Grim Rising (Aisling Grimlock Book 7)

by Amanda M. Lee

  I changed into sleep pants and a T-shirt, and climbed into bed, watching as he stripped down to his boxers before hitting the lights and sliding in next to me. I waited for him to say something, but when he simply stared at the ceiling and didn’t speak I knew the onus was on me.

  “I’m sorry I metaphorically punched you in the gut.”

  Griffin snickered. “I think it’s funny that you refuse to admit you did anything wrong.”

  “I should’ve told you what I had planned. Does that make you feel better?”

  “Yes.”

  “I will tell you when I next plan to evade the cops.”

  “That makes me feel even better.” Griffin slid his arm under my waist and tugged me so my head rested on his chest, tucking the covers around both of us to make sure we stayed warm in the drafty room. “You didn’t get much of a chance to tell me what you learned at the voodoo shop. Do you really think this Madame Dauphine is involved?”

  “It’s my best working theory. None of this started until after I ran into her at the store.”

  “And Angelina? Do you really think she’s involved or is she just an easy scapegoat?”

  I shrugged as I traced my finger down the center of his muscled chest. “It could be a coincidence.”

  “But?”

  “But I’ve learned that true coincidences are extremely rare,” I replied. “Do you really think the cops will follow all of us now?”

  “I think they’ll try,” Griffin replied, smoothing my hair before resting his cheek against my forehead. “I don’t know how your father will handle that, but it could make collecting souls fairly difficult. If any of your brothers get caught … .”

  “My brothers know a thing or two about evading the police.”

  “That should upset me, but it doesn’t. The last thing we need is one of them getting arrested for being at the home of a dead person.”

  “Knowing Dad, he probably won’t take any chances,” I said. “There are ways for us to sneak out of here, too.”

  “Like?”

  “Like the people at the home office can drop vehicles at the bar and we can exit through the back door and walk there.”

  “That won’t work forever,” Griffin pointed out. “Eventually Green will realize that you’re sneaking out of the house.”

  “Probably, but it will work for a day or two.” I tilted up my chin to study his profile. The room was dark, but the ambient light from the moon shining through the window allowed me to see his face. “I noticed you’re not calling him Mark any longer.”

  “I called him Mark when I respected him,” Griffin replied. “I don’t respect him any longer.”

  “Because he thinks an innocent and sweet-tempered woman like me could be a cold-blooded killer?”

  “Because anyone with half a brain would realize that his theory makes zero sense,” Griffin countered. “The fact that the medical examiner hasn’t ruled the deaths homicides makes me wonder.”

  “About?”

  “Exactly what he’s trying to accomplish. I’m going to run a search on him tomorrow, ask around.”

  “Wait … do you think he has something to do with this?”

  “Probably not, but I’ll check anyway,” Griffin replied. “He’s far too fixated on you for this stage of the investigation. There must be a reason.”

  “Still … I’m sorry. I know you considered him a friend.”

  “I considered him an acquaintance,” Griffin corrected. “It doesn’t matter. You’re far more important to me than he is. We’ll figure this out.”

  “I know. I have faith.”

  We lapsed into amiable silence for a moment, the sounds of the settling house lulling me until I felt Griffin’s hands roaming my midriff.

  “Seriously? I thought you were still angry.”

  “I’m over that,” Griffin said, rolling me so I was on my back and he could stare down at me. “I’m ready to make up.”

  I couldn’t swallow my smile. “Should I start begging now?”

  Griffin grinned. “You read my mind.”

  18

  EIGHTEEN

  “Okay, I’ve unloaded our case schedule for the next two days,” Dad announced as he strolled into the dining room the next morning. He arched an eyebrow when he caught Braden and me trying to wrestle each other out of the omelet bar line. “Are you two animals? Is there a reason you can’t take turns to get your food in a civilized fashion?”

  “I’m starving,” I replied. “I’m still recovering, after all, and I need my strength.”

