Page 74 of Hell’s Half Acre

Appearing completely unshaken by the nightmare scene, Luke stood beside Rory, who kept his back to the wall and his gaze on the wooden door opposite the bedroom.

“What?” Luke asked him.

“For the love of God and everything holy, please tell me this is from your side.”

Pressing his lips together into a grim line, Luke shook his head slowly. “Sorry, Charlie. This one’s all yours. At least for now. I’m sure she’ll be roasting eventually, but…there’s nothing demonic going on here.”

“Nothing?” Rory repeated, aghast.

“No. Her ex was a bastard. I can hear him screaming right now. He’s being hauled off by my dad’s favorite psychopomp. He only sends Aim out for those who are destined to the worst part of Hell. Just wish I was there to greet him. Those were always my favorite ones to teach the rules to.”

Sorcha had no idea how to respond to that. “No one deserves what she did to him.”

Luke arched a brow.

In that instant, she knew exactly what he wasn’t saying to her. She was wrong. The one who tortured and killed her sister… He deserved worse.

Much worse.

Bert, too. She’d love to see him on the floor like that.

“Okay. Some people deserve it.”

Luke slid a sideways glance to Rory. “I know y’all have seen a lot of shit. But you’ve been lucky at how sheltered you’ve been. I’ve always said that as bad as a demon is, it has nothing on humanity. There’s a reason Hell exists. Some souls never need to return here, and being reborn a cockroach isn’t good enough for the things some people do. If you’re going to shed a tear, then shed it for the woman he drove crazy who’ll have to live with this for the rest of her life.”

Ryan glared at him. “Victim blaming? Really?”

“Not judging. Just saying there’s more than one victim in this.” Luke used his powers to stop the song from playing before he returned to the room.

To Sorcha’s shock, he helped the traumatized woman to her feet.

She continued singing her song a cappella.

Luke pulled a blanket from the bed and used it to clean off the woman’s face as Kyle brushed past Sorcha and froze.

He dropped his bag and just stood in horror, looking at the scene and taking it all in.

Luke wrapped the blanket around the woman’s shoulders and gently led her from the room to where Rory was still in the hallway.

“Karen…this is Rory. He’s going to take care of you, okay?”

She started laughing. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”

Luke met Rory’s gaze. “You might want to get a female uni on this. She’s coming out of her stupor. And I’d suggest a psychologist and restraints.” Luke pulled the blanket higher on her shoulders before he clapped Rory on the arm. “Good luck.”

“Screw you, Teivel.”

Luke didn’t comment as he headed down the stairs. Sorcha followed behind him with Bernadette and Reyes trailing them.

Still horrified, Sorcha tried to wrap her head around the gruesome sight. “What did he do to her?”

Luke let out a heavy sigh. “Everyone has a breaking point, Sorcha. He spent years abusing her, humiliating her, and making her life hell on earth. She couldn’t take it anymore.”

“What made her break?” Reyes asked as they left the house.

Luke paused to look at them. “He killed her cat.”

“What?” Ryan gaped. “Why?”