Fifth Regret (Heaven Sent Book 5) Page 18
“Of course. And after we argue, we can have make-up sex.”
Her grin widened. “Deal.”
The road curved and he reduced the vehicle’s speed. Noise from the back grew louder. He hit a bump and several cracks on the windshield stretched.
“We can’t risk being seen in this car during daylight hours,” she said. “It will attract attention. We need to ditch it soon.”
“We could push it into a swamp. I saw an area outside of Lafayette.”
“I hope you don’t mean physically, because right now I’m worthless.”
He briefly took his gaze off the road to look at her. The normal color of her skin had returned. Earlier she’d looked as if she’d seen a ghost. Then when she’d yelled his name, he understood the apparition had been the demon. He’d managed to catch it, but for a few seconds panic had surged through him and he’d feared the demon was getting away. If she would’ve stayed in the car as he’d instructed, he could’ve avoided the entire scenario. Hell, if she wouldn’t have antagonized the demon, they could’ve avoided getting shot at so much.
He took a deep breath and pushed the frustration out of his mind. The regret in her actions had shown on her face and in her words. She’d made a mistake. He’d made some along the way too. They learned from them and moved on. He had a good feeling she would follow his instructions next time. Regrets shouldn’t linger.
“If we go back to the hotel, you can drive the Jeep and follow me,” he said. “After we get to the place, I’ll put this car in neutral. Either you or I can push the sedan into the swamp.”
“Is this spot somewhere out of the way? Do you think it will be deep enough to hide the car?”
“I saw it when I was following Deon. It’s a big swamp. I think it should be fine.”
“Great. So there could be dead bodies in it?”
“Well, there’s always that chance.”
Although they didn’t have evidence to prove Deon was the serial killer, Andrew believed it had been the cop. The comments he’d made to Emily and his desire to kill her supported his belief.
“Are you up to driving?” He took a glimpse at her. “How are you feeling?”
“I can handle it. We have to do this.”
Her words bothered him. He suspected she was downplaying her discomfort. Her back had to be sore from the torn stitches. On top of that, she’d puked. She’d confronted a demon and then initiated a high-speed chase. And she’d been shot at. Her emotions had gone all over the place. Add her physical suffering and he suspected she needed to rest. Would she admit to it? His strong-willed determined woman would ignore her distress to get a job done. He had no doubt about it.
“I think we should stay one more night at the hotel,” he said.
She sighed. “Yeah. I hate to do it, but I could use a little rest before we hit the road.”
“You need a lot of rest.”
“And you’re going to nurse me back to good health?”
“Absolutely.”
She turned to face the side window. “I wonder where we’ll head to next.”
His gaze lowered to his bandaged forearm. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he began prying the tape and gauze off. Some of the pieces flew out the window while others fell inside the car. His arm appeared bare after he’d removed everything.
“Maybe we’ll know more tomorrow. A new name seems to appear within twenty-four hours,” he said.
“I hope it’s in the mountains or near an ocean.”
“We can go anywhere we want. I don’t have to destroy the next demon right away. If you want to visit the mountains, let’s do it.”
Excitement began to swell within him. He very much enjoyed the thought of traveling for pleasure and spending time with the love of his life. The council had sentenced him to destroy six demons. An extra year on Earth had been added to his punishment because he’d had sex with Emily. At no point had anyone mentioned deadlines for completing the terms of his sentence. And as such, he was free to spend his days on Earth as he pleased.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“We’ve been on the go since late April. I think we’ve more than earned an extended vacation,” he said.
“They won’t get mad at you?”
“They didn’t say I couldn’t.”
Her stretched beautiful lips sent a wave of warmth through him. She’d endured enough pain and suffering while trying to help him destroy demons. The time had come for her relax and enjoy life without any threats or worries. She’d more than earned it. Lucky for her, he longed to please her and looked forward to making every minute a happy one.
