Peter lowered his voice. “It’s probably none of my business, but is this a onetime date? If this is just a drive-by, I’d better find some protective armor, you know?”

  “It all depends on Riley,” Beck said, then took a sip of the punch. It was too fruity for his liking and he set it back on the table. “I’d like this to be the start of somethin’ good. I’m tired of messin’ around with girls that aren’t worth the trouble.”

  Peter nodded his approval, accompanied by a huge grin. “All right! No armor needed. Just don’t lie to her, or treat her like a kid, and you’ll be fine.”

  “Yeah, already learned those lessons.” The hard way.

  When his date and Simi returned, Beck found himself staring at Riley in awe, wondering what he’d done to deserve the honor of escorting Paul Blackthorne’s daughter to the prom. He’d known she was pretty, even when covered in demon crap and wearing ruined jeans, but that dress hugged every curve, setting his blood on fire. Her glossy brown hair curled around her shoulders and he wanted nothing more than to touch those curls. Touch her.

  He behaved himself, though it was really difficult, especially during the slow dances when they were so tantalizingly close. He savored the feel of her against his body, the light scent of her perfume, the look in her eyes that told him he was the center of her universe. It was a new and totally overwhelming experience.

  I could get used to this.

  Beck finally gathered his courage during their last slow dance. Moving his lips close to her ear, he whispered, “Thank you for believin’ in me.”

  She smiled up at him. “I knew you were worth the effort, even when you got yourself lost in that old swamp.”

  He made sure the kiss they shared wasn’t hurried. If it got them thrown out of the dance, he didn’t care. When it ended, he sighed in wonder. He was sure that somewhere up in Heaven, Riley’s parents were giving them a thumbs-up.

  † ~ ‡ ~ †

  The drive back to Stewart’s went too quickly for both of them. Riley could sense Beck didn’t want the evening to end, and neither did she. Tomorrow it would be back to the homework, Demonland, and Ori, but tonight was just for the two of them.

  Beck played the gentleman, opening the truck door for her. As they walked to the house, they paused every few steps and traded kisses.

  “I should go,” he said. “Don’t need someone complainin’ to Stewart that we were makin’ out on his front porch.”

  Riley laughed lightly. “He’s in bed. He told me that he’d leave a fire going for us if we wanted to come in for a while.”

  Beck arched an eyebrow in surprise. “I’m likin’ that old man more every day.”

  Once inside, her date added a log to the glowing embers while Riley settled on the couch, a thick afghan over her legs. It wasn’t sexy, but she was used to heavier clothes.

  “Cold?” Beck asked as he settled next to her.

  “A little. He keeps it like Scotland in here. Chilly.”

  “Then I’m not doin’ my job right.”

  “What?” she asked, puzzled.

  The kiss that followed helped her warm up considerably.

  “Better?” he asked. There was a bad boy grin now.

  “Getting better.”

  The next kiss made her toasty indeed. “You still cold?” he asked, teasing.

  “A little,” she fibbed.

  He bent to the task and this kiss was longer and deeper than the ones before, their tongues lightly touching. The kiss took on an intensity of its own as Beck slid his hand underneath a breast and cupped it. He didn’t appear to have noticed he’d done it until the kiss ended.

  “Whoa, sorry,” he said, pulling the offending hand away. “That was out of bounds. My bad.”

  Riley couldn’t hold back the grin. “If you get out of line, I’ll let you know.”

  He sighed. “It’s just that, well, I’ve always been in a hurry to get a girl in bed, mostly because that’s all that mattered. Never figured there was much past that.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “Not this time. I don’t want to push you into anythin’. We do it right, so it’ll last.”

  He’s totally serious about us.

  Riley curled up against him, silent as she thought that through.

  “Oh, damn, now I’ve upset you,” he murmured.

  “You’re fine, Den. I was realizing how this is so different for both of us.”

  “I hope so. You’ve trusted other guys and got hurt and—”

  She put her fingers over his mouth to stop him. “We’ll work it out. We’ll know when the time is right.”

  They cuddled for a time, then he stirred again. “You ever think of what yer gonna do after you graduate from high school?”

  Why is he asking that? “I’d like to go to college, but it can’t be full time, not and keep trapping. What about you?”

  “I want to get my master’s license. That’s about as far as I’ve thought ahead. Well, at least when it comes to trappin’.”

  She stilled her breath. What else had he been thinking about? When he said nothing more, she laid her head on his chest, feeling his breath in her hair and the soft touch of his fingers on her shoulder. If only one moment of her life could be preserved for eternity, Riley would choose this one.

  It was close to midnight when she walked him to the front door, wondering what might have happened if she was still in her own apartment. Would she have asked him to stay until morning? Wasn’t it too soon to be thinking about that?

  Their final kiss was achingly tender. “Thank you for making a dream come true,” she whispered.

  “That goes both ways.” He touched her cheek with fondness. “You sleep well. I’ll be dreamin’ about you, don’t you doubt it.”

