Grim & The City: A Grimlock Family Short Read online

  “Yeah, I regret I didn’t get you jackasses arrested before I died,” Meredith sneered. “I’m going to figure out a way to get it done. Just you wait. You’re going to rue the day … .”

  Whatever else she was going to say was cut off when Aisling absorbed her into the scepter.

  “And here I thought you were starting to feel bad,” I teased, cringing as a particularly violent thump sounded on the other side of the door.

  “I can’t feel bad, because she was a terrible person,” Aisling said, shoving her scepter into her pocket. “But it’s done.”

  “It definitely is.” I stepped away from the door. “Do you want to do the brave thing and let Sheridan know what we’ve done or sneak out the back?”

  Aisling blinked several times before answering. “Do you even have to ask? We’re totally sneaking out.”

  “Good plan.”

  “Can we get ice cream on our way home?” Jerry asked.

  I fell into step next to him. “That sounds like a great idea. This day is definitely looking up.”

  “Just wait until I unwrap David and put him on the coffee table,” Jerry enthused. “Then things will be perfect.”

  Ugh. This day was a total mess.

  “SORRY I’M LATE, but I brought pizza.”

  Griffin let himself into the townhouse shortly before seven, his arms laden with boxes and bags.

  I lifted an eyebrow as I rose from the couch to help him, grabbing the bags from the top so he could see over the rest of the pile. “It’s about time. I thought Aisling might chew off her own arm if you didn’t get here soon.”

  Griffin grinned. “My girl has a healthy appetite.” He carried the boxes to the kitchen table and left them there before sauntering over to the couch where Jerry toiled on Aisling’s toenails. He was painting them a bright purple to match her eyes and had been obsessed with his work for the past thirty minutes. “Hi, baby.” Griffin planted a lingering kiss on her mouth. “How was your day?”

  Aisling shifted a dubious look in my direction. “It was … fine.”

  Griffin read my sister better than most, and didn’t fall for her deflection. “How was it really?”

  “It was fine,” Aisling repeated. “Everything turned out exactly as it should’ve been from the start.”

  “See, I can’t help but think you’re lying to me.” Griffin took the spot I’d vacated on the couch and slipped off his shoes before getting comfortable. “I’m not going to feed you until you tell me the truth.”

  “Wow,” I intoned, smirking. “You’re strict.”

  “Shut up.” Griffin made a face. “I can tell she’s been up to something. Do you want to know how I know?”

  “Not particularly.”

  “I do,” Jerry countered. “I thought she was playing it cool, but obviously you don’t agree. What did she do to tip you off?”

  The look on Aisling’s face was enough to have me choking back a laugh.

  “You know, Jerry, as much as I love you, if we were in an episode of The Walking Dead I would totally have to kill you,” Aisling complained. “I’d shoot you in the leg and leave you behind as walker bait so I could make my escape.”

  Jerry balked. “That’s a horrible thing to say to your best friend.”

  “Well, you have a big mouth.”

  “Whatever.”

  Instead of pushing Aisling on the issue, Griffin turned his attention to me. “What happened?”

  “You really don’t want to know,” I warned.

  “That’s the story of my life. I still need you to tell me in case I need to fashion alibis before another set of cops start banging on the door.”

  “What are the odds of that?” Aisling challenged.

  “With you?” Griffin grinned as he tapped the end of her nose.

  He had a point. “It’s nothing big. Aisling lost a soul and ran across some rogue reapers, so she called me. She happened to be at the home and garden expo, which is where Jerry was, so we had a bit of an adventure. She’s right, though; it all worked out in the end.”

  “And you did nothing to be arrested for?” Griffin pressed.

  “Other than sitting on a dying woman so she wouldn’t take the main stage, that’s correct,” Aisling replied.

  Griffin stilled. “You sat on a dying woman? I must’ve heard that wrong.”

  “You didn’t hear it wrong.” I dug in the bag of food he brought from the pizza shop. “Wings, salad and cinnamon rolls, huh? Sounds like a perfect night to me. You did good.”

  Griffin waved off the compliment as he stared down his girlfriend. “What dying woman did you sit on?”

  “Before you freak out, I didn’t kill her,” Aisling offered. “She was already dying. I merely made sure she died in her dressing room rather than on the stage.”

  “Dressing room?”

