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“Ellie, how can you doubt that I love you? I know I haven’t said it since—”
    Since he had told me several times without any reciprocation. “Stop.” I put my fingers on his lips. “You don’t have to say it. It’s just that I’m not the easiest person to live with. If you decided—”
    “Ellie, I love you. I promised you that I’m not going anywhere, and I meant it. Please rid yourself of any worry to the contrary.”
    “Okay.” I gave him a gentle kiss. “So what did you want to tell me?”
    “About some research I’ve dug up. As I mentioned last week, I expanded my search to include possible fringe group interest in recent supernatural activity.”
    “You mean the crazy conspiracy theory people?” I asked skeptically.
    “Yeah, the people who aren’t afraid to think outside the box.”
    “And I take it you found something?”
    “Maybe.” He paused. “There’s a group called the Guardians. They say they’ve been around for hundreds of years. They’ve been preparing for a surge of demons to be released upon the earth.”
    “You mean the apocalypse.”
    “Think about it—the breaking of the curse could be seen as the apocalypse by a lot of people.”
    “If you ignore the fact that half the people on the earth didn’t disappear in the rapture.”
    “Many fundamentalist Christians estimate that only a quarter of the population would be raptured.”
    My eyes narrowed. “The fact that you can spout that without blinking an eye scares me more than a little bit.”
    “It’s on their website. And this group doesn’t believe in the rapture anyway. Not all Christians do, you know.”
    I’d spent a fair amount of time in church growing up, and we’d never been told anything about the rapture, but demon attacks hadn’t come up either. “You must think there’s something there if you’re mentioning this group.”
    “I had to do a lot of digging, but I finally found out where they’re from.” His eyes turned serious. “Ellie, they’re based in Charlotte.” Just like the stash of antiquities that might be the Ricardo Estate.
    I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut as I backed into the counter behind me. “That can’t be a coincidence.”
    “I agree. There’s been an upsurge in online activity for the group. As well as mention of new interesting developments in the last month or so.” He paused. “I’d like to stay for a couple extra days. I want to go to Charlotte on Monday to look into this some more. Do you think Becky will be okay with taking point at the inn while we’re gone?”
    I nodded, my stomach churning. “Yeah.”
    “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
    His words reminded me of Claire, which in turn made me think of my text to Collin. Guilt quickly replaced my shock. “This is good. It’s our first solid lead on who’s in possession of the Ricardo Estate.” I shook my head. “I don’t know why I’m so upset.”
    “It’s understandable. After all, we think there’s a tie between the people behind the Ricardo Estate and your mother’s death.” He gripped my shoulders and lowered his gaze to my eyes. “Word of warning, love: the closer we get to the truth, the more difficult this is going to get, emotionally and otherwise.”
    “Yeah, you’re right.” I smiled up at him. “I’m fine. I promise.”
    “How about you let Becky do the rest of the work today? You could use some time to relax. I’ll be back by three. If you’re ready to go when I get back, we’ll have plenty of time to get to my house before dark so you can mark the doors.”
    “Oh.” I hadn’t considered that. Sloppy on my part.
    He gently kissed my lips, his tenderness catching me by surprise. “I think I’ll take off for work now and get an early start. Come out to the site if you’d like. Text me first and I’ll meet you at the entrance.”
    “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
    “And don’t forget to call Myra. I know her behavior has been upsetting, but