Because, seriously? I wasn’t down with a demon who held one of my sisters’ soul hostage, while he was making moves on my othersister.
Even if he was handsome, had a wicked disregard of the rules and had, shockingly, saved a couple lives intown.
For aprice.
I wasn’t into the bad-boy type. But there was no denying he had this...smolder, plus flashing eyes and muscles formiles.
Bathin was hard to miss, but he was not hard on theeyes.
I could see why Myra might not want to resist allthat.
But before she made a move, beforehemade a move, I needed to know more abouthim.
What would hold a demon down? Chains? Spells? The Home Shopping Channel played backward to summon a portal into a dimension of unknownhorror?
That was totally a thing. Do not try it at home,kids.
There had to be a way to find out what his intentions with Myra really were. Lock him in a cell in the middle of the night when Delaney and Myra were off shift? Handcuffs, zip ties, holy trinkets and chains? Oh, yeah. That would do it. I could make himtalk.
Because I was good at that. Good at being everyone’s friend. Good at being the one who was easy to talk to, the one who didn’t ever let the world get to me. I laughed a lot, played a lot, and was never shy about giving myopinion.
I could be a hardass when I needed tobe.
That was a side of me I didn’t let out very often. A side of me I certainly hadn’t let Hogan seeyet.
Something like fear knotted my stomach, and I checked to see if this was a bad-feeling omen courtesy of my familygift.
Nope. It didn’t have that edge to it that hit me like a javelin to the brain, then kept on digging until I felt like I was going to toss mycookies.
This was just regular old dread. Worry over the just-for-fun relationship with Hogan that was starting to feel like something just-a-lot more tome.
Something deeper. Somethinghonest.
Being the youngest Reed meant I had two other siblings who were quick to take on any and every responsibility. Though I’d never asked for it, Delaney and Myra had always tried to shelter me from the harsher aspects oflife.
I didn’t want to be sheltered. The only way I’d convinced them of that was not letting them see how much my bad omen ability really affected me. So I smiled. I laughed. I joked. I didn’t show them that I woke up with nightmares so real sometimes, it took me hours to stop shaking. I didn’t tell them that once I knew something bad was going to happen, I carried it in me, the sounds, sights, smells, and touch of it as if it were happening to me, over andover.
I’d been determined to follow right in Dad’s footsteps despite my family gift. And in my sisters’ footsteps too. I’d become a police officer and, as a Reed, I’d become a guardian of Ordinary and Ordinary’ssecrets.
Somewhere along the way I’d decided it was my job as the youngest to make sure my sisters fell in love and lived happily everafter.
Even if that meant interrogating a demon behind my sisters’ backs. Even if that meant scheming for years to get Ryder and Delaney to finally look at each other andseewhat they couldbe.
Butmylove life?ThatI had always been determined to play easy-breezy.
Did it matter that Hogan and I were coming up on our six-month anniversary ofdating?
Did I want it to matter? Yes, yes, Idid.
“Ordinary to Officer Reed,” Hatter said. “You are cleared for landing. Copythat?”
I blinked a couple times to focus. Gnomes all looking up at me with beady eyes. Hatter standing closer than he had been just a...however many minutesago.
Still night. Still dark. Still a little drizzly. Still no headlessAbner.
“You at full capacity, Reed, or should I call thisin?”
“I just got a little derailed for a second there.” I so didn’t want him calling my sisters onme.
