Despite my choiceof bedtime story, I must have dozed off, because a cannonballing moth with plenty of junk in her trunk hit me in the gut in a burst of squeeing excitement that emptied my lungs of oxygen.
Wheezing, certain I was seconds away from dying horribly, I rolled onto my side coughing.
“Get up, get up, get up.” She flitted onto my hip. “The ghost walk started ten minutes ago.”
“I’m up, I’m up, I’m up.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed. “I still smell like pond water.”
“If you wanted a shower, you should have gotten up earlier.”
“I’ve created a monster.” I nudged her off me. “Fine. You win. I’ll go smelling like frog butts.”
Good thing we all decided to go in disguise.
“Frog butts.” She snickered. “We’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
Since no one would see the real me, I chose sweats, sneakers, and a baggy tee.
Before I reached the kitchen, I could tell bad news had hit during the few minutes I spent dressing.
With a sob, Colby zipped off to her room and slammed the door behind her.
A long sigh parted Clay’s lips as he watched her go, but he didn’t follow.
Asa stared at the floor, one hand in his pocket, and took shallow breaths as if trying to calm himself.
“What’s wrong?” I thought of the girls and swallowed. “Clay?”
“We’ve been handed a new case,” he explained. “The director wants us on the next flight out of Bama.”
“Oh,” I said softly, surprised when the ache didn’t ease one bit. “I thought you guys would have a day or two to decompress.” Black Hats got two days off a week, sick days, and even three weeks paid vacation. Working for the Bureau was, in a lot of ways, like a regular job. “I didn’t think to warn Colby.”
“We could delay a few hours.” Asa’s voice came out as a coarse growl. “We could leave in the morning.”
“This is why I didn’t want you two getting attached, Ace.” Clay dragged a hand down his face. “Daemons, in case you haven’t noticed, are stage-five clingers.” That part was for me before he pivoted back to Asa. “Rue agreed to consult on cases, not reenter the field. I warned you. Both of you. No one ever listens.”
Asa lifted his head, his eyes a feral burnt crimson, and his knuckles popped down at his side.
This was not good. Not at all. Not even a little bit.
“We’ll work together again,” I told Asa. “You’ve got my number and my address. It’s not like I’ll vanish.”
“You might.” He turned that simmering gaze on me. “You have before.”
He had me there, but that was before I signed a contract with Black Hat to consult.
“This is my home.” I had fought for it and won it. “I’m not leaving.”
Proving he was over the drama, Clay swooped in to hug me. “I’ll be in touch, Dollface.”
“See you later.” I clung a beat too long. “Let’s not wait ten years to do this again.”
Withdrawing, he twitched his lips in a smile. “That depends entirely on you.”
The urge to thwack him with my wand surfaced, but it was more likely to break than him.
Turning on his heel, Clay marched from the house to the SUV and climbed in to wait on Asa.
“Well.” I scuffed the toe of my sneaker. “This is awkward.”