Chapter 14

I paced back and forth in front of the map table. I was going to put a rut on the floor if I wasn't careful. But it had already been three weeks since Elly had been taken, and I was getting desperate. I wouldn't let myself fall into alcoholism or drugs like Dean tended to. And I wasn't going to bury myself in hunt after hunt like Sam did. No, I was looking everywhere I could think of. Turning over every stone and looking in every dark crevice. Cael had never come back so I'd figured he'd ditched as soon as he'd left the bunker, I'd have to deal with that another day. Right now, I was waiting for Cas to return, hoping that he had good news this time.

"Anything?" I bombarded him with as he appeared in the room. I briskly walked up to him and took fistfuls of his jacket, "Tell me you found something. Anything."

Cas shook his head and I fell against him. "You need to sleep." He said, placing a hand on my back, "You're going to make yourself sick if you don't." Cas took my weight and helped me to a seat at the map table. "I have some news, though it's not what you were looking for."

I hung my head in my hands, barely watching the angel as he moved to Dean. My brother had stayed up with, or at least had tried to. Now he was asleep, head lying on the table.

"What's the point Cas?" I said, "You didn't find her."

Cas gingerly touched Dean's shoulder and shook him a little, waking Dean from whatever dream he'd been in.

"Did you find her?" My brother asked when he was fully conscious.

Cas again, shook his head. "No."

"But he has different news." I sighed.

"And it's not good." Cas looked between Dean and I, making sure he had our attention, "Lucifer escaped sometime last night."

"What?!" Dean and I said together.

Dean was quicker to his feet than I was. "Great!" He yelled, "That's exactly what we needed to add to our plates!"

"Dean…you'll wake Sam," I mumbled. But he was right to be angry. The damn archangel had been a thorn in our side for years now, ever since he'd come looking for his perfect vessel, and it had taken all we'd had to get him locked up again. To know he was free, again, was frustrating, to say the least. 

"Too late.." Sam said with a yawn, entering from the hallway, "Do you know how he got out? I thought we made sure the angel warding was going to be enough this time?"

Cas shrugged. "The demons weren't sure. And the angels are in such hysterics, they won't be much help anytime soon."

I groaned, "Great. That's just fucking amazing." I laid my head on the cool table, "Anyone heard anything from Crowley?"

When no response came I sighed again. I kept my head on the table, now closing my eyes, only to open them when Sam placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. His hazel eyes held worry, and I knew it was more for me than anything else right now. I had been a wreck since Elly had gone missing. I had barely slept, barely eaten, and hadn't been on a hunt since I'd gotten home. The only thing I wanted to do was find her and bring her home. Nothing else mattered.

"Have you heard anything from Ketch or Cael?" Dean asked, sitting down again.

"Nope." I made a popping sound at the end of the word, "Ketch is doing what he can with the limited contacts he still has. And Cael went MIA."

The room was silent for a long moment. I could feel the tension thick in the air and it was going to drive me mad. We had been nowhere close to finding Elly. Every lead we had ended in a knot. Any demon we'd caught had no information to give, they didn't even seem to know why Asmodeus would want Elly in the first place. So we'd given up on asking them. And now we add an escaped Lucifer to that and we have a giant steaming pile of dog shit to dig through. I had even lost hope in Cael again. I thought maybe I'd finally gotten through to him a little, but now that he hadn't returned with or without Elly, I wasn't sure. 

I felt like I was going to be sick.

My phone began to buzz on the other side of the table. I reached my hand out towards it, and Dean pushed it in my direction just enough so it slid to me. I looked at the number on the screen and frowned, it wasn't one I recognized. Maybe it was one of Ketch' contacts reaching out, or Asmodeus calling to make a deal. I sighed and picked it up.

"Ya?" I said.

"Alex?" It was like hearing the voice of God. Hearing her voice on the other line was music to my tired ears.

