by K. D. Worth
I chuckled. “Oh, that was nice too.”
A flutter in the energy of the office announced Slade’s arrival. He had a girl with him. She was quite curvy, with two tiny ponytails on top of her head, a hoop in her nose, and a round face that immediately made me smile. Her clothing wasn’t all that different from what I’d seen when I’d been alive. If I could describe her in any way, I would call her bubbly.
“I like her already,” Kody said to me, and I smiled at him.
“Hi, guys,” Slade said. He had on his long duster jacket, biker boots and a baldric wrapped around a Queen T-shirt, the gilded handle of the sword peeking over his shoulder. “Everyone, this is Emma Rose. She’s going to be joining the team.”
“Ha, we win.” Sarah high-fived Tristen, tossing a gloating look at Kelli.
“Who cares?” Kelli rejoined, walking up to the new recruit. “Hi, I’m Kelli. Welcome to the team.”
Emma Rose shook Kelli’s hand, and her eyes widened as she took in the whole room. She didn’t seem nervous, not like Kody or I had been when we arrived. “Hi, I’m Emma Rose. I was reading a book when I accidentally tripped and fell in front of a bus. I’m not usually so clumsy, ya know? Then this creepy black ghost showed up and Slade here chopped it in half.” She flipped her thumb at Slade, face in childlike awe. “Can you believe it?”
There was a chorus of chuckles and a few, “Yeah, I believe it.”
Had Emma Rose been the victim of a wraith? If so, I was glad she’d found her path with us.
“I can’t believe all of this is real,” Emma Rose went on. “Slade told me, but gosh, this is so cool.”
Jake immediately offered our new teammate a coffee, and just when I was about to introduce myself, Slade pulled me aside as everyone welcomed Emma Rose.
“What’s up?” I asked, hands in my pockets.
Slade eyed me up and down, gaze lingering on the tattoo peeking out from the edge of my Led Zeppelin T-shirt sleeve. “Looking good there, kid.”
I rubbed my ink. “Thinking I might add to it,” I said offhandedly. Kody really liked my tattoo, and though he had no interest in getting one of his own, he said if I wanted more ink, I should do it. Nothing had stuck out in my mind yet, though I did have a notion to commemorate Meegan somehow.
“I’m sorry,” Slade whispered in my mind.
“For what?” I asked in surprise.
“I’m so very sorry that you suffered those eight months when I had Kody in purgatory. I never wanted you to be hurt because of that. And I’m sorry I never told you.”
I stared at Slade in shock. He had never apologized to me before, let alone about the events after Kody’s death. The sincerity in those gray eyes melted away everything that had ever made me upset at him. I stuffed my emotions deep inside myself and shrugged, trying to pretend I was cool. “No big deal.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder and I stared up at him. “Everything is a big deal sometimes. But then again, sometimes it’s not. This one was,” he told me. “I don’t regret spending all my energy to keep Kody safe, but I am deeply sorry it hurt you. Even though you have him now.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, fighting back tears. Then that hand shifted from my shoulder to my back. The action of hugging Slade was so foreign yet completely natural that I wrapped my arms around his waist as he hugged me tight.
One of Slade’s large hands caressed the middle of my back. “It’s gonna be okay now,” he promised. “You and Kody got this under control. I know you do.”
When he stepped back, I gazed up at him, an archangel of death, the man who had saved my life and decided to make me one of his reapers. The creature who had taught my friends to keep the boy I love safe. A powerhouse of wisdom, a mysterious angel who gave us our assignments every day and who spoke daily to God through the seraphim.
What a wild, crazy world this was that I ended up being friends with him.
“Thank you,” I said with deep gratitude. “Thank you for teaching me and for….” My voice fumbled. “F-for teaching me how to help Kody.”
Slade gave me a sideways smirk and a slap on the shoulder, the tender moment passing. “You’re welcome, kid. I always knew when you saved Kody the two of you were gonna do great things together.”
I raised my brows, remembering something Kody told me, that Slade let me think I had been saving Kody from that bridge. “Really? You knew this was all going to happen?”
Slade laughed and stepped away from me. But he did not answer my question.
Naturally.
I was about to open my mouth and protest, but when Kody’s gaze captured mine from across the room, I decided to let it go.
Slade would tell me what he wanted, when he wanted.
Some things would never change.
Like my love for Kody.
I stepped toward my soul mate.
