She remembered this part—her father had said he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to reach the boy. Then, after a solid week of pressure, Beck had finally turned in the assignment, six barely readable sentences, riddled with misspellings.

  “Did yer daddy tell you what I wrote?” he asked.

  “No.” He’d taken that secret to his grave.

  “I wrote that all I wanted was somebody who wouldn’t judge me for who I was and where I came from. I just wanted a chance like everyone else.” He leaned back against the tree and gazed upward at the stars, as if he could see her dad in Heaven. “Instead of laughin’ at me, Paul said he’d be happy to give me that chance, but in return I had to earn it.”

  “He was amazing,” Riley said, the loss pulling at her heart. Both of her parents had been so great.

  “Still is. Probably teachin’ angels a thing or two.” He looked over at her, pensive now. “I gave him hell for another week or so, and then we started workin’ together, after school. Most of the time I fought him for every inch of ground, but he didn’t give up. By the time I joined the Army I could sorta read and write, just much slower than most.” Beck blinked in surprise. “Hey, it worked. I don’t hear that damned demon no more.”

  “Go you,” she said and gave him a thumbs up.

  He peered out into the darkness. “It’ll be back. It won’t leave us be.”

  “We only need to make it through tonight,” she said, refusing to believe that morning wouldn’t bring help. If she started thinking that way Hell would have won. “How’s about some more food?” Riley rummaged around in the pack and unearthed a small bag of barbecue potato chips which she dropped in his lap. “Sorry, I don’t have any hot dogs.”

  He wasn’t looking at her again.

  “What’s wrong? Is it the demon?”

  A shake of the head. “You told me you didn’t give up yer soul that night when the angel . . . Why did you lie to me?”

  “I didn’t lie to you, Beck. I signed over my soul during the battle at the cemetery, when I de-statued Ori. That way he would go after Sartael.”

  “He can give it to anyone in Hell, even Lucifer.”

  She shook her head. “No, he can’t. That was part of the deal. Only he has control of it.”

  “You believe him?” he asked, incredulous.

  “Yes. Ori swore on the Light, and that means everything to him.”

  The bag of chips lay forgotten in his lap. “If you hadn’t made that deal we’d all be dead. Millions would be dead.”

  There was nothing she could say to that.

  “Dammit! That demon had me goin’,” he snarled. “They tell you lies and then sprinkle in just enough truth to make it sound right.” He shook his head in despair. “Sorry. I should have known better. Yer Paul’s daughter. You wouldn’t go down easy.”

  Which was exactly what she’d told the angel.

  “You want a banana?” she asked, hoping to change the subject.

  “No, you have it.”

  Riley didn’t eat it, though she was hungry. They might need it in the morning, or the next morning if someone didn’t come to get them. Instead, she listened as he crunched his way through the bag of chips. When they were gone, he finished off the sports drink, then leaned back against the cypress, thoughtful.

  “I’ve never had a woman in my life that believed in me as much as you do.”

  She touched his hand fondly and he immediately grasped it. They held hands for a time, then he curled up under the silver blanket. He was quiet for a few minutes, then she heard, “Thank you, Riley.”

  “You’re welcome, Den.”

  He slid into sleep and this time he wasn’t restless. She tucked the blanket up around his shoulders and then gently bent over and kissed his cheek. He wasn’t quite so hot now and that meant he was healing.

  She returned to tending the fire, scanning the darkness for the trouble that was sure to come. The fiend had failed in its latest gambit. It would try again.

  † ~ ‡ ~ †

  Beck rose from his bed a few hours later, slightly dizzy, mumbling something about having to take a walk around the tree and deal with all that water he’d consumed. When he hobbled back, he appeared more alert.

  “How are you doing?” she asked.

  “Better. Time to work on the leg again?”

  She treated the wound and was pleased to see it was already beginning to heal. Within a day or so it’d be a long red line, yet another one of the many scars that graced his body.