  Dad stared at me for a moment, his expression unreadable. “You can’t have it both ways. Either you’re ‘totally fine’ and want us to stop hovering or you’re still recovering and need us to coddle you. Which one is it?”

  “Um … I need coddling over breakfast and I’ll be fine for the rest of the afternoon.”

  “Will you listen to that?” Braden licked his finger and stuck it in my ear, causing me to yelp and elbow him in the stomach. “She’s manipulating you, Dad. Lay down the law.”

  Instead of immediately responding, Dad flicked his eyes to Griffin, who sat at the table drinking coffee and perusing the newspaper. “Do you want to handle this?”

  “They’re your offspring.”

  “And that’s my newspaper.”

  “Which I will gladly share once you handle this situation,” Griffin said. “There’s nothing in here about the body found in our backyard. Either the press is refusing to run it because there’s no cause of death or the cops are purposely keeping it quiet.”

  “Which do you think it is?” Cillian asked, pouring himself a glass of juice as he grinned at Braden and me. “Aisling, if you move your hip to the left you’ll totally overbalance him.”

  “Hey!” Braden was offended. “Why are you taking her side?”

  I took advantage of Braden’s momentary distraction and moved to my left, snickering as Braden toppled forward and hit the floor. “Nice.”

  “I’m taking her side because she’s still recovering,” Cillian teased. “I’ll take your side when she’s feeling better this afternoon.”

  “I think that’s a good rule for everyone,” Dad said. “Aisling gets her omelet first.”

  I pumped my fist. “Score!”

  “This goes back to that whole ‘you being spoiled’ thing,” Redmond reminded me.

  I shrugged. “I can live with that. It’s the separate rules that bother me.”

  “What separate rules?” Griffin asked, handing my father the A section of the newspaper as he switched to the sports section.

  “I found out yesterday that I had separate rules from my brothers,” I supplied, smiling at the omelet chef as she gestured toward the ingredients. “I want tomatoes, mushrooms, American cheese, onions and ham.”

  “No onions,” Griffin interjected.

  “No onions,” I corrected.

  “Why can’t she have onions?” Dad asked.

  “Because then I can’t kiss her.”

  “Double up on her onions,” Dad ordered, causing me to smirk.

  “That won’t stop me from kissing her,” Griffin noted. “It just makes it more of a challenge … and I thrive under challenging conditions.”

  “You’re going to be a pain today, aren’t you?” Dad poured himself a glass of orange juice. “It’s obvious you two made up, though. I’m glad for that.”

  “We’re both glad.” I beamed at Griffin. “I’ve promised to tell him when I plan to break the law.”

  “And I’m going to try to refrain from yelling when she does,” Griffin added.

  “Sounds like a healthy relationship,” Braden drawled.

  “No one asked you.” Griffin shot him a look. “Can’t you behave for five minutes?”

  “Don’t waste your breath,” Dad said. “I’ve been asking all of them that for thirty years.”

  “And sometimes we even take the question to heart,” Aidan said, handing a grouchy-looking Jerry a mug of coffee. “Are you goi
ng to spend the whole morning pouting?”

  Jerry didn’t answer, instead grabbing the Arts and Leisure section of the newspaper from the pile in front of Griffin and plopping himself in his regular chair.

  “I haven’t read that yet,” Griffin pointed out.

  “I don’t think he cares,” Redmond said, exchanging a weighted look with me. We were all used to Jerry’s moods. When he suffered, we all suffered.

  “What’s wrong, Jerry?” I asked, hoping his answer would be short and without the tempestuous sighs that set my teeth on edge.

  “Why would anything possibly be wrong?” Jerry asked airily.

  Uh-oh. I risked a glance at Aidan and found him making a face. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “He’s ticked because he missed out on all the fun yesterday,” Aidan replied. “He wanted to go to the police station, too.”

  “Oh, well, next time.” I forced a bright smile. “At the rate I’m going I’ll be hauled back there at least two times today.”

