Epilogue
Outside of Luke’s apartment, Sorcha frowned at the blaring sound of…
K-Pop Demon Hunters?
Soda Pop? It took her a moment to come to terms with what was playing. This was definitely not the norm for her raucous partner. Way too mellow for his normal playlist.
And happy.
Had he been kidnapped again?
She had no idea until his door opened of its own accord. Suddenly, Luke was there, dressed in a pair of black shorts and matching T-shirt. With an adorable smile, he pulled her inside where he, Helly and the Feral Closet Demons appeared to be having a party.
There was even a disco ball on the ceiling of the room, sending glittering prisms dancing all over his black walls.
Sorcha was still trying to absorb the sounds and sights as Luke took her hand so that she could dance with him and Helly whose horns and wings were on full display.
Unlike Luke, Helly sang off-key.
As did the demons who were still locked in the closet. Only the walls were clear so that she could see them all. The closet looked like a tight, silent disco. Yet the demons were into the song which they must be singing off-key on purpose. Some were even twerking.
Shivering at the sight, she danced until the song ended…without any twerking on her part. “What are y’all doing?” she asked with a laugh.
That infectious grin answered her. “It’s Friday. We always celebrate.”
“Why?”
“Why not? We’re all fed and no one’s dead. Best of all, I’m not freezing.”
She swept a hungry gaze over that luscious body. “So, I see.” Then she glanced to the closet. “I thought the demons were banned from your room.”
“Don’t remind him!” Dohlar shouted.
“What happened to the music?” another added.
“I want to dance!”
“Gimme more Soda Pop!”
“Gimme Abby!”
“Who ate the last piece of pizza?”
“Stop stepping on my tail, you animal.”
“I still have to pee!”
Luke leaned his head back and groaned. “Go watch your movie, hyenas.” The wall solidified.
“Please, master. One more pizza!”
“Shut up!” Envee shouted. “He might take our movie from us.”
“Help! I’m in Chuck E Cheese Hell!”
Sorcha opened her mouth and made a face at that last comment. “Should I ask about Chuck E Cheese Hell?”
Luke laughed. “It’s a song I should never have allowed any of them to hear. Stupid me, I thought it’d be torture for them. Turns out, they really loved it and now they make demands for it so that I’m the one who’s being punished. ’Cause, Fuck You, Ken.”
“Is that really going to be a thing?”
“Yes, it is. Because it fits in so well with so much random bullshit that happens.”
He had a point.
Luke went to get a towel from the kitchen counter to wipe the sweat from his brow. “So what brings you to my door? Another body?”
“Just a quick thank you.” She pulled a small wrapped box out from her purse and handed it to him.
He stared at it with a stern frown. “What’s this?”
“A gift. I saw it in a store by the river. I don’t know why, but it reminded me of you. So I wanted you to have it as a way of saying thank you for welcoming me into IA.”
Luke didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t used to anyone showing him appreciation. Especially being sincere about it.
Huh…taking the package, he opened it to find a silver necklace. Four interlocking Celtic hearts were surrounded by a circle where sun rays fanned out and twisted together. It was quite lovely.
With a smile, Sorcha took it from his hand and placed it around his neck. Chills ran all over him as her delicate fingers brushed against his skin.
His body out of control, all he could do was hold his breath at the sensation of her touch. The one thing he truly craved. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” As she started away, he gently cupped her cheek.
Never in eternity had he met her equal. Her blonde hair begged him to bury his face in it and there was nothing he wanted more than to see it fanned out across his pillows.
Especially when she looked up at him as she did now. Not with fear or judgement. With tenderness.
That was a look he’d never really had from anyone.
It made him feel…
He would say human, but that was impossible. He shared nothing with mankind. And yet…
Maybe Helly was right.
Was this what having a soul felt like?
And when he saw sadness darken her gaze, it caused an actual ache in his heart. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
He brushed his thumb against her cheek. “Not nothing, Sorcha. What are you thinking?”
“Don’t you know?”
“I could. But I’d rather give you your privacy. I know how much it bothers you for me to go snooping in your thoughts.”
Sorcha smiled. Over the last two months, that was what she’d come to appreciate most about him. He didn’t give in to his evil ways as much.
He was respectful and kind.
“I was just thinking that when you go home and long after I’m gone, it’ll be a token for you to remember me.”
He winced as if that thought pained him. “I will never forget you.”
As she started to step away, he leaned down toward her lips.
Common sense told her to step away.
No, run away.
