Page 80 of Half Dead

“Now?” He looked at the screen. “Isn’t that the librarian?”

“Yes.”

“How serious can a library emergency be?”

“I asked a favor of her, and this might be related.” I clicked the screen. “Hey, Hailey.” I heard a rush of air in response.

“I’m so glad you answered. I have two women shooting laser beams out of their eyeballs at me because there are no available copies of the new E.L. James book.”

“A true tragedy.”

“The good news is I have something for you. Can you swing by the library today?”

“Absolutely. Does ten minutes work for you?”

“Make it five and I’ll throw in a lollipop from the bank. These ladies look ready to rumble.”

“See you soon.” I tucked away the phone and noticed Kane staring at me with an incredulous expression. “What?”

“You’re acting as though this is just another day.”

“Itisjust another day. Until tomorrow, and then that will be just another day.”

Kane set down his fork and looked at me. “Lorelei, these next two trials are serious.”

“I’m well aware. Survived the first one, remember?”

“And you should be preparing for the next two, not gallivanting off to the librarian to help some poor soul who didn’t ask for it.”

“Goran can’t do this for himself. He’d scare the daylights out of Hailey if he turned up at the library in his current form.” The former Slavic prince had been cursed to live the rest of his life as a bulbous-eyed water spirit.

“When will you stop thinking about everyone else and start considering yourself?”

His words snapped like a rubber band. “Would you have preferred that I not think of you when I said yes to the trials?”

“Of course! I believe I made that abundantly clear at the time.”

I studied him closely. “You’re angry with me,” I said in a quiet voice.

Kane opened his mouth to respond and then shut it again. “I suppose I am.”

I didn’t want to leave in the middle of an important conversation, but I’d told Hailey I’d be at the library in ten minutes. “I want to talk about this. Will you wait here until I get back from the library? I won’t be long.”

“Unless you pass a stranger on the street who needs help. Then I suppose you’ll be another hour.”

I gaped at him.

“He’s having a hard time,” Ray said. “Give him space to calm down.”

“We’ll take care of him while you’re gone,” Nana Pratt offered. “He likes peppermint tea, if I remember correctly. I’ll fix him a cup.”

“Thank you,” I told the ghosts. I left the house without another word to Kane.

I ranted at Gary during the drive to the library. The pickup truck was the best kind of listener. No judgment. Just a solid object on which to unload my torrent of emotions.

“Can you believe him? I just risked my life for that demon, and he has the nerve to act like I’m some sort of suicidal Good Samaritan.” My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “I don’t run around looking for problems to solve. The universe dumps them at my feet like I’m the cleanup crew for supernatural sticky situations.”

The truck’s engine rattled, and I patted the dashboard. “Hang in there, Gary. You’re doing a great job.”

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