Keeper of the Peace (Graveyard Guardians #2) (15 page)

“I’m fine. Here, take this bread into the
kitchen.” Liv shoved the bag into her hands.

In the kitchen, the family was busy, each of
them working on something to help with the meal. Ethan was setting
the table and Greg was finishing up some kind of pasta dish that
smelled amazing. Lucy gathered glasses and a pitcher of water for
the table while James and Steph argued over the ingredients for the
salad they were throwing together. The rest of them were scurrying
around cleaning or delivering stuff to the dining room.

“Liv, you’re here.” Greg moved away from the
stove long enough to give Liv a side hug. “Great, now we can have a
family meeting during lunch.”

Hannah grimaced, knowing the meeting would
revolve around her impending trip to prison. Hopefully they left
David out of it this time.

“Lucy!” Liv called to her sister as she
unloaded the bread from the bag Hannah had set on the counter.
“Where were you? I saw Aiden outside the store and he said you
spoke to him. When I looked inside, you guys were already
gone.”

The room, which had been full of the
comforting low chatter that the Estmond house was known for, came
to a complete stand still.

Hannah had just hijacked an olive from the
salad bowl and choked on it. “Aiden? You mean, Reaper Aiden?”

Lucy rolled her eyes and sighed. “Yes.”

As if Jack sensed her discomfort, he crossed
the kitchen and positioned himself behind her, wrapping his arms
around her protectively. “Aiden showed up while we were in town, he
was sent to deliver a message to me. My father is finally kicking
the bucket.”

Lucy elbowed him in the gut. “Jack!”

“Okay, fine, my father is finally reaching
the end of his sickness and isn’t expected to make it. My mother
wanted to let me know and was hoping I would go home. Don’t worry,
I’m not.” He added the last bit when everyone in the room continued
to stare at him with questions hanging thick in the air.

“Let’s move this to the dining room.” Greg
hefted the bowl of pasta, which was big enough to feed a small
army. “I’m starving.”

Hannah joined the family in practically
running into the next room to sit down so that they could hear more
about Aiden the Reaper and his visit. Once they were all seated and
served, Lucy glanced over at Jack with a worried expression. “We
need to tell them the rest of it. We can’t keep it a secret.”

Liv, who was slathering butter on her bread,
spoke without looking up. “Yeah, he told me that if I wanted to
know what you guys talked about that I needed to ask you, which
indicates secrets.” She tore her eyes away from her bread and met
Jack’s gaze. “I don’t know, the dude seems like this hard-ass
killer on the outside, but I sensed something different about him
today.”

Jack nodded. “I got that from him too. He
is
a hard-ass, and he can kill without remorse if needed,
but he is also deeply loyal. His loyalty to the Empress was
outsourced by his loyalty to me at the compound in Napa. My mother
stripped his rank and doesn’t trust him anymore.”

Hannah tasted the pasta, wanting to stay out
of the conversation to keep the focus off of her. She wished they
were discussing normal stuff like work and school. It seemed like
Reapers and danger was the topic of every single conversation. But,
this one needed to be addressed. Aiden being in town was a big deal
because he was, after all, one of the Empresses top Reapers.

Dan, for once wasn’t nursing his flask. He
had already eaten a portion of his pasta, guzzled some water to
wash it down and asked, “So what’s the deal with him then? The
Empress obviously trusted him enough to send him to get you.”

Jack shook his head. “No, she knew he was
the only one who even had a chance of getting me to leave here and
if I was to go back there, she wouldn’t let me leave. She’s just
using him.”

“So, what exactly is it that you can’t keep
secret from us?” Greg wanted to get straight to the point.

Lucy spoke this time. “Aiden wants out and
we are going to help him.”

Dan lost his cool. “Are you fuckin crazy?
He’s still a Reaper and he’s still working for the Empress. I don’t
give a shit what kind of bromance they have going on.” He waved his
hand in Jack’s direction.

“Not so fast.” Jack stopped the rant before
Dan could keep going. “He’s going to keep working with the Empress
and give us a heads up when anything comes up that we need to
know.”

