How to Claim an Undead Soul (Beginner's Guide to Necromancy #2)(14)
“You’re the best,” I told him with absolute conviction. “Cruz has no idea how lucky he is.”
“Oh, I remind him every now and then.” He winked. “I hope this thing with Volkov doesn’t put you off dating. It was nice seeing you all dolled up and hitting the town with a hot guy on your arm instead of riding your death machine home and crawling in bed alone.”
Alone meant no one saw, really grasped, how deep the cracks extended in my fa?ade. No matter what Woolly thought, it wasn’t always a bad place to be. “Guys are a lot of work.”
“Amen, sister.” A dreamy expression blanketed his features. “The right one is worth it, though.”
Between studying with Linus, self-defense with Taz, figuring out what it meant to be the Woolworth heir and goddess-touched, my dance card was full. And then there was Boaz. I had no idea where to pencil him in.
A prickling rush of heat tingled in my cheeks when I thought of the press of his lips on mine the night before he left to rejoin his unit, but I had seen him smooch enough girls that his technique had never been in doubt. It was all the rest of it—the mechanics of a relationship with him—that made me question his skills. And mine.
“I’ll hold you to that.” I checked the time on my phone as I stood. “I have some thrones to polish before I head your way, but I’ll see you in about thirty.”
“There’s a chance of rain in the forecast. Maybe you’ll get lucky and the girls will track in mud for you to mop.” He unfolded to his lanky height. “Failing that, I’ll sprinkle bobby pins like confetti so you can hang out with me longer.”
“Thanks.” I snorted. “You’re a prince.”
He smoothed back his hair. “If the crown fits.”
After swatting him on the butt to get him out the door, I got down to business. By the time I marked off the last item on my to-do list, a victim had blown chunks on the sidewalk leading up to the front door. I blasted the concrete clean with a hose and reevaluated my life choices. When the late-late tour returned and Amelie flounced up to me with my spare helmet dangling from her fingertips, I was miles past being ready for sweet chocolate oblivion.
Amelie was the first brave soul to hop on the back of Jolene and let me take her for a spin after Boaz taught me how to drive his one true love. That same trust had her crowding behind me so I could zip us over to Mallow. Plus, I think the bike reminded her of the brother she missed something fierce.
The best thing about Mallow, besides the fact everything on the menu was mouth-wateringly delicious, was the fact it stayed open until dawn. Most folks in town thought it was a gimmicky tourist lure, but the truth was the owner was a necromancer, and she kept Society hours.
After I parked, we crossed the lot together, our shoulders bumping, and got into a shoving match to see who could squeeze through the door first. She won by tickling me until I almost wet my pants, then she slid through the opening like a greased pig at a county fair.
“You play dirty,” I grumbled with admiration. The only person who could tickle her was Boaz. Try as I might, I couldn’t get so much as a giggle out of her. “You should buy me a drink to apologize.”
“Crybaby.” Rolling her eyes, she approached the counter. “I’ll take two hot chocolates with extra marshmallows and a side order of Kleenex.”
The cashier blinked at her owlishly then passed over a handful of napkins.
Amelie thanked the woman then stuffed them down the front of my shirt, giving me a lumpy third boob, cackling all the while. I ducked out of her reach before she could tweak my nonexistent third nipple and caught movement outside the shop from the corner of my eye.
“Be right back.” I left her waiting on our order while I stepped up to the large display window. Jolene was the only vehicle in the lot, and I saw no pedestrians. I lingered a moment longer, scanning the area, but I came up empty.
“Grier?” Amelie walked up behind me. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I rubbed my hands down my arms. “I thought I saw something.”
The light went out of Amelie’s eyes, and she took a look around as well. “Do you think we were followed?”
It had happened before, and it likely would again. “I’m not sure.”
“I’m texting Boaz.” She whipped out her phone. “He’ll skin me alive if I don’t keep him in the loop.”
“It’s probably nothing.” I closed my hand over her screen. “Besides, he’s not my keeper.”
“No, but he is my brother, and he is your wannabe friend with benefits.” She pried her phone out of my grip. “He’s earned the right to worry.” When she spotted the face I made, she laughed. “He’s four states away. He can’t drop everything and run home to shine a flashlight at shadows for you.”
“So you say.” Her brother was more resourceful than she gave him credit for, and more commanding too.
“He was right there. He saw the car pulling away, you inside it, and he couldn’t save you.” The playfulness in her swirled away like water down a drain. “Neither could I.”
“Ame,” I breathed, yanking her into a hug. “You did the best you could. You both did. I don’t blame either of you, and neither of you should blame yourselves.”