Page 48 of Deader than Dead

John tipped his head to one side. “Tell me what you think?”

“I think he’s a man with secrets. I think they both are.”

John nodded. “Me too. I think the PPB is the tip of the iceberg.” He frowned. “Wait… I thought you said you wanted to take the job. Wouldn’t the PPB not being all it seems be a reason not to?”

“Probably,” I said slowly. “But if I’m honest, that makes me want to work there more.” I shrugged, heat creeping into my cheeks. “I guess I’m a man who needs a bit of excitement in his life.”

John arched a brow. “And I’m not exciting enough for you?”

I leaned forward to drop a kiss on his pouting lips. “You are, but you don’t pay me, and I won’t be able to keep you in the manner you’re accustomed to without a job.”

“You better,” John said with a smile. “Or my mother won’t be happy.”

“Your mother loves me.” John’s mother had been friendly from the outset, welcoming me into her home like a long-lost son. Given what John had told me of his previous dating history, I assumed a lot of it was based on relief at him finding someone who made him happy.

“She does,” John admitted with a slight roll of his eyes. “Which is more than can be said for your sister.”

“She’s jealous,” I said.

“Is she?”

I nodded. “Look at it from her point of view. We always bonded over all our failed relationships. It’s one reason we’re so close. Now, hot on the heels of her being single again, I’ve found the man of my dreams. She’ll come round, eventually. Probably at the point where she meets someone new and gets over her heartbreak.”

“I hope so,” John said. “I’d hate to think she believes I’m stealing her brother away.”

“What about you?” I asked. “What are you going to do job-wise?” I frowned. “I don’t even know how it works for a necromancer. Can you go it alone? How does that even work? Do you stand in the street with a sandwich board around your neck asking if anyone needs anything reanimating?”

I deserved the eye roll I received for that comment. “You can go it alone,” John said, “minus the sandwich board. But it’s hard and often not that lucrative. People tend not to trust you if you’re not linked to an organization. One thing Cade was very good at was providing an air of respectability.” He pulled a face. “Don’t tell him I said that.” He let out a sigh. “Which means I may have to go back and work for him.”

“Well… at least you can do it for considerably more money.”

John smirked. “True. Maybe I can get even more out of him. He seemed very set on getting me back.”

I winked at him. “Why wouldn’t he be? You, my darling, are worth every penny.”

John’s answering smile was radiant. We lapsed into silence after that as our airplane meals arrived and I watched an in-flight film about a jewel thief. “You see that,” I said, nudging John in the ribs, “is all wrong. No way that the museum glass would shatter that easily and just in the right place. And there would be way more security if it really was the only one in the world.”

All I got from John was a slight raise of one eyebrow before he went back to studying something on his phone with a slight frown. Pausing the film, I leaned across. “What’s so interesting?”

“A news report about a ritualistic murder,” he said, his voice as low as he could make it. “Right around the corner from where O’Reilly had her little empire.”

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. “And you think there might be a connection?”

John shrugged. “Probably not. It’s more likely that it’s a coincidence. It was definitely the area that caught my eye, though, given that I’ve vowed never to return to it.”

“You and me both.” I thought more about what he’d said, curiosity getting the better of me. “In what way is it ritualistic?”

“It doesn’t say. Which isn’t surprising. The police usually prefer to keep the details to themselves. In case of copycat murders or false confessions.”

I sat back in my chair, the film having lost its appeal. “Well… looks like we chose the right time to leave. I’d take cocktails on the beach over ritualistic murder any day of the week.”

When John continued to stare at his phone, I moved closer, taking it out of his hand and positioning my lips close enough to his ear that my words wouldn’t carry. “I’m going to the bathroom. I might need help while I’m in there. Do you think you could…?”

“Yes,” John said before I’d even finished my sentence. “I definitely could.”

“Two minutes and then follow,” I said as I got up. I grinned all the way to the back of the plane, getting more than a few funny looks on the way. I didn’t care. I had an entire month alone with the man I loved. It might not be a honeymoon, but it felt like one, and everyone and everything else could take a back seat. Bring on the sun, sand, and the sea. The future, whatever it might hold, was on standby.