of Level Two in Hell popped into his head and wouldn't leave. "Be careful, then. I know the punishment for bad girls."

  "I bet you do," she breathed. "I'd love you to show me some time." She gave him a smouldering look until Luce wanted to upend a jug of cold water over her head. Stupid human had no idea.

  Sunny had only a bored bow for Mel before turning her attention to the next guest.

  Mel took Luce's arm and walked him over to a waiter, who offered them drinks. Mel sipped her ice wine until the waiter moved out of earshot, when she whispered, "Looks like Sun-Hee took quite a shine to you. I'm sure with all your wit and charm, you'll have no problem persuading her to speak to her husband on our behalf. When we get home, I'll be able to tell everyone that you're the angel who averted nuclear war."

  His perfect angel in gold silk or her irritating cousin's doppelganger – what a choice! As he stared at her longingly, Mel winked. "Just as long as you come home with me tonight. I admit I've been thinking about sharing a futon with you since I first booked the flights." She reached for a waiter's tray and snagged another glass of wine. "Here, go take her a drink. She looks lonely and bored. Just make sure she enjoys her night."

  "What about you?" He wasn't sacrificing Mel's night for some woman he didn't know.

  Mel smiled. "I'm working, too. I figured you'd be spending the evening with Mr Han, businessman to businessman, but if you're taking care of his wife, then I'll have to do my best to take your place. The sooner we get this situation sorted, the sooner we can go home."

  It sounded so simple. And Mel was never wrong, right?

  Luce winked and headed for the listless-looking Sunny, who lit right up the moment she saw him. "You look like you need a drink," he said, offering her a wineglass.

  She snatched the glass from his hand and beamed back. "Ah-ah-ah, Mr Iblis, I think you're trying to get me drunk so I'll tell you my husband's secrets."

  Luce grinned. "Actually, I was hoping you'd spill some of yours."

  Her shock was faked, he was sure of it. "Mr Iblis! I'm sure I have no secrets." She smiled coyly. "Oh, maybe just one or two."

  He stood beside her, sipping his drink, waiting for her to continue. He had no idea how to make small talk with a woman like this. He was much more comfortable ordering them around.

  "You're not like my husband or any of his boring businessman friends. I bet you're not like them in bed, either. I bet you know exactly what you want and just how to get it." She punctuated the last few words by poking him in the chest.

  He brushed her hand away. "Mrs Han, no man's as good as me in bed, on the desk or occasionally even up against the bookcase in my office. And if you touch me without my permission one more time, I might just have to get the handcuffs out."

  Her excited gasp told him he'd guessed right. "Mr Iblis! Why, I'm shocked. I'll tell you what. I'll trade you a secret for one of yours."

  Luce shrugged. "Sure. You first. Why would a happily married woman flirt so outrageously with a businessman she barely knows?"

  She smacked his arm lightly. "What a naughty question! I'll tell you, but not here. How about in the library?"

  Library? This woman didn't seem like much of a reader. Not like Mel. She devoured books on her phone like he couldn't believe. He followed Sunny out of the reception room and through three sets of sliding screens before they reached a timber-floored passage. The passage ended in another screen, which slid sibilantly aside to reveal walls lined with bookcases. A desk stood in the middle, pushed up against a pink chaise longue that looked exactly the right size for the diminutive woman in front of him.

  She spun on the spot, waving her hands at the shelves. "This is where I keep my CEOs, billionaires, Navy SEALs, rock stars, bikers…ooh, and MMA fighters. Every one of them strong and masterful, powerful enough to bend any woman to their will."

  Luce looked more closely at the shelves. If he didn't know better, he might be in the harpies' private library on Level Seven. The books were all tattered paperbacks full of men the likes of which he'd never met. "Fictional heroes. Men who don't exist outside of books," he dismissed them.

  "You're here. And you're not in a book," she teased.

  "Are you going to answer the question I asked earlier? Now we're here in private and all?"

  Her little pink tongue darted out and wet her lips. Between that and the playful look in her eyes, she reminded him of a kitten. A tiny, cute-looking bundle until it sank all its needle-sharp teeth and claws into you for daring to touch it. Luce hated kittens almost as much as he'd been scared of swans.

  "My marriage is one of convenience. I made him wait until after marriage for sex, because I believed it was the correct thing to do, but it appears he only agreed to it because he never wanted me in the first place. I stand at his side in functions like this one, but it's a sham, Mr Iblis. I married a man I thought would have the power to take me as hard as any of these book heroes, but he never has. Not even on our wedding night – he never came to my bed." She grabbed the hem of her black dress and jerked it up to her waist, revealing black stockings and bare skin, before bending over the desk. "You're man enough, aren't you, Mr Iblis? Take me. Take me now."

  She could have been Persephone's sister for sure. What was wrong with her? And what would Mel think if she saw this?

  "Mrs Han, I can't. I have –"

  "Ten seconds to bury yourself balls deep in my cunt or I'll call security and te
ll them you forced me. Japan has strict penalties for rapists."

  Mel would kill him. No matter what he did, she'd kill him. So which was the lesser of two evils? Taking his pleasure of this willing woman and turning her into an adulterer, or getting arrested and ruining Mel's evening, as well as any chance they had at getting on this crazy woman's good side?

  "What about foreplay?" Luce asked weakly.

  She yanked open a drawer beside her leg, revealing an impressive array of vibrators and other toys. "As long as you fuck me, you can do anything you want. Do I have to beg, Mr Iblis?"

  Ugh, no. Mel had told him to make sure this woman enjoyed her night. Charm her, she'd said. This woman didn't want charm. She wanted to be fucked roughly like some nameless PA on his desk, like he'd done when he was a demon.

  "Please, Mr Iblis," she simpered, giving him a look that she probably thought was sweet.

  Swallowing, Luce strode forward and placed his hand at the back of her neck. "Keep your head down. No eye contact until I say so. Hold on to the edge of the desk with both hands. Brace yourself. I'm going to fuck you so hard, you'll be feeling my cock all week." Imagining it, more like, he thought as he picked up a dildo from the drawer.

  "Murielle-san, it's been a long time."

  Mel turned with an automatic smile for the man behind her. "Director, I'm sure it's only been two years since the tsunami."

  Han Dong-Suk frowned, filling his plate with items from the buffet. "The tsunami? I forgot you were there. I was so busy handling press about that nuclear power plant that got hit…and then having to upgrade all the facilities on the mainland. It's been a very busy few years. But good ones, for that's how I met my wife, Sun-Hee. She was at a fundraiser to assist those left homeless by the tsunami. I am afraid I've had eyes for no other woman since." He smiled, but still seemed sad.

  "I heard that you'd finally discovered love. Congratulations, Director. I'm very happy for you. I sincerely hope you'll both be very happy together." She couldn't say that she knew, for the future of this couple was clouded. Perhaps by her own interference, she thought uneasily.