Grim Expectations (Aisling Grimlock Book 5)

by Amanda M. Lee

I nodded and flicked my eyes to the door. I could see several silhouettes moving on the other side of the glass. “Do you think Griffin is here?”

  “I’m sure he’s fine, Aisling.” Cillian couldn’t erase the worry from his eyes when he glanced at me. “I’m going to be right behind you. Please don’t stop running.”

  “I won’t.”

  He looked doubtful but nodded. “Are you ready?”

  “I’m ready.”

  “Go!”

  I pushed open my door and hopped out of the truck, keeping my wits about me long enough to kick the door shut so the gargoyles couldn’t get inside and rip apart Serena’s belongings. I took two long strides, ducking my head when a gargoyle swooped low and grabbed a hank of my hair.

  “Ow!”

  I felt Cillian’s arm around my waist as he yanked me to the side. He overcorrected and his weight was enough to make us both stumble. Somehow we managed to stay on our feet, and when the door flew open I saw Griffin waiting for me.

  I threw my arms around his neck as he pulled me inside and made room for my father to help Cillian. The door slammed shut – something smacking into it on the other side – and my father rested his hands on his knees as he collected himself.

  “Well, that was fun.”

  He must’ve been looking at the yard from a different vantage point.

  “LET me see.”

  I heard Griffin’s voice but continued to shelter my arm. The pain was making me hazy.

  “Baby, let me see,” Griffin ordered, drawing my eyes to him. He settled me in one of the chairs across from my father’s desk and carefully touched the raw skin on my arm. “Does that hurt?”

  I widened my eyes. “What do you think?”

  “Well, at least you’re listening to me,” Griffin said, shaking his head as he kissed my forehead. “You scared me. When I got here and your father told me what was going on … .”

  “At least you got here before it happened,” I said. “I was worried you’d show up late and not know what was happening. I thought maybe … .”

  “She thought her love monkey was going to be hurt,” Cillian said, patting the top of Griffin’s head as he passed. He was trying to be jovial, but I could tell he was shaken up.

  “Don’t ever call me her love monkey,” Griffin warned. “Only she can call me that.” He flashed a smile as he sucked in a breath. “I think you need stitches.”

  “We seem to be fresh out of doctors,” I pointed out.

  “Yes, but you have a nurse,” Maya said, appearing in the doorway. She had a first aid kit in her hand. “It was right where you said it was, Mr. Grimlock. We’re lucky you had this, given the circumstances.”

  “I grew up with five rambunctious children,” Dad said. “I have five of those stashed around the house.”

  “Well, it’s definitely going to come in handy now,” Maya said. “I need to look at your arm, Aisling.”

  Maya is a registered nurse, but that didn’t mean I trusted her to work on my injury. “Do you know what you’re doing?” I asked, yanking my arm back. “I would rather not look like Frankenstein’s monster.”

  “We all had to learn how to suture,” Maya soothed, motioning for Dad to move his chair from behind the desk. “I need to sit on that.”

  I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. Dad wasn’t used to being bossed around. Instead of arguing, though, he dutifully brought the chair to Maya and knelt next to me as she prepared to clean the blood from the gash before stitching it.

  “Are you okay?” Dad asked, his lavender eyes somber. “I shouldn’t have sent you over there. I’m so sorry.”

  He looked as if he was going to cry, which was dumbfounding. The only time I remember him crying when I was a kid was when my mother died. “It’s okay,” I said. “You couldn’t have known. We didn’t see it coming. We were expecting wraiths in the house. No one thought there would be a hundred gargoyles in the yard.”

  “What happened?” Serena asked, skidding to a stop on the ceramic tile in her stocking feet as she hurried into the room. Braden and Jerry were with her, and I got the distinct impression they’d been keeping her away from the action on purpose.

  “We went to your house,” Cillian replied. “We grabbed some things for you. Unfortunately they’re stuck in my truck for the time being. Things were fine until we were leaving. Then we ran into Bub in the foyer.”

  “Bub?” Dad made a disgusted face. “Well, I guess I should’ve expected that. Is your mother behind this?”

