Demons LLC (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (41 page)

Alex tried to fight off the disappointment.
 
He told himself that Kylie's feelings didn't matter.
 
Business was business.
 
This job, in particular, was to provide closure.
 
But closure didn't always mean happiness.
 
Kylie was right.
 
He
had
done his job, and did it well.

Still, he felt terrible.

"The job doesn't
feel
done," he said.

She smiled and adjusted her glasses.

"Okay, so what's the next step?
 
You want to track down that vampire?
 
What happens
if
you find him?
 
Kill him?
 
That won't bring me back to life.
 
And I have a feeling that vampire hunting costs more than seven hundred dollars a day."

Kylie was smart, and also right.
 
Alex wouldn't even promise an arrest.
 
He certainly wasn't going to add
supernatural creature hunting
to any future contracts.

"This is what I want to do," Kylie said.
 
"You promised my mom a day when this was all over.
 
Tomorrow, we'll do that.
 
We'll do whatever my mom wants to do."

Alex rubbed his head, not exactly sure how he was going to handle Meagan Sinclair.

"She wants a name."

"I'll handle my mom.
 
We can tell her the truth.
 
I was killed in an alley.
 
But we leave out the part about vampires and Zoey.
 
Trust me, she'll be fine."

"Well, case closed, I guess."
 
The words didn't have the satisfaction they normally did, but it was true regardless.
 
"Speaking of Zoey, what about her?"

Kylie scowled.
 
Her body stiffened as she folded her arms.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to talk to her?"

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because she's your friend."

"I think we stopped being friends when she helped a vampire throw my body in the river."

"Kylie, being a vampire…you can't really put it into words.
 
Zoey screwed up, sure.
 
But she really cares about you—"

"Alex…."
 
She closed her eyes.
 
"I just don't want to talk to Zoey."

He held up his hands in defense, willing to let the subject drop.
 
He wasn't sure if he would call Kylie and he friends, although he liked to believe they were.
 
Still, it wasn't his place to offer unsolicited advice.
 
If she wanted his opinion, she'd ask.

"So, one more day," he said, changing the subject.

Kylie smiled.
 
"Yeah.
 
You know what I'm doing after tomorrow?"

"What's that?"

"Nate and I are going out.
 
We're going to see a movie."

Alex shook his head and laughed.
 
Somehow, it seemed fitting.
 
Nate and Kylie were ghosts, and could go anywhere they wanted.
 
They chose to spend their first date together in a theater.

"Sounds like fun to me."

"I know.
 
I can't wait, but I'm also nervous as hell.
 
Hey!
 
Maybe you can bring Cindy and we'll double date."

The thought of Nate trying to keep his mouth shut during a movie was an amusing one.

"I don't know about that.
 
Your first date should be just you two.
 
But I'm sure later Cindy and I will tag along."
 
He couldn't fight the yawn from coming.
 
"Listen, if I'm going to be any good tomorrow, I have to get some sleep."

"Can you leave the TV on for me, real quiet?
 
At least until Nate gets back."

"Sure."

"Look at it this way.
 
Tomorrow will be a nice, easy day.
 
Nothing like today."

"Yeah.
 
I could use nice and easy."

Alex went from groggy and half-asleep to fully awake when he barely made out four digits on the alarm clock.
 
It was seven minutes past ten in the morning.
 
He'd slept far longer than he'd meant to.
 
The morning was already mostly behind him.

He turned in bed to see Kylie and Nate sitting at the corner table.
 
They were talking and laughing quietly.
 
With the case behind them Alex could see the two ghosts were smitten with each other.
 
Kylie brushed hair out of her eyes, but no longer in an awkward manner.
 
She now owned the gesture.
 
There was a playfulness in her movements, a flirtatiousness.
 
He'd seen a lot, but a possible romance starting
after
two people had died was a first.

"Ah, shit, guys," he said.
 
"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You had a tough day yesterday," Kylie said.
 
"We figured we'd let you sleep."

"What's the plan today?" Nate asked.

"First, shower."
 
Alex threw the covers off and headed for the bathroom.
 
"Then it's up to Kylie and her mom."

"There is one thing I want to do first."

Alex stopped at the bathroom door, giving Kylie his attention.
 
She looked at the floor, then at Nate.

"I'd like to see Zoey."

He smiled, glad to see that at least Kylie could say Zoey's name without the rage that followed.
 
Nate smiled warmly as well, and gave Alex a wink.
 
Alex had no doubt that Nate had something to do with her change of heart.

"Okay.
 
Zoey, it is."

He showered and was halfway through dressing.
 
It was still strange to know he was the only living person in the room, yet still had to dress in the bathroom.
 
He'd finished brushing his teeth and was in the middle of gargling when there was a knock at the door.

"Shit," Alex said.
 
Fresh memories of the day before smacked him.
 
Being in a car accident, running from local mobsters, getting raked across the face by a vampire.
 
It all started with a knock at the door.
 
"Not this again."

"Maybe you shouldn't answer it this time," Nate said, laughing.

Kylie crossed the room and stuck her head through the door.
 
Pulling it back inside, she glanced at Alex and Nate with curiosity before sticking her head out once again.

"Uh, actually, you should answer it."

Alex pulled a shirt over his head and opened the door.
 
He didn't quite believe it.

