“If the Angels won, the entire Earth would be nothing but one giant Christmas frickin' morning, a choking wave of happiness and warmth and caring and sharing taking over everything.” -Devina
Covet is the first novel of the Fallen Angels series and set in the same universe as The Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Along with Black Dagger Legacy, Black Dagger Brotherhood: Prison Camp, and Lair of the Wolven, Fallen Angels is a spin-off from the main series Black Dagger Brotherhood. Unlike the other spin-offs, this is a stand-alone series and Black Dagger Brotherhood is not required in order to fully understand the lore, characters, and story-lines of Fallen Angels. Each book was published alternately with the main series, but chronologically the series more or less takes place at the same time as Lover Unleashed. Covet was released after Lover Avenged and before Lover Mine.
This series follows the story of a human turned angel, Jim Heron, who's caught in the middle of the war between Heaven and Hell. His job is to guide seven souls to the side of good; their ultimate fate will decide the future of all creation.
Synopsis[]
Redemption isn't a word Jim Heron knows much about—his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charged with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option.
Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he's good with that-until fate intervenes in the form of a tough-talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. And then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart—and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul.
Main Characters[]
Other Characters[]
- Adrian Vogel
- Bertie
- Brian Winslow
- Byron
- Chuck
- Colin
- de la Cruz
- Devina
- Dog
- Eddie Blackhawk
- Gina
- Jim Heron
- Mark Capricio
- Matthias
- Mick Rhodes
- Nigel
- Robert "Rob" Belthower
- Robbie Boudreau
- Robert Gnomes
- Saul Weaver
- Tom Williams
- Trez
Mentioned or non-Speaking Roles[]
Plot[]
Readers should be aware that this book contains themes of child and spousal abuse and stalkers.
Prologue[]
Earth has been the battlefield where Heaven and Hell fight over each soul by influencing it for either good or evil. The Creator decided that there will be seven chances to determine once and for all whether humanity is mostly good or mostly evil. Both sides have to agree on the person overseeing each trial. If the demons win, they get the earth, all the human souls, and the angels become their slaves. If the angels win, it’s all peace, love, and happiness with the demons getting wiped out of existence.
Chapter 1[]
Three construction workers, Jim, Adrian, and Eddie, are having beers at the Iron Mask after work. They encourage Jim to pick up a woman in a blue dress who’s been giving him looks.
Trez, the owner of the Iron Mask, knows something’s bothering Marie-Terese, one of the prostitutes who works for him, and encourages her to talk to him.
Chapter 2[]
Vincent buys a $2 million diamond engagement ring for his girlfriend, Devina.
The woman in the blue dress that’d been eyeing him follows Jim outside as he's leaving and they have sex in his truck.
Chapter 3[]
Vin’s proposing to Devina because neither of them are romantic, give each other plenty of space, and don’t want children. He met her at a gallery opening where he bought a Chagall and took her home. Even though they’re perfect on paper, he feels empty with her.
Devina comes home wearing a blue dress with kiss-swollen lips that are lacking the lipstick she always wears. He flashes back to his dad’s jealous, drunken rages and hides the ring box.
Trez knows the job’s killing Marie-Terese and offers to help her out, but she refuses to rely on anyone else.
Chapter 4[]
While eating lunch, a small stray, limping terrier with scar on muzzle begs some of Jim’s lunch. He shares the meat out of his gas station sandwich and the mutt jumps on his lap even though he says he’s not a dog person.
Vin shows up at the work site with Devina and Jim, trying to avoid making eye-contact with her, trips over an electrical cord. The cord comes unplugged and lands in a rain puddle which is where Jim falls, getting electrocuted. Vin calls 911 and begins CPR. When the ambulance arrives, Vin gives his card to the medic for a contact and they take him to St. Francis.
