Page 118 of Death Wish

I grinned and cupped one of my ears like I was struggling to make out his words. “What was that? I can’t hear you over this terrible jazz music.”

“Jade, I’m serious,” he said, a little louder this time, his concern growing on his face.

“You really need to change this music selections,” I shouted back.

“Jade, don’t do anything I wouldn’t. Jade. Jade!”

The doors sealed shut, cutting off his warnings.

While the elevator descended, I laughed. As expected, the look on his face had been priceless. I didn’t know why I enjoyed teasing the man so much, but it sure was fun.

When I reached the ground floor and the elevator let me out, I marched out to the lobby, passing Maryanne’s desk. The little troll of a woman popped her head up.

“Blackwell,” she snipped, the way she always did.

This time, I wasn’t in the mood for one of our usual tit for tats. I had somewhere important to be; I had to see Kay and Laurence while I could.

“Can’t really chat today, Maryanne. I’m needed somewhere,” I said, still strolling toward the front doors.

She slammed something on the desk so hard, it made me skid to a stop.

“There’s a package here for you,” she said. “Come get it.”

Curious, I walked over and snatched the yellow envelope, surprised at how much it weighed.

As I marched away, I threw a quick “thanks” over my shoulder.

“You’ve gotten fatter, haven’t you?” she shouted to my turned back.

I held up a middle finger as I walked through the swinging doors and stepped outside.

As I went down the steps, my interest in the mystery package began to get the better of me. No one had ever sent me anything before.

Making my way to the transporting portal, I ripped the top open and stuck my hand inside. Every muscle in my body tensed at what I felt. Something smooth, cold, and metallic to the touch.

What I pulled out confirmed my assumptions. It was a gun. And it was loaded.

The only other thing in the envelope was a sheet of paper with someone’s scribbly handwriting on it, which I had to squint to read.

From what I could make out, it read: You were right.Sometimes it helps to have some backup.

What was even more amazing was who had signed the bottom.

Cole.

How the heck—

Weapons weren’t allowed in the afterlife for obvious reasons. Who needed a gun when everyone here was already dead? So how had he managed to get this to me? My only guess was Sean. Maybe it was something they’d discovered in one of the old texts? A way to get objects to cross over, too?

I chuckled. Took him this long, but he finally let me get one of his guns.

I played with it in my hand for a bit, testing its weight and fit. Knowing Cole, it was packed with some of his magic bullets, the ones made from iron and dipped in Holy Water, which could stun any spirit or demon. Now, if I ran into any more troublesome characters, like Tristen or Xaver, on my assignments, I had a way to defend myself.

Simon would have a fit if he ever found out, I was sure, but like I always said, what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Right?

Making sure the safety was on, I tucked the gun in the waistband of my jeans. I stepped onto the platform and spoke the street name for my apartment on the other side of Fairport’s downtown area. As the portal swooped me up and carried me away, for once, my thoughts drifted to the future instead of the emptiness that dwelled in my past.

I felt more like myself than I had in a long time.

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