Page 14 of Hot Ghoul Summer

“No. I don’t want anything but to be left alone and to get the hell out of here.”

“Do you want to get yourself killed?”

“I can take care of myself! You’re the one holding me hostage!”

Toby’s head pops in the door, and he’s scowling. “Consider me your guard dog, and this is your safe house. You have the run of the place, all right? There’s a library, a sauna, a hot tub, a decent home theater system...” he trails off. “The fridge is stocked with whatever you fancy.”

“So you planned this, huh?”

“No! It’s how it works. Union perks. This is the only two weeks I’ll get off this year, and my contract says I get luxury accommodations, all expenses paid for, all preferences considered. You’re my guest, so the house will give you the same benefits.”

“Is privacy one of them?” I glare, tone ice cold.

Toby vanishes.

I hurry to the bedroom window. There’s a gorgeous view of the lake. “Open up and have a ladder ready,” I whisper.

Nothing.

Toby’s voice calls “Doesn’t work like that!”

God, he’s annoying.

I throw myself down on the bed. I’m not going to sleep. I’m going to plot.

Chapter Five: Six Feet Deeper

You might have noticed that I’m at least “six feet under” where Molly is concerned. She hates my guts, doesn’t trust me, and I don’t exactly blame her.

“Sera,” I call the name into the still air in the kitchen, and my phone rings five seconds later.

Accept Video Call From Sera?

I tap the green icon, and Sera’s face fills the screen. “You’re off the clock. What’s up?”

“I had to fill out an Extraordinary Circumstances for Non-Union Reaping report and an Emergency Endangered Innocent Action (Retroactive), and I’m only three days into my—no, four. Four days into my vacation.”

“Holy crap, dude. Why?”

“Piece of utter rubbish father was going to give his stepdaughter to a gang so they didn’t shoot him. They made it very clear they would ‘go through her’ and then kill her, too.”

“Mother of Mercy!” Sera looks like she just swallowed an entire bag of formaldehyde. “I would have done the same.”

I feel a little better. “Um. I sort of... told the stepfather to give her to me instead.”

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