“Fuck!” Cade paced. “Angelica is going to rip me a new one for this.”
“Will you stop worrying about yourself and tell me why I suddenly feel like I’ve been leashed?”
His hand was in his hair, and his lips were in a stark line. “Not leashed, tethered.” He paced again. “Your former boss anchored himself to you the same way Harry was anchored to that paper-knife, and Esther to her atomizer.”
I moved away from Alistair like he carried a plague. “Do something! I cannot be joined at the hip with him for eternity.” My tongue tasted like metal, and I realized it was blood from where I bit it.
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, Lou. I’ve never seen this happen, but I did learn about it. It’s very rare.”
“What now? Is Alistair my new shadow? Does he follow me everywhere? Bathroom? Bedroom? Or do I get him his own ghost box like the others, and let him out to stretch his ectoplasm from time to time?”
Alistair snort-laughed at that.
“I’m glad you two are having a good time with this, because I haven’t a clue.” Cade was at a loss. “We really need to get to Memento Mori.”
I sat on the bottom step in the foyer. My phone buzzed with a text, and I pulled it from my pocket.
“That’s got to be Angelica,” Cade supposed. “She has uncanny timing.”
I didn’t look up as I scrolled through my messages. “She’s the Angel of Death. Uncanny comes with the territory.”
“What does she say? Should we wait for her, or grab a cab uptown?”
“Stop. It’s not Angelica. Thea and Marigold were shaken up after Alistair’s accident. I invited them to come here so they wouldn’t be alone.” I gestured with my phone. “Thea wants to know what’s a good time.”
Cade was adamant. “Cancel. Taking care of business needs to take precedence this evening.”
“No.”
He blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“No. Simple word. Two letters.” Clicking off my phone, I put it on the step beside me. “It means Thea and Marigold are coming over to process the death of their boss from an accident that happened in front of their eyes. End of sentence.”
“Louisa.”
I wasn’t hearing it. “Look. This brownstone is a fortress. Impenetrable by reapers. Outside of Memento Mori, there isn’t a safer place for Alistair to stay. Attic bats, optional.”
The ghost’s head jerked around at that, and the spooky neck twist was every bit Disney’s Haunted Mansion.
I grinned for the first time since I stood on the library steps trying to decide whether or not to call Marcus.
“I’m kidding, Alibabaganoush. You can haunt one of the third-floor guest rooms. Do whatever ghosts do at night. Float around. Practice hovering over beds. Walk through walls.”
Alistair’s snooty grin was back. “You sound almost jealous, Ms. Jericho.”
“That’s the spirit.” I snorted. “Pun intended.”
“Hey, don’t I get a say in this?” Cade interrupted the lighthearted moment. “I’m the one supposed to be in charge here.”
I picked up my phone from the step and then got to my feet. “Not this time, handsome. I promise to defer to you on all things shade-related after tonight. My friends need this, and I need to do this for them.” Putting my phone in my pocket, I took Cade by the hand. “And isn’t there a sandwich you need to finish?”
“Why do I have a sinking feeling you are going to make even the simplest things difficult?”
Alistair glided up the steps toward the third floor. “Oh, she will. You can count on that.”
“Very funny, ghost boy,” I called up the stairs. “And don’t get any ideas about scaring Thea and Goldie, or I will make good on my ghost box idea.”
Cade and I stood in the kitchen alone. He ate, and I opened the fridge for something cold to drink. I considered the open bottle of merlot, but decided on raspberry iced tea instead. Our bickering felt like angry foreplay, and wine would only find me stalking the light under his bedroom door later tonight.
“Uhm…” I poured us each a glass of iced tea. “What are we going to do about Esther? We promised we’d help her like we did Harry.”
He wiped his mouth on a paper napkin, and I couldn’t believe half that enormous sandwich was already gone.
“We will,” he replied, reaching for his glass of tea. “We can take the ghost box with us to Memento Mori tomorrow. Like you said, it’s as safe as kittens, and the Department of Audits is one floor down from Angelica’s office. Esther can start on her audit as soon as she’s freed.”
