Grim Expectations (Aisling Grimlock Book 5) Read online

  “Yes, well, you didn’t seem happy to see me,” Nathan pointed out. “You couldn’t get away from me fast enough. It was as if I had cooties or something.”

  “I outgrew my fear of cooties a long time ago.”

  “Wasn’t that the night you ate so much food you were worried about your pants splitting?” Aidan asked, causing me to narrow my eyes. I didn’t care what Nathan thought of me, but that was hitting below the belt. Er, so to speak. “When Aisling told me the story she said she was embarrassed because she ate so much seafood she could hardly breathe because her pants were cutting off her circulation.”

  “I’m going to beat you later,” I warned.

  Nathan chuckled at the interplay. He also seemed to relax, if only marginally. Somehow our immature showing erased some of the worry lines from his face. “You guys are exactly the same,” he said. “It’s so weird to think we’ve been out of high school for so long, yet very little has changed.”

  “It’s definitely weird,” I agreed, making a big showing of looking around Nathan’s shoulder to peer inside of the house. “Aren’t you going to invite us in to see your new digs?”

  Suspicion flitted across Nathan’s eyes as his smile slipped. “Why do you want to see the house?”

  “I have a fascination with real estate.”

  “She does,” Aidan confirmed. “She’s obsessed with beating Angelina Davenport one day – you know how they have that weird competition and somehow Angelina always seems to win – and Aisling wants to get in the real estate business to do it. She loves looking at houses.”

  “I’m definitely going to beat you until you cry like a little girl.” The words were out of my mouth before I thought about how they might sound to Nathan. He wasn’t nearly impressed with this bout of immaturity as the last.

  “The house is really a mess right now,” Nathan hedged. “I’m still moving in. Maybe another night when it’s not so dirty.”

  “Did you buy this house?” Aidan asked. He was clearly worried that Nathan was going to slam the door in our faces and end our charade before we could even get it off the ground.

  “I … it’s mine,” Nathan said. “I would love to catch up with you guys, but I’m really busy. I’m sorry.”

  I acted out the only way I knew how and slammed my hand against the door to keep it open as I grabbed my stomach and groaned in agony.

  Nathan’s eyes widened. “What’s wrong?”

  “Yeah, what’s wrong?” Aidan asked, confused.

  “I have terrible cramps,” I said, lifting my eyes and managing to work up a few tears. I’d been a master at it as a child when I wanted my father to spoil me. It’s funny how some gifts never stop giving. “I think I need to sit down.”

  “You have cramps?” Nathan was incredulous. “Do you really expect me to believe that?”

  “I’m not sure what you want me to say, Nathan,” I said, jutting out my lower lip. “Being a female is a burden. You have no idea how much this hurts. I’m afraid if I don’t sit down I might hemorrhage all over your front porch.” That sounded plausible, right? Most men are so terrified of menstruation they’ll do anything to avoid discussing the details.

  “You’re going to hemorrhage?” Nathan was clearly dubious. “What is going on with you two? I’m not falling for that.”

  “I think she’s serious,” Aidan said, slipping his arm around my waist. “She has a condition.”

  “A condition?”

  Aidan nodded gravely. “It’s called … menstrual anabolic steroidism.”

  Nathan furrowed his brow. “I’m pretty sure that’s not a real thing.”

  That was the dumbest fake ailment I’d ever heard. I was stuck with it now, though. “Oh, it’s real,” I said, gripping my stomach as I tried not to overplay my part. “It’s extremely painful. I’m having surgery next week.”

  “On what?”

  “Her lady parts,” Aidan said, his voice barely a whisper.

  The situation was surreal, but I had to swallow the odd urge to laugh. Now was so not the time to give in to the giggles.

  “Fine,” Nathan said, pushing open the door. “You can sit down for five minutes. After that, though, you have to go.”

  “Bless you, Nathan.”

  I rested the bulk of my weight on Aidan as he led me into the house. I cast a brief look at the tree Dad and Griffin were hiding behind, but it was too dark to see them. Just knowing they were there was enough. Nathan was in for a big surprise. I couldn’t wait to see his face.

