Deliverance from Sin: A Demonic Paranormal Romance (Sinners & Saints Book 5)

by Rosalie Stanton

  “Get out.”

  At that, he hardened his stance. “No.”

  “You think I’m playing?”

  “You think that knife scares me?”

  “I think if you’d seen me use one before, you wouldn’t ask dumb questions.” She cocked her head. “I don’t deal with demons. I kill them.”

  “I’m not a demon.”

  “But you pal around with them. Funny, for a guy who lost his shit when I brought up the d-word.”

  “You ever hear the phrase, the enemy of my enemy?”

  “You ever hear the phrase, I’m gonna gut you like a fish?”

  Campbell leveled a glare at her that would have struck fear into the heart of someone a little less experienced. “Listen,” he snapped and, in a flash, had her pinned against the counter, his strong hand wrapped around the wrist holding the blade, his body pressed to her in all the wrong ways.

  Her own body purred in response, and she felt sick with herself for it. She was not a woman who got off on being manhandled—that she felt anything other than the drive to knee him in the jewels filled her with cold, thick shame.

  Varina swallowed hard and forced herself to meet his stare head-on. She’d experienced a shit-ton of shame in her life. A little more wasn’t going to kill her.

  “You wanna learn something about demons, you get to know them,” he said. “I’ve gotten to know a lot. I’ve killed my share of them too, but those who have information and are willing to talk are worth keeping around.”

  “We’ll just have to agree to disagree on that.”

  Campbell’s expression darkened. “You’re not stupid.”

  “No, I’m not. Can’t say the same about you if you don’t back up.”

  He stared at her a moment longer, searching her eyes. Probably waiting for her to relent. He’d be waiting a long fucking time if that were the case.

  Ultimately, Campbell eased away from her, but he was smart enough to ensure he held the knife when he did. Varina didn’t fight him—she wasn’t in the habit of killing human men, and it wasn’t something she was looking to pick up. When cool air hit her body again and she felt she could breathe without all her annoying feminine parts whispering at her to do something stupid, the space around her head cleared and she found it easier to think.

  What she wound up with made little sense. “You came here because a bunch of demons said Legion was going to possess me again.”

  “No. I came here because I know Legion’s signature. I’ve tracked it before. I know it when I feel it.”

  “Good for you. And?”

  “And it’s here. Somewhere.”

  “That’s nice and vague.”

  Campbell took a step forward, but her eyes must have screamed bloody murder because he retreated the next moment. “You can’t tell me you don’t feel that,” he said, his tone soft. “It’s in the air here. Bit thicker.”

  “Yeah. Welcome to Louisiana.”

  “That isn’t the humidity and you know it.”

  Varina swallowed hard, her fear surging forward again. The same that had nipped on her heels the moment she’d returned to this dumbass town, and the closer she’d gotten to the old home. The shadows and ghosts of years before danced around every corner of Mount Zion, and yeah, the air definitely felt weighted and charged. But it always had. She didn’t recall a time in this home when she hadn’t suffered the sensation of being watched.

  Whatever he saw on her face, Campbell seemed to take as permission to continue. He raised his hands, which would have been a better gesture had he not held the knife, and took a step forward. “I am here to help. I’m here to capture it.”

  “What? Legion?”

  He nodded.

  Varina scoffed and looked away. “Pull the other one.”

  “I did before. Captured it.”

  Varina arched an eyebrow. “You captured Legion?”

  Campbell shrugged as though this was nothing. “You know the right people.”

  “Demons, you mean.”

  “Legion isn’t from this world, kitten. You want to get rid of a demon, you gotta rely on something otherworldly.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Is that what you came here to do? Sell me on a demonic cure for my demonic problem?”

  “I’m here to capture a Hell Demon. You just happen to be—”

  “Bait?”

  Campbell rolled his eyes and a muscle in his jaw ticked. “You’re the person it’s targeting. I’m not here for any other reason.”

