Grim Expectations (Aisling Grimlock Book 5)

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Do you want me to check it out?” Griffin asked after a few beats.

  I shook my head. “It was probably just an animal,” I replied. “If it’s something bigger, I don’t really care as long as it doesn’t try to get inside.”

  Griffin tugged on the door to make sure it was locked and then retrieved the wooden broom handle we kept in the grooves to make sure no one could force open the door. He put it in place and rested his hand on my hip as he stared through the window again. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure,” I said, linking my fingers with his. “Come on. I’m going to wow you with my energy and make you my slave.”

  “And sadly, that’s the highlight of my day after waking up on the floor and moving furniture,” Griffin said, chuckling as he closed the blinds. “Lead the way.”

  11

  Eleven

  “I’m having a crisis!”

  I opened one eye the next morning and found Jerry in bed with me. He sat on top of the covers and leaned his back against the wall in my new bedroom. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked over my shoulder, surprised to find Griffin snoring lightly. His chest was bare, the blanket pushed down to his waist but still covering everything, and he seemed to be out of it.

  “How can you be having a crisis, Jerry?” I asked, keeping my voice low. “And how did you get in here? We locked the doors.”

  “I made a copy of your key last week.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I wanted it.” Jerry’s answer was simple and bold. I couldn’t really argue with his reasoning.

  “Okay. What’s your crisis?”

  “Okay?” Griffin didn’t bother opening his eyes. “How can you think it’s okay that he got in your purse, stole your key and made a copy?”

  “I was going to give him a key anyway.”

  “Yes, but he stole it,” Griffin pointed out. “That’s called stalking where I come from.”

  “That’s called friendship where I come from,” Jerry shot back. “I wasn’t talking to you anyway.” His tone was harsh and I couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow.

  “Why are you angry with Griffin?”

  “I’m not angry with Griffin,” Jerry said. “I’m sorry. That was mean. I’ve just had a terrible night. Did you know you’d already moved out?”

  This time when I shifted my gaze to Griffin I found his eyes open – and he looked as if he was trying not to laugh. What a putz. “I kind of figured it out last night,” I admitted. “Don’t worry, though. Griffin says he’s fine with us having a night to ourselves.”

  “You guys don’t have to stop spending time together,” Griffin said. “We’re just going to have more room to spread out. One townhouse is not big enough for four people.”

  “Yes, you’ve told me that a hundred times,” Jerry said. “That doesn’t change the fact that I was the last one to know about the new living arrangements and you somehow convinced my best friend to move out before I realized it was happening. That’s on top of you stealing my Bug in the first place.”

  “I’m not stealing her,” Griffin countered. “I have no intention of getting in the middle of your friendship. That’s the last thing I want.”

  “Oh, whatever,” Jerry muttered. “Can we focus on me please? I’m having a crisis.”

  “You already told me that,” I said, struggling to a sitting position and rubbing my cheek. Instead of joining us, Griffin rolled so he could put his head on my lap and closed his eyes. “What are you doing?”

  “Rub my back,” Griffin ordered. “I’m in pain from all the furniture moving you made me do last night … and the other stuff.”

  “Oh, he thinks he’s so smooth,” Jerry said, wrinkling his nose. “Does he honestly believe I don’t know what that’s code for?”

  I rubbed my fingers over Griffin’s back and snickered. “I don’t think he cares that you know.”

  “I don’t,” Griffin said. “Right there.”

  “You should shake your leg like a dog to let her know she hit your sweet spot,” Jerry suggested. “If you’re going to steal my girl, you might as well have fun doing it.”

  “Oh, geez,” Griffin muttered. “Why does everything have to be so dramatic?”

  “That’s how we roll,” Jerry replied.

  Griffin wrenched open an eye and stared at me. “Do something about him or I will.”

  “I am doing something,” I said. “I’m listening to his problems and then plotting to take out whoever upset him. That’s what best friends do.”