  “You get some sleep. I’ll keep watch,” he offered.

  Riley wasn’t comfortable with that idea, but he sounded in control so she agreed. He insisted she curl up under the silver blanket and they switched places. She handed over her jacket, worried he’d get cold. It wouldn’t fit, but at least he could put it around his shoulders.

  “Wake me up in a couple hours,” she said, then burrowed down and let sleep claim her.

  Something stirred her awake a few hours later, but it wasn’t Beck. The fire had died down and he was asleep on the ground next to it, lightly snoring. There was movement within the circle. Riley shot out of the blanket, fearing it was the demon, but instead it was a curious raccoon shuffling across the ground. When it saw her, it growled, then took a run for it, hurrying across the leaves and into the night.

  Beck roused, then sat up and yawned. “What’s wrong?”

  “A raccoon came into the circle and woke me up.”

  “Huntin’ for food, most likely.”

  “It wouldn’t have screwed up anything, would it?”

  “Not unless it dug at the circle or somethin’. Just crossin’ the Holy Water wouldn’t make a difference.” Beck groaned and stretched. “God, my back hurts.”

  He poked at the fire and added more wood. Then he blew on it. When it sparked back to life, he rose and walked back to the tree, dragging the chain. Riley remained on the alert.

  “What’s botherin’ you?”

  “Something doesn’t feel right,” she said. “Not like before.”

  Riley began to walk along the inside of the circle, studying the ground. Suddenly, she halted.

  “Beck! I need Holy Water, quick!”

  He never got the chance to retrieve it. All he saw were the bright red eyes and talons as the demon charged directly at him. Lightning fast, Riley was in its way, coming up into a fighter’s stance, the knife in her hand. He’d never seen her move that quickly.

  The fiend skidded to a halt. “This soul will be mine,” it said.

  “He’s not yours, not ever,” Riley retorted, the blade glowing silver-blue in the faint moonlight.

  Beck reached the end of the chain, but he couldn’t get near them. “Back up toward me, real slow,” he said.

  She paid him no attention.

  “You think I will not kill you because of your demi-lord,” the demon replied. “You are wrong.”

  “Leave this circle or you die,” Riley said evenly.

  In a blur the Four leapt at her before Beck could shout a warning. Riley caught it by the throat and slammed it into the ground, the knife piercing its chest and driving deep into its heart.

  She rose, like an ancient war goddess come to life as the black demon blood coursed down her blade. The fiend’s lips were moving, mouthing curses, but no sound came forth. Then it died.

  What the hell was that? Beck hadn’t trained her how to do hand-to-hand combat, and he doubted Stewart had.

  Slowly the wildness that had claimed Riley drained away, leaving her confused and unsteady on her feet.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Riley shook her head. “I feel weird.” She stared down at the fiend and the bloody weapon in disbelief. “I killed it?”

  “Seems so,” he said, trying not to let his panic bleed through his voice.

  After that, she went on autopilot, cleaning the knife and replacing it in its sheath before she dragged the demon’s body outside the circle and into the brush. After rebuilding the Holy Water barrier where it’d been breached, she rejoined him at the tree. Despite her assurances she was unharmed, he checked for wounds and found none.

  The Riley he knew never would have been able to destroy a demon with such cold-blooded precision. Clearly, her angel had extended his protection to her. How else could she survive a head-on attack from a rampaging Hellspawn?

  Riley stirred. “I don’t remember killing it, Beck. What’s wrong with me?”

  “Nothing,” he soothed. “It happens like that in battle.” Fortunately, she accepted the lie.

  He insisted she join him inside the blanket, anxious as to what was going on in her head.

  “I should keep watch,” she murmured, but he could tell that wasn’t going to happen. She needed to rest.

  “We won’t be bothered again. That corpse will tell any of the others that they don’t want to mess with us.” With you. Because yer Fallen will make sure of it.

  “Okay,” she said, then snuggled up against him. “Sorry, I smell like dead demon.”

