afternoon.â
âNot a culinary adventurer, are you, Pendell?â Glass said, his mouth full.
âDidnât you mother tell you not to eat with your mouth full?â
âSure,â said Glass, âbut not lately. She died when I was eight.â
Marisa rolled her eyes. âJeremy. Enough. How are you, Bobby? You really should eat something.â
âIâm fine,â I said. âSo what did I miss?â
They all shared looks. The thin girl had come out of the bathroom and stood a few steps away.
âGet lost,â Glass said, directly to her. âWeâll figure this out. Go back where you belong.â
âYou donât need to be rude to her,â I said.
Gabe and Marisa both stopped eating, their forks midway to their mouths.
âSo you can see her,â Glass said.
âYes.â
âThen just give her what she wants.â
I pulled up a chair and looked over the cartons brimming with unfamiliar and possibly inedible stuff. My stomach rumbled.
âI donât even know what youâre talking about.â
âRhymes with sing,â Glass said. Gabe cast him a warning look.
âAnd fling,â he added. âAnd flywing.â
I furrowed my brows. Yes. I realized. I had forgotten one very big rhymes with something . Ring.
As I felt myself slip off my chair and into the dark void that had opened beneath me, I remembered why.
Because remembering was going to kill me.
16
Jeremy
Saturday: 3:22 PM
A gent Reston strode into the room on the arm of her partner, high heels clacking on the wood floor. She and her squad of paranormal paramedics had arrived in less than twenty minutes after my call.
âLucky for you, I was visiting the New York offices today,â she said smoothly. Her dark glasses reflected the afternoon light from the windows. I thought I saw her turn toward the apparition, who had taken to sitting in the corner to stare gloomily at me, arms hugging her knees.
âYeah,â I said. âVery lucky.â
Marisa was on the couch comforting Gabe after sheâd finally managed to drag her off of Bobby Pendellâs unresponsive body.
He had frozen, midsentence, a forkful of jasmine rice halfway on its journey to his mouth, and then fallen off of his chair.
I hadnât wanted to call Agent Reston. But I didnât think there was any other way to save Pendellâs life.
Agent Restonâs partner led her to a stool by the kitchen counter. She waited there, neck straight, ears cocked like a hunting dog while her team of white-coated medics poked and prodded Pendell with strange objects that looked more like portable bug zappers than medical equipment. I flinched when one of them stuck a long spiral rod up his nose.
Bobby Pendell, however, did not move a muscle.
âThis may take a while,â Agent Reston said. âYou can leave if you want.â
âNot a chance!â Gabe sprang off the couch. âNo way in hell am I leaving him alone with you!â
Agent Reston tilted her head. âAh. Must be the girlfriend. Well, thatâs fine. But Iâm warning you. It may not be pleasant.â
âI can deal with it,â Gabe said defiantly, hands on hips, an effect completely wasted on Agent Reston.
A slim eyebrow lifted above the dark glasses. âLovely to see such devotion. Continue with the procedure, team.â
âWhat are you doing to him?â I asked.
Agent Reston turned to face me, a slight smile curving her red lips. âI see you two have bonded. Thatâs very nice. But Iâm afraid our methods are confidential.â
âBut whatâs wrong with him?â I pressed, and swallowed down the hocker I wanted to spit at her.
âIf Bobby had listened to me, we wouldnât be here right now,â Agent Reston said.
âAnd you did nothing to stop this? When you knew the danger he was in?â Gabe was inches from Agent Restonâs face, but the woman
Lisa Kleypas
Dina Chapel
Richard Mabry
Alison Hughes
Lesley Pearse
Kory M. Shrum
Diane Hoh
Leo Mark
Roy Glenn
Jaycee Clark