“An informant on the inside,” James muttered
thoughtfully.

Jack nodded. “Exactly. But it’s not forever.
He needs time to get his affairs in order over there. If he is
going to leave the Reapers, he is going to have to basically wipe
himself from existence first. We promised to help him afterward, if
he will help us.”

Oh man, this wasn’t good. Jack might trust
Aiden, but she sure as hell didn’t and she could tell from the
expressions on the rest of the faces around the table that they
didn’t either. “Jack,” she asked softly, “are you sure this is a
good idea? This could be a trap.”

“I know Aiden well, better than almost
anyone and he is a good liar, but not good enough to fool me. I
would know if he was trying to get one over on us.”

“And,” Lucy added, “he wouldn’t hesitate
just to snag me again. If he wanted any of us dead or kidnapped, it
would have happened already. This time, he just walked right up to
us in the store. I don’t think he’s a danger right now.”

James snorted. “Yeah, right now.”

Greg finished with his pasta and leaned back
in his chair. “All right, here’s the deal. We are already in danger
all the time, so what’s it going to hurt. If this works out, it
could give us the upper hand. If we had known about that Reaper
before Hannah had to take care of it, then she wouldn’t be in this
situation.”

Ah, there it was. She knew murdering that
Reaper wasn’t going to go untouched.

“I don’t like it,” James said flatly, to no
one in particular.

Dan scowled and pulled out his flask, “me
either.”

Hannah pushed her plate away without
finishing. “I’m with Greg. I don’t like it either, but if this is
legit, it could really help us out. I’m already in trouble, but if
we can avoid you guys having to go through this, then absolutely,
let’s do it.”

There were several mumbles of agreement and
a few protests, but in the end majority ruled and it was decided
that Aiden would be their man on the inside.

When the conversation lulled, Hannah got up
and took her plate to the kitchen, rinsed it and put it in the
dishwasher. Greg followed her in and did the same with his plate.
“I’m going out to talk to dad,” she told him, drying her hands off
with a dishtowel.

He tilted his head, examining her face
thoughtfully. “You want company or do you want to be alone.”

“Alone.”

“Keep your eyes open out there. We all need
to be a little more careful. We’ve gone lax since we got Lucy
back.”

She nodded and pushed open the back door. “I
know, I’ll be careful.” She set a quick pace across the lawn and
into the cemetery. It was harder to see the souls during the day
because of the sunlight, but she knew they were there.

“Dad?” Her voice was low, he could hear her
no matter how loud or soft she called. “Dad, where are you?”

She didn’t have to wait long before a
glimmering blue mist floated between the trees and paused in front
of her. The swirling mist of the soul began to solidify, forming
slowly into a human form and eventually her father stood before
her.

“Hannah, how’s my girl?” Greg Sr., dressed
in his Hawaiian shirt and Khaki shorts, appeared exactly how he did
the day they buried him. He had refused to cross over, so his soul
stayed behind.

“I’ve been better.”

“What’s going on, honey?”

Hannah strolled along, with her dad
following beside her, until she found one of the benches along the
trail. She sat down and looked up at her dad’s soul. “David is
back.”

A weary expression washed over her father’s
transparent face. He, like most people in this town, had thought
that Hannah and David would eventually get married and settle down
in Summer Hollow. He was just as shocked as everyone else when
David left town. “He’s back, huh?”

“Yeah. He said he is working with the county
police department. He was in town yesterday for a case.”

“Oh honey, I’m sorry you are going through
this.”

“It’s all right. David spent yesterday
trying to get me to talk to him. I finally had to pull him out of
the bar before Dan got into a fight with him.”

Her father lifted a ghostly eyebrow. “So you
guys talked about things?”

Yeah, a lot more than talking took place,
but she wasn’t about to tell her father that. “Yes, but I didn’t
expect David to tell me that he has never stopped loving me, that
he wanted a second chance.”

Her father chuckled. “Oh Hannah, I don’t
know how any man could fall out of love with you. I’m not surprised
at all.”

