His grip tightened on my hands as he studied my midsection where my aura would be.

“You feel a strong pull to drugs, don’t you?” he asked.

I nodded and he shook his head, unhappy.

“I can see it. And you’ve got a double whammy: the pull from me, plus the addiction in your genetics. That’s got to be hard.”

“I’m used to it now. My body might pull, but my mind knows better.”

“Good. That’s what I like to hear.”

“All right, back to the story,” I said, gripping his fingers.

“Yep, this is where it gets good. When I saw Mariantha she was whispering to that human woman like a mother with a feverish child. Nobody in the dealer’s house cared when I picked the lady up and took her. That is, except her guardian angel, my Mariantha.” He chuckled. “She saw what I was, but didn’t register who I was at first. She went apeshhh—um, she went crazy trying to protect her human. And then she recognized me.”

He said the last sentence with such adoration that our eyes watered at the exact same time. We both laughed, wiping them dry before clasping hands again.

“Mariantha and I took the human woman to a hotel and cleaned her up. It took a whole day for her to come to, and even then she was so far gone. Her body was ruined and her soul was barely hanging on. We both knew that if the lady died, Mariantha would have to escort her soul to the afterlife. Mariantha wouldn’t be allowed to come back to earth afterward. We would never see each other again. So, hoping for the best, she climbed into that body, something no angel of light had done since Old Testament times.”

I squeezed his hands, hanging on to every word.

“The human soul didn’t fight her; she moved easily aside. It took almost three days to detox and heal the body. It was a lot for Mariantha to deal with her first time in physical form. It was hard to watch. I had to force her to eat and drink. She fought me, but she made it through. And when her mind was clear and we were together again, it was like it’d always been, only different. For the first time we weren’t just souls; we were a man and woman overcome with physical attraction and... well, that’s how you came along.”

I blushed and he looked down, shamefaced.

“I shouldn’t have let it happen,” he said. “Not that I’m not happy you’re here. Don’t get me wrong. But in all my years as a demon, I’d been careful not to father any children of my own. It didn’t seem right to me.”

I was thankful for that.

“She knew right away that you were with her. We couldn’t help but be happy. We knew we didn’t have long together, so we cherished every single second. I left her side only once, to make my report to Azael, hell’s messenger. I couldn’t let them know about you two. Mariantha heard stories through the other guardian angels about one last angelic Nephilim. We didn’t know where else to turn.”

“Wait, what do you mean, angelic Nephilim?”

“That nun is a descendant of an angel of light, probably a guardian angel. I’m not sure of her exact story.”

I wanted to know how she had escaped the attention of the Dukes and Legionnaires, but I didn’t want to ask my father and risk exposing the source of my information about demons. I somehow didn’t think he’d be pleased by my relationship with Kaidan.

“We got to the convent just in time,” he said. “You came early. Do you remember that day?”

“Yes.” I pressed my lips together, feeling guilty about how I’d questioned his motives all these years. He squeezed my hands and tugged them so I’d look up at him. His face was open, full of love.

“I want you to know, baby girl, after I saw Mariantha go, I never led another soul to sin.”

His eyes held mine, pleading for me to believe.

“Never?” I whispered. “This whole time you’ve been in prison?”

“I’ve given false reports to Lucifer for sixteen years. I know it doesn’t make up for all the damage I’ve done, but I had to ensure my place on earth long enough to see you and tell you. Funny thing is, now that I’ve met you, it makes me want to stay even longer.”

When I smiled at him, he gave me a look similar to the one Patti had given me the day she broke the news about my identity. He was thankful I wasn’t mad at him, and it wrenched my heart open further, letting him all the way in. I squeezed his big hands.

“Dad,” I said. We both jumped at the surprising sound of the word between us. I pressed on. “Do you know what Sister Ruth needs to tell me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Sister Ruth told Patti there were things she needed to discuss, but she’ll tell me only in person.”

He shook his head. “No idea,” he said. His hold on my hands tightened. “I need you to listen to me, Anna. This is important. Whatever the nun tells you, you can’t tell anyone about it. Anyone. If it’s something big and it gets back to Lucifer, he’ll have you killed. Hell, even if it’s something small he’ll have you killed. Who else knows about this besides us?”

“Just Patti...”

“Okay. That should be okay. Is that it?”

“And Kaidan,” I added. My eyes darted everywhere but his face. I was in for it.

“Who?” There was an edge to his voice.

His eyes searched mine. I didn’t want to tell him a single thing about Kaidan. I knew how it would sound. I took my hands from his, pulling the braid over my shoulder to mess with it.