Also by B.L. Brunnemer
Books Of Stone
Found
The Veil Diaries Series
Secrets From the Grave
When The Dead Come A Knockin'
When To Fear The Living
Whispers From The Dead
When Evil Comes to Play
When The Dead Have It Easy (Coming Soon)
When The Dead Have It Easy
B. L. Brunnemer
Copyright © 2019 by B. L. Brunnemer
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
For my wonderful team! You guys are amazing and I sure as hell couldn’t pull this off without you!!
And as always, thank you Robert for sharing me with five other imaginary men.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
To stay up to date…
Chapter 1
August 15th, afternoon
“Lexie!”
I pulled Hades to a stop, as the crowd continued to move around us. Turning, I spotted Miles moving through what seemed to be the entire population of every town in three counties. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. But the crowd was starting to get on my nerves.
Emerald eyes met mine from behind rimless glasses. I couldn’t help but smile as he came toward me. Miles’ angled jaw and high cheekbones made him cute. But when he smiled like he was now, you could see how handsome he really was. He looked down at me from his six inches of extra height as he stepped in close, his hand going to the back of my arm. “How was work?”
I shrugged. “Not bad, but not great.”
“Are you still having trouble with script?” He asked in that smooth timbre that I loved.
I smiled up at him as I breathed in his wintergreen scent. “Yeah, Meghan says I need to practice more. How was physical therapy?”
He gave me a sheepish grin. “It was… alright.”
“Oh?” Miles had been hitting the pool hard to get back in shape for the next swim season ever since the cast came off last month. A little too much too soon to be honest.
His ears turned pink. “I received a lecture about over training while the break is still healing.”
“Called it.”
“But she did release me, so, I can get back to my usual training schedule.” He smiled that smile again making my heart pick up the pace.
“Oh no. We’re never going to see you now.” Hades pulled on the leash, making me look down and give him scratches on his head. “You’re going to turn into frog man, aren’t you?”
“No, I have a better reason not to train all the time.” His voice grew softer.
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” I lifted my head and met his amused eyes. He just smiled down at me, his fingers running lightly up the back of my arm. His silence had me going back over what he said. My face caught fire. “Oh.”
He chuckled. “The twins were right, that is a fun game.”
I playfully narrowed my eyes at him before we started walking through the crowd. “Have you seen them?” Hades stayed to my left keeping everyone a good three feet away. It helped that he was enormous now. Fully grown, his head was at my hip and he weighed over a hundred pounds of muscle. And wrinkles. My baby was still my wrinkly ball of love, only now he was huge.
“Just Ethan. I’ve only talked to the others on the phone.” He slid his hand around mine and squeezed. “Have you?”
“Only on the phone this week. Though I still haven’t seen Isaac.” But at least he still talked to me this month. Several random people started staring at me as we walked through the crowd. I tried to ignore it. “I still haven’t spoken to or seen Zeke.”
“So, naturally, you are stalling meeting them today.”
I made a point to look anywhere but at him.
He sighed. “Angel, it’s going to be alright.”
“How? None of you have seen each other since New Orleans, and only just started talking again.” I couldn’t keep the strain from my voice.
His thumb stroked my hand. “Just trust me.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked for the fiftieth time.
Miles looked down at me. “Yes. It’s the only way this conversation is going to happen. We’ll be in the middle of nowhere, and I’ll have all the car keys.”
“Then, what? We’ll play ‘who wants to date the necro?’”
Miles stopped and turned toward me. “What are you really afraid of?”
Busted. “Their answers.”
His eyes softened. “We need to get this sorted out and this is the best way to do that.”
“Out in the middle of the woods, alone and trapped is the best way to do it?” This could be a disaster of epic proportions.
Miles gave me a small smile. “I’ve known these guys almost my entire life. They won’t make this kind of hard decision without some incentive.”
I grumbled under my breath. I hated that he was right. Dating or not dating. It was time to answer the question.
“So, are you ready for your house to become Hotel Huntington?” I squeezed his hand, needing the reassurance.
Miles took a slow deep breath and let it out. “Mostly. All the rooms are aired out and ready for the… crew from New Orleans to arrive.”
A group of supernaturals were moving into the area to provide back up for the guys and me. And moving into Miles’ house. He’d reluctantly offered to house them so they’d be able to move to town quicker. “You know you don’t have to do this, right?”
He nodded. “It’s only temporary. They’ll all be out in a couple of weeks once they have their housing situations figured out.”
“When are they coming?”