  “Not likely,” Dad countered. “Neil and the other members of my legal team – all well worth the twenty grand I dropped yesterday, mind you – filed more than thirty injunctions against the Royal Oak Police Department by the time the courthouse closed yesterday. They won’t come after you today.”

  I brightened considerably. “Does that mean they won’t be watching us?”

  “Oh, they’re watching us,” Braden said. “Redmond and I went for a run this morning.”

  “You don’t run.”

  “We do around the block,” Braden said. “We wanted to see how many cars we could find, so we did a small circuit through the immediate area.”

  “How many cars did you find?” Griffin lowered the newspaper, curious.

  “Seven.”

  “That’s one for each of us,” Griffin noted. “They’re not taking any chances.”

  I knit my eyebrows. “Can they follow you to work?”

  “They’ll follow me to the precinct, I’m sure, but I doubt they’ll follow me out on cases,” Griffin replied. “If they do, I’ll have a talk with them. As for the rest … are they going to catch you doing anything freaky today?”

  “Define freaky,” Redmond said.

  “Whatever you were doing out on the terrace with your nameless chick,” I interjected, grinning when Redmond groaned.

  “Let it go, Aisling,” Redmond ordered.

  “I’m good.”

  Griffin snickered as he shook his head. “I still don’t know what’s going on with that story, but I’m pretty sure it’s better that I remain in the dark. As for the cops, I wouldn’t worry about them. They don’t have the authority to arrest any of you as long as you don’t do anything illegal in their presence.”

  “We’re spending most of the day here,” Dad said. “We’re conducting research.”

  “I’m going to run a search on Green to see if I can find a reason that he would go after Aisling this hard,” Griffin volunteered. “I doubt I’ll find anything – I’m guessing it’s pure laziness and ego that has him gunning for her – but I’m going to look all the same.”

  “We’re going to research the symbol and Madame Dauphine,” Dad said. “If we have to leave, I’ll text you.”

  “That would be a nice change of pace.” Griffin watched me as I sat down with my huge omelet. “Give me a kiss before you eat those onions.”

  I did as instructed, ignoring the way Dad squirmed in his chair.

  “If you find anything, let me know,” Griffin said once we were finished. “I’m going to see if I can find anything on Madame Dauphine. I’ll bet she didn’t file a business license under that name. If I get any information, I’ll email it to you, Cillian.”

  “Okay.” Cillian bobbed his head. “Something tells me it’s going to be a long day in the Grimlock household if we’re all stuck here with nothing better to do than mess with the cops.”

  “Something tells me I’m glad that I have to go to work,” Griffin said.

  Something told me they were both right, and that it was going to be one hell of a day.

  BRADEN POKED HIS HEAD into Dad’s office and flashed an impish grin.

  “Dad, where did you hide those water balloons we bought this summer?”

  Dad, who busily worked at his computer, didn’t glance up. “Why?”

  “Why do you think?”

  “I think you’re going to terrorize the cops.”

  “Good guess.”

  Dad sighed. “They’re in the pantry in the kitchen, behind the oatmeal. I thought you’d never look there.”

  “Why do you guys have water balloons?” I asked, interested despite myself.

  “Because Dad told us we were too old to play with them,” Braden replied. “We had to prove him wrong.”

  “Yes, and after they terrorized the butler … and me … with them, what happened?” Dad queried.

  “He screamed, ‘Do I have to lock you in the basement,’ and then he confiscated them,” Braden replied, eyes sparkling. “It was totally worth it.”

  “I’m sorry I missed it.” I shifted to face Braden. “What are you going to do with them now?”

  “Throw them at the cops.”

  I made a face. “I know that. But you should fill them with special stuff.”

  “Like what? Yogurt.”

  I tilted my head to the side, considering. “I never thought of that, but it would totally stink.”

  “I don’t care what you do with them,” Dad said, “but whatever you do, take it out of this room. Cillian and I are working.”

