through. She crossed her arms. “Seriously. I’m not.”

“If you say so,” he grinned. “What’s your name, gorgeous?”

“Valerie Grace.”

“I’m Reggie.” He reached out to shake her tentative hand. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to

. . . hey, you can let go now.”

She clutched his hand. “I need to go back. You have to help me.”

“Ow! You’ve got a grip on you, you know that?”

“I don’t belong here.” She swallowed hard and realized she was tearing up again. This man seemed nice enough. He couldn’t be a demon. He would have tried to tempt her by now, and she certainly didn’t feel very tempted, if that was worth anything. And if he was a demon, well, he seemed like a very nice one who meant no harm. He’d help her, wouldn’t he?

Grabbing the nearest thing seemed like her best course of action. The nearest thing, in this case, was his hand. Currently turning purple.

“So if you don’t belong here, then leave! My hand! Alone!” He yanked away from her and looked at her warily. “Where are you from, anyhow?”

“Heaven.” She sniffed, ran a hand under her nose and tried not to cry. She turned her gaze away to stare at the seedy motel.

“Heaven.” He frowned.“Is that another strip club? What town is that in?”

“It’s not a strip club.” She was about to tell him about what happened to her. That they’d kicked her out of Heaven for no reason. That it was a huge mistake because she’d never done anything to deserve this kind of treatment. She was a great angel! Her last job review had even said so. And management always did very detailed report scrolls. What had hers said again? She thought about it and came up blank. She frowned. Why couldn’t she remember?

She wiped a tear away. “It’s been a really bad day. That’s all. Sorry for freaking out a bit.”

Reggie shook his head. “The beautiful ones are always a bit nutty. My girlfriend is, too.