  “Ah.” Griffin didn’t look impressed. “Just don’t get arrested … and keep rubbing my back.”

  “He’s extremely bossy, isn’t he?” Jerry made a face as he stared at Griffin and then shook himself out of his reverie. “What was I saying again?”

  “You were saying that you’re having a crisis and we’re going to have to beat someone up,” I replied.

  “I didn’t say we were going to have to beat anyone up,” Jerry scoffed.

  “That’s what I heard.”

  “But that’s not what I said.”

  “Holy, crap,” Griffin whined. “How do you guys get anywhere when you take forever to tell one story?”

  “No one is talking to you,” Jerry said, poking his finger into Griffin’s ear and earning a slap at his hand for his efforts. “Where was I?”

  “Jerry, I’m quickly losing my patience,” Griffin warned.

  “Oh, right, my crisis,” Jerry said, suddenly remembering why he had barged into our bedroom at the crack of dawn. “Do you think I should grow sideburns? I thought they were passé, but I saw a man in the mall yesterday and he had them and I can’t get him out of my mind.

  “The man wasn’t very attractive – he had a Magnum meets Simon & Simon vibe, so totally not my type – yet I can’t stop thinking about the sideburns,” he continued. “Do you think I would be hot with extra hair? That seems to go against all of my standards.”

  “I don’t know,” I said, giving it some thought. “Are we talking Warren Beatty or Wolverine?”

  “I’m completely cutting you two off from Nick at Nite reruns,” Griffin said, burying his face into the blanket covering my lap. “Keep rubbing.”

  “I was thinking more Luke Perry in his Beverly Hills, 90210 days,” Jerry supplied. “Ever since we binge watched that on Netflix I’ve been thinking about making a facial hair change.”

  “Do you want my honest opinion, or is this one of those times when you’ve already made up your mind and you want me to lie to you in an effort to reinforce your opinion?”

  “Lie to me.”

  “I think you would look great with sideburns,” I said, not missing a beat.

  “Thanks, Bug. You’ve always got my back.” Jerry pressed a kiss to my cheek before getting up. “I’ve got peach and pecan waffles that will be ready in thirty minutes.”

  “We’ll be there,” Griffin called out, waiting until he heard the door shut before turning his full attention to me. “We’re getting the locks changed.”

  “What? No.”

  “Aisling, we need some privacy.”

  “I’ll talk to him so he doesn’t barge in without knocking,” I said. “Don’t take his key away. It will upset him.”

  “Fine,” Griffin grumbled. “It’s not as if you won’t just keep supplying him with keys.” He crawled to his knees and grabbed my waist, tugging me lower on the mattress so he could flop on top of me and make chewing noises as he kissed my neck. “You’re going to owe me, though.”

  He was in a surprisingly good mood despite our wakeup call. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Well … I was thinking we need a little of this.” He kissed my cheek. “And a little of this.” He moved his mouth to my other cheek. “And a lot of this.” He tickled me and caused me to squeal as I tried to get away from him. “I think that should do it for the moment.”

  “Stop! That hurts.”

  “Not until you tell me you love me,” Griffin said.

&n
bsp; “I am not rewarding bad behavior,” I gasped. “It’s not going to happen.”

  “Tell me,” Griffin prodded, digging his fingers into my ribcage.

  “Fine,” I said, my face red as I realized there was no way I could extricate myself from the situation without really hurting him, and that was something I didn’t want to do. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” Griffin said, kissing my cheek. “Now hit the shower, missy. I can practically smell those waffles from here.”

  “You’re nothing if not predictable.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “UGH. I’M stuffed. Why did you let me eat so much?”

  I walked Griffin to the front door of Jerry and Aidan’s townhouse – man, it’s weird thinking about my long-term home that way – and kissed his cheek. He ran his hand down the back of my head and smiled. It almost looked as if he could read my mind.

  “I didn’t let you eat that much,” I said. “You have a huge mouth.”

