Read aisling grimlock 03 - grim discovery Online
Authors: amanda m lee
“It’s going to feel good,” I said, pressing Everett’s name on the contact list and lifting the phone to my ear.
“If anyone can draw Everett out of hiding, it’s Aisling,” Braden said, gracing me with a smile for the first time in days. “Go and get him, sis.”
Everett answered on the first ring. “It’s about time, Dad. I thought you were going to wimp out.”
“Hi, Everett.” My voice was unnaturally bright. “How are you this fine summer day?”
“I … who is this?”
“It’s Aisling Grimlock. You just saw me at the paper warehouse. You remember, right? You stabbed your sister in the chest and left her to die. She was quite chatty on her way out.”
“I think you’ve flipped your lid,” Everett shot back. “I would never hurt my sister.”
“You’re a filthy liar, Everett,” I argued. “Amber told me everything before she died. She told me you were a sociopath. She told me you and your father took my mother from that fire and held her against her will. She also told me you were inept and Genevieve managed to take my mother and escape.
“Amber was upset with what she did,” I continued, leaning into Griffin as he rubbed my back with his free hand. “She said you tortured her as a child. She said you thought you were going to marry me. She also said you have a small penis and you’ve over-compensated your entire life.”
Griffin pursed his lips to keep from laughing, while Redmond and Braden exchanged amused glances. I expected a frown from Dad. Instead he looked … proud. Huh. Even now he still surprises me.
“Listen, you hateful little idiot, you have no idea what you’re talking about,” Everett seethed.
“Don’t worry, Everett,” I said, faux sympathy practically oozing through the phone. “I already knew you had a small penis. It wasn’t a surprise when Amber told me. We used to talk about it all the time when we were kids. Redmond called you Pee-Wee Grimpond and said you were hung like an infant.”
“I’m going to kill your brother!” Everett exploded, causing me to hold the phone from my ear.
“He doesn’t sound happy,” Griffin murmured.
“He’s about to be unhappier,” I replied, pulling the phone back to my ear. “Hey, Everett, do you know what else we used to laugh about? We were all big fans of that brown streak in your underwear when Redmond ran your clothes up the flagpole.”
“You bitch! You tell Redmond I’m coming for him! You’re going to wish you’d never been born! I … what’s that noise? Wait, where are you going? We have to move on the house! Don’t you dare run! You cowards! Wait … please don’t shoot me! I’ve been framed!”
I snapped the phone shut. “I think the team found him,” I said, smiling.
“That was lovely, dear,” Dad said, shaking his head. “I can’t tell you the pride I feel as a father right now. Of course, I kind of wish you could’ve pushed him over the edge without referring to Everett’s penis twenty times, but I’ve learned that I’ll have to live with annoying things as long as you’re in my life.”
“I think he’s talking about me,” Griffin said.
Dad smirked. “Possibly.” He turned to Fox. “You don’t have a lot of options left. I hope Everett puts up a fight out there and they kill him, quite frankly. Your whole empire crumbled in one afternoon. How do you feel?”
“I’ll tell you how I feel!” Fox lurched in Dad’s direction, a letter opener in his hand. I recognized it from Dad’s desk. He’d managed to pocket it when no one was looking.
“Dad!”
Braden was too quick for Fox. He expected an attack. Days of my brother’s personal misery were about to play havoc with Fox Grimpond’s future – and no one lifted a finger to stop Braden from expressing his rage.
He had a lot of misery to share.
Thirty-Four
“What are you doing out here?”
Braden found me outside almost a full eight hours later. Darkness descended, and instead of listening to Tolliver Ward scold us for the umpteenth time regarding proper procedure and backup regulations, I sneaked out to enjoy a few moments for myself.
“Just thinking,” I said, accepting the beer Braden handed me. “How are things in there?”
“Well, Dad is getting a formal reprimand for lying,” Braden said. “Since we took down the Grimponds, who apparently were also stealing from their charges, he’s not in any real trouble.”
“That’s good. I’d hate to think of him getting punished for telling the truth. When we were kids, he always told us that we wouldn’t get in trouble if we stopped lying.”
“Yeah, and then he grounded us for whatever mischief we got into anyway,” Braden said.
We lapsed into comfortable silence for a few moments. Finally, I had to ask the question I’d wrestled with for hours. “Are you okay, Braden?”
“Are you asking me if I wish I’d beaten Fox Grimpond to death?”
“I’m asking if you’re okay,” I pressed.
“I’m glad I didn’t kill him,” Braden said. “I am worried he’ll find some way to weasel out of this, but I don’t want to be responsible for his death. We’re not the Grimponds. We don’t play with other people’s lives simply because we can.”
“I’m glad you didn’t kill him, too,” I admitted. “I want him to spend the rest of his days in a really tiny cell. If he’s close to Everett and has to listen to him whine, that would be a nice bonus.”
“I hope he has a big bubba rapist in with him,” Braden said.
I barked out a laugh. “Me, too.”
After a few more minutes of silence, Braden turned to me. “I’m sorry I was mean to you,” he said. “I wasn’t really angry with you.”
“I know. I deserved your anger, though. I shouldn’t have lied.”
“You didn’t lie to hurt anyone,” Braden said. “You were trying to protect us. I get it.”
“What do you think happens now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Mom could still be out there,” I reminded him. “Genevieve took her from the Grimponds. She could’ve been lying about her death. She lied about being the one to take her from the fire, although … I guess for all we know she was there at the time. Maybe we should get some clarification on that.”
