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  Her Guardian Angel

  By Larissa Ione

  A Demonica Underworld/Masters and Mercenaries Novella

  Introduction by Lexi Blake

  Her Guardian Angel

  A Demonica Underworld/Masters and Mercenaries Novella

  Copyright 2018 Larissa Ione

  ISBN: 978-1-945920-83-7

  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Book Description

  Her Guardian Angel: A Demonica Underworld/Masters and Mercenaries Novella

  by Larissa Ione

  After a difficult childhood and a turbulent stint in the military, Declan Burke finally got his act together. Now he’s a battle-hardened professional bodyguard who takes his job at McKay-Taggart seriously and his playtime – and his playmates – just as seriously. One thing he never does, however, is mix business with pleasure. But when the mysterious, gorgeous Suzanne D’Angelo needs his protection from a stalker, his desire for her burns out of control, tempting him to break all the rules…even as he’s drawn into a dark, dangerous world he didn’t know existed.

  Suzanne is an earthbound angel on her critical first mission: protecting Declan from an emerging supernatural threat at all costs. To keep him close, she hires him as her bodyguard. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that she’s in over her head, defenseless against this devastatingly sexy human who makes her crave his forbidden touch.

  Together they’ll have to draw on every ounce of their collective training to resist each other as the enemy closes in, but soon it becomes apparent that nothing could have prepared them for the menace to their lives…or their hearts.

  About Larissa Ione

  Air Force veteran Larissa Ione traded in a career as a meteorologist to pursue her passion of writing. She has since published dozens of books, hit several bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today, and has been nominated for a RITA award. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and fictional worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case. After a dozen moves all over the country with her now-retired U.S. Coast Guard spouse, she is now settled in Wisconsin with her husband, her teenage son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhounds, a King Shepherd named Hexe, and a Belgian Malinois named Duvel.

  For more information about Larissa, visit www.larissaione.com.

  Also from Larissa Ione

  Click to purchase

  ~ DEMONICA/LORDS OF DELIVERANCE SERIES ~

  Pleasure Unbound (Book 1)

  Desire Unchained (Book 2)

  Passion Unleashed (Book 3)

  Ecstasy Unveiled (Book 4)

  Eternity Embraced ebook (Book 4.5)

  Sin Undone August (Book 5)

  Eternal Rider (Book 6)

  Vampire Fight Club (Book 6.5)

  Immortal Rider (Book 7)

  Lethal Rider (Book 8)

  Rogue Rider (Book 9)

  Reaver (Book 10)

  Azagoth (Book 11)

  Revenant (Book 12)

  Hades (Book 13)

  Base Instincts (Book 13.5)

  Z (Book 14)

  Razr (Book 15)

  Hawkyn (Book 16)

  ~ MOONBOUND CLAN VAMPIRES SERIES ~

  Bound By Night (book 1)

  Chained By Night (book 2)

  Forsaken By Night (book 2.5)

  An Introduction to the Lexi Blake Crossover Collection

  Who doesn’t love a crossover? I know that for me there’s always been something magical about two fictional words blending and meeting in a totally unexpected way. For years the only medium that has truly done it well and often is comic books. Superman vs. Batman in a fight to the finish. Marvel’s Infinite Universe. There’s something about two crazy worlds coming together that almost makes them feel more real. Like there’s this brilliant universe filled with fictional characters and they can meet and talk, and sometimes they can fall in love.

  I’m a geek. I go a little crazy when Thor meets up with Iron Man or The Flash and Arrow team up.

  So why wouldn’t we do it in Romanceland?

  There are ways out there. A writer can write in another author’s world, giving you her take on it. There’s some brilliant fanfiction out there, but I wanted something different. I wanted to take my time and gradually introduce these characters from other worlds, bring you in slowly so you don’t even realize what I’m doing. So you think this is McKay-Taggart, nothing odd here. Except there is…

  Over the course of my last three books—Love Another Day, At Your Service, and Nobody Does It Better—I introduced you to five new characters and five new and brilliant worlds. If I’ve done my job, you’ll know and love these characters—sisters from another mister, brothers from another mother.

  So grab a glass of wine and welcome to the Lexi Blake Crossover Collection.

  Love,

  Lexi

  Available now! Click to purchase.

  Close Cover by Lexi Blake

  Her Guardian Angel by Larissa Ione

  Justify Me by J. Kenner

  Say You Won't Let Go by Corinne Michaels

  His to Protect by Carly Phillips

  Rescuing Sadie by Susan Stoker

  Acknowledgments from the Author

  I can’t even begin to express how special this book is to me—for a lot of reasons. I can, however, express my thanks to everyone who made it possible, starting with Lexi Blake.