Chapter 5[]
Jim wakes up on a great green lawn in front of a huge castle surrounded by stone walls and a moat where four guys are playing croquet. They invite him to tea, but he declines, convinced he’s lost his mind. He bursts out laughing when they tell him he’s going to save the world and Nigel punches him to prove it’s not a dream nor a joke. Jim’s going to be the one to influence seven souls towards good to save humanity. He was chosen because he’s equally good and bad.
If he refuses, everything ceases to exist, including his mother who was murdered. She had dark hair and blue eyes and woke him up every school morning singing “You are my Sunshine.” With her last breath she told him she loved him and to run before her attackers found him.
He wants to see his mom and approaches the castle, which is actually heaven, but the oak doors will only open for the truly dead, and he goes berserk. Colin tries to pull him away, but he lashes out and gets knocked unconscious.
They won the coin toss to see which side got to do the orientation and can make it obvious who the first soul is, but not the others. Then they send him back to earth.
Chapter 6[]
Marie-Terese makes pancakes with her 7-year-old son, Robbie. When Marie-Terese left her mafia ex-husband, he kidnapped their son. She'd had to hire a private investigator to find him and get him back, which is part of the reason why she has $127,000 in bills; the divorce lawyer's the other part. Since prostitution brings in a
Jim wakes up in hospital in room #666 and assumes it was a freaky dream until he finds grass stains on his palm and feels like he’s been punched in the face. Vin’s there and he suspects he’s the first challenge but thinks the guy’s a pain in the ass. The ad on the TV behind him flashes a red arrow that happens to point at Vin’s head. As Jim thinks, is this really the guy, the person in the ad says, “Yes, it is.”
Vin tells him he’ll cover the hospital bills and if he needs to take time off, he won’t get his wages docked. Going with the TV as his cue because the chefs on the cooking show look like Nigel and Colin, he says he wants to do dinner and threatens to sue if need be.
The way Jim’s looking at Vin like he knows the skeletons in his closet makes him uncomfortable and he wonders what Jim’s really angling for. He has him come to his condo at 8 pm. Leaving the hospital, Vin sees someone he knows is going to die with an ability he thought he’d gotten rid of twenty years ago. Without even realizing it, he tells the stranger to see a doctor right away because it’s in his lungs. He can’t handle having a second sight and freaks out.
Adrian drops Jim off at the worksite where his truck is and the stray’s waiting for him underneath the truck. Adrian takes the dog’s side and advocates for the poor thing. Looking at the site, Jim thinks that it’s basically a monument to greed since Vin had to have come from nothing and realizes he has his work cut out for him. Picking up the dog, he turns up the heat in the truck to make sure its warm.
Chapter 7[]
Someone’s in disguise watching Marie-Terese, learning her schedule, getting off on the stalker thing, and thinking of her as “his woman.”
Chapter 8[]
Prayer group’s the only “life” Marie-Terese has outside of her kid, Robbie, and work. Robbie never talks about his dad, who likely bullied him so he wouldn’t run away. Her ex-husband Mark had wowed her with his money and she’d been too dazzled to see how shady he really was.
Chapter 9[]
At Vin’s condo, while he’s on the phone, Jim and Devina both promise not to tell Vin about their one-night stand. Jim thinks Vin’s crossroads might be coming to love Devina instead of taking her for granted.
Alone with Vin while Devina cooks, Jim asks him if he’s about to make a big decision and notices the ring box. Vin thinks Jim’s playing with him until he gets around to asking for what he really wants. Jim tells him he’s there to save his soul, which makes Vin laugh.
Jim asks him why he needs the display of wealth and materialism. Vin starts to give a line about how it makes him feel safe, but then admits he doesn’t know; his family scraped by as he was growing up and he fought his way to where he is now. He shows Jim the ring, but hasn’t proposed yet because he suspects she cheated on him and comments how the cologne he’d smelled on her dress smelled a lot like Jim’s.
Chapter 10[]
Jim sees a strange black shadow trailing Devina, but it disappears at a second glance. After dinner, Devina suggests they go out and Jim suggests the Iron Mask as suggested by the movie The Man in the Iron Mask playing on the fancy TV Vin shows Jim.
