Demons LLC (Damned and Cursed Book 7) by Glenn Bullion Read Free Book Online Page A

would marry so young, unless it was a childhood sweetheart kind of thing."
    Alex just smiled, already uncomfortable with the conversation.
    "Anyway, I just wanted to check on how married you were, if I had a chance or not."
    He knew he was young, and there was plenty left to learn in what he hoped would be a long life, but Alex was never aware there were different degrees of being married.
    "Well, yeah, umm…I'm pretty married."
    Amy leaned away and straightened her hair.   She accepted the rejection with a smile.   She recrossed her legs, trying to draw attention to them, as if giving Alex a hint of what he was missing out on.
    "Can't blame a girl for trying," she said.   She leaned close once again, but not to be intimate.   "Can you really talk to spirits?"
    The shift of tone in the conversation was jarring, but Alex welcomed it.   It was much better than trying to avoid her flirtation.
    "I can."
    Amy couldn't contain her excitement.   "Wow, that is so amazing!   Don't worry, I won't tell Troy or Mr. Donovan.   Although, they wouldn't believe you anyway."
    "Somehow, I'm not surprised."
    Her smile faded.   "Troy told me you know about me."
    Alex held up his hands.   "Hey, no judging here."
    "Maybe you should be working with them instead of me."
    He looked her over.   The bubbly personality, the bright smile were gone.   Her deception truly ate at her.
    "Hey, if you help people, who cares how you do it?"
    "Yeah, I help people," she said sarcastically.   "While Troy and Mr. Donovan are doing the real work, I'm misleading them.   Like smoke and mirrors."
    "Trust me, doing the people part, it doesn't get any more real than that."   Something dawned on him as he watched her.   "Have you ever seen anything real?"
    "You mean on one of our cases?"
    Alex nodded.
    "Not really," Amy said.   "On the first case I helped out with last year, there were some weird things.   Objects moving on their own, that kind of thing."   She glanced at the dining room table and leaned forward.   Everyone was still laughing and talking.   "I've never seen a real ghost."
    He almost read her mind.   "And that's why you signed up?"
    "They found me, actually.   But yeah, I want to see a ghost.   Don't get me wrong.   I love helping people.   But I want to know what's on that other side."
    He couldn't stop the smile.   The things he could tell her.   There were plenty of odd things to see on this side.
    The cold chill came without warning.   It felt like a gust of wind, moving with a mind of its own.   It came from the stairs and rolled over Alex and Amy on the couch.   The hairs on his arms and neck stood up.   Alex got the sense the chill was moving to the dining room.
    "Maybe, just maybe, you'll get your chance," he whispered.
    "Holy shit, Alex," Amy said.   "Are you okay?   You're freezing."
    Without realizing it, Alex leaned over and huddled to himself, trying to keep warm.   He kept his eyes locked on the dining room as Amy rubbed his arms.   He wasn't sure if she was simply being compassionate or had reverted back to flirt mode.
    The laugh that followed was low and eerie.   It blended in so well with the dinner conversation that Alex wasn't sure if it was real.
    "Oh, God," Amy said.   Her hands went still on Alex's arms.   "What is that?"
    She heard it as well, through her contact with Alex.   With a mere touch, he could grant someone a peek into the spirit world, even if it was something as simple and terrifying as a disembodied chuckle.   He'd learned to control the ability, and maybe should have kept Amy from hearing.   But having a witness and another set of eyes and ears wasn't a bad idea.
    The laugh was female, but very rough, like it belonged to an elderly smoker.   It was unnatural, as it didn't pause to breathe.   It just laughed, and laughed.   The volume intensified, but everyone at the table continued to eat and talk.   Amy scooted closer to Alex and squeezed his arm.
    "They don't hear