Only The Lonely (A Death Gate Grim Reapers Thriller Book 1)

by Amanda M. Lee

“We all worked together to save him.”

  She didn’t strike me as the humble sort, but it was clear she didn’t want to dwell on that moment. “Well, despite that, it had to be awful. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m pretty much over it.”

  I didn’t believe that for a second. Still, it was probably best to change the subject. “Are you excited about the baby? Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

  “I’m excited to get it out of me,” Aisling replied. “We decided to be surprised on the gender. That was more Griffin than me. I already know it’s a girl.”

  Her matter-of-fact delivery threw me for a loop. “Are you disappointed it’s a girl?”

  “No.”

  “You don’t seem happy.”

  “Well, let’s just say I’m a big believer in karma and I’ve got a whopping case of it heading in my direction. Believe it or not, I wasn’t the best-behaved kid. That means I’m getting the devil to raise myself. It will definitely be a girl, someone to wrap Griffin around her finger while making me want to tear my hair out.”

  I had to bite back a chuckle. “I see you’re a glass half full sort of person.”

  “Simply a realist. I ... .” Whatever she was about to say died on her lips when a woman moved in at our right and made a rather distinctive tsking sound. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

  I was instantly on alert as I shifted my attention to the woman. She boasted pretty brown hair and a thin nose that was more ugly than flattering. The look she gave Aisling was straight out of a horror movie, and I had no idea what to make of it.

  “Well, well, well. What have we here?”

  If Aisling were a superhero, this is the point at which she would turn into Cyclops and burn holes into her villain. “Angelina.”

  “Aisling. You’re looking ... fat.”

  “That’s what your pimp said about you when he was filling out performance reviews,” Aisling fired back, venom dripping from her tongue. “You got an A for laying on your back and an F for variety. Just FYI, if you expect to get the good tips, you’ve got to think outside the box. You won’t be able to keep this up forever. Eventually you’ll get shuttled off to the old whores’ home.”

  I was stunned by the disparaging remark.

  “Well, at least I’m not fat,” Angelina shot back, her lips twisting into the approximation of an evil sneer. “What are you doing here during the middle of the day, by the way? Did Griffin dump you? Are you here drowning your sorrows in bourbon chicken?”

  I had no idea what was going on, but I felt the need to stand up for Aisling. “She’s pregnant, not fat.”

  Angelina shot me a withering look that made my blood pressure spike. “I know, you ninny. This conversation has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it.”

  My mouth dropped open as Aisling cursed a blue streak.

  “Leave her alone, you slut,” Aisling barked. “She hasn’t done anything to you.”

  “I think being friendly with you is enough to prove she’s an enemy,” Angelina countered. “Unless ... what happened to Jerry the fairy? Did you finally replace him? That’s probably best. He was dragging you down. If you sank any further those mutant ninja turtles were going to be forced to kick you out of the sewers.”

  “That did it!” Aisling struggled to get to her feet, but her stomach was so large it snagged on the table. “I’m going to totally yank your hair out of your head and shove it down your throat. Your pimp says you’re used to things being shoved down your throat, so you’ll probably like it.”

  My instincts kicked into overdrive as I touched my hand to Aisling’s wrist and pulsed a burst of calming magic into her. The anger that was coursing through her dissipated, though only an iota.

  “I hate her,” Aisling hissed, her eyes firing. “She can’t call Jerry a fairy. I don’t like it.”

  I understood. I’d yet to meet Jerry — although the build-up was huge — but I felt protective of him, too. “She’s just trying to get to you,” I soothed, slowly sliding a hateful glare to Angelina. “She knows that’s your trigger. She doesn’t care that you probably shouldn’t get worked up so close to giving birth. I care, so you need to calm down.”

  To my utter surprise, Angelina’s aggressive stance relaxed marginally. “Why is she supposed to be taking it easy? Is she sick?”

