He was done waiting for her to return.
Váli, the fucker, laughed, and it sobered Bish and filled Cipher with a semi-murderous rage. Images of Váli plummeting from the sky, wings on fire, filled his head. Okay, maybe that was enough Nectar for now. He was definitely beginning to feel the effects, gluttonous or not.
“Keyword there,” Váli reminded him. “Had. She can’t even stand the sight of you these days.” He was far too entertained. “Besides, it’s done. You’ve asked for the boon, and I’ve granted it. I’ll take care of her heart, you two do—” He made an almost dismissive gesture. “Whatever it is you do.”
Then, without giving them a chance to respond, Váli vanished with a snap of his fingers.
Bish rounded on him. “This was a terrible idea.”
“No,” Cipher argued, though he wasn’t sure he was capable of convincing himself at the moment. “You want to pay her back, and he has a point—a broken heart is not death.”
“That little bitch doesn’t have a heart to break,” Bish argued before throwing himself back on the lounger. The melodrama was becoming all a bit too much, even for Cipher.
Still… “You don’t know her as I do,” he reminded him.
Death snorted. “I don’t think you know her the way you think you do. The arrogant shit is right about one thing—she walked away from you without so much as a backwards glance. That should tell you right there she doesn’t have a heart to break.”
Not that he needed to be reminded. “If you’re just going to keep being a morose fuck now that we’ve found a solution to your problem, maybe you need to do it somewhere else.”
An unfriendly smirk curled Bish’s lips, and he peered at Cipher. “Truth hurt?” Before Cipher could give in to one of the deadlier sins, Bish spread his arms. “You know, I don’t care. We’ll do it this way because we’ve made a deal, but if it doesn’t work, I’m going back to my original plan.”
Killing Keepers wasn’t impossible, not for Death anyway, but Cipher had been lulling Bish along. The very last thing he wanted was for Karmen to die. “The punishment should fit the crime,” he repeated, forcing a light tone.
“Don’t bring up that asshole to me,” Bish snarled. Then he was gone in a flash.
Cipher stared moodily at where the pair had been.
This would all be easier if Karmen stopped playing hard to get and just came back to him where she belonged.
It would also help if he knew why she’d left in the first place.
Maybe it was time he put another plan in place. With a thought, his phone was in his hand and he pressed the speed dial on the number he wanted. Marvelous inventions. Humans could be so creative.
Quetta answered on the first ring. “No.”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”
“I don’t have to,” she told him tersely. “The answer is no.”
No, it wasn’t. “As I recall, you owe me a favor, Quetta.”
Her curse made him smile. She owed him far more than one.
For Karmen? He’d collect every damn favor owed him.
Chapter 3
Karma’s just sharpening her nails and finishing her drink. She’ll be with you shortly. - Karmen
Karmen
I looked at the time on my phone, then back out over the little street outside of the quaint café. Colmar was and always would be one of my favorite towns. It was peaceful most of the time, and the people were generally happy.
Let’s face it, my grace was a dual beast. Depending on my mood, I could rain good things down on someone, or I could just as easily fuck their life up. That was karma—dishing out what people deserved based on the energy they put out into the world.
So I had different spots around the world that I loved to frequent based on my current emotional state. When I wanted to let my bitch side out to play, I visited the big cities. Dallas, for one, New York, Los Angeles, London, St. Petersburg, Tokyo, or Hong Kong. There was never a shortage of greedy, selfish, mean motherfuckers in those streets.
Then take right now for instance. I’d had a peaceful night after I got home from the bar last night. Took a nice long bubble bath and indulged in a glass of Nectar. I was relaxed. I was Zen.
So now I felt like spreading a bit of good karma to the world. Sue me.
“Here you go, miss,” my cute waitress said in a thick French accent as she sat my espresso on the small tabletop. Sighing, I thanked her then lifted the cup to my face, breathing in the aroma.
Caffeine did absolutely nothing for Keepers. Our bodies metabolized the stuff much too quickly, but there was something about the liquid that really helped me find my happy place. The earthy, rich smell twined around me, and I inhaled one more time before taking a sip.
Beautiful.
It was mid-morning, so the street was full of people casually strolling toward their destination. There were some good souls here, but none that really spoke to me. So I waited. And watched. Just enjoying a bit of people watching. That was the nice thing about my grace.
I enjoyed the hell out of it. So it didn’t bother me one bit to sit here and wait for someone in need of a bit of good karma to waltz by.
Then a young mother dropped down right in front of my table, picking up her toddler that had just fallen and skinned her knee up. Kissing the booboo, the mother murmured sweet nothings to her child, who quieted down to a few sniffles.
Standing up and taking a few steps toward her, I touched her shoulder to really get a feel for who she was.
Ah, yes. This woman was a single mother with a dead-end job. She was also incredibly educated but had to put her dreams on hold to have her baby. Wow, her deadbeat husband couldn’t take the pressure of a difficult pregnancy and split. What a douchebag.
“Excuse me, are you all right?” I allowed her to sense my presence.
When she looked up at me, the woman had dark purple smudges under her eyes from little sleep and too much stress. Yup, this woman was getting a little goodness added to her life today.
“Yes, we’re fine. Thank you.” She picked her daughter up and bounced her on her hip, then started to walk away.
I reached out one last time and touched her shoulder, sending a small tendril of my grace through her body. She jolted from the unfamiliar feeling, then let out a deep exhale, shook her head and kept going.
Today, she’d get a call about an interview she’d been hoping for, and next week, she’d receive a generous offer. No more money troubles for her.
Dusting off my hands with a smile, I sat back down. Damn, I was so good sometimes.
Across the street, a large, intimidating man stalked around the corner, and I couldn’t decide if I was irritated he’d tracked me down so fast or impressed he was actually going to hold me to our little deal.
The sight of him heading straight my way was so much more enjoyable than I’d ever noticed before. The way his body moved was lithe and graceful, but masculine enough that women stopped whatever they were doing to drool as he walked by.
“Fancy seeing you here,” he practically purred as he dropped down into the small iron chair beside me. It groaned under his weight, but he didn’t seem to notice.