  Varina blinked at him, this time taking a step forward herself. “Oh no? So fucking me wasn’t a part of the plan?”

  He stiffened further, if such was possible. “I didn’t plan that.”

  “Which time?”

  “Tonight. Earlier. Both. It just happened.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “I don’t recall hearing any complaints on your end. You fucked me just as much as I fucked you.”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t show up on your doorstep to do it.”

  He held her gaze, turned and tossed the knife onto the table. It landed with a loud clank that bounced through the kitchen. “Like I said, I didn’t plan it. I wouldn’t have if I’d known this was where I was going to spend my evening.”

  “Love ’em and leave ’em guy, then.”

  “I got enough problems without bringing another person into my world. That seems like something you might be able to understand.”

  Varina sucked her cheeks in, not wanting to concede the point.

  Didn’t matter. Campbell took her silence as the agreement it was. “I came back after I realized where I knew your signature.”

  “You mean you didn’t right off?”

  “I didn’t think I’d be so fortunate as to wander into the bar I’ve been going to for a few weeks where the one living person possessed by Legion happened to be a regular. Demonic possessions are rare, but not so rare that it stood out to me at the time.”

  She hesitated before nodding. It was true enough, she supposed. In the twelve years since she’d been ejected from her home, she knew of precisely two other former possession victims. Both were online sources who had likewise turned to demon hunting as means of staving off their newfound fan clubs, but from what she knew of them, it wasn’t so hard to imagine she might have happened into a place where another former possessee was doing business.

  “I hadn’t seen you at Rat Trap before,” Campbell continued. “For a regular, anyway.”

  Varina nodded again. “It’s been a while. I don’t come back to Magnolia Cross unless I have to.”

  “And you had to this time?”

  “My father died.”

  She flickered her gaze back to his face, waiting for the sorry and the awkward shuffle. It didn’t come. Instead, Campbell’s mouth ticked up and his eyes softened. Not in sympathy, though. She wasn’t sure how she could tell, but she could. It was more than that. It was understanding.

  Wise or not, Varina found her esteem for Campbell inching upward.

  “I would’ve figured it out at the bar—that you were the possessee I was looking for, if I’d been thinking clearly, which I wasn’t.” The remark was pointed. “That was weird for me too, no matter what you think, and it threw me off. But when it occurred to me who you were, I followed your signature here, and when you opened the door…well, you know what happened. I stopped thinking again.” Campbell paused and looked down. “Look, whatever that was…I don’t regret it and I won’t apologize. I wanted it. You wanted it. We both enjoyed ourselves. But it wasn’t what brought me here. It…just was, okay?”

  Okay. She could accept that. But that didn’t mean the conversation was over.

  Varina crossed her arms. “I’ll need to see your medical records.”

  That seemed to catch him off guard. “What?”

  “Or something showing you have a clean bill of health. Recent physical will do. But I’ll need it soon.”

  He blinked.

  Was he dense? Varina sighed. “We didn
’t use a condom. Either time. I can’t get pregnant…” She lifted the hem of her T-shirt, baring the scar across her belly. “Souvenir from Legion’s last visit.”

  Campbell’s throat worked. “Damn.”

  “Yeah.” She lowered her shirt and leaned against the counter. “Sadly, doesn’t protect against STIs.”

  “I don’t have an STI.”

  “Great. Then you won’t mind proving it to me.”

  The scowl returned in full force, and for a moment, she was convinced he would argue with her. If he did, she was through with him. No matter what was coming. Varina was a big girl. She’d dealt with demons her whole life—both the real and the metaphorical. Legion might scare her shitless, but it was something she was equipped, if not willing, to handle. She’d traveled this road. Hell, she’d paved it.

  The world was full of many things, though—things she couldn’t change and more she couldn’t prevent. And while she was no stranger to sex, she wouldn’t court more disaster by being reckless.

