Page 80 of Hell’s Half Acre

Screams rang out in synchrony with laughter and those begging for mercy. Voices that prayed and bargained. Taunts and shouts.

Unable to breathe, she saw Rory next to her in his angelic form. Even more beautiful than the man she knew, he took her hand and flew with her over one of the fire pits.

Sorcha let out her own scream as she saw the torture below.

Then everything vanished.

She was back on the street, just a few yards from her office. Her breathing ragged, she met Rory’s gaze. “What was that?” she asked breathlessly.

“A window to Hell. Can you imagine growing up in that. How could he be normal?”

Sorcha struggled to breathe. She clutched at Rory’s biceps, needing to be grounded in that moment. Unlike him, she didn’t draw the same conclusion. “How can he have any kindness, Rory? Think of the compassion he showed Karen. The fact that he’s not soulless and demonic…doesn’t that say even more about him?”

Before this, she’d respected Luke. Now…

The fact that Helly could be decent, too. Tears gathered in her eyes. No wonder the feral demons had preferred to be trapped in his closet than return to that.

“I’m going to church on Sunday.” Her grandfather had been right. Hell was the last place she wanted to end up.

“Good. And I want you to remember that you don’t really know Luke. No one does.”

Maybe he was right, but Rory didn’t know Luke the way Sorcha did. “My grandfather always said that every soul was worth saving. Sometimes, it only takes one person to say, ‘I see you. You matter’ to make all the difference in the world to someone who feels lost and alone. What if that’s my purpose for being here?”

Rory pulled her against him and held her close. “You are precious, Sorcha. Do not let him seduce you to evil.”

Those words touched her because she knew they were spoken out of genuine concern.

She hugged him back, then started laughing.

Rory released her. With a fierce scowl, he cupped her cheek. “What is wrong with you?”

“Stupid thought. Remember those cartoons where someone has an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other?”

“Yeah.”

“I have you and Luke on each side of me. Both of you arguing and me caught in the middle. I don’t know. It just struck me as hilarious.”

Rory’s frown melted into a handsome smile. “I really do care about you, Sorcha. I didn’t ask you out on a date because of Luke or my assignment.”

“I’m glad. I like you, too.” And she did. He had a wonderful heart.

“Can I have that make-up date?”

Sorcha tsked at him. “You know it makes Luke crazy whenever I go off with you.”

“It makes me crazy whenever you go off with Luke and his band of miscreants. You deserve better than that.”

She didn’t know why, but those words meant a lot to her. Maybe because she’d had such a bad track record with men. Luke was so much better than the humans she’d dated before him.

How sad was that?

Rory was a real angel. At least partly. Why not try dating a good guy for once?

“I’d love to.”

Rory walked her to the garden door that opened into the courtyard where her office was located. “Give me a call and let me know when you’re ready to piss off your demon.”

“You know Luke’s not really a demon.”