Demon Hunting In the Deep South by Lexi George Read Free Book Online Page B

blurted it out. “They think I killed a woman.”
    Mullet Woman’s eyes grew round. “Get out of this town! Did you do it?”
    “No!”
    “Of course you didn’t. You’re too sweet and good.” Mullet Woman shot Sheriff Whitsun a look of reproach. “Anyone with two brain cells to rub together could figure that out. Well, Miss Douglass, you won’t regret this. Me and Frodo won’t let you down. You betcha bottom dollar we won’t.”
    “Wait,” Evie said with a stab of panic. “I didn’t mean for you to bring the dog. I’m not so sure how Addy will feel about—”
    Moving like a pink and black polyester whirlwind, Mullet Woman snatched the Chihuahua out of Ansgar’s hands and blew back out the door.

Chapter Six
    “O h, man,” Evie said. “Addy’s gonna kill me.”
    The sheriff’s mouth twitched. “You don’t know that woman from Adam, do you? Are you always so impulsive?”
    “I’m usually not impulsive at all.” She glared at him. “But somebody had to help her, and it was obvious you weren’t going to do anything.”
    Whoa, where did that come from? Shy, self-conscious Evie Douglass wouldn’t say boo to a goose. Yet here she was bowing up at the sheriff.
    Twice.
    It must be Mullet Woman. Evie could relate to her, with her People of Walmart fashion sense and her disaster of a hairdo. No doubt people made fun of her. Evie knew what that felt like.
    And Mullet Woman seemed so alone. Evie knew about that, too.
    Or maybe you’re tired of being such a doormat and eating that crap sandwich you’ve been chewing on most of your life. God, I hope so, ’cause being you blows . Big time.
    Evie started. Where did that thought come from?
    To her relief, the entrance door opened and Addy stuck her head in the room. “Hey, what’s the holdup? Did you leave your purse in Timbuktu?”
    “Sorry,” Evie mumbled.
    Ducking her head, she hurried out of the sheriff’s office and into the hallway. For goodness’ sakes, she was borderline rude to the man and she’d hired a stranger to work in Addy’s flower shop. Without asking.
    A stranger with a mutant flesh-eating dog.
    What was the matter with her?
    It had been a horrible day. That was the problem. This morning started out like any other, boring and familiar. She’d waded through the sameness to work, aware of the dull, aching weight of depression bearing down on her, a feeling of soul-numbing sorrow she could not shake. Then, without warning, her day morphed into something else. Meredith was dead. And mousy Evie Douglass, who never got so much as a conduct check in school, was a person of interest in a murder. Small wonder she was rattled.
    The back of her neck tingled. Oh, Lord, Ansgar was behind her. He moved without sound. But she knew he was there. She could feel him, for Pete’s sake.
    He was a big part of why she was on edge. Being near him shattered her nerves; he was so intimidating and gosh-darn perfect.
    A few minutes ago, she’d been in his arms. The thought of it made her shiver. She’d opened her eyes and found herself heartbeat to heartbeat with the most beautiful man in the world, her breasts pressed against his broad chest. He radiated heat and strength and danger. She wanted to sink into him.
    She wanted to run away.
    God, she was a basket case.
    Cheeks burning, Evie scurried up the basement stairs and into the rotunda of the courthouse, a domed structure built in 1898. Eager for some fresh air after the hours of confinement in the sheriff’s office, she darted across the gleaming expanse of marble floor and pushed open one of the brass-plated glass doors. She stepped outside into the sunshine and took a deep breath.
    The air held the crisp tang of autumn, and the October sky was a brilliant, cloudless blue. Beautiful and serene. Perfect, like the endless grace of God.
    Hard to believe anything bad could happen on a day like today. But it had, and in spades. A few hours ago, she’d looked upon the face of death and felt the presence