Grim Reunion (Aisling Grimlock Book 4)

by Amanda M. Lee

  Anderson screeched, the sound ear splitting and almost feminine, and grabbed his crotch as he listed to the side. I didn’t give him a chance to run, instead grabbing the back of his hair and shoving him into the small foyer.

  “Where is Jerry?”

  “You bitch,” Anderson seethed, his eyes tearing up. “I’m going to split you in half.”

  I banged his head into the wall and raked my ragged fingernails down the side of his face until I drew blood. “I’m not messing with you. Where is Jerry?”

  “I killed him,” Anderson spat, jerking his head away from me. “I killed him and I liked it.”

  Aidan slammed his fist into Anderson’s face as the sound of footsteps on hardwood drew my attention to the hallway. Griffin and Dad stood there, their faces incredulous.

  “I thought you were going to give him the slow sell?” Dad asked, shaking his head. “This is not the plan.”

  “I did,” I replied. “I slowly slammed my knee into his nuts and then I slowly rammed his head into the wall.”

  “It was quite the sell,” Mom said dryly, lifting her eyebrows. “He says he killed Jerry.”

  “He didn’t kill Jerry,” I argued. “He wouldn’t do that. Jerry is his only bargaining chip. Where is he, you maggot?”

  Aidan shoved Anderson into the wall for good measure. None of us were in the mood to mess around. Instead of screaming, though, Anderson broke out in maniacal laughter, the sound chilling as it washed over me.

  “I killed that stupid faggot!” Anderson screeched.

  Aidan squared his shoulders and punched Anderson again, the sound of breaking bone filling the room as blood gushed from Anderson’s nose. This time, despite his bravado, Anderson whimpered. “How did you even find me?”

  “Angelina turned on you,” I answered. “You should’ve let her give you herpes. It would’ve been a better outcome than this.”

  “Where is Jerry?” Aidan was close to losing it. “If you’ve harmed one hair on his head, I’ll kill you.”

  “We’re going to kill him anyway,” Mom said, causing Anderson’s cheeks to flood with color. “How you go, John, is entirely up to you.”

  “You betrayed me,” John said. “You said you were on my side and then you turned on me. Everyone knows. All your precious wraiths … the others … they know you’re working with the enemy. You’re the enemy now, Lily.”

  “I was always the enemy, John,” Mom replied, unruffled. “You were simply too stupid to notice.”

  “We need to split up. You guys search the second floor and we’ll take the basement,” I said, gesturing toward the two brothers closest to me and pushing my way past Mom and Anderson as I strode through the house. “Someone needs to watch Anderson, because I’m nowhere near being done with him. I need to find Jerry first, though.”

  “I’ll watch him,” Mom said. “It would be my pleasure.”

  “The basement is this way,” Cillian called, opening a door and flicking a light switch. The basement looked like a dark hole from where we stood, but I wasn’t about to be dissuaded. Cillian grabbed my arm before I could rush downstairs. “Wait. I should go first.”

  “Don’t give me any of your stupid macho crap,” I said, pushing Cillian’s arm away. “He’s my Jerry. I’ll find him.” I hurried down the stairs. “Jerry?”

  The basement was mostly dark, the only illumination coming from a naked bulb at the base of the steps. I strained my ears for noise and my eyes for a hint of movement. There was … nothing.

  “Jerry?” I thought my heart would break. He had to be here. That’s when I heard it, a slight whimper from the corner on my left. I snapped my head in that direction and took a step before stilling. Jerry was there. I was sure of it. I also heard the unmistakable sound of hissing, and not like that of the dreaded snakes in Grimlock Manor’s basement, but more like the low hum associated with wraiths. At least one – probably more – was in the basement.

  “What are you doing?” Cillian asked, appearing behind me and causing me to jump. “Is he down here? I don’t see him.”

  I pointed toward the corner. “I heard crying.”

  “What are you waiting for?” Cillian moved toward the corner, but I grabbed his arm to stop him. “Aisling?”

