Page 7 of Safe Haven
HAVEN
Ten hours.
That’s how long it takes to scrub my house of any evidence that Danica or Loki were there. Long enough for the sun to set again, so that no one saw Loki and me move the body from my house into my garage before putting it in my hearse.
Perks of being a mortician, I have plenty of body bags and other supplies lying around my house that would otherwise seem suspicious.
Loki and I haven’t really spoken other than me answering a few questions or correcting something she was doing wrong. So, as I drive us to the funeral home I co-own with my best friend Corvin, I sigh and finally break down into some small talk.
“What’s your name?” She snorts at me as she crosses her arms and looks out the window.
“Loki.”
I roll my eyes.
“No shit, Sherlock. I mean, your legal name, or am I introducing you to my partner as Loki?” I glare at the side of her head for a second before returning my eyes to the road.
It’s still rush hour traffic in the city.
“Lourdes Ramos.” A spicy Latina.
That explains a lot.
“Nice to meet you. Wish it hadn’t been like this.” I let my words trail off without finishing, ‘cause fuck what could I possibly say that would make any of this fucked up day better?
“She idolised you. Always spoke about her little cousin. The twin half of her soul. How she was the light to your dark, and that you were inseparable as kids. Always said that if shit went wrong, she’d find you and you’d fix it, everything like you always did when you were little. Was she wrong?” I swallow hard when I feel her eyes on me, waiting for an answer.
“I can’t fix this.” The words come out in a whisper.
I can’t bring her back from the dead.
“Nah, I guess you can’t. You ain’t the Angel of Death.” I chuckle at her choice of words.
“Don’t say that near Corvin ‘cause, according to him, I am.” I roll my eyes at the memory.
One little lab experiment with a not-so-dead frog, and suddenly I’m known to the graduating class as Azrael. Or Az, for short, which Corvin still calls me.
“Sounds like there’s a story there.” I purse my lips as I pull into the mortuary driveway.
“Stay here until I check if the coast is clear.” Loki nods and turns to look into the back of the hearse, where Danica lies in a bag.
“We’ll get her into a casket soon.”
Loki shakes her head.
“No, she has to be cremated. Nobody can find evidence that she actually died. The whole plan depends on it.” I frown again but nod.
Cremation involves a lot less paperwork that I’ll have to forge.
Chapter Four
HAVEN
“Hey, Az,” I freeze as Loki helps me wheel Danica’s body into the dead room, where we store the bodies.
“Yeah?” I can’t meet his eyes, and he instantly knows something is up.
“Nah. Don’t you, yeah me, Missy. And who are you?” Sometimes I love and hate Corvin’s attention to detail.
