Free Wild Flame by Donna Grant Page B

that far.” They’d found her. Davena’s spell had given her a few days, but it looked like her time was up.  
    Christian took her hand and walked to the door. He yanked the screen open so hard it busted one of the hinges. The front door flew open before he could reach for it.
    Lincoln stood in the entrance. He pulled Ivy inside while Christian grabbed his weapon and rushed in the house.
    All around her was chaos, as everyone gathered weapons and Davena began to chant, their focus solely on the task at hand. Ivy, however, had eyes for only one person. Christian.
    If only she had been able to stop time and have a few more hours with him. She wouldn’t have left him after they’d made love. She would’ve stayed in his arms, watching the rain. Now her choices were about to be taken from her once and for all.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

      Christian held his crossbow, knowing that the weapon would do him no good against the Hell Hounds. The Hounds only went after their target – unless someone tried to stop them.
    He was going to try and stop them. There was no other choice for him. It wasn’t just because he’d promised Ivy he would keep her safe, and it wasn’t just his duty as a Chiasson. He would do it because...he loved her.
    “Get Ivy to the shed!” Vincent bellowed.
    Christian’s head swung around to Ivy. He looked into her eyes and saw the stark fear in her hazel depths. She was waiting for his agreement before she did anything.
    He rushed to her, grabbing her hand as he walked past and tugged her after him into the kitchen. Beau ran around them and out the back door. He held the screen open, his shotgun pointed up as he looked around.
    “Go,” he told them.
    Ivy stayed next to Christian as they ran from the porch, across the wet grass, and to the shed. Christian whirled around once she was inside to cover Beau as he followed them.
    “You should be with Davena,” Christian said.
    Beau grunted. “She told me you would need me out here.”
    Christian glanced at Ivy, who stood against one of the large cages. Then he looked at his brother and said in a low voice, “Don’t put yourself in the way of the Hounds. You’ll get killed, and Davena will be pissed off enough to bring me back from the dead only to dispatch me again for letting you die.”
    “You think you’ll be killed tonight?”
    “I’m prepared for it.”
    Beau nodded slowly. “Does Ivy know?”
    “Know what?” Christian asked.
    “That you love her.”
    He looked away. “No.”
    “Interesting.”
    Christian returned his gaze to Beau when he heard him dialing someone from his cell phone. He gave his brother a questioning look, but Beau just smiled as he turned the speaker on. After two rings, a male voice answered.
    “Kane, we’re in a bit of a rush. We need y’all’s help.”
    Their cousin in New Orleans said, “Hang on. Let me get the others.” With the phone held away from him, Kane yelled, “Hey! Everyone in Myles’s office. Now. It’s an emergency!”
    Christian looked at Ivy to find her still in the same spot, her arms wrapped around herself. She was doing a good job of holding it together, but it was obvious by the way she shook that she was unraveling.
    “We’re all here,” Kane’s voice came through the phone. “What’s going on?”
    Christian turned his attention to the cell phone. “Hell Hounds.”
    “You’re fucked then,” the eldest LaRue brother, Solomon said.
    “The woman we’re protecting didn’t sell her soul,” Beau explained.
    Christian sighed as the weight of what they were trying settled over him. “It was Ivy’s mother. Ten years ago, she sold her soul to help Ivy beat a terrible illness.”
    “Then what’s the problem?” Kane asked.
    “Ivy’s mother died a year ago. It was ruled a natural death, but we need to know for certain,” Beau explained.
    There was a string of curses. Then Court said, “We haven’t done that much research on the Hounds, but we’ll see what we can find.”
    “We