  “There’s at least one wraith down here,” I whispered. “I think there’s probably more than one. I heard that hissing sound they make.”

  “We should get help,” Cillian said. “I … .”

  Jerry sobbed as the hissing started in earnest.

  “If you start screaming now, they’re going to attack. We both know it,” I said, pulling the knife from the sleeve of my hoodie. “Go upstairs and get help. I’ll go after Jerry.”

  “Aisling, you can’t do this alone,” Cillian murmured. “You heard Griffin. We’re all in this together.”

  “Then get help,” I shot back.

  I advanced on the corner, not bothering to look behind me to see whether Cillian did as I instructed. My spatial awareness wasn’t always great, but now I could feel the malevolent presence of at least three wraiths. I couldn’t see them, but I could sense them. I had no idea how.

  “I’m coming, Jerry. I’ll never leave you.”

  “Aisling,” Cillian called out to me, his hand on the stairway railing. “Wait just two seconds.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Son of a … .” I could hear the distress in Cillian’s voice. “Down here! Get down here now!”

  He was so loud I jolted, and that was when the wraiths attacked. They moved out from the shadows quickly, arms outstretched. I knew right away I was wrong about their numbers, because I counted five wraiths before the first was upon me.

  I didn’t give thought to what I was doing, lashing out with the blade and slashing it across the wraith’s throat. Cillian engaged with the next closest wraith, and I could hear feet pounding on steps as our backup arrived. I didn’t turn around, though, instead focusing on the task at hand.

  “Jerry?” Aidan yelled as he hit the basement.

  “I’m here.”

  Jerry’s voice was weak and thick with tears, but he was alive.

  “We’re coming, Jerry,” I said, slamming my knife into the injured wraith’s chest and yanking it back as the wraith frayed and turned to ash. “We’ll be right there.”

  Three more wraiths appeared out of the shadows in the opposite corner from where Jerry’s voice emanated, moving swiftly to intercept us.

  I scampered around one of them, letting Redmond take it on with his knife as Dad arced out with his sword and beheaded another, and moved to the corner. It was still too dark to make out Jerry or his features. “Jerry?”

  “Aisling?”

  Something about this was wrong.

  I dug in my pocket for my cell phone, tapping the flashlight app and holding it above my head so I could get a better look. The scene in the corner was enough to fill my heart with dread. Jerry was pressed against the wall, his hands wrapped around his body as he hugged himself. A wraith stood at either side, forcing Jerry to squeeze into a small space if he didn’t want to risk touching them. My best friend was a shaking and crying mess.

  “Hello, boys,” I drawled. “I’m really pissed off. Who wants to die first?”

  The wraith to my right moved and I didn’t hesitate, shoving my knife into its chest. The wraith screamed, its head snapping back and its body going rigid. I tried to pull the knife from its chest so I could fight the second one, but I clumsily lost my grip as the first turned to ash too quickly and the blade dropped to the floor.

  I could feel the approaching wraith closing the distance as I reached for the knife, dropping my phone on the floor in my haste. I missed the handle with my first grab, the wraith hissing as it drew nearer. I managed to grab it with my second attempt, and swiveled, using one fluid motion to stab the wraith with as much force as I could garner while bracing myself against the floor for leverage.

  This time, instead of turning to ash and blowing away, the wrai
th exploded in a flurry of dust. I was coated in wraith remains, causing me to wrinkle my nose when Jerry raced to me and threw his arms around my neck.

  “I knew you would come for me, Bug!”

  I forced my eyes to Jerry’s, expecting recrimination or blame, but he was so happy to see me I could do nothing but cry as I hugged him back. “I’ll always come for you.”

  “I know.”

  We embraced for a few seconds as the fight ended on the other side of the basement. Jerry was the first to pull away.

  “No offense, Bug, but I thought Aidan was going to swoop in and be my knight in shining armor,” Jerry said. “The good news for you is that you reminded me of Xena the way you kicked those things’ asses. I was very impressed.”