“In a couple of days. We’ll be on the camping trip and Hollis gave the key to the ones coming up.” He gently got me moving again. “We need to meet Isaac.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Miles took the lead through the crowd towards the ride section of the fair. I was supposed to meet with Isaac and spend some time with him away from the others. Miles squeezed my hand one more time before letting go. Isaac must be close by, I tried to spot him through the crowd but it was no use. I was too short.
“Isaac’s on his way over.” Miles looked down at me. I met his eyes as the urge to run hit me hard. Miles gave me an encouraging smile. “It’s going to be alright.”
I nodded. Sure, it was. And hell was just a sauna.
Isaac stepped out of the crowd. He was taller than I remembered. His wide shoulders seemed to have more muscle than a few weeks ago. His amber eyes met mine, a grin spread across his face. My stomach unknotted a bit as I just soaked in his face. A square jaw, slightly pouty lips and a straight nose made him more striking than handsome. His hair was blue, with a darker blue mixed in as usual. He was going for a Coo
kie Monster thing and it worked for him. I smiled back as warmth filled my chest.
Isaac finally noticed Miles, his eyes dimmed a bit as he reached us. “Hey, I’ve got some bands for the rides… but you brought Hades.”
“I’ll take Hades with me so you guys can enjoy the rides.” Miles held his hand out for the leash.
I pulled my gaze from Isaac’s to look up at him. “Thanks.”
He smiled down at me. “Of course. “
I handed him the leash along with the small backpack that had Hades’ water dish and water bottles in.
“Have fun,” Miles said before disappearing with Hades into the crowd.
Heart pounding, I looked up at Isaac. “Hey.”
His smile was back in full force. “Hey.” His voice was rich and smooth like honey. He pulled me to him and hugged me tight. I had to stretch a little more than usual, did he get taller?
I took in a deep breath of his usual lime scent. More of the knots disappeared. “I missed you.”
He squeezed me tighter. “I missed you too.” He kissed my cheek before pulling back. “Let’s have some fun.”
I chuckled as he put the band on my wrist and pulled me through the crowd. “What have you been up to?”
“Skateboarding, MMA, the usual,” he hedged.
“Training?” I asked, knowing full well he quit a month ago.
“Um, yeah.” He got us into the line for the Zipper. The ride had closed in seats that rotated with your body weight while it flipped you around the rotating track.
“Cookie Monster,” my voice grew softer.
He turned back to me with warm eyes. “Later. Let’s just have some fun.”
I smiled up at him and let it go.
We went on ride after ride, anything that got the heart pumping. The Ring of Fire, the Orbiter, the Pendulum, you name it, we went on it at least twice. It was outright war when bumper cars became involved, to the point we were told not to come back. Over the next two hours I forgot about everything else that was going on and just had fun.
Isaac was rubbing his shoulder as we went down the steps from the Gravitron. “You were right, the ride was slowing down.”
I continued laughing as I stepped off the steps and wrapped my arm around his waist. “You should have seen your face when you dropped from the wall.”
“Hey!” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “I practically landed on my head.”
That only set me off again.
He shook his head as his cheeks tinted pink. “Come on, we have time for one more ride before we meet the others.”
We stepped into the short line for the Ferris wheel. Surprised, I climbed into the seat. Isaac climbed in after me. The bar was closed across our laps and we were lifted backward into the air.
“A slow ride?” I eyed him. “Who are you and what have you done with my Cookie Monster?”
He chuckled as he moved his arm over the back of the car so he was turned toward me. “I wanted to talk.”
My stomach knotted. “Okay…”
“How are you doing?” His face was serious. “With Ordin’s sentencing coming up?”
I sighed as a weight settled in my gut. In January, Clay Ordin had abducted me. Then the psycho proceeded to beat the crap out of me when I told him I’d never be his. Not my smartest move, I’ll admit. “You’ve noticed all the looks too?”
He nodded. “How do they know? You’re a minor, your name is supposed to be protected.”
I turned a little so I could face him more. “Small town. Everyone in school knew he was arrested and I came back with the shit kicked out of me.” I shrugged. “I’m assuming word spread from there.” The wheel rotated, putting us further into the air.
The backs of his fingers brushed over my cheek sending warmth back through me. “Are you okay?”
I gave him a smile. “I’m okay, I just wish it was over and everyone could go back to forgetting.”
He leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. My heart melted. What had I been thinking earlier? This was Isaac… My sweet, funny Isaac. His lips moved against mine slowly as everything else faded away. The ride moved, jolting us back to reality. I pulled back and looked around, praying that none of the guys saw that.
“Chill out, that’s why I picked the Ferris wheel.” He shifted.
I relaxed as the wheel began to lift us higher. The sun was starting to set. Orange, pinks, and yellows streaked across the sky as we reached the top. The noise of the fair faded leaving a comfortable quiet. “I thought you wanted to talk?”
