The Demon Trappers: Foretold (5 page)

‘Not right now. Thanks,’ Beck replied.

Walker had found himself a seat at a nearby table so he could continue to glower at them. Beck ignored him, squirting ketchup, then mustard and hot sauce on his burger. He carefully rearranged
the pickles then picked up the burger, admiring it like it was a work of art.

‘Was it his daughter?’ Riley asked in a low voice.

A shake of the head. ‘Wife.’

No wonder he’s pissed.
‘How old were you?’

‘Sixteen.’ He took a big bite of his burger. After he’d finished chewing and had swallowed, he added, ‘It was right before I left town.’

‘Did you leave by choice or were you voted off the island?’

He dabbed at his mouth with a paper napkin. ‘Jury’s still out on that one.’

Riley did a quick mental recap – she was in some dorky small town with a local boy who had slept with just about every girl in sight, at least those of legal age. It was a good bet that
every one of their fathers, brothers or husbands would love the opportunity to have some serious face time with Denny Beck. She would be caught in the middle.

Lucky me.

Riley turned her attention to the burger and after a bit of doctoring she took a bite.

Ohmigod.
It was incredible, juicy and rich with flavour, nothing like the ones she got at the fast-food places. She focused on her meal, ignoring the staring dude at the far table and the
whispered conversations at some of the others. When anyone left, they called out a goodbye to Karen or the other waitress and then took the long route round the diner so they walked right by their
booth.

‘Just ignore ’em,’ Beck said.

‘Easy for you.’

‘Not really.’ When he’d finished the huge mound of fries, he leaned back in the booth, content.

‘How can you eat that much?’ she asked, still picking at her own meal. The burger had been enormous and the cottage cheese the extra-creamy kind.

‘I’m a growin’ boy,’ he said.

‘Well, you will be if you keep packing food away like that.’

Beck lowered his voice. ‘You aren’t like throwin’ up in the mornin’ or anythin’?’ he asked, eying her closely.

That was one subject he’d skirted until now – whether her night spent with Ori the Fallen angel had resulted in her becoming pregnant.

‘Nope, that’s not going to be a problem.’

His deep sigh told her he’d been worrying about that. ‘Well, there’s some good news for a change,’ he said, followed by a long slurp of his coffee.

Someone moved up to the booth and for a moment Riley figured it was Walker back for more harassment. But it wasn’t. This guy was a couple years older than Beck and a little taller with
dark brown hair and dark eyes. He was dressed in a navy blue T-shirt that showed off his muscles and a pair of criminally-tight blue jeans. The smirk on his face was like a billboard that announced
I Know I’m Hot. Beck wore that same expression every now and then, but it looked like the default setting for this guy.

The cold fire in Beck’s eyes told her that this wasn’t a friend. ‘Hadley,’ he said.

‘Hey, Denny. I heard you were back.’

Along with all the other Sadlervillians.

Riley gave the newcomer another look-over, and he smiled back.
Cute.

When her eyes drifted back to Beck’s she found something new in them: raw jealousy. Maybe it was wrong, but part of her liked that a lot.

‘I’m Cole,’ the guy said, sticking out his hand.

She shook it to be polite, though she knew Beck wasn’t happy about it. ‘Riley.’

Beck shifted out of the bench seat in one swift move. For a second she thought he was going to challenge the guy, but instead he scooped up the bill and handed it and some cash to Karen as she
walked by.

‘Gotta be goin’,’ he said, picking up his trapping bag.

To Beck’s obvious dismay, Cole followed them down the street. The vibes off this guy made her skittish, if nothing more than the fact that Beck’s fuse was shorter than usual.

‘What brings you to the middle of nowhere?’ he asked.

Beck didn’t reply, so she did. ‘His mom.’

‘You know her?’ When Riley shook her head, he continued. ‘Well, then you’re in for a surprise.’

Wary, she shot a look over at her fellow trapper. The frown on his face was bone deep now. Riley swung her attention back to the guy walking next to her. Since Beck wasn’t talking, she
might as well be polite. ‘So how do you two know each other?’

