The Incredible Misadventures of Boo and the Boy Blunder

by Maggie Shayne

  “Easy.”

  “If he puts a finger on her, I’m cutting off his head.”

  “We’ll do that anyway.”

  “Okay,” he said, comforted.

  Martigan pointed, and the child nodded warily. He said something—Boo couldn’t pick it up over the murmuring of the crowd—and the girl laughed and nodded again, more relaxed.

  “Prick. Prick. Prick.”

  “Don’t tell me what he’s saying to her, I don’t even want to know.”

  Martigan gestured, and the girl followed his hands. He caught her chin, gently forcing her to look back at him, and spoke again.

  Gregory twitched. “Easy,” Boo said.

  The child nodded yet again, much more slowly this time, and even from a distance Boo could see her eyes had gone glassy. It occurred to her that Gregory had never tried to pull any vampire mind tricks on her.

  Probably he doesn’t dare.

  And maybe he wouldn’t do that to take advantage. Just for someone’s own good, like Eddie.

  And maybe you should keep your mind on business, dumbass.

  “Okay,” she said, and they followed Martigan and the child through the crowd and into Public Gardens.

  “We’re too far away.”

  “We’re fine.”

  “He could hurt her before we get to her.”

  “You can get to her in time.”

  His lips thinned. “I appreciate your confidence, but…”

  “Gregory, I do this for a living, okay? Trust me. Cripes, you’re a nervous wreck.”

  “It’s just…she’s so little.”

  “It’ll be fine.” There were fewer and fewer people in the park, just the occasional couple leaning against a tree, talking softly. Martigan had a hand on the child’s shoulder and was leading her onto a deserted path.

  “Ready?”

  “So ready.”

  Gregory went left, and Boo hurried forward, dropping her hand into her bag. “Excuse me?” she called, her voice high and sweet. “We’re looking for our little girl? Jenny? Is that you?”

  Martigan turned, his hand tightening on the child’s shoulder. He was relaxed, smiling. “Sorry, this isn’t her.” He got a good look at Boo as she got closer and the smile faded. “You look—kind of familiar. You—”

  “I’m too old for you,” she said sweetly. “Why don’t you let go of the kid before something unbelievably awful happens to you?”

  He showed his teeth, and the girl yelped as his hand clamped down, but her dreamy expression didn’t change. “You’re Ghost.”

  “Remind me to get a wig.”

  “Come a step closer, and I’ll unzip her like a bass.”

  “Oh, John.” She smiled. “You’ll do that anyway.” Then the stake burst from his chest, and Gregory was there, yanking the girl away, stepping back as Martigan thudded to the ground. Boo watched the killer’s eyes go as glassy as the girl’s, cloud over, die.

  “It’s the little things in life that make it all worthwhile,” she said, and took the child’s hand.

  CHAPTER

  17

  “We make a good team.”

  “Screw that.” She noticed he had tightened up—she could feel it in the arm against her shoulders—and clarified. “We make a great team.”

  “We do, don’t we? That piece of shit never knew what hit him.”

  “All part of the plan.” She was getting out her keys; an hour had passed, and they had seen the child safely back to her group. Mercifully, the little girl remembered nothing.

  “Scumbag,” Gregory said. “It was too quick for him.”

  “It’s over for him, and that’s the important thing.” She swung open the door, and they beheld an enraged, disheveled Eddie, who had clearly been on the way out. Gregory’s arm slid off her shoulders, but Eddie was too puffed with outrageous indignation to notice.

  “You guys suck! You sucker-punched me and you let him! Bad!” He shook his finger at them. “Very very bad!”

  “We just didn’t want you to get hurt,” Gregory tried to explain.

  “Yeah, dumb shit, we would have felt all awful inside if something had happened to you. Besides, you would have cramped our style.”

  “Oooh, I like that,” Gregory said, kissing her ear. “‘Our’ style.”

  “Hey, hey. You’re supposed to be my deep dark secret, remember?”

  “Sorry, I forgot.” He was actually nibbling on her ear now, and she was laughing and trying to shut the door and fending him off at the same time.

  “Sure you did. Big undead jerk.”

  “What the hell?” Eddie gasped. “What did I miss?” He looked around wildly. “How long have I been out? What month is it?”

  “You were out long enough,” she said, and put her arms around Gregory, and kissed him.

  “Not such a secret anymore?” he asked, kissing her back.

  “Eh, it’s just the Boy Blunder. If he blabs, I can always kill him.”

  Eddie’s reaction was best left to the imagination.

  MaryJanice Davidson is the bestselling author of several books, most recently Undead and Unwelcome, Undead and Unworthy, Dead Over Heels, and Fish Out of Water. With her husband, Anthony Alongi, she also writes a series featuring a teen were-dragon named Jennifer Scales. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two children and is currently working on her next book. Visit her at www.maryjanicedavidson.net or e-mail her at maryjanice@maryjanicedavidson.net.