I was at a loss for words.

The Devil himself couldn’t have painted a more formidable and awe-inspiring scene than Micah standing there in all his menacing glory. Electricity rippled off him in tsunami-sized waves as he surveyed the scene before him.

He was breathtaking—magnificent. In all my short life, I didn’t think I’d ever seen a man look so incredibly sexy, yet in the next breath look as if he could rip your face off with his teeth. When he said that he took care of his niece and wouldn’t allow anyone to place so much as a finger on her, he meant it.

Austin groaned weakly on the ground. Micah had completely incapacitated him. Based on the death glares he was still leveling at someone I’d thought was a friend, he’d let Austin off easy.

“Is everyone okay?” Micah growled, his breathing ragged and chest rising rapidly. He rushed toward Holly, who met him halfway. Her arms were around his waist in the blink of an eye, her face buried into his shirt as she sobbed buckets of tears.

“I’m so sorry, Micah,” she repeated, over and over again like a broken record. Her shoulders shuddered as she struggled to control her crying, her small frame dwarfed by his larger one.

“Shh, sweetheart. It’s okay. I’m here. This wasn’t your fault. He caught me by surprise as well.” Micah rubbed Holly’s back in a fatherly manner as he cradled her in his arms. “There’s nothing you could’ve done.” He glanced over to me, his eyes doing a quick once-over to check I was okay. He relaxed a little once I nodded. It could’ve been worse than the bruised skin where Holly was bound and a bad case of the shakes.

“How did they find us? We were careful. I promise you, I didn’t tell Austin anything!” Holly’s sobs had turned into broken words echoed with hiccups.

I came closer and wrapped my arms around them both—enveloping Holly between us. “Who are they?” I whispered, looking cautiously at Austin. “What’s going on, Micah? Why did my employee suddenly become a psychotic, gun-wielding kidnapper?”

I didn’t know what hurt most—being kept in the dark by Micah or that I had been so blindsided by Austin. I’d become so accustomed to withdrawing inwardly and not using my gifts that I’d totally missed any telltale sign that he had been plotting anything.

“It’s a long story,” Micah began, placing one more kiss on top of Holly’s head. “One I think is overdue. Let me get Holly home, and we can talk.” He kicked at Austin’s still body. “I’ll call Sheriff Kasun while we’re on the way.”

“Hopefully the police department doesn’t have their hands full tonight with the fair going on,” I added. I dragged trembling fingers through my hair. My brain was having a difficult time processing the last fifteen minutes.

How did I go from getting my fortune read to this?

Micah took hold of my hand and squeezed it, gently pulling me with him as he guided Holly out into the main floor of the store. I tried not to look up when we passed by shelves. I felt violated—the safe haven I’d created for myself from my inheritance felt confining and defiled. I knew it was just a building and that the real blessing was no one was hurt and Austin’s plans had been diverted, but it didn’t stop the pain from pressing down on me.

“We’ll smudge the store thoroughly,” Maxwell offered feebly, his ghostly form barely present. “Don’t let this break you, Sedona. You didn’t know.”

“I should’ve known!” I exclaimed, forgetting I was the only one who could see my phantom friend. My anger blistered my insides—the rush of changing emotions drowning me. “I’m a god damn empath, and I had no idea!”

“No one’s mad at you, sweetheart,” Micah comforted, and for the first time since this nightmare started, he wrapped his arms around me.

That’s when Holly shocked me.

“I think she’s talking to the ghost, Uncle.” And she pointed straight at Maxwell. I couldn’t tell who was more stunned—me or him.

“You see me?” he said, flustered.

“You see him?” I echoed, my eyes growing wider by the second. “Are you all keeping secrets from me now?”

She’d caught Micah off guard, too. His attention flipped back to her. “See who?”

Holly’s smile was so genuine and pure, it made my heart ache. “Well, yeah. When no one introduced him to us, I figured that he was a secret. If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s how to keep one.”

Maxwell’s pale jaw hung open. If it wasn’t for what had just happened, I would’ve relished watching him be so flabbergasted.

“I had no idea.” Stroking his mustache, he gestured to Micah. “Can he see me?”

Holly shook her head. “I don’t think so. Unless he’s being a complete jerk and ignoring you.”

All eyes turned to Micah, who looked adorably clueless. “Someone needs to fill me in now. You have a ghost?”

Stifling a yawn, I was partway through saying yes when another one hit. “I guess we have more to talk about than we thought.” I turned around and gave my bookstore one more look. “But how about we leave that subject for another day? I’m still trying to wrap my head around this.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to complain about the monster headache pounding away like hail on a tin roof when a blinding pain unlike anything I’d ever experienced pierced my body, dropping me instantly to the ground.

“Sedona!” It was Holly I heard screaming, but all I could see was Austin dragging himself out of the storeroom, his now smoking gun beside him.