How could she? He’d come to mean so much to her that she couldn’t even explain it.
Savoring his scent, she lifted herself on her tiptoes so that she could kiss him.
Luke drank in her warmth. For whatever reason, she was the key to his being able to tolerate the human realm. Something he’d learned when she went home to visit her parents.
Longest week of his life.
Not only had he missed her, but by day five, he’d had to start bundling himself up again. On the seventh day, he’d been afraid frostbite would set in.
Then she’d returned.
Her smile alone had warmed him.
And her kiss had set him on fire. And so long as she stayed by his side, he didn’t get cold at all. It was a miracle he didn’t understand.
But definitely one he could taste.
Suddenly, Helly cleared her throat to remind them of her presence. “Should I leave, boss?”
Laughing, Sorcha pulled away. “You need to make more noise.”
“I thought I was. If you want, I can go watch The Conjuring with the FCD. I love the sounds they make whenever the exorcism part starts.”
Sorcha widened her eyes. “Does it really affect the Feral Closet Demons?”
Luke shook his head. “They just play act like they’re being banished. But they are entertaining when they do it.”
That was interesting. “Can they be banished?”
“Everyone can be banished. Sometimes it only takes a glance or unkind word.”
She caught the note in his voice. He wasn’t just talking about exorcism. And it made her heart go out to him. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Everything you’ve lost.”
Luke was caught off guard by her sincerity. Before she’d come here, he’d felt that pain.
Now…
He’d gained so much more. Being banished from home no longer had the sting it used to. He was actually beginning to like it here. “Vade retro me satana.”
She frowned at him. “What does that mean?”
“Get thee behind me, Satan. It’ll work on a number of Hell-beings.”
“Including you?”
“Only if it comes from you.” The thought of her banishing him…
He didn’t even want his mind to go there.
She was starting to mean too much to him. And just as he reached for her again, both their phones went off.
Luke cursed at the sound. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as she grabbed hers from her purse.
“Teivel.”
“O’Malley.”
“Hey gorgeous,” Bernadette said with a smile in her voice. “There’s a body we need you to look at. Pretty sure it’s IA, but boss lady wants me to run it past you anyway.”
“On my way.” He hung up at the same time Sorcha did.
“Should I ask?”
He frowned at her. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. I have a weird feeling about this.”
“Yeah, Bernadette was a little vague.” Conjuring black jeans, he grabbed his wallet and keys, then opened the door for Sorcha. “After you, O’Malley.”
Sorcha wasn’t sure what to expect as they pulled up to a small, tidy light blue house on Tybee Island. Whoever owned it had decorated it like a cute beach getaway. There were even a pair of pink flamingos on the porch. “I like the flamingos.”
“They’re different.” Luke pulled his hair down as they got out and approached the crime scene.
Rory met them on the porch.
“What’s going on?” Sorcha asked.
“Body in the garage. Dead as a doornail.”
Sorcha had no idea what he meant or why Rory thought that was funny until they entered the garage and she saw a body that was actually pinned to the garage door by a giant spike through the victim’s chest. “You’re not funny.”
Rory grinned. “Sure, I am. You just can’t appreciate it, yet.” He glanced to Luke, then met Sorcha’s gaze. “You still owe me another stab at dinner.”
She groaned at his bad pun over the poor victim. “You’re vexing me, Corvan.”
“That’s what all the women say.”
Corvan’s boss approached and gave them all a stink eye.
“I need y’all to be serious right now. We got reporters showing up all over the place.
Last thing I need or want is for any of them to start saying that Savannah’s finest is treating this matter with anything less than all due respect. You hear me?”
Rory cleared his throat. “Yes, sir.”
He glared at Sorcha and Luke. “That goes double for you two. We got enough problems with your unit. I don’t want to become a laughingstock, too.”
Luke inclined his head.
“Yes, sir,” Sorcha repeated.
“Good. Now get your gear on and don’t be contaminating my crime scene or compromising my evidence log.”
Sorcha pulled a pair of latex gloves out of the roll she kept inside her purse.
Covering her blonde hair and face, she quickly set about examining the garage while Jedi and others did their jobs.
Rory stepped carefully around the broken glass on the ground so as not to slice through his shoe coverings.
“Who called this in?” Sorcha asked.
“Wife. A uni is taking her statement inside.” Rory glanced at her. “Apparently, she came home from work and found him like this.”
Luke frowned. “Alone?”
“That’s what she said.”
Sorcha averted her gaze as they struggled to remove the spike so that they could get the body down. “You believe her?”