Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
H angman…
I paused my game and picked up my phone off my chest, checking the screen.
“Yo,” I said, pressing it to my ear.
“She was dosed with that new shit,” Synister confirmed. That was Syn, cutting right through the shit and getting right to the point, always.
“Anything to be done?” I asked.
“Nope, just wait it out,” he said with a tired sigh. “She remember who she is?” he asked.
“Just that her granddad used to call her Sweetpea and that she hates the taste of green peppers and the texture of peas.”
Syn snorted and asked, “How the fuck did that come up?”
Shit .
“Just did, man. I don’t know,” I lied quickly. While I wasn’t keen on it, white lie though it was, the last thing I wanted was for Syn to get up my fucking ass for slipping up and getting too familiar with her too quick with the slip of the pet name.
“Made us something to eat and asked if she could remember if she was allergic to anything. You know how it goes. Brain is on one thing and heads down a rabbit hole.”
Synister grunted and said, “No missing persons yet that we know of. She could be local; she could be a tourist. It’s anybody’s guess right now.”
“Anything on how she landed in our mortuary in the first place?” I asked.
“Trying to trace accounts but whoever is behind ‘em knows how to cover their tracks.”
“Huh, smells like corruption. The kind of money involved in making a problem like that disappear means whoever’s behind it is a rich bitch motherfucker.”
“Old money or new money, it all spends the fucking same,” Synister complained.
“Shit, you really ain’t got a clue,” I said, and color me surprised. It didn’t usually take Synister long to figure out the players involved with shit like this.
“I don’t,” he grated. “And I don’t like it. Loose lips sink ships. You sure you got a handle on miss thing?”
“No fuckin’ thanks to you, threatening the shit out of her with the crypt up front.”
“Yeah, I lost my head for a minute there,” he said. “Shit pisses me off.”
“That’s not like you, man. Something else going on?”
“Shit fucking day at the office,” he said.
All that shit was way beyond my fucking pay grade. I didn’t understand heads or tails about money market accounts or investing. That was all Syn.
“How much of my ass did you lose?”
“A fair chunk,” he said. “Nothing I can’t get back at this point, but believe me, my asshole puckered with the drops today.”
“Shit,” I muttered. “I trust yah,” I said. “You trust me?”
“Fuck yeah, brother. I trust you,” he said.
“Then best believe, I’ve got this. But it wouldn’t hurt for you to apologize or be fuckin’ nicer when you see her again. You catch more flies with honey. Sides, she’s a smart girl. Knows she doesn’t have anywhere else to go, can’t remember shit. Whole fuckin’ thing is weird as hell for us. I can’t even imagine how weird it is for her.”
“Not like you to be soft,” he said.
“Fuck you,” I muttered and he laughed.
“For real, though. All we can do right now is sit tight while Requiem sorts through shit, lookin’ for that needle in a haystack.”
“How many fuckin’ people know our ways?” I asked.
“Not a lot, but enough that it’s gonna take some time.”
I sighed. “We got plenty of that.”
“Looking back on it, I’m almost starting to feel bad,” he said.
“You should. Doc’s pretty sure she was some kind of assaulted. Then, for all intents and purposes, she fuckin’ dies then wakes up with Reaper’s dick in her hand? Shit’s beyond fucked up.”
“I tell you; I don’t know what the fuck Grim sees in that guy.” Syn sighed and I sighed with him.
“He’s never let us down before. If she were dead for real, we wouldn’t even know about this particular fucked-up proclivity.”
“I think we all could have gone the rest of our lives without knowing.”
“For real ,” I agreed.
“Speaking of those two… Grim says you got some grave digging to do this week.”
“Yeah, quite a bit of day dwelling, actually.”
Syn snorted. “Sucks for your nocturnal ass,” he said. “I’ll send someone to make sure all our bases are covered with Alice in Wonderland over there. Still don’t know how the fuck that’s going to work itself out.”
“I don’t think she’s going to be any trouble.”
“If it comes to it, only thing we can do is be merciful and quick,” he said.
“You seriously checking with me right now?” I couldn’t keep the incredulity out of my voice if I wanted to.
“Your vibe was off,” he said and almost sounded defensive about it.
“No shit, Sherlock. A dead woman just resurrected and nearly twisted Reaper’s cock clean off. I think that would be enough to throw any motherfucker that was there to see it with their own eyes off their game for a minute. Not every day a chick sits up and comes back from the dead.”
“Alright, alright, get your panties outta your ass,” he groused – which was rich.
“Could say the same thing to you, motherfucker,” I shot back.
“As Fear’s girl likes to say, ‘touché, fucker.’”
I snorted. Lainey was a kick. She could be funny as hell.
“I better get off of here and try and get some kind of a fuckin’ nap in since I’m going to be forced into being a day dweller this week,” I complained.
“Hey, you chose the grave digger life,” he said.
“You know the heavy equipment does come equipped with lights,” I countered. “I could just as easily dig the pits at night as I could during the day. Fuckin’ noise and light pollution ordinances, though.”
Synister laughed on the other end. “Only you, bro. Only you are comfortable hanging out in cemeteries at night.”
“It’s quiet,” I reminded him. “No trouble except for the odd ghost hunter, trespassing kids, and voodoo priest or priestess.”
“Don’t forget ghosts,” he said.
“They’re dead, don’t make too much noise, and generally don’t bother me,” I reminded him.
“Jesus, man, I love you.”
“Back at you, bro. G’night.”