  “You can’t blame her for this,” Braden protested. “You don’t know she’s guilty. That’s not fair.”

  “Son, I’m not blaming her,” Dad said, choosing his words carefully. “I asked if your mother was behind this. I didn’t accuse her.”

  “She wasn’t there and Bub claimed she was trying to protect us,” Cillian said. “He seemed much more interested in talking to Aisling than me, though. That seems to be the norm with him. He gets mad and snaps at her, but she also intrigues him. It’s weird.”

  “What’s weird about it?” I asked, cringing when Maya pressed her gloved fingers to my wound. “I happen to be an intriguing person … and that really hurts!”

  “I’m sorry,” Maya said. “This is really inflamed for a wound that just occurred. Are gargoyles poisonous?”

  For someone still getting accustomed to the fact that monsters were real, Maya was doing an incredible job of acting as if this entire thing was normal.

  “Not that I know of,” I replied.

  “I don’t think so, but she was acting loopy in the truck,” Cillian said. “She kept glazing over and I was worried she was going to pass out.”

  “I don’t like this,” Griffin said, repeatedly clenching his fists. “I think we need to take her to the hospital.”

  “How?” Dad asked, pointing toward the window. “There are at least fifty gargoyles out there. Some of them are hiding in the bushes.”

  “Oh, cool,” Serena enthused. “I want to see.”

  “Don’t get too close to the window, sweetheart,” Dad said. “Hide behind the curtains if you’re going to look.”

  Sweetheart? Since when did she become his sweetheart? Wait … am I jealous of a newly minted orphan? That can’t possibly be right. “My arm really burns and I feel a little numb, but I don’t think I’ve been poisoned.”

  “Nevertheless, I have a purification draught in my bathroom,” Dad said. “The home office doled them out when there was that big fear of everyone being poisoned by magic mushrooms two years ago. There’s no expiration date, so it should still be good. If there is something in your system, this should knock it right out.”

  “I want to take her to the hospital,” Griffin argued. “No offense, but I’m not thrilled about trusting my girlfriend’s life to a home remedy.”

  “Your girlfriend happens to be my only daughter,” Dad pointed out. “I’m not risking her life. Even if the gargoyle did poison her, a hospital won’t know what to do. It’s not as though they stock gargoyle anti-toxin.”

  Dad had a point, but Griffin didn’t want to hear it. “If something happens to her … .”

  “If something happens to her I’ll gladly sit back and let you kill me, son,” Dad said. “I won’t want to live after that. I think this is best for her. You have to trust me.”

  Griffin pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead and nodded. “Okay.”

  Dad gave him a headshake before disappearing from the room. That gave Serena the opportunity to perch on the side of my chair and watch Maya go to work on my arm.

  “Was it cool seeing all of the gargoyles?” Serena asked. “I’ve never seen one until today.”

  “Yes, it was great,” I deadpanned. “I loved being terrorized and scratched. Oh, one of them yanked some hair out of my head, too. It’s been the best day ever.”

  Serena ignored my sarcasm. “What did you see inside of the house?”

  “There was a struggle,” I replied, reminding myself that no matter ho
w much pain I was in, Serena was worse off. “Your family wasn’t there. I grabbed some photos, clothes and your phone. Cillian got all of your stuff from the bathroom, too.”

  “Cool,” Serena said. “Thank you.” She was sincere, and for a second I thought she was going to cry. I wasn’t sure I could take that.

  “You don’t have to thank me,” I said. “I’m just sorry we didn’t come up with more answers. The gargoyles took us by surprise.”

  “It’s okay,” Serena said. “I understand.”

  Dad returned to the room and twisted the top off a vial of green liquid before handing it to me. “Drink all of that.”

  It looked like glowing puke. “I’m going to pass.”

  “Drink it,” Griffin ordered, grabbing my hand before I could push away the vial. “I’m not joking. You drink that right now.”

  “You’re so bossy,” I muttered, screwing my eyes shut as I swallowed the foul contents in two gulps. I coughed at the acrid taste and then wrinkled my nose as I tried not to vomit. “That tasted worse than it looked.”

