Tracking Cary to this house had been easy, though the shit she’d gotten herself into still stunned him. Levi’s mind scrambled to make sense of the image in front of him.

A creature the size of a Sasquatch with a torso resembling a wolf’s, and the arms of a gorilla, dragged Cary by an ankle across the lawn toward a spirit board. Light from the shed revealed more of the hunched beast, including its ridged spine, and a long, lizard-like tail sideswiping the grass. He’d never seen one of these before.

Why wasn’t Cary moving?

Terror rattled through his veins at the idea of her harmed.

And to top if off, demons couldn’t hold their beastly forms outside Hell—they needed a human host to exist here. Had it possessed Cary? Or had the rules suddenly changed without anyone telling him?

Questions later. Right now, time to spill demon guts.

He shoved aside the dread ripping through him about the possibility of losing Cary and sprinted up behind the ghoul. Swallowing back the knot in his throat, he gripped Noose and launched himself forward, lassoing the creature’s snout. He jerked the handle back, tightening it around its neck.

The demon bucked and thrashed, flinging several potted plants across the yard in front of them.

A groan from behind had him looking back. Cary scrambled backward on her butt, free from the beast. About time.

Levi’s hands slid down the pole a few inches, his feet skidding forward. Bastard was stronger than it looked.

Steam rose from its neck as the monster jolted back toward him, mouth snapping like a starving piranha. He pulled back as far as possible, but fangs snagged on his sleeve, ripping fabric.

“My good-luck shirt!” he cried out. Using Noose’s handle to keep his distance from the five-inch fangs, Levi stared into yellow, glowing eyes. “You’re finished.”

Tilting its head back, the creature screeched loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood, its noise piercing through Levi’s skull. With two hands, Levi tightened Noose, and hauled the creature toward him, his heels digging into the soil for leverage. “Come on, don’t let me down,” he said out loud. “Why the hell isn’t the demon vanishing?”

The speck wasn’t moving, but it was clawing at its neck.

“That’ll teach you to rip up my favorite shirt.”

In response, the creature's tail lashed out, quick as lightning, and whipped around Cary’s ankle, pulling her off her feet. Levi wrestled against the speck as it dragged Cary, and him, since he refused to release Noose from around its neck.

“Goddamn son-of-a-bitch,” Levi yelled. His every nerve stood on end.

Behind the beast, Cary hacked at the tail with a blade. “Cut already,” she cried.

Levi ached everywhere. His arms were quivering, hands were ablaze from the struggle. He stumbled after the beast but its front leg already dipped into the black orb, vanishing inside. It plunged deeper, drawing them both closer to the void. God, no. Give me strength.

Its head whipped around to face Levi, lips peeled back, and its ape arm jerked toward him. It whacked him in the face. Levi’s vision disappeared beneath a blur of stars. He stumbled backward, losing his grasp—Noose slipped from his hands. He tripped over a potted plant and fell.

A few paces away, Cary kicked free from the demon’s tail and rolled away. She leapt to her feet. “You piece of shit,” she yelled at it.

Levi rubbed his eyes and staggered to his feet as the world swayed beneath him while Cary charged after the speck, throwing herself onto its back as if she were in a rodeo, her knife raised in the air.

Levi jumped for Noose’s handle, still hanging around from the monster’s neck, and yanked the weapon. Cary drove the blade into the speck’s neck. It shrieked and bucked, tossing her off its back.

Levi held onto Noose, and Cary was by his side in seconds, tugging on the weapon with him. Her hand was covered in black-like tar: demon blood.

“Like your style,” he panted.

“Yeah, you ain’t bad yourself.” Her voice labored as her knuckles turned white around Noose. The writhing speck slowed, grunting in desperation to escape into the orb, its form flickering and fading. It faltered and slowed, its weight suddenly collapsing sideways, smacking into the lawn with a thump. It collapsed in on itself, shriveling, reducing to the size of Levi’s shoe in an instant.

Only a black, obsidian-like, stone remained.

The orb vanished too, and several black moths burst free, fluttering across the lawn where the speck had laid seconds earlier. The moths disintegrated into fallen ash. Levi always figured the insects were remnants of a blackened soul attempting to ascend into heaven. But there was only one place for them to go… Hell.

He picked up the board off the lawn and whacked it across his raised knee, snapping it in half. That’d keep the speck trapped until he hacked the wood into smaller pieces and buried it in hallowed ground to stop it from breaking out, or the board from melding itself back together to do more evil.

He turned and found three young boys with their backs pressed against the shed, their eyes gaping wide. “You ever play with this shit again,” he said, pointing to them, “and I’ll skin you alive.”

Cary pocketed the black stone, and her knife. With magic, Argos techs were able to tell what sort of demon a stone belonged to, and even how recent the capture was—their way of confirming their payment was for the hit they actually ordered.

“That's a bit harsh, Levi.” She wiped her brow with the back of her hand and glared his way.

The boys bolted into the house, letting the door slam behind them. Parents must not be home, or they’d have investigated the noises by now. At least the tall fence had kept away prying eyes from neighbors.