  “Sit here,” Nathan ordered, gesturing toward a couch. The living room was sparsely furnished – only the couch and one table in the room – and Nathan seemed nervous as he hovered in the doorway that led to the rest of the house. “Can I get you some water or something?”

  “That would be great,” Aidan said. “The condition makes her dehydrated, and when she’s dehydrated she goes crazy. Well, crazier than usual.”

  I scorched Aidan with harsh glare but remained silent. We were going to have a long talk about his performance issues when this was over.

  “Fine. Just … don’t go anywhere,” Nathan said, hurrying out of the room.

  I exchanged a quick look with Aidan and then watched as he hurried to the front door and flicked the lock. Now it was open should Dad and Griffin decide to enter. Aidan paused for a moment to study the nearby alcove – which was completely covered in shadows – before hurrying back to my side. Nathan thrust a bottle of water in my direction as he scurried into the room.

  “Here. Drink that and go.”

  “Your manners are stellar,” I said, twisting the cap off the water bottle. The seal was broken, a tipoff that I probably didn’t want to drink the contents. That didn’t mean I couldn’t pretend a little. “You could really use some decorations in here,” I said, pretending to sip the water. Nathan’s eyes gleamed as he watched me. “I think that wall over there especially could use a big painting.”

  Nathan glanced over his shoulder and I took the opportunity to dump some of the water behind the couch. By the time Nathan looked back I was cradling the bottle against my chest. “I think I’m getting worse.”

  “Oh, no,” Aidan said, faking worry. “Do you think you’re going to bleed out?”

  He’d been watching too many daytime soaps with Jerry if he thought anyone was going to buy that performance. “I think I might pass out.”

  “Maybe you should drink more water,” Nathan suggested. “That will probably make you feel better. In fact … Aidan, would you like some water, too?”

  Nathan was a worse actor than Aidan, but my brother gladly nodded and pretended he didn’t notice.

  “That would be great, Nathan.”

  The second Nathan left the room Aidan rushed to the front door. He threw it open and gestured for Dad and Griffin to come inside. They seemed confused, but Aidan pointed toward the alcove at the front of the room and the two men quickly disappeared inside as Aidan closed the door and hurried back to his spot behind me. This time when Nathan returned he seemed almost proud of himself.

  “Here you go, Aidan,” he said. “You should drink a lot of that because you’re probably tired from looking for Serena for so long.”

  “Uh-huh.” Aidan glanced at me. We’d never mentioned Serena’s name. I was sure of it. “And you’re sure you haven’t seen any teenagers around?” Aidan made a big show of untwisting the water bottle’s cap.

  “I haven’t seen any teenagers,” Nathan said, staring at Aidan as my brother lifted the bottle to his lips. “I’m not exactly a big fan of teenagers.”

  I purposely kept my eyes heavy-lidded as I pretended to struggle against passing out. Nathan didn’t look away from Aidan, which made it impossible for my brother to dump out some of the water. I decided to help him.

  “What’s that in your closet?”

  “What’s what?” Nathan asked, swiveling.

  Aidan took the opportunity to pour the water on the carpet next to his foot and then slump against the couch.
He seemed to be enjoying himself even though the acting lessons Jerry insisted everyone take in high school appeared to be a wasted effort in Aidan’s case, given his pathetic performance.

  “Did you finish the water?” Nathan asked, smiling as he joined us.

  “I can’t finish mine,” I replied weakly. “For some reason I’m too tired. It must be the blood loss.”

  “Yeah, that must be it,” Nathan said dryly. “How about you, Aidan? How do you feel?”

  “Sleepy.” Aidan slurred his words. I was pretty sure that was taking it a step too far, but Nathan apparently didn’t think so.

  “That’s good,” Nathan said. “You’re both feeling sleepy. That’s very good.”

  “Why is that good?” I asked.

  “Because I’m not stupid,” Nathan replied. Apparently he saw no reason to keep up the charade. “You guys are, though. Did you really think I would fall for a fake illness just because you paired it with Aisling’s period? I’m not an idiot.”