Chapter 11[]
Marie-Terese notices Vin as soon as he enters the club but tries to cool her attraction by noting how similar he is to her ex-husband, mostly in terms of income.
As soon as they arrive at the club, Gina, a prostitute hits up Vin, who doesn’t take her up on it, and then he turns down sex with Devina in the private bathrooms when she wanted to re-stake her claim, as it were. Devina starts pouting and wanting to leave. When Vin doesn’t rise to the bait, she threatens to pick up Gina and he offers her either the car keys or the cash for the prostitute. She chooses to leave and asks Jim to walk her to the car.
Chapter 12[]
Devina hits on Jim, who turns her down and suggests she talk to Vin; she asks him to do it for her. He tells her that Vin bought her a ring and to hang in there.
Inside, a couple of young, dumb idiots harass Marie-Terese when she turns them down because she doesn’t like group sex or clients who are high. Since the bouncers are dealing with a situation, Jim and Vin intervene.
Chapter 13[]
Vin’s enjoying himself far too much and might not have stopped short of killing the guy before Jim pulls him off. There’s a guy with a mustache and glasses watching them. Marie-Terese explains to Trez what happened before he can get his hands on Jim and Vin. Trez approves of how they handled it and holds the back door open so they can toss the cretins out. Outside of the darkened club, Vin sees smoky grey halos over the jerkwads and tries to warn them.
Marie-Terese’s stalker’s outside wearing a fake mustache and glasses and kills the idiots.
Chapter 14[]
Marie-Terese takes Vin into the locker room to clean the blood off of him and he asks her to have dinner with him after he figures out what she does for a living. He has a vision and repeats something that sounds like gibberish but scares the crap out of Marie-Terese.
Jim finds him and Vin, disoriented in the aftermath of his vision, asks him if he believes in demons. Jim assumes he has a concussion. Before Jim gets him out of there, Vin leaves his card for Marie-Terese because he’s driven by a need to protect her.
Chapter 15[]
At home, Vin starts drinking and realizes he doesn’t love Devina, it’s all a transaction not that much different from what Marie-Terese does. When he’s really sloshed, a rotting, decaying Devina tells him that he’d made a deal and he can’t go back on it. He owes her for everything she’s brought into his life and her price is him forever, then forces him into sex.
Vin wakes up screaming and Devina’s there, looking normal and concerned.
Chapter 16[]
Vin shows up at Jim’s place and shows him the news that the two morons from the club the night before were killed, saying that the guy with the mustache and glasses who saw them fight might be a problem if he talks to the cops.
Trez has Marie-Terese check the news and she also sees the report on the murders. She’s scared it’s her mafia ex-husband behind it, who she's hiding from. When she left him, she chose not to go in to the witness protection program because she knew they could be bought, her ex had done it enough times. Mark had kidnapped Robbie and she'd had to hire a private investigator to find him and bring him back. Robbie had come back to her scared and dirty; he still refuses to talk about his dad. Picking up on his mom's fear, he asks if they’re going to have to move again.
Chapter 17[]
Vin drives by the Iron Mask and stops to talk to Marie-Terese before she meets with the cops. Afterwards, he goes to his office where he does some pretty shady business practices in order to get his hands on land to develop.
Trez meets Marie-Terese at the back door and he tells her that he's covered for Jim and Vin with the cops since they kept her safe. He can sense that she's not quite sure about Vin and wondering if he's the murderer. Trez reassures her that Vin didn't do it and that his instincts tell him that when it comes to her, Vin's heart isn't dark." He asks her again what she's hiding from and offers again to help her, even if that means getting her out of town. Marie-Terese continues to deny that anything's wrong.
Giving into her attraction to Vin, Marie-Terese calls him and he asks her to meet him at the Riverside Diner and they get to know each other better.