"Elly…" I nearly choked on the name. I shot up in my seat, sending the room spinning, "Fuck." I closed my eyes, "My god. Are you ok? Where the fuck are you?"

"Vegas, don't ask it's a long story," Elly answered. She didn't sound frightened at all. That was hopefully a good thing. "Can you come get me?"

"How the fuck did you get to Vegas?" I asked, quickly continuing before she could answer, "Never mind. Ya, I'll come get you. I'll leave right away. Will you be ok until I can get there? It'll take me just under a day. I can send Cas…"

"No!" She said quickly, "No…I'm ok. You don't have to send anyone." She cleared her throat, "I'm completely safe here for another night. I'll even put some sigils up."

My brain was scrambled, thinking of the fastest way to her. "Ok. Good. Where in Vegas are you?"

"You won't believe me." She laughed, "The Bellagio."

She was right, "Holy…I don't wanna know how. You can tell me when we get you back home safely." I pushed a finger against my temple. My head was pounding. "Call me if anything goes wrong ok?"

"Of course, be careful," Elly said.

I laughed a little, "Thank god you're alright. I'll be there soon ok?"

"Ok." She said before hanging up.

I let the phone drop from my hand. It hit the table with a thud. The tears had been falling for a few moments now, silent and hot on my cheeks. She was ok. She was ok! I started laughing.

"Alex?" Sam asked cautiously, his hand squeezing my shoulder.

"I'm ok," I said, sniffling. "She's alive. Sounded good too. Not sure if this is a trap or not, but I need to go."

"You shouldn't be driving in your condition." Cas said, "You haven't slept in over twenty-four hours."

"I couldn't sleep right now even if I wanted to." I stood up, "I need to go get her." I walked away from the table, "I'll take Ketch if you're all that concerned about my driving abilities." 

No one objected at that time. And no one could have convinced me otherwise anyway. I was going to get her and nothing could stop me. Not even God himself.

Ketch did end up coming with me. It was virtually a non-stop drive to Nevada, really only stopping for gas when it was necessary. And almost the entire ride was silent, we knew there was nothing either of us could say to make the situation a brighter one. I still blamed myself heavily for what happened to Elly. I don't think I would even not blame myself for it. And if anything serious had happened while she'd been in the possession of demons, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. She was my responsibility.

It was early morning as we pulled into the strip, a weird time of day to see the city. Most of its life came after dusk, so during the day, while it was still busy, it wasn't one giant party. Finding the hotel was relatively easy. I parked the car in the closest spot I could find and jumped out. 

"Stay here." I wasn't giving a suggestion, "If I'm not back in an hour, then come get me. Other wise I'll call."

I didn't wait for much of a response before racing towards the hotel. Once inside I didn't bother to stop by the front desk, I'd called on the way and figured out what room she was in so I went straight for the elevator. I'd have to figure out how she'd been able to afford the damn presidential suite later. Right now it didn't matter. 

Once the elevator door opened on the top floor, I found myself running the short distance down the hall to the only door. I pounded on the door, only waiting a few seconds before hammering it again. I had been so tense the entire drive. If she wasn't here I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Scream? Cry? Shot something? All were viable answers for what would happen if Elly wasn't in this room. But, as the door slowly opened, there she was. Standing safe and sound in a silk bathrobe. 

"Alex?" Elly yawned, "I wasn't expecting you until sometime tonight. Did you speed? You must have."

I stepped through the door and scooped her up in the same movement, crushing her into a hug. "Fuck. I'm so glad you're alright." I cried, holding onto her probably too tightly, "Did Cael find you? He was supposed to find you and bring you back."

"The big dark and scary guy?" She winced out. I dropped her, quickly apologizing, "Ya, I saw him briefly. But I told him I'd find my way back."

"I'm glad you saw him at least." I pushed a lock of her hair out of her face, "Are you hurt?"

She started to laugh as I looked her over, "I'm fine, promise."