  “I would prefer being likened to Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” I said, my heart warming as I ran a finger over the side of his dirty face. He would freak when he saw how filthy he was. I almost looked forward to it. “Xena is good, too, though.”

  “Jerry!” Aidan caught sight of us when Dad found another light switch and flicked it, bringing the basement to life. Of course, it was so drab and there were empty wraith robes littering the dirty cement floor, I kind of wanted it to be dead again.

  “Aisling?” Griffin moved to my side and wiped his hand down my cheek to clear the ash. “Are you okay?”

  Jerry broke from his hug with Aidan and smiled. “She was like Xena.”

  “Very cute,” Griffin said, his tone somber. “You’re in a lot of trouble, though. You know that, right?”

  “Why is Bug in trouble?” Jerry asked, confused. “She saved me.”

  “We all saved you,” Aidan clarified. “Although … .” He broke off and looked at the wraith remains. “I have to admit, you were pretty impressive, Ais. You terrified even me, and I know your secret tickle spot.”

  “That came out kind of dirty,” Jerry said.

  “Yeah, I heard it when I said it.” Aidan was rueful as he slung his arm over Jerry’s shoulders. “If that’s the worst thing that happens to me today, though, I can live with it.”

  “I still don’t understand why Aisling is in trouble,” Jerry prodded. “She’s my hero.”

  “Aisling climbed out of her bedroom window without telling us, beat the crap out of Angelina for this location and was going to trade herself for you,” Cillian supplied, grinning when he saw the horrified look on Jerry’s face. “There’s no stopping our girl when she has to get to one of her men, huh?”

  “She has only one man,” Griffin corrected. “The rest of you are just … window dressing.”

  Dad snorted. “I think we’re about done here,” he said. “Where is Anderson?”

  “We left him upstairs with Mom,” Braden answered. “Someone had to watch him and we didn’t have time to think.”

  I locked eyes with Dad, horrific possibilities flitting through my head. I pushed myself to my feet and hurried toward the stairs. “Oh, no!”

  John Anderson was dead on the floor, the knife Dad gave Mom sticking from his chest. I thought for sure Mom would be gone, but she sat serenely on a sofa waiting for us.

  “Victory?” Mom asked, arching an eyebrow.

  “Why did you kill him?” Dad was flustered. “We had questions to ask him.”

  “He was putting up a fuss and insisting on running, and I had no choice,” Mom replied. “Besides, you wanted him dead. This way, none of you had to dirty your hands. Don’t chastise me for doing what none of you wanted to do. How is Jerry?”

  “He’s fine,” Aidan said. “Or, well, he will be fine once he gets a shower.”

  Jerry wailed when he caught sight of his reflection in a mirror as Aidan led him outside. “I’m going to need a spa day. I need delousing.”

  “We’ll definitely have a spa day,” Aidan said. “I’ll go with you. I’ll even get one of those couple’s massages you’re always going on about.”

  “And Aisling. We can’t forget about her.”

  “And Aisling,” Aidan said, meeting my gaze as something unsaid passed between us. “We could never forget her.”

  “They’re not the only ones,” Griffin said, sidling up behind me.

  “Are you going to start yelling now?” I knew I deserved his ire – and I was resigned to accepting the shouting – but weariness finally replaced hours of worry and adrenalin, and I was beat.

  “No,” Griffin said. “We’re going back to Grimlock Manor so we can take that bath you’ve been promising me.”

  “And then?”

  “And then we’re going to sleep,” Griffin replied. “You’re exhausted, and I’ve seen better days myself. Neither of us is up to a shouting match tonight.”

  “And then?”

  “And then we’re having an omelet bar for breakfast,” Dad said. “I will have all of your favorites. And I will attempt to make sure you aren’t arrested for assaulting Angelina. That’s my top priority tomorrow.”

  “And then?” Hope flared as I considered I might actually get out of this situation with a mild rebuke instead of a massive freakout.

  “And then we’re going to have a huge fight,” Griffin said, causing my hope to deflate. “We’ll wait until we get home, though, because then we can be as loud as we want when we make up.”