Chapter 18[]
Adrian and Eddie show up at Jim's place while he's working on his motorcycle and Jim grows suspicious when he notices that neither of his buddies casts a shadow. He asks them if they know four English guys, one of whom has a big dog, and they ask if they look like the type to hang out with some British dudes. Jim pushes, asks them how they knew when his birthday was and where he lived even though he hadn't told them. They shrug it off and say their boss told them.
Leaving the diner, Vin has a vision of someone getting shot.
Chapter 19[]
While out for a ride on his now-running second-hand Harley, Jim goes by the Riverside Diner and stops when he recognizes Vin's car and someone on the ground next to it. Since Vin's in no real shape to drive, Jim chauffeurs Vin to his condo while Marie-Terese follows them in her car to get Jim back to his bike. Jim's been rethinking his theory that Devina's the answer and wonders if it's Marie-Terese instead.
Vincent tells Jim about his visions and asks what Jim's role in all this is. Jim puts it as he died yesterday and was sent back to help people. Vin tells him about his latest vision.
An enthusiastic Devina welcomes Vin home and tells him that she found the ring while tidying his office. He gets the feeling that she's not who she says she is.
Chapter 20[]
As Marie-Terese drives Jim back to his motorcycle, he assures her that Vin's all right. She asks him how long he's been sleeping with Vin's girlfriend since she saw them leave the club the other night. Ignoring the question, he asks her how she feels about Vin. They dance around each other, avoiding the other's questions.
At his apartment, Jim calls his old boss, Matthias, to call in a favour, but gets told to never call him again. He flicks on the TV and Pretty Woman is playing. Laughing, he looks up and admits his first guess was wrong.
Marie-Terese goes to work, but starts crying with her first customer of the night. Instead of having sex, they talk and it turns out he's having problems asking the girl he likes out, so she gives him some advice and the confidence he needs. He leaves the private washroom first and she takes a moment to take off some of her makeup. When she comes out, she finds Vin waiting for her and looking like he'd just been sucker-punched.
Chapter 21[]
Seeing Marie-Terese without any lipstick, he remembers how Devina had come in looking like she'd just had sex and smelling like another man. Even though he tries to tell himself that she's not his and it wasn't any of his business, he hears his father's alcohol-fueled jealous rants of slut-shaming all women and how they aren't trustworthy.
Since he's obviously upset, Marie-Terese tries to tell him that she hadn't had sex with the guy she'd been in the bathroom with. He gets a bit nasty in return, but instead of backing down, she tells him that she's telling the truth and that whether or not he believes her isn't her problem. She excuses herself to go change out of her work clothes and as she turns, he notices she's still holding the paper towel she'd used to remove her lipstick.
He tells her that he broke up with Devina because of the way he feels about Marie-Terese, which was why he reacted so poorly just now since he wished she was his. She asks him to wait while she changes and tells Trez she quits. At his startled look, she admits that she'd known she couldn't continue for much longer and tonight she hit her limit. He promises to wait for however long she needs.
With perfect timing, Trez comes out of his office and shakes Vin's hand, asking if he's taking Marie-Terese out of there. Vin says that's what he's hoping and Trez very kindly tells her that she should go with Vin, knowing that one way or the other, she was quitting. He tells her that he'll miss her and if she needs a clean break without ever talking to them again, he understands, but if she ever needs anything at all be it money or a friend then he promises to be there for her.
While Marie-Terese is in the locker room, Vin tells Trez that if it comes down to it and keeping Vin's involvement in the fight with the two corpses a secret hurts either Trez or Marie-Terese, then to come absolutely clean with the cops. Trez tells him not to worry about the cops and to take care of Marie-Terese. He also gives Vin some advice that at some point Vin will have to completely trust Marie-Terese and the person he knows she is. Vin should ignore his doubts and know that Marie-Terese would never have worked there if she'd had any other choice. Leaning in close, Trez whispers that if he hurts her then he's going to eat the meat from Vin's bones. They like and respect each other even more after that.
