by John Corwin
"In God."
His grin faded to an almost wistful look. "That has yet to be determined."
Thankfully, the food arrived before an inquisition began, and I was able to keep everyone off the subject of religion and God. A part of me questioned why exactly I wasn't very concerned with Tyler's religious beliefs. My life as a child had revolved around serving the church and belief in a higher being. Discovering the existence of someone like Tyler should have strengthened my beliefs. Instead, I found myself questioning them. Either the Bible was completely wrong about demons being pure evil, or Tyler was very good at deception as a Biblical demon should be.
The circular logic of that argument nearly made my head spin like someone possessed.
After being self-absorbed for several minutes, I realized Tyler and my parents were talking about football—or as Americans so erroneously call it—soccer. Mum, an avid soccer fan, had at some point in the past, addicted my father to the sport during his time in England. Tyler apparently had an interest in it as well, though I couldn't for the life of me remember discussing it with him. Then again, we hadn't spent an awful lot of time talking.
My face heated at thoughts of what we had done.
"We'll see how the World Cup pans out," Dad was saying. "But I hope you're wrong."
"Of course he's bloody wrong." Mum's eyes flashed in time with the exuberant smile on her face. "I'd be willing to put a wager on it."
Dad's hand went atop Mum's, and he cleared his throat. She seemed to deflate all of a sudden, her lovely smile fading away.
"Well, he's still wrong," she said.
The conversation meandered to several harmless subjects after that, and then my dad looked at his watch. "Well, unfortunately we have to be up early." He stood and stretched. Held out a hand to Tyler. "It's been a pleasure."
Tyler smiled, and took his hand. "The pleasure was all mine."
Mum took his hand and shook it, her eyes seeming to search Tyler's for a moment. "You seem different from the others. I hope you truly are."
My boyfriend seemed a bit startled by the comment, his eyebrows rising high, but he quickly settled back into an amiable grin. "I am, Victoria. I promise."
We walked them outside where Joe waited in the SUV. Tyler waved for him to remain in the car, and opened the door for me to climb into the back. I hugged Mum and Dad one last time before watching them walk down the sidewalk toward a parking deck.
As Joe pulled away from the curb, I breathed in relief. "Well, that went better than I'd expected."
"Oh did it now?" Tyler kissed my cheek and grinned. "We certainly covered all the bases."
"Indeed. Work, religion, family." I rolled my eyes. "On top of that, they were acting a bit odd." I shrugged, thinking back to the look my mother had given Tyler, and the way Dad had cut off Mum's discussion about soccer. Usually he just let her run on and on.
My cell phone rang. I pulled it out, and raised an eyebrow. "Why hello, Dad. Long time no talk."
Dad laughed. "Say, honey, I was wondering if we could steal you from your boyfriend tonight just to do some catching up." His voice sounded off—as though it were a bit strained.
I wondered if perhaps they hadn't liked Tyler as much as they'd pretended. "How about tomorrow?"
"We'll be too busy. I'm sorry if we're cutting in on anything. I just think—"
I looked at the phone after a few seconds of silence and saw we'd been disconnected. I tried calling back several times, but my calls went straight to an error message about the voicemail not being configured.
"Problem?" Tyler asked.
"No. My parents wanted to have me to themselves for a bit, but we got cut off." I shrugged. "I just wish they'd take a day off their busy schedule for something like this instead of a last-minute call." A sigh escaped me.
"They seem about as normal as parents get," Tyler said, "if a bit blunter than most."
I gave him a sideways look. "Since when did you become a soccer aficionado?"
"I acquired the taste from someone else."
"From—" I cut off my sentence as I realized what he meant. He'd picked it up from someone he'd possessed. "Do you really like it, or is it just—I don't know—like a vague recollection?"
"I honestly like it." He shrugged, glanced at Joe. "The, uh, person who was an avid fan piqued my curiosity, so I started going to games." His gaze seemed to shift inward. "I think it was one of my first humanizing moments."
I felt my eyes flare in surprise. "Really? From a sport? I rather think people behave like animals at those events."
