“What are you doing out here, baby?” Griffin smoothed Aisling’s hair, pressing his hands to either side of her head to cover her ears. “You’re freezing. You should be inside.”
“I’m fine,” Aisling countered, struggling to move away from him. “I spent the day at the mall. There’s nothing safer than that.”
“Other than the fact that you picked a fight with that Angelina woman,” I offered. It wasn’t that I was tattling as much as my mouth often had a mind of its own.
“Angelina?” Braden cocked a brow and made a face. “Oh, geez! You didn’t touch her, did you? I heard you can get herpes from accidentally brushing up against her.”
I didn’t want to laugh — now was not the time — but I couldn’t help myself. “You and your sister have a lot in common.”
Braden was clearly offended by the comment. “You take that back. I’m nothing like her.”
“More than you realize.”
“We’ll talk about Angelina later,” Cormack growled, shaking his head. “Even pregnant, Aisling can handle Angelina. I want to know about the body down there.”
“It’s the same body we found yesterday,” Braden volunteered.
“You mean ... the body looks the same as the one you found yesterday?” Griffin asked as he wrapped his arms around Aisling to keep her warm.
“No, it’s the exact same body,” Braden replied. “It’s exactly the same, but he’s wearing different clothes.”
“I don’t understand.” Griffin brushed a kiss against Aisling’s forehead before striding to the railing so he could climb over and shuffle down the embankment. When he reached the body and knelt, his expression reflected confusion. “Huh. He’s wearing what looks to be a jumper from the morgue.”
“I told you.” Braden radiated smugness as he folded his arms over his chest. “It’s the same guy.”
“It’s definitely the same guy,” Griffin agreed, sliding on a pair of rubber gloves before leaning forward to touch the body. “I don’t understand how he got here.”
“Maybe the wraith collected him from the morgue,” I suggested. “Maybe the wraith wasn’t done with him.”
“Like the wraith was keeping him by the swings so it could snack on him whenever the mood struck?” Braden slid me a sidelong glance. “That doesn’t sound likely.”
“Well, there has to be a reason this body showed up here after being transported to the morgue yesterday,” I persisted. “It certainly didn’t walk back by itself.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Aisling argued, frowning when Cormack stepped in to cut her off from the railing when she shifted closer. “What are you doing?”
“Stay here,” Cormack ordered, refusing to show fear in the face of his daughter’s glare. “You can make your opinion known from here without risking a fall. You don’t want to hurt the baby.”
“Right.” Aisling rolled her eyes. “What was I saying?”
“Stay here,” Cormack repeated.
“Listen to your father, Aisling,” Griffin interjected, earning a growl from his wife. “This embankment is steep. I don’t want you to fall. If you twist an ankle you’ll be stuck in bed for days. Is that what you want?”
“No.”
“Then ... stay with your father.” Griffin was firm. “Later, I’m going to have a long discussion with your father because it was my understanding you were no longer in the field. I’m going to yell ... and he’s going to yell. When we’re done yelling, I’m willing to bet you’re going to get something special as a reward because that’s how your father operates.”
“She’s not in the field,” Cormack argued. “I sent her to the mall with my credit card. That’s as far from the field as possible.”
“Then what is she doing here?” Griffin challenged.
“She came down here herself. She suckered poor Izzy into bringing her to the spot where the wraith made its escape.”
Wait a second! “She didn’t sucker me,” I countered, annoyance bubbling up. “She simply said she wanted to see the spot where the wraith disappeared into the water. I didn’t see the harm in bringing her.”
“Was that before or after she got stuck on the railing?” Braden asked.
“Before.”
“I think you answered your own question.”
“Whatever.” His smug nature was starting to grate. “This isn’t my fault. I told her not to climb over that railing.”
“Ugh, and here we go.” Aisling smacked her hand to her forehead. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear you guys talk about me as if I’m not here. It’s a true highlight of my day.”
