Page 61 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“Now the shadow man is speaking French!” Jackie clapped slowly, each one echoing in the quiet room, punctuated by long, pregnant pauses. “Who the hell is‘we’? You’re not dragging my friend to hell!”
“It’s the only way any of this is going to work,” Cufio insisted. “We can’t be there and protect her here.”
“Um, I can protect myself. I did just fine earlier.” I said, reminding them of our earlier encounter.
“Yes, with my help,” Raymondadded.
“So you think I should go to hell with you? I thought this was just your brother’s idea, but you agree with him?”
“I think that we should stick together. If that means you coming to the Bane, then yes.”
“Alright, you’ve clearly lost your collective minds, and I think it’s time for you all to leave.” Jackie pulled me back from Raymond. “Go put your heads together to come up with another plan.”
“Jericha,” Raymond looked at me, but there was something there. Hesitation? Maybe he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea after all. “Is that what you want?”
“She’s right. You should go. I need time to think about what’s going on.” I nodded.
“I—” Raymond started, but he stopped when a hand touched his shoulder.
“She’s right.” Metice tightened his grip on Raymond’s shoulder. “This is a lot to ask from one woman. Trust me, I know. Jericha you should take your time. We can arrange for protection while you think things over.”
“You’re speaking for all of us now?” Raymond jerked his shoulder away from Metice.
“No. I’m listening to what she wants. Forcing the issue will not make this any easier for anyone,” Metice said confidently. “If she comes, it needs to be on her terms.”
“Wow, you’ve changed.” Raymond laughed. “No more kicking down the door and taking what you want? I can’t count how many times you dragged someone from their home kicking and screaming and took them back to the Bane.”
“It’s called maturing,” Metice grunted. “You should try it.”
“It’s called having a woman wrap you around her little finger.” Cufio pulled a Jackie, injecting humor into a moment that was growing more and more tense. “You know he can’t act out, or his woman will kick his ass.”
“I’m leaving.” Metice rolled his eyes then pointed at Cufio. “I’ll see you in our spot. Don’t take too long. I have other stuff to deal with.”
“Yeah, we’ll be there soon,” Cufio confirmed.
Metice nodded, and then the pressure in the room intensified. Weight pressed against my chest, and when it stopped, Metice was gone.
“Jericha.” Raymond stood from the table. “Is this what you want?”
“I need time to think, Raymond,” I said.
“Okay, yeah. I’ll go,” Raymond spoke.
Cufio opened a shadow and stepped through, followed by Noville, who sighed in relief as he left. Raymond took one last look at me then followed the others.
“They’re out of their minds if they think you’re going there,” Jackie fussed.
“This is too much.” I pointed at the empty sushi containers. “And your greedy ass ate all the sushi!”
“There’s still plenty of beer!” She shrugged. “My bad, girl. I guess I was a lot hungrier than I thought. You want me to run and get you something?”
“No, thank you.” I waved her off. “And you can keep your nasty beer.”
“What do you need right now? I know how you usually are. You want to be alone while you think things through.”
“Yes, I think I need to be by myself.” I peeked out into the backyard once again. “Even if there are things lurking in the shadows, I gotta take time to process.”
“Cool, I’ll go back to the hotel and wait for Miguel and the others. Let me know if you need anything.” Jackie grabbedher bag.