“This tether…” I watched him polish off the rest of his triple-decker hero. “Is it really unbreakable?”
He nodded. “Alistair’s bound until he completes his journey, or if a reaper gets to him first.”
“Don’t say that.”
He put the last bit of his sandwich down, giving me his full attention. “There’s no reason for you to fear this, Louisa. You’ll be okay. If things go south, the bond will sever the moment Alistair decides to leave his audit.”
“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried I don’t know what to do to help him with this journey. Hell, I haven’t finished discharging my level one assignment.”
My phone buzzed again before he could comment, but when I checked my notifications it wasn’t Thea. Caller I.D. said Long Island University. It had to be the rare books collection because Marcus’s number would come up with his name listed.
I glanced at the preview and had to stifle a grin. The job was mine if I wanted it. Still, the urge to squeal was short-lived. This had Marcus written all over it. All because I refused to dance to his tune this afternoon. Even so, I wanted to hear what the library director had to say. What could it hurt, right?
“Bad news?” Cade asked.
I hadn’t realized I was frowning. I shook my head, clicking my phone off. “Not bad, exactly. I applied for a job at a university library awhile back. That was their human resources. They offered me the position.”
“That’s great! Lower level Keepers are allowed to work outside M&M, so there’s no reason to stress. You can take the job if you want.”
I wondered if he’d say the same if he knew my ex had something to do with the offer. Then again, maybe I was the only one feeling attracted here.
The doorbell rang, ending my musing. “That’ll be Thea and Marigold,” I said, watching him put his plate in the sink. “You’re welcome to join us. Or if the thought of that much estrogen gives you the willies, you can head upstairs. No pressure.”
He gave me a look that made all thought of Thea and Goldie leave my head. Walking from the sink, he backed me toward the kitchen island, stopping when the top of my butt hit the granite.
“I have no problem with estrogen, or any other feminine scent you choose to send my way.”
Our bodies were close enough to trade heat without touching, and I stayed silent and stock still, not wanting to ruin the moment.
He stepped back, but his gaze lingered for longer than necessary. “I’ll be upstairs. If you want me.”
Cade left, and I exhaled the breath I was holding. For two people who didn’t swap a single inch of skin, that was the hottest moment I’d had in forever. My body tingled with delicious tension, and I stifled a silly, adolescent grin.
Was I crushing on a semi-immortal, century-old death guide who gave mister Meet Joe Black a run for his money?
Hell yes.
Was I the only one attracted?
Didn’t look that way.
Chapter Fifteen
“WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?” Thea asked, smoothing raindrops from her springy hair. “I felt like a Jehovah’s Witness loitering on your stoop.”
“Where’s Marigold?” I asked, closing the door behind her.
“She went to Ivy’s in New Jersey. I doubt she’ll be coming back to the library any time soon. If at all.”
“Why? Alistair’s accident had nothing to do with her.”
“It
’s not that. The accident made her realize life is fleeting. Her daughter is usually the one who visits, but you know how strained things have been between them for the past six months. Goldie staying with Ivy after this is a good thing.”
Guilt slashed that I hadn’t considered that. Just another consequence of having no family. “As long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters,” I added. “Jersey isn’t that far, and I’m sure we’ll visit back and forth.”
Thea hung up her damp jacket and then followed me into the kitchen, and I realized then I forgot to order the food as promised.
“Do you still want to eat in? We could head to the Golden Dragon and make a night of it, instead. They have fun umbrella drinks and aren’t stingy with bar snacks.”
Thea pulled open my pantry, giving the shelves a onceover. “I’m not really that hungry. Death will do that to a person.” She looked over her shoulder with a wink. “Well, a regular person, anyway.”
“Oh no. You did not just go there.”
She turned, tapping her upper lip. “Well, you’re certainly better stocked than the last time I was here. So what would make your cupboards go from sad, middle-aged-and-single, to sinfully stocked, in just a few days?”
