by Brux, Boone
The lack of conversation didn’t seem to bother him one bit and when the door slid open, depositing us in the bathroom on the fifth floor of the Expo Center, he simply bowed and then disappeared.
“Say, that’s pretty handy,” Estelle said. The ghost perched on the edge of the sink, smoking a cigarette. “Then again, I guess grim reapers got to travel fast, like Santa Claus.”
“Something like that,” I said. “Estelle, this is my friend Mara. She’s helping me with the overpopulation problem.”
The ghost took a long drag on her cigarette and then blew out, sending a cloud of spectral smoke at me. “How’s that going?”
“Uhh, it’s going.” I inhaled, savoring the smell, and then released my breath. “We should start seeing some progress tonight.”
“Well, we’ll just wait here until you give us the heave-ho.”
“Us?” I looked around but didn’t see any other spirits.
“A couple of my high school buddies popped in.” She took another puff. “They’re checking out the casino. Never been to Vegas before.”
“Lucky them. Okay, I’ll keep you posted on things.” I walked to the door and rested my hand on the handle. “You need anything?”
“Nope.” Estelle patted the pack of cigarettes in her pocket. “I’m good.”
“It was nice meeting you, Estelle,” Mara said.
“A pleasure.”
We exited the bathroom onto an empty hall. “If what Tabris said is true, it should still be around one o’clock.” I pressed my hand to my stomach. “I’m starving.”
“Me, too.” Mara locked her arm through mine. “Let’s grab a bite and then go shopping.”
“Shopping for what?” My reserve savings had been eaten up fixing our old heater. “I’ve got about a hundred dollars total.”
“Wrong.” Mara pulled me to a stop. “You won sixteen hundred dollars about…” She held up her bare wrist, as if looking at the time. “An hour and a half ago.”
I’d completely forgotten about the money. Our Blazing Sevens adventure seemed like it happened days ago. Maybe it had. Since time didn’t exist outside the physical plane, we could have been at the river for a month.
“That’s right.” I squeezed her arm. “Thanks to you.” A contented sigh flowed from me. “Still, I can’t spend too much. So, what are we shopping for?”
“It’s just my opinion,” Mara said, “but if we’re going to ferry souls, we each need killer outfits.”
Fashion wasn’t my strong suit. “What did you have in mind?”
“For me, I’m thinking of something in red leather, pants, boots, maybe a corset vest.”
“If anybody could pull off that outfit, it’s you, Mara.” I laid hand against my chest. “I, on the other hand, have no desire to jam all this lusciousness into anything designed to make me sweat or cut off circulation to valuable parts of my body.”
“Of course not.” She released her hold on my arm. “Comfort first, always. We’ll find your style and you’ll love it.”
I doubted that but thought it best not to contradict her. We chowed a couple of burgers at the fast food place in the food court, and then headed to the Grand Canal shops. Expensive stores were housed in a façade reminiscent of Venice. In the center meandered a blue river, complete with costumed gondoliers, who worked large paddles attached to black gondolas. I’d probably never get to Italy, but it was fun and easy to imagine I actually was there.
Surprisingly, I found the perfect outfit in the first store we went into. I stepped out of the dressing room and held my arms out, doing a full turn. “How do I look?”
“Fantastic.” Mara circled me, stopping to run her hand down the black-on-black skull print skinny jeans. “I should get a pair of these.”
I lifted the hem of my black long-sleeved T-shirt and hooked my thumb inside the waistband. “They’ve got some stretch.” I dropped the shirt and squatted. “I could even wear these—” Catching the eye of the sales attendant, I changed reaping to, “—to work.”
“And the boots?” Mara pointed to my feet. “Comfy?”
“So comfy.” I did a jumping jack. “And I love the wedge heel. Sexy and sensible.”
Mara turned to the hovering attendant. “Do you have a jacket? Something that tapers in at the waist and is longer? Nothing boxy.”
“Let me check.” The sales clerk bounced out of the dressing area and returned less than a minute later. “How about this?”
“Love, love, love,” Mara said, taking the black and gray pinstriped sweater duster from her. “It’s so classy.”
