“You said you were going to kill Carter. And I didn’t know who else you’d go after,” I said quietly. “I didn’t know what else to do. There was no easy option for me.”

“There would have been if you’d really loved me like you said you did,” he replied bitterly. “And I told you I’d leave the rest of them alone.”

“It was too late when you told me that. By then, I’d already called for help.” I didn’t add that in a way, I really had loved him. It had been different from the way I loved Seth, but it had been love nonetheless.

“Well, whatever. It’s not relevant now. Finding Jerome is what’s important.” Out of the side of my eye, I saw him study my profile. “Of course, I’m surprised you’ve been so eager . . . it’s going to put an end to your little affair.”

“It’s going to come to an end anyway. I’d rather have Jerome in my life afterward than some other demon.” In my mind, I could see Seth’s kind eyes and gentle smile. I could almost feel the way his hands touched my body. “I’ll have the memories, at least. They’ll stay with me.”

“Memories.” Roman shook his head. “How the hell can someone who fucks random men for a living be such a romantic idiot?”

I didn’t answer that, and the rest of our drive contained little conversation. The place we were going to in Edmonds was another park. Funny, I thought, that humans kept sectioning off these magical places and preserving them. I wondered if they sensed that power on some inherent level. I’d read up a little on this park and how it had some significance to Native Americans in the area. Surely that was promising. It was a small beach flanked by a woodsy area with picnic tables. Children ran around while their mothers watched.

“This place isn’t very strong,” said Roman, once we were out of the car. “There’s a little magic in the earth but not much. I can’t imagine they’d hide Jerome here—they’d want a lot more to mask it.”

I refused to let that drag me down. “We have to look. We don’t know anything for sure.”

The park wasn’t huge. I suspected it would take us less time to search it than it would to drive back. Just as we’d stepped out of the parking lot, my cell phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number. “Go on without me,” I told Roman. When I answered, the voice was no one I recognized.

“Is this Letha, also known as Georgina Kincaid?”

I grimaced. Only high-up hellish employees called me by my original name. “Yes.”