Maybe.
Sometimes.
If it didn’t get in the way of her doing what she wanted.
I stared down at her as she clutched the decorated book to her chest, her eyes sparkling in a way that both thrilled and terrified me.
I met Ko’s gaze over her head.
We are so fucked,I thought at him.
His slight nod was all the confirmation I needed.
9. With a Rookie
Koa
Leave it to Cas to turn our beloved’s first hunt into a military operation complete with contingency plans for everything from bathroom breaks to full-scale demonic possession.
While Seri’s eyes had widened excitedly at the anxiety attack my older brother called a “safety protocol,” I’d caught the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth. Her amusement at his overprotection apparently rivaled my absolute lack of surprise.
Now, twenty-four hours later, we were cruising toward what Cas deemed “an appropriate introductory field assignment with minimal exposure to potential hazards.” Translation: The easiest moon-damned job we’d had in months. A perfect way to ease our beloved into the family business without risking so much as a paper cut.
Cas drove with his hands locked at ten and two, his jaw only slightly less rigid than his copy of the rulebook stashed in the glove compartment. Zane had claimed the back with Seri before I could, so I was relegated to navigator in the shotgun seat.
“So what was your most enjoyable hunt?” Our girl’s voice was eager and bright against the steady rhythm of tires on asphalt. “If that’s not classified or anything.”
“Blossom, there’s nothing classified fromyou,” Zane chuckled. “I mean, Cas even trusted you with the Wi-Fi password last week.Finally.”
“That’s because she actually logs out of her accounts, unlikesomepeople,” Cas muttered, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror.
I turned enough to see Seri bouncing with excitement.
“Haunted house in Pennsylvania,” I answered. “Some amusement park hired actual necromancers to create ‘authentic’ spirits for their Halloween attraction.”
“Moon-damned idiots. Phantom Ferris wheel tried to eat Ko’s ass.”
“But the special effects were incredible,” Zane chimed in. “And the funnel cake was top-tier. You know, before one of the spirits possessed the vendor and tried to choke me with powdered sugar.”
“What happened?” Seri’s eyes went wide.
“Cas got all hero-complexy, and Koa talked the park owner into refunding our admission.” Zane stretched his arm along the back of the seat and cupped her far shoulder in his palm. “After that, the line for the Tilt-A-Whirl mysteriously emptied out, and we rode it six times.”
“Where’s the worst place you ever had a hunt?”
“Catacombs,” the three of us answered in unison.
“Paris?” Seri guessed.
“How did you know?” I asked.
“Just seemed likely.” She shrugged. “All those bones and centuries of history.”
“And small spaces,” I added darkly. “Don’t forget the small, closed spaces.”
“And the smell,” Zane snickered. “Like a gymnasium sock filled with corpse juice and left in a hot car.”
“What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever hunted?”
