Page 41 of Semi-Reckless

Carl straightened to his full height and tried to brush a wrinkle off his muddy brown suit jacket. “As the keeper of this child’s destiny, I’m not to interfere. But this…” He gestured to the summoning circle. “…is insanity. You’ve given me no choice but to step in.”

Haven snapped her fingers to snag the grumpy angel’s attention. “Hello? I’m over here. This was my idea, Carl. You can talk to me, not him.”

Carl’s brow furrowed. “I’ve tried talking to you. It’s my sincere hope that he’ll listen to me, because you certainly don’t.”

“I’m with her, man,” Roan said. “Whatever she decides, that’s what we’re doing.”

He shook his head, once again full of disappointment. Roan had once disappointed his own father so badly that the old bastard locked him in a cell and had him tortured for a year. And still, his father hadn’t given him a look as powerful as the one Carl was giving him. “You’re with her,” he scoffed. “Even if it gets you both killed?”

“I trust that it won’t come to that. But, yes.”

Carl’s chin hit his chest, and he rubbed his brow. “And then I’ll end up in the pit with Lucifer. Fantastic,” he grumbled.

Haven laid a hand on his shoulder. “Carl, as keeper of my destiny, did you ever think that maybe my destiny—or at least part of it—is to figure out what this demon wants with me and come to some, I don’t know…resolution?”

“Why would this creature have anything to do with your destiny?” he asked, still frowning.

She threw her hands wide. “I don’t know. But my point is: neither do you. How about you let me do my thing and watch like you’re supposed to? Or, if you really wanted to help, you could ward the room so that nothing in it—me and Roan especially—can get melted.”

He straightened and gave her a look that clearly said he hadn’t considered actually helping her. “I’m not supposed to,” he murmured.

“You aren’t supposed to be talking to us now, either,” Roan reminded him. “But here you are.” He shrugged. “Maybe your intervention is part of her destiny, too.”

He pondered that for a long moment. But eventually, determination lit his eyes and he gave them a terse nod. With a wave of his hand, Enochian letters suddenly covered every bit of the basement. “There,” he said when he was done. “As long as the two of you are in this room, this demon will not have the power to burn you.”

She threw her arms around him and gave him a bear hug that he pretended to hate. But they both knew better. At the end of the day, Carl was just a big old softy.

He gave her back an awkward pat before pulling back, pointing a finger in her face, and saying, “If you die today, even from the pit, I will make your afterlife miserable. Know that, and know it well.”

“Understood,” she replied, giving him a two-finger salute.

His expression slowly morphed into something dangerously close to fondness. “You are a born leader, Haven Hall,” he said quietly. “I am…proud to be of service to you.”

Then he was gone.

“I had no idea Carl was such a solid dude ,” Haven told him. Then her eyes widened and she blurted, “You don’t think he watches us have sex, do you?”

They gave that possibility a few moments of silence.

CHAPTER 21

For all the work she’d put into summoning this demon, she would’ve thought there’d be some…flare when he showed up. Some fanfare. At least a little smoke and a sulfur spray or something.

But no. When the Kurgan showed up in the salt circle, he did so in the simplest way possible. One second he wasn’t there, and the next, he was. Bada-bing, bada-boom. As easy (and boring) as that.

He blinked at her a few times before shifting his gaze to Roan, then back to her, then down at the salt circle he was trapped in. He sighed. “So, I’m to die tonight then?”

Any triumph she was feeling at having appropriately summoned a demon this time bled from her at his defeated, tired tone. He sounded so resigned. Almost like dying would be a relief. “It doesn’t have to go like that.”

His small smile held not a trace of humor. “If you’re not going to Kurg with me willingly, and I’m not leaving without you, I don’t see any other choice. There can be only one winner.”

Haven ignored the ruckus she heard outside their warded room. That was undoubtably Benny and Lucas enjoying the fact that the Kurgan had just uttered a Highlander line without having any idea he’d done it. “Well, if we’re going to fight to the death, how about we take a little rest first and chat for a while?”

She gestured to the metal chair she’d placed in the circle. He looked down at it longingly. “I can’t,” he said sadly. “I’ll melt it.”

“No, it’s OK. We had an angel ward the room so that nothing in here could melt.”

Hope lit his dark eyes. “Truly?”

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