Early Grave: Grant Wolves Book 1
Page 32
Joey chuckled again, a weak smile creeping onto her face. “Oh, I do.” It was Dean’s turn to blink, and Joey laughed softly. “Dancer, remember?”
“Oh, right.” Dean laughed, shaking his head as he looked out across the back yard.
The conversation lulled as they sat there quietly. Joey wanted to ask him if he’d heard anything from Chris. If he had, he’d tell her. Right? The question nagged at her until she finally said something.
“He’s really gone, right?” she asked, looking his way again. “Crossed over, at peace, whatever?”
“All’s quiet on the spirit front,” Dean assured her. “Tasha’s gone too. I don’t know if you were worried about that, but she would have made one hell of a vengeful ghost.”
“Good thing she moved on, then.”
“Yeah.” A beep sounded from Dean’s pocket. He shifted on the bench to fish his phone out and glanced at the screen. “My ride’s here.”
“You’re leaving?” Joey said, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. “I mean, of course you’re leaving. I just didn’t expect it to be so soon.”
“Yeah, I have to get my lawyer to look over the non-disclosure agreement your mom wants me to sign.”
Joey’s spine stiffened and she frowned, glancing over her shoulder toward the house. “The what?”
“Kidding, relax. She’s pretty intense, though. Your mom. Don’t worry, your family secret is safe with me.”
Joey blew out a relieved but frustrated breath. “Are you always such a smart-ass?” she asked, eyeing him warily.
“Pot, kettle, black,” he murmured, shifting on the bench like he might rise. Instead, he paused and looked at her again. “Did he tell you?”
Joey’s eyes scanned his face in the moonlight. She didn’t need to ask him who or what. Something in his now-somber expression, the earnestness in his eyes, made it clear. Her heart twinged at the memory of Chris’s words and she had to swallow a lump in her throat before she could answer.
“He told me.”
Dean nodded, pushing to his feet. “I guess it’d be pretty awkward if I mentioned that coffee date now.”
“Yeah, pretty awkward,” Joey agreed, following him with her eyes. “I’m surprised you’d want to have anything else to do with me at all, really.”
“Eh. Most women turn into a bitch once a month anyway.” He flashed her a boyish smile and winked, then turned to head back inside. “See you around, Joey.”
“See you,” she said, smirking as she twisted to watch him go.
Left alone, Joey set her mug aside and drew up her legs, wrapped her arms around her knees and closed her eyes. It was difficult not to wallow in despair. She knew Chris wouldn’t want that. He was at peace, and Emma was safe. He’d want her to have a little peace of her own. She didn’t know if she could find it, but she’d try.
Memories flickered behind her closed eyelids. Memories of Chris. Memories of Cheryl. She still felt the sting of losing them, but layered atop it was gratitude for having known them at all. In that moment she knew that the time she’d had with them—however short—was better than none at all.
Wrapping those precious memories around her like armor, she rose and headed back inside to rejoin the living.
Chris opened his eyes to darkness so complete that he wasn’t sure if his eyes were really open at all. Disoriented, he blinked a few times but the darkness didn’t clear from his vision and no shapes emerged from it. The last thing he remembered was Joey’s face, sad but pale and beautiful in the moonlight. He hadn’t even heard the snap of the dagger when it broke. He was simply there one moment and then… darkness.
It seemed to him that only seconds had passed, but time was so strange in this place. He didn’t trust his own sense of time anymore.
He tried to sit up, but smacked his head. His hands went up automatically. There was something solid inches overhead. Solid, yet soft in texture as his fingertips slid along it.
Where am I?
His head throbbed where he’d whacked it, and in realizing that he became aware of another pain, lancing his stomach. His hand went there automatically. The pain flared as he touched the spot through layers of clothing. The memory of being stabbed, not once but twice, flickered behind his eyes. He shuddered with pain, both present and remembered.
As he felt around him some more, he became aware of other things. The scent of clean linen. The sensation of fabric against his skin. The sound of his breathing, heavy in the enclosed space. The rushing of blood in his ears as his heart pounded. His limbs felt leaden, stiff from lack of use, but his senses were alert. Heightened, in a way they hadn’t been since that fateful night.
Panic and horror set in as he pushed at the lid of the satin-lined box. The casket.
“Help!” he cried, barely recognizing his own hoarse voice. He beat his fists on the casket lid, but even his supernatural strength couldn’t displace six feet of earth layered atop it.
This was wrong. This was all wrong. He was supposed to be at peace, wherever spirits went when they crossed over to the other side. He wasn’t supposed to be back in his body, trapped in a box with limited air and even more limited options for escape.
After yelling himself hoarser for a time, he forced himself to lie still and tried to slow his breathing, knowing that he would deplete his oxygen faster if he didn’t calm down. His wolf paced regardless, caged and unhappy.
I’m alive.
The realization elated him. Visions of second chances danced behind his closed eyes and swelled his chest. A sense of determination filled him, overriding the fear. He didn’t know how or why, but he was alive and he was not going to waste it. He’d find a way out of his premature grave and back to his life. His family. Joey.
Somehow.
Joey & Chris’s story continues with…
Shallow Grave
Grant Wolves Book 2
loridrakeauthor.com/gw2
Acknowledements
No book is the labor of just one person, and this one is certainly no different. I’d like to send a huge thank you to my phenomenal critique partners: Amy McKenna, Aram Walker Abraham, JJ Ashton, Rebel Farris, and Renee Frey. I’m also extremely grateful to my beta readers: Jacqué Evans, Kari Stewart, Kendra Swope, Lisa L. Anderson, Lisa Christie, Matt Diederich, Matthew Siano, Seth Thompson, and Shannon DeBord.
Extra special thanks to Chelle Honiker, Jackie Dana, Kate Baray, and Leah Bartlett. They know why.
About the Author
Disenchanted with her mundane human existence, Lori loves spinning tales of magic and creatures of myth & legend existing in the modern world. When not indulging in these flights of fancy, she enjoys cooking, crafting, gaming, and (of course) reading. She’s also a bit of a weather geek and would like to go storm chasing one day.
Lori lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and two adorable kitties that don’t understand why mommy doesn’t like them climbing on her laptop and batting at the screen.
The kitties, that is. It’d be really strange if her husband did that.
www.loridrakeauthor.com
lori@loridrakeauthor.com
Also by Lori Drake
Grant Wolves Series
Early Grave
Shallow Grave
Grave Threat