Page 72 of Ghost Walk
“Maybe there’s a clue in his victim selection.”
The woman made him want to tear out his hair. “He left the other girls alone because they were Sunday school teachers and old maids. He only had an eye for beautiful victims… likeyou. Which is the whole point of you staying away from 1789.”
Grace wasn’t convinced. “Yeah, but…”
“Would you stop fixating on the past and think of the present? You’re now jobless and broke, because of me.”
“Because of you?” She blinked. “It wasn’t your fault.I’mthe one who just walked off the eight o’clock Ghost Tour.”
Jamie disregarded those semantics, focusing on the big picture. “Before I entered your life, you had an income. You were in no danger of being the target of a killer. You weren’t slipping through time.”
“That isn’t true. I went back in time last year, before I even met you.”
If he’d been solid, he’d have taken her by the shoulders, but it was one more thing ghosts couldn’t do. “Knowing me is harming you. Keeping you from living.”
She shook her head, refusing to admit the truth. “I’m more alive with you around than I’ve been in thirty-two years.”
“This won’t work.” Jamie persisted. “I’m dead and you’re not. Sooner or later, you’ll want someone with a heartbeat.”
“No.” She sounded very sure. “I’ve only ever wanted you.”
Jamie squeezed his eyes shut. Damn it, she was going to rip him apart. “You should havemorethan me. You should haveeverything.”
“Where is this even coming from?” She demanded. “Things have been fine, up until now.”
“No, they haven’t. We just haven’t wanted to see reality. What kind of future can I give you? What will happenwhen your Partner comes and offers you children and a real life?” Either Jamie would have to stand by and watch her love another man or --even worse-- she would walk away from everything she deserved for a ghost. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “It won’twork, Grace.”
“Let me explain about the Partner thing. Then you’ll…” She trailed off and turned to look at him, comprehension dawning on her lovely face. “Wait a second, are youdumpingme? Is that what this is about?”
He nearly flinched. “I’m trying to save you, as you’ve saved me.” The least he could do was return the favor.
“Except I haven’t saved you, yet, idiot!”
She’d saved him, just by being born. “It was wrong of me to ask you to solve these murderers. All that matters now isyourlife. I know you, Grace. So long as I’m here, you will never stop this. Once I go, the investigation is over.” He took a deep breath. “And so I’m leaving.”
“You’re leaving.” She repeated quietly, her expression shifting. “And going where?”
“To Heaven.”
That was a lie. No pearly gates were opening for Jamie anytime soon. If he’d been a Rivera, no doubt he’d attribute that to the fact he wasn’tsupposedto be dead. Since he was just a Riordan, though, he knew better. God hadn’t forsaken him, but He wasn’t exactly going to welcome him into the clouds, either. This brief time with Grace was the only paradise he’d ever be granted. ThiswasJamie’s eternal reward and it had been a blessing.
“You can go to Heaven?” She asked skeptically. “Since when? You told me you were stuck here.”
“Well, now I feel like it’s time to move on.” He obfuscated, wanting to ease her mind. Ghosts had a few tricks up their sleeves. He could make himself invisible to Grace and she would think he’d found peace. It would be for the best.
…Then he could haunt her for the next seventy years, hating every man who came near her.
Grace’s magical brown eyes narrowed slightly. “I know you, too, Jamie. So I know you’re not goinganywhere. Even ifyou could get up there somehow, you don’twantto go to Heaven. Not right now. You want to behere. It’s probably why you’re still roaming around. Why are you lying?”
“I’m not.” It didn’t sound convincing even to his ears. Jamie was an earthly creature and always had been. Heaven was no doubt a very dull place for a pirate. It wasn’t as if he’d know anyone up there. Truthfully, anywhere would be dull without Grace. “Look, I just…”
She cut him off. “Is it me? Are you bored with me?”
“Bored?” He actually laughed at that. “Are you fucking crazy? When would I havetimeto be bored? Every ten minutes you’re mixed up in some knew lunacy.”
“Well, that’s notmyfault.” She protested, as if he was complaining. “Most of it,you’vecaused!”
“I know!” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “And I can’t keep doing this to you.”
