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that out loud, please.”
    Ivy took the book as she set the laptop next to her. She took a deep breath and started reading. “Hell Hounds, by all accounts, are simply animals doing the bidding of the Demon of Souls. They’re not just beasts, however. Special care should be taken when trying to dodge them.”
    She paused, not liking what she was reading so far. “Once a person makes a deal with one of the many Crossroads demons and sells their soul, it’s owned by the Demon of Souls.”
    “We know all of this,” Lincoln said.
    Beau motioned for Ivy to keep going. “Finish the passage.”
    Ivy shrugged and returned her gaze to the book. “A soul can’t be bought back. Once sold, it is lost forever. A person normally has ten years before the Hell Hounds are sent to retrieve their soul – and take the person to Hell. For the few who trade their souls to help another, the same rules apply.”
    She stopped reading because the implication that her mother had sold her soul to help her made her chest feel as if it were caving in from the weight of it all.
    Suddenly, Christian was sitting beside her. He met her gaze briefly before he leaned over and finished for her. “There is one known instance where a person who sold their soul to help another died before their ten years came due. The Hell Hounds were then sent to the one who was saved to retrieve their soul.  
    “After a lengthy investigation, it was discovered the original deal-maker killed themselves to prevent having to face the Hell Hounds.”
    Ivy shoved the book off her and stood. She paced before the fireplace. “No. My mother didn’t kill herself. There was an autopsy. They would’ve found it.”
    “No one said your mother committed suicide,” Christian said.
    But everyone was thinking it. Including Ivy. She stopped and tried to draw in a calming breath. “What this tells me is that despite not having made the deal, the Hell Hounds are still coming for my soul.”
    “Actually, no,” Christian said as he finished reading something in the book. “They can’t.”
    Beau nodded. “He’s right. You didn’t sell your soul.”
    “Then why come after me?” Ivy was getting more confused by the minute.
    Christian set the open book on the coffee table before him. “They’ll kill you, taking you to Hell to show the person who did sell their soul.”
    “Oh. Well, that makes everything better then,” she said sarcastically. Ivy put her hand on her forehead. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”
    Ava rose and came to stand beside her. “It’s very much called for.”
    Ivy was dipping back into feeling sorry for herself like she had done as a kid in the hospital. Things were out of her control then, and it was happening all over again.  
    “I think that’s enough research for the night,” Lincoln said as he closed the book he’d been reading. He replaced it on the bookshelf and clicked on the CD player.
    Music came over the speakers. Ivy recognized a song by Hozier as one she really liked. As if it were some sort of cue, everyone put away his or her books and computers.
    Ivy could only stare in confusion as the three couples came together. Lincoln and Ava began to slow dance next to her while Olivia sat on Vincent’s lap behind the desk and began kissing him. Beau was smiling as Davena danced to him. His arms snaked out and caught her, pulling her against him as they began to kiss, as well.
    Ivy tried not to look at Christian, but she couldn’t stop herself. He had his head down, as if he could pretend nothing was happening by not looking.
    She quietly made her way around Lincoln and Ava and walked out of the house. That morning, she had watched the sun rise above the trees, now she was watching it sink behind them.  
    Davena had told her the back property was warded, including the boathouse. Ivy stepped off the porch, waiting for a Hell Hound to take her. When nothing happened, she took another couple of steps. Then a couple more.
    Finally, she