  And yet all evidence pointed to the contrary. I stayed with the act, though. “What are you talking about?”

  “You,” Nathan spat. “I know why you’re here. You’re looking for Serena Grimley. You somehow figured out that I took her family. I’m not sure how, but I have to give you credit. That was a nice bit of detective work.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I knew it was you.”

  “And yet you still walked into my house and let me win,” Nathan said. “How does it feel? I outsmarted both of you.”

  “It feels weird,” I said, resting my head against Aidan’s side. My brother pretended to be completely passed out. I had no idea why, but I was beyond caring. “Are the Grimleys still alive?”

  “Not for long.”

  “Has anyone been helping you?” The question was hard to get out, but I felt lighter once I asked it.

  “Like who?”

  “Like … my mother?”

  “Why would she be helping me?” Nathan looked legitimately confused. “I’m the mastermind behind all of this. I thought your mother was dead.”

  Strangely enough, his denial was a relief. “But … why?” Nathan may have fancied himself some sort of undiscovered genius, but he didn’t notice I seemed to be getting stronger with each question. What an idiot.

  “Because I want to live forever,” Nathan replied simply. “Do you want to hear a story?”

  Not really. “Um … Sure.”

  “I never knew my father very well,” Nathan said. “I lived with my mother and stepfather, and he always traveled. About six months ago I got a call that he was dying. He wanted to see me. Because he was rich, I figured it couldn’t hurt. I never got any of his time in life, but getting his money in death would make up for it.

  “He led me on,” he continued. “He made me think he was going to give me everything, but all he left me was this house. It’s not even a good house. I can hardly get a decent amount for it. He gave everything else away to charity because he said I wouldn’t appreciate the money if I didn’t earn it. Can you believe that?”

  Oddly I could. “How terrible.”

  “I was stuck with only the house if I wanted anything, so I decided to search it while he was sick,” Nathan said. “That’s when I found the book.”

  Things slipped into place. “Genevieve Toth’s grimoire. Did she have copies of it stashed everywhere or something?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I know about the grimoire,” I said. “Your father must’ve been an Olivet descendant. That’s why you put him to rest in the mausoleum. Did you rebuild the mausoleum?”

  “No, the cemetery did that,” Nathan replied. “Because I’m the only known living relative, they called me when the construction was complete. I went there and saw the door. I asked them to open it, but they claimed that it had withstood the previous fire and as part of their agreement with the family they didn’t open it. I could only open it if I had the key.”

  “So that room was there the first go-around,” I mused. “The door must’ve been hidden. This time they didn’t bother hiding it.”

  “I was understandably curious and tried to get in when no one was looking,” Nathan said. “The grimoire said I needed what was inside if I wanted to perform any of the big rituals, so I knew I would eventually have to figure a way to get past the door. I tried for three days to get inside without any luck. Do you have any idea how frustrating that was?”

  “I can imagine. Did you find the grimoire in the house or buried beneath it?”

  “I found it in the attic,” Nathan said. “I ignored it at first, but then I was bored one night and started flipping through it. This was before my father died. He was in hospice. I didn’t realize the only thing I would be getting from him was the house at that time, but I needed money to survive before I could have access to my inheritance and I’d been selling things from the house. He was too sick to notice, so it really didn’t matter.”

  “The seal,” I muttered. “You found the seal and sold it to an antiques dealer. Lawrence Grimley, right?”

  “Very good,” Nathan nodded. “I didn’t understand what it was until after the fact. I thought it was just a hunk of silver I could sell. Then I read the grimoire and realized it was the key I needed to open the door in the mausoleum. The grimoire said that the answers to everlasting life were in the basement. To be fair, all I found down there after Serena opened it was some herbs, but apparently they’re necessary to finish the blood rite … so I’m thankful to her.”

  “And who doesn’t want everlasting life, right?” My annoyance was growing with every word. “How did you realize the Grimleys were reapers?”