“Baby, I’m going to yell at you later for being stupid enough to come down here,” Griffin offered. “You’ll definitely be there for that conversation. Until then, we need to figure out how this body got here. I’m not sure I should even call the morgue for this one because if the body showed up out here via supernatural means I’ll be filling out paperwork and answering questions until the kid has its first birthday.”
“Someone had to drag it here,” I pointed out. “Bodies don’t simply get up and start walking.”
“They do if they’re zombies,” Aisling argued.
My mouth inadvertently dropped open. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“And here we go,” Braden muttered, shifting his eyes to Griffin. “We’re back on the zombie train. Are you happy?”
“Hey! She wasn’t wrong about the zombies.” Griffin extended a warning finger, his eyes flashing as he glared at his brother-in-law. “Give her a break. She’s tired ... cranky ... and about to produce a baby. She doesn’t need you giving her grief on top of everything else.”
“Well, excuse me for living.” Braden held up his hands in mock surrender. “Let’s all bow to Aisling’s whims and go on another zombie hunt. That won’t be a waste of time.”
“She was right about the zombies!” Griffin exploded, causing my head to fill with a collage of memories as his anger bubbled close to the surface.
I sucked in a breath as I rested my hands on my knees and tried to absorb the images, which were coming fast and furious. “I don’t understand,” I murmured.
“Join the club,” Braden groused. “Apparently zombies are real, in case you’re wondering. I have no idea if that’s what we’re dealing with here.”
“How do we find out?”
Cormack scrubbed the back of his neck as he watched Griffin return his full attention to the body. “I have no idea. I can’t believe this is happening again.”
That made two of us. Er, well, I honestly couldn’t believe it happened a first time, if we’re being sticklers for detail.
Seventeen
Aisling’s refusal to budge from her zombie hunch caused me to worry for her mental health. When Cillian stopped by the scene long enough to see the body for himself — and listen to his sister rant — he collected both of us for a special task.
“Wait ... where are we going?”
I sat in the back seat of Cillian’s truck as he navigated the busy streets of downtown Detroit. I had no idea where we were ... or where we were going, for that matter, which meant I was beyond curious.
In the front seat, her fingers splayed in front of the heating vents, Aisling’s reaction was blasé. “We’re going to the home office so Cillian can keep an eye on me,” she grumbled.
Amused, Cillian snickered. “I wish I would’ve seen you stuck on the railing. That must have been funny.”
“It wasn’t funny. It was uncomfortable.”
“Poor Aisling.” Cillian had his role as big brother down pat; he was sympathetic when he reached over and patted her shoulder. “Did someone take a photo?”
“I’m done talking to you.” Her penchant for being a pouty little sister on full display, Aisling folded her arms over her chest and stared out the passenger window. “I’m done talking to anyone who shares the last name Grimlock for the rest of the day.”
“Oh, that’s such a punishment.” Cillian’s
eyes twinkled as he met my gaze in the rearview mirror. “What about you, Izzy? What’s on your mind?”
“I’m curious as to why we’re going to the home office,” I admitted, my nerves kicking into overdrive. “You don’t think they’re going to take me in a back room and beat me with a stick for falling down on the job during my first week, do you?”
“No,” Cillian answered immediately.
“They don’t have any sticks free because they’re all shoved up ... .” Aisling trailed off when Cillian fixed her with a warning look.
“You’ll be fine,” Cillian said after a beat. “We’re going straight to the library. They probably won’t even notice that we’re there.”
That was a relief. “And what do you think we’ll find in the library?”
“Men who have never been laid,” Aisling muttered. “The only reason Cillian manages to get some is because he’s a handsome geek. Trust me, when you see the other people in that library you’ll wonder how reapers manage to procreate.”
“Ha, ha.” Cillian flicked his sister’s ear. “We need to conduct some research. I can’t figure out how that body got from the morgue back to Belle Isle. Griffin is checking with the medical examiner, but he’s afraid to ask too many questions because it might cause someone to focus on the family. That wouldn’t be good.”
