Free The Belial Ring (The Belial Series 3) by R.D. Brady Page B

did you know about the Fallen?” Laney asked.
    Rocky shook her head. “No. That was the first time I heard about anyone with those abilities. And until I saw them and felt them, for myself, I didn’t even believe what you had said, really. I figured it was adrenaline, or maybe you took a blow to the head.”
    Laney remembered dragging Rocky to the car, blood dripping down her side. She had almost lost Rocky that night.
    Rocky met her eyes and Laney could tell she was reliving the same night. “Laney, I was asked to look out for you. That was all. I swear.”
    Laney nodded. She thought Rocky was being truthful with her, but she was no longer sure if she could trust her own judgment.
    Laney grasped Jake ’s hand and looked back out the window. The helicopter began to reduce its altitude. Laney caught sight of a single road playing peek-a-boo through the trees below.
    Up ahead was a clearing. The helicopter landed softly on the grass. When the rotors had turned down, Laney stepped out and stretched out her legs. Her ankle still smarted, but she could walk on it.
    And once again, everything else ached. I really should just accept constant aches as my new normal.
    Jake stepped up next to her. “You all right?”
    Taking his hand, she gave him a little smile. “Not really.”
    He pulled her close, kissing her forehead. “Well, Dorothy, apparently there’s another road to follow.”
    Laney nodded, but she couldn ’t help think of the cost of those other roads.
    Rocky walked over to the tree line. “It’s this way.”
    The rotors started up behind them. Laney looked back in alarm. A few seconds later the helicopter lifted off.
    “ It’s okay,” Jake whispered. “On the ground, the chopper would have been easy to spot. It’s safer for it to take off.”
    Squeezing Jake ’s hand, Laney followed Rocky. But she wasn’t sure she was convinced that everything was actually okay. She looked behind her.
    Henry smiled. “I’m still here.”
    “ My own guardian angel,” Laney joked, but the truth was, she did feel better with him there.
    The four of them followed the path through the woods. After about two hundred yards, Laney could just make out a little cottage tucked away between the trees. The stone and wood blended into the forest well. Large, leafy branches bowed over it, hiding it from the air. It would be easy to miss.
    T he little house was quiet, but Laney could see two dark SUVs parked around the back. A narrow dirt road led away through the trees.
    Rocky climbed the short steps to the porch.
    The door opened and Rocky disappeared through it. The shadows kept Laney from seeing who had opened the door. She took a deep breath and walked up the steps.
    The boards of the porch creaked. The door stood open, but Laney stopped walking. It was only a few short feet, and an ordinary doorway, yet it seemed like a yawning cavern.
    Laney didn ’t know why, but she was terrified to step into that house. Somewhere at the back of her mind, she knew that stepping over that threshold was going to change everything. And she just wasn’t sure she was ready.
    Jake slipped his hand into hers and squeezed.
    She looked up at him and read the love there. She knew if she wanted to walk away right then, he’d be right there with her.
    And if she walked in that door, he ’d be next to her for that, too. She squeezed his hand back. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
    Hand in hand, Laney and Jake walked into the cabin.
    Victoria Chandler, Henry ’s mother, stood in front of the couch, waiting for them.

    CHAPTER 21
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    “V ictoria?” Jake said.
    “ Mom?” Henry said at the same time.
    Laney just stared. As far as the world knew, Victoria Chandler had died almost twenty years ago when her car ran off a bridge. Laney knew that wasn’t true, because Laney met Victoria Chandler in Baltimore, two months ago. But only that once, never before. This was the person who had hired Rocky to look out for her? Five years