Unbroken Vows Read online

  “You’d think your — well, you’d think the people in charge might see it that way,” Michael remarked, and John shrugged.

  “Yes, but rules are rules. It’s fine. I’m condemned to live a mortal life…but that doesn’t mean I won’t get back to Heaven eventually.” His gaze strayed to his wife’s face, glowing with happiness and looking ten years younger at the prospect of having the man she’d lost forever suddenly returned to her side. “Only next time, I won’t be there alone.”

  She leaned her head against his shoulder, even as Audrey spoke. “And Belial is really gone?”

  “Well, he’s stuck in Hell, where he should be,” Rosemary’s father said. “I’m not saying that someone might not try to summon him again, but the chances of their being successful aren’t very good. He took a direct hit from the gate collapsing on him, and he’s probably going to be licking his wounds for a while and in no shape to go anywhere.”

  “And the Greencastle demons?” Michael put in.

  “In Hell as well. Stuck there forever, because they were just human enough that they have no chance of ever being summoned.”

  “Good,” Will murmured, but Rosemary remained silent.

  It wasn’t that she mourned Caleb — God, no — but at the same time, she couldn’t help thinking about all the people the Greencastle demons had left behind…Caleb’s mother, the other wives…that girl Tiffany, who planned to get engaged to Sean. Except Sean was now gone, along with all the rest of the part-demons. Losing fourteen people like that at the same time would leave a gaping hole in the fabric of a town as small as Greencastle. How in the world could anyone come up with an explanation for what had happened?

  They probably wouldn’t. Those men would just be gone, and it would be a crazy mystery that would get picked apart for the next ten years. But in the end, the world would be a better place with them gone. No worries about generation after generation of demon-kind populating the town and hatching their own dark plans.

  It was better this way.

  Her father gazed down at her. “You did well, Rosemary.”

  “Me?” she said, then shook her head. “I don’t know how you can say that. I couldn’t come up with a single way to defeat them.”

  “But you didn’t lose your cool,” he told her. “You stood up to them until you realized you couldn’t any longer, not without bringing harm to your own flesh and blood. Don’t be too hard on yourself — fourteen to one are pretty big odds.”

  She supposed he was right. A little flicker of warmth grew inside her, a warmth she realized came from hearing her father’s praise. When she was a child, she hadn’t heard it all that often, and she’d done her best to excuse him because she knew he was busy with his work and often preoccupied. Now, though, as she looked at him and finally saw the tension gone from his face, she realized his detachment had only been a defense mechanism, a way of keeping himself from getting too close to the family he knew he would have to leave one day.

  “He’s right,” Will said gently, and she at last allowed herself to smile.

  “I suppose so.” She looked around at everyone. “We kicked some demon ass, didn’t we?”

  “Definitely,” Audrey said. “You McGuires are a force to be reckoned with.”

  Yes, they were. And now it wouldn’t just be her and her two sisters and her mother, but her father as well. And Will, and Kevin and Tyler, and Michael and Audrey…and probably Fred as well, even if he didn’t know it yet. All of them coming together in a circle of friends and family, doing what they could to drive back the darkness with their light.

  She saw Will smiling down at her, saw the sunlight catch in his clear gray eyes, and knew the love that had always eluded her had come into her life, steadfast and true, better than anything she ever could have imagined. He would be there beside her, no matter what happened, no matter what challenges they faced. His actions had already more than proven that.

  And it was enough. His love, here in the light, was enough.

  The End

  This concludes the Project Demon Hunters series. Thank you so much for taking this journey with me, and with Michael and Audrey and Rosemary and Will. Turn the page to see all of my books, including my brand-new series, the Witches of Wheeler Park!

  Also by Christine Pope

  THE WITCHES OF WHEELER PARK

  (Paranormal romance)

  Storm Born

  Thunder Road

  Winds of Change (July 2020)

  PROJECT DEMON HUNTERS

  (Paranormal Romance)

  Unquiet Souls

  Unbound Spirits

  Unholy Ground

  Unseen Voices

  Unmarked Graves

  Unbroken Vows

  THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

  (Paranormal Romance)

  Sympathy for the Devil

  Charmed, I’m Sure

  A Wing and a Prayer

  THE WITCHES OF CANYON ROAD*

  (Paranormal Romance)

  Hidden Gifts

  Darker Paths

  Mysterious Ways

  A Canyon Road Christmas

  Demon Born

  An Ill Wind

  Higher Ground

  Haunted Hearts

  Books 1-3 of this series are also available in an omnibus edition at a special boxed set price!

  THE WITCHES OF CLEOPATRA HILL*

  (Paranormal Romance)

  Darkangel

  Darknight

  Darkmoon

  Sympathetic Magic

  Protector

  Spellbound

  A Cleopatra Hill Christmas

  Impractical Magic

  Strange Magic

  The Arrangement

  Defender

  Bad Blood

  Deep Magic

  Darktide

  Books 1-3 and Books 4-6 of this series are also available in two separate omnibus editions at special boxed set prices. Chronicles of Cleopatra Hill includes the series’ two “back in time” novellas, Bad Blood and The Arrangement.

  Or get the entire series in one enormous, specially priced boxed set! (Not available on Amazon.)

  THE DJINN WARS*

  (Paranormal Romance)

  Chosen

  Taken

  Fallen

  Broken

  Forsaken

  Forbidden

  Awoken

  Illuminated

  Stolen

  Forgotten

  Driven

  Unspoken

  Books 1-3 and Books 4-6 of this series are also available in two separate omnibus editions at special boxed set prices!

  Or get the entire series in one enormous, specially priced boxed set! (Not available on Amazon.)

  THE WATCHERS TRILOGY*

  (Paranormal Romance)

  Falling Dark

  Dead of Night

  Rising Dawn

  The Watchers Trilogy is also available in a specially priced boxed set!

  THE SEDONA FILES*

  (Paranormal Romance)

  Bad Vibrations

  Desert Hearts

  Angel Fire

  Star Crossed

  Falling Angels

  Enemy Mine

  Get the first three books of this series in an omnibus edition, or read the complete six-book series in one super-low-priced boxed set!

  TALES OF THE LATTER KINGDOMS*

  (Fantasy Romance)

  All Fall Down

  Dragon Rose

  Binding Spell

  Ashes of Roses

  One Thousand Nights

  Threads of Gold

  The Wolf of Harrow Hall

  Moon Dance

  The Song of the Thrush

  Books 1-3 and Books 4-6 of this series are also available in two separate omnibus editions at special boxed set prices.

  THE GAIAN CONSORTIUM SERIES*

  (Science Fiction Romance)

  Beast (free prequel novella)

  Blood Will Tell

  Breath of Life

/>   The Gaia Gambit

  The Mandala Maneuver

  The Titan Trap

  The Zhore Deception

  The Refugee Ruse

  Books 1-3 of this series are also available in an omnibus edition at a special boxed set price!

  STANDALONE TITLES

  Hearts on Fire

  Taking Dictation

  Night Music

  Golden Heart

  * Indicates a completed series

  About the Author

  USA Today bestselling author Christine Pope has been writing stories ever since she commandeered her family’s Smith-Corona typewriter back in grade school. Her work includes paranormal romance, fantasy romance, and science fiction/space opera romance. She makes her home in Arizona’s beautiful Verde Valley.

  Don’t miss out on any of Christine’s new releases — sign up for her newsletter today!

  Christine Pope on the Web:

  www.christinepope.com