“Dad,” she shook her head, “you’re only
saying that because you’re my dad and you have to.”

He flashed her an incredulous look. “Not at
all. You know me enough to understand that I don’t say things I
don’t mean. You are a very special girl, honey. A woman who any man
should fall over his own feet to be with.”

“But …” Hannah paused to gather her
thoughts. “I don’t think I can go back to him. I am a Keeper … and
I don’t think the family business is something I can hide from him
for very long.” She sighed in frustration. “He and I still have a
long way to go. All those years ...”

Her dad shimmered a little bit, causing his
body to appear even more transparent. “Do you still love him?”

Hannah nodded, knowing she could be
honest.

“Well then, I don’t see the problem. Love is
love. Some people spend their entire lives searching for it, so why
would you throw it away when it’s right in front of you.”

“I don’t know, Dad!” She threw her hands up.
“I guess I don’t want him marching back into town thinking that
things can just go back to they were.”

“I doubt he thinks that, honey.” Greg Sr.
shook his head. “David is many things, but stupid is not one of
them.”

“Ugh, this is too much.” Hannah buried her
head in her hands.

Her father tilted his head and stared at her
for a moment before asking, “Is there something else that’s
bothering you?”

Yeah, I killed a Reaper and now I’m
probably going to prison. Nothing much.
“No.”

“Well, I think you should at least give it a
chance. If he loves you and you love him, it would be wrong not to
try.”

Strange, Hannah hadn’t expected her father
to react this way. She had always known him as the voice of reason,
tell it like it is, kind of man. But, he was also fiercely loyal,
just as all of the Estmonds were, so she thought he would be more
like Dan, angry with David for hurting her.

“I still need to think about it,” she told
him and then stood, swiping at the dust the bench had left on her
jeans.

“That’s understandable. Just remember that
no one is perfect. We all make mistakes.”

She nodded and gave him a weak smile,
wishing that it was possible to give him a hug. “Thanks Dad.” She
glanced over at the house. “I’d better get back now.”

“I love you, Hannah.”

“Love you, too.” She replied as she headed
back down the trail.

CHAPTER

14

DAVID

Once he was back in Summer Hollow, he drove
by Hannah’s place. Her car wasn’t in the driveway so he didn’t
stop. She was probably over at the family home, which was
officially Lucy’s place now.

With no destination in mind, he found
himself headed toward The Springs. Once he had made the turn into
the small community, he wound his way down the narrow road toward
the recreation area, the spot he and Hannah had always gone when
they were younger.

It hadn’t changed much. Even the harsh
summer heat couldn’t wilt the lush greenery surrounding the fresh
water pools which were filled from the creek that was hidden beyond
the trees and blackberry bushes.

The pools were actually on a continuous
fill, the opening let water in and another let water out, emptied
by another opening where the water was released. The release was
located under the small foot bridge where he had told Hannah that
he was leaving. Under the bridge, the water spewed back into
another portion of the creek, creating a small waterfall.

One side of the recreation area was pavement
with one section for parking and another with picnic tables. The
other side was a sloped lawn with lush green grass. The pools took
up a good portion of the space, but not a lot of people spent time
there, mostly just locals from The Springs.

David parked and got out of his car,
slamming the Chevelle’s door behind him. He stood for a moment
staring at the dark water before him. Without warning, he suddenly
delved into unwanted memories.

Beyond the trees, behind the recreation
center, the creek ran gently. But, further up, it became deeper and
ran faster. One sweltering summer day, he, Hannah, and a few of
their friends decided to walk up the creek.

They had picked their way along the rocks
and water, sometimes having to walk up into a neighbor’s yard to
get around a difficult area where the banks wouldn’t allow them to
pass. Eventually, the creek got so deep and the land so high, that
they had literally been walking on a ledge that would have led to
certain death had they fallen.

After several hours, the group had emerged
before one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen.
Waterfalls, yes, more than one, fell majestically into bluish green
pools of untouched water.