  Lexi, thank you for inviting me to play in your world and for trusting me to not unleash an apocalypse in it! Seriously, I’m so honored and humbled by your faith in me. I’m such a huge fan of not only your writing, but of you. I don’t know if you realize this, but your invitation to enter into this crossover project helped me solidify the direction I wanted to take this series…it actually shaped the future of the Demonica world and led me to rework Hawkyn to kick off this book…and to kick off what’s to come in this series and the next. Much of what happens in upcoming books will stem from the events that took place in Her Guardian Angel, so you have my eternal gratitude and admiration. (And in a show of true respect, I didn’t kill you in this story! *g*)

  Kim Guidroz, thank you for everything you do! Girl, you are a treasure—like, the rare kind only Wraith could find. I wish we could spend more time together!

  And Liz Berry…I’m not even sure where to start. If not for you, none of this would have happened. Not this crossover, and not the Demonica Underworld. There are not enough hugs in the world for that. Thank you from the depths of my heart…and the depths of Sheoul-gra!

  Her Guardian Angel also came alive thanks to the heroine’s namesake, Suzanne Johnson, who has enriched the Demonica universe in so many ways and more to come. Thank you, Suzanne, for your passion, your generosity, and your delicious recipes!

  I also need to send out oodles of thank yous to Kasi Alexander and Fedora Chen for your invaluable contributions and hard work. I’m so happy you’re on the Evil Eye team!

  Jillian Stein, thank you for…everything. I mean, literally, everything. In the Demonica world you’d be, well, you’d be Jillian. But if you weren’t that character, you’d still be utterly badass, just like in real life.

  I couldn’t write any acknowled
gements without telling Judie Bouldry that she’s a big reason I have any writing time at all and she’s also why I’m still sane. At least, mostly sane. Judie, thank you for all you do! We will take that trip to Europe someday!

  And last but not least, I want to thank you, the readers for your continued enthusiasm. We’re heading for something bigger in the Demonica world, and I’m very much looking forward to the ride.

  Saddle up the hell stallions, everyone, because here we go.

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  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Larissa Ione

  Also by Larissa Ione

  An introduction to the Lexi Blake Crossover Collection

  Author Acknowledgments

  Glossary

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Discover the Lexi Blake Crossover Collection

  Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights

  An excerpt from Hawkyn by Larissa Ione

  A Special Note from Larissa

  Special Thanks

  Glossary

  The Aegis—Society of human warriors dedicated to protecting the world from evil. Recent dissension among its ranks reduced its numbers and sent The Aegis in a new direction.

  Fallen Angel—Believed to be evil by most humans, fallen angels can be grouped into two categories: True Fallen and Unfallen. Unfallen angels have been cast from Heaven and are earthbound, living a life in which they are neither truly good nor truly evil. In this state, they can, rarely, earn their way back into Heaven. Or they can choose to enter Sheoul, the demon realm, in order to complete their fall and become True Fallens.

  Harrowgate—Vertical portals, invisible to humans, used to travel between locations on Earth and Sheoul. A very few beings can summon their own personal Harrowgates.

  Inner Sanctum—A realm within Sheoul-gra that consists of five Rings, each housing the souls of demons categorized by their level of evil as defined by the Ufelskala. The Inner Sanctum is run by the fallen angel Hades and his staff of wardens, all fallen angels. Access to the Inner Sanctum is strictly limited, as the demons imprisoned within can take advantage of any outside object or living person in order to escape.

  Memitim—Earthbound angels assigned to protect important humans called Primori. Memitim remain earthbound until they complete their duties, at which time they Ascend, earning their wings and entry into Heaven.

  Primori––Humans and demons whose lives are fated to affect the world in some crucial way.

  Sheoul—Demon realm some call Hell. Located on its own plane deep in the bowels of the Earth, accessible to most only by Harrowgates and hellmouths.

  Sheoul-gra—A realm that exists independently of Sheoul, it is overseen by Azagoth, also known as the Grim Reaper. Within Sheoul-gra is the Inner Sanctum, where demon souls go to be kept in torturous limbo until they can be reborn.

  Shrowd—When angels travel through time, they exist within an impenetrable bubble known as a shrowd. While in the shrowd, angels are invisible and cannot interact with anyone—human, demon, or angel—outside the shrowd. Breaking out of the shrowd is a serious transgression that can, and has, resulted in execution. Also called a quantamun.

