Dead as a Doornail (The Journals of Octavia Hollows #6) Read online

  The floor shook at the impact, the cheesy hotel art rattling on the walls. “Reid? Are you dead?”

  Eyes wide, his head popped up over the edge of my mattress. “Whoa… someone moved my bed.”

  Flopping down onto my stomach, I rested my chin on the back of my hands. “I think it was the half bottle of rum we killed.”

  Reid crinkled his nose and dropped his voice to a stage whisper. “The rum betrayed me? This is horrible!”

  “You’re a big, strong guy. I’m sure you’ll get over it.”

  For a beat, a hush fell between us. Our faces were only inches apart. Close enough for me to see the specks of gold swirling in his topaz stare. Close enough… for me to remember the addictive taste of his lips on mine.

  “New claim,” he rasped, peering up at me with a million unspoken questions etched across his features. “Never have I… considered that I might not be able to bring my fiancé back from the dead.”

  In the pregnant pause that followed, he dutifully took a sip and awaited my answer.

  I looked at my cup, sitting on the end table between us, and my fingers itched to grab it. To hold it up as my beacon of truth and drain what was left of what I guessed to be my third glass. But that… would be a lie.

  “It’s officially a year next Thursday since bags of concrete falling from faulty scaffolding changed everything.” Saying the words out loud picked a scab off my heart that instantly began to throb. “It was day seventy-three when I had that thought for the first time. I felt so guilty about it that I holed up in a flea bag motel and cried for a week. So, yes. The thought has occurred to me, and it guts me every damned time.”

  Resting his forearm on the bed beside me, I could feel the heat that radiated off him in hypnotic waves. “And in this completely hypothetical reality where he doesn’t come back, what does your world look like?”

  A chill prickled down my spine, goosebumps sprouting up and down my arms. Sitting up, I curled my legs under me and grabbed a bottled water from my end table. Twisting off the cap, I chose my words carefully. “I would be broken… for a while.”

  Pupils dilating with something that resembled desire, Reid’s voice dropped to a throaty growl. “A while? But not forever?”

  I slammed back a healthy swallow before attempting a response. “When I was forced to come to terms with his death, I didn’t think I would make it through. I couldn’t eat. Couldn’t sleep. The gaping hole in my heart made every breath I took hurt. But as time went on, I had no choice but to wake up and keep moving. One foot in front of the other, through whatever life threw at me. As guilty as I feel saying this, if this all goes sideways, I’ll survive. Because that’s what I do.”

  “Uh… Octavia?”

  “I know, deep shit for a drinking game.”

  Rising into a low crouch, Reid’s lips twitched in a threatening snarl. “That’s not it. It’s seventy-five degrees in here… and I can see your breath.”

  “What?” The word escaped me in a white puff of air.

  Reid’s glowing eyes scanned the room. “We aren’t alone.”

  As if responding to the claim, the lights flickered and a shadowy figure appeared at the foot of the bed.

  Head tilted, the party crasher offered me his most charming grin. “Hey, Raspberry Tart. Ya miss me?”

  “Elba?” So long I had ached for him. So many words I recited in my head time and again, desperate for the chance to utter them. Yet, blinking his way in astonished disbelief, his name was all I could muster.

  The ethereal glow of his silhouette drifted closer, a sweet smile warming his features. “I’ve missed you, babe. More than you know.”

  “Elba?” It seemed all other words had fallen out of my head.

  “It really is me. I had to find you. There’s information you need about the man that’s looking for you.”

  My mouth opened and shut like Squid Face’s did when he’d been away from water too long. “Elba?”

  “Elba, was it?” Stepping forward, Reid offered Elba his hand. Then, realizing that made no sense, let it fall limply at his side. “I’m Reid. Your girl saved my—”

  Elba sized Reid up with a glare. “I know you. You’re the guy who was trying to convince my fiancé to give up on me while I was fighting to manifest, just so I could warn her.”

  Reid squared his shoulders, his chest puffed out protectively. “Obviously, I had no way of knowing that was happening. What you heard was me trying to convince my friend—who saved my life—not to throw hers away chasing a ghost. If there’s a chance she can find you and bring you back, I’ll help make that happen any way I can, because she’s important to me and I want her to be happy. But, if she can’t, even you should want her to let go and move on. Anything short of that would make you a selfish prick.”

  Folding his arms over his chest, the sleeves of the flannel shirt Elba had been wearing the day he died crept up his forearms to reveal the hard earned muscles beneath. “Are you trying to tell me what’s best for the woman I love? Like I haven’t been trying to manifest and help her any chance I could? You know how I finally managed it?”

  “Proximity to where you actually died?” Reid deadpanned.

  “Love,” Elba countered. “Pure, unadulterated love. Don’t stand there and pretend you have some greater insight into the way her mind works. You’ve known her all of, what? A couple days? People come in and out of her life all the time. You’re just one in a passing sea of many.”