I snatched her hand, seeing a small but healing cut on her palm, "They did hurt you…" 

"No," She said, "That was my fault. I'm ok." She smiled at me, a bright warm smile. "I feel better than I have in a while."

I studied her face, she wasn't lying. She looked rested, at ease almost. Like she's never been sent to a world full of monsters in the first place.

"Ok." I sighed, "Are you ready to go?" I looked around her and into the rest of the room, "I left Ketch in the car and I don't need him coming in here guns 'blazin because we're late." I smiled at the small laugh she let out. "And we need to get you back to a safe place."

"Right." She sighed, it was almost a sad sound. "Ya, just let me go get dressed. I'll be back in a minute." She turned away from me and walked back into the suite. "I think I ruined your shirt. Sorry, I'll buy you a new one," she called back as I wandered into the room and looked around.

It was spectacular. Nothing life in the bunker could ever compare to, so it was no wonder she was sad about leaving. Nothing I could give her would ever come close. The bunker was the closest thing I had to a home for a very long time, but something like this…I felt like I could get used to it very quickly. I could have something like this if I let myself. If we left the life. Settled down…

I shook my head, clearing the sappy thoughts. No, this was my life. And a hunter never left the life. Those who tried ended up dead or a monster themselves. This was how it had to be. No backing down.

"You'll have to tell me how the hell you afford this." I looked up at the tall ceiling. A beautiful glass chandelier hung from its center.

"I hit the jackpot at slots," Elly called from one of the rooms.

"I'll have to take you gambling with me. Maybe you'll change my streak." I teased. "There's a fucking piano…" I mused, running my fingers over the black wood. I played a few notes, not thinking about how early it was. 

There were footsteps behind me and I turned to greet them, "You rea…" I stopped, the entire room around me suddenly feeling cold and unwelcoming. "You."

"Mornin' Doll," Lucifer said, a cocky grin on his face. He folded his arms over his bare chest and cocked his head to the side at me. "Are you glad to see me? After all, it's been what? A year now?" I pulled my gun from its holster on my hip, aiming it at him. My finger was already on the trigger, a twitch away from firing. "You know that won't do anything to me." He chuckled.

"For an angel with as little grace as you?" I laughed, "It'll do something. And that's all I need to get out of here."

"You'd shoot your perfect fit?" He sneered.

"How did you get out?" I should ignore his reminder. It would only get under my skin again, and he knew that.

"Oh. Well, Elizabeth. She's been a fun little toy. But you'd already know that, right?" There was a nasty look in his eyes. It was smug, taunting. "Sucking up her soul like you do."

"You know nothing about that." My finger itched on the trigger. What was I waiting for? There should've been no hesitation here at all. It was Lucifer for fucks sake!

"Don't I?" He tilted his head to the other side. "Elizabeth is very open about some things if you catch my drift." He winked at me. I could feel my blood turn hot. He was toying with me, pulling my strings.

"Shut up," I pulled back enough to cock the gun. "You know I'll do it."

"Try it, doll." That nickname again, "You know I'm untouchable."

The room centered in on him. That was all I could focus on. Just Lucifer standing there in front of me, shirtless. Why was he shirtless? That didn't matter at the moment. Right now he needed to die. It didn't even occur to me how loud the shot would be. Because that didn't matter either. If I could end him here and now, even though I had no idea how I'd do it, but if I could I'd be able to get Elly out of here. She'd be one step closer to being completely safe. And it would be one more thing ticked off my to-do list.

"She'll come back soon. Why don't you put that away?" I unfolded his arms and motioned for me to put the gun down.

"Fuck off!" My finger pulled back on the trigger without another thought.

There was a loud crack through the air and I blinked. I never saw it happen. I never saw her move. My whole world shattered in an instant. Elly was stood there, between Lucifer and I, arms outstretched like she was shielding him. The gun fell from my hands as a red stain began to form just under her heart.

"Don't. He…he saved me." her voice was shaking. "Please…don't.." Elly crumpled forward onto the white carpet.

"Elly…" I couldn't focus on anything but her. 

