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I n the car, we watch the police descend, but we’re not there to talk to them. Not in person.

“If those guys die, I could be charged. I don’t care, but it’s going to make our wedded bliss a little iffy,” Reggie eases the car into traffic.

“But you were saving me! I’ll tell them!”

“I know, but they might argue that I used unnecessary force. I can’t really explain that I’m a golem. My regular force could crush a car if I wanted.”

“And yet you’re still so gentle,” I sigh, snuggled up against him, seatbelt straining across my chest.

“There have been way too many cases of victims and heroes getting sued or arrested because they saved someone’s life by putting a hurt on the real threat.

And while you sit still, waiting to be on the witness stand for Delgado, or Estrada, or those shitheads, or God forbid me , you’ll be a sitting duck.

But you can tell me to drive you straight to police headquarters or down to D.C. , and I’ll do it.”

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 you quiet 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 the mezuzah, 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 THE street 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 not contaminated 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.

Reggie sighs. “If they try to make you move, and you don’t want to—call me Reginald. I’ll have you out of there fast. While they talk to you, I’ll be in the background—packing. Packing everything.”

I LISTEN TO TERI GIVE her statement in a clear voice that barely shakes. They ask about the abduction, and she’s pointed in remarking that someone in Powell’s agency must have led the kidnappers to her, whether through her phone or someone talking too much.

“We’re handling the internal breaches. Now, the men who abducted you were found outside the hotel. Both had severe head trauma, and one had a stab wound.”

“They got into a fight over something. Money, I think.”

I keep my back turned, pretending to fiddle with the thermostat, worried my face might show my proud surprise at Teri’s quick wits, but Heatherington and Powell are focused on Therese.

“They beat each other up and carried each other outside?” Powell’s voice is skeptical, and my blood boils. Later, when it’s safe, I’ll be angry. I’ll rage. But then I think about Therese’s face and how it’s in one piece.

Something calm inside of me swallows up the anger and enjoys the scoffing in Therese’s voice.

“No! Reggie dragged them outside so he could rescue me. It’s funny that he got there before the police. I thought you said something about a police detail keeping tabs on us and checking in periodically?”

Powell mumbles something about miscommunication and a failure to update rosters.

“You mean you didn’t check to see if your details followed through? You put in the requests—presumably through whatever emails or web forms U.S. Marshals use—and you never double-checked to see if anyone erased them or called them off?”

“We would have checked periodically. Remember, you only arrived here several days, not weeks, ago, and you insisted on hiring private security instead of staying under our direct protection.”

I turn around in time to watch my beautiful blonde goddess standing on weak legs, holding onto the loveseat for support.

“ I think you started focusing on the new evidence I gave you and the big fish you were about to catch. You were so consumed with that, you neglected the little details—like keeping the witness alive.”

Get him, Teri!

She smiles suddenly, her voice changing to something meek and sweet.

“I understand. Truly. These men are so dangerous and evil. Of course you would focus on bargaining with Delgado to get information on Estrada. If you’ve improved security, I’m guessing Estrada won’t hear that his plan fell through—at least not for a few hours.

So, he’s still planning to send a boat up the river—the Susquehannah, I guess—to collect my lifeless body.

I heard them talking to him. He offered me my life in exchange for changing my story about Matteo—” Therese pauses and drops the mild-mannered routine, giving the sweaty, open-mouthed Powell a steely stare. “But they planned to kill me anyway..”

“Mrs. Gray... I’m so sorry. But, you’re safe, and that’s an excellent lead.”

“Good. I’m not changing my story—but I am changing my plans. I’m no longer interested in being in the WITSEC program, but I’ll be leaving town and avoiding any publicity or notoriety. You won’t need my testimony, will you? Once I refuse to recant, Matteo will probably talk.”

Powell begins to protest as I slide my arm around Therese’s shoulders and push her gently back into her seat. “If you do need her, I’m sure you’ll find a way to contact us.” But you won’t find her unless she wants to be found. The people of Pine Ridge will make damn sure of that.

“I think you ought to reconsider, Therese. You’ve had a horrible experience. It can cause people to act rashly. And the matter of the abduction and those men—”

I know it’s rude not to let Therese speak for herself, but I don’t like Powell’s stance, the tone of his voice, or the sudden hardness around his eyes.

He’s feeling like an ass, and he wants to get the situation back under his control so he can end up looking like a hero instead of someone who dropped a ball the size of a Boeing.

“You must have footage from the shopping center. There are cameras everywhere. You’ll find their DNA and Therese’s all over the hotel room and their vehicle.

Not only that, but I’ll bet they’re hatchet men for Estrada.

Why don’t you cook up a nice juicy deal to get them to rat each other out and get the Coast Guard searching any craft just entering the Susquehannah? ”