Good Intentions (Book 3 in the Road to Salvation Series)

CHAPTER 13

Katie set her jaw and narrowed her eyes. This was her chance. She could right all the wrongs. With purposeful steps, she strode across the floor and up to the podium. Wes watched her with curiosity. When she was close enough, she shoved him as hard as she could. He stumbled backward. The look of confusion on his face turned to anger. Deb stood.

"Katie!"

She barely heard Deb. Katie's focus was directed on Wes. He had to die. That was the only way things would go back to the way they were. She stomped up to him and shoved him again. He took a few steps back before planting his feet into the floor.

"Katie, stop!" Deb's voice was shrill.

It became obvious that Katie wasn't going to be able to kill Wes herself. If she tried, Deb would more than likely intervene. Plus, she didn't have a weapon. And Josh couldn't come into the room. She had to get Wes out.

She stepped up to him again, but he was ready for her. His gaze bore into her; the look on his face was hard. Who was Katie kidding? She couldn't kill Wes before, and she certainly wasn't going to do it now. The frustration built up within her, and the urge to scream crawled up her throat. Her fists balled at her sides. Without thinking, she punched him in the arm. He flinched and grabbed his arm. Katie set her jaw and punched him again in the other arm. She would have done it again, but Wes stepped forward and reached for her. She jerked away from him and headed back into the aisle. Deb and Wes stared at her wide-eyed.

"I can't let you do this," Katie said between gritted teeth. "I can't let you ruin things again."

"Katie," Deb's voice was soft, almost soothing. "Just give him a minute. For me."

Katie's gaze drifted from Wes to Deb. Her foot tapped nervously on the floor. It was too dangerous to stay. She shouldn't. Nothing good would come of it, and yet she couldn't tear herself away.

"They won't even know I'm here," Wes said. "I can slow time too."

Katie scoffed. They would know. They always knew. She folded her arms across her chest. "I know why you came back."

Wes raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Because of Edgar."

He nodded. "Partly."

Deb sat back down on the edge of the pew and stared at Wes. "What happened to him?"

He gestured toward Katie. "She knows more than I do."

Katie shook her head. "That's not true. Deb told me that you told her a demon assumed her grandma's form and told him lies. How did you know that?"

Wes pressed his lips together and sat silent for several moments. Irritation surged through her. She was sure he wasn't going to say anything.

"Deb's grandma had demon residue on her."

Katie stared at him. "What does that mean?"

Wes took a deep breath. "Demons have to put the originals somewhere when they assume their form. They can't risk them showing up at an inopportune time. That place is usually somewhere in Hell. It leaves a stench on them. One that most humans wouldn't be able to detect. It also smudges their soul." He held his hands up. "Nothing bad; just leaves a little mark."

Oh, well, that explained part of it. He probably just filled in the rest of the blanks. It wouldn't have been difficult.

But something about that didn't seem right to Katie. She had just seen Grandma cause Josh's flesh to burn when she touched him. How would a demon be able to carry her if she affected them like that?

She folded her arms across her chest. "Deb's grandma is too holy for demons to handle her. I just watched her burn Josh with a touch."

We cleared his throat. "That was a recent development. She didn't feel safe, and her family didn't seem like they were going to transfer her to St. Mary's, so we blessed her so demons couldn't get to her again."