  If I didn’t know better, I would think the woman was actually concerned. That only served to confuse me even more. “She’s not sick. She’s close to her due date. And she needs to remain calm.”

  “So why is she at the mall instead of being spoiled by her father? I’d think between her brothers, father and Griffin that they’d have her on lockdown.”

  Huh. That was interesting. “And how well do you know the family?”

  “I almost married into them,” Angelina replied, causing my heart to stutter. “We go way back.”

  “You didn’t almost marry into our family,” Aisling challenged. “Stop making things up. Well, unless you’re role playing with your pimp and he wants you to make things up. Then it’s okay.”

  “Knock that off.” Angelina extended a warning finger. “I don’t want to hear one more thing about my pimp. I don’t have a pimp.”

  “Oh, did he cut you loose, too? I told you to take a class.”

  Angelina narrowed her eyes to dangerous slits. “I am good in bed. In fact, I’m great in bed. You can ask anyone, because I’ve slept with everyone ... including your brother.” She realized what she’d said too late, but that didn’t stop her from trying to backtrack. “I mean ... that came out wrong.”

  “Everything you do ends up wrong,” Aisling muttered, rubbing her hand over her stomach. She didn’t look happy. “Listen, I can’t fight with you the way I want to. No one is sadder about it than me. You’re giving me indigestion, though, and I don’t like it.”

  Angelina rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. “And I should care because?”

  “Because it’s no fun for either of us if we’re not on our game,” Aisling replied, pragmatic. “That won’t happen until I get this kid out of me. I think that means we need a truce until I give birth.”

  Angelina didn’t look happy with the suggestion, but she acquiesced. “Fine. You have until one week after you give birth, and then it’s on.”

  “That will give you plenty of time to think of new insults.”

  “Right back at you.”

  I gaped as Angelina turned on her heel and flounced to the other side of the food court, to where a young couple sat looking over what looked like brochures for a housing development. I had no idea what to make of the show. “What was that?”

  “She’s the devil.” Aisling turned back to her chicken. “This is really good.”

  She acted as if she hadn’t just participated in the snarkiest girl fight in the history of female bitchfests. “That’s all you have to say?”

  Aisling shrugged, unbothered. “We’ve hated each other since elementary school. We fight all the time. We’ve yet to kill each other, but it could happen one day.”

  “Uh-huh.” I gave her a searching look. “Which one of your brothers did she date?” I was almost dreading the answer.

  Aisling’s smile was slow and sly. “Why do you want to know?”

  I shifted on my seat, uncomfortable. “Just curious.”

  “Right. Well, you don’t have to worry. It wasn’t Braden.”

  “I don’t care if it was Braden. Why do you think I would care if it was Braden?”

  “Because you’re not fooling anybody.” She took another heaping bite of bourbon chicken, and this time she didn’t bother swallowing before speaking. “Don’t worry. I’ll get all that information out of you, too. I’m just waiting for an opening.”

  I averted my gaze, cursing my burning cheeks. “There is no information to gather. We’re colleagues.”

  “Yeah. We definitely have a few things to talk about.”

  Sixteen

  Aisling ate all of her food and half of m
ine. She didn’t seem bothered in the least when the people at a neighboring table took time to watch her chow down, amused looks flitting across their faces.

  Once we were finished, Aisling insisted we return to shopping. I fought her efforts to buy new clothing ... and lost. Whenever she felt I wasn’t embracing the program thoroughly, she faked crying. Her eyes were completely dry, but she put on a good act, which made the other people in the stores give me dirty looks. I didn’t want to become known as the woman who mistreated a pregnant woman, so ultimately I acquiesced.

  When we returned to Belle Isle, Aisling insisted on seeing the shoreline where the super-powered wraith entered the water. It was cold enough that I thought it was a bad idea. But Aisling refused to hear my concerns, and before I knew it we found ourselves staring at the steep hill that led down to the water.

  “You’re not walking down there.” I was firm as I pinned her with a pointed look.

