Page 83 of Dead Vengeance

I’m of the firm belief I’ll never rise very high in the world of HR, as apparently my ability to fire a man is somewhat underwhelming.

But after all, this is what I hired him for, right? I hired him to come kill a ghost for me. And he wants to kill the ghost. So you know what? Maybe we’ll just kill that ghost, or whatever it is, and move on with the day. Move on with our lives. Move in together…

Yes. Yes, I know. I mean a year or two from now. A year or two of dating, and sleeping over, and waking up with him beside me.

God, I bet he smells good in the morning.

I bet the morning sex is incredible.

I need to not get hard just thinking about him.

About last night.

About the weight of him on top of me. About those little gasps he made when he fucked into my palm. About that little smile he gave me afterwards…

He has me eating out of his hand, and I can’t believe I thought for one minute I was in control of this situation.

“Looks good.”

I just about jump out of my skin when I find Simon standing there next to me, surveying the fresh loaf I just pulled out of the oven.

“Have we talked about this?” I pretty much shout at him.

Dropping an offended hand on his chest, “What? It’s hardly my fault you were too busy staring out the window to notice me. Hardly my fault my footsteps don’t make any sound.”

“They can if you want them to,” I mutter.

He pushes himself up onto the kitchen bench languidly. “Oh, but it takes enormous effort.”

“Sorry to put you out.”

Edgar taps at the window, so I push it open for him, then chuck him a piece of bacon, which he snaffles up at light speed.

“Listen,” I tell Simon, though it’s for Edgar to hear too, “today, Liam and I are going to…” Here I lower my voice to a whisper, “kill the thing upstairs.”

“You’re going to what?” asks Simon, too loudly.

“We’re going to…” I raise it just a little more than last time, “kill the thing upstairs.”

“Kraa!” screams Edgar.

“I said, we’re going to…” A little louder again, “kill the thing up—”

“Good morning!” Helena announces loudly, appearing out of nowhere right in the middle of the kitchen, making me almost drop my nice loaf.

“Quiet, darling,” says Simon. “Archer was just telling us something very important.”

“Oh? Oh.” She rustles up against Simon, and both of them lean in on one side of me, Edgar stooping forward eagerly on the other.

“I said,” I whisper, slowly and carefully and anxiously, “today, Liam and I are going to… kill the thing upstairs.”

“You’re going to kill the thing upstairs?” Simon yells, bringing me to the brink of an aneurysm. Then, while I’m concurrently wishing I could stab him and myself, not sure who first, he lets out an even louder laugh. “Good luck with that. He’ll have your guts for garters, that thing.”

“You can’t kill the thing upstairs!” Helena exclaims just as loudly. “It’s far more powerful than you, by the sounds of it.”

“Kraa!” Edgar agrees.

I lean back against the bench, raising an eyebrow at her. “You found something out then?”