Grave Intentions (13 page)

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Authors: Lori Sjoberg

BOOK: Grave Intentions
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“Close your eyes.” The words escaped his lips before he had the chance to talk himself out of it.
“Why?”
“Because you still haven’t made your wish.” When she gave him a skeptical look, he smiled and added, “Come on, what’s it going to hurt? Take a walk on the wild side.”
Sarah eyed him for a long moment before murmuring, “Well, okay.” With obvious reluctance, she closed her eyes.
“No peeking.”
“I’m not,” she replied, lifting her chin toward the sound of his voice.
“Now,” he said, “Make your wish.”
And with that, David cupped her face in his hands and touched his lips to hers. He took his time, kissing her long and slow, taking in every shade of taste and texture, savoring a moment that would end all too soon.
Lord, she tasted even better than he remembered. He deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping against hers, and she let out a throaty little purr that made him harder than granite. Eyes still closed, she reached up and dragged her fingers through his hair. Her nails scraped lightly against his scalp and he couldn’t help but wonder how they’d feel against his bare shoulders, scratching down his back, digging into his ass.
Lust tangled with emotions he refused to acknowledge. If he didn’t stop soon, he’d end up doing something he’d later regret. So he pulled back on a sigh, not wanting the moment to end but realizing it was for the best. Gently, he stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Looks like we both got what we wanted.”
“Wow.” Sarah’s eyes fluttered open. Her face was flushed, her eyes heavy-lidded with pleasure. “There’s something to be said about this whole wishing business.”
 
David was up before sunrise the next morning. Not out of necessity, but because insomnia robbed him of the peaceful respite sleep offered. In spite of his best efforts, he couldn’t force Sarah from his thoughts, his dreams, his innermost fantasies. The taste of her lips still lingered in his memory, revving his libido and leaving him far too aroused for his body to drift off to sleep.
He’d finally given up a little after four, choosing to put pencil to paper and work out his frustrations artistically. His fingers moved of their own volition, scratching out picture after picture, enshrining the object of his affection through contrast and shadow.
He started with a basic silhouette of Sarah’s profile against the light of the moon, her soft brown hair trailing over her shoulders in loose waves. From there he branched out, sketching increasingly intricate designs, allowing his imagination to run wild as he exorcised his lust through artistic endeavor. His final creation had Sarah stretched out on a bed, looking tousled and wanton, the sheets strategically placed to maintain some semblance of modesty.
He might be a deviant, but he was still a gentleman.
“Pretty,” a dour voice drawled from behind.
David spun around, nearly falling off the chair in his rush to face Samuel while concealing his creations. He really hated it when Samuel got the drop on him. It gave the asshole too much of a rise. “What the hell are you doing here?” He kept his voice low to avoid waking Adam. “Run out of small children to frighten?”
“Touchy,” Samuel said, a trace of humor marking the word. “Actually, I came to check the status of your apprentice.” He cast a backward glance toward the couch, where Adam was passed out and snoring softly. The dog lay on the floor beside him, his legs twitching in his sleep.
David stared at him, incredulous. “You popped in for a status report at—” He glanced down at his watch. “Five-thirty? Have you lost your fucking mind?”
“This, from the degenerate who spent the past ninety minutes performing mental masturbation with a sketch pad?” Samuel reached over to David’s desk, snatching the top drawing before David could stop him. His eyes roamed the page with brazen curiosity. “Although I must admit, you did a rather . . . satisfactory job.” He smirked. “So tell me, is she real, or the product of wishful thinking?”
David jerked the sketch from Samuel’s grasp, tearing one of the corners in the process. He slapped it facedown on the desk and glared at his superior. “None of your damn business.”
Samuel’s smirk broadened to a ghoulish smile. “Ah, so she is real. Who is she? It’s not like you to get your knickers twisted over a woman.”
“What, are you writing a book?”
“Just curious. I have a vested interest in the well-being of my subordinates.”
David snorted. “Yeah, right.” Like Samuel gave a rat’s ass about anybody or anything. Knowledge was used for advantage and manipulation, a tool to maintain the pecking order of dominance and submission. Damned if he was going to give the asshole ammunition.
“To answer your question,” David said, his tone clipped, “the kid’s doing fine. He’ll have a solid base under him by the time I leave.”