  After he’d departed, Riley floated up the stairs to her own bed; her near-perfect evening with Denver Beck was over. No matter what tomorrow threw at them, they’d always have this one night.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  As if to punish her for the romantic time with her beau, Ori summoned Riley out of her dreams about an hour after she’d gone to bed. Their first hunt was somewhere in Atlanta, then in Las Vegas, and then Seattle where a cold rain pelted down on her in the dark night. Once all the demons were dead, she was coated in steaming black blood, the fiends’ death shrieks still reverberating in her ears.

  “I can’t do this anymore,” she pleaded. “Please . . . ”

  Ori glared at her as the rain poured from the heavens. “You should have been able to kill all of them on your own by now, but you’re too busy thinking about that accursed trapper and—”

  “Why are you doing this to me?” she demanded, heaving herself to her feet. “Are you jealous of Beck? Is that it? God, if you hate me that much, just kill me!”

  Something altered in the angel’s deep eyes. It wasn’t jealousy she saw there, but cold resolve. Riley took a few steps backward, suddenly afraid.

  “You forget your place. It is I who owns your soul, not the other way around.”

  “If I am so pathetic, then why are you bothering with me?”

  “Because there was no other choice.” Then just as suddenly as it came, his anger fled. “We have little time left. I want you to . . . ” He shook his head. “The time may come when I am not able to protect you. You have to learn how to fight, how to survive or all of this will have been for nothing.” He waved a hand dismissively. “We’re done for tonight.”

  She found herself on the floor of her room. There was no demon blood on her, her clothes as clean as if she’d pulled them out of the dryer, but she could not cast aside the horrific images in her mind. No angelic power could erase the growing sense of dread deep inside her heart.

  † ~ ‡ ~ †

  Like the previous day, Riley’s fellow students were all buzzing about the dance, who was there with whom, who wore what, and who got drunk and passed out in the girls’ (or boys’) restroom. Because there was always one or two of those.

  Peter nudged her with an elbow. “Hey? Anyone in there?”

  “Sorry. It was a late night.” Not willing to share anything about her ordeal with the angel, she went for a more pleasant memory. “Beck and I sat in front of the fireplace until about midnight, then he went home. It was so perfect.”

  “Please tell me there were abundant displays of affection.”

  That got her to smile. “Of course, there were. How about you and Simi?”

  “We went to the coffee shop to get her caffeine fix and we talked until it closed,” her friend replied. “She’s got a really unusual mind, but I like that. Then I drove her home. And yes, there were PDAs.”

  “Wait until your dad wants to meet her.”

  “That’s in the works,” he said, not sounding happy about that. “He is so going to freak out when he sees her hair.” Peter popped a couple of knuckles, demonstrating how much he was concerned about that meet the parent encounter.

  “It’ll be fine. She’s crazy, but she’s cool. I bet your dad will see that.”

  Riley felt the weight of someone’s stare. It was Allan and from his expression he was keen for payback.

  “Okay, people, let’s dig into the homework,” Mrs. Haggerty called out.

  Riley pulled out her sheet of math questions and then smiled to herself as Beck’s last kiss danced into her mind. When the teacher called her name to answer question number seven, she reluctantly returned to the real world.

  After class, Riley and Mrs. Haggerty worked on a math problem she couldn’t get. By the time they left the building, the rest of the students had split.

  “Did you enjoy the prom?” the teacher asked as she locked the doors behind them.

  “Definitely. It was great.”

  “I saw the young man you were with. Very handsome. Is he a trapper too?”

  Riley nodded. “Yeah, he used to trap with my dad.”

  “I’m glad you found someone. After your father died, I was worried. I’m less worried now. You be careful, okay?”

  “I will. Good night, Mrs. Haggerty.”

  Riley had just unlocked her car door when her cell phone lit up.

  “Hey there, Princess. How’s it goin’?”

  It was her favorite guy. “It’s good. I just got out of class. What’s the plan for tonight?”

  “I thought maybe we could have some supper together. Mama Z’s barbecue?”

  “That works.”

  They coordinated the time, and the call ended along with his promise to make up for being late the night before. As Riley began to calculate how many kisses would equal a proper apology, a noise came from behind her. Then the crunch of footsteps on gravel. She turned just in time to see Allan marching toward her.

  Before she could react, he caught her arm and swung her away from the car. The door slammed shut as he placed himself between her and the vehicle.

  “You blew me off,” he said. “You didn’t answer my calls and now you’re all over that hick. I saw you making out with him at the dance. Why are you doing this to me?”

  Riley shook her arm to make him let go. “You hit me, remember? You socked me in the jaw because I wouldn’t steal a computer for you, and you’re surprised I want nothing to do with you?”

  “You’re making a big deal out of nothing. I know what you’re doing—you’re dating that hick just to get back at me,” he said, his voice rising. Both his hands were clasped into fists now.

  Beck would expect Riley at the restaurant in a few minutes. If she showed up with bruises . . .

  “This is all your fault,” Allan continued. “I didn’t want to hit you, but you made me mad. If you’d just done what I told you—”

  Riley’s fury soared. “It never was my fault. You. Hit. Me.”

  “You’re making me look like a fool in front of everyone. I bet your hick would dump you if he thought you were cheating on him. Or if you weren’t pretty anymore.”