  “You’ll live,” Griffin said, kissing my cheek. “I hope.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Maya said, smiling as she held up a needle. “Are you ready for some pain?”

  “Oh, this day keeps getting worse.”

  Griffin pressed my face into his neck and held me still as Maya slid the needle through my skin and caused me to whimper. He whispered in my ear to distract me, telling me he loved me and then throwing a few dirty limericks in for good measure. Dad didn’t laugh, but they perked me right up. When Maya was done, she reapplied a numbing agent to my arm and then taped a bandage over the wound.

  “All finished,” she said. “You took that like a pro.”

  “Great,” I said, resting my head against Griffin’s shoulder as he lifted me out of the chair and settled me on his lap. “Now what?”

  Dad shrugged as he reclaimed his desk chair. “That’s a really good question,” he said. “For starters, I insist that everyone stay here tonight. I think we all need to stick together, and I don’t want to hear one argument. Is that understood?”

  “Oh, bugger,” I muttered, earning a chuckle from Griffin.

  No one other than Serena seemed excited about the edict.

  “That sounds great,” the teenager said, her eyes sparkling. “It will be like a slumber party!”

  “Oh, joy,” Dad intoned.

  “I’ll get the mud masks ready,” Jerry said, clapping his hands. “Someone get the ice cream.”

  I shifted my weary eyes to Griffin and forced a smile. “It’s going to be a long night.”

  “As long as I’m with you, I don’t care.”

  Oh, well, that was sweet. That didn’t mean it wasn’t going to be a long night, though. “See if we have cookie dough,” I called to Jerry’s back. What? If I was going to be forced to have a slumber party I was going to eat as much crap as I could stomach. That’s the only good thing about a slumber party, after all. Now I had to make sure Jerry didn’t try to freeze my bra when no one was looking.

  15

  Fifteen

  “No wine.”

  Griffin pushed away my glass before I could reach for it as we settled at the table for dinner. We watched the gargoyles outside until the sun set, but they showed no signs of leaving or attacking. The waiting was almost worse than being slaughtered in our own driveway. Almost.

  “Why not?” I protested, frowning as Griffin sat beside me and Serena eagerly took the chair to my right. She’d been following me around the house for the past two hours, and I was just about at my limit. Griffin thought it was cute. I was starting to feel a bit smothered.

  “Because you just had that … draught thing … your father gave you and I don’t think you should mix it with alcohol,” Griffin replied. “Also, you had a huge hangover after the last dinner we ate here. Do you really need another one?”

  That was like asking if I wanted only a single chip from the salt and vinegar Lay’s bag. “I haven’t decided yet,” I replied. “One glass of wine isn’t going to hurt me.”

  “Well, we’re not going to find out if that’s true,” Griffin said. “No alcohol for you. There’s soda … or juice … or water. Maybe you should consider starting a health kick or something.”

  That sounded like the worst idea ever. “What’s your deal?”

  “You’re bruised, battered and bleeding,” Griffin replied. “Again. That’s my freaking deal.”

  He was on edge, and when I shifted my eyes to Jerry I realized I wasn’t the only one who noticed. “Fine,” I gritted out, making a face. “I won’t have wine. Happy?”

  “Not even remotely,” Griffin answered, resting his hand on the back of my neck. “I’m never happy when you’re hurt.”

  Oh, well, geez. I couldn’t be angry with him when he was being sweet. Wait … could I? Probably not.

  “Griffin is right,” Dad said. “You don’t need any wine. You should probably go to bed early, too. You need your rest after such a big day.”

  “This night keeps getting better and better,” I grumbled, reaching for my water. “I thought we were having a slumber party?”

  “We are,” Jerry said. “You’re invited and everything.”

  “Oh, wow,” I groaned. “I’m invited to a slumber party in my father’s house. I feel so … grateful.”

  “Knock it off, Aisling,” Dad ordered, shaking his head as he turned his attention to Serena. “I wasn’t sure what you like, so I had the cook make several dishes.”

