---

Cole went through the backyard while Landon and I inched toward the house through the front. We were careful, trying not to make any loud noises with our steps, but once a new scream came from the house, we abandoned stealth and ran to the door. Landon tried the knob. It didn’t budge, so he shot at the lock and kicked it open.

The demon was in the middle of the living room, holding a woman up by her neck.

My stomach dropped, and I felt my strength and resolution fleeing from my muscles.

The demon was not too tall, but it was thick and wide, with a chalk-white body. No hair, no clothes. Just light blue lines under its skin and dark circles around what should have been its eyes and mouth, but there was nothing there.

The woman saw us and screamed again. The demon whipped its head toward us and hissed—its mouth, which I thought it didn’t have, opened out of nowhere, in the middle of the dark mark, and razor-like teeth snapped at us.

Landon pointed the gun to the demon.

A loud bang came from the back of the house.

“Cole! In the living room!” Landon yelled.

The demon dropped the woman, who whimpered, scuttled back, and turned to us.

Cole appeared from the other side of the room. “Holy shit.” He also raised his gun to the demon.

“We’ve got you now, you piece of shit.” Landon shot once. Twice. The demon bounced back with each bullet, but that was all it did. The bullets only delayed his advance.

It bared its teeth again, letting out a loud hiss that chilled my bones.

“What now?” Cole asked from the other side of the room.

“The dagger. Let’s try the dagger.” Retreating a step, Landon pulled the dagger out of the scabbard in his back. Beside him, I did the same.

“Hell, no. You help the woman.”

I gaped at him as if there wasn’t a demon coming at us. “What?”

“Don’t argue with me. Just help the woman. Get her out of the house.”

I did want to argue, but decided we could argue more after he killed the demon. I put the dagger back into its holder on my back and took a step to the side.

On the floor in the middle of the living room, the woman cried and trembled. She glanced at me, horror in her eyes.

“Hang in there,” I mouthed at her.

With a growl, Cole sprinted across the room and jumped at the demon, his dagger raised high. He buried the dagger in the demon’s back. It let out a piercing shriek.

I took advantage of the distraction and ran to the woman on the floor.

I skidded to her side on my knees. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, then shook her head and sobbed. I grabbed her arms, helping her sit up, and then gently rubbed her arm. “It’s okay. You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. What’s your name?”

“L-liz.”

“I’m Tessa. I’m gonna get you out of there, okay?” She nodded. I looked up at the guys. They were fighting off the demon, who kept advancing on them. “Come on.”

My arm hooked under her shoulder, I stood and hauled her up. She whimpered in pain. “My foot. When it was throwing me around, I hit it.”

“It’s okay.” I put her arm around my shoulder. “Put your weight on me and let’s go.” My heart squeezed. I had to leave and take her out of here, but half of me wanted to stay and help Landon and Cole. “Can you do that?”

She nodded again, and slowly, we clambered toward the back door.

We were at the archway between the living room and the kitchen when Landon yelled, “Cole!”

My heart skipped a beat in fear, and I couldn’t help but pause and look.

Across the entrance foyer, Cole flew backward and hit the wall of the dining room with a heavy thud. He slid to the ground and groaned in pain.

Then, the demon turned to Landon—who had neither a gun nor a dagger in his hand.

Oh no.

I helped Liz lean against the kitchen counter. “Liz, can you get to the door by yourself?”

“I t-think so.”

“Then do it. Push through your pain and go. Don’t stop for any reason. Just go.”

Without another second to spare, I snatched my dagger and raced back into the living room.

I pulled my arm back, the dagger raised high, and slashed it across the demon’s back. It let out a vicious shriek and, arms wide, turned around, looking for me.

“No!” Landon screamed.

Ducking under its arm, I sidestepped it and went to stand beside Landon. “Hi,” I said, out of breath.

He shot me a glare. “What the hell?” I tossed him my gun. “I already shot it five times. It doesn’t work.”

Damn. “Oh.”

The demon turned to me and bared its teeth. Its rotten breath reached my nose, and I gagged.

“Run!” Landon yelled.

And what? Leave him here and without an effective weapon? In his dreams.

I spread my legs, positioning my feet, and raised my fists, my dagger poised. These weapons didn’t kill it? It didn’t matter. The cuts probably hurt and slowed it down. I had to pray Landon and Cole, who was now sitting up against the wall, breathing hard, figured out a way to kill it before it killed me.

The demon swiped a claw at me. I ducked and slid to the side, burying the dagger into its stomach. I tried pulling the dagger out, but it was stuck. Crap. The demon smacked its arm against my shoulder, sending me skidding across the foyer.