Chapter 21[]
Vin takes Marie-Terese to the house where he grew up, which he keeps exactly as it had been in more or less its original disrepair and empty alcohol bottles everywhere. He tells her that he wants her to know the truth and that he doesn't his parents, which might make him a terrible person, but he's ok with that. She tells him that she goes to church to be around normal people and remember what it was like to be one of them, so she completely gets why he keeps the house as a reminder.
He tells her how he was going to propose to Devina, then changed his mind only for her to find the ring and he'd told her that it was a mistake and that he was sorry. Unsurprised, he calmly and coolly packed her bags and promptly left, saying she'd be back for the rest of her things and leave her key behind when she did.
Marie-Terese tells him her son's name and how ugly her divorce was, which gives Vin a clearer picture of her situation and why she needed the money from sex work. Unfortunately for him, he reminds her of her ex because he's wealthy, powerful, and handsome.
Chapter 22[]
Matthias calls Jim back and somehow knows that Jim's currently carving a chess piece from wood. He warns Jim off of any freelance work or else he'll end up dead since their organization won't stand for it and gets the license plate number he wants Matthias to look up for him.
The person who's been following Marie-Terese nearly beats someone to death in an alley with a tire iron, but is interrupted when a car comes by. He drives some distance away to dump the improvised weapon and some of his blood-stained clothes in the river.
Chapter 23[]
In a low moment, Marie-Terese refers to herself as "a slut." That pisses Vin off and he tells her to never talk about herself like that again. While he's scolding her, she flinches as though she expects him to hit her, which is a reaction he recognizes and he holds her.
They're together for the first time and immediately after she climaxes, she remembers she'd been doing the same thing for money for quite some time and breaks down. Vin's understanding and reassures her that she'll come to associate sex with good things and the bad memories will fade as she makes new, better ones.
Chapter 24[]
Vin goes home to find the place trashed and a bunch of cops waiting for him. Devina's in hospital claiming he beat her after she told him she'd slept with his friend. His beat-up knuckles from the fight with the idiots a the club is seen as evidence of his culpability.
Chapter 25[]
Jim sees Vin on the news because of Devina's lies. Matthias calls him back to tell him that Marie-Terese Boudreau is a fake identity out of Vegas and gives him her address and where she works according to her W2's. If he wants any more information, he has to work for Matthias. Jim says he's out, but from Matthias' point-of-view, he sees it more as a vacation since the only way anyone's "done" is if they're dead.
In jail, one of the others in the holding cell tries to start something, assuming that since Vin's rich due to his suit and doesn't know how to handle himself. He's only correct on one of those counts.
Vin's lawyer, Mick Rhodes, bails him out. The assault allegedly happened while he was with Marie-Terese, so he doesn't have an alibi he can use.
Chapter 26[]
Jim goes to see Devina in the hospital and she looks like a mess. She tells Jim that Vin had proposed to her, which was when she "had to tell him" that she'd slept with Jim. Worried for his sake, she warns him to stay away from Vin. She tells him she doesn't need a ride home when she's released in a few hours, although she does ask for his phone number and he gives it to her.
Robbie's upset because he thinks they have to run again. She tells him that she quit her job, which she's told him is waitressing, because she wasn't happy there and they might have to move if she finds a new job. He understands that and relaxes, but she's lying because they are going to hide again.
Marie-Terese's stalker sits behind her in church and daydreams of killing her for lying by pretending to look wholesome even though she'd been working as a prostitute.
Chapter 27[]
Vin goes home and learns from the security guard, who's convinced that Vin did it, that the CCTV caught him on film getting dropped off by someone. A TV was left on to the news and he recognizes Marie-Terese's last customer who'd been found beaten. He calls up Jim and tells him his side of the story, worried that Jim thinks he actually did it.
Jim tells Vin that Devina had said she'd come clean with him about that night with Jim, which was why Vin hurt her. Vin throws the phone in anger.
Sitting outside of the hospital where he's been keeping watch, Jim sees Devina leave without a mark on her and with the stone-cold expression of a killer, not the frightened one of a battered woman. He notes that she doesn't leave a shadow and knows deep in his gut that she'd seduced him on purpose.