Samuel arched an inquisitive brow. “Leave? What on earth gives you the impression you’re going anywhere?”
The words hit David like a shot to the gut, knocking the air from his lungs and leaving him momentarily speechless. When he could finally breathe again, he said, “But Fate said—”
“Fate said nothing of the sort.” Samuel shook his head, irritation lining the sharp planes of his face. “After all this time, you disappoint me, boy. You heard the words, but failed to comprehend their meaning.”
Hope evaporated, leaving a twisted knot of fury in its place. His first instinct was to throttle the asshole for jerking his chain, but instead David asked through gritted teeth, “Then why did you have such a hard-on about getting Adam trained so damn fast?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
An invisible force wrapped around David’s neck, applying just enough pressure to make its presence known. It was meant as a subtle reminder of their last encounter, of his place in the hierarchy, of his insignificance in the grand scheme of things. He swallowed, making sure he still could, relieved when he was able to draw breath. “Point taken.”
“Good.” Samuel smiled, and the hold around David’s neck loosened. “In that case, I have an assignment for you.”
“Oh goody, what now?”
“A stray. Two, actually.” Samuel reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out an index card. “Here’s the necessary information.”
“It’s been a while since we’ve had one of these.” David scanned the information, forcing back the anger so he could focus on the only thing left in his miserable existence: the job.
Nearly four years had passed since the last time he’d picked up a stray. Souls with unfinished business were reluctant to move on, and on rare occasions were successful in their attempts to remain on the mortal plane. Some wandered while others haunted. A few possessed a strong enough presence to be noticed by mortals and became fodder for ghost stories. Once detected, it was the reaper’s job to collect the soul and set it back on course to the next realm.
“All right,” David said, tucking the card in his back pocket. “I’ll squeeze it into the schedule.”
“Very good. Now, I’ll leave you to your . . .” Samuel’s gaze shifted to the stack of drawings on David’s desk. “Distraction.”
chapter 10
David slumped back in the driver’s seat, his yawn so wide his jaw popped. Despite the heavy haze of exhaustion, Samuel’s early morning visit dominated his thoughts, his brain working overtime to decipher the hidden meaning behind Fate’s ambiguous message.
“The fork in the road will expose the true nature of your character, but the light will chart the course for the remainder of your journey.”
What plans did Fate have in store for him? Why all the talk of forks and lights when she could just tell him what the fuck she wanted him to do?
Because that would make things too easy, he thought with increasing bitterness. Omniscient beings loved toying with their pets, and he was no exception. And until his tab was cleared, he had no choice but to suck it up and take it like a man.
His growing infatuation with Sarah complicated matters. What the hell was he thinking, kissing her again? He hadn’t been thinking, and that was a problem. Common sense and discipline flew right out the window every time he laid eyes on her. And in a moment of weakness, he’d thrown caution to the wind and gone on a hormonal joy ride.
If he had to be honest, he couldn’t say he regretted the transgression. He’d never forget the way she looked the night before, with her face flushed and that hint of lust darkening her beautiful brown eyes. Damn, he was in a world of trouble. Little by little, she consumed his thoughts, making him wish for things that weren’t part of the program. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up hurting her.
The creak of a screen door turned David’s attention to the run-down duplex across the street from where he parked. Its faded yellow paint was stained with dirt and algae, while sheets of plywood covered the broken front windows. Patchy, overgrown weeds choked the front yard, completing the picture of utter abandonment. Adam stomped down the gravel driveway toward the car, his expression anything but pleasant.
“How’d it go, Newbie?” David asked when Adam jerked open the passenger side door. He tried to force back the smile, but still found himself breaking into a shit-eating grin.
“You’re an asshole,” Adam bit out, slamming the door with enough force to make the car rattle. Eyes reduced to angry slits, he shifted in his seat to face David. “You could have warned me.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” The grin stretched to a smile and Adam flipped him the bird.
For the kid’s first solo reap, David had chosen an assignment with a low probability of witnesses or police involvement. Basically, one he’d be hard-pressed to fuck up.
Still, he didn’t want to make it too easy for the little bastard. It was a rite of passage to make the inaugural solo reap unforgettable. And besides, going soft on the kid just wasn’t his style.
“Hey, I took it easy on you.” David slipped the car in gear, checking the side-view mirror before he pulled away from the curb. “It could have been a lot worse.”