The fit was perfect and I had to admit, I looked amazing. “This works.”
“You look hot. If I were a lesbian I’d totally go for you,” Mara said.
“I am a lesbian,” the clerk chimed in, “and ditto to what she said.”
“How can I not buy this outfit after praise like that?” I fingered the price tag and choked. “Three hundred dollars for the sweater? Holy crap.” Finding each price tag, I quickly tallied the total. “Seven hundred and fifty dollars.”
“Don’t forget the boots,” said the clerk. “They’re three-fifty.”
My mouth dropped open. The most I’d ever paid for any item of clothing was two hundred dollars for snow boots. Those, at least, had been useful. This was purely for fun.
“We’ll take it,” Mara said, reaching over and pushing my mouth closed.
“Excellent.” The clerk held the dressing room door open. “I’ll package everything and ring you up when you’re ready.”
“Hold on, I need to think about this.” I stepped away from the clerk in case she had any crazy notions of helping me undress. “I can’t spend that kind of money on myself.” Even though we were in a high-end store, I hadn’t realized just how high-end. “I’ve got bills to pay and a thousand dollars goes a long way.”
“We’ll be out in a minute,” Mara said to the clerk, dismissing her. When alone, she turned to me. “There’s more where that came from.”
“What? Money?”
“Yes.” She grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me toward the dressing room. “So please, do something nice for yourself and buy this outfit.”
“I don’t feel right about cheating the slots again, Mara.” I hooked my fingers on the door and peered over the top at her. “Not because I’m holier than thou, but because it will catch up with me. Somehow, karma will pay me back.”
“Fine.” She shooed me with her fingers. “We’ll ask Tabris to cover it. After all, we’re working for GRS. The least they can do is buy us adequate clothing for the job.”
“Do you think they will?” I kicked off the fabulous boots and peeled the skull pants to my ankles. The outfit really was perfect. “What if they don’t?”
“I guarantee they will.”
Mara’s promise lacked conviction. A moral dilemma raged inside me. I knew I could buy the clothes and somebody would reimburse me. The question was who—GRS or Mara? If Mara, then where would she get the money? My guess was from a slot machine. The answer had come full circle, back to cheating the casino. I weighed the difference between me personally doing the gambling versus accepting money and not asking questions. My moral compass rocked back and forth, refusing to point true.
I gathered the clothes, hugging them for a second, and then held them out the door. “I’m going to Hell.”
“Some of us have already been there.” She gathered the clothes. “At least you’re in good company.”
Instead of the red leather corset Mara had wanted, she chose a more subdued ensemble, limiting the red leather to the pants. She paired them with a flowy black tunic that would have looked like a lampshade on me, and black-spiked-heeled-ankle boots. Tonight we would both be sexy and sensible.
After hitting a couple of stores for accessories, we went to our rooms to get ready for the evening. I pulled out my keycard and froze mid-swipe. Music filtered from inside my room. Elvis? I shoved the card in the lock and pushed open the door.
Tandy bounced up and down on the bed, dancing in circles. Five ghostly Elvis impersonators stood around the bed, performing iconic pelvic thrusts and hip moves, while belting out Hound Dog.
I dropped my purse and bags on the floor next to the bathroom, and edged into the room. “What’s going on?”
“Hey, Lisa.” Tandy spun, bounced, and pivoted again. “Meet my new friends. Elvises, my roommate Lisa.”
The closest Elvis moved toward me, shaking his hips. His white jumpsuit stretched tight across his belly, working overtime to keep him contained. He lifted my hand and bent to kiss my knuckles. A chill rippled up my arm. “Nice to meet you, pretty lady.”
“Hi.” I tugged my hand free. Unfortunately, it seemed the no-chill zone was limited to the riverbank. “New friends?” No doubt these guys were more regurgitated souls. “How long have you men been back?”
Tandy stopped bouncing. “They popped into Big C’s suite about three hours ago and we decided to bring the party down here.”
