“You still have him?” Oliver’s eyes lit with amusement. “That’s fairly funny. I’m glad you still have him, though. For some reason it makes me happy.”
He cracked a smile and then shook his head. “We need to focus on work. With Renee gone, we’re down a body.”
Renee was another sore spot between us. She’d been his co-worker for a long time. I’d killed her almost two weeks ago — using the Bruja magic passed down to me by my mother and grandfather — and we’d barely talked about it since. Oliver stood with me in that fight, and I had no doubt he would’ve killed Renee himself if it came to it, but he never mentioned her or what I’d done. It was as if he was avoiding the subject.
“I’m going to talk to the home office about getting someone else in here,” I offered, uncomfortable. “I’m not sure when that’ll happen. I’m sorry if you’re working too many hours.”
“I’m fine with the hours.”
“Yeah, but ... .”
“I’m fine with the hours … for now,” he repeated. “We do need to get another person in here in case of an emergency. The two of us cannot handle everything ourselves. There’s a reason this has always been a three-person job.”
“I’ll make a call this afternoon,” I promised. “I meant to do it sooner, but ... well ... it seems weird to request a replacement for the woman I killed.”
Oliver snorted. “It was her or you. You did what you had to do.”
“Yeah, but ... she’s still dead. She was also your friend.”
“I don’t know that I would consider her a friend,” he hedged. “We were acquaintances. We had a few good times. It doesn’t matter now. She’s gone and we need to move forward.”
That was a fairly brutal opinion. “It’s not always that easy.”
“It should be.” He forced a smile that didn’t make it all the way to his eyes. “Tell me about what’s going on with you. Are you and Braden Grimlock officially an item?”
My mouth dropped open at the ridiculous question. “Um ... no! Why would you think that?”
“I’ve seen you two together.”
Oh, well, that was simply ... absurd. Braden was handsome, sarcastic and completely full of himself. During my first few days on the job, when a rogue wraith had traveled through the gate and enhanced itself to the point it became a legitimate threat to all of us, we’d been forced to work together. A brief flirtation grew out of that interaction, but it had since died ... and I wasn’t bitter about it at all.
“You haven’t seen us together lately,” I pointed out.
Oliver furrowed his brow. “No, but I thought he was sent to that conference in Florida.”
I frowned. What conference in Florida? I didn’t know anything about a conference in Florida. Of course, I didn’t want to know about that conference ... or what else he did in his free time. I told myself over and over that was true. I almost believed it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I made a big show of averting my eyes. “He hasn’t been around. That’s all that’s important.”
“But ... he’s been emailing.”
My cheeks colored under his intense gaze. How could he possibly know that? “We should focus on our work,” I said crisply, gesturing toward the computer monitor. “You said the Grimlocks were down one delivery. Perhaps you should call them.”
“Perhaps you should call them,” he shot back. “You’re the boss.”
“Yes, but I think it would be better for everyone if you called.”
“I could do that,” he offered, the corners of his mouth tipping up. “But if I call them, you have to go up to the main floor and help with the tour.”
I stilled, legitimately confused. “What tour?”
“The one Tara is running in the aquarium,” Oliver replied without hesitation. “Renee was supposed to help her, but ... .”
Renee was dead, I silently finished. I’d burned her alive in front of witnesses and felt almost no remorse. She was evil and intended to hurt as many people as possible before fleeing the island, enhancing herself like the wraiths she’d employed. I stopped her, which was the right thing to do. That didn’t mean she didn’t occasionally invade my dreams.
“The tour with the kids from the deaf school,” I remembered, my stomach twisting. “I forgot that was today.”
“I believe they’re up there now,” Oliver prodded. “One of us has to go up and help Tara. The other has to remain down here ... and call the Grimlocks about their failed delivery.”
Oh, well, that was just great. I had two choices, and both filled me with dread. “I kind of think you planned it this way,” I complained as I stood, smoothing down my basic black shirt as I straightened my frame. “I’m not sure how you planned it — perhaps you’re in cahoots with the Grimlocks, I don’t know — but I’m positive you planned it.”
He snickered. “Yes. I often find myself in cahoots with reapers. That’s a fun word, by the way.”
“My grandfather always uses it.” I turned wistful for a moment. My grandfather had been distant since I joined the reaper academy, but he kept in touch despite his passive-aggressive attitude. He’d been downright chilly since he found out I was returning to Detroit, however. We’d taken to emailing each other about the weather and nothing else, which was difficult because we’d always been close. I refused to kowtow to him, though. When he wanted to make up, he would call me ... but not before. “I guess I picked it up from him.”
“Yes, well ... I’m guessing you’re heading up to help with the tour.”
“You guess right. You can call the Grimlocks.”
“Uh-huh.” His expression was full of mirth, which agitated me to no end. “If I talk to Braden, is there a message you would like me to share with him?”
“Nope. I have nothing to say to him.”
“Well ... then have fun with the kids.”
“It’ll be fun.” That was a lie, but I didn’t want him to know he’d gotten to me. Instead, I pasted a fake smile on my face and strolled out of the room, not letting it slip until I was at the stairs and could really think about what I was about to do.
It’s not that I hate kids. I don’t particularly like them, but I don’t outright hate them. I hate being the center of attention. Plus, well, these kids are deaf. I wasn’t sure how to communicate with them. Once, when I was in fifth grade, I checked out a book on sign language from the library. I was determined to learn another language and that seemed a good one. After the first few chapters, I lost interest. All I remembered was the alphabet and a few basic words ... like “hello” and “how are you.” Those might come in handy now.
Tara, the woman who worked in the aquarium and served as something of a liaison between departments, was already in the main room when I exited through the private door that led to the gate room. I made sure to latch it so none of the kids could accidentally discover our biggest secret — explaining to a parent why a gate that separated different veils was located in the basement of the aquarium would be a nightmare — and smiled at the kids as I moved to join Tara. She looked relieved when she saw me, but I didn’t miss the flash of irritation that lurked in her eyes.