Free Rogue Rider (Lords of Deliverance) by Larissa Ione Page A

“You’ve got to find him. He’ll starve or freeze out there.”
    “I’m sure he’ll be fine. He was obviously resourceful enough to weasel his way into your house.”
    Jillian looked around for her gloves. “He didn’t weasel his way anywhere.”
    “Do you think he might have remembered something?”
    “I don’t know.” She found the gloves on the coffee table and jammed them into her coat pockets. “Look, I’m on my way in. I’ll help look for him.”
    “Jillian, no. He’s not your problem anymore. We’ll take care of it.”
    Problem
. That was basically what she’d said to him. He was a problem. He had nothing and no one, and she’d dumped him the way some people abandoned pets without a single thought about how afraid and confused they’d be without the only people and home they’d known. An overwhelming sense of shame crushed her.
    “I think,” Stacey said quietly, “that you should come stay with me for a little while.”
    “What? Why?”
    “I can’t talk about it right now, but trust me, okay?”
    A chill seeped into her bones. “Is this about Reseph?”
    “Not… exactly. I’d just feel better if you weren’t out there all alone.”
    Why did everyone think she shouldn’t be alone? She liked alone. When she was alone, she had control of her life.
    “We can talk about it later. I’m coming into town tolook for Reseph.” She was not going to back down from this. “I’ll come by the station.”
    She hung up before Stacey could argue. Where could Reseph have gone? What if he was injured or lost?
    Sick with worry, she hurried outside. Darkness had settled in, but she wasn’t going to obsess about what might lurk in the shadows beyond the farm. Reseph could be in trouble, and she had no one to blame but herself.
    She’d almost reached the truck when a whisper stopped her in her tracks. No, not a whisper… it was more of a puff of warm air blowing across her cheek and ear. A rank odor made her nostrils burn and a sour taste fill her mouth.
    Oh, Jesus. Her knees nearly buckled. The stench was horrifyingly familiar, even after a year. Suddenly she was in the airport parking lot all over again, shrouded in darkness and at the mercy of monsters.
    Another hot breath ruffled her hair. A scream welled in her throat, but terror had frozen her ability to let it out.
    Please, no. Not again
. She’d barely survived the first demon attack. She couldn’t live through another.
    But she also wouldn’t die like a coward.
    In a jerky, slow movement, she turned. Nothing. She swayed in relief. There was nothing but empty space. But how could that be? She could still smell the demon’s breath lingering in the air.
    She was losing it. Losing it badly. Maybe Stacey was right. Maybe she shouldn’t be alone right now.
    She bolted the remaining distance to the truck, but when she was a few steps away, a shape emerged from the darkness. A demon.
    Holy shit, it was a demon.
    She glanced around in desperation. The barn and thehouse were equal distances away. Firearms in both. But the figure was coming up the drive between them.
    Hands shaking, she lunged for the truck’s door handle.
    “Jillian.”
    Reseph. Oh, thank God
. At that moment, Reseph’s voice was the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard. Relief sapped her strength, and she sagged against the truck. He materialized from out of the shadows, his huge body throwing a menacing silhouette, his incredible eyes glowing like lasers, the department store bag dangling from one hand.
    Even the foul stench of demon breath fizzled away, leaving her to wonder if she’d imagined the whole thing.
    “What…” She swallowed against her dry throat, her heart lurching spastically in her chest, her palms sweating. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?”
    “Some guy let me ride in the back of his pickup part of the way. I walked the last eight miles.”
    She pushed away from the truck. “Why?”
    He sauntered closer, his shoulders rolling, his