Chapter Thirty
A gentle touch along the side of Emily’s face pulled her from her sleep. Lying on her back, she took in a deep breath and forced her heavy eyelids up. Lethargy wanted to claim her again, but she denied it. Sunlight lit up the room. The sexy man lying next to her revved her heart. The hair on his face existed no more. He looked younger now. With a slight smile, he brought his finger down her nose, and then he circled her lips. His soft caress tickled her and she twitched her mouth. His bluish-gray eyes lifted.
“Hey sleeping beauty,” he said.
“You shaved.” She lifted her hand and grazed the back of it over his cheek. With or without hair he held a strong, handsome appearance.
“It was the right time.”
Speaking of which. “What time is it?”
“Almost five o’clock. You’ve been out all day. I thought you might want something to eat since you tossed everything earlier this morning.”
“Five? In the evening?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn painkillers.”
After they’d pushed the sedan into the swamp with her Jeep, they’d returned to the hotel. Andrew had fixed her stitches, but they hurt like hell during the process since he basically had to create new ones in a few spots. She’d taken medicine to help deal with the pain before she came to bed.
“You needed to rest. You still do,” he said. “But you also need to eat. I can go out and get something, or we can order room service.”
Food had little appeal to her. Yet she had to get her strength back, and if she didn’t want the pills to make her sick, then she needed to eat something.
“I don’t care. I don’t have a taste for anything,” she said.
He took hold of her hand and kissed the back of it. She noticed writing on his forearm.
“You have a new name,” she said in a downcast tone.
In a way, she dreaded pursuing the next demon. Each one had become more difficult to destroy. The challenges involved had increased along with the danger. She wanted the world to be a safer place from evil, for people to be free from harm and death, but in order to make it so, she and Andrew were taking greater risks. She feared one of them could end up severely injured or dead.
“He can wait. We’re taking an extended vacation,” he said.
His attitude brought a smile to her face. “I agree. But what’s his name and location?”
Andrew sighed. “Paul Marrco and he lives in Rockport, Massachusetts.”
“Massachusetts?”
He nodded.
“Maybe Rockport is by the ocean. We need to look at a map.”
“No, we don’t. You need to eat and rest. We’re taking a vacation to see some mountains.”
The whole idea of vacation had stuck with him. She wouldn’t complain. Once he destroyed demon number six, he had a year left with her on Earth. She’d fallen in deep love with him and hated to think about life without him.
“We can still look to see if Rockport is near the Atlantic. If it is, we could get a rental property and relax on a beach,” she said.
His eyes grew bigger. “Good thinking. We could even have sex on a beach.”
“How did I know you were going to come up with that?”
“Because you were thinking it too. Admit it.” He planted a kiss on her lips.
The idea of having sex on a beach had alw
ays appealed to her. She wouldn’t deny it.
“Okay, it’s a fantasy,” she said.
“And a good one. I want to make it happen. I want our remaining time together to be filled with happiness and love.”
“As long as we’re together, that won’t be a problem.”
Being with him had made a huge impact on her life. She looked forward to every day with him and felt more joyful. Better yet, he made her feel loved in a way no other person ever had. He treated her like a queen. He even accepted her mistakes. His devotion to her ran deep to his soul. How could she turn away from such a loving and caring man? She couldn’t and wouldn’t. Ever.
He brushed her bangs away from her forehead. “I’m so glad you came after me. I don’t want to lose you ever again.”
“You won’t.”
“I will go crazy if you ever leave me.”
“And if you decide to take off on me again, I’m going to go psycho and hunt you down in the afterlife.”
He chuckled. “I can’t have that, so I’ll be sticking around for a while.”
“Good.”
He gave her a gentle kiss. “I love you so much. I want you now and forever, Em. Stay with me, and I promise to always make you happy.”
Her heart overflowed with joy. Her eyes began to fill with tears. “I love you, now and always, in this life and the next. You are mine and I am yours.”
His lips stretched while his loving eyes stared at her. “I couldn’t have said that better.”
The End
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