Grim Tidings

by Amanda M. Lee

  “My knee,” I admitted.

  “This one?” Aidan moved his hands down gently, making sure he wasn’t about to cause me undue pain. Once his hands hit a sore spot, though, I couldn’t help but yelp. “Sorry,” Aidan said. “You need to take your pants off.”

  “Um, no.”

  Aidan held his hands up. “I’m your brother – and I’m gay. Trust me, I don’t want to see anything you have to offer.”

  He had a point.

  “Fine,” I grumbled. “This is still all kinds of weird.”

  “We could go to the hospital,” Aidan offered. “Unfortunately, once your name is flagged in the system – looking like someone beat the crap out of you, by the way – that’s probably going to show up in whatever little database Detective Dinglefritz is using to monitor you.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh as I pulled my pants down – silently thanking the gods (yes, all of them) that I had worn boy short panties instead of a thong today. “Detective Dinglefritz?”

  “That’s his new name,” Aidan growled.

  It fit.

  Aidan helped me pull the jeans off the rest of the way when fatigue forced me to sink back down onto the couch. There was an ugly red welt growing across my right knee. The skin wasn’t broken, but it was going to hurt in the morning. Aidan’s face was almost as red as my knee when he saw it – but I could tell it was rage fueling him.

  “I’m going to beat that guy to within an inch of his life,” he said.

  “Who? You already killed them.”

  “Not them,” Aidan said. “Detective Dinglefritz. This is all his fault.”

  I wasn’t Griffin’s biggest fan right now, but even I couldn’t fathom how this was his fault. “How so?”

  “If you hadn’t been mad at him you wouldn’t have yelled at me and stormed out into a big wraith trap,” Aidan replied.

  That sounded reasonable.

  “Fine, we’ll go with that.”

  “I TALKED to Dad,” Aidan said the next morning. He had insisted on spending the night, so all three of us had slept in my bedroom because Aidan refused to leave my side and Jerry didn’t want to be alone in case wraiths infiltrated the condo in the middle of the night.

  The three of us were now sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast.

  “What did he say?”

  “He’s not happy,” Aidan replied.

  One look at his face told me that was an understatement. “Well, we’ve killed three wraiths in less than forty-eight hours; that’s got to make him happy.”

  Aidan cocked his head to the side. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s the way he sees it.”

  “What else did he say?”

  “We have to be there for dinner tonight because he wants to talk about things,” Aidan said. “Oh, and you’re excused from work for the next few days.”

  “I’m fine,” I protested.

  “It took you five minutes to walk the twenty feet from your bedroom to the kitchen this morning,” Aidan pointed out. “And you stopped drinking liquids last night because it hurt too much to go to the bathroom.”

  “Oh, God,” Jerry said, smacking the side of his face with his hand. “Does it burn when you pee? Did Detective Dinglefritz give you the clap?”

  It wasn’t funny, but I couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling up.

  “Not because of that,” Aidan snapped. “Because it hurts for her to sit down on the toilet. She’s a girl, they don’t go standing up.”

  Realization – and relief – washed over Jerry’s face. “Well, that’s good to know.”

  In what world? I was uncomfortable with the conversation thread, though, so I changed it. “You didn’t tell him anything else, did you?”

  Aidan looked confused. “Like what? If you’re asking whether I told him about Jerry and me, that would be a big, fat no. It’s none of his business. It’s none of any of their business. And, quite frankly, I’m going to be pissed off if you tell them. I’ll tell them when I’m ready.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Then what did you mean?”

  I was really close to hating men again – even when the man presently irritating me was acting like a woman.

  “I think she’s talking about Detective Dinglefritz,” Jerry supplied.

  “Oh,” Aidan said. “No, of course I didn’t tell Dad about that ass sleeping with you and then ditching you the next morning. He’d have a heart attack.”

  Well, that was a relief.

  “I told Redmond, though,” Aidan added. “He’s planning revenge even as we speak.”

  Crap.

  Thirty-Three

  “Can I get you anything?”

  The minute I walked through the door of Grimlock Manor my brothers were on me, offering to help me sit down, bringing me drinks and trying to force feed me finger sandwiches every time I turned around.

  It was sweet – and annoying.

  “I said I was fine,” I said.

  “She looks cold,” Dad said from behind his desk. “One of you get her a blanket.”

  Cillian immediately grabbed the afghan off the back of the couch he was sitting on and brought it toward me.

  “I’m not cold,” I said.

  “And that blanket is ugly,” Jerry said. He had insisted on coming to dinner. He said it was because he wanted to protect me, but it was far more likely he was uncomfortable being alone. At least he left the tennis racket at the condo.

  Dad cleared his throat. “My mother knitted that blanket.”

  Jerry looked momentarily flummoxed. “Well, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Dad waved him off. “She was a wonderful lady, though, and that blanket is a family heirloom.”

  He thinks everything in this house is a family heirloom.

  “Was she colorblind?” Jerry asked.

  “Who?”

  “Your mother.”

  “No.” Now Dad was the one who looked confused.

  “Well then, someone should have told her that orange and blue don’t make up a pleasant color pattern – even for a blanket.”

