Page 17 of Semi-Reckless

He was so fucking pathetic. Sometimes he even disgusted himself.

Sadly, the inside of the mine wasn’t any more welcoming than the outside. Dark, dank, and dirty. And those were the good things Roan had to say about the place. It was a deathtrap without a dangerous demon living in it.

“How far do you think this thing winds through the mountain?” Haven whispered.

He let a fireball fill his palm and took a peek into the darkness. “At least two miles. Maybe more.”

She sighed. “Guess it’s a good thing I’m wearing my hiking boots.”

He snorted. “We’re walking into a mine that looks like it’s about to collapse to find a demon of unknown origin and power against your parents’ direct orders. I doubt your footwear matters one way or the other.”

She was about to say something snarky back. He could feel it. But all she managed to get out was a squeak of alarm when what was either a giant moth or a small bat flew dangerously close to her face.

Roan eased her behind him. “Let me go first.”

For once, she made no protest. Just latched onto the back of his shirt and walked behind him, slightly crouched down, like he was a living, breathing shield. He rolled his eyes. If only he could get her to do that when the stakes were higher than a bat ruffling her hair.

As they walked (at the speed of smell so as to avoid tripping over rocks and busted tracks and falling to their deaths in this literal hell hole), he couldn’t help but think about how much he’d missed her over the past two years. Just having her near, hearing her breathing, feeling the warmth and sunshine that was her constant companion…it was nice.

Haven felt like home.

He’d never really had a home before. His dimension—and everyone in it—was awful. Other than his brother, he’d never known unconditional love there. No safety. Being with Haven and her family was as close as he’d ever come to any of those feelings, and he’d missed it.

Roan was sure he’d die missing it…and her. Especially after the stupid promise he made to leave her once this demon was found and dealt with.

You could just tell her the truth.

It was his brother’s voice he heard every time this thought crossed his mind. Gabriel had been squawking at him to tell Haven what he’d done for the past two years. But that would be more for him than for her. It would unburden his conscience, and honestly, he didn’t deserve that. Especially not at Haven’s expense.

Haven tugged at the back of his shirt. “There’s something here,” she whispered. “Close. I can feel it.”

One thing he’d learned about Haven long, long ago was that she hated being wrong—mostly because she almost never was. So, her words, along with the way her breathing had sped up and her ever-tightening grip on his shirt, made him uneasy. And since there was nothing in front of him, Roan slowly twisted around, looking over Haven’s shoulder….

And quickly realized that Haven’s track record for being right was intact in a big way.

A very, very big way.

Standing about ten feet behind Haven was the biggest fucking demon Roan had ever seen.

The creature was bent slightly at the waist because he (clearly a he, as the dick swinging between his thick thighs nearly touched his knee) was probably eight feet tall in a seven-feet tall mine. His dark purple skin looked leathery, and his fingers were tipped with ten-inch talons that’d put an eagle to shame. Hooked, razor-tipped horns, blazing red eyes, jagged fangs…yep. It looked like it’d just escaped a fucking nightmare.

And it only had eyes for Haven. It was gazing at her, unblinking, like she was the center of its universe. While Roan could relate, it definitely didn’t make him feel better about this guy, the one who could melt cow flesh, being anywhere near her. So, when the demon reached a talon toward her, Roan yanked her behind him and hurled the fireball he’d been holding at the thing’s face.

He did not react well. The roar it let out shook the ground beneath their feet.

Sadly, though, Roan’s hellfire had absolutely zero impact on the monstrous creature. He just swatted it away like it was an annoyance, of no more consequence than a gnat, and grabbed Roan’s wrist.

The pain was damn near crippling. Roan couldn’t bite back an angry growl as he felt and smelled his flesh sizzling under the demon’s grip. His skin was way tougher than the average human’s (or cow’s, as the case may be), but not even he could hold up for long under this kind of heat. “Run,” he ordered Haven through clenched teeth.

“I’m not leaving you!”

The demon bellowed his rage when Roan kicked him in the balls, but he didn’t let go. “Fucking go, Haven!”

She moved around him, looking the demon over, trying to determine how she could help. Roan knew she was seeing exactly what he was seeing, too. The thing was invulnerable.

That didn’t stop her from trying. Haven took a swing at it with her machete. But the second the metal of the blade hit the skin of the demon’s back, it melted. She tossed what was left of it aside as her panicked gaze found his again.

When the demon looked back at Haven, Roan threw a punch with his free hand. It connected soundly, snapping the monster’s head back. And still it didn’t let go. In fact, with a growl that rumbled like thunder, it shifted its grip on Roan’s wrist to his throat, lifting him a foot off the ground.

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