  Ufelskala—A scoring system for demons, based on their degree of evil. All supernatural creatures and evil humans can be categorized into the five Tiers, with the Fifth Tier comprising the worst of the wicked.

  Chapter One

  Something out there, in the lengthening evening shadows, was watching him. And seeing how whatever it was made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and the tattoo on his back sting like some sort of futuristic subdermal warning system, it was probably too much to hope that it was a gorgeous woman who wanted nothing more than a one-night stand.

  Declan Burke pushed away from the fifteen-story building that housed his employer’s Dallas offices of McKay-Taggart, tossed his coffee cup in the trash, and casually brushed his hand across his holster to loosen his Glock G29 as he moved toward the alley in a loose, easy gait. If someone was spying on him, he wasn’t going to let on that he knew it. He was just heading to where he’d parked his Rover on the street this afternoon when he’d come in to grab a few things before he took off on his assignment in South America—

  “Hey, Burke!”

  Shit. Silent-watcher-slash-one-night-stand forgotten, he inhaled deeply before swinging around to see the big boss, Ian Taggart, sauntering toward him like a man on a mission to sell him something. And Dec knew exactly what that something was. Tag had called last night as Declan was packing his suitcase and asked if he’d rather take another job. His answer had been a hard no. Tag had been persuasive. Dec’s answer had then been a fuck no. And finally, a hang-up.

  “I already said I’m not taking that job,” Declan sighed.

  “And you didn’t say why.”

  “Am I required to?”

  “You know you’re not.” Tag stopped in front of him, his blond hair ruffling in the stiflingly hot breeze. “But this is right up your alley. You grew up in D.C. You know the people. You know the politics. You know the money.”

  Yeah, Declan knew all of that way too intimately. “I said no.”

  “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think you were the best person for the job.”

  Swearing silently, Declan looked up at the evening sky until he could reliably talk to his boss without losing his temper.

  Finally, he looked back at his boss. “I left that cesspool when I was seventeen, and I haven’t looked back. I’m sorry, Ian. I respect the hell out of you, and if you need me for anything else, I’ll do it, no questions asked. But not this. Fire me if you need to.”

  Tag let out an exasperated curse. “You’d seriously rather take the mission in the jungle that’ll probably get you killed than work with Senator McRory and his aide on some routine security issues?”

  Okay, Tag was exaggerating the risk of the South American job, but even if he weren’t... “I can’t even count all the ways I could say yes to that.”

  “Fine,” Tag said, “but at least think about it. Your plane doesn’t leave until tomorrow night.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Declan offered, knowing he wasn’t going to think about it at all. Not for a single second. As far as he was concerned, the topic of the D.C. job was a dead thread.

  “Thanks, man.” Taggart clapped Declan on the shoulder and headed toward the parking lot.

  Declan hung out for another minute, trying to decide what to do now. Going home to an empty, depressing apartment didn’t appeal to him, but neither did hitting a noisy club, not when he’d been getting so many headaches in recent months. Besides, he wasn’t the most social person on the planet and he hated the bar scene. He only put up with it because lately he’d been restless when he was alone.

  Maybe he needed a girlfriend. Or at the very least, he needed to get laid. Of course, meeting someone meant bein
g social. Making small talk. Telling people about his life. What a nightmare.

  He was going to die alone, wasn’t he?

  “Everyone dies alone,” his coworker Shane Landon had told him once. “Some sooner than later.”

  Shane was a real cheery guy sometimes.

  Taking a mental coin toss, he settled on grabbing a six-pack of Shiner Bock, heading to his place, and watching a few episodes of season three of Breaking Bad. How had he missed the show when it first came out? It was awesome. But hey, now he got to binge watch—

  A flash of light blinded him, the intensity making him stumble. Blinking, shielding his eyes, he peered in the direction of the alley he’d been walking toward before Tag stopped him. Bright white light flickered like a florescent bulb between the buildings, and he swore he saw a hulking shadow at the center, something with thick arms and legs...and a massive head with horns.

  What the fuck? Suddenly, searing pain ripped through his skull and the tattoo on his back. He heard a scream, his scream, before he fell to his knees, grasping his head in his hands as if that would stop the agony. Through the assault on his senses, he tasted and smelled blood, and as he gasped for air, he swore he saw another shadowy figure join the first, this one smaller, more petite. Even...feminine. And they were fighting.

  Even as he moaned in agony, he laughed internally at the absurdity of his thoughts. Shadowy figures battling in the center of a ball of light? Had someone spiked his coffee? Was he really asleep and having a nightmare straight from a comic book?