“Great.” I would have protested, but what was the point? Convincing Tandy to vacate the room had proven fruitless so far. I doubted she’d change her mind. If the party still raged when we got back from ferrying souls, then I’d put my foot down. I slipped behind a young, skinny Elvis and opened the dresser drawer, pulling out fresh undies and my black bra. “I’m going to take a shower.” Making sure not to touch any of the spirits, I eased out and backed to the bathroom. “I don’t care if you stay but this—” I pointed to the bathroom. “—is a no ghost zone. Got it?”
The group started singing again and Tandy shot me two thumbs-up before breaking into hip swivels. I’d have to trust that they’d keep their word and let me shower in peace. I grabbed my purse and bags, hauling them into the bathroom with me, and locked the door. Not that locks would keep them out, but it made me feel better.
After showering, I took extra time applying my rarely used makeup. I attempted a balance between natural and whore paint, and think I nailed it. Before doing my hair, I dressed. Thankfully, the clothes looked just as good in the bathroom as they had in the store. Another few minutes on my hair and I was ready. I unlocked the door and strode into the room, hoping to get Tandy’s opinion, but the ghosts were gone. Dang, the one time I wanted to show off a little and there was no one to model for.
“I look good.” The doors of the closet were full-length mirrors and gave me a view of the entire scope of my outfit. It had been a long time since I’d felt anything close to sexy. I wondered what Nate would think about my look. Would he even notice? “Who cares? I like it.”
I pulled my phone out of my purse and turned it on. Text notifications pinged one after the other, all from Nate. I scrolled through. The last message he’d sent said we were to meet in the lobby in fifteen minutes.
The rest of the messages were varying degrees of “Where are you?” and “Where have you been?”
“How about a ‘please’ or ‘can you be ready?’” I mumbled.
I replied with, “On my way” and dropped the phone back in my purse. Another message dinged but I ignored it. As I closed the door, my phone dinged again. For crying out loud, the man needed to learn patience. I strolled to the elevator, choosing not to reply.
At the tenth floor, my phone erupted in my purse, the theme song from The Addams Family blaring. I fumbled inside and pulled it out. It was Nate. The elevator settled and the doors slid open. He stood with his back to me, the phone pressed to his ear.
I marched over to him and stopped. “What?”
He jerked around and clicked off his phone. “I’ve been texting you all day. Why didn’t you answer?”
“Because you’re not the boss of me, nor are you my husband or father.” I propped my hand on my hip. “Besides, I did answer. I just texted you that I was on my way down.”
“Yeah, five hours after I first messaged you.” He threaded his fingers through his hair and gave me his familiar scowl. “I was concerned something had happened.”
“Like what? I was off gambling instead of learning ten ways to deal with a difficult client?”
His frown deepened. “No, about what Tabris wanted.”
Crap, I’d forgotten the last time Nate had seen me was just before our meeting with the GRS board of directors and Tabris. I took for granted Nate usually knew more about any given situation than I did. Him being in the dark about me ferrying the souls hadn’t registered. Plus, Mara and I had already put in a full day, but to him the night was still early. Time ran together and keeping straight the physical plane hours and time spent at the ferry might be more complicated than I originally thought.
“Oh, Tabris, right.” Luckily, Mara and I had come up with an explanation while shopping. “He wanted to get things settled with Hal.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.” I fidgeted with the strap of my purse. “The GRS board of directors were there to make sure he complied.”
Nate eyed me. I could tell his keen powers of deduction smelled a lie, or more like a half-truth. “Hal agreed? Just like that?”
If I said yes he’d know I was lying or keeping something from him. “Not exactly.” I glanced around, making sure we weren’t overheard. “Nyx was there.”
Though only for a few seconds, I’d rendered Nate Cramer speechless. His eyes rounded to the size of Chucky Cheese tokens, narrowed, and then widened again. “What did she… How… You actually saw her?”
“And held her hand.” I regretted the comment immediately. There was a thin line between sounding believable and revealing too much. “She forced Hal into agreeing and made him promise not to hurt me.”
Again, Nate didn’t speak, taking in the information. “Wow, Carron, that’s…” He shook his head. “I’m not sure what that is.”
