Emotion tugs at my chest, and I put an arm around her. She turns in, hugging me, and cries. She’s burning up.
“You’re gonna be all right,” I tell her, patting her back. And she will. She lets out a ragged breath and rests her head on my shoulder. It’ll be a while before the police arrive. I gently move away from Gemma and help her to her feet. My car isn’t far, and it’s not locked. Hooking my arm around her, I lead her there, laying the passenger seat back and helping her in.
“Sit tight,” I tell her, and put Jac’s phone on the dash. The dispatcher is still on the line, asking Gemma if she’s all right. I go back across the yard, taking a spot next to Jacques. He takes my hand, pulling me close.
“I knew you worshiped the devil,” Beth stammers.
I wrinkle my nose and flick my eyes to Jac. “It’s more like he worships me.” I crouch down, narrowing my eyes to help see in the dark. “You made a big mistake. There is evil in this world. The devil does bad things. I agree with you. You’re not totally wrong there. But Gemma…she’s not evil. Misguided, yes, but can you blame the girl? She grew up with you two lunatics.” I let out a sigh. There’s no point getting into it with them. They’re not going to change their minds right now. And to be fair, I remember how I felt the first time I saw the guys. “Where’s my stuff?” I ask instead.
“Stuff?” Amos answers.
“My gun and my purse.”
My badge is still hanging around my neck.
“Inside,” Beth stammers. “On the table.”
“Watch them?” I ask Jac. He nods and I move slowly toward the house. Everything is so dark here. I go in through the front door and see a candle flickering right inside. I go to it, still on edge, and make a move to pick it up.
I stop myself, remembering I’m covered in kerosene. I don’t want to take chances with the candle. Feeling my way through the house, I go into the kitchen. Another small kerosene lantern sits on the table, flame almost extinguished. It lets off just enough light for me to see my gun and purse lying on the table. I grab the gun, check to make sure it’s still loaded, and put it back in my holster.
Heart racing, I open my purse and immediately go for the zipper pouch. All four runes are still there. I pull out my phone and turn on the flashlight, shining it in front of me as I hurry out of the house.
I join Jac again, standing there until the familiar red and blue flashing lights come down the road. I run toward them, waving my phone in the air to get the cop’s attention. An ambulance is close behind. The police officer slows his car, having seen me. This will all be over soon and we can go—oh shit.
Jac.
I whirl around to tell him to hide, but he’s pulling the concealment charm out of his pocket. He slips it over his head and his wings disappear. God, I love that man and his cleverness.
The EMTs see to Gemma right away and get her loaded up to go to the hospital. I turn the case over to the local cops, not wanting to be involved in this any more than I already am. I’m supposed to be on vacation anyway, right? I give a statement but don’t do anything more official than that.
Once Beth and Amos are arrested and we’re free to leave, Jac and I get in the car. As soon as he closes his door, Jac leans over and kisses me.
“I love you, Ace,” he says, lips still against mine.
“I love you, too.” I cup his face, pushing my lips against his once more. “I’m so glad you got here in time, you know.”
He smiles. “Yeah. I do.”
* * *
“This is terrible.”Jacques scowls at his cup of coffee.
“It’s from a vending machine.” I take the lid off mine and blow into the cup to help cool it down. I sit on a bench, looking at Jacques. He’s wearing a white button-down shirt. It’s too tight on him, but it was the best we could do, having taken it from Amos’s house.
Jacques has a few burns on his body we needed to cover up. He can’t be treated at the hospital like a regular human, because he’s not. He’ll heal while he sleeps and isn’t in too much pain right now, thankfully.
The doors to the ER open, and a nurse comes out, looking down at a clipboard. “Detective Bisset?”
“That’s me.” I get up and go over by her. “How’s she doing?”
“I’ll take you back.”
I turn around, meeting Jac’s eyes. He gives me a small nod, letting me know he’s fine sitting there. He’s never been inside a hospital before, and I think he’s a little disappointed it’s not as crazy busy as they are on TV.
Gemma is sitting up in the hospital bed, watching TV. She’s hooked up to an IV, and has been cleaned up a bit, with her hair pulled back.
“Hey,” I say to her, setting my nasty coffee down on the counter. “How are you feeling?”
