Page 49 of Right Hand Of The Reaper
“What do you mean?”
She huffed and sputtered. “Something is weird and doesn’t feel right. The whole thing with Thane, the ghosts disappearing—”
“Wait, what? Ghosts are disappearing? Since when?”
She nodded and stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Yes, and for about a week. I went to the Last Spirit to meet up with a couple of friends and overheard a few people chatting. A board has gone up in there with the faces of the spirits who have gone missing.”
I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m just worried,” she said chewing her bottom lip. She was a ghost but a very old one and attached to the power source here at G.R.I.M HQ. Most ghosts who lingered in the afterlife had unfinished business but some, like Lila, had been given new purpose and been granted permission to anchor themselves to someone or something. Lila chose this place. She wanted to help ferry the dead, so that’s what she did, and she’d be doing that until she decided she had had enough of this life. Then, when she was ready, I’d help her move on.
“I’ll keep an ear out, Lila. You’re right though, something is going on. There’s a weird sense of unease lingering, and I can’t put my finger on why or what it is. I’m hoping it has something to do with Thane and when I find him, I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”
She squeezed my hand back. “I know. Sorry I didn’t mention it before, you just seemed to have a lot on your plate.”
“There is always room on my plate for you, babe,” I replied fiercely. “No matter what.”
“Okay,” she said with a firm nod. “Now, tell me what secrets that demon is hiding behind his suit.”
I laughed, grateful she was pulling our conversation out of the gloom. I knew the missing ghosts were important, but right now, I just wanted a moment to enjoy a giggle with my best friend.
And boy, did we giggle.
Chapter Nineteen
Atticus
IcouldhearmyRoux laughing abominably loud with her ghost friend and it tugged at the bond that was wrapped around my heart. It was like a warm glow stretched all the way to my fingertips and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It felt so alien, but so good.
There was a spark of lust that I sensed in her and I didn’t need to guess what those two were talking about. It was completely distracting me from typing up my report for the Guild. I didn’t think Thane was responsible for the missing souls. There was just no evidence and it made me wonder why I’d been sent on this wild goose chase. Although, if they hadn’t sent me, I’d never have found Roux. It made me feel a little weird that I’d be grateful to the Guild for something but it was massively outweighed by the joy I felt at finding her.
There was another loud laugh and then Lila was scurrying past my office with a wide smile. She looked at me and blushed before running off.
It wasn’t long before Roux was sauntering in, her own bright smile firmly in place. “What are you doing?”
“Wondering what you said to your friend to make her look at me like that.”
She waggled her eyebrows, her grin positively salacious. “What you’re hiding behind your suit.”
Ah.That.I grabbed her hips and pulled her into my lap before capturing her mouth with mine. Gods, it had barely been a few hours but I’d missed the taste of her on my tongue. She moaned deep into my mouth as I slid my tongue along hers.
“I could spend all day kissing you,” I said, pulling her firmly against my erection.
She ground her hips against mine, her pussy scraping along the ridges of my piercings and making my cock throb. “How’s the report coming?”
“It’d be finished a lot sooner if I weren’t distracted.”
She gasped mockingly. “Are you suggesting that I’m stopping you from working?”
“Yes.” I nipped her neck. “Now go so I can clear Thane’s name.”
“Okay, okay,” she laughed. “I need to prepare for tomorrow anyway.”
“Why? What’s tomorrow?”
She pulled a letter out of her back pocket. “Thane sent me a message and Hermes said Thane gave it to him near the River Styx so I’m going down there with the twins tomorrow.”
She held it out to me and I scanned over the lines. “But he says herenotto look for him but you’re going to anyway?”