In his truck, Jim's trailing Devina's taxi when Matthias calls him back. In exchange for the information, he says that in 48 hours Jim is his. Jim agrees, but pushes back on the timeline and wants details on Devina, too. Jim assumes they're going to ship him overseas and Matthias tells him it's because he's "brilliant" at what he does. Matthias relays to Jim story of how Marie-Terese left Mark and Jim figures that the two dead frat boys were his doing.
After that, Jim calls his boss on the construction site to get the phone numbers for Adrian and Eddie, but his boss has no idea who he's talking about and thinks he's still affected by the accident. Now he's convinced that they're not what they appear to be. Matthias calls to tell him that he can't find anything on Devina beyond seven months ago, which comes as no surprise to Jim. Before hanging up, Matthias tells him to expect a package from him.
Chapter 28[]
Jim goes to Vin and immediately apologizes for what happened with Devina before he met Vin. Then Jim didn't want to hurt the relationship Vin had with Devina and he's sorry that Vin had to find out from someone else. Instead of getting angry, Vin just feels tired and in a moment of clarity, realizes that he's tired of being so suspicious thanks to the environment in which he grew up. Vin tells Jim that Devina lied and Jim tells him that he knows after seeing Devina at the hospital.
Vin gets the whole story of what happened with Devina the other night and figures out that Devina had come off as a vulnerable woman stuck in a crappy situation. He was obviously attracted to her since she's flawlessly beautiful, so he wanted to make her happy if only for a little while. Vin tells him that she "got" him at a gallery opening and pretended to be the type of woman he was into. Jim believes him when he says that he didn't hurt her and that Vin hadn't been in the building at the time, no matter what the video shows.
When Vin asks him how he can be so sure, Jim tells him that it's because she doesn't cast a shadow and is herself an illusion. He's there to save Vin from "eternal damnation." Thinking it's probably safe to talk about his visions after that, Vin tells Jim of the dream he'd had of Devina looking like a rotting corpse and speaking of unbreakable agreements. When Jim believes that, Vin tells him about how the visions were ruining his life until he went to a palm-reader one day. After he did what she told him to, the visions stopped, he was free of his parents, and he changed. He became greedy and even though he had a job as a plumber, he got into drug dealing for the money, then he moved onto housing to go legitimate. Unburdened by morals, he wasn't that he was afraid of getting caught, he just knew he couldn't make money in prison. Devina just made him feel emptier, like he always needed more.
Then everything changed when he saw Marie-Terese and he feels like he doesn't need more. Both of them are worried about Devina going after Marie-Terese next. Jim tells Vin about the other guy who'd been with her at the club ending up hospital, but since her ex is supposed to be in jail, they're not sure who's behind it. In order to keep her from having to leave Caldwell and thus parting from Vin, the two agree to work together to protect her.
Chapter 29[]
Trez calls Marie-Terese to tell her that the police are at the Iron Mask and want to question her about the assault of her last client. He also tells her about Devina's story about Vin assaulting her. Since she tells him that she was with Vin when it allegedly happened, she relaxes a fraction. He offers again to help her get out of town if she needs.
The package from Matthias contains a VHS tape of a guy named Isaac Rothe in an MMA fight. Jim can tell Rothe's another soldier in the shadow government agency Jim worked for who also wanted out, but if he doesn't take the job, then Jim will end up dead, too. As he's wondering what to do since he really doesn't want to kill the guy, Adrian and Eddie show up at his apartment to talk, but since Jim knows they lied, he's not too interested in what they have to say. Adrian shrugs and tells him that they're "angels, not saints." They lied because they weren't sure Jim could handle the truth, but they saw how he figured out what Devina is and didn't run. Because of his past, Jim hates being lied to and Adrian promises to be up front with him from now on since they have to work together if they want any chance of winning. Jim asks them what Dog is and Eddie tells him to consider Dog "a very good friend."
