Pan's Salvation (Dueling Devils 5)

“I think we lost her ladies,” Gia quipped.

Lark blinked and gave herself a mental shake. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, we know exactly what you were thinking about,” Symone drawled.

“No, he did what he did to keep me safe. The rest just—developed during that,” Lark

admitted as her cheeks flamed.

“Do you believe that?” Symone asked.

The sympathy in her voice cut Lark deep. “I know that. I’m not a weak-willed woman. I don’t fall over men, ask for help, or want it. We find something in each other that fills the gaps in our lives. It’s crazy, we know it. There’s a risk one day, one of us will wake up and not feel the same. But how is that any different from a relationship with a more traditional beginning?”

“It’s not,” Gia said. “None of us were forged in a gentle way. We’re not questioning or judging. But we’ve sensed you were on the fence. We just wanted to help you work things out for yourself.”

“I’m that translucent?” Lark asked.

“Only to us. Women see things men don’t and we get it. It’s a different world than what you’re used to. It has to be a massive adjustment. We get that,” Symone reassured her.

“But we also know since you’ve been here, Pan has flourished. If you left…” Chase shook her head.

“…It’d be a downward spiral that would be hard to watch,” Symone finished the statement.

“Was he so bad before?” Lark asked.

“He was drunk more than he was sober, starting fights, fucking anything that walked.”

Chase’s lip curled up in disgust. “It was an ugly mess.”

“Wow. He’s always seemed larger than life. Like nothing could touch him.”

“The love of a good woman can do incredible things to a man,” Symone said.

“Love?” Lark examined the word. The four letter word. It fit. My God, I’m in love with him!

Stunned, she glanced up at the women who nodded back at her.

“Now she gets it,” Gia whispered.

“When did this happen? How did I not notice?” Lark placed a hand on her cheek. Her head spun. “I—I need air.”

“Come on, let’s take a walk,” Chase urged. “We’ll be back.”

She walked behind her, shell-shocked and numb. Nothing made a person more vulnerable

than love. She’d lost her ability to be objective. The last person she’d given her heart to made a habit of ripping it out on a fairly regular basis. If her blood could do that, how could she trust, Pan not to? She was an addict. Isn’t he? I can’t let her ruin this for me. She knew what she had with Robin was unhealthy and abnormal, but it’d been all she had. Could she overcome a

lifetime of bad habits? Her stomach ached. She couldn’t the reason for Pan to backslide. They walked out the front door. She sucked in a fresh breath of air.

A worn box-shaped black sedan skidded into the parking lot. Filthy and rusted, it rose

warning flags. The door swung open and a woman stepped out on unsteady feet.

“Fuck, Nat

asha,” Chase whispered.

“What?”