That was an understatement. “So ... he’s not calling it in?”
“No.”
“What happens to the body?”
“My father called out a crew,” Aisling explained. “They’ll collect the body and study it. Allowing Griffin to call it in puts all of us at risk.”
I rubbed my cheek as I considered the conundrum. “Does he cover for you guys often?”
When Aisling didn’t answer, Cillian smoothly stepped in. “Not really,” he said. “He has covered for us on occasion. I don’t think he minds because Aisling is his top priority, but I don’t think he enjoys it either. It’s difficult ... but necessary.”
“I wasn’t casting aspersions on his character. I was simply curious. I’ve never heard of a reaper hooking up with a cop before. Did you get grief about it?”
“From my family or the other reapers?” Aisling asked.
“Either.”
“The other reapers probably whispered about it, but my father is too important for anyone to risk saying anything to his face,” she explained. “Besides that, if anyone did muster the courage to question him on it, he would’ve handled it without telling me.”
“My father wasn’t thrilled when Aisling first brought Griffin home,” Cillian supplied. “It wasn’t because he was a cop, although that probably gave him pause. It was because she’s his baby and he always dreaded the day she would stop flirting with losers and find someone who might actually be suited for her. The rest of us never thought that day would come because she’s not exactly easy to deal with. We were proved wrong.”
The fondness evident on Cillian’s face stirred me. It was clear he adored his sister. It was also clear he liked messing with her.
“So we’re going to the home office library?” I decided to change the subject. “Do you think we’ll be able to find answers there?”
“I’m not sure.” Cillian turned serious. “Aisling is right about us facing zombies before. That was a very unique situation. I’m not sure we’re dealing with the same thing.”
“I certainly hope not.”
“Yeah. I don’t know what to think.”
CILLIAN WAS OBVIOUSLY COMFORTABLE with the home office staff, so he signed us in and led us through the building. Aisling, who didn’t seem happy with her assignment, glared at the woman behind the desk when she reached out to touch her huge stomach without invitation, quelling her with a bone-chilling look.
“You must get tired of that,” I noted as I fell into step with her. “You know people don’t do it to irritate you. They simply can’t stop themselves because giving birth is something of a miracle.”
“It doesn’t feel miraculous.”
“It will be over soon.”
Curiosity flitted across Aisling’s face as she pinned me with a look. “You see things. I know you do. When is the kid coming? Like ... is it today? Tomorrow? I would really like some warning so I can get an ice cream bar out of my father the night before.”
A snicker bubbled up. “I don’t know when you’re going to give birth. I’m not a mystical gazing globe.”
“No, but you see things,” Aisling persisted. “Are you psychic? I know you said you don’t like that word, but it’s the only one I have.”
“Aisling, stop being a pain,” Cillian ordered as he led us down an empty hallway.
“I’m not being a pain.” Aisling refused to back down. “I’m curious. Izzy and I have bonded. She knows I’m not trying to stick my nose into her business for the sake of being a busybody. I have a scientific reason for my questions. Chill out.”
“You’ve bonded?” Cillian cocked an eyebrow and shifted his eyes to me. “Have you bonded with my sister?”
That was a thorny question. “Um ... .”
“I only ask because, other than our mother, I’ve never known Aisling to bond with a woman,” Cillian continued, not waiting for me to respond. “Her best friend is a man. She spends all of her time with us. Redmond says she thinks like a dude, and that’s true. If you two have really bonded that will be cause for celebration because we’ll be looking to you to soften her edges.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “Oh ... I’m not sure.”
“We’ve bonded,” Aisling repeated, seemingly unbothered by my reticence. “You’re putting my new friend on the spot. I don’t like it. In fact ... .” She trailed off as Cillian pushed open a door and led us into the biggest library I’d ever seen. It had to be four stories high, and the staircases that led to the various levels wound through the oddly-placed walkways that skirted the walls. I was completely enchanted. “Wow!”
