Page 57 of Ghostridden
“My agent was in talks with HBO on a Harcourt series. If it had ever gone forward, my dream casting for Corchran was John Barrowman.”
I managed to find my voice. “Good choice. And he turned into the most drool-worthy silver fox you’ve ever seen.”
Avi’s eyes practically lit up. “Really? That would have been even more perfect, since Oren was already starting to go prematurely gray. People had been talking about the unresolved sexual tension between Harcourt and Corchran sinceBullseye, and I was determined to finally let them bang it out in thisbook. But”—he spread his hands, palms up—“bickering. Petty on-page bickering. Not something befitting a tough-as-nails PI and reformed master thief.”
“Yeah, I can see that. But getting them together would have been impossible, anyway. Hell, the bickering was impossible.”
He rolled his eyes. “Iknow. That’s not how they operate. Either of them.”
“Not because it’s out of character.” I forced a breath into my leaden lungs. “Because Corchran is dead.”
Avi stared at me, open-mouthed, for a good ten seconds. “What are you talking about? Corchran isn’t dead.”
I nodded slowly. “Sorry, but he is. Don’t you remember? You killed him in the last book.”
“What?”
I had my answer to my question about Avi floating, because with that shout, he levitated almost to the ceiling. The papers behind him started to rustle before they lifted into the air and began to circle the room.
“Avi. Please. We’re disturbing the crime scene.”
“I didn’t kill Corchran. I wouldneverkill Corchran. Corchran wasOren. Harcourt was going toproposeto him if I— If they— Gah!” He clutched his hair with both hands and the paper picked up speed. “Why would you think I wouldkillhim?”
I scrambled to my feet, which put my head about level with his loafers. “If you come back down, we can talk about it, okay?”
He glared down at me, eyes practically glowing, and for a moment, all I could think was,oh, shit. True, Avi had never flung anything but paper around, but I’d readCards as Weapons. Paper could belethal, and death by a thousand paper cuts wasnotthe way I wanted to go.
I throttled back on my flight reflex, though, because despite Carson’s claims of unspecified childhood emotional abuse, I didn’t think Avi was homicidal. I kept my voice level. Calm but firm. Ish.
“How about you let everything settle and we can figure things out, all right? You don’t want to trash Oren’s stuff, do you?”
Avi froze for an instant and then glanced behind him. He let go of his hair, but his fingers still curled into fists, his chest heaving, so I wasn’t sure if he was winding up for an explosion or backing away from the edge. After another few seconds, he returned to the floor, although it was more of a flop than a float. The paper followed suit. But while it stopped, Avi kept going until he was crumpled in a heap next to the window seat.
When I sat down beside him, he raised his head and gazed at me, and I was rocked back from the total devastation in his expression.
“Avi…”
“I would never kill Corchran. You have to believe me.”
“I believe that’s whatyoubelieve, at least now. ButBorderlinehas been out for three years.”
His brows drew together, and the grief was replaced by something I couldn’t quite identify. “Borderline? What are you talking about?”
“Borderlinewas the last Ziv Harcourt book.”
“No. It wasn’t.”
“Yeah. It was.” I took a fortifying breath. “Fans had been waiting for it for six years, so we all jumped on it as soon as it hit the shelves.”
“And I’m telling you no. The last Harcourt and Corchran book wasAll In.”
It was my turn to frown. “All In? That’s not—”
“The identity theft case? Harcourt’s sister being gaslighted by her loser husband? Harcourt and Corchran going undercover at the spa?”
“Uh…”
“The mud bath scene? Oh, comeon, youmustremember the mud bath scene. Unless…” He scrubbed his hands over his face. Was it weird that I was getting used to being able to see the room through him? “Oh god. You’re not a Jake Fields reader. Sorry. I—”