“Oh, so I’m supposed to be grateful?” The muscles in Adam’s jaw ticked. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at David with a look of contempt. “The dude was naked. He died jacking off with a plastic bag over his head. Thanks a fucking lot.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know autoerotic asphyxiation got your panties in such a wad.” David shrugged, fighting hard not to bust a gut laughing. He hooked a right onto Highway 17-92 North, slipping behind a silver Honda. “Ruby usually enjoys those gigs.”
“Figures.”
“You think that was bad, you should have seen the job I did in Savannah a while back. This old geezer had a contraption set up in his living room with a belt sander and a cordless drill—”
“Enough!” Adam snapped, his eyes wide and his upper lip peeled back in disgust. “Please. I don’t want to know.”
“Suit yourself.” Still smiling, David eased into the left-turn lane. Once the car rolled to a stop, he switched stations a few times, stopping when he found something good on the classic rock station. “If it makes you feel better, you did good, kid.”
In spite of his unease, Adam had managed to hold it together and completed his assignment without incident. That earned points in David’s book. And now that the kid had a firm grip on the physical aspects of the job, he could shift the training to the finer details, the ones crucial to bailing a reaper out of sticky situations.
Adam’s posture relaxed a little as he rolled down the window and propped his forearm on the sill. “Thanks,” he said, still sulking but not looking quite as pissed off as before.
“You’re welcome.” David hooked a left into a gas station and drove up to an available pump. “Tell you what, we have a few hours to kill before our next appointment downtown. We’ll swing by the apartment so you can let the mutt out; then we’ll go grab some lunch at Costanzo’s. My treat.”
 
At noon, the main doors to the Orange County Courthouse swung open and a crowd of people poured out like ants, intent on grabbing a quick bite in the short amount of time allotted for lunch recess. Sarah brought up the rear, digging through her purse for her cell phone as she walked down the concrete steps.
After her confrontation with Angelo the day before, she was grateful for jury duty and the excuse not to go to work. She still felt off balance, not sure how to respond to Angelo’s advances and her subsequent demotion. There was no way to prove he drugged her, and she’d be hard pressed to find anyone willing to risk their job by verifying her claims of harassment. For the time being, she had little choice but to withstand the abuse until she either found a new job or Angelo got tired of harassing her and moved on to greener pastures.
Waiting around in the jury pool had also given her time to reflect on her neighbor, the guy who kissed her like he wanted to eat her for breakfast, only to turn around and tell her he just wanted to be friends. Talk about mixed messages. Were David’s reasons legitimate, or were they a nice way of letting her down gently? Honestly, she had no idea.
She enjoyed his company, and felt an intangible connection with him. And yes, she found him more attractive with each passing day. But at the same time she wasn’t in the mood to play head games with someone whose intentions were as clear as mud. With everything else going on in her life, she didn’t have time for drama.
“What is it, Grandma?” Sarah asked when she answered the phone.
It was the third time Pearl had called, but since Sarah had been stuck in jury selection all morning, this was the first chance she’d had to answer.
“They won’t leave!” Pearl’s voice came over the phone in a low hiss.
“What?” Alarm set Sarah’s heart to racing. She covered her free ear with her hand so she could hear Pearl better. “Who won’t leave?”
“Gordon and Dolores! They say they’re not ready to leave yet.”
Who the heck were Gordon and Dolores? They sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place the names. She did a quick mental inventory and then remembered, and a familiar feeling of dread settled in her stomach.
“The dead people?”
“They don’t like being called dead,” Pearl informed her. “They prefer the term Life Challenged.”
Great. Now her grandmother was engaging in prolonged conversations with politically correct dead people.
“Are you still there?” Pearl asked.
“Yes, I’m here, Grandma,” Sarah replied, forcing her voice to remain neutral. The last thing Pearl needed was someone making light of her delusions. “Have you talked to Dr. Patel about any of this? Maybe he can convince Gordon and Dolores to go away.”
“Why would I tell him?” Pearl’s tone turned defensive. “He never believes a word I say.”
True, but it was worth a shot.
“Maybe you can talk to them,” Pearl said, a soft pleading that clenched Sarah’s heart. “I bet they’d listen to you.”