He shot me. The sentence sounded weird inside my head. He shot me, and I’m bleeding.

Fire blazed through me, burning over every nerve until they lay blistered in its wake. I couldn’t keep myself standing. No matter how many times I told my brain to move—to do anything—it responded with more agony until all that was left was to close my eyes.

The ground felt hard beneath my body. I’d fallen, but someone was lifting me up.

“Sedona,” the voice cried out. It sounded so far away, though. All I knew was that in the maelstrom of intensity, that voice was the only thing tethering me to life.

I’m dying. The thought floated in and then floated out.

“I’m dying,” I croaked. That’s when the shock set in, and I started to laugh.

* * *

“You need to heal her, Micah. There’s no time.”

Holly. That voice belonged to Holly.

Awareness slowly creeped back in, and the blissful ignorance faded away until all that was left was the harshness of reality.

I was lying in my bookstore.

Austin had tried to kidnap Holly.

Micah had stopped him.

Austin had shot me.

I was now bleeding out in Micah’s arms.

“She’s right,” I answered weakly. “By the time you reach the doctor, it’ll be too late.”

My blood stained the front of my shirt, and for some sick reason, all I could think was how annoyed I was that my new shirt had been ruined. I’d barely bought it from Callie’s Consignments the day before, and it was now destroyed.

Micah placed his hand over the bullet’s exit wound. “The coward shot you in the back,” he barked, applying pressure.

I winced at the contact, but didn’t attempt to move his hand. I couldn’t if I tried.

“Heal her!” Holly screamed again. “I don’t care if you’ve kept who you are hidden to protect me. Heal her now, Micah!”

My brain was muddy, but I still tried to understand what she meant. My head lolled to the side as the edges around my vision grew darker.

Micah lowered his lips to my ear, and I savored the warmth of his breath. Cold. I was so cold.

“I didn’t want you to find out this way, sweetheart. I thought my secrets were more important, and with it being too late to even get Elias here, there’s no other choice. Close your eyes.” When I didn’t, he gently brushed his fingers over my lids and shut them for me. I stiffened at his touch. “Don’t be scared. I’ve got you.”

“Elias?” My mouth formed the word but nothing came out.

“I guess you could say he’s my brother.”

I didn’t hear the rest. I couldn’t, as the most peaceful, glowing, soothing light filled me. It was everywhere—with no ending or beginning. It penetrated every shadowed corner of my soul, purging away the pain with a different kind of fire.

A healing fire.

A holy fire.

“Micah,” I cried out, my body arching as I felt that warmth spread relentlessly throughout me. Cells sung with restoration. Wounds healed. Pierced organs rebuilt themselves. It was miraculous, and it all emanated out of Micah and into me.

I didn’t want to move or speak. I didn’t want to do anything that might break that incredible connection forging out of him and into me. The walls that he had kept so painstakingly erect were nowhere to be found as he let me in and healed me completely.

When it was over, and my weary fingers rested on the ground, my body drenched in sweat, I slowly opened my eyes and gasped.

Micah filled the room.

No, his wings filled the room—each illuminating white feather ruffled from being unfurled. I’d had my suspicions about what kind of supernatural creature he was, but never had I guessed he was divine.

“You’re beautiful,” I murmured as tears filled my eyes. “My gosh, Micah. You are beautiful.”

He silenced me with his lips as he lifted me back into his arms. I could barely hear a commotion happening outside as Elias’s handsome face came into view.

“I felt you,” he said to Micah. “I got here as quickly as I could, so if you want to keep your identity secret still, I suggest you hide yourself before the police arrive, wondering who fired a shot.”

Indecision warred in Micah’s face. “Can I truly hide my nature now? They’re going to want answers.” He continued to ignore me, but I caught his gaze darting over to Holly, who now stood with her arms wrapped around her body.

“Blame me. Tell Kasun what happened, but when it comes to healing Sedona, say the Fates were smiling, and I was the first to arrive here.”

Micah shook his head firmly. “No. I can’t ask that of you.”

“True, but I’m offering, and this way you get to disclose to whomever you choose in your own time. Quick.” Elias cast a confident look outside, and I envied that he could take this all in stride. I was a mess. “You won’t have privacy for much longer. The shifters would’ve heard the gunfire.”

The decision was made with a brisk nod. “Thank you.”

Elias reached out and stroked the side of my face. “I’m sorry you were hurt, Sedona. Hang in there. We’ll get you home quickly.”

Leaving to go meet with the police when they arrived, Elias slapped Micah’s back. “Take care of your women.”

I tried not to let that rankle as I cozied up to Micah more.

“You’re an angel. My angel.”

“What I am is a fool.”

I didn’t get a chance to argue with him. With the angelic powers he held, Micah lulled me into a restful sleep.