  Dealing with the consequences of her carelessness would have happened eventually. She hadn’t thought about it since leaving Rat Trap due to the overwhelming amount of other crap on her plate. But now that the deed had been done twice, and the guy was right in front of her, she might as well knock something off her list.

  Campbell’s shoulders dropped and he nodded. “Yeah. I can do that.”

  A ripple of relief skidded down her spine. The smallest gestures were the ones that meant the most. “Good. Thank you.” She rubbed her arms, looked toward the kitchen door, the fight in her receding. “I’m still lost on everything that’s going on.”

  “I’ll try to fill in the gaps. Fire away.”

  She worried her lip between her teeth, her mind churning. There were a lot of things she needed to know—pieces she was missing, components that made no sense. Campbell’s presence notwithstanding, he was a huge question mark. What had happened to him, why he was here. Why he gave a shit about her or Legion. That was an explosion waiting to happen, and she couldn’t say she’d go toward the fire if she saw one burning.

  Then there was the entire concept of Legion. Legion, her family, her father, and all that had occurred within these walls. How it was now. How her father had chosen now to drop dead, how she’d gotten the call now to come home, and how now she hadn’t been able to say no this time after years of practice.

  She felt lured, manipulated. Her mind was crowding with too much information and not enough resources. Too many questions firing off from too many jumping points. And on top of everything was a heady layer of exhaustion, accented by grief.

  The questions she wanted to ask would have to wait. If she started now, she wouldn’t stop. And the information she received would be a cluster of useless noise. She wasn’t awake enough, thinking clearly enough, to sort through anything or come to any sound decisions.

  Varina inhaled, shook her head, met Campbell’s gaze. “No. Not tonight.”

  “No?”

  “No.” She paused. “I’m locking my door.”

  “What?”

  “Upstairs. You need to stay, don’t you? For Legion, if he shows.”

  Campbell frowned, his face a sea of confusion. That was just fine. She was a little lost herself.

  “I’ve had a long day,” Varina continued. “A long, weird day. I need sleep.”

  “And you’re locking your door.”

  “Yeah. Because you’re staying here, and I don’t trust you.”

  The confusion deepened. “But you’re letting me stay.”

  “Until tomorrow at least.” She rubbed her lips together. “I’m not saying a locked door will keep you out, but it’ll slow you down enough to give me enough time to make sure it’s the last room you ever set foot in.”

  Campbell was quiet a moment, but the confusion behind his eyes softened into understanding. “I’m not here to hurt you, Varina. If I were, I would have by now. I want to help.”

  “You can’t blame a girl for being too careful. I’m already being dumb by letting you stay. I’m not going to be so dumb I give you every advantage.” A beat. “I think I can believe you. Just give me time to get there.”

  He nodded, then stepped back. “Okay.”

  “And we shouldn’t have any more sex. It confuses things.”

  At that, his face fell so quickly she had to bite back a laugh. Typical.

  For a moment, she thought he’d protest. Ask about what happened after he proved he was free of disease, or when she was thinking clearly. Assure her he could change her mind, and most likely without much persuasion.

  But again, he surprised her. “Okay.”

  Varina studied him a moment longer, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It didn’t. Campbell just stared back. Unmoving.

  There was no reason in the world to trust this guy, and about a million to not. He’d shown up in her world today, and today everything had fallen apart. He knew her name, where to find her. He knew about Legion. He hung out with demons and he felt like a livewire.

  So Varina wouldn’t trust him. Not yet.

  She’d give him tonight in her house, and if he tried anything, she’d take his head off. But something told her that need wouldn’t arise. If he’d wanted to hurt her, he’d had ample opportunity, as he’d said. It could be a ploy to gain her trust, but why he’d want that was beyond her.

  Another question she could file away for later.

  6

  In the late nineteenth century, Campbell had spent a good chunk of time in the antebellum South, spurring the would-be Confederates toward the inevitable blow with the Union. As such, he’d found himself often welcomed into homes constructed in the Greek revival architecture admired by so many Southern planters. Homes engineered with the goal of lasting generations, a physical representation of a proud family name. Mount Zion was no exception.