  “Story of my life,” Cillian muttered.

  I took pity on him and sidled over, hunkering down so only he could hear me. “I’ll video it and bring you a snack when we’re done.”

  “Sold.”

  I followed Braden out of the office, following him to the kitchen where Redmond and Aidan were amassing ingredients. “Where’s Jerry?” I asked, glancing around.

  “He’s upstairs pouting,” Aidan replied.

  “And this is all because he didn’t get dragged to the police station with us yesterday?”

  “You know how he hates being left out of things.”

  I did indeed. “Go get him. There’s a very good chance we could at least get violently threatened for what we’re about to do.”

  Aidan brightened. “Good point.”

  “Found them!” Braden was triumphant when he returned with the huge bag of balloons. “Aisling gave me an idea, by the way. Maybe we shouldn’t fill them all with water.”

  Redmond’s eyes lit with interest. “What do you mean? I thought we agreed it was cold enough that the water would freeze almost immediately and drive the cops nuts.”

  “We can do that with some of them, but I thought we might mix things up,” Braden said, flipping through the pantry. “We could use things like olive oil … and coconut milk … and evaporated milk.”

  “Oh, I get what you’re saying.” A wide grin split Redmond’s face. “Water is fun, but it will be even better if it looks like a really big bird took a dump on their cars.”

  Braden joined in the revelry. “Exactly.”

  “What a great way to waste an afternoon,” I laughed. “We haven’t done this since we were teenagers.”

  “You probably won’t think that if they arrest us,” Redmond pointed out.

  “They won’t. They’ll be too afraid to do that. Neil has them backpedaling. If they arrest us for water balloons it will look like a nuisance complaint if they actually try to take me to court for murder. Neil is a master at messing with them.”

  “That’s why we keep him on retainer.” Redmond dipped into the cupboard under the sink. “What do you think laundry detergent will do?”

  “I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out.”

  TWO HOURS LATER my cheeks were pink from the cold as I wrapped myself in a blanket in front of my father’s office fireplace.

  “You should’ve seen their faces when Redmond hit them with the eg
g balloon,” I said. “I thought the one guy was going to cry … and then beat us with whatever stick was nearest.”

  “How did you get eggs in a water balloon?” Dad asked, his eyes lit with curiosity.

  “They used a funnel,” Cillian answered. “We’ve done it before. I just got an email from Griffin, by the way. He’s managed to dig up some dirt on Madame Dauphine.”

  I shifted, intrigued. “Please tell me she’s wanted for something in a different state and we can extradite her immediately.”

  “Technically we can’t extradite anyone,” Cillian pointed out. “And, sadly, I don’t think you’ll be happy with the information Griffin dug up.”

  That didn’t sound good. “What did he find?”

  “Sit down,” Dad ordered, getting a good look at my face for the first time since I re-entered the house. “You need some tea to warm up.”

  I rolled my eyes at Cillian as he swallowed a smile. “I’m perfectly fine.”

  “Yes? Well, I’ve decided the coddling will continue if you’re staying under this roof.”

  “I can leave.”

  “Not if you want your ice cream bar after dinner tonight.”

  “You fight dirty.” I indulged him by taking the mug of tea he offered, and then raised an eyebrow when he settled on the couch next to me and tucked in the blanket at my sides. “Dad, I’m fine.”

  “You could catch cold,” Dad noted. “You were outside a long time. I should’ve thought better about letting you play with your brothers.”

  “I’ll be thirty in, like, two years,” I reminded him.

  “And we weren’t playing,” Braden added, strolling into the room. “We were waging war. Speaking of that, I really loved the pink food coloring you put in that one balloon, Ais. It looked as if a pink marshmallow exploded over that car.”

  “It sounds like you had fun, for which I’m glad, but now it’s time to turn serious,” Dad said as he finished tucking me in. “You sit there until I say you’ve rested long enough. Do you understand?”