The Mercenary and the Mortician (The Silent Hollow #1)

93. Cal Walker

“ N o, we’re going to need two cars, believe me,” Naomi insisted.

I exchanged an amused look with Theo.

“You’re moving into a dorm, gnomes. How much shit are you really going to need?” Theo asked, rubbing the back of her neck as she eyed my spacious G-Wagon.

Naomi held up her index finger like she was about to give a lecture.

“It’s always best to prepare for the worst, Theodora. If you don’t believe me, just ask Ryan. He’ll agree that it’s better to bring two cars now than to get there and realize we don’t have enough space and have to make a second trip.”

Ryan chuckled and pulled the keys to the hearse out of his pocket.

“I mean, normally, I would agree with you, gnomes, but I went with you on your dorm tour, remember? You’re basically moving into a closet.”

“Hey! It is not a closet! It is my humble abode. Don’t disrespect my new pad!”

Ryan rolled his eyes, though he was grinning.

“Alright, alright.” Ryan tossed the keys to Theo. “You take the hearse, Theo. Cal and I will follow you guys in the wagon.”

“Squeeee!” Naomi squealed and bounded up to Ryan’s spooky corpse mobile. “Thanks, Ry-guy! You’re the best!” she chirped as she climbed into the passenger seat. Theo got into the driver’s side, somehow looking both annoyed and amused at the same time.

I chuckled and fired up the g wagon, pairing my phone and putting on a ‘ best of Skrillex’ playlist. Ryan smiled at my music choice as he climbed in. He buckled up as I waited for our sisters to pull out before following them down the drive and onto the street.

“Well, she’s excited.” Ryan grinned, and I laughed.

“Yeah, no kidding.”

Naomi had been accepted into several schools but had chosen to go to Cleveland State so she could stay close to home. She didn’t really need to stay in a dorm. It wouldn’t be a far commute for her to drive from Fairview, but she insisted that she needed the full experience.

Vox seemed weirdly grumpy about the whole thing, but I just chalked it up to his overprotective big-brotherish behavior. He’s always treated my sisters like family, and I could tell he was worried about sending Naomi off to school without one of us around to watch over her. If you asked me, it was super fucking cute, and I low-key loved it.

“Is everything good to go for the service tomorrow?” I asked Ryan. I’d double-checked that all my responsibilities were taken care of, but I liked to help Ryan out with his tasks, too, if I could.

Because I hadn’t gone to mortuary school, there were just some tasks that Ryan had to handle on his own. So, if there were things I could take off his plate, I always did my best to do so.

He gave me a warm smile and rested his hand on my thigh. My cock twitched at his gentle touch.

Fuck.

Would I ever get used to him touching me like that? Would there ever be a day when he would put his hands on me, and I wouldn’t be overcome with the aching desire to fuck him senseless?

I didn’t think so.

I had it so bad for this man that it wasn’t even funny.

“Yeah, I think everything’s good to go. I finished up with Ms. Mercer yesterday. She seemed to like… I mean, she looks really good. I think her family will be happy with her.”

I glanced at him, narrowing my eyes. The tips of his ears were bright red, and he was doing that weird thing with his jaw that he always did when he was anxious.

“Hey, so… I have a weird question,” I said carefully.

“Uhm. Yeah? What is it?” he asked, and I could tell by his tone that he knew I was going to ask about his little slip-up.

“Can you see dead people?”

He instantly started coughing and choking, like he swallowed down the wrong tube.

Keeping one hand on the wheel, I slapped him firmly on the back, doing my best not to chuckle at how flustered he was.

“Wh-what! Why do you say that!?” he rasped, and I frowned at him.

“Well, when I was stalking you and watching you on the cameras, you used to always have these shadows following you around. I always see you talking to no one during services… Also, when you’re in the embalming room, you’re always having full-blown, one-sided conversations with people I can’t see.”

Ryan was staring at me, panicked, which made me frown even more.

“Why are you looking at me like I’m the ghost?” I asked, braking for a red light.

“You’re much more observant than people give you credit for,” he muttered, and I laughed.

“Hey, I’m an ex-mercenary. It comes with the territory.” I smirked.

He bit his lip, still looking uncomfortable.

“I don’t know why you felt like you needed to hide this from me. I don’t care if you see dead people. Well… I care in the sense that if it’s adding stress to your life, I want to be able to help. But you don’t seem to be afraid of them.”

“I just… I can’t believe you’re not only cool with it but you… believe it, I guess. I’ve never told anyone before. Not even my family.”

I raised an eyebrow, shocked. “Surely Iris knows! She’s super witchy, I bet that’s why she gave me the weird pouch you always make me carry around.”

His lips twitched, and he nodded.

“Yeah. You have some… unsavory hitchhikers.”

What the fuck?

“What does that mean?” I asked. This was the most interesting conversation I’d ever had in my life. How fucking rad was this? My boyfriend could see dead people!

“You uhm… well, you’re haunted, Cal. By the people you’ve killed. Also, your mom—who’s a piece of fucking work, by the way—tends to hang around you like a bad idea.”

“What! My fucking mom?” I gaped, and Ryan’s cheeks turned a brilliant crimson.

“Yeah.”

“That fucking bitch!” I snarled. “Did she hurt you? I’ll kill her a second fucking time if she puts one goddamn spirit finger on you!” Rage flared in my chest at the fact that even from the fucking grave, there was a chance that psycho bitch might hurt the best thing that had ever happened to me.

Ryan chuckled. “No, she hasn’t hurt me. When I first met you, she passed through me a few times, and it made me feel a little sick, but since you have your talisman, she hasn’t been able to come near me.”

Realization dawned on me. “So that time I barreled into that service without my talisman, my mom was attacking you?”

Ryan nodded. “Not just her. You have a whole gaggle of ghouls that follow you around. If I ever lost you in a crowd, all you would need to do is drop your talisman, and I would be able to find you just from their yowling screams.”

“That’s… metal as fuck.” I breathed, and Ryan burst out laughing.

He curled his hand around mine.

“I love the way you react to things. It’s… refreshing.”

I frowned at him. “How am I supposed to react?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Most people would call me a freak.”

Anger simmered in my gut at the way he said it. Like he believed he was a freak. I remembered the story he had told me about the time those bitch ass kids had made fun of him for liking flowers, and I clenched my teeth.

“Fuck being normal, Ryan. Normal is boring. I love that you see dead people. I think it’s bad fucking ass that you live in a funeral home. On top of that, I think it’s hot that you’re a freckly red-headed man who likes gardening. Everything about you is attractive to me. You’re my lil’ spooky ginger boy, and I love the shit out of you.”

He turned his big brandys on me as we pulled into the IKEA parking lot, and I swooned a little.

“Thanks, angel,” he said softly, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

I beamed at him. “Anytime, ginger snap. Let me know next time you need a boost. I never get tired of telling you all the things I love about you.”

Turning away from my blushing man, I gazed up at the giant blue and yellow building before us, cocking my head to the side in curiosity.

“I’ve never been to an IKEA before…” I mused out loud.

Ryan made a strange sound, and I glanced at him, confused. He was looking at me like I had just sprouted an extra head.

“ What!?” he gasped. “I’m taking your IKEA virginity!?”

I gave him a bewildered smile. “Yeah, I guess. What’s so great about it?”

“Oh… baby.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of the car, suddenly nearly as excited as my sister had been,

“I can’t believe I’m going to get to experience your first time at IKEA.”