Jim's only question is if Devina can be killed. She cannot.
Chapter 30[]
Marie-Terese has to leave town because she'd told the cops that Vin was with her at the time of the assault and she can't have her name pop up in the media. In return for her protecting him, he gives her enough money to pay off the last of her debt and when she tries to refuse, he reminds her that she can't leave a credit card trail. He realizes it's the first time he's ever given away money, not even to charities.
She refuses because she'd tried the easy way out, which was got her into this mess, and she's determined to be in charge of her own life free-of-debts. He offers to let her stay at a house he owns in Connecticut; she takes him up on the offer.
Chapter 31[]
Jim tells Adrian and Eddie about the ring that Vin had bought for Devina and they suspect she jinxed the ring to affect Vin's soul. Worse, they think that Devina's trying to essentially harvest Vin's soul. They need to figure out what the palm-reader had him do when he was younger and get the ring back from Devina. Jim knows where she lives from when he followed her home from the hospital.
Marie-Terese's stalker's posing as a cab driver and Devina starts working on him.
Chapter 32[]
While breaking into Devina's loft to look for the ring, Jim smells blood coming from the bathroom, but Adrian and Eddie prevent him entering due to a warding spell.
Chapter 33[]
Devina walks in on Marie-Terese and Vin at his condo and accuses her of giving Jim a blowjob for money when she drove him back to his motorcycle. Marie-Terese says that never happened and Devina's just desperate to keep Vin who doesn't want her. The idea's already implanted in Vin's head and eating at his nascent trust in her.
Jim goes into the bathroom and finds the body of a young woman carved with symbols hanging over the bathtub, which is full of blood. She moves slightly and Jim tries to get her down even though Eddie tries to pull him back, telling him that she's already dead and what was her is no longer there. Jim's frantic and to keep him from looking into the mirror, Eddie slugs him and they have to drag him out of there.
Chapter 34[]
Vin knows that he has a decision to make and that if he believes Devina, then he was doomed, but he finds it all too plausible that Marie-Terese had been with Jim and he could never get over that. To tip him over, Devina tells him that despite his attempts to avoid turning out like his dad he still ended up "getting played by a whore." He demands she leave, but she doesn't and he gets Marie-Terese into the bathroom where she can lock herself in. For a minute, Devina's distracted and Vin gets a glimpse of the real Devina underneath. She dissolves into mist and floats out.
Marie-Terese is relieved to see Vin's ok and he realizes that not only is he in love with her, but he's capable of far worse than her ex and gotten her into something even the mob couldn't handle. Adrian, Eddie, and Jim show up and ask him about the fortune teller he saw when he was 17, which means he has to explain his visions to Marie-Terese. She sees it as a blessing, but he does not. He tells her to leave town because it would be safer for her, especially if they don't see each other. They confess their love for each other.
Marie-Terese asks them what Devina is and how worried should she be. The answers are a demon and very.
Chapter 35[]
What Vin had done to get rid of his visions had opened him up to Devina's influence, which allowed her to block them. They returned when the tie between them weakened. It's also likely that it had led to his parents' deaths since he'd wanted to be free of them. The ritual involved melting a black candle on the stove and remove the wick, then add some of his hair, blood, and other bodily fluids. Once the wax cooled enough, he re-formed it around the wick, went upstairs, got naked, and made a circle with salt. He doesn't remember much after that other than cutting himself to drip some blood in the middle of the circle, laying down in it, and chanting some words. Eddie tells him it's a possession ritual and the wax had bits of her in it, when he added his half, that opened him up to her.
Devina only cares about the people she's claimed, so if Marie-Terese leaves town and thus Vin, she should be safe. Then they discover one of Marie-Terese's earrings is missing from the bedroom, undoubtedly taken by Devina.