“Yeah, while you were outside Fox started babbling about the fire,” Braden supplied. “He said that they couldn’t pass up the opportunity when they saw Mom’s name on their list. They locked the doors from the outside to trap her. They didn’t expect to be inside for so long and almost died themselves. I guess Mom was running when she was … burned. Part of the roof collapsed on her.”
I pressed my eyes shut, horrified. That was what I always feared most about my mother’s death. How much pain is one person expected to take? “How long ago did Mom disappear?”
“He had her for two months while she recovered,” Braden answered. “Genevieve kept her alive by feeding her souls. She was called to the house that first night. Apparently they knew she was in the area with a cadre of wraiths. They made a deal with her to overlook what she was doing if she helped them. She agreed.”
“That means Mom is a ghoul.”
“If she’s still alive, I’m guessing that’s the case,” Braden conceded.
“Are we going to look for her?”
“I don’t know,” Braden said. “I’m not sure what the right answer is. Maybe she stayed away because she realizes what she is and knows she’d be a danger to us. Maybe she opted not to live off the souls of others and let herself die.
“Our mother was a good woman,” he continued. “That’s what she would do if she had control of her faculties. Maybe Genevieve wasn’t lying. Maybe Mom gave up and died.”
“Would that make you feel better?”
“I have a hole in my heart where Mom used to live,” Braden replied. “Nothing is going to fill it. If Mom is still out there, she’s not the woman who raised us. The woman out there now is not going to fill that hole. If she died twice, that hole doesn’t get any bigger. It doesn’t get any smaller either. It is what it is.”
“That was almost poetic, Braden.”
“Don’t get used to it,” Braden said. “I’m in a tranquil place right now. Dad is ordering pizza, by the way. The kitchen help was rattled, so he let them go home early.”
“What’s Griffin doing?”
“He and Dad concocted a lie about what happened to Amber,” Braden said. “They’re dealing with that right now. He seems okay.”
“I should probably be with him,” I said. “He’s been my rock for the past two weeks. I think I should offer him some support.”
“I think you two support each other every chance you get,” Braden countered. “I think you two are so sickly sweet I want to puke.”
“And you’re back to being a pain,” I muttered.
“Old habits die hard.”
I risked a glance in Braden’s direction and found him studying me with conflicted eyes. “What?”
“We are the most alike,” he said finally. “I’ve never wanted to admit it, but it’s true. Watching you on the phone with Everett made me realize that we have more in common than we probably should. I think that’s why I irritate you more than anyone else and I know that’s why you irritate me more than anyone else.”
“You say the sweetest things. I think you’ve been taking lessons from Dad.”
Braden pushed himself to his feet. “I love you, Ais. You’re my sister and I love you. You still frustrate the crap out of me.” He leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead. “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t do it, though.”
“I love you, too.”
“I know,” Braden said, smirking. “Everyone loves me. By the way, I’m Dad’s favorite again thanks to the beatdown I put on Fox. We’re having an omelet bar for breakfast tomorrow morning.”
“Hmm. I wonder if I can convince Griffin to stay here one more night,” I mused.
“I think you’ll be able to twist his arm,” Braden said, moving back toward the house. “Don’t stay out here too long. The pizza will be here in about a half hour.”
“I just need a few minutes,” I said. “I … it’s a lot to think about.”
“I understand,” Braden said.
“If anyone does, it’s you.”
Braden left me to my thoughts.
I was just about to get up and join the party inside when a hint of movement on the back lawn caught my attention. I knew who it was right away.
“Are you here to insult me, Bub?”
The gargoyle rolled his eyes as he shuffled closer. “I was only seeing whether the rumors are true,” he replied. “I see you survived the fight.”
“There really wasn’t a fight. We outsmarted the Grimponds, and the main office sent reapers to take out the wraiths. Rumor has it that a good twenty of them died today. From what I understand, all of the gargoyles flew off the minute they realized they were outnumbered.”
“Yeah. They’re licking their imaginary wounds all over town,” Bub said. “You don’t look too bad for a woman who survived what should’ve been a bloodbath.”
“I’m okay,” I said. “I’m … really okay.”
“That’s good,” Bub said, forcing what I’m sure was supposed to be a smile on his face. “I have a present for you.”
“Is it jewelry? I love jewelry.”
“It’s better,” Bub said, glancing over his shoulder.
I followed his gaze, frowning as two figures detached from the shadows of the shrubbery. I recognized the first as the rogue reaper from the bar. His face was impassive as he stepped to the side to allow the other figure to move forward.
I narrowed my eyes as the dim silhouette took shape. She was dressed in a simple black dress and hair that was once dark was now completely white. Her face wasn’t exactly how I remembered, but it wasn’t grotesque or deformed. She looked ten years older … and yet parts of her looked exactly the same. My heart rolled.
“Hello, Mom.”
Author’s Note
I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my novels. I have a particular brand of humor that isn’t for everyone – and I know that.
If you liked the book, please take a few minutes and leave a review. An independent author does it all on their own, and the reviews are helpful. I understand that my characters aren’t for everyone, though. There’s a lot of snark and sarcasm in my world – and I know some people don’t like that.
Special thanks go out to Heidi Bitsoli and Phil VanHulle for correcting the (numerous) errors that creep into a work of fiction.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Books by Amanda M. Lee
Avery Shaw Mysteries
Misprints & Mistakes (February 2016)
Covenant College Mysteries
The Living Covenant Trilogy
Rising Covenant (June 2016)
Dark Covenant (July 2016)
Eternal Covenant (August 2016)
The Dying Covenant Trilogy