“Tessa!” Landon shouted, coming to me. The demon whirled at him. Landon dodged the demon’s first blow. And second. And third. But when the demon swiped his arm at Landon’s legs, he fell on the floor and the demon flicked him off like a fly. Landon hit the wall beside Cole and fell on his knees.

“No!” I screamed, standing up.

Then, the demon was upon me. Too fast, much faster than it had moved so far. It closed its sharp claws around my neck and lifted me up.

The dark circles in his eyes shone bright, a warm, red light. The faint blue lines on its body turned red, little by little, as if fire had been poured and now consumed, inch by inch, what was inside. The red intensified, spreading from the lines, the veins, to the entire skin. The claws around my neck became hot, too hot. His entire body was hot.

I gasped as the heat assaulted me, rolling over me, consuming me.

Something at my chest tugged. Something. Something mine, something secret. Just a small thing. It went up my chest, through my throat, ripping me apart on the way.

“Not again!” I heard a voice say; I knew this voice.

A piercing shriek echoed in my head, and then I was on the ground.

“Tessa.” Someone grabbed me, lifted my head. “Tessa, talk to me. Tell me you’re okay.”

I blinked. Slowly, Landon’s face came into focus. “Hey.” He helped me sit up. “What happened?” I looked around. Cole was kneeling beside us and both of them had blood dripping from their hands. Panic flared in me. I grabbed his hand. “What happened?” I asked again.

“Landon had the idea to use a witch’s rune,” Cole said.

“A witch’s rune?”

Landon jerked his chin to the strange drawing on the living room’s carpet. Odd lines formed a symbol the size of a book. And it was red. Blood. “We use it to weaken witches, though we only have to do it with blood when the witches are too strong.”

“So, the demon is dead?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s just gone. For now.” He cupped my face and examined my features, my neck, and my arms. “Are you okay?”

“I … I think so.”

“We should get out of here,” Cole said, standing. “The police will be here soon.”

“Right.” Landon grabbed my arms. “Can you stand?”

I nodded, but he helped me up anyway.

As we made our way out of the house, I told them about what I had felt when the demon was using its powers on me. “If you hadn’t stopped him, I would be like that couple we saw yesterday, right?”

Landon’s jaw ticked. He didn’t answer right away, but then he glanced at me, his eyes filled with such despair my breath caught. “Let’s not think about that.” His hold on my arm tightened. “Let’s get you home.”

---

“Tessa! Tessa! Wake up!”

I opened my eyes and found Landon’s face only a few inches from mine. “What?” I looked around and it all came back to me. The demon with its claws around my neck, his acrid breath over my face as it opened its huge mouth full of razor-like teeth, ready to eat me.

My breathing came in little gasps.

A nightmare. It had been a nightmare.

But it hadn’t. It had happened.

Thankfully, Landon had saved me. Again.

Now, he was hovering over me in the bed, without a shirt.

“You were screaming.” He straightened, giving me a little more breathing room. However, now his impossibly sculpted chest and abs came into view, and it was hard to breathe again. Swallowing hard, I pushed back and sat against the bed’s headboard, putting some more distance between us. “What happened?”

And just like that, the images of the house and the demon flashed back into my mind and I shuddered.

“I had a nightmare,” I said, my voice low.

His eyes scanned my body, lingering on my bare legs.

When Landon had gone to the university to pick me up, I was so shocked, I forgot to pack pajamas. My first night in the manor, I slept in my clothes—afraid for some reason to sleep only in my undies. But last night, after he had cleaned my wounds and made dinner for us, Landon had lent me one of his T-shirts to sleep in. Of course, the thing was too big for me, but not big enough to cover my legs.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he returned his gaze to mine. “Want to talk about it?”

“No,” I said, but then images of the nightmare invaded my mind, and I was sure I wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alone at all right now. He started for the door again. “Yes.” He halted. “Maybe.”

With a long sigh, he returned and sat on the bed, right beside my legs, and fixed those depthless hazel eyes on mine. “What do you want to talk about?”

I could ask anything here. Anything at all. So I went for it.

“How was it? To hunt with my father?”

One corner of his lips curled up. “He was the best. He was always prepared, and he never let a step back get him down. Even in the worst of times, he always told me we would make it.” His smile faded and a small frown replaced it. “Until this last time.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“Did my father die like that? Burned from the demon?”