“Yeah, I love it here, too.” Cillian grinned at me. “There’s a lot of good information buried in these books. Make sure you have hours to burn if you decide to visit. I’ve lost entire days here.”
“Yes, it’s lovely,” Aisling said after a beat, dragging herself toward an overstuffed chair in the corner of the room. It was located in front of a roaring fireplace. “I’m not climbing the stairs. I’ll sit over here and you guys can bring books to me.”
Cillian pursed his lips. “Didn’t you just go on a diatribe before we left Belle Isle about wanting us to treat you normally? We wouldn’t wait on you under normal circumstances.”
If Aisling was bothered by the teasing, she didn’t show it. “I can’t climb those stairs and you know it. I’m too tired.” She flopped in the chair and rested her feet on the footrest. “You pick the books you want me to read and I’ll wait here.”
Cillian grinned. “Fair enough. I’ll order some tea. You’re not supposed to have caffeine, right?”
Aisling was affronted. “I can have caffeine if I want caffeine.”
“I seem to remember Griffin saying otherwise.”
“Griffin doesn’t always know what he’s talking about,” Aisling grumbled. “He’s a good man, but I know what I’m talking about ... and I want caffeine.”
“Fine. I’ll get you caffeine. Don’t rat on me to Griffin if he asks, though.” Cillian craned his neck to stare into the back of the room. “I wonder who’s monitoring the library today. Usually, whoever it is sits behind the front desk.”
I followed his gaze toward the empty space. “Maybe we’re on our own.”
“Maybe. Or ... .” He didn’t get a chance to finish because a creature — there was no other way to describe what swooped down from the fourth floor on rubbery wings — dropped between the staircases and landed on the marble floor without a sound.
“You rang?” The creature asked dryly.
I wasn’t sure what to make of the animal. Heck, I wasn’t sure it was an animal. It looked more like a science experiment gone wrong. It had the f
ace of a dog, the wings of an owl, and a tail (at least I hoped it was a tail) that was so long and pointy I thought there was a genuine chance it could put somebody’s eye out.
“Bub?” Aisling jerked her head in the creature’s direction, her expression twisting into something I didn’t quite recognize.
“Hello, little Grimlock.” The creature eyed her with an unreadable expression. “Are you still growing? It seems as if you’ve doubled in size since last I saw you.”
Aisling scowled. “Oh, that’s nice to say to the woman who made sure you had a hospital room to convalesce in. The reaper hierarchy wanted to try you for helping my mother, but I stepped in and saved you.”
“You stepped in and told the truth,” Bub corrected, making a tsking sound as he shook his head. “I helped you. In turn, you helped me. I’d say that means we’re even.”
Aisling didn’t look as if she agreed. “I would say that means we need to sit down and have a talk once this baby is out of me,” she corrected. “For now ... you look like you’ve recovered. How did you end up here?”
“That’s what I want to know,” Cillian said, his eyes never leaving the creature’s face. He didn’t look nearly as excited to see the squat little being as his sister was. “I didn’t know gargoyles worked in the main office.”
The single word set off bells in my head, as if alerting on a memory I couldn’t quite drag into the present. “Gargoyles?”
Cillian nodded. “It’s a long story, but suffice to say Bub has ties to our family. He ... helped, I guess would be the right word ... my sister a couple of times when we were fighting a rather intense enemy. He was cryptic and difficult while helping, but we’re here because of him so ... he’s not a bad guy.”
“But he’s a gargoyle,” I pressed, racking my brain for something I’d read in one of my grandfather’s books when I was a child. “I didn’t think gargoyles were real, at least not anymore. I thought they all died when the old magic died.”
“What’s the old magic?” Aisling asked. “Oh, and come over here before telling the story. I’m too tired to stand and I’ll make a scene if I can’t hear what you’re saying.”
Only The Lonely (A Death Gate Grim Reapers Thriller Book 1) Page 16