  Since when was that the dinner rule? When I was growing up it was “eat or go hungry.” Now it was “I’ve made eighty things for you to make sure you’re happy.” That didn’t seem very balanced. Wine would help my jealousy. I was sure of it. Unfortunately, Griffin watched my hand every time I reached for something. He wasn’t joking about me being a teetotaler tonight.

  “I’ll eat anything,” Serena said. “My Dad always said that we had to eat whatever was served and that he wasn’t running a restaurant.” Her eyes clouded at the mention of her father. “I guess I won’t hear that again, huh?”

  “It’s okay,” Dad said, patting her hand. “We’re here to help if you need it.”

  “Yeah, if we can ever leave the house again,” Braden said. “What are we going to do about the gargoyles outside? We can’t stay in the house forever. We managed to get all of the charges done today before you called and told us to get home, but what happens tomorrow?”

  “I’m working on that,” Dad answered. “I called the office. They’re sending a cleanup crew. The gargoyles will either be forced off the property … or eliminated. The higher-ups said they would keep people monitoring the house until all of this is settled.”

  “Do they know I’m here?” Serena asked.

  “They do, and they think it’s a good idea for you to stay with us,” Dad said. “They’re trying to get in touch with your grandmother and aunt. I believe they live in Colorado, right?”

  Serena nodded, her eyes somber. “Will I have to move?”

  “Honey, I don’t have any answers for you right now,” Dad said. “We’re doing the best we can. We’ll just have to play it by ear, okay?”

  Serena didn’t look happy with the response but she didn’t put up a protest. “Okay,” she said. “Did you ever find out anything about the seal I left for you?”

  Dad stilled. “What seal?”

  “It was something my Dad brought home the day before it all happened,” Serena said. “I thought maybe it had something to do with all of this. It was in his car when the wraiths attacked. I saw him hide it in the glove box because he caught me looking at it. I grabbed it out of the car when I went back to the house the next day. I was hoping to take the car, but there were no keys and I was too afraid to go inside. I just took the seal.”

  “Where did you leave it?” Redmond asked, confused. “Did you leave it here at the house?”

  “I wasn’t sure where you guys lived,” Serena answered. “W
hen I saw Aisling at the greenhouse, I knew who she was, so I looked her up on line at the library. I found an address and waited for her there. I left the seal with her.”

  Dad turned his expectant eyes to me. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

  “Because I honestly didn’t remember,” I said, my mind flashing to the metal disc left on our porch a few days ago. “I didn’t know it was a seal. Griffin thought it was some ugly housewarming gift.”

  “I actually didn’t think that, but I was hopeful,” Griffin said. “I was just relieved that it wasn’t an explosive.”

  “Where is it?” Dad asked. “Is it back at the townhouse?”

  “Actually, it’s in my purse,” I replied, scratching my cheek. “I can’t remember where my purse is, though. I left it behind when we went to the Grimley house.”

  “I put it up in your bedroom,” Aidan supplied. “I saw it on Dad’s desk when I got here. I knew you wouldn’t want to lose it.”

  “I guess it’s upstairs then,” I said.

  “Do you think you could get it for me?” Dad asked, his voice tight. He was obviously torn about yelling at me for ignoring a big clue and wanting to coddle me because I was injured.

  “I guess,” I said, blowing out a sigh. “Of course, I’m the one with stitches and there are like forty-seven stairs between here and there. If I don’t come back in five minutes, look for me. I might’ve passed out from the strain of it all.”

  “Good grief,” Dad muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  “I’ll get it,” Griffin said, pushing back his chair. He shot me a warning look before moving away. “If you even think of drinking any of that wine … .”

  “I’ll watch her,” Jerry offered. “She can’t get anything past me. I’m an excellent babysitter.”

  History had disproved that on numerous occasions. “Yeah. Jerry will watch me.”

  “Personally, I think I should be in charge,” Braden said. “I’m the only one who doesn’t spoil her.”

  “I’m not comfortable with that,” I said. “I think I should watch myself.”

  “And I’m not comfortable with that,” Griffin said. “No wine!”