‘We used to hang together before he moved away.’

She guessed
hang together
probably including all those sins Backwoods Boy didn’t want her to know about.

So why are you talking to me? Are you trying to get under Beck’s skin or is it something else?

They’d reached the truck now and Cole leaned up against a light pole, the smirk back again.

‘See you later, Riley,’ he called out. ‘Don’t let Denny take you into the swamp. That’s a one-way trip.’

Beck’s growl echoed roughly in his throat. ‘Get in the truck, girl.’ The way he held himself told her not to argue.

Whatever was between these two guys was deeply personal.

‘Sure, why not?’ she grumbled. Riley took his keys and climbed into the pickup, making sure to slam the door to let Beck know she wasn’t happy with his dictator attitude.

Though she tried to hear what was said, they kept it quiet. She was willing to bet it was Beck telling Cole to stay the hell away from her and Cole suggesting his old friend go screw himself.
She knew her guess was right when Cole laughed, winked at her and then walked away.

‘You’re cute, dude, but you’re totally suicidal.’

When Beck climbed into the truck, he looked ready to explode as his backpack thumped on the seat between them.

‘So what’s with him?’ she asked.

‘Nothing ya want to know,’ was the curt reply.

‘Tell me or I’ll ask Cole myself. You know me, I’ll do it,’ she warned.

He heaved a sigh. ‘He’s an arrogant SOB who will play all nice and then leave ya hangin’ out to dry. Or in your case . . .’ He shook his head. ‘Just stay away from
him. He’s bad news.’

‘Care to be more specifc?’

‘No, I don’t. Ya have to take my word for it.’

Strangely enough she would do just that. Beck had always been too overprotective, but he had a sixth sense when it came to trouble. If he said Cole of the Dark Eyes was bad news, then she
believed him.

‘Got it. I’ll keep out of his way.’

Beck gave her a bewildered look, as if he’d expected her to defy him. ‘OK . . .’

‘You’ve got enough going on without having to worry about that guy. I’m here for you, no one else.’

Something changed in his face. ‘Sorry. I’ve been really . . . mean. I’m not good with things down here. Too much bad stuff.’

‘Really? I hadn’t noticed,’ she jested, then grew serious. ‘I don’t care what you did or who you did it with when you were sixteen. It does not matter to
me.’

‘I’d like to believe that. God, I would.’

‘Then when this is all over and we’re headed back to Atlanta, you ask me if I think any differently about you.’

‘Fair enough,’ he said, putting the truck in reverse and pulling out on to the street.

Beck insisted on driving her around so she could ‘get a feel of Sadlersville’, which didn’t tell her much other than he wasn’t keen to get to the
hospital. Another hint that his relationship with his mother was way complicated.

As Georgia towns went, Sadlersville wasn’t very old, dating from early in the twentieth century. The founding father, Joseph Sadler, had been a railroad man and there was still a steady
stream of trains lumbering through the city. Though it wasn’t big, it did have churches – almost all of them Baptist. In Atlanta they would have combined them all into one megachurch,
but down here each had their own little building and congregation. Add in a school, a hospital, a laundromat, grocery store and a funeral parlour and that was the sum of Beck’s hometown.

‘I couldn’t handle this,’ Riley said. ‘No way. Too small. Nothing to do.’

Beck snorted. ‘Oh, ya’d be surprised what kind of trouble you can find in a town like this.’

‘Oh, you mean trouble like picking up dumb chicks who aren’t smart enough to know your game?’

Beck frowned. ‘I’m sorry Walker said that. That wasn’t right.’

‘Is his wife still with him?’

‘Nah. Took off a few months after I moved to Atlanta with a guy who builds swimmin’ pools. Never came back.’

‘So why did you leave town?’ she asked.

‘Didn’t have a choice. Walker got in my face one night when I was drunk. When I told him I wasn’t the only one who’d had his missus, he laid into me and I went after him
with my knife. We both ended up bloody.’

‘Were you like stupid or what?’ she blurted.