"True." He took my hand in his, rubbing a thumb over my skin. "Competition is primal. But it's also about being a part of something bigger than yourself, even if you're not really in control." He kissed my hand. "It unifies people. Brings them together. Where I'm from, that's uncommon."
"Nobody works together?"
"Oh, they do. But usually because someone more powerful is making them do it."
"Yes, well that's often the case here, I'm sorry to say."
Blue lights flashed from behind us, and Joe cursed.
"Speeding?" Tyler asked, his face growing concerned.
Joe shook his head. "Following the letter of the law, Mr. Rock."
Tyler's eyes narrowed and he looked back at the police cruiser behind us. Joe started to pull over to the side of the road. There was almost no foot traffic, just a few abandoned buildings on the side of the road.
"Not here," Tyler snapped. He leaned forward between the front seats and pointed several blocks away where restaurants and teeming nightlife crowded the sidewalks. "Up there."
"Yes, sir." Joe hit the accelerator.
The cruiser blipped the siren a couple of times, and the officer in the car motioned Joe over. Joe held up a thumb toward the rear-view mirror where the officer could see it.
"Pull over now," the officer blared over the loudspeaker on his car.
"Keep going," Tyler said.
I leaned close to him and whispered, "Aren't you going to get Joe in trouble?"
He looked back at the police car again. "I hope not."
I thought back to his time as Thomas. To the time he'd rescued me and Isabel from Stephen. "Why don't you like the police?"
"We're here, sir." Joe pulled into a no-parking zone in the front of a lively part of the street, well lit, and with people sitting outside various restaurants despite the chilly weather.
"Thanks, Joe."
I looked back, expecting to see the officer on the radio, but he appeared to be talking to his partner in the passenger seat. Seconds turned to minutes, and finally, the officers got out of the car, one approaching the right side of our vehicle, shining his flashlight into the windows, one hand unsnapping the strap on his holster, freeing his firearm. The other drew his sidearm, holding it to his side, and approaching the driver's door.
Joe reached into the dash compartment, pulling out what looked like an insurance card, and withdrew his license from a battered leather wallet.
Tyler made a call on his cell phone, glanced out the window at a street sign. "We might have a situation. Peachtree and Eighth." He paused, grunted. "Then do it. That's what I'm paying you for." He ended the call and gave me a smile that did nothing to allay the alarm bells ringing in my head.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" I asked.
"Hopefully nothing."
"Nothing?" I opened my mouth to say more when the officer on the driver's side stepped up.
"License and insurance," he said, even as Joe handed it to him. The officer's eyes settled on Tyler and me. He gave us a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He took Joe's documents and looked them over.
"May I ask what the problem is, officer?" Tyler asked, his body looking quite relaxed, one arm sprawled over my shoulder. But I could feel the tension in his arm, the way his muscles coiled and readied to move in an instant.
It was all I could do to keep my face as outwardly calm as possible.
"You have a brake light
out," the officer said.
Joe's forehead wrinkled. "Really? This car usually warns me if a bulb goes out." He chuckled. "Hell, it tells me if the stupid tire pressure is off by a hair."
"Why don't you step out of the car and we'll show you?" The officer motioned toward the back of the car.
Joe glanced over his shoulder at Tyler who gave a slight nod, then opened the door and stepped out. He followed the officer to the back where they spoke while the other officer remained a discreet distance away, eyes locked on the car. Tyler looked at the rearview mirror. I leaned toward him and saw the officer and Joe centered in the reflection. Joe had a confused look on his face. He shook his head.
The officer motioned to his partner and said something. Tyler's entire body went taut. Joe's look went from confused to angry. He said something. And then the other officer made him turn around and put him in handcuffs.
Chapter 38
My stomach went taut. "What the bloody hell is going on?"
Tyler moved his hand from my shoulder, and looked me in the eye. "I need you to get out of the car, Emily."
