Page 36 of Malice

Crash taps my shoulder. “I’d leave out the part where you were dead. Might ick him out if you’re planning to tap that.”

“Tap that?”

“What?” Hudson asks, confused.

I clear my throat, rolling my eyes as Crash laughs.

“Nothing. Sorry.”

“Knock boots?” Crash adds. “Bump uglies? Bang? Or my personal favorite: fuck.”

“That’s not gonna happen.”

Hudson scowls, crossing his arms. “I take it you’re not talking to me.”

“I’m super sorry. Myguideis being a pest right now.”

“Is it something I should know?”

“I’d say so,” Crash says. “He has a right to know you want to get into his pants.”

I blow out a breath, biting back my response. How the fuck does Crash know that anyway?

“Anyway—” I glance at Hudson. “—it’s not important information.”

“Okay,” Hudson says. “How did you find me?”

“The best way to describe it is that it’s a job I was offered. I was assigned your case because of Chester getting out so quickly.”

“Getting out of what?”

“The Below. Um, the underworld.”

“Like hell?”

“It’s not called that. That’s a Christian concept. It’s just the place everyone goes when they die.”

“Wait.” His face scrunches as he scowls. “We all go to the same place?”

“Not exactly.” I pause, biting my lip as I contemplate how to explain it. “Okay, imagine a house. A really big one. A mansion.”

“A mansion.”

“Yeah, and there are tons of rooms, right? Some of those rooms have innocent souls, like kittens and puppies and kids.”

His brow creases but he nods.

“Other rooms have souls who died of natural causes or old age.”

“And there’s a room with souls like Chester? Evil souls?”

“Yes. They’re called Horrors, and it’s my job to get him back where he belongs.”

“Why? Are you gifted? You said you were something like a medium.”

“I have some gifts.” It’s not untrue. “Like I can see them and I can talk to some of them.”

“You’re doing great,” Crash says from the back seat with his feet propped up on the door.

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