  “Oh, I guess what they say is true,” Griffin teased. “The longer you’re with someone, the more you start to resemble them.”

  “Ha.” I poked his side. “You should be so lucky.”

  “Yeah, I definitely feel lucky,” Griffin said, smacking a quick kiss to my lips. “If you’re not working today, you can start moving your stuff to our place. The faster we shift things over there, the faster we can start putting them away.”

  I balked. “My brothers said they’re going to help.”

  “That doesn’t mean you can’t get a jumpstart on it,” Griffin said. “I’m going to count when I get home tonight. If you don’t move twenty boxes today we’re going to have words.”

  “Oh, well that’s a terrifying thought,” I deadpanned.

  “I might spank you, too,” Griffin said, swatting my rear end. “Move some boxes. It won’t be so bad if you spread out the manual labor. Oh, and I’m going to check inside the boxes to make sure you didn’t just move empty boxes – because I can totally see you doing that.”

  Crud. He knows me too well. “Fine,” I grumbled, resting my head against the doorjamb as I watched him walk out the front door. “You’re kind of a despot. You know that, right?”

  “As long as you’re my servant, I’m fine with that,” Griffin said. “Be good today. Don’t get in any trouble.”

  “I never get in trouble.”

  “Yes, clearly I was worrying for no good reason,” Griffin drawled. “If you move all of those boxes I’ll take you out to dinner tonight. If you don’t, you’re expected to cook.”

  Did he think that was a threat? “I hope you like macaroni and cheese.”

  “And I hope you like my foot in your butt when I get home,” Griffin shot back.

  I watched him walk to the parking lot, lifting my hand to wave when he pulled onto the main road in front of our Royal Oak home. I was lost in thought – thinking completely girly and gross things about my dreamy boyfriend – when I saw something move from the corner of my eye.

  I shifted my attention in that direction and almost came out of my skin when I saw the green-eyed girl standing there. Her blond hair was wild and poking out in different directions. She clutched a coat around her. Her cheek was dirty. She limped as she took another step toward the walkway, and my gaze fell to her knee. Her jeans were ripped and dirty, and there was a dark stain spreading on the fabric.

  I reacted without thinking and hurried to her, not bothering to put on shoes as I moved to her side. “What happened to you?”

  “I … I’m in trouble.”

  “I figured that out myself,” I said, grabbing her arm and glancing around. “Is someone after you?”

  The girl looked reluctant to answer, but ultimately bobbed her head. “Yes.”

  “Is it a wraith?”

  “More than one.”

  “Where are they?”

  “I have no idea,” the girl replied. “I lost them in an alley last night. I didn’t know where else to go, so I came here.”

  A memory niggled at the back of my brain. “Were you in the bushes last night?”

  The girl bit her lip and nodded.

  “You should’ve knocked,” I admonished, yanking her toward the townhouse. I changed my mind when I got close to Jerry’s door and instead tugged her in the direction of my new digs. I opened the door and pushed her inside, lifting a finger to my lips to make sure she knew to be quiet. “Stay here. I’ll get some supplies to take care of your knee.”

  “Why can’t I go to the other place? That one smells like it has breakfast.”

  I stilled. “When was the last time you ate?”

  The girl shrugged. “A few days ago.”

  “I’ll get you something to eat,” I said. “Don’t run again. I can’t help you if you run.”

  “I’m … sorry about that.”

  “I know you are,” I said. “Just … wait here. I’ll be back in five minutes.”

  “HOLY CRAP!”

  I watched the girl inhale Jerry’s waffles for five minutes before she cleaned the plate with her tongue and leaned back in the kitchen chair, closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. I’d never seen anyone but my brothers put away that much food in such a short span.

  “Do you want more?”

  “I’m good for now,” the girl said, licking her lips as she eyed me. I was on the floor so I could see her injury better, using cotton swabs to clean the ugly wound. She seemed better since getting some food in her, but she remained jumpy and hyper-vigilant. Something told me she’d earned her paranoia.