  Her blood chilled at the threat, knowing what damage his fists could do. She set the backpack on the ground and slid the steel pipe free.

  “You’re never hurting me again. Don’t even try.”

  “You need to learn some respect,” Allan said, his eyes afire and his jaw clenched. “Then maybe you’ll know what it feels like to be me.”

  As Riley braced herself, he went slack, unmoving, like a statue. Then she felt the angel’s presence and shifted positions so she could see them both.

  “You can strike this one, but he won’t understand pain,” Ori said. “He’s had too much of it for one life.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, her heart pounding hard.

  “Where do you think he learned to use his fists? His father beats him and his mother. He is only doing what he has been taught.”

  Riley had never even considered that. She gestured at her ex. “What now? You can’t leave him like this forever.”

  “I could kill him for you,” the Fallen offered. “End his misery.”

  She jolted at the suggestion. “No! I mean, he’s bad and all that, but—”

  A nod returned as if she’d passed some test.

  “Perhaps he needs to see his future a bit more clearly,” Ori replied. He snapped his fingers and her abuser came to life.

  “What the hell is going on?” Allan demanded, his eyes riveted on Ori now. “Who are you?”

  “Well, if you really want to know.” The pair vanished in a single flash of white light.

  “Show-off,” she muttered, blinking her eyes to clear them. Fortunately, the parking lot was empty and there were no security cameras. She’d just jammed the pipe in her backpack when they returned. This time Allan was no longer full of rage, but on his knees sobbing hysterically, his clothes smelling suspiciously of sulfur.

  “You didn’t—” she began.

  “Take him to Hell? Of course, I did. If this worthless mortal wishes to continue on this path, he should know where he’s headed. I’m surprised his soul is still his own, he’s so ripe for the picking.”

  Riley swallowed, hard. She was headed to the same address when she died, but Ori had never given her the tour.

  “Your day will come,” her demi-lord replied.

  Allan finally raised his head, and when he saw the angel he flailed backward, crying out in abject terror.

  “You understand now?” Ori asked, his wings arching outward, making himself even more threatening.

  A panicked nod returned as torrents of tears ran down her ex’s ruddy cheeks.

  “Then cease your evil ways, Allan Benjamin Blazek. You are not your father. Be better than that despicable piece of clay!” He pointed into the distance. “Depart!”

  Allan stumbled to his feet, then staggered away, still crying. After a short distance, he shot a panicked glance over his shoulder and picked up speed.

  “Is he going to be okay?” Riley asked as she watched the retreating figure.

  Ori gave her a sidelong glance. “You’re concerned about your abuser?”

  “Yeah. He’s a mean jerk, but he was scared out of his mind.”

  “That you would ask such a question is exactly why you don’t deserve to be in Hell,” Ori replied. With another flash the Fallen angel was gone.

  Even if she didn’t deserve eternal damnation, it was hers. Nothing was going to change that.

  † ~ ‡ ~ †

  Each night Riley crawled into her bed, she uttered a simple prayer—Do not let the angel take me away tonight—and each time that prayer was ignored. Despite Ori’s earlier appearance at the school, tonight was no different. This time she found herself in one of Demon Central’s back alleys, minus the angel. That was new. He was usually there to critique her performance as they dispatched Lucifer’s enemies.

  The scene gradually came into focus. There were three people in the alley, a young man in jeans and a sweatshirt, and two women. The shorter of the two females wore a miniskirt and a black bustier and appeared younger than Riley. The other one was taller, with numerous body piercings and an obsession with black leather, her pure white hair cropped short.

  What am I doing here?

  Look closer, Ori said in her mind.

  It was then Riley began to notice the smaller details, like how the guy wasn’t on this planet, his expression blank and his jaw slack. Then came more revelations: The two “women” were Mezmers, Grade Four Hypno-Fiends, and the dude their victim. If left in their clutches, he’d be minus his soul very soon, along with his life.

  The more powerful one nearly claimed Beck’s soul, Ori explained.

  So that was why Riley was here. This was payback. She stepped closer and that attracted the shorter demon’s attention.

  “Blackthorne’s Daughter,” the Mezmer growled.

  The taller demon turned toward her now, sniffing the air in disgust. “Where is your demi-lord, foul child? Why is the Divine not here to protect you? Have you displeased him? Has he sent you to your death?”

  Those were all good questions.

  When Riley didn’t reply, the fiend broke contact with her victim. “I shall rend your flesh,” it rasped. “If the Prince’s lap dog comes to spare you, I shall destroy him.”

  “Not on Lucifer’s team, huh?” Riley chided.

  The younger demon cried out at the use of its master’s name. The older demon only winced, which meant it was more powerful than Riley had first imagined. But then it would have to be if it nearly claimed Beck’s soul.

  She watched with fascinated horror as the elder demon’s disguise melted away, revealing the grotesque Hellspawn beneath. It stood a head taller than Riley, with beige skin and an impressive set of horns. Its blazing eyes fired crimson in the night. Wing folds had begun to form between its body and arms.

  “This thing’s almost an Archfiend.” she muttered.

  Which is why it must die, Ori replied. Kill it.

  There are two of them.