  That made the age and lack of care all the more apparent. The formal hall, which spanned the length of the house, would have been majestic in its heyday, with ceilings probably close to seventeen feet, finished off with intricate molding that had undoubtedly been hand carved. Today, the walls were cracked, the floor scratched, the rugs threadbare.

  The rooms off the main hall weren’t much of a surprise, either. The gentlemen and ladies’ parlor, where Varina seemed to have taken up residence, was on one side. On the other was the stairwell, the formal dining room, and the kitchen—the most modern room he’d seen thus far. Toward the front entry was a closed door, which Campbell knew from experience would lead to another large room, a study or library being the likely guess.

  He didn’t get the formal tour, though. He waited as Varina gathered her duffle bag from the parlor, then followed her up the stairwell to the second floor. Every move she made screamed her discomfort and confusion, but she didn’t say anything. The more he was around her, the more he realized she wouldn’t.

  And the more he liked her. There was a sexual component, of course. His body couldn’t stop remembering just how fantastic hers had felt. But her body was just one part of a very interesting picture, and the more he uncovered, the more he wanted to see.

  Probably because he hadn’t uncovered all that much. They’d spent less than two hours together, but damn, had those two hours been enlightening. She told him so much about herself in all the things she didn’t say and didn’t do, and in the select things she did.

  If he’d met another human like her, he couldn’t remember it. And Campbell was reasonably certain anyone like Varina would have stuck.

  Varina stopped short when she reached the second floor, leaned over and flicked on the light switch. Something hissed and something else popped before a dull glow took up the confines of the hallway. The light source, Campbell saw, emanated from the branches of an old, cobweb-adorned gasolier. Like the rest of the home, it had likely been elegant in its prime.

  “There are five rooms up here,” Varina said. “Two on the stair side, three on the other. The corner one there”—she pointe
d to a door on the opposite side of the hall—“is mine. I think.”

  “You think?”

  She shrugged. “I haven’t been here in twelve years. They might’ve turned it into a disco, for all I know.”

  “You haven’t been up here since you got back?”

  “No. Truth be told, I’ve been avoiding it. Not the best of memories up here.”

  Campbell frowned, made to reach for her before thinking the better of it. Instead, he moved so he was in front of her. “How long have you been back here?”

  The corner of her mouth tugged up. She fixed her eyes on his. “What time is it?”

  He blinked. “Really? You just got here today?”

  “Like I said, my father passed.” She looked away, blowing out a breath. “That might have been why I was so pissy at Rat Trap. That and I thought you were a demon.”

  He tried to smile at that, but failed. The number of things he’d have to keep straight when speaking to her was already a mile long. He didn’t need to add to it before he got it sorted, and he wasn’t in the mood to find any of it funny.

  “Are you staying downstairs, then?” he asked instead.

  “Nope. Which is why I pointed out my room.”

  She met his gaze again and offered a smile, nearly knocking him off his feet. Varina looked so different up here than she had downstairs—the hardness brought on by skepticism and aggression had faded into something soft and malleable. Aside from her obvious unease, he could likewise tell she was exhausted from the lines around her eyes.

  He thought about offering to share her room with her. Something told him if he nudged, he could secure that invitation, regardless of what had been said downstairs. The thought, however, died almost as quickly as it was born. No matter his motive, he was already taking advantage of her by imposing his presence and feeding her false histories. He didn’t need to add anything to the list.

  That and he wasn’t the sort of guy who pressed for sex. Never had been.

  “You consider Rat Trap yours,” he said, trying to force his mind from thoughts of her spread on a mattress. “Even though you haven’t been here for twelve years?”

  “I haven’t been here.” She stomped for emphasis. “I’ve been to town. Just enough to get the rumors started before I light out again.”