“I thought I did too.” He sighed. “But I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of talking tomorrow at Miles’ and then on the camping trip.”
“You’re dreading it too?”
He nodded. “Yeah, and you know Zeke is going to be a grumpy ass the entire time.”
“You’ve spoken to Zeke?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
“No, I just figured he’s going to show up.” His eyes ran over my face. “Haven’t you?”
I shook my head as a knot formed in my throat. “Only texts every few days.” I looked around at the fair, trying to hide how much it bothered me.
“He won’t miss your birthday tomorrow. And he won’t miss the camping trip,” he muttered. “You in the woods? There’s no way he’d let you go without him.”
“Not just me,” I reminded him, hating the bitterness in his voice. “He’d go even if it was just you guys.”
Isaac snorted. He knew I was right, he just wanted to be angry at Zeke right now.
“It wasn’t his fault,” I reminded him. “It was mine.”
He ran his fingers through his hair as the wheel started climbing again. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“Okay.” I swallowed hard. “How are your nightmares doing?”
He brought his arm down so he could hold my hand. “Not as bad. Just those four I called you about.” His eyes met mine. “Sorry I keep waking you up.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay, I’d rather talk to you than sleep.” I didn’t add that I was up already because Ethan usually had to talk too. Oddly, the twins had nightmares the same nights, but at different times. Once I was done talking to one, the other would call within ten minutes. “How’s Ethan doing?”
Isaac’s shoulders rolled forward. He suddenly looked tired. “As far as I can see, he’s okay. I don’t think he’s hurting, but…”
“Have you two been talking?” In New Orleans they finally had it out. I had hoped…
He turned to me. “We’re talking, we’re just working our way up to the big stuff.”
“Next time you have a nightmare, go talk to Ethan.”
His brow drew down. “What?”
“Just trust me.” I smiled. “Don’t hesitate, go and talk to him.”
He sighed. “I’ll try.”
The ride came to a stop. We climbed out and headed back into the crowd.
“I guess we should head over to watch the end of the chili competition.” Isaac took my hand again.
As we got closer to the cookout contest, the more aware I was that I was still holding Isaac’s hand. Once the booths came into sight, I let go and started looking for the others. I finally spotted sandy blonde hair at the booth with the most people around it.
I was about to tell Isaac when Hades shouldered several people out of the way in his rush to get to me.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Miles called over his shoulder as the dog pulled on his leash.
I bent down and gave him the loves he was looking for. “There’s my baby. Have you been terrorizing Miles?” He gave a half bark that I took as a yes.
Miles was shaking his head as he handed me the leash. “I remember now why I don’t have a dog.”
“’Cause you’re too nice to pull them back when they want to go somewhere?” I smiled a big smile. Miles spoiled Hades rotten and just couldn’t tell that wrinkled face no.
Miles handed me Hades’ backpack. “Perhaps.”
I snickered.
“They’ve finished the competition and the judges are deciding. They’ll announce the winner in the Hunter pavilion.” Miles gestured down the wide cement walkway where the crowd was moving.
“Um, I’ll meet you guys there.” I said watching as the crowd left Asher’s booth. If he was going to be mad at me or break my heart, I’d rather do it without the others watching.
“We’ll meet you there.” Miles’ voice was understanding.
“Yeah, see you at the pavilion,” Isaac muttered before they went with the crowd.
My stomach rolled as I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. We’d been okay on the phone but we never talked about us… or me with the others. Come on, Lexie. Big girl panties! I walked Hades over to the booth. Asher was busy emptying the chili from the pot into take away containers. High cheekbones and a sharp chin had given him the all-American boy look, but at model status. He always looked as if he just stepped out of a magazine to me. Then there were his eyes… Blue, with dark and light streaks through them. Even some white. They reminded me of an ocean wave crashing. Those eyes suddenly turned to me. I swallowed hard as he set down the pot.
“Hi.” His rich baritone practically ran over my skin.
“Hi.” Light spread through me as he smiled. I reached the booth as he came around the table. I had to tilt my head back to see his face since he was more than half a foot taller than me. “How’d it go?”
His eyes stayed on mine and grew warmer. “Good, uh, I think.” He started rubbing the back of his neck. “I had to make three pots for samples so…”
I smiled up at him. “That’s better than good, that’s great.”
“Ally girl…” My heart slammed as his eyes grew warmer. He reached out to me only to curl his fingers closed and pull back. A sharp pain shot through me. He didn’t want to touch me. What else did I expect? I turned and started down the walkway, pretending it didn’t hurt. That everything was okay. Calloused fingers grabbed my wrist, pulled me back around and into his arms.
When the Dead Have It Easy Page 1