“Tell me about it.” Some of the tension eased from my shoulder. As a person Nate could be a bit of a dickwad, but as a partner he was solid. It felt good, and right, to tell him as much as I could about our meeting. “I will say, I’m pretty sure Hal will keep his word. Nyx is one scary lady.”
“That’s what I’ve heard.” He reached out and gently gripped my shoulder, his gaze locking with mine. “Are you sure you’re all right? Nothing else happened?”
Whenever Nate showed genuine concern it knocked me off balance. Sarcasm and bantering were much easier to deal with. I mustered my most reassuring smile. “I’m fine. The whole meeting took about fifteen minutes.”
His hand slid from me. “Then what did you do?”
I held out my arms and performed my dressing room turn. “Mara and I went shopping. Do you like?”
His eyes tracked down my body, lingered on my breasts a few seconds longer than was polite, then widened when he realized the pattern on my pants were skulls, dipped to my feet, and jumped back to my face. “It very reaperesque.” He gave a single nod. “You clean up real nice, Carron.”
“I told her the same thing,” Mara said, sauntering toward us, her spiked heels clicking against the polished floor. “Worth every penny.”
She’d created an intricate twist with her hair that was pinned high at the back of her head, leaving the ends to form a messy, but stylish spray of shiny red strands. Her makeup was sultry but not slutty. The woman—demon—was physical perfection, and I had to wonder if this human body was her original form. I’d already insulted her with my succubus question. No way was I asking if she had a tail and horns.
“You look beautiful, too,” I said. “Love those pants—on you.”
“Hey, guys,” Cam said, stopping next to Nate.
Wow, he was hot. It was probably blasphemy to entertain naughty notions about him, but I couldn’t help it. He was everything I’d imagine an archangel to be, golden and gorgeous. I bet he was smooth and muscular all over. No back hair. He probably never farted or scratched his junk. At least not in public, or in my fantasy, around me. I smiled—and maybe gave a dreamy sigh—because Mara arched a questioning, and rather sarcastic brow at me.
“Is it just me,�
�� Cam continued, “or are there a lot more spirits now than there was this afternoon?”
We all turned and surveyed the casino. They were everywhere, meandering along the walkway, playing the slots, even a couple sitting on the edge of a chandelier.
“Whoa, that’s a lot of ghosts.” I pointed to a group of people walking behind the strolling ghosts. “Reapers.”
“I wonder if they’re going to try and reap them,” Mara said.
“They might get them in the elevator.” Nate shook his head. “But they’ll pop right back up here.”
“We need to find Charon.” Cam placed his hand against Nate and my back, as if rallying the troops. Tingles and warmth spread across my skin where he touched. I could have stood like that all night. “As quickly as possible.”
“Yeah we do.” I smiled up at him.
Nate reached across Cam and grabbed my wrist. “Lisa and I will check out the high roller area.” He tugged me to his side. “It’s better if we act like couples. Two beautiful women might draw too much unwanted attention.”
My irritation at being led around like a dog vanished with his compliment. He might have been right, but seriously, like Cam and Mara together wouldn’t draw too much attention. I rolled my eyes and pulled my arm out of his grasp. “I’ve got my phone. Text me if you find anything.”
“Sounds good,” Cam said.
Mara gave me a pointed stare and a knowing smile before following Cam. On this trip I had two partners: Nate for reaping and Mara for the covert operations—and shopping. We wound our way through the casino, heading toward the high-stakes table. Twice, ghosts suddenly appeared in our path, at first confused by their surroundings, and then floated away.
“We need to find Charon.” Nate reached for my hand again and guided me around the spirit. “I doubt Vegas is the only city getting an influx of ghosts.”
“For sure.” My answer made me sound like a valley girl, but his need to keep touching me made it difficult to concentrate. By nature, he was a protector, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t had my share of encounters with the supernatural. Sometimes it seemed he still didn’t think I could do the job. “Let’s head over there.” Again, I pulled my hand from his and moved in front of him. “There’s a crowd at that far table.”