The worst part of the long elevator ride down to Hell was the music. Unlike normal elevators which usually piped in soft Jazz, the elevator to the Underworld played whichever song you hated most at the moment on repeat. Any other time of the year, that would've meant my ears would be assaulted by Justin Bieber's "Baby." On Christmas Eve, however, the elevator had decided to provide me with an extra special torture: Christmas songs.

"Kill me now," I groaned, as "The Chipmunk Song" played for the fourteenth time in a row. "Seriously, this is inhumane."

"I never claimed to be human," a man whispered in my ear.

I flinched. I'd recognize that warm British voice anywhere. "Lucifer."

"Guilty as charged," he replied, appearing in front of me in a burst of flame. "You're looking lovely today, Lily."

To say the Devil's second in command looked like sin incarnate would've been a horrible cliché and wouldn't do the man justice. With his hooded green eyes, tousled golden blond hair, and mischievous grin, Lucifer always appeared ready to seduce the nearest person into his bed with nothing more than a wink and a smile.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, doing my best to avoid making eye contact with him by fixing my gaze on the black needle hanging on the wall above me. It inched past the fifth circle of Hell as the elevator continued its descent.

Lucifer grasped my right hand before I could jerk away and smoothed his thumb over the matchstick tattoo on my wrist. I'd received the tattoo four years ago when I'd signed my soul away, and the head of the match burned whenever my presence was required in Hell.

"I'm the one who summoned you here."

"What?" I tore my hand from his grip, hating that I could still feel the heat from where his skin had touched mine. "That's impossible. Only Abaddon can summon me. I signed a contract with him, not you."

"Yesterday, that may have been true, but Abaddon has a fondness for gambling." He snapped his fingers and a piece of parchment covered in blood red ink appeared and floated in the air. "In last night's poker game he wagered your soul's contract and lost. Now, I own your contract." He nodded at the parchment. "Take a look for yourself if you don't believe me."

Frowning, I snatched the contract out of the air. This had to be some cruel joke. My eyes raced across the parchment. I knew the agreement by heart. If even one word was different, I'd know Lucifer was lying.

I, Lily Abigail Keating, agree to collect 501 souls for the Devil by January 1st, 2017 in exchange for my brother's freedom. Should I attempt to break this contract or fail to meet the appointed deadline, my soul will be forfeit and I will serve the Devil for all eternity.

At the bottom, my signature sat next to Abaddon's. My heart clenched. It was my contract. Beneath the signatures was an addendum.

I, Abaddon, agree to transfer ownership of this contract to Lucifer. I herby give him permission to make changes to any and all parts of the contract.

"As you can see, Abaddon not only signed your contract over to me, but he also gave me carte blanche." Lucifer snapped his fingers and the contract vanished from my hands. "Now, I've reviewed your file, and I couldn't help but notice you're twelve souls short of your quota."

"I have until New Year's Day." I folded my arms across my chest, the last sentence of the addendum still bugging me.

"Not anymore."

"What do you mean? The contract clearly states that I have until January 1st."

"The contract also says that I can change it. As of this moment, your new deadline is midnight tonight."

"Twelve souls by midnight on Christmas Eve?" I sputtered. "That's....that's...impossible. It's not a fair deal."

"I'm a demon. I'm known for being treacherous, not for being fair. If you wanted a fair deal, you should've gone to an angel." He glanced down at his watch. "You have twelve hours until midnight. If I were you, I'd spend less time complaining about how life isn't fair and more time collecting souls."

Before I could open my mouth to reply, he snapped his fingers. The walls of the elevator evaporated. A moment later, I stood in my apartment and Lucifer was gone.

"This is officially the worst Christmas ever," I announced to my empty apartment.

As if in answer, my cell phone chirped. I pulled it out, hoping it'd be a text from my brother Michael explaining where he was.

Grabbing my winter coat from the hook near the door, I strode out of my apartment to find Maria Sanchez and convince her to join the Dark Side. The sooner I collected the twelve souls, the sooner I'd be able to celebrate Christmas with my brother.

I knew she was trouble the minute she walked into the diner. There was a fierce look of determination in her dark brown eyes; this was a woman on a mission. The matchstick tattoo on her wrist confirmed it. She was here to steal one of the souls I guarded. The only question was which one?

"Are you in love, Gabe?" Flo asked, sliding a slice of apple pie across the counter to me.

"What?" I didn't take my eyes off of the girl with the matchstick tattoo, tracking her movements as she strode past me.

"You've been coming to my diner for three years now and you've never looked at a woman like you're looking at her right now," Flo said. I could hear the smile in her voice.