  “You’ve been gone for almost a year!” Reid’s nostrils flared, the tendons in his neck bulging. “Add to that the fact that she suffered the greatest loss of her life when you died, and she’s a different woman than the one you knew! Anyone would be after that!”

  “Enough!” Finally finding my voice, I spun on Reid and jabbed a finger in his direction. “You, take Bacon out for a walk. Now.”

  “That’s right, get to steppin’.” Elba chuckled, beaming victoriously that I was taking his side.

  “And you!” Pivoting on the ball of my foot, I slapped Elba’s spirit with a dose of accusation. “All this time, through all the pain I felt, and when you finally find a way to manifest, the first thing you do is go all jealous boyfriend? What the actual fuck, man?”

  Lips pressed into a thin line, Elba’s shoulders sagged. Clasping his hands behind his back, he waited for Reid to clip on Bacon’s leash and lead him out before launching into the process of smoothing things over. “I’m sorry. This wasn’t how I wanted this to go down.”

  “Yeah, me either,” I snipped, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “I just…” Chin falling to his chest, Elba took a beat to carefully choose his words. “I’ve been watching out for you, and I saw the two of you together in New Orleans.”

  “No.” Chin quivering with a barely contained monsoon of emotion, my tone left no room for argument or discussion. “We are not going there. I will not be made to feel guilty over a spell gone wrong.”

  Dragging a hand over his face, Elba shook his head. “That’s… not what I meant. I might not have liked seeing you with the guy, but I didn’t want things to go down like this. I wanted to celebrate us being able to see each other in the only way we could, not end up barking at each other.”

  Exhaling a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, a bit of my aggravation deflated. “That would have been swell. So, let’s get back to basics. You said you have information for me. Do you know where your body is?”

  “I don’t. Whoever has me has cloaked my body so it can’t be found by any supernatural or paranormal means. It’s close, I know that. I can feel it. If I had to guess, he’s somewhere here in town. But that’s not all.” Glancing up from under his lashes, Elba graced me with a loving look that served only as a haunting reminder of all I lost. “Whoever this guy is, O, he’s been following you a long time, and he’s got big plans.”

  “And my entire coven. They hitched a ride with him in Galveston and haven’t been heard from since.”

  Elba rubb
ed the knuckle of his forefinger over his lips, brow creased in a deep V of concentration. “That doesn’t bode well for them. What else do you know about him?”

  “He bought a refrigerated van to haul you around in—”

  “Well, that was considerate of him.”

  “He’s also been spotted wearing a Maine Bears baseball cap.”

  All expression drained from Elba’s face in a blink. “You think he knows about the school shooting?”

  Taking a seat on the edge of the mattress, I rested my forearms on my knees. “I’m beginning to think he does, and that he blames me for it.”

  Chapter Four

  It had been a while since I felt the need to retreat from civilization. To run from the pain as fast and as far as I could. Yet, standing out on the balcony, peering down at the pool below, my hands gripped the railing tight as I fought back that growing urge. All I had to do was hop on my bike, gun it, and never look back.

  But I wasn’t that girl.

  Not anymore.

  Faced by the demons of my past, I had to excuse myself to the balcony for a brief, anxiety-riddled freak out. I would allow myself one moment before lacing up my motorcycle boots, palming my swords, and facing whatever was coming for me. Filling my lungs to capacity, I peered up at the starry night sky and exhaled the toxic guilt desperately trying to claw its way back into my soul.

  The sliding door shushed across its track behind me, Reid’s massive frame blocking out the light from the bedside lamps. “You up for company, She-hulk?”

  I glanced his way without a word, my face a question mark.

  “Your hands were flickering with green light when you pointed at me earlier. Hence me not arguing when you asked me to leave. It looked like a Bruce Banner about to hulk out of his skin kind of moment.” His tone was pure apology, each word tentative out of fear of insult.

  My lips parted with a pop, a humorless smile tugging back the corners of my mouth. “I forgot you haven’t really seen my powers before. That’s how they manifest. My emerald spark of life. It’s been a long time since I lost control of it like that. Guess I was a little more overwhelmed than I thought.”

  Reid glanced behind him, to where Bacon nosed at the back of his leg as a none-too-subtle hint for the big guy to get out of his way. Reid moved his leg to let him pass, but didn’t risk invading my space with a step closer. “Elba vanished when I got back. He said he couldn’t maintain a visible presence for long. I think it was more because he didn’t want a repeat performance of our earlier pissing contest. Sorry about that, by the way.”

  Leaning forward, I rested my arms on the rail and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “Boys will be boys. Even when one is dead and the other’s a wolf.”

