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needed time to figure out how to get between Terrance and the hit men. If Jag could delay the officer long enough, the hit men would leave. They needed the cover of a crowd to pull off their deed without getting caught.
    “Okay, well . . . thank you for saying so.” Terrance Williams took a step back. “We need to go.”
    Jag could still feel the way his heart had fallen. If only they could’ve stayed in that moment. He would’ve begged God to freeze time so that the father and son might’ve stayed there, safe in the auditorium.
    But freezing time was not something angels could do.
    “See you.” Terrance Williams waved and then he smiled at his son. “Mom made lasagna!”
    “Hold on!” Jag had followed him. For five minutes he tried stalling by asking the officer questions. But in the end, it wasn’t enough. As they left the school, Jag stayed behind them. He saw the hit man across the street behind the wheel of his car, saw him lift his gun, aiming for Terrance Williams, and in that split second Jag tried to knock both of them to the ground. “Look out!” Jag had shouted.
    But years of police training kept Terrance standing on his feet even as his son hit the grass face first. The bullet was through Terrance’s chest before Jag could say another word.
    “Daddy!” Ryan screamed, and ran to his father’s side. “Daddy, no!”
    Demons celebrated in the air above them as Jag rushed up to Terrance. A crowd gathered quickly, but Jag kept them at bay. “Give us room. I know CPR.”
    But even as Jag began administering chest compressions, he knew it was too late. The gunman had been too accurate. Ryan stayed near his father’s head, patting his hair and crying. “Please, Daddy, wake up! Please, God!”
    That afternoon Jag tried for twelve minutes until the paramedics arrived. Only then did he stand up and disappear into the crowd. He watched the rest of the scene from a few feet away, hovering over the fallen officer and his brokenhearted son.
    Please, God ,he had prayed. Don’t let him die.
    Paramedics finally helped Ryan away from his dying father. Even then the boy stood as close as he could, reachingout both hands and crying for his daddy. It was a scene etched forever in Jag’s mind. They didn’t officially declare Officer Williams dead until an hour later at the hospital. By then Ryan’s mother was with him, along with half the officers from Terrance Williams’s precinct.
    But none of that changed the truth for Jag.
    He had failed.
    The loss of Terrance Williams made Jag doubt his very purpose. He had been given one task—protect the life of Terrance Williams. Yes, God knew the number of a man’s days. But sometimes that number was small because the enemy had cut it short.
    The demons in the alleyway hissed at him again, grabbing for him.
    “Jesus will win this battle.”
    Screeches filled the air, the demons recoiling in painful fear.
    Jag remembered what happened after his last failed Angels Walking mission. The other angels had tried to comfort him. Failure was always possible. The enemy would win some battles—but not the war. The other police officers would care for Ryan Williams now. He would never be without the love of a father figure.
    Jag had appreciated their efforts. Their words were true.
    But none of that would ever give Ryan Williams his daddy back. Jag had failed. He would always believe the failure was his fault. He should’ve found another way to protect Terrance.
    It had taken every one of the past ten years to believe he could be used by God again. When he learned of this mission, of the danger it entailed, he knew it was time. His chance—not only to find victory in this mission, but to make right the one he’d failed at a decade ago.
    The sun was setting. Darkness gathered in the alleyway. The demons continued to hiss and scream. If they had it their way, someone was going to die tonight. Several people, maybe. And somewhere on the other side of the new Chairos Youth