"Cindy?"

His gorgeous wife's eyes brightened at the sight of her husband.
 
She dragged a single suitcase on wheels behind her, and let it go to jump into his arms.
 
He squeezed her tight, and could barely catch his breath as she forced him into the room, finding his lips with ease.
 
They both heard Kylie and Nate laughing and snickering at the display of affection.
 
Cindy pulled away, and after a quick smile, her demeanor changed instantly.
 
Her brow furrowed as she shoved Alex by the shoulders.

"What the
hell
is going on here?" she asked.

Alex glanced at Kylie and Nate.
 
They were as lost as him.

"I'm working on a case."

"I haven't heard from you
at all
for two days."

"Yesterday was a crazy day.
 
Wait a minute…I did send you a message last night."

"You didn't send anything.
 
I was worried sick."

He reached for his phone on the nightstand.

"I sent a text.
 
I know I did."
 
His heart sank as he focused on the screen.
 
"Oh, shit.
 
I forgot to hit send."

She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head, her frustration laced with amusement.

"You forgot to hit send," she repeated.

"Still, Cindy, you didn't have to fly out here just because of
that
."

"Oh, I didn't?"

She grabbed his phone and tapped away.
 
She turned the screen toward him when she found the video she was searching for.

It took a moment to recognize what he was looking at.
 
The video struggled between grainy and clear.
 
It was an aerial shot of small businesses and homes, taken from a helicopter.
 
In the brief moments of clarity Alex saw a pair of wings he knew quite well.
 
The video was taken from far away, but he could clearly make out what was supposed to be impossible, a human flying through the air.
 
Detective Lisa Nash clung to him, but his flight was still smooth.
 
Two people spoke, the pilot of the helicopter and his passenger.
 
They were loud to rise over the rumble of their flight.

"What do you think it is?"

"I have no idea.
 
I've never seen anything like it."

"It looks like a huge bat."

"I don't know.
 
I think it's wearing clothes.
 
I think I see jeans."

Alex shook his head.
 
The term
it
stung more than he thought it would.

"Is it…carrying a person?"

"I think maybe you're right."

"They're landing!
 
Keep recording."

"I am, I am."

The camera struggled to find them, and when it did, Nash was pointing her gun at him as he struggled to stand.

"She's going to kill it!"

"Circle the helicopter around!"

The video went dead.
 
Uncomfortable silence followed as he took back his phone.

"And there's more, too.
 
Videos taken from the ground, from phones.
 
That
is the last thing I heard about you yesterday.
 
I caught the first flight out I could."

"Man," Nate said.
 
"That's love, right there."

Alex checked the video.
 
Normally, he would have been bothered by the fact he was caught on video.
 
Perhaps Victoria's words were finally sinking in.
 
Humans typically didn't want to believe the truth, even when it was right in front of them.
 
The video was only a footnote in the social consciousness.
 
More people were concerned with the latest celebrity scandals, and which reality show dancing contestant was having sex with their partner.
 
The video's comments were already littered with thoughts of
Terrible special effects
and
When is this movie coming out
?

"I'll ask it again," Cindy said.
 
"What the hell is going on?"

"We found who murdered Kylie."
 
He held up the phone.
 
"The lady I'm carrying here is a cop, and she was on the case, too.
 
But the mob or something is after her.
 
It's a crazy story, really."

"Crazy story?" Cindy said, shaking her head.
 
"Babe, I swear to God, I could fucking slap the shit out of you right now."

Kylie laughed and looked at Nate.

"Now,
there's
your love."

"I'm sorry," Alex said.
 
"I didn't know someone was filming me.
 
I didn't get back until late.
 
I thought I sent you a text—"

She pushed him hard in his chest.
 
Alex toppled backwards and landed on the bed.
 
Kylie and Nate flinched, not expecting the sudden move.
 
They thought Cindy was angry, and were more surprised when she moved across the bed on her knees and straddled her husband.

"Be quiet, honey," she said.
 
"Any ghosts watching might want to leave now."

Kylie rolled her eyes.
 
She grabbed Nate by the hand and pulled him along.
 
He kept his eyes locked on Alex and Cindy, just long enough to see Cindy pull her shirt over her head before being dragged through the door.

"Man.
 
What a weird couple."

*****

Thirty minutes later, the four of them were on their way to Zoey's house.
 
Alex and Cindy avoided any post-sex awkward conversation by having Kylie and Nate ride in the truck bed.
 
There wasn't room for all four of them up front.
 
Alex kept an eye on them over his shoulder.
 
Kylie had come a long way from when he'd first met her.
 
She didn't fall out once.

He filled Cindy in on key events since arriving at Stewardtown.
 
He also left out a few, such as getting his head slammed like a basketball in the back of Detective Nash's car.

"A damn vampire," Cindy said, shaking her head.
 
"Wow.
 
And Kylie doesn't want to find him?"

"Nope."

"Good.
 
Leave the vampire hunting to other companies."

Alex laughed.
 
"She just wants to talk to her friend, and her mom, and we're done."

"What will she do after?
 
Is she going to…move on?"

He smiled as her glanced at Kylie.
 
Nate and her were laughing about something.
 
Nate was probably telling another of his insane stories.
 
Kylie laughed so hard she rested her head on Nate's shoulder.