Page 31 of Midnight Auto Parts

Josie sucked in a shocked breath, horror plain across her face. “You…you…”

The fact she couldn’t find a word bad enough to pin on me almost brightened my mood. “Yes?”

“Oh. Wait.Ha.Sucker.” She stuck out her tongue. “You told us your wish, so it won’t come true.”

“Damn it.” I pounded my fist on the table. “Then I’ll have to get revenge the old-fashioned way.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask.” Carter leaned forward. “What’s the old-fashioned way?”

“Where are you?” I twirled the dessert in my hand. “I have a cupcake with your name on it.”

That I would gladly smash right between her eyes if I could sneak up on her fast enough.

“Hang up now.”Carter mouthed the words to me.“Track her phone later.”

Turnabout was fair play, and I wasn’t abusing the family plan on our tracking app nearly enough.

“Fear me.” I mashed the end button on Josie then turned on Carter. “Why did you help me strike fear in the heart of your roomie? You’re the one who has to sleep down the hall from her.”

“Josie left a ball of hair the size of a yorkie in the shower this morning.”

Part of me wondered at them using the same shower. The rest of me didn’t want to know. Ever.

“Do you want my wish?” Kierce offered me his cupcake. “I haven’t used it yet.”

“One per customer,” Carter chided, but her expression was grimmer without Josie on the line.

“She’s right.” I let my candle extinguish itself in my frosting. “You should use yours for what you want.”

A faint crinkle of his eyes told me he had selected his ask for the universe, then he blew out the candle.

“Do I eat it now?” His earnestness made my heart squeeze. “To make it come true?”

His tastes as the Viduus fell on the bloodier side of the scale. Blue steaks. Seared ahi. Smoked oysters. Lots of sushi. A stray vegetable sneaked in here or there, but he made no efforts to round out his diet.

“You don’t have to, but the baked goods here are top-notch.”

“Then I’ll decline.” He held it out to me. “Would you like?—?”

“Yes.” Carter snatched it out of his hand. “I would.” She placed it before her. “Thanks.”

Unable to look away, even though I wanted to, I watched her crush cheddar puffs in their bag. I couldn’t stop my throat from bobbing as she sprinkled crumbs over the top of the cupcake, really getting in there, mashing them into the frosting. “What have you done?”

“Have you ever heard of Chicago-style popcorn?”

“Yes.” I saw where this was headed and explained to Kierce. “It’s half cheddar and half caramel.”

“This is no different.” She jabbed a fork into her creation. “Salted caramel cupcake plus cheddar puff.”

“A Chicago-style cupcake.” I glanced away after the first bite. “A classic flavor combo no one asked for.”

“Now that I’ve tormented you on Josie’s behalf, we need to get down to business.” She kept shoveling it in. “Bones.” She paused to sip from her drink. “Dozens of them.”

Leaning forward, Kierce rested an elbow on the table. “Animal, human, or other?”

Othercovered a lot of ground when it came to the paranormal community.

“The ones I saw weren’t humanoid.” She waved her fork. “I should have species confirmation soon.”

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