Adrian, Eddie, and Jim are in Jim's truck when he remembers that Adrian had encouraged him to sleep with Devina when he first saw her at the Iron Mask and didn't know who or what she was. Adrian reminds Jim that he hadn't wanted to work with him in the first place and admits he's an asshole. Jim asks if sex is one of the ways that Devina can get her claws into someone and gets pissed when Adrian confirms it is. They pull over and fight until Eddie separates them.
Chapter 36[]
Marie-Terese admits to Vin that part of why she turned to prostitution was to punish herself for what her son had to suffer because she'd married the wrong man. She was hurting herself deliberately and he tells her she has to forgive herself since her ex was the one at fault, not her. She tells him he needs to forgive himself as well.
Eddie warns Jim that Adrian has a death wish.
Chapter 37[]
In Vin's childhood bedroom, Eddie, Jim, Marie-Terese, and Vin lay down protections and prepare for the ritual to remove Devina's influence from Vin.
Chapter 38[]
The ritual is hard on Marie-Terese and Vin, but Eddie says it was too easy.
Chapter 39[]
After the stalker, Saul, has sex with Devina and she takes some of his hair and blood, he kills a couple of youths and goes to Vin's childhood home like she ordered. There, he tries to shoot Marie-Terese, but Jim throws himself in the path of the bullet.
Chapter 40[]
Vin kills the shooter, taking a hit in the shoulder. As Jim's bleeding out, he realizes that not only it's the first time he's ever done something unselfish, but he wasn't doing it out of anger or vengeance.
Chapter 41[]
Detective de la Cruz asks Vin what happened and Vin tells him that they were at the house to discuss remodeling it. de la Cruz doesn't buy it because the house had been covered with salt, hydrogen peroxide, and other elements used in the ritual. Marie-Terese, reverting to her birth name of Gretchen, tells him that Vin's parents died in the house and there was a bad spirit that lingered. Vin plays along and while de la Cruz doesn't know what he thinks about ghosts, but he believes that they thought that's what they were doing. The detective asks about Gretchen's two names and she explains why she'd had to go under a pseudonym. de la Cruz surmises that Vin's previous girlfriend hadn't liked his involvement with Gretchen and de la Cruz believes him when he says that Devina is cruel and vindictive and that he'd never hurt a woman after seeing his dad beat his mom.
Eddie returns the ring and earring that Devina had taken. Vin wants to give Jim a proper burial and Eddie thinks he'd appreciate that. According to him, Vin's visions were there to stay and he plans to use them for good.
Chapter 42[]
Gretchen takes Vin home with her so he's not alone and has someone to look after him while he recuperates. Robbie and Vin get along well, and he offers Vin his favourite Spiderman comic book to help him feel better. Gretchen and Vin talk about moving into the farmhouse he'd offered her.
Chapter 43[]
Jim ends up outside the walls of heaven, sure that he's dead for real this time, but Nigel tells him that he still has more missions on earth to complete and congratulates him on the job he did. The crucial turning point had been when Jim had taken the bullet meant for Gretchen. A red banner flies from heaven's walls to symbolize the victory. The Four Lads, aka the four archangels, tell him that they chose to wear pastels so that the brightest colours around other than the green grass would be the banners. Gretchen and Vin will live the rest of their lives together and end up in heaven, unless the other missions don't go well or if Jim quits. Nigel warns Jim that Devina's going to start targeting Jim's weaknesses, which will make things harder from there on out. As for his next mission, they're incredibly vague.
Jim wakes up in the morgue with Adrian and Eddie waiting for him. They brought him clothes and have Dog in the truck outside. Adrian's unusually quiet and Eddie reassures Jim that he'll be fine, he just needs a couple of days and don't ask Adrian about what he did while they were performing the ritual. It's weird for Jim to see his dead body lying in the morgue and Eddie tells him that his probationary period is over. Jim wants to go get the body of the girl from Devina's, but Adrian tells him that when he woke up in her loft, it was cleaned out of everything. She'd had him chained him up when they started, and he was in and out of consciousness.
Jim's determined to extract vengeance from Devina for the death of the innocent girl.
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