“Gotta prevent them from playing with spirit boards somehow.” The breeze did little to wash away the heat clinging to Levi’s skin. He still struggled to breath, too.

Cary shrugged, taking several deep breaths as well. “Hell of a workout. And that hit to your face looked painful. You good?”

“Yeah.” He frowned, though. “Well, a headache, but nothing a night’s sleep won’t fix.”

She rubbed her fiery red cheeks. “After that, I need a stiff drink more than I need to sleep.”

“Fuck, yes. Hey, there's an old church a block down from my favorite bar. Let's make a quick stop to bury the board and then, drinks on me?”

She nodded and walked hastily toward the front of the house without waiting for him to join her.

He caught up with her out front, and together, they hurried down the quiet, residential street. Around them, lights from the high streetlamps cast long shadows. Sirens wailed in the distance. He’d bet a hundred bucks the emergency crews were heading straight to the house they’d just left, but no one would have believed the kids’ wild stories.

He glanced over at Cary. She had her hands shoved in the pockets of her jeans, chewing on her lower lip. Grass stains marked the side of her tank top, along with a tear at the hem. “That’s a weak prayer on your phone,” he said. “You gotta get a more powerful one.”

“I distracted the demon enough while you were playing with it.” The breeze blew long, reddish hair over her shoulders. “Plus, I finished it off with my blade. Why were you following me?”

“When you took off, I figured you were following another lead for Argos. Those pricks don’t share every job with us freelance contractors.” He glanced over at her smirk. “What?”

“You thought you could poach another job off me.” She didn't seem angry, though.

“Can we talk about what just happened while we walk?” he asked. Images of the speck dragging Cary toward the orb replayed in his mind… “It's bugging the hell out of me. Why hadn’t it captured a kid? Why you? The same thing happened with the nightclub jumper, who’d lunged toward you.” The night’s events differed to previous hits, that much was clear. And it somehow revolved around Cary.

“Well,” she began, “I was hoping we were done with work for one night, but no luck there.”

“Feel like another visit from Dr. Noose?” He only half meant it. If the spirit had fed off Cary, she’d barely be able to stand on her feet now, but she was as spunky as ever.

She cut him a side glance. The spark in her eyes flickered. “No.” Her shoulders squared, ready for a fight.

He’d love to see her in full fury mode as it might just send him over the edge.

“Two freaky attacks in a night is weird,” she continued cautiously.

“You bet,” Levi conceded. “The last time I fought more than one in a day was that day when I faced three. Two specks and a jumper back in Detroit.”

“Damn, I hated that possessed Corvette.”

“You and me both. And in the end, you saved me from it.”

She nodded, dropping her gaze and falling silent.

“So, talking about the past is a no-go zone,” he said. “Got it.” A wind came up from behind them, pulling on his button down shirt. A dog barked behind the fence of a house they passed. “Still, I better keep an eye on you tonight.” He watched her for a response.

Her return glance wasn’t the oh-yes-please expression he hoped for, but the over-my-dead-body one, complete with raised eyebrows and tight lips. He might as well look down a loaded shotgun.

“To make sure you’re all right,” he added, hoping to give her no chance for any argument.

She held his gaze, but her intimidating expression didn’t bother Levi.

“Don’t know what filthy thoughts are going through your mind,” he said. “The possibility of an otherworldly creature latching onto you is sky-high after coming in contact with two demons tonight. Those things have parasites that jump onto people, slowly eating away their energy.”

“Yeah, I got the same speech from a tracker at Argos,” Cary said. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Levi touched her arm, which was a mistake. When his fingers caressed her arm, her skin was scorching hot beneath his hand, reminding him of their recent kiss in the nightclub, and how much he yearned to drag her into a corner and…

His intention had been for a quick kiss to distract her, not practically dry hump her against the club’s rail, but when he held her, his thoughts shifted to one thing: being with her again. And her mixed signals were driving him insane. Her words said no, but her body responded differently. Given their past history, there was no denying her attraction to him, but then again, she’d also run out on him after an incredible night of sex. And he’d had a perfect breakfast planned, followed by a day of going to the beach. Maybe that was the problem… She only wanted sex, while he… He wasn’t sure what he wanted.

At the end of the street, Levi turned right, Cary close by his side. Cars were parked on either side. Music and voices resonated from a three-story house halfway down the street, and the closer they got, the louder it grew. Lights blared from the backyard.

Might be fun, depending on the crowd.

“Argos still paying a pittance for specks?” he asked, mainly to have something to talk about other than what happened between them. From the first moment he bumped into her in Detroit several months earlier, she’d captured his attention. It all started on the day he resigned from Argos and she went for a job there. And his feelings for her only intensified.

Now, he worked for Argos as a contractor to repay his debt to them. A tiny percentage of what money they paid him went toward the damages he’d apparently caused to their building. Once paid off, Brent—the CEO of Argos—would return the dog tags he’d stolen from Levi.

They were Marcos’ and all Levi had left of his friend after he died. On his next visit to Argos in Detroit, he’d get the dog tags back… one way or another.

“Most hunters around the country ignore specks,” Cary’s voice sliced through is thoughts. “Argos still only pay a few hundred dollars for their capture. Insane because they’re sometimes just as deadly as a jumper.”