Sarah checked the time. Thirty more minutes and she’d have to return to the courthouse for the remainder of the afternoon. Not enough time to make a trip to the retirement home and back before court resumed. She’d been seated on a jury for a drug possession case. If she lucked out, the defendant would cop a plea during recess. If not, she’d be stuck in court for at least another three hours.
“Okay, Grandma, I’ll come over as soon as I get out of court.”
 
Later that afternoon, David and Adam were camped out in front of City Diner, killing time before their next appointment. Traffic was light and they’d been fortunate enough to find a parking spot close by, a rare feat in downtown Orlando.
Magnolia Avenue buzzed with the steady drone of engines and the honking of horns. Heels clicked against concrete, barely audible over the catcalls from the nearby construction crew. On the corner, a street vendor hawked everything from hot dogs to souvenir tee shirts to disposable cameras from his modest cart.
A man in his late fifties shuffled along the opposite side of the street, his face scruffy and his clothes threadbare and dirty. Slouched shoulders and a downward gaze lent to the appearance of a man who’d lived a long, hard life and didn’t have much to show for it. Seeing David and Adam, he crossed Central and made a beeline in their direction.
As he approached, David made eye contact and sent out a mental suggestion.
Keep moving
. The message was received loud and clear, and the man walked past without bothering to ask for a few bucks.
The move wasn’t lost on Adam. “So when are you going to teach me how to do that?”
“Do what?”
“You know. Pull the whammy on someone.”
David’s gaze cut over to Adam. “The whammy?”
“Yeah, the whole Jedi Mind Trick thing. You know what I’m talking about.” Adam waved an open palm in the air. “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
David rolled his eyes, even though the kid had a point. Now was as good a time as any to bump the little geek up to the next level of difficulty. They had a few minutes to spare and nothing to do; might as well make the time productive.
“Okay, here’s what you do.” David cracked his knuckles as he leaned against the building. “Think of a word, something random. Focus all of your thoughts on that single word.” He waited a few beats before asking, “Got one?”
Adam nodded.
“Good. Now, look me in the eyes and shout that word in your mind.”
Adam’s gaze drifted up to David, his eyes squinted in concentration.
“Did you get it?” Adam asked a moment later.
“Nope. Try again.”
Adam’s face scrunched up like a kid being force-fed broccoli. “How about now?”
Nipples.
“Yes, very good.”
Adam beamed with pride.
“But you’ve got to be able to do it without that constipated look on your face.” Before Adam had the chance to respond, David added, “Now pick another word and try it again.”
They repeated the exercise until David got sick of having words like “boobage” and “meat curtains” stuck into his head. “Okay, that’s enough for now. We’ll try some more later, after your vocabulary rises above the third-grade level.”
Once the kid mastered the ability to transmit thoughts without looking like he was about to pop an artery, David would teach him the fine art of subtly inserting them into the mortal mind. When done properly, the person interpreted the idea as his or her own and acted accordingly.
“Spoilsport. I can’t help it if I have a healthy sex drive.” Adam flashed an impudent grin. “Wouldn’t hurt if you let the beast out every once in a while. Which reminds me, what’s up between you and Sarah?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Now it was Adam’s turn to roll his eyes. “Cut the bullshit. Just because I’m new to this gig doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I know women. And I saw how you almost sucked her face off the other night in the garage.”
When David didn’t respond, Adam smiled and added, “Not that I blame you. She’s fucking hot. I was thinking of asking her out for drinks this weekend.”
He knew the little bastard was aiming to get a rise out of him. It worked. The idea of Adam with Sarah cranked his blood pressure so high his ears started ringing. Determined not to show any reaction, David kept his focus on the passing traffic.
“You’re probably going to be too busy to make social calls,” he finally said, straining to hold back his anger toward the kid for even thinking about hitting on Sarah. He was shooting for casual, but the words came out in a low growl.
“Dude, you sound like an animal defending your territory.” Adam laughed. “You know, you’re a crappy liar when it comes to women. Or is it just her?”
David pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose with his middle finger. “We’re not having this conversation.”
“Oh come on, why not? What else are we gonna talk about while we wait around for the stiff of the day?”
“Talk about whatever floats your boat.” Before Adam could say anything, David added, “But my interests are off limits.”
“Oh, so you
are
interested in Sarah.”

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