  “You just went from my favorite to my least favorite, boy,” Dad said, shaking his head. “How does it feel?”

  “Perfect.” Griffin pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “It feels perfect.”

  32

  Thirty-Two

  Griffin’s eyes were open and latched onto my face when I woke the next morning. My body ached from the fight – and the overwhelming emotion I tamped down long enough to save Jerry – but now the pain was back. I shifted in the crook of his arm and groaned.

  “Good morning.”

  “Good morning,” Griffin said, his face unreadable. “How did you sleep?”

  “Like a log. How about you?”

  “I slept pretty hard,” Griffin answered. “I woke twice and panicked because I thought you were missing from the bed, but I fell back asleep after I heard you snoring. You’re right about this bed being too big. I prefer having you on top of me in a smaller bed.”

  I sighed. He was the only person I knew who could wrap a potential argument in a sweet compliment. “Are you ready to argue about what I did?”

  “I don’t want to argue, Aisling. I know why you did what you did. I would’ve done the same thing in your shoes. The problem is, well, it was completely unnecessary. Had you told everyone your plan we could’ve stuck together instead of you going off on your own.”

  “I didn’t want to put you in danger,” I explained. “Anderson took Jerry to get at me. Jerry was my responsibility.”

  “And you’re mine,” Griffin said. “I love you, but you’re crazy sometimes. I know you’re doing your best to keep from breaking my heart, but you need to try better. Don’t die on me.”

  “I won’t,” I said, resting my chin on his chest. “You can’t die on me either, though. Fair is fair.”

  “Done,” Griffin said, kissing me. When we parted, his eyes were still troubled. “What else are you thinking? I can tell something is on your mind.”

  “Mom.”

  “Of course,” Griffin said, shifting so he could wrap his arm around my back and get more comfortable. “You think she killed Anderson when we weren’t around to make sure he didn’t talk about their dealings together, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m thinking the same thing,” Griffin said. “She was almost … proud … of what she did. She wrapped everything in a neat little package – protecting her family – but it was too convenient. Still, she stayed there. She could’ve run. She wanted to make sure Jerry and the rest of you were okay. That has to count for something.”

  “It does count for something,” I said. “I just can’t decide whether it’s enough to forgive her and let her back in our lives. She didn’t want to come back here. She happily waved us off and went her
merry way when it came time to leave. Sure, she promised to drop in soon, but she clearly had somewhere else to be. Where do you think she went?”

  “I have no idea,” Griffin said. “I don’t know what to tell you. This situation is above and beyond my expertise.”

  “We need to keep her close,” I suggested. “We need to pretend we’re okay with her until she shows her hand. If we leave her out there and she’s plotting against us, we’ll be weak when she strikes.”

  “I agree.” Griffin idly rubbed his thumb over my shoulder. “Let’s not bring that up today, though. This is Jerry’s day. We need to listen to stories about his harrowing experience and shower him with attention. We’ll have the mother conversation another day.”

  “Okay,” I said, kissing his neck. “That sounds good. Breakfast isn’t for another half hour, though. What do you want to do to entertain me until it’s time to eat?”

  Griffin’s face split with the handsome smile I’d come to cherish. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I’m glad you asked,” I said, rolling on top of him. “I never did get to play dirty nurse for you.”

  “Bring it on, baby.”

  “I’M GLAD to see you two could join us,” Dad said dryly as Griffin and I made our way into the dining room forty-five minutes later. Everyone else was already eating, and the amused smiles on my brothers’ faces told me Dad had been complaining about my absence. “You’re late.”

  “Griffin forced me to play dirty nurse,” I said. “It wasn’t my fault.”

  Griffin’s cheeks flooded with color as he sat next to Dad. “I … she’s making that up.”

  “She’s not, but … whatever,” Dad said. “If that’s my biggest worry today, I’ll consider it a victory. Watch your hands, though. I have a fork and I’m not afraid to use it.”

  Griffin snorted and reached for the juice carafe. “I’ll keep that in mind.”