  Aisling rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

  I grabbed her arm when she moved to crawl over the railing. “You can’t walk down there. It’s cold ... and dangerous ... and you’re bigger than a Kardashian’s lips when she starts pouting because a camera isn’t around.”

  Aisling stilled, her eyes unreadable. Finally, when she spoke, her lips curved. “Did you just make a Kardashian joke?”

  “I ... yes. If you like them, I’m sorry.”

  “I hate them with a fiery passion.”

  “You didn’t let me finish.” I was calm. “If you like them, I’m sorry you have such bad taste.”

  Aisling snickered as she rested her hands on the railing. “Yeah. If the Kardashians were the ring of power in Lord of the Rings, I would totally be marching them toward Mount Doom.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re still not climbing over that railing.” I thought my Kardashian hate might earn me some points with Aisling. I was wrong.

  “Oh, I’m climbing over the railing.” Aisling clearly had no intention of backing down, because she slapped my hands away when I moved to grab her. “Knock it off.”

  Even though she had to be ridiculously uncomfortable, Aisling managed to slide her leg over the railing. Unfortunately, given her awkward position, she couldn’t find the ground with her foot once she started, The panicked look she gave me two minutes later was almost funny enough to ignore her situation.

  Almost.

  “Do something!”

  “What do you want me to do?” I grumbled as I moved closer to her. “I told you not to do this.”

  “Oh, you sound just like my father,” she groused, grunting as she tried to find a spot to plant her foot. “He says things like that all the time.” She shifted to a voice that sounded eerily like Cormack’s. “Don’t go outside in the rain because you’ll get a cold. Don’t pull that girl’s hair because her mother is the type who will get you thrown out of school. Don’t steal my car because I’ll leave you in jail once you’re caught.”

  I stilled, surprised. “You stole your father’s car?”

  Aisling made a protesting sound with her tongue. “He had it coming! He locked me in the house for doing the same thing my brothers did. Do you want to know why? Because I’m a girl. I refuse to be punished simply because I have a vagina. That one is on him.”

  “Uh-huh.” I was understandably dubious. “Do you want to know what I think?”

  “Not even a little.”

  “Well, I’m going to tell you anyway.” I crouched so I was at eye level with her. “I think you’re worried about being cut out of the action because you’re having a baby. I’m not a psychologist — and that sounds like the absolute worst job ever — but it’s clear that being one of ‘the gang’ is important to you.” I used air quotes, which seemed to frustrate Aisling. “No one is going to kick you out of the gang.”

  “Ugh. I hate that you sound so reasonable.” Aisling rested her cheek on the railing, clearly exhausted from her struggle. “We weren’t going to have a baby so early in our relationship. We thought it would be better to wait.”

  “Well, accidents happen.”

  “Yeah.” She looked lost in thought. “Our lives are going to be different.”

  “They might be better.”

  “I like being the center of the universe. That ends when the baby comes. I’ll be forgotten.”

  “You won’t.”

  “I’m at least going to be shoved aside.”

  I wanted to argue with the sentiment, but I knew there was a very real possibility that she was right. “I think you’re overreacting because you’re emotional. Your family loves you. Griffin clearly loves you. You won’t be forgotten. You won’t let that happen.”

  “I guess.” Aisling briefly pressed her eyes shut and heaved a sigh. “I’m stuck.”

  “I know. I’m going to get you up ... somehow.”

  “We have another problem.”

  “We do?” I was instantly alert. If she was about to tell me she’d gone into labor I feared I would run screaming and leave her vulnerable to the elements. “What’s the problem?”

  “There’s a body over there.”

  I straightened and craned my neck, staring at the location she pointed toward. “I ... are you sure?”

  “Yeah. There’s a dead guy over there. I’ve seen enough bodies to be certain.”

  Well, son of a troll! That was the last thing we needed.