  Dad pursed his lips and turned back to me. “You’re very lucky, young lady.”

  “How did this become my fault?” I shifted, trying to flex my knee. It hurt. Braden was on his feet and moving a footstool in front of me, gently placing my leg on it, before I could even register his movement.

  “You were the one that went out by yourself after dark,” Dad explained. “You’re obviously on the radar of whoever is amassing these wraiths. Try using your brain next time.”

  “Hey!”

  Redmond was angry. “Leave her alone,” he said. “It’s not like she could have guessed this would happen. Until now, we’ve only seen the wraiths when we were out collecting souls. How could she know they’d follow her home?”

  “Well, since wraiths have only shown up on her jobs, it wasn’t that foregone of a conclusion,” Dad countered, “but we should have anticipated it.”

  Huh, that was weird. I hadn’t even thought about that. Apparently, no one else in the room had put it together either.

  “Wait, so you think that the wraiths are following Aisling?” Cillian asked.

  “Have the rest of you run into a wraith?”

  Everyone shook their heads.

  “Then we have to assume, for now at least, that they’re keyed into Aisling somehow.”

  “That’s not right,” Aidan said suddenly. “Addie was my charge. Aisling just happened to be at the retirement home.”

  “Yes, but she was originally on Aisling’s list,” Dad pointed out. “I didn’t want to overtax her, though, so I gave her only one charge that day and assigned one of you to do the other as backup.”

  Aidan’s face fell. “Yeah, and I traded Cillian for it when Jerry called me all freaked out.”

  Why do I feel like I’m being infantilized here? “Why would the wraiths only be sent out on my assignments?”

  “Maybe because you’re new
,” Braden said. “Maybe whoever is in charge thinks that a new reaper is an easy reaper?”

  “See, I’m not the only one who thinks you’re easy,” Aidan teased, immediately regretting his words when my face fell. “I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry.”

  “You didn’t mean what?” Dad asked, clearly behind the gossip curve.

  “Nothing,” I replied hurriedly.

  “When I get my hands on Detective Dinglefritz, I’m going to wring his neck,” Redmond growled.

  Clearly that nickname was catching on.

  “Who is Detective Dinglefritz?” Dad asked.

  Crap.

  “Detective Taylor,” Braden supplied. “He’s on our list. He’s at the top now. He might be the only name on it for the foreseeable future actually.”

  “He’s always been on my list,” Dad said. “Not that I’m complaining, but why are we especially mad at him now?”

  I glared at Aidan. “Thanks.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “What is going on?” Dad asked.

  “Aisling had sex with Griffin – sorry, Detective Dinglefritz – and he bolted the next morning,” Jerry explained. “Sorry, Bug, this could take forever and you guys are terrible liars. It was going to come out eventually, and I’m hungry.”

  I tried to swallow my upper lip when color started creeping up Dad’s neck. This wasn’t going to be good.

  “What did you just say?”

  “He said he and Aidan are a couple now,” I said. What? If I’m going down I’m taking everyone else with me.

  “Oh, nice,” Aidan exploded.

  “Aisling,” Jerry chided. “That was not nice.”

  “Congratulations,” Redmond offered, slapping Aidan on the back.

  “It’s about time,” Braden agreed.

  “Jerry is definitely a better choice than Detective Dinglefritz,” Cillian added.

  Dad held up his hand for silence. “We’ll get to Jerry and Aidan in a second,” he said. “I want to know – wait, I don’t want to know, but now I guess I have to know – what happened with Detective Taylor?”

  I frowned. I was not talking about my sex life with my father. This is the man who found my birth control pills when I was a teenager and accused me of being on drugs. This couldn’t end well. I was just going to pretend this wasn’t happening. Is he still looking at me?

  “Detective Dinglefritz showed up at the apartment after that whole wraith thing at the retirement home,” Jerry explained. “I guess things got heated – in more ways than one – and then he bolted the next morning.”

  Besides, I don’t have to say anything when I have Jerry the Mouth to do it for me.

  Dad looked as though he was hoping for a hole to open up and swallow him. “I see.”

  I glanced at Redmond, who was having trouble keeping a straight face. “This isn’t funny.”

  “I agree,” he said after a beat. “I’m going to kill that guy. I’m laughing at Dad. I think he honestly thought you were still a virgin.”

  “He didn’t think that,” I scoffed. “He just pretended that was the case. Why is it that when you guys get laid he gives you a pat on the back and an ‘atta boy’ but when it happens to me the world suddenly ceases turning on its axis?”

  “Because men are considered studs when they get some and women are considered sluts,” Redmond replied. “I don’t make the rules.”

  “Who are all these women that these studs are getting laid with?”

  Redmond shrugged. “Sluts?”

  “That seems really misogynistic.”

  “That’s life.”

  “Life sucks,” I said.

  “And then you die.”

  Everyone jumped when the doorbell rang.

  “Are we expecting someone?” Braden asked.

  “No,” Dad said. “Maybe it’s just a delivery. I ordered some books. Let’s get back to the conversation at hand.”

  “Let’s not,” I argued.

  “Aisling, this is a serious issue.”

  “Wait a second,” Aidan interrupted. “I don’t think this is fair.”

