The Gravedigger's Brawl by Abigail Roux Read Free Book Online Page B

her.
    â€œYou know we’ve been getting tons of people saying they saw a face in the mirror in the bathroom? Creepy stuff.”
    â€œI refuse to acknowledge what you just said. There’s been some weird break-ins around the neighborhood lately, Caleb was telling us about them the other night.”
    Delilah frowned. “Oh.”
    â€œYou can’t just go heedlessly charging into danger, you need to know these things,” Ash admonished, smirking as he handed her the gun. “Take this when you go.”
    â€œWhat?” She laughed and smacked his chest, ignoring the weapon. “No, now you have to go with me.”
    They both jumped as something slammed against the locked door right beside them. Delilah put Ash between her and the door, her hands on his arms as she peered around him.
    â€œWho’s there?” Ash called out, the gun hanging uselessly in his hand.
    The only answer was a chilling scratching sound on the door, like stiff fingers trying to find purchase on the smooth wood.
    â€œI’m so out of here,” Delilah whispered, and Ash felt her step away.
    He shook his head and stepped forward to reach for the doorknob, clutching the .22 like the small caliber might do more than just piss off whatever he shot with it.
    â€œNo, no,” Delilah hissed, clutching at Ash’s suspenders as he gripped the glass doorknob and turned it.
    There was a flurry of movement from the other side of the door, brushing and thumping and scratching, and when Ash pulled the door open and pointed the gun into the darkness, a bird shot out of the stairwell into his face.
    Ash screamed. Delilah screamed. The bird screamed.
    Ash’s world became a confusion of feathers in his face, shouting in his ear, being hit by a broom whenever Delilah missed the bird, and the overwhelming urge to duck under a table. When the dust and feathers cleared, the bird was perched on the decorative molding on top of the front window, and Delilah was laughing hysterically as Ash pulled pieces of straw from the broom off his clothing and out of his hair.
    He grumbled as he looked up at the bird. It was large and black, its feathers an almost iridescent indigo. It had a black bill and yellow eyes that blinked rapidly at them as its chest heaved.
    â€œPoor thing.” Ash moved slowly as he went to the front door and propped it open, looking up at the bird as he did so.
    â€œHe’s a grackle,” Delilah said as she helped him open windows.
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œMy dad was a bird enthusiast,” she said with a shrug. “That’s a grackle.”
    â€œWhat do I care?”
    â€œI love the way that word sounds. Grackle.”
    Ash laughed. “Are you high already?”
    Delilah grinned and gave him a wink. “At least it wasn’t a ghost.”

    It was only Monday morning, but Wyatt Case was sitting and staring at the vintage Thurston poster on the far side of his office, unable to concentrate.
    He had never had a one night stand before. Never. He had never dealt with the aftermath, such as it was. He had never left a person he’d just had sex with, drunk, in bed without even a word of good-bye. Hell, he hadn’t even said thank you. Were you supposed to say thank you? Would that be insulting? Wyatt didn’t know. He knew you weren’t supposed to leave without telling the person you’d just screwed that you were going, though.
    The knock at his door didn’t even register. It wasn’t until Noah stuck his head into the office and said his name that Wyatt tore his attention away from the poster and blinked at him, trying to get his eyes to focus.
    â€œYou’re in early,” Noah said with a frown.
    Wyatt’s first instinct was to be ashamed. He wondered if Ash had told Noah over the weekend about their little rendezvous. He shrugged.
    Noah slipped into the office and closed the door behind him. “What’s up?”
    Wyatt rubbed his hand over his