Page 7 of Semi-Fallen

She hadn’t signed her questions, but Tina must have plucked them right from her head, because she said, “He doesn’t want to harm you. Of that, I’m sure.”

That was cold comfort. Plenty of people who didn’t want to hurt her were still capable of inflicting pain. Or worse.

Haven set her fork down. “Well, that’s good. He doesn’t want to hurt you, and you’re practically indestructible anyway. So, no harm, no foul, right?”

Tina offered Haven a gentle smile. “Not all visitors’ intentions are as clear as yours, sweetheart. We can’t assume Lane’s supernatural stalker is as protective as yours.”

Haven crossed her arms over her chest and set her jaw mulishly. “Why should we assume he’s protecting me? Maybe he’s just trying to drive me crazy. That’s what it feels like.”

Lane sighed, then signed, I hate to be selfish, but can we focus on me for a minute? I swear I’ll help you figure out what crawled up Roan’s butt and died when my crisis is over. Deal?

Haven blew a raspberry at her. “Does everything always have to be about you?” she teased.

The sun can’t always revolve around you, my friend.

She sniffed dramatically. “So long as it does most of the time, I can let you have this one, I guess.”

Lane cracked a smile at that. Your generosity always astounds me.

“Right?” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m like a generosity superhero or something.”

Tina shook her head. “If you two are done with the Abbott and Costello comedy hour, can we get back to the subject at hand?”

A frown line popped up on Haven’s smooth brow. “Who are Abbott and Costello?”

Tina looked appalled, but Lane just shrugged. She didn’t know, either.

Eventually, Tina just shook her head sadly and said, “We’re going to need a movie night soon. I thought your parents had raised you right, but obviously, I was wrong.”

Gaps in her pop culture knowledge were the least of her concerns at the moment, Lane thought.

At a loss, she signed, What should I do?

Tina cocked her head to one side and studied her in a way that made Lane think she was looking straight into her soul. And the scary part? She probably could see straight into her soul. The woman was that powerful.

“I think you know what you need, child. You need help. And not from me,” Tina said.

Lane closed her eyes. She understood what Tina was saying, and on some level, she’d known the truth before coming here. She did need help.

She just hadn’t wanted to admit she was a grown-ass woman who needed to run to mommy and daddy for a well-timed rescue. But…yeah…here she was.

CHAPTER 5

She looked even tinier while sleeping.

Lucien stood in the corner of her bedroom, watching her. He’d been watching her all day. She’d felt his presence, too. He was sure of that.

All the effort he’d put into staying hidden from human sight had been for nothing. As soon as she’d exited the warehouse after taking down the rogue demon, she’d looked right at him, unerringly, with those rich, dark chocolate eyes of hers—eyes that looked far older than her meager years.

The only time she’d been out of his sight all day was when she’d visited her parents. Spying on her with them had felt too…intrusive.

Oh, and the empath. Letting anyone know how at odds he was—with himself, with Heaven, with his very nature—was not on his agenda. And the empath would’ve felt it all with disturbing clarity, even if she couldn’t see him.

But for someone who was supposedly so dangerous, the Nephilim had done nothing to reinforce Heaven’s opinion of her. She captured demons almost single-handedly to protect humans. She knew love and friendship. Hell, she’d even stopped on her way to the empath’s house to buy lunch for a group of homeless veterans who lived in an alley towards the middle of town.

As far as he could tell, she was more saint than abomination.

So why did Heaven want her dead?

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