Page 17 of Dead Evil
“Forty-eight hours, give or take. This woman went on a binge and wound up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning.” Ten shook his head.
“Did the article say what happened to this woman?”
“She killed herself two weeks later. Left her parents a note saying she couldn’t put herself and them through the pain anymore. She ended the letter detailing what kind of service and headstone she wanted, saying at least now they wouldn’t have to worry where she was at night.”
“Wow,” Ronan said. “That’s horrible. I can imagine how devastating it would be to realize the exorcism didn’t work.”
“The exorcismcouldn’twork, because there was no demon.” Ten paused waiting for Ronan’s reaction. His eyes widened but stayed silent. “Humans have this need to blame things on other people. I didn’t get a promotion because Bob was blowing the boss, you know, that sort of thing. It’s so much easier to blame a non-existent evil entity because it’s easier than blaming yourself.”
“When I was still drinking, I did the same thing,” Ronan said with a sad smile. “I blamed my ex, my job, my work partner, my shitty apartment. It wasn’t until I was in rehab, about to lose everything, that I realized the responsibility was all on me, but then so was my recovery, which is why it worked. I had to rely on myself. Be accountable to myself.”
“Would you have done this? Gotten an exorcism from these people?”
Ronan shook his head. “No. When I was drinking I never wanted to stop, so it never would have occurred to me to seek out that kind of help. Thinking about now though, I wouldn’t have done it because my faith was in the toilet. I’d begged and pleaded with God to help me and he never did. There’s no way I would have believed in the process.”
“Makes sense.” Ten took a sip of his tea. “So, what do we do with Everly tomorrow?”
“Truman and Jace are going to keep all of the kids in the pool during the morning session of the convention. They’ll call out for pizza for lunch and then Jude is bringing Wolf to the evening session to see Dallas Demonologists. Everly’s new friends are going to be at the demonstration as well.”
“I liked Eva and Emma. Raven’s great too. I’d love Everly to be involved with the spell classes she teaches. I’m not sure about the deliverance session.” Ten sighed. The next forty-eight hours were going to be the longest of his life.
“Weren’t you the one who just said exorcisms didn’t work because there wasn’t anything to exorcise?” Ronan asked. “I think of it like going to a magician’s show. As kids we all believed David Copperfield actually walked through the Great Wall of China, but as an adult, I know it was all bullshit. It’s the same thing with these demon hunters, with one exception.”
“What’s that? Not sawing a woman in half?”
“Hilarious,” Ronan deadpanned. “Youare the exception. When you told the story about seeing the exorcism back in Kansas City when you were a teenager, you said your fear overwhelmed your gift. That won’t happen this time. Your head will be clear. I have no doubt you’ll be able to tell if what’s happening is fake. Then, there’s also the situation with you-know-who’s ninth victim.”
Ten groaned and sunk his head into his hands.
“You know possessions are real. We’ve seen them with our own eyes.” Ronan reached for Ten’s hand.
“I know they’re real. Look, Ronan, even a blind squirrel sometimes finds a nut. I’m guessing that most of DD’s exorcisms are smoke and mirrors. Some of them might even work due to the placebo effect, but they’re going to go up against the real deal at some point. Something stronger than Duke, that won’t obey his dramatic commands. What if that’s what we run into tomorrow night? Do you honestly want your daughter in the room with something like that?”
“Part of me says, hell no!” Ronan laughed. “But, the other part wonders if Everly is the only one who could control something like that.”
Ten’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe his ears. “Are you sure you don’t want to take my mother up on her offer of a mental health eval? Because you’re sounding extra crazy right now.”
“You want Everly there to save the next potential victim,” Ronan said. “We both know that.”
“You’re right, but what if that thing comes after Everly for denying it the chance to kill again. What then?”
“I don’t know, Nostradamus. You tell me.” Ronan pressed a kiss to Ten’s temple. “You and Cope will both be there if anything happens.”
“Okay, she can go to the evening session, but if anything goes wrong, even if Everly so much as spills her popcorn, it’s all on you. Got it, Nostra-dumbass?”
“You think you’re clever, don’t you?” Ronan asked.
“I know I am.” Ten grabbed Ronan’s hand and tugged him toward the stairs.
“Am I getting lucky tonight?” Ronan asked.
“Only if you keep your stupid mouth shut.”
“Mmmpppffff,” Ronan agreed, at least Ten thought he was agreeing.
What Ten needed right now was for Ronan to take his mind off everything going haywire around him. The convention. Demon hunters. King of Deliverance. He knew no better way to do that than with Ronan’s cock pounding him into the mattress.
8
