Chapter 3

There was that split second where panic—raw and ravenous—raced through him. She’d staked him. He’d seen how cool she was, and he’d turned his back on her anyway, and…the bitch stakedhim. This was not how he was supposed to go out. Not him. Not Gideon Keel. He wouldn’t have a human sneak up on him, and he wouldn’t have a damn cross shoved through his back to crumble him into ash. Except he had. On both counts.

The only difference was…he wasn’t crumbling.

With a roar, he threw the man he’d been holding into the front row, satisfied when he crashed through the pew and took several people with him. Whirling around, Gideon snarled when he came face-to-face with a determined Mary.

“Don’t start feeling all sanctimonious because you’ve managed to finally put a crucifix to some use,” he said. “All you’ve done is delay the inevitable.”