The Protect Her Box Set: Parts 7-9 Read Online Free

after night no matter what. They showed up. They were a source of comfort for me, at least, they were until you came along.”
    I moved closer to him, but I didn’t touch him. “Benjamin, I am still your friend. I’ve always been your friend. That hasn’t changed. I found out that we live in a world where demons and angels exist, and there are terrible things out there that want to destroy us all. I don’t want Bruno Proctor to have the relic, and Riley doesn’t either. This is a way to remove the relic from being a danger to anyone ever again.”
    “It is cursed, you know,” Benjamin said in a faraway voice that made me wonder how much of an impact my words were having on him at all.
    “That wasn’t Eva who did that,” I said. “That was someone else who wanted to hurt her. I have a chance to fix that now. If I had access to Eva’s powers, I could help people. I could help you and your brothers. We could be true allies against the demons. You don’t have to hide your true self from me anymore. Isn’t that something good that has come out of all of this? I know you. The real you, and that is still the person that I consider my dearest friend.”
    He turned to me then. His expression softened. “You are truly a beautiful woman, Paige. Inside and out.”
    I took a chance then and embraced him. His body tensed for a moment before it relaxed, and then I felt his arms sweep around me as he hugged me tightly. I let the embrace go on for a few more moments, and then I broke it. I wanted him to trust me, but it was important I kept the boundaries of our relationship uncluttered.
    “I need your help,” I said. “Tell me what I can do so that you’ll feel comfortable helping me.”
    “You need to promise me one thing,” Benjamin said slowly.
    “What?” I asked. I steeled myself for the answer.
    “When this is all over, and you ride off into the sunset with your white knight, you will remember that it was me that turned the tide of this chaos for you. That you won’t close yourself off from me, or try to shut me out. You promise me that there is always a place in your life for me.”
    It was a vulnerable and heart-wrenching request all at the same time. I knew how hard it must have been for him to ask it. “Of course, Benjamin. You are my friend, and I always want it to stay that way.”
    Benjamin sighed then and nodded. “I will help you, Paige.”
    The way that he said it didn’t feel quite right to me. Over the years, I had learned to read him and his nuances well. “Why do I feel like there is a ‘but’ at the end of that sentence?”
    He shrugged. “It’s not a ‘but.' I’ve known the location of the relic for a great many years, as you discovered.”
    “Yes,” I said slowly. I waited for him to continue.
    “I’ve also told you there are many who wanted it, both among the demons as well as my brothers. Whoever holds the relic possesses its power, and that is a heady thing for those who are overly…ambitious.”
    “Spit it out, Benjamin,” I said, starting to feel impatient. “Or better yet, just take me there now so that we can get it and get moving with the next part of the plan. The longer that I delay in killing Proctor, the more opportunity he has to figure out that Riley and I are planning to double-cross him. He’ll kill both of us without a second thought by revoking our blood pacts and then it’ll all be over anyway.”
    “I realize that you are in a hurry,” Benjamin started. “But this isn’t the type of thing that can be rushed. I put into place certain safeguards when I first took possession of the relic that need to be considered.”
    “What kind of safeguards?”
    “I don’t know where the relic is right now,” Benjamin said.
    “You lost it?” I was astonished.
    “I didn’t lose it,” Benjamin countered. “I cast a spell on my memory that clouds the true location of it. That way, even if I was possessed or made to answer questions about the relic under duress,