The Grim & The Dead

by Amanda M. Lee

  I was so intent on my righteous indignation that I didn’t notice Griffin had stopped walking until I was already on top of him. I smacked directly into his back, almost causing both of us to fall over. I managed to right myself in time, but just barely.

  “Walk much?” I snarled, furious.

  Griffin didn’t answer. He didn’t look at me either. I shifted my eyes to the spot he stared at and almost cried out in relief when I saw Aisling standing on the far side of the room. I would’ve given in to my angry impulses and started yelling if she’d been alone. The older man standing next to her, who had a gun in one hand and a firm grip on her arm with the other, was an immediate deterrent.

  “You must be Greg Berlin,” I said after a beat, recovering my senses. The man looked beaten up, a righteous black eye forming around his left orb. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet him?” Aisling drawled, her temper on full display. “Are you kidding me?”

  I ignored her sarcasm and remained focused on Berlin. “Thank you for getting her home safely. I appreciate it. I would like to give you a reward for your diligence.”

  “A reward?” Aisling sputtered. “Are you trying to give me an aneurysm? He kidnapped me.”

  “Yes, baby, we know that,” Griffin said quietly, finally finding his voice. “Are you okay?”

  Aisling nodded as she met his gaze. Anyone else would be crying under the circumstances. She looked as if she was plotting bloody revenge. “I’m fine. He hasn’t hurt me ... other than throwing away my Starbucks before I was finished with it.”

  “I’ll buy you ten Starbucks treats as soon as this is over,” Griffin promised, warily extending his hand as he flicked his eyes to Berlin. “Aisling, I want you to come to me. Mr. Berlin, I understand you have demands, but I’ll be much more willing to meet them if you allow Aisling to cross over to me.”

  Berlin snorted. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

  “Well, actually ... .” Aisling started.

  “Of course you’re not stupid,” I interjected quickly. “You’re armed. You have the power. We can’t help you if we’re constantly worried about my sister. Giving her back would be an example of negotiating in good faith.”

  “And if you don’t give her back, I’ll kill you,” Griffin threatened, causing me to chomp down on my lower lip to keep from swearing at him.

  “Did you just channel my father or something?” I hissed. “That was the worst thing to say.”

  Griffin was beyond caring. “I want her back right now. I’m not messing around.”

  Berlin looked more bored than worried. “Trust me. I don’t want to keep her. She’s a mean little cuss. I only took her so we could make a trade. Given her mouth — and the fact that she bites — I would gladly give her up.”

  “What do you want in trade?” I asked, hoping I sounded reasonable. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

  “I want my coin.”

  I stared at him for a long beat. “What coin?”

  “The coin you took from the Shuckster when he died. I know you have it. I was watching through the window and saw you pocket it.”

  Aisling was disgusted. “You stole from the dead?”

  “He gave it to me,” I protested, my mind traveling back to Walter’s lucky coin. “He insisted the luck only worked if given freely, so he gave it to me because he didn’t want it to go to waste. I forgot all about it.”

  “Well, I want it,” Berlin persisted. “If you don’t give it to me right now I’ll waste your sister.”

  His threat felt real, which caused the fear to return. “Don’t do that. You can have the coin.”

  “Great. What are you waiting for?”

  “Um ... I can’t quite remember where I put it.”

  Aisling threw up her hands in disgust. “Ugh. Remind me not to get kidnapped again unless Dad is around to pay the ransom. This is ridiculous.”

  I couldn’t agree more.

  10

  Ten

  “Where is the coin?” Griffin’s voice was like steel as he struggled to maintain control of his temper. He was so agitated I was surprised he didn’t chuck all of his training and throw himself at Berlin so he could free Aisling.

  “I don’t know.” I searched my memory. “It’s probably still in the jeans I wore that day. I left them on the floor in my bedroom.”

  Aisling snorted. “Wow. Being a pig works to your advantage. Griffin insists I pick up all my clothes and put them in the hamper. He says he’s not my maid.”