“It had been the second victim and we got there, by luck, just as the demon dropped the body on the ground. We went for it, but as you saw, most of our weapons don’t work on it. It wounded me, and then it was on your father.” He paused. “And the demon took his soul and burned his heart. Just like the bodies we saw the other day.” He closed his eyes. “I tried and tried to reach him, to get up and help him. I had to save him. I had to. But I couldn’t. My strength was gone, and my wound hurt too much. I could barely move.”

“How … how did you escape?”

“Douglas arrived right as the demon closed in on me. They fought, but we couldn’t do anything right then, so we escaped. Besides, I was bleeding really badly. If Douglas hadn’t gotten me out of there, I would have died too.”

I frowned. “When you went to see me that morning … hadn’t my father been killed the previous night? And you went to USC wounded?”

“Douglas called a healing witch to help me. Healing witches are rare, and they charge a high price, but it was that or …” He sighed. “Anyway, her healing was powerful. The wound still hurts, but it’s better.”

“Witches who make enchanted keys, enchanted bullets, who sell herbs to the grocery store, and who have healing powers. These witches are powerful.”

“No, no. I mean, yes, they are powerful, but there are many kinds of witches. There are different witches and different covens.”

I tilted my head. “That’s interesting.”

He stared at me for a moment then shook his head once. “Wait, you asked me about your father’s death, but didn’t you ask the guys during his funeral?”

“No, I asked one thing from each, and I was aiming for the demon’s next step, not its past. I wanted to ask more, but I was afraid they would notice what I was doing.” Heat of embarrassment spread through my cheeks. “That didn’t work as well as I thought it would.”

“I’m glad it didn’t. Otherwise—” He shook his head hard, as if trying to erase the memory from his mind. “If I hadn’t gotten there on time, if you had ended up … dead, I don’t know what I would have done.” What did he mean? He returned his eyes to mine, and the intensity in them took my breath away.

Surprising me, he ran his fingertips over my skin, starting at my ankle and coming up, up, up … slowly. This gentle, sensual touch was torture.

My breath caught again.

Maybe it was the darkness, or the middle of the night, or the situation, or the weight of the last few days, or my near-death experience—it really didn’t matter the reason. Something bold took hold of me. Still staring into those hazel eyes, I scooted closer. His hand splayed over my thighs. I leaned over, starting my own teasing game. I placed my fingers on his upper arm and ran my long nails up his shoulder, down his chest, over his abs—he sucked in a sharp breath.

“Tessa,” he whispered in a warning tone.

I was too far gone to care about it right now.

He groaned and reached for me. His hand clasped around my nape and—

My cell phone rang, echoing through the silent bedroom, startling us. Landon jumped a good three feet back. Stunned, I stared him for a good five seconds.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?” he asked.

The phone rang again. “Right,” I muttered, reaching for the phone. “Hello?”

“Good morning, Tessa.”

I lowered my phone and quickly glanced at the time. Damn, it was already eight in the morning. “Hi, Mom.” For some reason, I felt even more embarrassed now. I pulled the covers over my legs and chest, wishing Landon would stop staring at me.

“I was wondering if you would like to come early and have lunch with us?” my mother asked.

“Come early?” I asked, confused. Then, I remembered. It was Saturday. My sister’s birthday.

“Tessa, did you forget your sister’s birthday party?”

Damn. “No, of course not.” I ran a hand through my messy hair. “I-I’m not sure I can make it for lunch. I have to study,” I added, hoping she didn’t notice the lie in my voice. “But I’ll be there later, well before the party starts. Is that okay?”

Landon frowned and crossed his arms.

“Sure,” she said in a sad tone. “We’ll see you later then. Drive safe.”

“See you soon. Bye.” I turned off the call and stared at my phone. Crap, I had totally forgotten.

“I have to go home,” I said, still staring at my phone.

“Why?”

“My sister has a birthday party this afternoon.” I got up from the bed, forgetting I was still wearing only his T-shirt. Heat overtook my cheeks, but I held my stance. “Crap, I didn’t even buy her a gift yet.”

“So …” Landon started. I looked at him. “You’re leaving. That’s cool. I’ll let you know when I kill the demon.”

I shot him a glare. “Don’t be stupid. I’m just going to be gone for the rest of the day. I’ll be back late tonight or tomorrow morning.” I took a step toward him, determined. “I want to do this. I want to help you catch this demon, and I want to be there when you kill it.”

He held my stare, his hazel eyes clouding over. “If the demon shows up while you’re gone, I can’t wait for you.”

I sighed. “I know.”

He stared at me for a moment, his gaze intense, deep. “Well, drive safe.”

He turned to leave.

“Unless … you want to come with me.”

Landon glanced at me over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed. “No way.”