“Night, man.”
I sighed, set down my phone and set my controller aside, then picked up the remote and turned off the television. I went and took a leak and when I was finished, stopped at the open doorway to my room.
Lorelai was having a fitful sleep, moaning, and twisting in the sheets, the material wrapping her legs as her hands clutched at the fitted sheet beneath her, by her hips.
I didn’t like the look of it, but I also didn’t like the idea of waking her, either. A bad dream in this deep stage of sleep wasn’t good , but by the same token, there was a real possibility whatever it was would fade back into the recesses of her damaged memory. I would rather that at this point than for her to wake and have the full force of whatever it was slam into her consciousness like a fuckin’ freight train.
Sometimes it really was better to let sleeping dogs lie… not that she was a dog. Far from it. She was quite the opposite. Statuesque, slender, and yet maintaining her curves. I fully admit, she was just my type, physically speaking. I definitely saw the attraction, sick as it was on Reaper’s part.
I took a gentle step back and wandered back into the living room, throwing myself back down on the couch, an arm over my eyes.
One thing I retained from being in the military was the ability to grab sleep when you could get it. The only problem was the ability to actually get good sleep anymore eluded me.
Tonight, I was in luck. I didn’t know if it was that I was mentally and emotionally drained tending to Lorelai or what, but I was out inside a minute and when I woke the next morning, it was to Specter knocking on the glass beside me.
I winced and sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
I got up and went to the door, unlocking it. He slid inside and handed me one of the paper cups of coffee from the Mickey Ds down the street.
“Fuck my life.” I winced at the light streaming in between the slats of the venetian blinds.
“Surprised you aren’t bursting into flames,” Specter cracked, dropping into my recliner.
“Like I haven’t heard every night shift and vampire joke there is,” I groused.
Specter grinned. “Saying I need to get some new material?” he asked.
“Please and thank you,” I muttered, lowering the rim of the paper coffee cup from my lips.
“Good?” he asked.
“Shit’s too fuckin’ hot,” I bitched. “So, I don’t fuckin’ know yet.”
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the couch this morning,” he said. “Not sure how the fuck that even happens. There’s only one side to get off and on from.”
“Long fuckin’ night,” I said with a sigh.
“So, where’s zombie girl?” he asked.
“Her name is Lorelai, and she’s in my room, sleeping,” I said.
“Excuse the fuck out of me, but Lorelai is in your room and you’re out here? What the fuck is that, over?”
“Chill,” I said. “She’s been through enough and I’m honestly not interested in making things worse or more complicated than they already are.
“You’re a better man than me,” he said with a huffed laugh.
I snorted indelicately.
“You good if I get on out of here?” I asked. “I got shit to do.”
And, honestly, the sooner the better. I didn’t like the idea of Specter being on babysitting duty. He had more than a few rough edges that still needed sanding out.
“I’m good, bro,” he said, pulling the lever on my recliner and propping his feet up. “Get on out there and soak up some fuckin’ Vitamin D. Enjoy the sunshine.”
I shook my head. “The day star is trying to kill me. I’m sure of it.”
He snorted and picked up my game controller.
“Fuck off, do what you gotta do. I’m on babysitting duty until you get back.”
“K,” I said. “Don’t be a fucking dick when she wakes up,” I cautioned him. “Or you’ll deal with me in a fuckin’ foul mood. Girl’s been through enough.”
He paused in what he was doing and eyed me, suddenly paying real close attention and all serious. Good, I meant every word coming out of my mouth. He upset her, and we were fighting.
“You like her or something?” he asked.
“She’s not a bad girl,” I said. “What I’m trying to do is keep things above board and her cooperative. Shit’s already off to a bad enough start, but I’ve built some rapport with her. Don’t fucking ruin it.”
“Copy that,” he said with a nod. “I’ll be nice.”
“For real, be nice and not your fuckin’ version of it.”
“I said I’d fuckin’ behave. The longer you stand there flapping your jaw at me, the longer it’s gonna take for you to get your ass back here. And I, for one, have some other shit to fuckin’ do today other than wait around for you.”
“The fuck your unemployed ass does,” I said with a scoffing laugh.
Specter may have been a pain in the fucking ass, but one thing he was not was disloyal. The club was his fuckin’ life. He lived and breathed it. Whatever the club needed, he was our guy, content to keep things running smooth and straight, living at the manse and straight up off cash brought in by our less-than-aboveboard dealings. On paper, he was Synister’s executive assistant or some shit for Syn’s aboveboard dealings. In reality, he was free to come and go as he pleased, but rarely did anything that didn’t involve the club and keeping our asses covered.
He was the main cog in the well-oiled machine that was the Iron Wraith’s operation.
Every one of us knew it, too, which afforded him a little leeway with his fuckin’ attitude problem he liked to develop every now and again.
“Alright, I’m out. Call me if anything comes up,” I said.
“Will do,” he said with a sigh, settling back in my recliner and picking up the remote to turn on the television. “Just gonna sit here and fuck up your saves.”
I smirked and shook my head. “I’ve played through before. I won’t miss anything.”
“Damn,” he said and I laughed, picking up my jacket and cut off the set of hooks by the stairs.
“See you around,” I said and trotted down the steps to get out there and work a full day in the hot fuckin’ sun, digging graves with a heavy loader.
I led a charmed fuckin’ life, but I tell you, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. For the most part, it was a quiet life dotted with the odd sense of adventure and I liked it.