My legs moved on their own and I was in front of her, reaching for her as if she was a fragile china doll about to break. I pulled the jacket I'd been wearing off and applied it to the wound. Blood soaked through it quickly, covering my hands as I pressed on her chest.

"It'll…It'll be ok…" But my voice was shaking. I was trying to convince myself more than her, I knew that. 

I took one of my now blood-soaked hands from her, leaving the other to keep pressure, and fished my phone from my pocket. Blood smeared over the screen as I struggled to call Ketch.

"Are you ok?" He asked first, "I thought I heard a…"

"I need help…" I could hear the crack in my voice, "I…she's…please." The line dropped. 

I pushed my phone away and placed my now empty hand over the other again. I saw Lucifer crouch in front of us. He reached towards her, palm outstretched.

"Don't you touch her!" The words ripped from my throat before I could stop them.

Lucifer's dark eyes studied me, "I didn't shoot her, doll."

"Stop calling me that." It was a hiss.

I looked around the room for something, anything, that would be helpful. But everything seemed so far away now, and she was bleeding out so quickly. My mind was a jumbled mess of overwhelming guilt. The tears were falling from my eyes as the door opened and I looked up into those silver eyes.

"H-help…" 

Ketch didn't need to know what happened. Didn't even question anything before kneeling beside me and looking over Elly, who was now a deathly pale color. Almost all life had drained from her face, and the pale color was slowly leaking into the rest of her body. Her chest rattled with each breath as if she was trying to breathe underwater. I was going to lose her. I had murdered my best friend.

"We should get her to a hospital." Ketch' laid a hand on my shoulder. It was meant to be comforting, but in the moment it felt prickly and unwelcome.

"There's no time, Queen Elizabeth." Lucifer said, "You've killed her."

"Shut up," I had wanted it to sound cold or harsh, but it came out as nothing more than a pathetic whimper.

"You probably punctured one of her lungs," The fallen angel continued, "She'll choke on her blood."

"Let's try getting her to the car." Ketch ignored Lucifer. "We need to hurry now."

"You'll just kill her faster if you move her." Lucifer pointed out, standing smugly a little ways off now.

He was right. I knew that. Ketch had to know that. We were going to watch her die. Her blood was on my hands. I had killed her….I killed her….I killed her….I killed….

"Move," Lucifer gently pushed me away from Elly.

I fell back onto the floor, no fight in my body as I watched him. Lucifer didn't say anything, he simply brushed her hair from her face. It was oddly loving. It didn't seem right for him. Not right for the devil. 

I watched as Lucifer pulled back my jacket, and very carefully placed his hand over the wound. Elly groaned softly, and I fought the urge to move to her again. A small blue light radiated from his hand. He was healing her. Saving her. Why was he using his grace on her? She was nothing to him. A human that he couldn't possibly care for. This wasn't like him. There was something wrong here. The man who could turn an angel into dust with a snap of his fingers, the man who had thrown the largest temper tantrum in the world, the man who ruined most things he touched, was healing a human woman he barely knew. Why?

Elly inhaled deeply, color rushing to her face as she began to cough. I pushed from the ground and went to her side again, pulling her into my arms.

"I'm so…sorry." I sobbed. I ran my hands through her hair as I hugged her close to my chest. 

Elly nodded against me, her breathing steady again. I looked up to where Lucifer stood now, his hand now covered in her blood, too. I couldn't make myself say the words. Never would I have ever thought of saying them to him. He had ruined my life over and over again, and here he was fixing it? There was something for him to gain here. There had to be.

But there would be time to think about that later. I could hear sirens in the distance. Someone else had likely heard the shot and had called the authorities.

"We need to go." Ketch stood and extended a hand to me, "Let me take her."

"Be careful." Lucifer said, standing away from us again, "I did what I could."

"You're coming with us." I released Elly as Ketch took her into his arms. 

"Not a chance." Lucifer huffed, "I got out fair and square, I'm going to go find my son."

