Demon Ex Machina: Tales of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner Read Free Book Online Page B

a portion of the Pacific Coast Highway that skimmed a mountain pass, a sheer cliff on one side and a hefty drop down to the Pacific on the other. “Fucker managed to pull it out at the last second. One inch more and he’d be a stain on the rocks beneath PCH.”
    I swallowed, stayed perfectly still, and tried to gauge the distance between me and my stiletto, still forlorn in our unkempt yard.
    He lifted his eyes to mine and I saw both rationality and regret. “I remember that one,” he said. “I don’t think I remember them all.”
    “Jesus, Eric.”
    “Yeah,” he said. “I could certainly use His help right about now.”
    I managed a smile, though I wanted to cry. “Will I do?”
    He looked at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. Then he turned and righted the chaise lounge that had been knocked over in the fight. He sat on it, the movement casual, but his expression far from it. “I’d give anything,” he finally said, “to keep you away from this.”
    I flinched, even though I understood the sentiment. He wanted to protect me. To protect my memories of him. I got that. Understood it. And yet there’d been a time in our lives when we’d been everything to each other, and even the worst secrets had been shared.
    Or at least I’d thought so.
    Without a word, I sank into the chair next to him. “But I am here,” I said, “and I’m not going away.” I reached over to take his hand. “Let me help, Eric. Bring me in. Don’t push me back. Bring me in before it’s too late.”
    He said nothing.
    As for me, I pretty much wanted to scream. Instead, I relied on my toddler-wrangling skills, counted to ten, and tried a different tack altogether.
    “Her,” I said, and saw his head tilt toward me with interest. “The demon said you weren’t supposed to tell her . That he didn’t want to invoke her wrath. Who? Who is she?”
    “I don’t know,” he said, looking at me dead-on. “I swear.”
    And the horrible, awful truth? I didn’t believe him.
    The man I’d once trusted with my life. With my soul. With my body and my secrets.
    My first love. My soul mate.
    I didn’t trust him.
    And I swear the pain of that realization pretty much ripped me to shreds.
    I saw the flare of anger flash in his eyes and knew he’d seen my disloyalty. I cut my gaze away, ashamed. “I told you, Katie. I don’t know. I’m not in control here, or had that little fact escaped your attention?”
    “You are,” I said, believing that with all my heart. What I didn’t know was how long he could keep control.
    So far, I’d seen only small signs of the demon. Bursts of temper. Unnecessary risks.
    I shivered, remembering how he’d almost killed a human recently. Granted, the man had attacked him, but Eric had lost control. He’d reined it in, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d gone wild in the first place.
    That encounter had been my first clue, actually. My first glimpse of the blackness within.
    “What have you learned?” I asked.
    He climbed to his feet, then dusted off his pants. “Not enough.”
    “Dammit, Eric, look at me.” I got up, too, shifting around so that I was right in front of him. “You promised me you had a plan. You didn’t need help figuring this out, remember? That’s what you said.”
    “I said I didn’t want help,” he said, his voice like ice.
    I flinched, but forced myself not to show it. To lose my emotions in objective practicality. “Then what’s the plan? What do we have to do to get you back? You. Free and clear.” I drew in a ragged breath and cursed myself for the tears that threatened. “Dammit, Eric, I need you. You have to know how much I still need you.”
    “Oh, Kate.” He pulled me close and held me tight, his touch so familiar it made me want to cry. I clung to him, guilty that I still wanted him so badly, and yet absolutely certain I would feel equally guilty if I didn’t.
    “It’ll be okay,” I said. “ Forza managed twice, right?” I said, referring to the