Free The Demon Trappers: Foretold by Jana Oliver

so quick. I even asked her to marry me, but it didn’t last.’ He shook his head.
‘She decided I wasn’t the right guy for her.’
    Riley had never known he’d been that serious about a girl.
    ‘Why not? What’s wrong with you?’ she asked, indignant. ‘You don’t snore in your sleep. At least not much.’
    ‘Nothin’ like that. I brought her down here to meet Sadie and that was it. Whatever the old lady said, Caitie walked away. She never did tell me why.’
    Riley had a good idea of exactly what had happened: Sadie had run the same game on her son’s fancée as she’d tried on Riley. It’d worked in Caitlin’s case.
    ‘Were you serious about anyone else?’ It seemed important to know how many times he’d given away his heart.
    Beck shook his head. ‘It was easier to hook up when I felt the need. That way, well . . .’
    ‘You didn’t get hurt,’ she said.
    He studied her more intently now. ‘You know how that goes, don’t you?’
    ‘The endless-hookin’-up part? No.’ That wasn’t her style. ‘The getting-hurt part?’
    All too well.
    As Beck drove through the increasing darkness, his mind kept circling round all that Riley had said. She’d infuriated him, got in his face, but no matter how much he
wanted to deny it she’d spoken the truth. If he really didn’t care about his future, why was he trying to learn how to read and write, work so hard to build a new life?
    The sheriff would help him: Donovan had never slept easy after those boys had disappeared. Riley was good at ferreting out secrets people wanted to keep hidden. He’d seen that when
she’d cracked the Holy Water scam. He had two strong people in his corner, folks who believed in him. Maybe it was time to find out what had really happened to Brad and Nate. Then maybe
he’d sleep easier at night as well.
    What if we can’t figure it out?
What if the truth remained hidden and the National Guild used that to deny him from getting his master’s licence?
    He felt a surge of defiance. If the Guild screwed him over, he’d go freelance. It wasn’t as honourable as working in the Guild, but he had to make a living. Maybe Riley would join
him and they could trap together.
    He shot a quick glance over at Riley and then back to the road. He wasn’t quite sure how to handle a girl – he corrected himself – a young woman who believed in him so
completely. But first there was Sadie to deal with, then he’d try to right an old wrong, both for his sake and for the missing boys.

Chapter Eight

    After Riley changed into her pyjamas – she’d gone for the T-shirt-and-shorts look since she wasn’t going to let Beck see her panda PJs – she found her
guy in his own bed, under the covers, a book in his lap. It was the same book she’d found the night he’d been hurt in Demon Central. By the bookmark’s location he’d not made
much progress.
    Too busy fighting the bad guys.
    Beck painstakingly mouthed every word, one finger tracing along as he read. Every now and then he’d pause and consult the sheet of paper her father had given him, the one with the
definitions. Then he’d go back to reading. When he realized she was watching, he thumped the book closed, embarrassed.
    ‘Go on,’ she said. ‘It’s a good book.’
    ‘How do you know?’ he asked, instantly defensive.
    ‘I saw it in your bedroom that night I stayed at your place. Dad was helping you with it, wasn’t he?’
    Beck’s wariness vanished at the mention of her father.
    ‘Yeah. He’d tell me the words that I didn’t understand, write them out for me. Then he’d have me copy them over and over until I could spell them right.’
    ‘That’s how I learned,’ she said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
    ‘Yer smarter than me.’
    ‘I’d argue that.’ She pointed at the book. ‘Anything I can help you with?’
    For half a second she thought he’d say no to cover his ego, but instead he nodded. ‘There are some words I just don’t get.’
    Riley