"And I'm your only way to him, dickbag." I informed him, hesitantly grabbing my gun and phone from the floor. "I'm not going to let you out of my sight. You're too much of a problem on your own."

Lucifer stood silent as if she was weighing his options over in his head. Not that he had much choice in the matter. 

"She's not a piece of meat," I said when I noticed Lucifer staring at Elly, "So stop staring at her like that."

"We need to go," Ketch urged as the sirens got closer.

"Take her out to the car." I instructed, "There's a change of clothes for her in the trunk." I pushed my car keys into his pocket, "We'll be right behind you." I looked over the concern in his eyes as he looked over me and who our present company was. "I promise."

Ketch nodded, leaving the matter there as he headed for the door, Elly still draped in his arms. I watched them leave down the hallway before returning to the devil in the room. I walked over to Lucifer and took his arm. He didn't fight as I dragged him towards the bedroom. I wasn't sure how low his grace was, but surely it wasn't low enough to not threaten me.

"Get a shirt," I ordered, pushing him into the room.

He didn't protest, or make a snide comment. He just followed orders. I stared at his bare back as he searched for a shirt. There were deep scratches down it that I was just noticing. I wondered briefly where they might have come from as he finally found a shirt and covered himself. I let the thought drop from my mind as I snatched up his arm again, leading him from the suite and into the hall.

"We should take the stairs," Lucifer suggested.

"I am not running down a hundred flights of stairs…" I grumbled, ready to pull him around the corner to the elevators. But I pulled him back just as quickly as the doors dinged open a several cops stepped out. "Right, stairs."

We ran down the stairs as quickly as we could. My heart pounded in my chest by the time we reached the bottom floor. I pulled the devil behind me as we raced outside to my car waiting. I threw Lucifer into the back seat and jumped into the passenger seat. Ketch didn't wait for me to put my belt on before pulling away from the curb and speeding down the strip.

I turned in my seat and looked over Elly as he drove. She was leaning against the door. Most of the color had returned to her, but she just looked so exhausted. She gave me a kind smile when she noticed me looking.

"I'm ok," She whispered.

I nodded and turned back around to look at the road, briefly looking in the side mirror to see if we were being followed. We seemed to be safe, but without anything to focus on, I was left to stare at the drying blood on my hands. It was dark red and flaking off in places now, leaving stains on my hands underneath. It made me feel sick, I wanted it off my skin.

"Ketch, can you find us somewhere to stay? We need to rest and most of us could use fresh clothes." I spoke softly. 

He nodded, acknowledging me but not interrupting my thinking. It was like he knew I needed to process what had just happened. I would have to thank him for it later. What a change I had made in this man.

I turned again, looking at Lucifer this time, "You," I stated, "Are not going to be left alone. I swear to god I will do everything in my power to make sure you never see Jack again if you disappear."

I watched his jaw clench and his eyes darker in color. He was going to retort when Elly spoke up.

"Oh stop!" She rolled her eyes, "He didn't do anything wrong."

"Didn't do anything wrong?!" I demanded, huffing with a new rage, "You should know damn well everything he's done, Elly."

"You don't get ot yell at her." Lucifer hissed.

My eyes narrowed as I looked between them, "Just because you saved her doesn't mean you get to be her knight in shining armor."

"I got her out of Hell without a fucking scratch." Lucifer stabbed, "You're damn angel couldn't even pull that off. You said so yourself he's gone AWOL again."

"How did you manage to get out?" I asked, looking between the two of them again, "There were angel wardings of every kind stitched into your cell."

A weak laugh came from Elly, and it turned into a small cough as she tried to steady herself. Guilty pain shot through my heart. 

"Bobby pin." She finally answered with a proud smile.

"You're bloody joking." Ketch scoffed, "There's no way you escaped Hell with a damn hair clip."

Elly nodded, pushing her blood-covered hair out of her face as she laughed again, "Kinda sad huh?"