  “Yes, that must be why he found the smoking jacket you wore the other night draped over Dad’s office chair and sniffed it because he was so worried about you,” I shot back.

  Instead of being disgusted, Aisling smiled. “Oh, that’s kind of cute.”

  “It was gross,” I argued.

  “What’s gross is the fact that you haven’t retrieved that coin yet,” Griffin barked. “Get it.”

  “Okay, okay.” I shot him a look. “I’ll be right back.” I was slow as I crossed the foyer, keeping my hands up so Berlin wouldn’t worry about me making any sudden moves. “My room is up these stairs and two doors down on the left. I’ll get the coin, trade it for my sister and we can call it a day. How does that sound?”

  “Just get me the coin,” Berlin sneered. “And don’t even think about calling the cops. If you call the cops I’ll start shooting ... and she’s the one I’ll start with.” He gave Aisling a good shake. “Do you understand?”

  I swallowed hard. “I understand.”

  It took everything I had not to keep turning around and staring at Berlin as I made my way up the stairs. My mind was jumbled with possibilities. Should I call the police? Would that put Aisling in jeopardy? Should I head to my father’s suite and grab my own gun and engage in a shootout? Should I simply find the coin and trade it for Aisling, trusting that Berlin would return her as promised?

  I wasn’t sure of the right answer.

  To buy myself time, I disappeared into my room and grabbed the first set of discarded jeans I found. The pockets were empty. I had better luck with the second pair of jeans, and when I pulled out the container I exhaled heavily and opened it to make sure the coin was still in place.

  “Well, that’s one less thing to worry about,” I muttered to myself as I closed the case. No matter how many scenarios I ran through my mind, the one that made the most sense was giving Berlin what he wanted. I couldn’t deal with the paralyzing fear I faced when I considered the other scenarios. I had to do what was right by Aisling. There was no other choice.

  I slowed my approach when I left my bedroom. I heard Berlin and Griffin talking, although the conversation didn’t exactly sound friendly.

  “Your face is all over the news,” Griffin reported. “Everyone is looking for you.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I don’t really care if you believe me. Check for yourself. You have a phone. When we came back to the Explorer and found Aisling gone I called for backup.”

  “And why would you call for backup?” Berlin challenged.

  “Because he’s a cop, you moron,” Aisling spat. “I told you that when you took me. I told you he was going to burn your house to the ground to find me, kill every family member you have and start ripping out eyes until you returned me.”

  “That’s a lovely visual, Aisling,” Griffin said dryly.

  “Are you saying you wouldn’t do all those things to get me back?”

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back.”

  I slowed my pace so I could watch Berlin’s reaction. He seemed lost in thought, conflicted.

  “Why did you call the police?” His voice turned petulant when he finally spoke. “You’ve ruined everything. I was going to use this coin to get my wife back and start a new life. How am I supposed to do that when you’ve ruined my life?”

  “Perhaps you should’ve thought about that when you took the woman I love,” Griffin shot back. “She’s my life and you
’re threatening it right now. You’ve done this to yourself.”

  “Well, I don’t like it!”

  “I don’t like it either.” Griffin extended his hand. “Give her to me. Braden is coming back with your stupid coin. After that, you can run as far as you want. I don’t care. Just ... give her to me.”

  “No!” Berlin gripped Aisling’s wrist tighter. “She’s staying with me until I have what I want.”

  I cleared my throat to draw everyone’s attention as I bounced down the stairs. I was worried Griffin was going to lose his infamous cool and do something stupid. I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen. “I have the coin.” I held up the case. “You can take it and go.”

  “Open it,” Berlin instructed when I hit the bottom of the stairs. “I want to make sure you didn’t take the coin out. This could be a trick.”

  “I don’t care about the coin,” I muttered, although I did as he asked. “See. It’s right there.”

  “It is.” Berlin exhaled heavily, relief evident. “Okay. You’ve got the coin and I’ve got your sister. How do you want to do this?”

