Wild Flame (14 page)

And then Liv was gone.

Ivy slumped forward. She was delighted the demon was gone, but she began to worry about Christian. What was he thinking, trapping a demon? From what she’d learned while staying with them, the Chiassons didn’t torture. They killed.

So what the hell was going on?

Ivy walked around the square room and began to run her hands along the walls in an effort to find a way out. There had to be a doorway. She just needed to find it.

She went around the room twice before she slammed her balled fist into the wall and screamed her frustration. Christian was fighting demons, not having any idea that those demons were trying to learn anything they could to take the Chiassons down.

“Christian,” she whispered.

This trap the demons had set was too good. None of them had thought she was being tracked by the Hell Hounds for anything other than her mother dying before the ten years was up.

If only Ivy could let Christian know somehow. This was a nightmare that felt as if it would never end. The despair was overwhelming, but it was nothing compared to the stark fear that Christian might die.

While her mother may have been devout in her religion, Ivy wasn’t. No matter how many times she prayed to find out what was wrong so she could be healed, nothing ever came of it.

As a child, her first thought was that she hadn’t prayed properly. That’s when she asked her mother if the priest could come to their house on occasion. Not even that seemed to help.
 

No matter how many times Ivy prayed, God didn’t seem to be listening. As the years wore on, she prayed less and less. After she was healed, Ivy only went to church with her mother because she didn’t want to tell her mom that she didn’t believe in God anymore.

But now...now that she knew there were demons, there also had to be a God.
 

Ivy pressed her cheek against the wall and closed her eyes. “If you’re listening, I need your help. Please. I know I turned away from you for many years, and I probably have no right to ask anything of you now. But I am. I’m in Hell, trapped by demons that want the Chiassons. Christian and his family are good people. They protect others. They don’t deserve what the demons have planned. If there is a way to let Christian know they’re about to be swarmed by demons, please tell them.”

Ivy sniffed and pushed away from the wall. She tried to remain calm for all of a minute, and then she snapped.

She slammed her hands against the wall and began to shout until her throat was hoarse. “Let me out! Let me out!”

“Ivy!”

She paused in her screaming. That was Christian’s voice she heard in her mind. Was she breaking that quickly? She had to be stronger.

“Ivy?”

She squeezed her eyes closed. He wasn’t there. That sexy voice wasn’t close. It was all a trick from the demons, or her mind – or both.

“Ivy Pierce, turn around and look at me!” Christian demanded.

She laughed then. How quickly she had gone insane to believe that Christian was really there. She slowly turned and looked at the wall where his voice had come from.

“Go away, demon! I won’t be tricked by you again,” she declared.

“Dammit, Ivy. It’s really me. I came to find you.”

Ivy threw back her head and laughed, the sound hollow to her own ears. “Right. Just as you were my mother not that long ago while trying to find out all you could about Christian and his family. Not going to happen, bitch.”

The silence that followed felt like a punch in her gut.
 

“Ivy, sweetheart,” Christian’s voice said in a low tone. “I’m standing right here. See me. See that I’m real.”

She threw her hands out. “You’re not here!”

“Listen to my voice,” he said calmly. “Track it to where I am. Look past the walls the demons erected in your mind and understand that there is nothing holding you.”

Nothing holding her? What did that mean? Did he actually mean there weren’t walls around her? Ivy fisted her hands and shook her head.

The demons and their tricks. If they could make her think she was talking to her mother one minute and it be the demon the next, why couldn’t they also make her think she was locked in a room?

“That’s it,” Christian said in encouragement. “You can do this, Ivy.”

She closed her eyes and concentrated on Christian’s voice. Even if he was a figment of her imagination, he was calm in a storm of chaos. She would listen to him only because he gave her the confidence to face what was before her.

When she opened her eyes, the walls weren’t as thick as before. She looked at the one she had been banging on and tried to hit it again, only to have her hand go through the stones.

As if that was all her mind needed, the walls vanished.

She turned in a circle to find herself in a large room with corridors leading in different directions. It wasn’t until she saw Christian and another man beside him that she felt her knees weaken.

Ivy wanted to run to Christian, but she kept still for fear it was a demon again.

Christian smiled widely. “This is Kane,” he said and motioned to his cousin. “He came to help me find you.”

“You can’t be in Hell,” Ivy said.

Christian shrugged. “It seems I would walk through Hell itself for you, Ivy Pierce.”

She shook her head. “I’ve been tricked before. This isn’t you.”

Kane held up a large knife that dripped with something dark and kicked at a burning body at his feet. “Trust me, Ivy. It’s us. We went through a lot of pain to get here, and have killed many demons. If we don’t get out of here soon, the demons will figure out what’s going on.”

Ivy noticed Christian had his own blade. She looked into his face and gave him a sad smile. “Make me believe it’s you.”

In two strides, he was before her, yanking her against him and kissing her.

No one else could kiss like Christian Chiasson. Ivy wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss, overjoyed that it was really him.

She ended the kiss and hugged him. “It’s really you.”

“I tried to tell you, sweetheart. Now, are you ready to get out of here?”

“Please,” she said as she released him.

Christian entwined his fingers with hers. “Let’s go.”

Together, the three of them ran down first one hallway and then another and another. They began to blur together, and Ivy soon got turned around.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

It was Kane who said, “Back where we landed.”

Ivy wanted to ask how they were going to get home, but she trusted Christian to have already thought of that. He wasn’t the sort to go into a place without having a way home.