Everything that I had ever dreamed for, every wish and desire I’d had since the moment I was born until the moment I died and beyond, lay in Kody’s eyes. The solution to everything came when his arms wrapped around me. I pressed my cheek against his chest, squeezing his waist as those long arms circled my neck.
“I love you.”
Warm, loving lips kissed the top of my head, and I squeezed Kody tighter. “I love you too,” he whispered. “I think we got this.”
I pulled back to gaze up into those baby blue eyes, a surge of confidence working through me like the very heat Kody stirred within me. “Yeah,” I agreed. “We totally do.”
The twinkle in his eyes and the smile was more reward than a thousand trophies. I felt like for the first time in my afterlife, life was perfect.
I had overcome my fears and petty jealousies and concerns. I had a family of friends and a rewarding job. And I had my boss’s approval.
I had Kody at my side.
And best of all, I had God’s grace.
More from K.D. Worth
The Grim Life: Book One
Max Shaw is dead.
Well, sort of.
After dying on prom night, Max was recruited by a mysterious tattooed angel named Slade to join a group of teenage reapers. Cocky and sarcastic, Max thinks he has his afterlife together, but the moment Slade assigns him to his first suicide case, everything changes.
Christian college student Kody Michaels is struggling to make sense of his life and his faith. After a failed suicide attempt at an antigay camp, Kody is determined not to fail again. Tired of disappointing his family and God, he is going to end his life once and for all.
But in a split-second decision, Max saves Kody—defying the rules of a reaper.
Max believes his only concern is convincing Kody that God loves him just the way he is, so he can save him from a hellish afterlife as a shade. Little does Max know, some shades have found a way to walk among the living as wraiths. These evil wraiths know Kody has been slated for death, and they have another, darker purpose for him.
Max has only one night to save Kody before one of Slade’s team finishes the job Max lacked the courage to complete.
The Grim Life: Book Two
Dating is tough… especially when you’re dead.
Teenage reapers Max and Kody thought they were settling into their afterlife, delivering souls to God in heaven—until their boss, the mysterious Slade, tells them that spirits stuck in limbo have taken an interest in Kody.
And the spirits’ evil counterparts—the wraiths—aren’t far behind.
Max would be livid if he found out Kody was still checking up on his family, but Kody’s sister Britany is struggling, her heart broken. She blames their mother, religion, and God for her brother’s death. Though it breaks all the reaper rules and may put him in danger, Kody wants to help heal her spirit before she’s lost forever. Unfortunately, the wraiths have found a doorway to the land of the living, bringing death and destruction with them. Max and Kody hope to stop them before anyone gets hurt, but they may not be strong enough.
Through devastating losses, an ominous
prophecy, and a heavenly destiny revealed, Max and Kody must find a way to trust and accept each other if they want to heal the wounds of their past. Their enemies are powerful, but there’s a single force they cannot stand against—love.
Readers love The Grim Life by K.D. Worth
“The story is laced with a mix of both somber moments and several very humorous ones, which I found to be a true joy to watch unfold….”
—My Fiction Nook
“Well written, intriguing and while this is a YA story, I never lost interest or felt the content was immature or lacking.”
—MM Good Book Reviews
“There’s a really strong message of hope and acceptance in this book. For being a good person and true to yourself.”
—It’s About The Book
K.D. WORTH has always considered herself to have the heart of a teenager with an old soul. When not talking to the characters in her head, she loves to hang out at her favorite townie bar, then go dancing with her husband and friends. There is always music playing in her home, and if it’s too loud, you’re too old! On the flip side, K.D. enjoys spending time in her vegetable garden and canning the food she grows. She also is known to crochet washcloths and blankets for her closest friends, and smiles when they tease her for her “grandmotherly” ways. These two different sides to her personality create a layered tapestry of life experience that brings depth and believability to the characters she writes. She loves to hear from her fans almost as much as she loves her cocker spaniels. You can find her on Facebook or get updates about upcoming books on BookBub.
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Twitter: @kdworth_author
By K.D. Worth
THE GRIM LIFE
The Grim Life
The Wounded Heart
The Lost Souls
Published by HARMONY INK PRESS
www.harmonyinkpress.com
Published by
HARMONY INK PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
[email protected] • harmonyinkpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The Lost Souls
© 2019 K.D. Worth
Cover Art
© 2019 Paul Richmond
http://www.paulrichmondstudio.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Harmony Ink Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or [email protected].
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64405-292-1
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-291-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019944636
Digital published November 2019
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America