Midlife Demon Hunter: The Forty Proof Series, Book 3

by Mayer, Shannon

  I squeezed Corb’s hand. “This . . . this is good. Thank you.”

  His smile faded. “But?”

  “Gran is missing. I have to go after her, Corb. I know that some people would say she is just a ghost, but she isn’t. Her soul is missing,” I said, the words choking me. “I have to bring her home.”

  Corb stood and pulled me to my feet, green eyes steady on mine. “Then we go get her.”

  “We?”

  He grinned. “I’m officially out of work. I broke ties with the SCE. Actually, I was hoping you’d give me a job. I think Sarge will be asking soon too. The Hollows won’t take him back. And after the stunt Tom pulled, I’m not sure . . .”

  “Tom, what does he have to do with this?” I asked.

  Corb grimaced. “There was no spell on you from your gran’s paperwork. I overheard him and Eammon talking this morning. They put a simple spell on the paperwork to make you need their help, nothing heinous, just . . . a pain in the ass.” He rubbed a hand over his hair, messing it all up. “They always intended to take it off so they could have a favor to call in. Only you didn’t have a spell on you when Tom found you.” He reached over and touched the talisman I wore around my neck. “Your gran’s talisman protected you from it, probably felt strange when the two collided, I’d bet?”

  The feeling of ants crawling all over my skin when I first opened the envelope came back to me. “Yeah, it did.”

  “I didn’t know,” Corb said.

  I looked him in the eyes, wanting to believe him. “For now, I’ll take that.”

  Corb leaned in to kiss me and Alan shot between us, so I’m not sure if I would have let him put his lips on mine or not.

  “Don’t you dare,” Alan snapped. “I hate you both.”

  I cleared my throat. “So. New Orleans then? You think Sarge will come?”

  Corb nodded. “Yeah, he saw Jinx back to Factors Row. Apparently she’s taken a liking to him and she tried to entice him, turned into a wolf and everything. He turned her down, so he’s going to need a few weeks out of town.”

  I grimaced, wondering what kind of trouble a lovestruck trickster could cause and decided I really didn’t want to know.

  He took my hand. “What do you say?”

  There was really no other answer than . . . “Okay, let’s go. But you realize that until I find a way to remove my ghostly attachment, Alan will be with us?”

  Corb grimaced. “Yeah. No fun, but let’s go anyway.”

  Suzy stepped into the doorway and I smiled. “You coming too?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t go, I’m not . . . my powers are still not under any sort of control. And I need Eric to stay with me. He’s becoming my touchstone, a place of calm when the emotions and power begin to swirl out of control.”

  Corb nodded. “That’s good. He’ll ground you.”

  Feish bobbled forward. “I am coming. No more do I have a boss, and he can’t be ordering me about. Also know New Orleans good.” She gave us a wide grin showing off her gills.

  Her words made me realize—or maybe realize wasn’t the right word, maybe forced me to remember was more accurate—that I hadn’t had any sort of wrap-up with Crash.

  There had been no goodbye. Not even a thanks for saving my ass, Bree, appreciate that. Twice. I’d saved his ass twice. Not even a note. No kind of explanation for his abrupt turnabout. Even Grimm had sent me payment for everything I’d done.

  “Then we go. We’ll save Gran, and when we get back here, we can go house hunting.” I forced another smile, because inside my heart was breaking more than a little. Because I knew that something had happened, something I didn’t understand, and whatever was between Crash and me was not as it seemed. Gran’s soul was missing, and the home that I loved was never going to be mine.

  I drew in a big breath, pulled on my proverbial bigger girl panties, and tipped my chin up.

  “Look out, New Orleans, we’re coming for you.”

  A knock on the door turned us all around, and a booming voice echoed through with the use of a megaphone.

  “Bree O’Rylee?”

  “Who’s asking?” Corb shouted back.

  “We have a warrant for her arrest for the murder of Alan Walker.”

  Well, shit.

  Up Next!

  Can’t wait and aren’t sure what to read next? I have a love story that will tug at your heart strings and have you squealing at the ending!

  Sundered

  About the Author

  Can’t get enough of me? (#sorryNotSorry). Check out my website or the links below for places to see what’s coming. :)

  www.shannonmayer.com