Jaci Burton - Taken by Sin

They nodded and removed the demon. Michael holstered his pistol and went to Mandy bending down to help her up.

She pulled away from him and pushed herself to a standing position, hating the weakness that still made her legs feel wobbly. “I’m fine.”

Michael took a step back and nodded. “Let’s go to debriefing.”

Mandy followed Michael silently, not understanding what had happened.

For someone so grounded in the here and now, what had gone down had been really fucked up. She’d always been able to do her job.

So what the hell had happened to her?

Michael led her into the office and waited while she stepped in, then closed the door behind him. Mandy laid her weapons on the table, took a seat and stared down at the floor.

She knew what was coming. This wasn’t going to be fun.

Michael pulled a chair across from her.

“Want to tell me what happened in there?”

No. “I froze.”

“So I noticed. Literally or figuratively?”

“Both, I guess.” She leaned forward and laid her head in her hands. “I don’t know what the hell happened to me. I was ready to kill that thing. I really was.”

“Maybe this is too much for you too soon.”

She snapped her gaze to his. “No, it isn’t.”

“You couldn’t pull the trigger, Mandy You had the demon in your sights, your finger on the trigger, and you couldn’t get it done. That demon could have killed you.”

Or it could have killed Michael. And that would have been her fault. Just like Lou was her fault. Perfect. Another death of one of the Realm’s Keepers on her head.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Michael said.

She shrugged, leaned back. “I’m not thinking anything.”

“Bullshit. You either come clean with me or I’m pulling you off active duty.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you serious? I had one second of hesitation and now you think I can’t do my job?”

“It wasn’t one second. Something happened up there. Something that wasn’t normal for you. You could have died. I could have died. We need to talk about it.”

She hated that he presumed to know all about her. He knew nothing about what was “normal” for her. “We don’t need to talk about anything.”

He cocked his head in disbelief, then pushed the chair back. “We’re done here.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means until you’re ready to talk to me, or to someone else, about what really happened up there, you’re no longer a hunter.”

She shot out of the chair. “What? You can’t do that.”

“Yeah, I can.” He started to walk away but she grabbed his arm and forced him to turn to her.

“Who made you judge and jury over me? Who put you in charge?”

His gaze never wavered as he said, “Lou did. The Realm did. You report to me now, Mandy Lou is gone.”

“I know that. Don’t you think I know that?” All too well, unfortunately. She couldn’t begin to explain to Michael what had happened. Not when she didn’t understand it herself. And no way would she reveal anything that could be considered a weakness. Especially not to her Keeper. He’d ground her for sure. Permanently. “Look, there was just something not right about the situation. It just didn’t feel right.”

Michael shook his head. “That’s not it and you know it. And if you can’t be straight with me, then this isn’t going to work. I said you’re off duty and I meant it.”

Fury filled her. She fisted her hands at her sides, but knew striking out at Michael would seal her fate. He looked down at her hands as if he knew what she felt. She saw only compassion in his eyes.

Goddammit. She didn’t want his compassion. She didn’t want anything from him, especially not the caring she saw reflected in his gorgeous baby blues.

He turned and left the room.

This time, Mandy didn’t try to stop him.

She had nothing left to say. Nothing at all.

Dalton was drinking coffee when Georgie came around ‘the side of the cabin and into the backyard. He smiled at her.

“What are you doing down here?” he asked.

“I came to check on you.”

He’d pulled on jeans this morning, careful not to wake Isabelle. Without his shirt on, Georgie could see his stomach.

“I can’t even tell where you were injured, Dalton. Pretty impressive.”

“Yeah, well, I heal quick,” he said, lowering his voice.

“You haven’t told her, have you?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

He glanced at the back door, turned to Georgie. “I’ve told her all I can.”

Georgie crossed her arms. “If you haven’t told her everything, then it’s not enough. How can you hope to succeed in what you plan to do if she doesn’t know the entire story? Until she knows all, I won’t be able to help her, and neither will you.”

He was hoping it wouldn’t come to that. “Georgie, no one knows except your family.”

“Knowledge is power. Isabelle will need all the power she can wield in order to make it through this trial by fire you have in mind for her.”

“Shit.” He dragged his hand through his hair.

“You don’t trust her?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. I do trust her. I think.”

Georgie let out a soft laugh. “Well, that’s definite.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I’m not a hundred percent sure. And you can imagine what this kind of information could do in the wrong hands.”

“But she trusts you with her secret.”

“She had no choice.”

“Neither do you. Not if you want this to succeed.”

“I know what I need to do. I’m just not ready.”

“What’s holding you back?”

“I need to be able to trust Isabelle to tell her everything. But I’m not sure the demon side of her won’t somehow use it against me.”

“Trust is a two-way street, Dalton. I hate to be trite, but it’s the truth.”

He nodded. “I realize that.”

“She’s put her life in your hands. You might have to do the same with her.”

“I still haven’t figured out what kind of hold the Sons of Darkness really have over Isabelle, how much control they wield over her. She shot me yesterday.”

“Do you think that was her intent?”

“No. But still, the Sons of Darkness have a hold on her.”

“You don’t think she’s fully in charge of herself.”

“No.”

Georgie sighed. “Then you’re not ready.”

So not what he wanted to hear. “I wish I believed one hundred percent in Isabelle, enough to tell her who I am-enough to trust her fully. But I don’t trust the Sons of Darkness. They could be using her. And if they’re using her, they could use me. I can’t let that happen. We’ll both suffer.”

It was at that moment he caught sight of Isabelle, leaning against the back screen door. Close enough to have heard them. But how much had she heard?

She pushed open the door and came toward them, stopping in front of him. He didn’t need her to say a word to know she’d heard everything. The hurt and anger on her face said enough.

“Things are so much clearer now.”

“Isabelle, before you start-”

“Oh, no,” she said, holding out her hand. “You’ve had your say and I heard it all. Now you let me talk.”

He nodded, knowing he deserved whatever she had to say.

“I always felt you were holding back with me, but I just couldn’t figure out why. Now I know. All those times you told me you believed in me, you trusted me. All bullshit.”

“Isabelle-”

“Not that I can blame you,” she continued, ignoring him. “I don’t trust myself, so how can I expect you to have faith in me? I’m not angry at you, Dalton. Just … disappointed, I guess. I thought we were past hiding secrets about how we felt. I’ve been pretty straight with you and I thought you had been with me. I was wrong.”