  “I want you to release my sister so she can go to Griffin. I’ll hand you the coin at the same time. Then you can walk out of the house and we’ll happily let you go.”

  “Fine.” Berlin extended his hand. “But give me the coin first.”

  I looked to Griffin for guidance. When he nodded, I dropped the case in Berlin’s hands. “Let my sister go.”

  “Sure. Sure.” Berlin suddenly lost all interest in my sister now that he had the case. “I can’t stand being around her anyway. She’s all mouth.”

  Instead of running to Griffin, as I expected, Aisling tilted her head to the side. “I am a joy to be around. I’ll have you know people everywhere line up to spend time with me. I’m famous in certain circles.”

  “More like infamous,” I corrected. “Aisling, go to Griffin.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You’re not the boss of me.”

  I channeled my father. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “Are you trying to kill me?” She shot back. “I can do and say what I want. You’re not in charge. In fact ... .” To my surprise, Aisling shifted to face Berlin. Before I could even grasp what she was doing, she raised her knee and slammed it into Berlin’s groin.

  His face turned red as he gripped the gun tighter, causing me to react out of instinct. I jerked his arm up so the weapon faced the ceiling and watched with grim satisfaction as Aisling kicked him a second time.

  Berlin was in obvious agony as he pitched forward, leaving the gun behind so I could hold it. He fell on the marble floor, face first, and the case containing the coin pitched forward on the floor.

  “That will teach you to kidnap me,” Aisling gritted out as she planted her hands on her hips. “I said you would live to regret it and I was right. I’m always right. I don’t understand why people don’t listen to me more often.”

  “It’s to their detriment, baby,” Griffin said, taking three long strides and pulling her tight against him for a hug. “You’re always right. I’ve seen the light.” He planted a hard kiss on her mouth. “You’re also in big trouble. You should’ve come to me instead of kicking him.”

  “It worked.”

  “You’re still in trouble.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

  THIRTY-SIX HOURS LATER, my father and brothers returned to Grimlock Manor with huge smiles on their faces and oodles of gifts for Aisling and me. News of what had happened spread, although my father — who won big at the craps table — wasn’t nearly as angry as I’d envisioned. Everyone was safe and accounted for, so he yelled only once (and over the phone as he was in transit) and then let it go.

  “I see the house is in one piece,” he said as he strode into the parlor where Griffin, Jerry, Aisling and I were waiting. “You didn’t burn it down. That’s a plus.”

  “Hi, Daddy.” Aisling batted her eyelashes as she threw her arms around Dad’s neck. “You have no idea how much I missed you.”

  Dad returned the hug, although he was less exuberant. “I didn’t buy you anything.”

  Aisling knew better than that. “Then what’s in the bags?”

  “Things for Braden. I didn’t buy you anything.”

  Aisling snorted. “Yeah, right. Gimme!”

  Griffin chuckled as he leaned back in his chair and swirled his martini. “Ah, and all is right with the world.”

  Dad shot Griffin a pointed stare. “I hear you’ve been wearing one of my smoking jackets.”

  “And here I thought you’d be more upset by the fact that there’s absolutely no sprinkles or whipped cream in the house,” Jerry drawled, beaming when Aidan handed him four huge bags of loot. “Oh, my white knight returns. Did you win big?”

  “I don’t know about big, but I came back with five grand more than I left with.”

  “Oh, yay!” Jerry excitedly clapped his hands. “That means we can buy furniture as soon as Aisling and Griffin are out of the townhouse.”

  Aidan balked. “We already have furniture.”

  “I want more.”

  Worn down by the mere prospect of an argument, Aidan acquiesced. “Fine. We’ll buy new furniture.”

  “That’s what I said.”

  I snickered as I cut around Aisling and Dad and took a seat in the chair across the way. Dad slid his gaze to me and for a moment I wondered if I was about to see the true extent of his wrath. Perhaps he recovered from his gambling high and was ready to tear into me for losing Aisling after all.

  “How did your week of being in charge go?” he asked.