  “I agree,” Cillian said. “I don’t think it’s fair to jump on Aisling.”

  “Yeah,” Jerry said. “Detective Dinglefritz already did that and look how that turned out.”

  Dad’s face was now beet red. “Jerry, you’re a part of this family and I love you.”

  “Thank you.” Jerry looked pleased.

  “If you don’t shut your mouth, though … I can't be responsible for what I'm going to do to you.”

  “What did I say?” Jerry turned to me, his eyes wide.

  I leaned back on the couch, stretching my knee across the footstool. This night was turning into a mess. And since I was almost killed by two wraiths the night before, that was saying something.

  “I want to get back to you … doing things with the cop,” Dad said, trying to pretend this was a normal conversation.

  “What things?” Braden pressed.

  “You’re not funny, young man,” Dad yelled.

  “I just need clarification,” Braden said. “Were they knitting? Reading a good book? Playing Monopoly?”

  “She’s your sister,” Redmond pointed out. “How much clarification do you need?”

  Braden considered the question. “Point taken. As far as I’m concerned, Aisling is sexless.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Thankfully, the conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. One of the maids – I think her name was Steffi – poked her head in. “There’s a police officer here.”

  Uh-oh.

  “Tell him we’re busy,” I ordered.

  “No,” Dad said, his smile slight and grim. “By all means, show him in.”

  No. No. No. It was too late, though. Griffin was already in the room and all four of my brothers were on their feet, their hands clenched into fists.

  “Is this a bad time?” Griffin asked, refusing to look me in the eye.

  “Oh, no,” Redmond said. “We’re really happy to see you, Detective Dinglefritz.”

  Oh, good. This will end well.

  Thirty-Four

  Griffin must have sensed he was walking into a room where he was the most unpopular occupant, but to his credit he didn’t turn and flee.

  Dammit!

  “I’m glad you’re all here,” he said, clearly nervous. “I have something I want to discuss with you.”

  “Good,” Redmond agreed. “We have something to discuss with you, too.”

  Griffin’s eyes finally found mine, even though my brothers were trying to build a wall between us with their bodies. The minute he caught sight of me his face moved from grim to concerned. “What happened to you?”

  “You happened to her,” Jerry said.

  Griffin attempted to push his way between Braden and Redmond to get to me. “What are you guys doing? Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine,” Redmond growled. “No thanks to you.”

  Griffin looked momentarily taken aback. “What’s going on here?”

  “Well, Detective Dinglefritz, my sister was attacked outside her condominium last night,” Aidan said.

  “By one of those things? One of those things from Summer’s Dream?”

  “It’s called a wraith,” I said.

  “And she was attacked by two of them,” Aidan said. “If I hadn’t been there, she would be dead.”

  “We all know you’re a hero,” Braden deadpanned. “This isn’t about you, though.”

  “Are you all right?” Griffin ignored my brothers.

  Concern was evident on his face, but I wasn’t feeling overly conciliatory. “I survived.”

  “Her jacket was ruined,” Jerry said.

  Redmond hit him in the arm. “You’re not helping. Go sit down.”

  Jerry huffed. “Everyone in this family is mean, especially today.”

  “That’s what happens when our sister is almost killed twice in two days,” Cillian
said.

  “And it’s all Detective Dinglefritz’s fault,” Aidan grumbled.

  “How is it my fault? And why are you calling me that?”

  “It seems to me you’ve earned it,” Dad said, speaking for the first time since Griffin walked into the room. His voice was so low it bordered on evil. I had to fight the urge to shudder.

  “Listen,” Griffin said. “I understand you’re all worried that I’m going to spill your big family secret. I’m not going to.”

  “Don’t act like it’s because you’re doing us some big favor,” Braden said. “You’re doing it because no one would believe you.”

  “You’re right,” Griffin conceded. “I wouldn’t tell even if that wasn’t the case, though. I promise.”

  “Forgive me if I find your promises empty,” Dad said.

  Griffin’s gaze bounced around the room, not settling on any one face for too long. “I think I’m missing something. Does anyone want to enlighten me?”

  Jerry’s hand shot up.

  Griffin sighed. “Jerry, do you want to enlighten me?”

  “Everyone knows you had sex with Aisling and then bolted the next morning,” he said. “They’re pissed.”

  Man, I wish I still had some of those happy pills from the first wraith attack about now.

  Griffin’s jaw tightened and he risked a look in my direction. “You told your father? Really?”

  “No,” I shook my head, beyond embarrassment at this point. “I told Jerry and Aidan. Aidan told the rest of my brothers and … here we are.”

  Griffin nodded his head, wrinkling his nose as he did. “Well, that makes perfect sense.”

  “Hey, it’s not my fault,” I said. “I was upset. Aidan is the one with the big mouth.”

  “Aidan is the one who saved you from being sucked dry by two wraiths on the front lawn last night,” Aidan reminded me. “Detective Dinglefritz here is the reason you were out pacing the front lawn, putting yourself in danger.”

  “Thanks, I forgot.”

  I’m going to wake up any second now. I just know it. This dream is even worse than the one where Great White sharks are living under my carpet trying to eat me.