  He stroked her hair until she fell asleep. What did that liar Ori have in mind for her? Why keep her alive instead of claiming her soul?

  He’d know soon enough. If they ever got out of here he was going to hunt Ori down and have a little chat with him. If Beck didn’t like the answers, Hell might come up short a Fallen angel.

  † ~ ‡ ~ †

  The sound pulled Beck out of a solid slumber somewhere near dawn. It sounded like a harp. For a moment he wondered if he was dead and someone was welcoming him to Heaven.

  “My phone,” Riley mumbled. Apparently, the demon’s death had restored their means of communication with the outside world.

  She dug under the blanket and came up with it. Then she dropped it on his chest.

  He took charge. “This is Beck.” He grinned when he heard the message. “Sounds good. See you soon.” He hung up and laid the phone outside the blanket. “That was our ride. They’re about thirty minutes out.”

  A lazy smile came to his companion’s face. “Good. Wake me when they get here.”

  For once Beck wasn’t in any mood to start his day. No, he was fine where he was, other than the fact that his leg throbbed and his back ached. He tucked Riley up against him, enjoying the feel of her next to him. It was a miracle they were both alive.

  I’ve been an idiot. No other way to look at it. He’d been so convinced that the only way to survive his past was to keep his present away from it. That had only managed to get him backhanded every time he tried it.

  No more. Riley had been right—he should have trusted her, should have known she wouldn’t turn away from him. All he’d ever seen from her was a fierce need to protect him, a need so strong that she’d risked her life for him in the middle of an accursed swamp.

  When he was young, his granddaddy had told him that someday he’d find a woman that would be his equal, one that would complete his soul, and that she would be there for him when life got rough and stick by him even when he was being a dumbass. If Beck ever found that woman, and kept her close, he’d be twice the man he would have been without her.

  His granddaddy knew a thing or two about that—he’d been married to Beck’s grandmamma for forty-five years until death finally broke that bond. They would have easily made fifty if his heart hadn’t given out on him.

  Did he have that special woman in his arms? Was Riley the one who would stay with him? It made him anxious to think that might be the case. If so, everything he did from this moment on was vitally important. He didn’t dare screw this up.

  Beck sighed in resignation, knowing they had to get moving. “We should get goin’,” he nudged.

  “Why?” she replied, still mumbling. “I like it here. Well, not in the swamp. You know what I mean.”

  He did. “I like it too, but that was Simon on the phone. How well is he gonna take it that we’re all tangled up together?”

  “That’s his problem.”

  He grinned. “Come on, lazy girl. We need to be ready to leave when they arrive.” When she didn’t budge he used the one lever that would get her up. “Who knows, they might have a reporter with them. It’ll probably be Justine. She’ll take some pictures and they’ll put them right on the front page of the paper.”

  Riley was up in a heartbeat, running a hand through her tangled hair in horror, scowling.

  “You’re evil, Denver Beck.”

  “So, I’ve been told.” He retrieved a wet wipe and handed it to her. “You have demon blood on yer face.”

  “Yuck!” That set off a frenzy of cleaning and hair brushing. To him, she was beautiful without all the effort, but he knew she wouldn’t believe him if he told her.

  When Riley was done, he borrowed her brush and tried to get himself in good shape. Who knew? There just might be a photographer.

  They had the campsite tidy, trash bagged, and the remaining supplies packed within a few minutes. The demon’s body was noticeably missing.

  “Probably some scavenger,” Beck said. Her silence told him she wasn’t buying that.

  Riley did a quick bathroom run, fretting about snakes the entire time, but returned unbitten. As they waited, they shared some of the beef jerky and the last banana.

  “Why did you come out here?” he asked. “Yer not a country girl. You could have left it to someone else.”

  Riley tossed the peel in the trash bag, thinking through her answer.