Closing the pantry door, she raised an eyebrow at me. “He’s here. Your Keeper dude.”
“Hush!” I waved her decibels down. “He’s upstairs. And he’s not the only one.”
Her eyes bugged. “Grrrl! You’re having a threesome?”
“No! It’s Alistair.” I made a face. “He’s upstairs as well. Or his ghost is, anyway.”
Thea stalked right past me for the hallway, but I rushed after her, stopping her at the base of the steps.
“Do not go up there! I warned Alistair to stay put, so I don’t need you hunting up the haunted.”
“I’m not! I’m trying to sense his vibrations the way I did that night on the roof.”
I pulled on her arm, trying to tug her back to the kitchen without much success. “It wasn’t Alistair on my roof the other night.”
“I know that. I meant try and sense him the same way I did the others.” She took a step back and lifted her hands, and I used that small shift in momentum to get her away from the stairs.
“Lou! When do I get chances like these? Let go.”
“Ssh! You seem to be chock full of chances every time you step foot in my house. You need to behave. Alistair is freaking out enough without Thea the Curious Cat adding to it.”
That got her attention because she followed me back to the kitchen, no tugging required.
“What do you mean he’s freaking out? Why isn’t his spirit at rest?” She frowned. “Did you mess with his afterlife? I know you can’t stand the little putz, but if you did something—”
“How could you even think that?” I had the bottle of merlot halfway out of the fridge when I cut her off mid-accusation. “I’m a Keeper, Thea. We don’t mess spirits around. We protect them. Alistair’s here because he sort of followed me home.”
“He’s not a puppy, Louisa. You can’t keep him like a stray. He has to move on to the light.”
I closed the fridge with my hip. “Actually, he doesn’t. That’s not the way it works.”
“Are you saying he’s stuck here?”
Putting the bottle on the island counter, I exhaled, not sure I wanted to open that can of worms. “It’s complicated.”
I ignored the frown on Thea’s face, and reached for a single wine glass from my drainboard.”
“You’re not drinking?”
“Nope. I need to keep myself sharp. Alistair has to start his journey tomorrow, and I have to guide him.”
“Didn’t you say that wasn’t your job?”
I topped off my iced tea with Thea’s eyes on me. “It’s not, but things took a sharp left turn this afternoon.” I pushed the merlot toward her, hoping she’d drop the subject. “Don’t you want to know how my meeting with Marcus went?”
“Wait. You called him?” The cork’s audible pop punctuated her surprise. “Wow, are there any more shockers waiting for you to tell me?”
“Remember the job I threw in Alistair’s face the day I quit?”
She nodded, pouring her wine.
“Marcus recommended me for the position.”
“Yeah, right. Pull my left leg with that one. It’s a little shorter than the right.”
“I’m serious. I don’t know what to make of it, but yeah.” I filled her in on what happened, watching her process everything I said.
The suspicious set to her frown furrowed deeper by the second, until she stopped me mid-sentence. “Give me a break, Louisa. You don’t really believe that leopard changed his spots.”
“No.”
“Good. Because I was starting to worry. Marcus Jericho is a player. First, last and always. He’s working you, girl. He wants something, and yeah, it might be you, or it might be something else and you’re the means to an end.”
“I know, but…”
She shook her head. “You forced yourself to hope way too hard and way too long with that boy. He may have turned over a new leaf, but it was not for you, or because of you. My gut twisted the whole time you talked, and it only does that when it senses bullshit.”
My lips pushed up on one side, but my smirk wasn’t because I didn’t believe her, or because I thought she was full of it. It was because I knew she loved me.
“I think you’re a tad prejudice.” I squinted, holding my thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “One hundred percent right, but a tad prejudice.”
Thea reached across the countertop for my hand. “Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page. I didn’t hex Marcus when you two broke up, but I will if he messes with you now.”
“I’m still going to meet with the LIU library director. I want to hear what he has to say.”
