Someone banged on the door, and I jumped away from it. Another one?

“Dani! Are you okay?” Eros asked.

I took a deep breath. Okay, oh, God. It was only Eros.

Trevon stepped toward me, but I could tell that he was trying to hold himself back. “Please, don’t answer, Dani. I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, staring behind me at the door. His lips parted, and he bared his teeth at us—like he was going to hiss. “If you open the door…” Another bead of sweat rolled down his neck. “I won’t be able to hold him back.”

Maria grabbed the knife from the side-table but didn’t move toward the door, nor toward Trevon.

Eros knocked again. “Dani! Answer the door.”

Trevon’s chest heaved. He placed his hands on the couch, claws ripping through the leather. He shook his head wildly, like he was trying to get the demon out.

Maria snatched my arm and held the knife in front of us. “What are we going to do?” she whispered.

“I—I don’t know.”

“I don’t want him to hurt us or the guys next door.” The knife in her hand trembled.

Even though Trevon was terrifying me right now, I knew he wouldn’t intentionally hurt me. If he wanted to, he would’ve done it by now. But I knew that if we opened the door, he would lose control and hurt someone else. And that someone would be Eros.

I would never forgive myself for that.

This needed to stay contained. At least until Eros went back into his own apartment.

Trevon doubled over onto his hands and knees, then curled into a ball, clutching his head. “It hurts.”

Eros banged on the door again. “Open up or I’ll come in.”

“What are we going to do?” Maria asked again.

I pushed her toward the kitchen. “Go get some garlic or salt or something. I’ll keep Eros out.” God, I really should’ve kept reading that article about demons.

She sprinted to the kitchen, and I deadbolted the door and pressed my back against it.

“Did you just lock me out?” Eros asked through the door.

“Eros, I’m busy right now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Are you okay? There’s blood on the front door.”

“I’m fine,” I said. “Maria just got her period! That’s why there’s blood. Anyway, got to go help her. Bye!” I ran back to the living room, praying to the Heavenly God above that he’d leave us alone because I didn’t want him to get hurt like Mom did.

If I could protect someone, it was going to be Eros.

Maria rushed back into the living room with a container of salt. She created a circle around us with it. I didn’t know if this would work. Hell, I didn’t know what we were doing. I just wanted the old Trevon back. I’d take Trevon the Cheater over Trevon the Demon any day.

We huddled closer to each other, and I wondered if we were supposed to put the circle of salt around us or around Trevon.

Maria was pressing her face into my neck, tears streaming from her eyes. “I’m sorry I haven’t been to church in months, but, God, please don’t let us die.”

After hours of watching Trevon struggle with himself: pacing around the apartment, tearing apart furniture, slashing his skin with his claws, he finally let out an ear-piercing scream and collapsed onto the ground. His claws disappeared into his fingers, and his teeth transformed back into his pearly whites.

Maria sucked in a breath. “What was that?”

I swallowed hard, heart racing. “A demon?”

We stayed in the circle for a good twenty more minutes until Trevon eventually sat up. He leaned against the couch, breathing heavy. Everything seemed to be back to normal—for now.

I cautiously stepped out. “Trevon,” I asked.

“I’m sorry, Dani,” he said, gazing up at me with sorrowful eyes. “I couldn’t control it.”

Maria stepped out and rushed to the front door. “I need to get out of here.”

“Maria,” Trevon said. “Please don’t tell anyone!”

She hesitated, but then nodded. “Okay.” She disappeared behind the door and closed it.

There was a long pause, and Trevon looked back up at me with tears in his eyes. “I’m scared.”

“Me too.”

He took one of my hands, squeezing tightly. “Thank you for staying with me.”

I took a deep breath and knelt next to him. I wasn’t okay, but I’d have to be. We would have to find out how to fix this, because I would not let Eros get hurt.

“What happened last night?” I asked. “Why were you covered in blood?”

He gazed at the ground, his lips trembling. “I—I hurt someone.”

“Who’d you hurt?”

“I don’t know. I brought him to the hospital…” His voice cracked. “I nearly killed a man last night, Dani! What’s wrong with me?”

I wrapped my arms around Trevon’s trembling body and held him close. I didn’t know what was wrong with him or how a demon could possess someone like him, but I was going to find out.

“We’ll figure it out,” I said.

“What if we don’t?” he whispered.

“We have to.”

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 29

OceanofPDF.com

Dani

“It’s your turn to watch him,” Maria said when I got home from work. The room was about 95 degrees Fahrenheit—just the way Trevon needed—and I almost immediately broke a sweat. She hopped onto the stool at the counter and rubbed her tired eyes.

For the past two days, we’d been watching Trevon non-stop. During the day, throughout all hours of the night, he hadn’t left the apartment. He also hadn’t shifted into that monster again, but one wrong move and he would snap.

Trevon was sitting on the couch, clenching and relaxing his fists. “I need to go out. I hate being cooped up here.”

I placed takeout from Ollie’s on the coffee table. “Eat.”

He ripped it open and clenched his jaw. “I need real food.”

“Well, that’s too bad,” I said—snapping. All I wanted to do was fall into a deep sleep on the couch and enter Cinnamon Heaven with Eros. Not spend the rest of my night with whatever Trevon was.

“That’s it,” Maria said. She sat up and scrolled through her phone. “I’m calling someone.”

He jumped up from the couch, eyes turning black. His food fell into pieces onto the ground. “No! You can’t tell anyone!”

“Well, I’m not dealing with your angry ass anymore.” She typed on her phone. “How to get rid of the demon in your apartment.”

“Mari—”

She tapped on the screen. “Hmm, look at this. Exorcism.”

“NO.”

I took a deep breath and placed my hands on his chest. “Trevon,” I said as softly as I could. “We’re just trying to help you.”

He grasped my wrists, and I was afraid that he was going to unintentionally hurt me again. But instead of digging his claws into me this time, he took a few deep breaths—eyes fading to their normal brown color—and sat back on the couch. He rubbed his legs harshly, trying to stay relaxed.

Maria sighed. “There are a few people around here that perform exorcisms. I’ll start calling.” She hopped off her stool. “Oh, and Dani…” She pointed to my phone as it buzzed on the counter.

I swore under my breath and snatched it. Six unread messages from Eros and three from Kasey. I scrolled through the notifications, not bothering to even unlock my phone.

I sat next to Trevon on the couch and sighed. I hadn’t looked at it since the other day. It buzzed in my lap again, and Eros’s name popped up on my screen. I hated being a hypocrite for scolding him for ignoring me and then ignoring him. But I couldn’t risk him coming over. Hell only knew what Trevon might do to him.

“Answer the phone!” Trevon said. “I’m sick of the buzzing.”

I turned off the phone. Maria walked back into the room with a half-smile on her face. “I called three people and explained our situation. One refused to come over, one said that she’s busy until tonight, and the other is on his way.”