  “If you were in trouble, why didn’t you stay at the mall yesterday?” I asked, pressing a bandage to her knee and gesturing for her to hold it there while I retrieved the medical tape. “I could’ve helped you then.”

  “I didn’t know I could trust you,” the girl said. “I … thought I could, but then I saw that thing in the mall with you.”

  “Jerry? He’s my best friend. He’s harmless. I know those shoes he was wearing were a bit much, but you’ll get used to him. He’s a good man.”

  “Not him,” the girl said, making a face. “I’m not afraid of him. He looked fun.”

  “He is fun.” I narrowed my eyes. I realized who she was referring to. “You’re talking about my mother.”

  The girl made a horrified face. “Your mother is a wraith?”

  “It’s … complicated,” I hedged, ripping off a piece of tape and affixing it to her knee. “It’s a very long story and I don’t care to tell it right now. Suffice to say that we thought she was dead and then she showed up alive. Er, well, she’s kind of alive.”

  “Is she a wraith, though?”

  That was a good question. “I don’t know what she is,” I answered after a beat. “She’s not the same mother I grew up with. That’s all I can tell you.”

  “I wanted to talk to you yesterday,” the girl volunteered. “That’s why I followed you to the mall. I needed a clean shirt, though, and I thought I could get away with taking that one. I didn’t see the security tag until I tripped the alarm going from one floor to the other and then I had no choice but to run.”

  “That’s not true. I made it so you didn’t have to run. You ran anyway.”

  “I guess I did,” the girl said, sheepish. “If it’s any consolation, I regretted it afterward. It was cold outside last night.”

  Despite myself, I felt my heart going out to her. “Okay, well, you don’t have to stay outside,” I said. “I can help you. You need to tell me what’s going on.”

  “You won’t believe me.” The girl’s voice was barely a whisper.

  “Oh, yeah? My mother is back from the dead and I’ve talked to gargoyles,” I said. “Don’t make the same mistake I did. I’ve seen some crazy crap. I’ll believe you.”

  The girl searched my face for a moment and then pressed her lips together as she nodded.

  “Good,” I said, sucking in a breath. “Let’s start with an easy question. What’s your name?”


  “I’m Serena Grimley. My entire family was wiped out by wraiths more than a week ago.”

  And just like that all of my bravado and maturity slipped. “Holy crap!”

  12

  Twelve

  I packed Serena up quickly, making sure to lock the townhouse door and grab Jerry from next door before loading everyone in my car. Jerry was confused but eager for a new adventure, mustering only a token thirty seconds of argument before acquiescing. Because he almost died during our previous adventure, that was pretty impressive. He always bounces back quickly.

  Serena was nervous about leaving the relative safety of the townhouse, but I knew I had to get her to my father before she told her story and it was much safer to do it in daylight. Aidan had already left for work; otherwise I would’ve enlisted him as backup.

  I was alert as I watched the sky and shadows when we reached Grimlock Manor. I followed Jerry and Serena once they were inside the house, and Cillian met us at the bottom of the stairs.

  “What’s going on?” He was understandably curious upon seeing Serena’s messy attire. “Who is this?”

  “She’s the girl who killed the wraith,” I replied. “Where is Dad?”

  “He’s in his office.”

  I ushered Serena toward my father’s office, not bothering to knock before throwing open the door. Dad sat at his desk, a newspaper open in front of him, and cast a dark look in my direction. “Do you knock?”

  “No.”

  “Right. I forgot who I was asking,” Dad drawled. “What are you doing here? Isn’t today your day off? Don’t you have things to do since you’re moving?”

  “It is my day off, but something has come up,” I said, pushing Serena into the room. Jerry followed even though he wasn’t involved in the situation and Cillian couldn’t stop staring at the teenager. Serena kept smiling at him – my brothers know how to turn female heads – and she looked mighty interested in a man far too old for her. I remembered being that age, so it didn’t really surprise me. “Where is everyone else?”