"You know you're the only woman I'll ever love, Flo." I rose from the stool as the matchstick girl made her way to Henry's booth.

Flo laughed. "That's because I'm the only one who gives you free pie."

"Thanks, Flo. I have to go take care of something. I'll be back in a few minutes." I grabbed the plate and intercepted the girl before she could reach Henry.

Henry Foster was the last soul on my list, and I had thirteen minutes to convince him to sell his soul to the Devil. I had no idea how I was going to do it, but I was bound and determined not to leave the diner until I completed my contract. I was almost to the old man's table when someone stepped directly into my path, and I jerked to a halt to avoid collision.

"Excuse me," I muttered, already moving to step around the person.

"Hi," the man said, stepping to block my way once more.

I looked up and kept looking up until I finally reached the man's face. He was extraordinarily tall, his head nearly level with the mason jar lights which hung from the ceiling. He wouldn't even need a ladder to change the light bulbs, I found myself thinking with envy. At five foot nothing, I always needed to use chairs and counter tops to reach the highest cabinets in my kitchen.

"Sorry," I said, "I'm trying to get through."

"I know. I'm afraid I can't let you."

"What?"

He motioned to the booth nearest to us. "My name is Gabe. If you'll take a seat, I'll explain. It should only take a minute or two."

I stared into his cool blue eyes for several seconds, daring him to blink. "You're not going to let me by until I listen to what you have to say, are you?"

"Bingo."

"Fine," I said, sliding into the booth. "You have two minutes."

He placed his plate of pie on the table and took a seat opposite me. "I know why you're here."

"Oh really?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "This should be good." He was probably going to try some lame pick up line on me.

"You're here to collect Henry's soul for the Devil."

I froze. "What did you just say?"

"Your tattoo gave you away."

I pulled at the sleeve of my shirt, trying to cover the damn mark.

"You can't have Henry's soul or anyone else's in this diner for that matter. They're all under my protection."

"Right," I said with a snort, "because you're their guardian angel."

"I am."

"There's no way you're an angel. You're dressed in jeans and an ugly Christmas sweater. Angels are supposed to go around bare chested and wear loincloths."

"It's below zero outside."

"Angels have wings."

Gabe rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. A moment later, enormous white wings sprang from his back. My jaw dropped.

"You're an angel," I said in wonder. I glanced around the diner to see if any of the other patrons had noticed the man who suddenly had six feet tall wings. To my surprise, none of them was looking in our direction. It was like we were suddenly invisible. I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. I have to take Henry Foster's soul. He's the last one on my list, and I need his soul by midnight tonight."

I rose to exit the booth, but Gabe's hand snaked out and grabbed me by the wrist. "You can't have him."

I shivered at the feel of his skin pressed against mine. Unlike when Lucifer had traced my tattoo with his thumb, Gabe's touch felt deliciously cool. "Look, it's not like I want to do this, but I don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice."

"Oh, don't try that cheesy Hallmark Channel Christmas movie sappiness on me, it won't work. I have to complete my contract."

"It appears we're at an impasse." He stood from his seat, still grasping my wrist.

"Yes, we are."

"Well, then there's really only one thing to be done." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine.

I froze, unable to move, unable to think of anything except the feeling of his kiss.

"There," Gabe said, stepping back and ending the kiss, "that should do it."

"Why did you kiss me?" I gasped. "You don't even know my name. Why on earth would you think it's okay to kiss me?"

"I'm Gabriel, Angel of Time, and I kissed you to stop your life from moving forward."

"What?"

"My kiss can stop time."

"That's impossible." I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time. 11:59 PM. I counted to sixty in my head, but the time on my phone didn't change. "My phone must have stopped working."

Gabe nodded to the clock hanging on the diner wall. The hands were stopped at a minute to midnight.

"Why would you stop time?" I demanded.

"You said you needed to collect Henry's soul by midnight. I can't let you do that, but I also don't want you to lose your soul to the Devil for all eternity. So, if you agree not to try to steal Henry's soul, I'll keep it from ever being midnight."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Why would you do that for me?"

He gave me a sheepish grin. "I'm a sucker for a lost cause. We angels like to think we can save everyone. So, do we have a deal?"

I hesitated. Signing a deal with a demon is what had gotten me into this mess in the first place. Should I really be making another deal? Then again, Gabe was an angel.

I grasped his hand and shook it. "If we're going to spend eternity in this diner together, you should probably know my name. It's Lily."

"It's nice to meet you, Lily. Have some pie."

"Eternity with an angel and pie? I think I could get used to that."