Bonnie

This was not good.

What Father Barnabas had said about Da

“Why do you have the knife out?” She moistened her lips. “Do you need to cut this brush? It doesn’t seem any worse than—” He wasn’t listening to her. She had to break through the dark fog that seemed to surround him. It had caught her off guard. He had been silent for the last few hours, but he hadn’t said much since their journey had begun. She’d had no idea that such danger had been brewing. She had been focused on just getting to their destination, getting to Bo

And she would never find Bo

Think.

If she ran, then he’d be after her in a heartbeat.

Da

Okay, then it had to be verbal attack.

“You don’t want to cut brush with that knife,” she said quietly. “You want to use it on me. Why, Da

“The demons,” he whispered. “They’re trying to get to me. I can feel them push and pull at me. But I won’t let them do it.”

Demons. Use the demons that obsessed him to control him. “That’s right, keep them away. But you’re not thinking straight. You said you wanted to give me to Bo

“I’m not sure. I didn’t … think so. The little girl didn’t think you were a demon. She wanted you.” He was frowning. “But sometimes the demons take over, and I can’t tell the difference until they’re ready to pounce. They don’t always look like demons.”

“I’m not a demon.” She turned and moved slowly back toward where he stood. Not too fast. No threat. She could already see him tensing. She stopped before him. “As you said, Bo

“But maybe she’s one now, too,” he whispered. “Maybe they caught her when I wasn’t around to keep them away.” His eyes were suddenly glittering with tears. “I hope they didn’t. God, I hope they didn’t. I have to stop them. I have to stop all of you.”

His hand was tightening on the knife. Eve could see the muscles of his body tightening, readying to spring forward toward her.

She instinctively braced herself. No, stop it before she had to defend herself. “Bo

“No, hate,” he said hoarsely. “Only hate.”

“Then you wouldn’t have chosen to take me to her if you hadn’t been sure that she had love for me. Isn’t that right?”

“Maybe. I’m confused right now.”

But his hand had never loosened on the knife.

“That’s because the demons want you to be confused. They don’t want you to take me to Bo

It was a gamble. His hand was shaking, and she could feel the blade prick her skin.

Believe me, she willed the thought with every bit of her mind and soul. I have to bring my Bo

His eyes were flickering, shifting, changing.

Help me, Bo

He stepped back, and the hand with the knife fell to his side.

Eve let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding.

The moment of danger had passed … for now.

Had she convinced him? Or had Da

Or had Eve been given the help for which she’d prayed?

It didn’t matter. Da

He was gazing at her in bewilderment. “You’re joking with me.”

“Purely involuntary. I admit to being a little shaken, and that’s how I generally handle it.”

“You’re frightened,” he said slowly.

“You caught me off guard. A knife usually has that effect on me.”

He was staring at her with an expression that had an odd element of regret. “I do have to kill you. I can’t do anything else. You didn’t seem afraid before. I was … surprised.”

“Get over it. As I said, you caught me off guard. This time self-preservation kicked in.” Her lips tightened. “You’re worrying that I’ll break my word about making it easy for you? You’re wondering if it’s worth it to you to wait and take me to where you want to … do it.”

“Yes.”

“I won’t lie to you. I’m not afraid to die. Sometimes there seems to be more waiting for me there than here. But that’s only sometimes. Self-preservation, Da

He didn’t speak for a moment. “You’re … honest. I knew that from the moment I met you when you were just a kid. You were pregnant and alone, and you were still fighting and telling the world to get out of your way.”

“I wasn’t entirely alone. There are good people in this world, Da

“You didn’t ask. You didn’t want me. You didn’t want John.”

“Is that why you killed my daughter?” Her hands clenched. “You did kill her, didn’t you? Tell me.”

He didn’t answer. “I thought you were right, that John would want to be free if he came back from Korea. I was glad you didn’t want him to marry you just because you were having his kid. I would have helped you, but I didn’t want you hanging on John, keeping him back.”

Memories of that time were bombarding her. Nights of passion with John Gallo. The first moment she’d seen Bo

“I never wanted to hurt John,” she said unevenly. “But I did hurt him by keeping my daughter to myself. I never realized that until later. I was given a special gift, and I wouldn’t share it. Did you realize that I’d hurt him and wanted to strike back? I just don’t understand.”

“I’d never let you hurt John,” Da

She’d struck a nerve. “Yet you’re doing it now. Don’t you know how John feels about what you’re doing? He loves you, and he can’t understand what you’ve become.”

“I know.” Da

“Bo