They rounded another corner when Christian said, “It’s just up ahead.”

Before they could reach it, six demons appeared before them, led by Liv.

Ivy took the knife from Christian and rushed Liv. The demon never saw the blade until it plunged into her heart. Christian grabbed Ivy and the blade and spun them around. He bent over her while Kane battled two demons.

And then suddenly there were no more sounds of battle. Ivy lifted her head and blinked at the bright light to find Davena sitting in the middle of the living room with candles all around her.

Davena smiled at them. “It’s good to have you home, Ivy.”

Kane and Christian jumped up and ran out the front door. Ivy moved slower, but when she stood on the porch and saw the demons and the Chiassons fighting them, Ivy couldn’t breathe.

With Christian and Kane joining in the fray, it was enough to allow Olivia and Ava to get back to the house. Ivy couldn’t take her eyes off Christian.

He was right in the middle of it all, fighting demon after demon as they fought to get at him.

“Davena!” Beau shouted.

With a few simple words, the demons burst into flames. Their screams filled the air for a few seconds before they disappeared.

Ivy ran down the steps and straight into Christian’s arms. “You came for me.”

“I didn’t lie when I said I would walk through Hell for you. I love you, Ivy Pierce. Don’t ever leave me again.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she said as she pulled his head down for a kiss. “How can I when I love you so?”

EPILOGUE

A week later...

Ivy sat in Christian’s arms on the swing. The Chiasson house was getting very crowded, even though Kane returned to New Orleans after the demon battle. Riley remained, but she was packing her bags to return.

“This isn’t going to be good,” Christian said when voices from inside drifted out.

Ivy patted his leg. “Vin needs to let her go.”

“He’s right though. Riley belongs here. We need her.”

“And she needs New Orleans right now. Give her time. She’ll return.”

Christian’s arms tightened around her. “I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right.”

“Oh, really?” he asked with a laugh as he nuzzled her neck.

Ivy nodded. “Get used to it.”

“I’ve already gotten used to quite a lot of things. Like going to bed with you and making love all night.” He turned her so that she could look at him. “And watching the morning sun come through the window to touch your face before you wake up and give me a smile.”

She touched his cheek. “I never wanted to love, but now that I do, I’m surprised at how fast it grows. I didn’t think it was possible to love you more than I did yesterday, but I do.”

“I know,” he said and kissed her.

She turned so that she straddled his lap and began to tug his shirt up. They were interrupted by the sound of a car approaching.
 

“Marshall,” Christian said.

Ivy got off his lap and straightened her clothes. Christian stood at the top of the porch steps and waited for the patrol car to park.

A tall man with short black hair got out of the car and put on his cowboy hat. He wore jeans, a button down shirt, and boots, and had a holster slung around his hips.

“You look like hell,” Christian said with a smile. He held out his hand for Ivy who took it and stood beside him.

Marshall walked to the front of his car and leaned back against it. He crossed one ankle over the other and hooked his thumbs in his pants pockets. “I feel it. I never thought I would get the US Marshalls out of my office.”

“Did they find anything?”

“No, but that huge burst of flames the other week didn’t help matters. I had calls coming in from everywhere.” Marshall pinned Christian with his steel gray eyes. “A little heads-up would’ve been nice.”

Christian laughed and walked down the steps, pulling Ivy with him. “Yeah, we’ll work on that. Sheriff Marshall Ducet, let me introduce Ivy Pierce.”

Marshall touched the brim of his hat. “Ma’am.” He blinked and looked closer at Ivy before his smile widened as his gaze moved to Christian. “I knew you had a thing for her. You couldn’t stop looking at her at the bar.”

“I know,” Ivy said as she leaned into Christian. “I couldn’t stop looking either. The demons said we were fated to be together.”

Marshall’s brows raised. “Demons? Really? But being fated, I guess that makes things easier.”

“Fated or not, Ivy is meant to be mine,” Christian said as he gazed down at her.

“I’m going to have to stop coming here,” Marshall said when they kissed. “Couples everywhere. Looks like my pool partner is gone. There goes my Friday nights.”

At that moment, the screen door flew open as Riley walked out of the house with her bag over her shoulder. She walked to her Jeep and yanked open the door, even as Vincent and Lincoln were calling her name.

Ivy and Christian turned to see Beau watching it all with a smile and an arm around Davena. Olivia and Ava were trying in vain to call their men back.

Riley had known it wasn’t going to be easy to leave again, but she had to do it. Not because she wanted to, but to prove to everyone – including herself – that she was capable of doing it.

“It’s not for good,” Riley said, quieting her two eldest brothers instantly. She took a deep breath. “I’ll be back.”

“When?” Vincent demanded.

She cocked her head and gave him a stern look. “I’m an adult. I have been for awhile, but none of you were able to see it. I’ve made a life in New Orleans.”

“Delphine is there,” Lincoln said.

As if she didn’t know that. Riley started to say something, but the words evaporated when she saw the sheriff’s car and the hunk leaning back against the hood. His silver-gray eyes watched her fervently. His black hat covered most of his hair, but there was enough showing at the sides and back with a bit of wave to it that had Riley itching to take the hat off him.

“It’s just Marshall,” Vincent said. “What were you going to say?”

Was she going to say something? For the life of her, Riley couldn’t remember. Then all thought fled when Marshall tilted his hat back enough that she got a good look at his face.

Lean and rugged. He had a shadow of a beard that accentuated his amazing jawline and entirely too full lips.