He was wrong.
At the exact moment one of the shadowy figures moved to the spot directly on the other side of the threshold, what looked to be a shimmering hand reaching for a different world, the sound increased tenfold. Even Oliver couldn’t tolerate it. His senses were overwhelmed as he reached out to catch himself.
The last thing he remembered was a pair of cold blue eyes appearing from the glaring light. He couldn’t see a face. If there was one, he somehow forgot it instantly, but those eyes were seared in his brain forever.
He hit the ground hard, the whole of his very long life passing in front of his eyes. Then everything went dark.
He almost welcomed it.
Almost.
One
Present Day
“Give me a kiss.”
Braden Grimlock was insistent as he ducked his head and moved his lips toward mine.
I slid away from him thanks to the rollers on my desk chair and gave him a dirty look. I, Isabella “Izzy” Sage, am nothing if not professional.
“I’m at work.”
He looked amused rather than offended. “So am I. There’s no rule that says we can’t kiss on the job. I know because I pored through the rule book last night after you fell asleep ... at ten o’clock.”
He had a charming smile, one that probably brought women from five different counties to their knees over the course of his thirty years, but I had no intention of falling for it today. “I went to sleep at ten o’clock because I was exhausted. Your niece kept me up the night before with all that screaming she does at bedtime.”
Braden snickered. “She takes after her mother.”
I had no doubt that Lily Taylor indeed took after her mother, Aisling Grimlock-Taylor. That didn’t change the fact that a six-week-old infant was ruling the roost at Grimlock Manor, a house that had more in common with a castle than a two-story colonial. That also didn’t change the fact that the baby was turning into a terror.
“You guys are spoiling her,” I pointed out. “The only reason she cries at bedtime is because you all rush to hold her. I doubt she’s even spent more than an hour in that crib your father probably spent more money on than I did on my first car. She’s figured out that her uncles and grandfather will rock her all night if she plays it right.”
“She is a genius,” Braden agreed, smiling. “She’s cute, too. She looks like me.”
I had to laugh. Sure, we were in the middle of an inspection — the head of the reaper council, Renley Hatfield, was touring the renovation of a private library that had been hidden behind a wall for decades — but the statement was too funny to keep a straight face.
“She looks like her mother,” I corrected. “The fact that all five of you guys look exactly alike is just a fluke of genetics.”
“No, she looks like me.” Braden had made the statement more than once and it was obvious he truly believed it. He was the sort of man who puffed out his chest when it came to sparring with his brothers. He was also the sort of man who turned into a big puddle of goo when his niece batted her eyelashes. I thought it was a little early for Lily to be as manipulative as she plainly was, but the kid had obviously inherited the Grimlock charm and wasn’t afraid to use it. She knew exactly which relative was most likely to coddle her, too.
All of them.
I grew up in Detroit. Er, well, I spent the first few years of my life in the city. My parents served as gatekeepers until an accident claimed their lives. I was present for the event. Something came through the gate to kill them. I remembered nothing about that night, though. It was all a blank.
After their deaths, I moved to New Orleans to live with my grandfather. A powerful brujo, the man knew his trade and peddled it to those who needed magical help. I was born into magic and with him as my teacher I thrived. Sure, I missed my parents, but I wanted for nothing. That didn’t mean I wasn’t anxious to return home and unlock the mystery of my parents’ deaths. I needed to know ... mostly because I was convinced I was somehow to blame.
Shortly after graduating from high school, I joined the reaper ranks. I worked my way up quickly, although I was never interested in being one of the people on the front lines of soul collection. Braden did that for a living and seemed to enjoy it. He’d been born into a reaper family and knew no other way of life. I wanted something different. Not more, just different.
When the gate position in Detroit opened up I volunteered right away. I wanted to be in the place my parents took their last breaths. I wanted to capture the memories that remained just out of reach. I wanted revenge on whatever creature took them from me. All my wants and needs shifted once I actually got the job.
Braden was one of the first people I’d met. I was determined to keep my heart closed to him despite the pull I felt toward him. It worked for a grand total of five minutes. Obviously there was no denying him. Oddly enough, I found I didn’t want to after I got to know him. He was a good man ... who had a few immature tendencies. I had no doubt he would grow out of those ... just as soon as he stopped living in his father’s house.
Speaking of his father, Cormack Grimlock was also present. He was high in the reaper council and he’d shown an inordinate interest in making sure I was safe and tended at the gate. It was located on Belle Isle, which was technically in the city but located in one of the prettier places the sprawling metropolis had to offer. The island was my sanctuary, my new home, and things were starting to slip into place in a manner I never thought possible.
Sure, I was still determined to find out what happened to my family. But I was no longer alone. I had a whole family of reapers volunteering their help to give me what I needed. I’d always wondered what it would feel like to be part of a big family. Now I knew.
“Knock it off, Braden,” Cormack warned as he slid around the side of the desk and flicked his son’s ear. He was an engaged father. All his children were now adults — he was a grandfather, after all — but he once told me that making his children behave was like herding cats after a big bout of catnip play. The visual stuck and always made me chuckle.
Braden shot his father a dirty look. All the Grimlock children were the spitting image of their father. They boasted his black hair and purple eyes. They were beautiful specimens, each and every one. They also inherited his temper, and there was a lot of strife under Cormack’s roof. His children seemed to thrive on it.
“I’m not doing anything,” Braden complained. “Izzy and I were just discussing her new co-worker, who is supposed to arrive today for a tour.” He was smooth as he delivered the lie. I had to give him credit. If I didn’t know him as well as I did, I would’ve believed him. “I don’t know why you always assume that I’m up to something, but it’s not fair. I’m your good child.”
Cormack rolled his eyes, something he had down pat. All of his children were mouthy — something they got from him — and he wasn’t dumb enough to fall for a single thing they said when they were trying to snow him.
“I heard you beg Izzy for a kiss,” he countered. “Don’t bother denying it. I might be getting older — although I’m still in my prime — but there’s nothing wrong with my hearing.”