  I shrugged, noncommittal. “I don’t know. Nobody died. I guess that’s the best I can say about it.”

  “Oh, come on,” Aisling protested. “You know you had fun hanging out with Griffin and me.”

  “Yes, I was a big fan of when you made us all watch Pretty Woman last night and then wanted to play billionaire and lady of the night with Griffin in the game room.”

  Dad pinned Griffin with a dark look. “Is that so?”

  “Why am I in trouble for this?” Griffin groused. “She’s the one who wanted to play the game. It was her idea.”

  “He got my hormones all stirred up, Dad,” Aisling countered, grabbing one of the bags from Dad’s hands and planting herself cross-legged in the middle of the room to root through it. “It’s not my fault. My hormones can’t be controlled. He has a wacky effect on them.”

  Dad flicked her ear before dropping the other bags and moving toward the drink cart. “I’m so glad I came home to talk about my daughter’s hormones. I can’t tell you how great that makes me feel.”

  “It makes me feel great, too,” Aisling enthused. “What did you buy me?”

  “That’s not all for you,” Dad cautioned. “Some of it is for Braden. Some of it is for Jerry.”

  “I’m guessing Griffin gets nothing because he already got his reward in the form of whipped cream and constant screams and giggles,” I supplied.

  Griffin smirked as he leaned back in his chair. “I still think I came out the winner.”

  “We both came out winners,” Aisling agreed, furrowing her brow as she pulled what looked to be an ornate box from the bag. “What’s this?”

  “That is a pirate’s chest,” Dad replied. “It has a key and you can lock things in it.”

  “Like what?”

  “Jewelry. Money. There’s a secret candy compartment.”

  Aisling’s eyes widened with delight. “Score!”

  “I thought you would like it. You’ve always been a fan of scoundrels and where they keep their pilfered items.”

  Griffin winked at Dad. “That’s still true.”

  Dad held up a hand to silence him. “I’m pretending you’re not here.” He cut through the room and took his usual chair. “Other than Aisling getting kidnapped and held for ransom, did anything else of note happen while we were gone?”

  “Well, the day she was taken we missed all our jobs and the
home office had to call in temps,” I replied, guilt and embarrassment washing over me. “I’m sorry about that.”

  “I don’t see where you had much choice in the matter,” Dad noted. “Aisling is more important than work.”

  “That’s what I told him,” Aisling agreed, dropping a jeweled tiara on her head. “Is this because I’m the queen of the world?”

  “It’s because I felt guilty about leaving you two with all the work,” Dad clarified. “Your brothers begged me not to buy it, but I did ... and now I’m certain I’ll regret it.”

  “You have no idea.” Aisling turned a pretty smile to Griffin. “I have another game for us to play later.”

  Griffin’s grin was indulgent. “The crown fits.”

  “Ugh. You two are staying here another night, right?” Dad asked. “Don’t make me get the hose.”

  “He’s so strict,” Aisling complained, returning to her loot search. She tossed me a T-shirt and then moved to another bag. “You went all out, Dad. Good job.”

  Dad chuckled. “I’m glad you approve.” He shifted his eyes to me. “What happened with Greg Berlin?”

  “He’s been taken into custody,” I replied. “He admitted to breaking into the manor. He said he was looking for the coin, but I denied having it, made up a lie about being in Walter’s neighborhood for another reason when the cops questioned me. He can’t prove otherwise.”

  “So where is this lucky coin?” Redmond asked. “I figure we should test it. We can take it to one of the Detroit casinos this weekend. Or Windsor. You know how I love Canadian women.”

  “I don’t have it any longer,” I replied, doing my best to ignore the way Aisling jerked her head. “I gave it to a waitress as a tip yesterday when I was out collecting souls.”

  “What?” Redmond was dumbfounded. “Why would you give a lucky charm to someone else?”

  “Because we live in a castle,” I replied simply. “We have a house with marble statues, a sister who wears a tiara and ice cream bars whenever we want them. Some people have nothing. They’re the ones who need luck.”