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

CHAPTER 19

Katie stepped onto the sandy beach and wondered what time it was. After rubbing her eyes and taking in her surroundings, she realized she was at the upper beach of the reservoir. White stars dotted the black sky, and a breeze blew across the water, chilling her to the bone. Her pajamas felt super thin in the night air. She wrapped her arms around herself, but it did little to keep out the cold.

To her left, a little ways down the beach, Katie saw the silhouettes of two people. Their targets. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. She wasn't going to fail this time. She was going to do her job and help Josh get his souls. He wrapped his arm around her waist. His body was warm and blocked out part of the breeze. She was thankful for that.

"You ready?"

She nodded.

Together, they approached the other couple. A calm settled over her. She felt at ease. This was what she was meant to do. It was the choice she made. She couldn't fight fate. She shouldn't.

As they got closer, the couple turned at the sound of their footsteps. Katie first recognized Braden and fought back the urge to gag, and then Deb came into view. Deb? Josh expected her to make up for what happened earlier by taking her best friend's soul? No. It couldn't be. This was a misunderstanding. Katie was well aware that Deb and Josh didn't get along, but killing her wasn't the answer. Maybe she was wrong about the situation. Maybe they were out here for some other reason. After all, Braden was here too, so it could be anything. Besides, Josh never actually said they were harvesting a soul. She had just assumed that was what was happening. She needed to wait and see how this played out.

Deb's eyes lit up as Katie approached. She skipped across the sand and threw her arms around Katie's neck. Josh had to jerk back and let Katie go so he didn't get slapped in the face. The abruptness of her actions almost knocked Katie down. The tang of alcohol wafted from her friend. When had Deb been drinking? Katie didn't remember noticing it at the club. Although that wasn't indicative that she hadn't. It wouldn't have been the first time she'd seen her friend drunk.

"Katie! Yay!" she screeched in Katie's ear. "They found you." She pulled away and looked Katie up and down. "Why are you in your pajamas?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but Braden interrupted her.

"Deb here was just telling me about the awful fights you two have been having lately."

A pout crossed Deb's face, and she nodded. "I hate it when we fight. There's no reason to. It's stupid."

Katie chuckled nervously. "It's what friends do. It's not a big deal."

Well, so much for being there for something other than harvesting a soul. She was pretty sure she knew exactly where this conversation was going, and her discomfort was growing by the minute.

"It is a big deal. I don't want to lose you as a friend." She hugged Katie again tightly, practically choking her in the process.

Katie patted Deb's side. "You won't lose me. It's okay."

Deb released her grip. Her eyes filled with tears. "I feel like I already have." They streamed down her face.

"She was saying," Braden continued, "that she was willing to give anything to make things go back to normal." He revealed his teeth with a sinister grin.

Yep. Just as she suspected. She'd really hoped to right her wrongs from earlier.

"No," Katie said. "No, Deb. You don't mean that."

She nodded rapidly. "I do. I really do. I want it to be like it was."

Katie grabbed Deb's face with her hands and stilled her head. She spoke slowly so her friend would understand. "They're going to take your soul."