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I bite my lip. My hands are still a reddish blue, and I clutch Reggie's arm convulsively, even though I can barely feel him. All of me is sore and bruised, and my brain is fuzzy.

“They shot me up with something.”

“I know. Probably a short-acting dose of Midazolam. It’s a drug that decreases consciousness and does a number on your nervous system if handled improperly. Thank God they didn’t pick a hideout a few hours away. If they’d needed to keep youquiet for longer, they would have used a larger dose.” Reggie rubs my knee and makes a dark growling sound as he looks at the bruises on my legs.

“I don’t think they hurt me,” I say quickly. “Not like you’re thinking.”

“I’m thinking that’s from shoving you in the car and dragging you around. You’re going to feel like shit for a few days. We’ll get you to a doctor.”

“No. No doctors.” I swallow, unsure about my next words. My heart and head are in unison on what I want to say. It feels right, but I don’t know if it will work.

I’m alive. Reggie came and got me. I don’t know what other sign I could want, but something still holds me back from telling him that I want to start a new life with him, wherever we can be safe. “I have to call Powell, right? They’re looking for me. Also, I can tell them that Estrada is planning to send a boat up the river near this area within the next few days. Maybe that’ll help them catch some of his operatives.”

“Good idea.” Reggie's lips go tight.

“Reggie?”

“Teri?”

“I don’t have to go somewhere and make an official statement, do I?”

“I think he’ll let you give your statement wherever he meets you.”

“I don’t want to be in the WITSEC program,” I whisper.

“Then we’ll find another way to keep you safe,” Reggie reassures me with a kiss on the back of my bruised knuckles. “I’ll figure out what they did to me.”

“Oh! The guys used the term ‘black smoked.’”

Reggie makes a choked sound. “In Pine Ridge? That’s... That’s horrible.”

“What does it mean?”

“They released demons. Actual demons, the bad kind, from the Pit. They released them to track you and destroy any protections around you. They would have needed something of yours, with your hair or blood, or skin cells—old shoes or clothing would do. They probably got something from one of the places you and Matteo lived.” He groans, “But at least it makes sense. Demons are powerful enough to undo almost any protection or power protecting a person—including my powers of protection for you. The only good thing is that I’m confident they were destroyed completely in doing so. To take out the protections imbued in me... No, they could not have survived.” Reggie shakes his head. “And I felt all silly and floaty with you, my love. I thought you were stealing my powers with your glorious touch—and it was them.” His voice darkens. “They probably destroyed themezuzah,as well. We’ll have it replaced before we go home.”

“H-home?”

“One day, we’ll be back in Pine Ridge. And that will be our house, and that lawn will be filled with buttercups, tulips, daffodils, and lilies—and children. Our children.”

“How? After all this?” I whisper.

“I have an idea or two. Do you trust me?”

“With all my heart.”

REGGIE PARKS ON THEstreet by our home, not in the garage. It’s funny how this little ranch house in the ‘burbs feels more like home than any of the places I stayed in during the past year.

“I’m parking here in case we want to make a fast getaway. I don’t want to be blocked in.” Reggie hesitates, hand on the ignition. “If you want to run right now, we can. I don’t need things. I need you. I just want to make sure the house is notcontaminated by their demonic filth—no offense to reformed demons.”

“You’re going to have to explain that. But later.” I hesitate, hand on the car door.

Reggie’s voice is gentle. “You’re not a fugitive. They have enough evidence to do whatever they choose, go to trial, or offer a plea bargain. You can talk to Powell on the phone and tell him what you want.”

Just to disappear...

It’s tempting. “I’ll—”

My words are cut off by the arrival of a long, sleek black SUV careening past us. It pulls into our driveway, and two men spring out. One is Powell, and the other is the guy he called Heatherington.