I remembered him saying the same thing as Thomas, and a harsh chill raced down my spine, followed quickly by a hot surge of anger. "I will do no such thing. Tell me—" I gasped as the realization hit me. "They're not police, are they?"
He shook his head. "We don't have time to go into this. In a moment, they'll come ask you to get out for some bogus reason, and they'll arrest you to isolate me. They probably have a stun gun or tranquilizer."
"What about your security people? Are they on the way?"
He nodded. "But they probably won't be here in time."
"What if you call the real police?"
"I've tried that before. The Exorcists have contacts everywhere. These might even be real police officers who work for them." He shook his head. "My only option is to run."
"I'm not leaving you this time."
His jaw tensed. "You have to, Em. I won't put you in danger."
I gripped his shirt and pressed my lips desperately to his. "Don't you dare try to leave me again, Tyler Rock. Don't you dare leave me confused, lonely, and hurt. If you try to kick me out of this car, I will hunt you down and exorcise you myself!"
Tyler's green eyes flashed with an inner light, and he stared at me in open confusion. "But—but why would you put your life in danger for me?"
My mouth dropped open, and words failed me. Heaven help me, but I think I'm falling in love with this bloody gorgeous fool! "Because I can," I said at last, looking back as the officers guided Joe into the back of the cruiser.
Tyler kissed me, his lips sending a streak of heat to my stomach as excitement and fear swelled in my breast. In a smooth motion, he slipped into the front seat. I slithered between the seats, managing to situate myself in the passenger seat without flashing my panties at everyone on the sidewalk.
The police took up positions outside, their faces creasing with concern, most likely at our actions. Tyler leaned out the window, and smiled congenially.
"Did the driver give you some lip, officer?"
"Sir, step out of the vehicle."
"Oh, I'm fine to drive, officer. I'll get us home and get the bulb replaced."
The officer drew his weapon, held it to his side, pointed at the ground. "Out of the vehicle, sir."
"Whoa," Tyler said. "You mind telling me what the problem is?"
"I'm not going to repeat myself." The officer opened his mouth to say something else.
Tyler shifted the SUV into drive and squealed out into traffic.
The police raced back to their car. Tyler swerved around a clot of traffic at a light, narrowly missed a car emerging from a side road, and turned down a narrow road next to a tall parking deck. I shrieked in terror and delight as he revved the engine and squealed around three more turns in quick succession, moving smoothly through traffic as though it weren't there.
"Have you ever been in a wreck before?" I gripped onto the door handle as tightly as possible.
"Yeah. But that was because I didn't care about the body I was in."
"You intentionally crashed?"
He checked the rearview mirror and shook his head. "No. Even my enhanced reflexes aren't perfect."
I gripped the center armrest with my other hand as he drifted the SUV around another corner, and somehow managed not to scream. "How lovely. Where are we going?"
"My place."
"Do you think Stephen tipped them off about you?"
His lip curled back into a snarl. "I guess he must have."
"Doesn't that mean they'll know where you live?" I looked back over my left shoulder, expecting to see the blue lights of the police car, but saw nothing but normal traffic.
He nodded. "Most likely. Especially since all they'll need to do is ask Joe or run the license plate."
My heart sank. "What will we do? I can't bear it if they take you again."
Tyler slowed the car, merging with the normal flow of traffic. He reached a hand across the center armrest and gripped mine tight. "I won't let them Emily. We can run away together. Go someplace they can't find us."
"And where, exactly, would that be? Are we talking Europe or Antarctica?"
He growled. "I haven't figured out that part yet."
"Surely these people aren't omnipotent, are they? There must be some way to stop them."
Tyler shook his head, and pulled into a narrow alley between two high-rise buildings. He put the car in park, and rested his forehead against the steering wheel. I reached a hand across to him, stroking his soft hair. I felt tears welling in my eyes and could do nothing to stop them as they overflowed and trickled down my cheeks.
He looked up, eyes sadder than I had ever seen them before. "I'm sorry, Emily. God, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," I said, my voice a trembling whisper. "We'll figure this out."