  BRADEN AND CORMACK were the first to arrive when I called to tell them what we’d found. I spent the next ten minutes trying to get Aisling off the railing — explaining her unfortunate position over the phone to her loved ones seemed a bad idea — but nothing worked because I couldn’t find the proper leverage to lift her.

  Cormack wasn’t happy when he saw his daughter. “You have got to be kidding me!”

  I pressed my lips together as I watched him stalk to the railing and grab her by the waist. When he realized he couldn’t get his arms completely around her, he stilled.

  “Oh.”

  “Did he think I didn’t try that myself?” I complained to Braden, who looked both amused and concerned.

  “He can’t help himself,” Braden explained. “All he sees is Aisling in trouble. He wants to help.”

  “It’s not as if she’s going to die there,” I grumbled.

  “No, but it’s cold and that can’t be comfortable.”

  He wasn’t wrong.

  “Braden, get over here,” Cormack barked, hooking an arm around his daughter’s torso to get a good grip on her. “You need to help me.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Braden made a face but acquiesced, climbing over the railing to position himself between Aisling and a potential fall. Once he found his footing, he carefully pushed Aisling so Cormack could tug her to his side. The loud grunting Aisling made caused her brother to bark out a raucous laugh as she burned holes in him with her glare.

  “I hate you,” Aisling hissed.

  “You’ll get over it.” Braden left Cormack to deal with Aisling and shuffled toward the body.

  Cormack immediately rested his hands on Aisling’s huge abdomen. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” Aisling made a face that told me she was anything but as she turned her eyes to Braden. “Don’t you think you should be focused on the dead body?”

  “No. I think I should be focused on my idiot daughter,” Cormack fired back. “What were you thinking coming down here?”

  “She was thinking she wanted to be part of the group,” I automatically answered. “She doesn’t want to be cut out of the family antics.”

  “She’s not going to be cut out.”

  “That’s not how she feels. She’s allowed to feel what she feels.”

  “Oh, well, thank you for that,” Cormack muttered, rolling his eyes.

  I ignored him and focused on Braden, who looked legitimately puzzled as he stared down at the body. “Is it someone we know?”

  “Kind of,” Braden hedged, shifting
uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

  “Who is it?”

  “The same body we found yesterday.”

  His answer confused me. “Come again?”

  “This is the same body we found yesterday,” Braden supplied. “I have no idea how it ended up out here, but it’s the same dude.”

  “So ... what do we do?”

  “There’s only one thing we can do.” Braden was grim as he glanced at his sister while digging in his pocket for his phone. “You’re going to be in big trouble when he gets here.”

  Aisling frowned. “This isn’t my day.”

  “You’ll survive.” Cormack rested his hand on her shoulder. “Where is my credit card, by the way? Did you max it out?”

  “No, but it’s tired.”

  “I guess there are worse things.”

  GRIFFIN’S EXPRESSION WAS MURDEROUS when he parked thirty feet down the road thirty minutes later and immediately turned to his wife.

  “What happened?”

  Instead of putting his hands on Aisling’s belly, Griffin pulled her in for a soothing hug. He was angry, but she was his first priority. I found his reaction interesting ... even though I knew it was wrong to analyze them.

  “Hmm.”

  Braden slid me a sidelong look. “Hmm, what?”

  “What? Oh, nothing.” I shook my head to dislodge the serious thoughts. “I was simply thinking.”

  “About something specific,” he prodded. “What were you thinking?”

  “It’s not important.”

  “I still want to hear it.”

  I met his pointed gaze for a long beat before giving in. “Your father immediately went to the baby bump when he helped your sister from the railing. Griffin worried about her first. I think that’s what she needs because she’s feeling displaced.”

  “How can she feel displaced by the baby she’s carrying?”

  I shrugged. “Hormones are a funny thing. I don’t think she can help herself.”

  Instead of laughing at my take on things, Braden stroked his chin and studied his sister. “I’ll talk to my father.”

  I was surprised and gratified by his reaction. “Thank you.”