  “I knew if anyone was going to find you, it was me,” she said. “But to have you vanish, forever . . .” She shuddered. “I couldn’t deal with that. It was bad enough to lose my parents, but you’re . . .” She looked away as if embarrassed at being so open. “You’re part of me now, Den. You always will be.”

  He didn’t know how to respond to that. He thought of a number of words, but they seemed inadequate, so respectful silence seemed to be the best option.

  In the distance there was a shout and Riley answered it. In a short time Donovan, Ray, and Simon joined them.

  “No photographer,” she said, shooting Beck a mock glare.

  “Could have been,” he said, smiling.

  “God, it’s good to see you, Denver,” the sheriff said, crouching down next to Beck. “Damn good.” They grasped hands firmly.

  “Same here,” Beck said. “Now please get this thing off me.”

  He groaned in pain as the guide worked the bolt cutter between his boot and the tight chain. Ray applied pressure and Beck’s face went red. The chain fell free.

  “Thank you, God,” he said. He unlaced his boot and when it and the sock finally came off, his ankle proved to be bruised and raw.

  Simon noticed the dried demon blood inside the circle. “Bad night?”

  “Yeah. I had to kill a Mezmer,” Riley said. He gave her a strange look, but didn’t reply.

  She broke open the first-aid kit. While she dealt with the wound, Beck pointed to the rifle near his duffel bag. “Got somethin’ for you, Donovan,” he said. “It’s Nate’s. I recognized it right off.”

  The sheriff inspected it, and then nodded. “Where’d you find it?”

  “Over near that other tree,” Beck said, angling with his head. “McGovern was headed this way before the demon caught up with him. I think Nate and Brad are here somewheres.”

  “You didn’t tell me that,” Riley protested.

  “I didn’t want to spook you,” he replied.

  Donovan crossed the space and then began to sweep away the leaves and debris with the tip of the rifle. With Beck’s foot properly bandaged, Riley carefully eased the sock back on, then his boot. He laced it loose, watching Donovan out of the corner of his eye. The sheriff knelt, dug around in the dirt, and unearthed something white. He studied the object for a moment, then held it up. It was a bone, possibly a rib. Simon crossed himself.

  “Sweet Jesus,” Beck murmured. The demon was right.

  “I wonder which one of the boys it is,” Donovan said as he returned the bone to where he’d found it, then covered it over with leaves. “I’ll call the forensic team. They’re going to love this location.”

  Beck limped to his feet with Riley’s help. “Get me out of here,” he said, suddenly more emotional than he cared to be. Nate and Brad hadn’t been good to him, but they deserved better than to die out in the middle of nowhere.

  As Ray helped him down the path, Beck paused long enough to look back. Rest in peace, guys. Sorry I wasn’t there for ya.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Though Riley really wanted a nap on the way back, she was treated to a euphoric Beck who was surfing the I can’t believe I’m alive! wave.

  “This is the third time this swamp has tried to kill me,” he announced, triumphant. “Still, it’s a glorious place, isn’t it?” He pointed toward the far bank. “I mean, look at those yellow flowers. They’re so pretty.”

  They were pretty now that she wasn’t fearing for his life.

  “You know, maybe someday I’ll come back here and take a canoe through the place. Stay overnight at one of the shelters. You could come with me. Just the two of us.”

  She wisely didn’t reply.

  † ~ ‡ ~ †

  Hours later when the boat abruptly slowed, Riley woke to find herself covered in a blanket and her head on Beck’s lap. He was sound asleep, and she nudged him awake. In the distance she could see the dock along with a bunch of news vans, and one familiar redhead. Justine. Somehow the alligators hadn’t eaten her.

  Donovan and Simon’s boat docked first and quickly unloaded. Once Ray pulled their boat up to the shore, the sheriff offered Beck a hand to help him out.

  “Best not to say what happened out there,” he said in a lowered tone. “Don’t worry, your story will be heard.”

  “Just as long as it is.” He hobbled up the concrete ramp, then stopped, eyeing the ambulance. “I’m guessin’ that’s for me.”