Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 138981 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138981 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
“You’re into ’em, huh?”
“The music rocks, okay?” She’s flustered now, trying to preserve her tough-girl image. “I mean... I usually watched them with the kids when I was doing my training in New York. They just became a fact of life. But there’s something emotional about the songs, you know? And I like any kind of movie that makes me feel things that strong, no matter what age it’s meant for.” She points her fork at me, a bit of asparagus still clinging to it. “And before you ask, yes, the lyrics to 'Let It Go' are burned into my brain forever.”
A shudder of black horror runs through me as she grins.
In the back of my mind, I hear the familiar melody and shake my head violently.
“Don’t. Don’t you dare start singing it, New York. Little Nell wouldn’t stop for six damn months. I swear that song plays in hell’s waiting room. If I gotta hear it one more time—”
“Gotcha!” she says. “See, now I know how to threaten you if I really want my way.”
I drop my fork and raise both hands. “You think you have to threaten me? Anything you want, it’s done.”
“Aaan-y-thing?” She drags the word out, a slow smile growing on her face.
“Don’t like that look in your eye.”
“After dinner,” she announces firmly. “Let’s watch movies. You’ve got streaming, right?”
I snort. “I give you free rein and that’s your first wish?”
“Oh, I never said that’s all I’d want.” There’s something sly in her smile, something that makes my blood blaze. “That’s just for starters.”
“Miss Lilah,” I say slowly, “I think you’re looking for excuses to stay over.”
“And if I am?”
“Fuck the excuses,” I answer, and goddamn, sometimes I have trouble just saying what I feel, but this comes out so easy. “I was hoping you’d want to.”
There’s a long, warm look between us, one that leaves me damn near sighing with the potential in it.
We finish dinner, chasing our food with white wine.
Sometimes we tease, mock-bicker, and I get another napkin chucked at my head for my smart-ass comments.
Mostly, we’re just quiet, and it feels good.
Once we’re done, I load the plates in the sink, snag the beer she brought, and head out to the living room.
I’m still feeling a little warm from the wine, but not quite buzzed. Delilah seems steady as she trails me and then drops down on the sofa with a little swing of her legs, watching me while I hunt for a remote I rarely use, feeling between the couch cushions.
“So Culver Jacobin came to my house today,” she says abruptly.
“What?” My head comes up so sharply I almost give myself whiplash.
“He was there when you called. He was also hanging around when I hallucinated my ex standing outside my house.”
“Culver Jacobin? What the hell was he there for?”
“He’s the cable guy, I guess.” She folds her arms tight, leaning back against the sofa. “He messed with the crime scene. I’m sorry, I just wasn’t fast enough to stop him. He licked the blood, Lucas.”
Delilah grimaces, her whole face screwing up, and I don’t blame her one bit.
“What the fuck?” I just stare at her. “I got nothin’. The Jacobins are weird as hell, but that’s nasty, even for them.”
“Unsanitary for sure. Good thing no one saw him, or you’d probably have a few new cannibal rumors around here. But get this.” Her voice drops a little. “He said it’s pig’s blood. He could tell by the taste, supposedly, because they sell the blood down at the butcher’s shop.”
“Pig’s blood. Huh.” I finally unearth the remote from between the cushions, then go grab dessert and settle in next to her. I try to get my appetite back after what she just told me with the nut bread bites perched on the coffee table in easy reach, flanked by cups of dipping sauces. “Guess that makes it more likely it was just a sick prank. Kids fucking around.”
“I guess. Anyone could buy a carton of pig’s blood from the butcher’s, right?”
“Yeah.” I frown, turning that over. Somehow, it still doesn’t sit right. “What was that about your ex, though?”
“Oh, I... I looked out the kitchen door and I could’ve sworn he was there, hovering around by the trees. There was a lot of shadow. It could’ve been the way the light fell, I guess, because when I ran out there...” She trails off and shakes her head slowly. “Nothing. Not even swaying branches like someone just fled. Culver said he didn’t see anything, either. I think I scared the crap out of him.”
“That’s a nice change for once.” I stroke my chin.
I don’t know.
It’s possible, I suppose.
She’s been putting on a mighty brave face, but anyone would get spooked and start seeing things out of the corner of their eye if they lived through half the shit she’s experienced since coming to Redhaven.