Page 55 of Dropping Like Flies

Chapter Twenty

Griffin

Paranormal Problems Bureau

Cade tipped his head to one side and studied me. “There’s something different about you.”

I let out a sigh, flexing my fingers in the pool of sunlight spilling in through the window to where we sat, Cade always preferring to conduct meetings in comfort rather than from behind his desk. “Lack of sleep?”

He considered my suggestion for a moment before shaking his head. “No, more like the opposite. You seem more at peace than you have for a long time. I’d have to go back to before—”

I cut Cade off. My wounds from Whitney’s death might be starting to heal, but that didn’t mean I wanted to talk about it all the damn time. “Ben and I are back together, if you must know.”

Cade arched an eyebrow. “Really? Wow! I’m surprised.”

“Are you?”

His nod was slow and considered. “You’re the most stubborn son of a bitch I know. I figured you’d drink yourself into an early grave before admitting you made a mistake.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Who said anything about making a mistake? I did what was right at the time.”

The snort Cade let out was so condescending he must have practiced it in front of a mirror to get it to that high a standard. “Of course it was. Who wouldn’t want to be miserable for three years and pickle your liver in the process?”

“I think the words you’re looking for are that you’re happy for me.”

Cade smiled. “I am happy for you. I told you when you and Ben first got together that he was one of the good ones. You’re lucky he didn’t find someone else while you were busy being an idiot.”

“Necromancer bond,” I reminded him.

“You ignored it for three years, so let’s not pretend there was never a possibility of Ben finding himself in a relationship that was far less intense, far easier, and that came with the bonus of not having to put up with your sorry ass.”

The sad thing is it was true, the realization enough to bring me out in a cold sweat. I was damn lucky that Ben hadn’t found a suitable replacement. Because Cade was right, just because we were fated mates and should be together, didn’t mean there were no other options out there. There were other necromancers who’d lost partners and had to move on through no fault of their own. Yet, Ben had admitted that, just like me, there’d been no one except for one-night stands. I probably had his long hours at work to thank for that. Who knew I’d ever find something to be grateful to murderers for?

“Will you be able to make it work this time?” Cade asked, his expression one of genuine concern.

“I hope so. We’re taking things one day at a time.” Talking about Ben had me concentrating on him to see if there were any clues about what he was up to. There were no powerful emotions coming through, though. No alien taste in my mouth either. So wherever he was, he wasn’t eating or drinking, and he was perfectly fine.

Cade snapped his fingers in front of my face and I flinched back from them. “I was talking to you,” he snapped irritably. “The lights were on, but no one was home.”

“Sorry. I was thinking about…”

“Ben,” he finished with a slight roll of his eyes. “I’m remembering how annoying it was when the two of you were together before… always making eyes at each other… Ben this and Ben that every other sentence.”

“You’d prefer me miserable?”

He thought about it for a moment and then sighed. “Probably not. I reserve the right to change my mind, though. Anyway, now I’ve got your attention, I was asking if you’d be back at work next week? It’s been tight trying to handle things with just two necromancers.”

“Still no John? Has the council not forgiven him yet for trying to reenact Michael Jackson’s Thriller video, graveyard and all?”

Cade laughed. “I’d forgotten you used to have a sense of humor. I must call Ben and congratulate him on locating it.” When I pulled a face, Cade only laughed harder. “Actually, as of a few days ago, he’s a registered necromancer again. I’m working on getting him to come in for a meeting. Or should I say, working on them. You can’t get John in a room these days without Bellamy. That’s the problem with necromancers. Once they find their chosen one, they stick to them like glue. Present company excepted obviously.”

I ignored the jibe. “Do you think he’ll come back and work here?”

Cade hitched his ankle over the opposite knee, his slight smirk answering the question before he put it into words. “I’m quietly confident. He just needs a bit of time to realize which side his bread is buttered on.”

“Great,” I said sardonically. “The place just wouldn’t be the same without John being a cocky prick ninety-five percent of the time.”

“So… next week?” Cade asked, as a reminder that I still hadn’t answered his question.

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