Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)(56)

“Deep breath,” I said, tilting his head up. “Don’t be angry. Look at it this way. Meredith being alive is a good thing.”

Red eyes rose to meet mine. “Get—get out. I can’t control it.”

I let my fingers trail along the lines of his face. Across his cheeks and around to his ears, tucking a strand of hair back. “You can. I know you can. You’re amazing, Lukas. You can do anything.”

“No,” he snapped, voice taking on an otherworldly twang. “Get—Ahhhhh!” The scream that ripped from his throat stilled my breath and sent the temperature in the room plummeting. Still, I didn’t budge.

“Deep breaths,” I said softly. No sudden movements. No angry thoughts. I closed my eyes and let the contentment I felt for my life wash over him. The amazing relationship I had with my mom. Seeing my dad again. Meeting him… “You can do this.”

Slowly, the thickness in the air thinned, and Lukas’ breathing evened out. Our eyes met and he leaned close, wrapping both arms tight around me. “My mother was the only one who ever believed in me, Jessie. She would have liked you.”

I smiled and pulled away. “I’m sure I would have liked her, too.”

“What were you saying before? About it being good that Meredith was still alive? If she’s behind all this, that means all the chaos is her fault. I don’t see how that’s good.”

“Yeah, but it also means something else.”

“Oh?”

“A chance for payback. We’ll get her. She won’t get away with it this time. I promise.” Obviously at that moment, I would have said just about anything to keep him calm. But they weren’t just words. I meant them.

She was going down.

…

Mom called Kendra’s mom to tell her what happened. There was so much screaming, Dad and I could hear it in the other room. I half expected us to grow tails and start walking around on all fours. Mom assured Cassidy that we’d get her daughter back, but the witch wouldn’t take any chances. She would involve her coven. Not ideal, but we couldn’t blame her. After that, Mom and Dad left to follow a lead. A call came across the police scanner saying most of the town was down at Shaker’s bar tying one on. The bar had run out of food and was nearly out of beer and it was starting to get ugly. Mom was hoping to snag Gluttony.

So off they’d gone…but not before giving me something to occupy my time.

Since she didn’t want me going back to school and didn’t trust me to keep myself out of trouble if left to my own devices, I was handed a stack of case files as thick as an encyclopedia.

It was almost three-thirty and we’d interviewed three new clients, found a missing person—who wasn’t missing, only hiding to avoid an impending break up with the client—and did some recon for an insurance scam case.

I was bored to tears, but Lukas loved the fact-finding process and was actually a huge help when it came to interviewing. There was a good chance his bullshit meter was better than Mom’s.

We’d stopped at Didi’s, a small place on Main Street, for munchies. A seasonal store, they’d reopened early October and would be around until the last week of February dishing out the most amazing hot cocoa the world had ever seen. My favorite was the mint-spiked hot chocolate they’d introduced two years ago.

Lukas’ eyes drifted closed as he bit into his almond biscotti with a contented sigh. “Food has certainly improved since my day.” He waved the biscotti. “This is unbelievable.”

“Right? They have the best stuff here,” I said, taking a swig of my cocoa. “So… We have Sloth stashed in the basement, and Mom’s hoping to snag Gluttony. We’re gonna run out of room…”

He stopped mid-chew, eyes flying open. “Absolutely not.”

“What?” I said defensively. “You don’t even know what I was gonna say!”

He bit off another piece of biscotti and tried to hide a grin. “I do. And the answer is no.”

At the sight of his smile, my heart hammered just a bit faster. “As if you could stop me, Grandpa.”

He leaned forward, resting both arms across the tabletop. “I can try, demon girl.”

“Come on. It makes sense. Just one little peek around the church.”

“The box won’t be there.”

I grabbed his hand and pulled him up. “Then there’s no harm in going to take a look-see.”





Chapter Twenty-two




We took the bus across town to Saint Vincent’s. I was a little miffed that the driver wouldn’t let me bring my cup onto the bus. I refused to toss it, so I downed the entire thing in one gulp and dumped it in the trash at his feet before making my way down the aisle, Lukas following behind.

Halfway there, I thought the driver was going to pull over and kick us off because Lukas wouldn’t sit still. He kept hopping from side to side to stare at the scenery as we passed. This was the farthest into town he’d been in over a hundred years, so I guessed I could understand his excitement.

“Everything is so different,” he said as we made our way up the old cobblestone path outside Saint Vincent’s. He’d been virtually bouncing since we’d gotten off the bus. “There are so many large buildings!”