‘Yeah, I was more mouth than brains back then.’ He grimaced at the memory. ‘Donovan threw Walker in jail to sober up. After a trip to the ER, he made me pack my clothes and
then he hauled my butt to my uncle’s place in Atlanta. Told me to stay up there if I didn’t want to end up in jail, because if I came back home before a year was up he’d make sure
that happened.’

‘So
that’s
what brought you to Atlanta. I always wondered.’

He issued a lengthy sigh. ‘Time I go see the old lady. Can’t put it off any longer.’

‘Won’t she pleased you’re here?’

‘I’m not countin’ on that.’

Riley’s knowledge of Beck’s mother was pretty scant – Sadie had never married, she had an alcohol problem and treated her kid like he was dirt. And her son hated her for it. Or
maybe he didn’t because you never knew with Beck. One thing for sure, he never referred to Sadie as his mother. That in itself spoke volumes.

Beck pulled on to the main drag, as he called it, and headed north. They passed another small restaurant, a dentist’s office, a tyre store and finally turned into a long drive that led to
a single storey red brick building.

‘Not as big as the hospitals in Atlanta, but they do a good job,’ he said. He hadn’t said
like the hospitals back home.
That meant he still considered Sadlersville his
home even though it appeared the residents might not agree.

Beck parked in the lot, hopped out of the truck and then stopped dead in his tracks. Riley locked her door and walked round to him. He was leaning against the side of the pickup now, staring at
nothing.

‘You OK?’

He shook his head. ‘Ya should stay here.’

Beck’s proper ‘you’s had become ‘ya’s again. He was definitely stressing out about this visit.

‘Sadie’s not like yer momma was, Riley.’ He rubbed a hand across his face in agitation. ‘Nothin’ like her.’

‘She can’t be that bad.’

Beck looked over at her. ‘She’s a mean old cuss who likes to hurt people, especially me. If she can do that by hurtin’ someone I . . . like . . . she’ll be just as
happy.’

‘Why does she act that way?’

‘Some folks keep hatin’ long past when it’s best to let stuff go.’

That still didn’t explain why there was such bad blood between her and her son. Asking that question was sure to get Riley a load of grief, so she filed it away for later.

Beck made one more fervent request for her to remain in the truck, but Riley refused. ‘I’ll deal, no matter what.’

‘We’re both gonna regret this, I swear it,’ he murmured.

‘My choice,’ she replied.
No way she’s as bad as you say.

They pushed through the double doors that led to the hospital lobby and Beck stopped at the reception desk to find out his mother’s room number. The waiting room was empty, magazines
stacked in neat piles on the end tables. To the right was a set of doors that led to the cafeteria and a couple of nurses were in there, holding coffee cups and chatting.

Beck returned. ‘They’re pagin’ her doctor now. I want to talk to him first.’

Riley nodded, though this was proving harder than she’d expected. Her mom had spent countless hours inside a hospital for chemotherapy that hadn’t worked, until her body gave up.
Just being in such a building brought up too many unhappy memories.

A tall, greying man in street clothes approached them. ‘Denver?’

They shook hands. ‘Doctor Hodges. Thanks for seein’ us.’

‘Sorry it’s not in better circumstances.’

Beck introduced Riley and then the doctor ushered them down the hall and into a smaller waiting room where he gestured for them to sit. After he’d closed the door, Hodges took a seat as
well. Now that Riley could study him he really didn’t look like a physician, more like a farmer with a wrinkled, tanned face and calloused hands.

‘How much has your mother told you?’ the doctor asked.

‘Nothin’. It was Donovan who let me know she has cancer.’

The doctor shook his head. ‘I tried to get her to call you, but you know how she is.’

‘How long?’ Beck asked, his voice raspy.

‘A few days, maybe less. I’m thinking the only reason she hasn’t gone yet is she was waiting to see you.’

‘She doesn’t care about that.’

‘Sometimes what people say and what they feel are two different things.’ The doctor straightened up. ‘Are you staying here in town?’