“Figures,” Levi said. “Gotta bag and tag the big ones when the money’s hot and in the thousands.” Nothing’s changed then. “And is Brent still running Argos like a dictator?”

“Brent doesn’t bother me. He gave me a job when I needed it and always paid for all my hits. And, he’s actually started giving hunters bonuses if we meet a certain quota. So, can’t complain.”

Levi admired Cary’s attitude even if she was blinded by Brent’s dark side. But as the CEO of Argos, the guy did what he pleased, including how he treated people. “I’m happy for you, and I hope Brent keeps his word and continues to pay you because he’s fallen behind on what he owns me.”

Cary kicked a pebble. The stone skipped over the asphalt, ticking along in the silent night, then bounced into the tire of a beaten-up car. “Anyway, I appreciate your help tonight,” she said.

“Anytime. Any other insider hits from Argos?”

Cary shook her head. “All cleaned out. Those two messages were the only ones they issued tonight.”

Silence joined them once again. In truth, the awkwardness between them felt worse than a wound because they’d spent too much time together. Their moments were forever ingrained in him, yet he might as well be walking with a complete stranger here. Where was his Cary?

Up ahead, a narrow alley between two houses opened up at the other end, framed by clean, metal fences on either side. He’d lived in Ann Arbor long enough that the backstreets were now etched on his mind.

“This way.”

“Where are we going?”

“Making a small detour to get rid of the board.” His grip tightened on it, eager to put it to rest. “Then drinking.”

At the end of the path, they emerged into a field. Directly across it stood an old, cobblestone church. They strolled toward the building together, wading through knee-length grass.

“How old is that church?” Cary asked.

“I think about 120 years. When I’m not chasing demons, I attend mass there on Sundays. You should join me one day.”

She didn’t respond.

It surprised him that Cary kept quiet, considering she was opinionated about most things. “What do you believe in when it comes to the grander scheme of life and creation?” he asked randomly.

She chewed on her nail before looking across at Levi. “I never understood why God allows suffering of innocents if he’s all-powerful and loving.”

“Not everyone agrees, but I guess it’s because suffering is the result of human sin. After the age of accountability, no one is completely innocent, and maybe it’s our cross to bear.”

“Well, whenever I see the Almighty whatever,” Cary said, “I’ve got a few questions.”

She fell silent after that. The whistle of wind and thrashing of grass was the only sound echoing around them.

Cary saved people for a living and threw herself in danger for it. If that wasn’t a sacrifice for love, Levi didn’t know what was. Could she not see that perhaps God was working through her to save those in need of help?

Once they reached the church’s perimeter, he walked quickly over to the cemetery grounds, where worn headstones dotted the land. Two of the stones leaned so close that they reminded him of a pair of drunken friends resting against one another. Realizing Cary wasn't beside him, he looked back, and saw her at the edge of the cemetery reading a gravestone.

“Shouldn’t you be right behind me in case the speck escapes or something?” he called out to her.

“Hurry up before someone sees us,” she replied.

He nodded, wondering if she was really worried about being caught trespassing, or whether something else keeping her off holy ground. He decided to keep an extra close eye on her tonight. Something was going on with her.

Crouching under an old oak overflowing with leaves, he used a broken branch he'd found and dug up the earth until he had a hole about a foot deep. He snapped the board pieces into smaller ones, then tossed half of them into the pit, and covered them with dirt. He crossed over to the opposite end of the graveyard and did the same all over again with the remainder of the board pieces. Like before, he took a silver cross from his keychain and threw it into the second hole. “Return to where you came from.”

He finished with a prayer and piled loose soil over the other pieces. Once the hole was filled, he stood and stomped on the ground, dusting his hands clean. The sacred earth should do its work and cleanse the board. He returned to Cary and together they walked away from the church grounds until they reached the front road.

“See that house?” Levi asked, pointing at a quaint, one-story home nearby, complete with a white picket fence. “It might look like a perfect home, but a month ago, blood started dripping down the walls.” He glanced over to Cary, praying nothing sinister had infiltrated her. “I carried out a cleansing and bagged myself a malicious speck trapped in the basement. Looks are deceiving indeed, hey?”

She shrugged. “Guess so.”

A block away, Levi spotted the old mission-brown bar. Neon lights glowed around the entrance.

“Check it out,” he said. “No one could miss the joint, even from outer space.” The promise of a stiff drink made his mouth water.

“Oh, that place.” Cary’s nose crinkled.

“It’s a bit worn, but they’re generous with their alcohol, and they make wicked fried onion rings. Plus, I'm good friends with the owner.”

“You're hungry at this hour?” The accusatory tone in her voice reminded him of his teachers back at boarding school who’d confiscated all food in the dorms after eight.

“Hey, no one tells me when I can or can’t eat.”

“I wasn't,” she said. “I'm just surprised.”

“I get hungriest after a decent fight.” He grabbed her elbow and escorted her up the front steps to a wooden door. He didn't want to admit it yet, but he was determined to discover if anything unholy had attached itself to her.

And perhaps more.