Page 54 of Hot Ghoul Summer

Musketeer bats at the back tire one more time, and I hear a hissing snap as he severs one of Garmin’s brake lines.

“I’ll shoot you!” Garmin reaches into his pocket and pulls out a .22 pistol, practically lost in his pudgy hand.

I don’t budge. “Get. Out.” I brandish my scythe.

Bullets fill the air with short, harsh popping sounds.

And I just stand there, insubstantial, uninjured, and fucking brassed off. “You’re not very bright, Garmin. Just a talented liar. Out. Now!”

Predictably, Garmin doesn’t exit the vehicle. Less predictably—he floors it, throwing it in forward, and taking off down a side walking trail at about eighty miles per hour.

“Bloody hell. Boys, go back to Molly. Protect her!” I order and flee after Garmin. I can hear his car hitting every log and tree branch possible, but he doesn’t slow down.

Belatedly, I wonder if he can’t.

His brake lines...

What would happen if he just kept going?

He thinks he’s getting away—but he’s heading into the lake. There’s nothing beyond the edge of this trail but the dock for the water taxi—and the lake.

Rooted to the spot for a moment, I just stand and listen—until I hear the splash.

“Oh, no.”

There’s a thick, sulfuric scent behind me, and a harassed-looking demon comes barreling past. “If it isn’t a gang war in Detroit, it’s a party on the shores of Lake Erie! I’ve seen reps from three different unions here tonight!” she exclaims.

“Uh-huh. Your guy is in the water. Just went in.”

She sighs. “With cardiac issues, chronic health problems, and a bunch of fractures. What was he thinking?”

I say nothing. He was probably thinking he had to get away from the big, scary Grim Reaper or he was going to get killed.

Oops.

Chapter Sixteen: Why You Should Be Nice to Your Union Reps

Toby holds me in his lap. I cling to him. I don’t want to die, but if they say something like “You can go with him” what will I do?

“Molly, it’ll be all right.”

“You’re worrying for nothing,” Sera paces, sounding very worried and thus very hypocritical.

“We’re witnesses. You didn’t kill him.”

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