I waited for him to tell me he was joking, but his eyes were far from amused. I stood up and paced between the table and the couch.

He was serious.

He expects me to believe he is a…he’s my….guardian angel! I thought. My mind mulled over wings, halos, and harps, and I laughed out loud. Jared watched me pace as if he were afraid he’d sent me over the edge.

“I’m not an angel,” he said as if I was totally off-base. “My father is. Was,” he corrected.

“You’re half….” I trailed off, unable to mouth the word. I felt ridiculous for even considering it.

“Human,” he amended, intercepting the alternative.

My thoughts traced to Jared’s lobbing the man the impossible distance across the parking lot. “That does explain some things. But….” I shook my head. I wanted to believe him and that made remaining objective more difficult.

Jared walked toward me, but I instinctively took a step back.

He cringed at my reaction. “I would never lie to you. Do you believe that?”

Just a few moments before I was determined to believe anything he had to say. But Jared was asking me to believe in fairytales, in the supernatural. His anxious eyes searched my face, begging for me to believe. I was worth his truth and I stood cruelly obstinate. The need to ease his anxiety overwhelmed reason.

I touched his fading scar with my fingers. “It makes sense, really.”

I had described him as angelic once, when I hadn’t realized it was closer to the truth than I could have ever imagined. His glowing blue-grey eyes, his strength, the flawlessness of his face and the way he moved; it would be the only explanation. It suddenly didn’t matter if it were possible. I believed him.

“I still have questions,” I said.

Hope touched Jared’s eyes, and he led me to the table. I took a bite of my half-eaten slice of cake and giggled.

“Something’s funny?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Angel Food.” I pressed my lips together, stifling a laugh.

Jared chuckled and sucked in a big breath, seeming relieved.

“Angel Food. Good one.” He attempted an annoyed expression, but the relief on his face thwarted his efforts.

“Sorry.”

“You’re forgiven,” he said immediately. “So. Now you know.”

“Everything?”

“Pretty much.” A fresh energy seemed to surround him. “There is more, but it’s the logistics of what I’ve told you, and part of that…well, it’s best that you don’t know about them.”

“Them?”

“You know the stories, Nina. Where there’s light, there’s dark. If I go into detail and you become aware, it attracts them. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

My body suddenly felt cold, causing my shoulders to curve in and shudder. I knew exactly what he was talking about: demons. Of course they would exist if angels did.