  “It was Meredith Weaver,” I supplied. “She’s that big crafts guru who’s always on television. Her liver was shot. Aisling isn’t lying about killing her. We simply made sure she wasn’t wandering around when she died.”

  “Oh, I don’t want to hear this.” Griffin looked as if he was about to start complaining. “I heard about that woman dying. People said it was weird, because her dressing room door was locked and supposedly some security people were in there before she croaked. Those people managed to disappear, though. Weaver was sick, so no one considered foul play.”

  “I already told you we didn’t kill her.” Aisling’s tone was firm. “I’m not a murderer.”

  “You just said you’d shoot me in the leg and let the zombies get me,” Jerry pointed out.

  “That doesn’t make me a murderer. It makes me a survivor.”

  “If that’s your story.”

  “It’s totally my story.”

  “Stop fighting,” Griffin ordered. “Are you guys sure there’s nothing that can tie you to her death?”

  “No, but she died of natural causes, so there’s nothing that can be done about it,” Aisling replied. “I thought you’d be happy I’d managed to avoid a fight with rogue reapers. Heck, one of them was even wearing leather pants and I stopped myself from kicking her just because of that.”

  “You make me so tired sometimes.” Griffin leaned his head back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. “I honestly don’t know what to make of this.”

  “There’s nothing to make of it,” I said. “It’s over and done. Aisling is fine. She ran into Angelina and didn’t pull her hair. I think, other than a few random things that are giving me acid reflux, it was a good day.”

  “What’s giving you acid reflux?” Griffin asked, legitimately curious.

  “Have I showed you David yet?” Jerry abandoned Aisling’s toenails and grabbed the naked statue from the table. “I bought him at the home expo. Don’t you think he looks exactly like me?”

  “That would be one of things,” I muttered.

  Griffin’s eyebrows flew up his forehead as he took in the statue’s well-endowed form. “Huh. He’s … nifty.”

  “Good answer,” Aisling said. “Where is my pizza?”

  “I haven’t decided if you get any yet,” Griffin replied. “I’m trying to ascertain whether or not I should be angry with you.”

  “I vote for not.” Aisling adopted a plaintive tone. “I had a really long day. I want pizza, you and a long bath.”

  “In that order?”

  “Would you be angry if I said yes?”

  Instead of being annoyed, Griffin grinned. “No. I’ll get your pizza in a second.”

  “I’ll get it,” I said, moving the pizza boxes so I could stare at the third box. I didn’t immediately notice it when Griffin had carried it inside. “What’s this?” I held up the board game, flummoxed.

  Griffin glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “I saw that in a store today. I thought Aisling and Jerry had to have it.”

  “What is it?” Jerry craned his neck. “I can’t see from here.”

  “It’s Golden Girls Clue.” Despite my ret
icence regarding Jerry’s board game tactics, my stomach unclenched a bit. If I put the David statue next to the board – I could tell Jerry it was because I wanted David to feel as if he was part of the family – there was a very good chance Jerry would lose his mind and throw the statue if he lost. That would leave me innocent and the statue hopefully irreparable. “I think we should play it.”

  “Really?” Jerry was delighted. “I thought you said you wouldn’t play board games with me ever again.”

  “That was before I saw this.” I squared my shoulders. Love is a battlefield, after all. We had one last battle to wage tonight. “Pizza first. Golden Girls Clue second.”

  “Sold.” Aisling wiggled her toes. “Now … pizza me.”

  “Yes, my little despot.” Griffin kissed the top of her head as he stood. “I’m going to take the fact that you’re all alive and in relatively good moods as a win. I’ve opted to ignore the rest of it.”

  That was a good plan … for all of us.

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  About the Author

  I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my novels. I have a particular brand of humor that isn’t for everyone – and I know that.

  If you liked the book, please take a few minutes and leave a review. An independent author does it all on their own, and the reviews are helpful. I understand that my characters aren’t for everyone, though. There’s a lot of snark and sarcasm in my world – and I know some people don’t like that.

  Special thanks go out to Heidi Bitsoli and Phil VanHulle for correcting the (numerous) errors that creep into a work of fiction.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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  Books by Amanda M. Lee

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  Grim Discovery

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  Rising Covenant

  Dark Covenant

  Eternal Covenant

  Dying Covenant Trilogy

  Haunted Covenant

  Desperate Covenant

  Everlasting Covenant