  “The wraiths told me.”

  “You talked to them?”

  “They talked to me,” Nathan corrected. “They came to the house looking for the seal. Somehow they heard about it and wanted it before my father died. I was terrified at first. I thought they were monsters. We came to a sort of meeting of the minds, though. We all wanted to get into that room and we needed the seal to do it.

  “According to Genevieve’s work, we needed five reapers to form a pentagram to infuse one soul forever,” he continued. “I agreed to be the guinea pig and supply the seal if they agreed to help me grab the Grimleys. With the seal and reapers together, I thought it would be easy.”

  “You didn’t realize Serena wasn’t in the house,” I said. “You didn’t know that she took the seal when she ran. She knew it was important and threw a wrench in your plan.”

  “She did indeed,” Nathan said. “It all worked out in the end, though. I heard the girl was sighted with you. Er, well, the wraiths heard about some incident in a greenhouse. She’d been hunting and killing them. We set a trap close to your house because we figured she would go there, but you got to her first.”

  “And then we kept her out of your reach at Grimlock Manor.”

  “You did, but you didn’t keep her safe enough for the long haul, did you?”

  Nathan’s blasé attitude made me sick to my stomach. “What’s your plan, Nathan? Are you going to kill the Grimleys and make yourself immortal?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if it doesn’t work?” I challenged. “What if Genevieve was wrong?”

  “She was never wrong,” Nathan said. “She was immortal. I’m going to find her one day.”

  “She’s dead,” I said matter-of-factly. “My family killed her.”

  Nathan’s face drained of color. “You’re lying.”

  “I’m not lying,” I said. “We killed her several months ago. She wasn’t immortal. If this plan of hers had a chance of working, don’t you think she would’ve used it herself?”

  “I … no.” Nathan was visibly upset. “No. I’m going to live forever and I’m going to control wraiths and gargoyles to get whatever I want. I’ve been working with them for weeks – although they treat me as if I’m a slave instead of the boss.” He sounded like a petulant child demanding specific gifts for his birthday.
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  “Did you send the gargoyles after us at the Grimley house? One of them attacked me and it really hurt.”

  “I wasn’t going after you,” Nathan replied. “I was trying to find Serena. You stuck your nose in where it didn’t belong. That moved you from a person of disinterest to a target. That’s not my fault.”

  I’d long since stopped feigning weakness. Nathan didn’t seem to notice. “You’re such a turd,” I complained, straightening. “You were a turd in high school, and you’re an even bigger one now.”

  My sudden movement was enough to tip Nathan that something odd was going on. “Hey! Why aren’t you passed out?”

  “Because I dumped the water on the floor instead of drinking it, you moron,” I hissed, hopping to my feet. Nathan was already moving in my direction, but Griffin grabbed him from behind before he could touch me. “How does it feel to be immortal now, you butthead?”

  Nathan struggled against Griffin, but he was no match. Griffin wrestled him to the floor and pinned his knee in Nathan’s back.

  “How did you get in my house?” Nathan screeched.

  “Through the front door,” Dad answered, the set of his jaw grim as he watched Griffin easily control Nathan.

  I got on all fours and lowered myself so I could meet Nathan’s gaze head on as Griffin pressed his face into the carpet.

  “I have just one question for you, you filthy maggot,” I said.

  “I’m not answering anything.” Nathan was defiant, but I could tell he was terrified.

  “How many wraiths are in your basement?”

  “I … none.”

  I ran my tongue over my teeth before grabbing a hank of Nathan’s hair and viciously yanking it out of his head. He cried out in pain as Griffin widened his eyes.

  “How many?”

  “Three,” Nathan sobbed.

  “Are the Grimleys still alive?”

  Nathan mutely nodded as tears spilled down his cheeks.

  “Have you been drugging them?”

  “I’ve been giving them a walking dead draught,” Nathan sputtered. “It keeps them … pliable. They’re easier to control. They’re tied up. The wraiths are desperate to suck them dry but the drugs keep them away for now because they don’t like the smell of it in anyone’s blood.”