Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 6

sandwich. Sam followed suit and found it tasted as good as it smelled.
    They ate in companionable silence for a while, before talking about the project that Brandon was working on. A knock at the door had them both frozen.
    A short glance at Brandon showed that he was looking at Samael, eyes wide with fear. He was obviously not expecting company. Sam put his plate on the coffee table.
    "Bedroom. Hide," he growled, and Bran darted off and shut himself in the room.
    Samael was just standing when the door crashed in, breaking the frame and banging against the wall before coming to a stop half off its hinges. Three armed men strode through: Asmodeus, some human that he had never seen before, and…
    "Gadreel?"
    Sam reached for the Demon Dagger, but realized it was not on him. He had left it in the bedroom thinking it wasn't needed.
    "Hello Samael. What a pleasure it is to see you." The angel's smile was all teeth, saying without words, that it was no pleasure at all. Sam was right there with him on that.
    He narrowed his eyes at his enemy. "What are you doing here, Gadreel?" He had been asking that question a lot, as of late.
    The human answered instead, flashing the gun in his hand. "Master C is here in person to collect the money he is owed."
    Money? The twenty thousand dollars. Shit! Everything slammed into his head at once, like a fast moving picture slide show. He remembered it all. The entirety of what he had discovered, or Brandon had told him, fit themselves together in a psychotic puzzle in his mind; one that he had not had all of the pieces to, until now.
    "Carlos, Chris. I saw Carlos, and two other of Master C's goons. No, let me rephrase that, I saw their fists and guns."
    "So, he told me to call the man he got the drugs from, said he would loan me the cash."
    "Your father is coming to get you."
    "I don't know who he is, never met him."
    "His father. His father wants him, so he set up a situation where Brandon would have no choice."
    "No!" It was not possible.
    Gadreel laughed evilly, walking to the window by the couch. "You always were too smart for your own good, Sam."
    "You're... you're his… father?"
    "That's right. Brandon is my flesh and blood. You know what they say, 'like father like son.'" The angel had a sneer on his face, while his two companions were snickering.
    That was a fabrication of the highest degree. His Little Raven was nothing like Gadreel. Nothing. Bran was good, loyal, and selfless. Gadreel was the complete opposite of those things.
    "What do you want with him?" Sam snapped, trying to keep all of the men and their weapons in his line of sight simultaneously.
    "Well, that is very simple." The angel leaned back against the window, and crossed his arms. "He is mine." Sam's hackles rose. Brandon was his not Gadreel's. "Bran is Nephilim, and has gifts that will come in quite handy to me. It is time he thanked me for giving him life, and used them in loyalty to me. Besides," Gadreel broke away from the window and walked to the center of the room. "He has been without his father for far too long, poor fellow. It's more than time he got to know his dear old dad."
    No! This was not happening. Gadreel had taken everything from him; he was not going to take Brandon too.
    The angel made a motion with his hand and the two armed men surrounded Samael, their handguns directed at his head. Sam looked at Asmodeus. The demon seemed wary, as he should be. "You remember what I said to you A?" Sam whispered.
    Fear filled Asmodeus' eyes. Oh, he remembered all right. "Don't Sam. You are only human now." He sounded firm and sure, but the hand holding the gun was trembling slightly.
    "You will be the first." Sam growled at him quietly. He almost expected the demon to piss his pants. Human or not, Asmodeus was afraid of him. Rightly so.
    "Brandon!" Gadreel shouted. "Come out here boy."
    "No, Bran, stay where you are." Sam yelled in reply.
    Gadreel stared at him, eyebrows furrowed. "We have Samael at gunpoint, Bran. We will shoot him if you do not show yourself."
    Sam cursed. His Little Raven was too loyal not to respond to that threat, and he knew it.
    "Calm down," the angel directed at Sam. "It's not as if this place is big. We would find him anyway."
    He knew that was the truth, but he'd hoped he could stop them in time; even if his death was the price. Samael was probably the only being he knew that held no fear of Death. Not that he wanted to go yet, he did not want to leave Bran like that.
    A minute