Page 43 of Ghost Walk
“Jamie, if he gets in here, don’t watch.” Grace warned. “It’ll be harder for you if you have to watch.”
She was right. Seeing Grace harmed would be worsethan his own death, but he would still stay with her through all of it. “Three!” He shouted, ignoring her command. “Now, Grace!”
Wham!
Energy slammed out, blasting Robert right in the chest. Jamie’s eyebrows soared as the smaller man went flying backwards and careened into the wall. Grace had far more magic in her blood than he’d anticipated. The amped-up menstrual cramp spell hit with the force of a wrecking ball, knocking Robert right off his feet. Lucky for him, the anesthetic quality of the enchantment was increased as well. Old Rob was feeling no pain. He gave a dopey smile and fell forward in an unconscious heap of beige.
Then the hideous mule painting fell right on top of him.
Jamie arched a brow. He’d seen bloody cartoons with more dignity. “Good news, love. You’ve vanquished the grotesque jackass. …Also, your rotter of an ex is quite possibly dead.”
He heard her pushing the dresser out of the way and opening the door a crack. “He’s dead?” She sounded annoyed over that possibility. “Do you have any idea how hard that’s going to be to explain to the police?”
“Oh, if he was dead, we wouldn’t be troubling the authorities about him. Sadly, the wanker still seems to be breathing, after all.” Jamie crouched down next to Robert, wanting nothing more than to pitch him out a window. “Donea suppose I can convince you to finish him off while he’s down, can I?” He asked hopefully.
“I’m not killing anyone, Jamie.”
“But he’s only going to wake up and cause you more distress. If you were to…”
“No.”
He made a face at her. “Fine.” Problem solving had been a lot more permanent back when he was three-dimensional. Letting Robert live was just asking for trouble. It seemed obvious to Jamie. Still, he could tell that Grace wasn’tgoing to listen to reason. “Call the constables and let’s do this the hard way, then.” He sighed.
“What am I going to tell the cops? That I used a spell on him? Not even I think that’s true and Ifrigging know it’s true!”
“The man reeks of bourbon, Grace. You’re going to tell them he arrived here drunk, attacked you, and somehow managed to knock himself out.”
“You think they’ll believe that?”
“What else are they going to believe?” Jamie got to his feet and shot her a triumphant grin. “That you defeated him, using nothing but the ghost of a dead pirate and a magical spell?”
She winced.“Yeah…Good point.”
Chapter Nine
June 24, 1789- Around town, they say JMR has a treasure buried somewhere nearby. Gold, silver, and gems! All of it hidden away until the Pirate gives it to his bride.
I’m wondering if I can convince him to lend me a few diamonds, while he waits for her to show up.
From the Journal of Miss Lucinda Wentworth
The police did indeed believe Grace’s story.
What other explanation was there, really?
They carted Robert off to jail, with a lecture on locking her doors and a yellow pamphlet on restraining orders. Grace figured her ex would be out again by morning… assuming he woke up, at all. That menstrual cramp magic really packed a wallop in large doses. She was a little concerned that Robert would stay unconscious until some handsome prince kissed him awake or something.
Spells always seemed to go wrong.
“We should have made sure he couldn’t come after you, again.” Jamie repeated for the hundredth time. It clearly drove him crazy that the cops didn’t execute Robert right there in her apartment. He paced back and forth in front of the bedroom door, like he was afraid someone might try to break in again. “I donea like that he’s still breathing.”
“He’s in a cell for the night, Jamie. You can relax, for now.”
“What about forlater? Turns out your ‘husband material’ candidate is a fucking maniac, love. Hewillbe back.”Jamie’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “We need to buy a musket.”
“I’ll put it on the grocery list.”
He didn’t appreciate her sarcasm. “You should pay me more attention. Itoldyou he wasn’t a gentleman, but you didn’t listen and nowthishappened.”