Thea’s breath hitched abruptly, and her jaw went slack, as if something struck her in the chest and knocked the wind from her lungs.
“T!” I rushed around the edge of the counter. The color had drained from her cheeks, and her eyes wouldn’t focus. “Oh my God!”
I fumbled for my phone, not sure if I should call 911 or call for Cade. “Hang on, T. I’m calling for help.”
She coughed, finally dragging in a rough breath. “I’m okay, Louisa. Don’t fuss. Just get me a glass of water.”
I filled a glass from the tap and watched as she drained it in one gulp. “You still look a little ashen. Maybe we should get you to a doctor.”
She swallowed, shaking her head. “I’m fine.” Her eyes found mine, and the look on her face scared me. “But you’re not.”
“I’m right here, sweetie, and I’m okay.” Maybe Thea wasn’t as lucid as I thought, and really needed the E.R.
She swiveled on the barstool, and gripped both my hands. “Listen to me! You’re not okay. Or you won’t be. I caught a glimpse of what’s waiting. It’s dark and it’s ravenous, and it wants what you have.”
I stared at her openmouthed. “You mean Alistair? He’s not mine, Thea. I’m just helping him.”
“I feel so strange.” Her chin dropped to her chest. “I can’t focus and I’m so tired.”
“I think maybe we should get you to that doctor.” I didn’t know what to think. Thea wasn’t acting like Thea, and it was freaking me out.
Her head jerked up, and her grip on my hands tightened. Thea’s dark eyes were now a milky blue, and I knew then. Thea was no longer Thea.
“She feeds on fear, Louie Belle. Don’t help her.”
Air caught in my throat for a moment, but I exhaled, purposely keeping each breath even. “Emmie?” No one else called me Louie Belle.
She nodded. “Apologize to your friend for me, but I had to warn you. You have to be strong, Lou. Don’t give her what she wants.”
“Is this about Alistair?”
“You’re too smart for that. Think like a Keeper.”
I looked through the kitchen door to the base of the steps leading upstairs.
/> “Cade?”
She winced, unable to answer.
“Emmie?”
Her breath hitched the same as Thea’s just moments before. “She watches, and she’s not alone. Be careful whom you trust.”
“I don’t understand.”
The grip on my hands went slack, and so did Thea’s body. I caught her under her arms before she hit the floor, and she came to with a shudder.
“What the hell was in that water?” She blinked, squinching her eyes
I wasn’t about to tell her that her clairvoyant mind had been hijacked by my dead friend.
“It wasn’t the water. One minute you were short of breath, and the next you were about to faceplant my floor.”
She ran the back of her hand over her forehead. “Thanks for catching me, I guess.”
“Maybe you should lie down. I’ve more than enough bedrooms if you want to crash.”
She shook her head. “I appreciate the offer, but I think I better head home. I think the stress of the day finally hit big time.”
I nodded, not wanting to contradict her convenient two plus two, even if I knew the answer didn’t add up to the expected four.
“If you won’t stay, then let me order an uber. I don’t want you walking ten blocks.”
Thea didn’t argue, and when the car arrived at the curb, I helped her down the stairs and into the rear passenger seat. After Emmie’s warning, I needed to satisfy myself the uber driver didn’t trigger a hot flash.
Watching the car pull down the street, I caught the weight of eyes watching from somewhere nearby.
Be careful whom you trust.
Had Emmie truly hijacked Thea’s head, or did someone want me to believe that?
It wasn’t like Em to be cryptic. Then again, she was pretty evasive in the mirror that one night.
I looked at the mark on my hand. It was the exact shape and size as the one on the ghost box and in my dream. It was a little more pronounced, even though I hadn’t completed an audit journey. Tethering with Alistair must have done that.
The mark was exactly as Cade described. Except for one detail. It mirrored his mark. Not replicated. Not matched. Mirrored. Maybe it was a trial period thing. Like a sorority pledge pin worn until initiation, and it would adjust once I signed on the dotted line.
Jeepers Reapers: There Goes My Midlife Crisis Page 12