Page 32 of Half Dead

“You can’t blame her. If the cufflink belongs to Lucifer and the demon is able to trace the source of the spell, Phaedra will have made herself a target.”

“Had a boss like that once,” Ray said. “We called him the Shark. Best not to make eye contact or you risked a bloodbath.”

The vibration of my phone startled me, and I dropped the shelf I’d been holding. I braced myself for the pain when it landed on my bare foot, but no pain was forthcoming. I peered down to see Claude holding the slab of wood.

“You saved my toes,” I said, crouching down to pat the revenant.

Ray took the shelf from him. “Not all heroes wear capes.”

I retrieved the phone from my pocket to see a message from Gunther. “Gun and Cam want to go out later,” I announced.

“Is that a problem?” Ray asked.

I picked up another shelf off the floor. “I’m your helper today.”

“No offense, Lorelei, but you’re more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to carpentry work.”

I blanched. “You called me a hindrance. How can I not take offense?”

“How would you feel if I picked up one of your swords and offered to help you fight demons in Wild Acres?”

I set the shelf back on the floor. “Point taken.”

“I’ve got Claude to help me. Besides, I like offering you support. Let me do it in the limited ways available to me.”

A warm sensation spread through my chest. “I appreciate you, Ray.” I smiled at the revenant. “And you, Claude.”

“What about me?” Nana Pratt asked.

I straightened to regard the elderly ghost. “I would probably starve without you.”

“I don’t know how you managed to feed yourself in London,” she said. “Did you have ghosts living with you there, too?”

“No, I had lots of takeout.”

She seemed heartened by my response. “Life is for the living, dear. You should enjoy it while you still can.”

Ray looked at her. “I think that sounded more ominous than you intended, Ingrid.”

“I got the gist,” I said. “Let me call Gun and see what he has in mind.”

“This isn’t what I had in mind,” Gun said, his upper lip curled into a disgusted snarl.

“You said you wanted to go out.” I waved a hand at Monk’s, the local dive bar. “We’re out.”

“If I wanted to drink piss in a shack, I’d visit the old outhouse near the Arrowhead trailer park,” he said.

“There’s an outhouse?”

“Might not be there anymore. It’s been ages since I’ve been there.”

I glanced at him. “Why would you…?” I shook my head. “Never mind.” Some mysteries were better left unsolved.

“There are tables outside,” Camryn said. “Maybe we should sit out here.”

Clasping her hand, Gun dragged her toward the entrance. “We can’t mock people if we can’t see them.”

“Good point.”

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