"Why would you want to be with me?" He lifted his head, eyes focused somewhere not here. "I thought I could do this. I thought I could make it work. I feel happy with you. You make me feel...content. At peace. But I'm being selfish, as always. I was born a monster and I'll never overcome that."
"No, Tyler, don't say that." I grabbed his hand and pressed it to my chest. "You care about me. I can see it in your eyes. You're not a monster!"
He pulled his arm away. Threw open the driver side door and got out. "Take the car. Go home. It's over, Em. I won't put you in any more danger."
My sorrow blazed into anger. "Don't you dare leave me, Tyler Rock. You get back in the car this instant, or I will—"
"Why?" he said. "They know where I live. They know who I am."
"Then leave this body and find another." My words choked to a desperate whisper. "Find me."
"I don't want to do that." He ran a hand through his hair. "I like who I am now. I'm Tyler Rock, and I want to stay that way. I want to be normal. I want to be...human. How would you feel if I had to keep coming back to you in new bodies?" He didn't wait for an answer. "You'd feel dirty, that's what. And so would I."
I got out of the car, walked around to his side, and threw myself into his arms as angry tears rolled down my cheeks. I didn't know what to do, or what to say. All I knew was I wanted him to stay with me, and for the God-damned Exorcists to leave us alone.
He sighed. Kissed the top of my head. "If they exorcise me, send me back to my realm, I won't be strong enough to come back for a while."
"How long?"
"Months, maybe years." His voice came out a ragged whisper. "But that's not the worst of it. My former companions will find me again. And when they do..." His body shivered violently. "I might never escape again. I might never see this world again."
I looked up at him, but tears blurred my vision. I couldn't stand losing him. Not now. Not after everything we'd been through. "Can't we tell the Exorcists that Hugo is dead? That the body was free of another soul when you took it?"
His jaw tensed. "I don't think they'll care. I tried to make contact with Exorcists in
the past, mainly so I could learn about them—understand them, even. They aren't in the business of being found or doing favors. They're in the business of finding demons and removing them from the mortal world."
I wiped my eyes, and stepped back from him, my mind working furiously. "There must be something we can do." Unfortunately, running seemed the only ready answer.
Tyler's phone rang. He answered, said a few terse words, and disconnected. "My security detail is coming here. But I'm certain they won't intervene with the police. Several of them have ties to law enforcement."
"Let's leave," I said. "You have money. Get a fake identity, and we can make a new life."
He looked at me for a long moment. "Are you sure that's what you want to do? You'll have to leave behind friends, family, everything you know, and trade them away for a life of never settling in one place, paranoid that the Exorcists will find you at any minute."
"Well," I said, rolling my eyes, "when you put it like that, how can I refuse?"
He flashed a grin, which vanished almost as soon as it appeared. "I'm serious, Em. It's going to be rough."
I took his hand, pressed it to my heart. "Do you feel that?"
His eyes locked on mine, the pupils dilated. "Yes."
"The thought of being without you makes me hurt right there. It hurts so much, I can't bear it. Even when I was scared of you, it still hurt." I wiped at my eyes. "I don't want to live like that, Tyler. I'd rather be on the run for the rest of my life than live without you."
The saddest look came over his face, and a single tear sparkled in the corner of his eye. He looked away, brushing at the tear. "It's not much of a life."
"I don't care. Let's make a run for it," I said. "Let's do it, now."
He gripped my hand. Grinned. "Let's do it."
We hopped back into the car. I felt like a naughty schoolgirl who'd just decided to skip class for the first time to run away with her boyfriend. With the decision made, I felt almost happy, heady with relief. Things will be okay.
That's what you think. My inner ninny wasn't quite so sure.
Tyler backed out, looking up and down the street for any sign of police, and pulled out. He drove around town, taking back streets and avoiding police cars for hours. I must have fallen asleep at some point, because Tyler touched my shoulder to wake me as we traveled down a winding road lined with quaint houses. I looked at the time and was surprised to see it was nearly six in the morning. The first hints of morning light had lifted the black of night, turning it to gray.