  Gaze guiltily shifting to his hands, Reid ran his knuckles over the opposite palm. “Before Elba left, he… uh… told me what happened at your high school. The shooter. The resurrections. The cops taking out what they thought was an angry herd of zombies. The whole bit. I’m sorry if that was information you would rather keep to yourself, but he thought if it was connected—”

  “You should know,” I interrupted. “You need to know what kind of vendetta we could be up against.”

  Pushing off the door frame, Reid joined me at the rail. “No one in their right mind could blame you for what happened. You know that, right?”

  Filling my lungs to capacity, I exhaled the tension that had tightened my shoulders. “I do now. But that was a hard lesson to learn. For years, I blamed myself.”

  “And now?”

  Bacon nudged my knee with his snout, demanding a scratch to the head. Leaning into a stoop, I happily obliged. “Now, I know that if I were dropped in that situation again, I’d do the exact same thing.” Turning my back to the rail, I rested my elbows against it. “And do you know why?”

  Reid’s molasses-hued eyes narrowed with interest. “Why’s that?”

  “Because that’s who I am.” I shrugged at the great epiphany that took me so long at which to arrive. “I have this ability; a genetic anomaly caused by supernatural interbreeding. For a long time, I thought it was a curse. Then, I started using it to make a real difference for people. Now, I realize this is who I am. I’ll do what I can to help people, every damned time the situation calls for it. If one time out of ten it turns into an absolute shit show, it’s worth it for the other nine times I can make a real difference.”

  An almost-smile tugged at the corners of Reid’s mouth, softening his tough-guy façade. “You’re a pretty amazing person, Octavia Hollows. I’m very glad I came here with you.”

  A glimpse of the tender side of the roughneck fighter triggered memories of my spell gone wrong. His lips on mine. Firm, yet gentle. Urgent, yet tender. It was a hypnotic brew, and I hated myself for longing for another taste.

  “I’m sure Elba will be back soon. Hopefully, he’ll have some more information for us.” Clearing my throat, I pushed off the bannister and strode back inside. “Come on, Bacon. Let’s get ready for bed.”

  Turning on the ball of his foot, Reid’s eyebrows knitted tightly. “I didn’t mean to—”

  “Yeah, no worries,” I cut him off, for no other reason than to deny the blatant truth crackling through the air between us. Throwing back the comforter, I was moments from scooting in when a soft knock rattled the door.

  “Did you order second dinner?” I asked with one knee on the edge of the mattress.

  In a blink, Reid’s eyes morphed to a glowing topaz, his lips curling into a snarl. “No. But I smell danger.”

  I wanted to ask exactly what danger smelled like (I guessed it to be moldy hotdogs), but the timing seemed off as Reid planted one foot on the edge of the bed and repelled himself towards the door. In mid-air he shifted to full wolf. It was a momentous achievement, dashed only by the fact that he landed in front of the door without the thumbs necessary to open it.

  The massive salt and pepper-coated wolf stood with his nose pressed to the six-panel door, with no other option than to scratch at it in hopes of being let out.

  Trying not to laugh and failing miserably, I rounded the bed and opened the door for him. “I hate to say it, but this really diminishes this moment for you. If it makes it any better, it was really impressive right up until this point.”

  No sooner did I turn the knob, than he bolted off down the hall, legs working like well-oiled pistons.

  Hanging back, my tired stare drifted to the burgundy carpet… and the manila envelope waiting there for me. One glimpse, and my heart launched into my throat. Heart hammering against my ribs, I recognized the handwriting in an instant. It matched the writing scratched onto the envelope at the boxing club that contained Elba’s finger.

  Swallowing down the lump of dread forming in my throat, I grabbed the package off the floor. Leaving the door hanging open behind me, I tore open the envelope and shook the contents out onto the bed.

  A cell phone, matching the one the mysterious stranger stuffed into the cuff of my pants in Seattle.

  And… it was buzzing.

  While I reached for it with a trembling hand, Bacon glanced my way with soulful piggy eyes full of concern. (Or maybe he was tired. It’s hard to say. He’s a pig. He doesn’t have an extensive emotional range.)

  Palming the device, I clicked the button to answer it.

  “Octavia Hollows,” a masculine voice rasped. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

  “The moment where I checked into a cheap motel? I’ve got some bad news for ya, pal, that’s a regular occurrence.”

  “Funny, I don’t remember you having that wit in high school. Is it safe to say that was a defense mechanism acquired… after witnessing a mass homicide?”

  Hair on the back of my neck rising, I fought to keep my voice steady and impassive. “If you’re looking for a North Star High reunion, I’m right here. We can get together and see who remembers the school’s fight song better.”

  “No, no,” the caller tsked
. “It’s not time yet. The game hasn’t started. But when it does… oh, when it does… the world will finally see you for the monster you are. Then, I’m going to kill you.” The sentiment was punctuated with a devilish giggle, and the line went dead.

  Only then did I realize Reid was hovering in the doorway behind me. His chest rose and fell in fevered pants in his struggle to catch his breath. The jeans he’d been wearing hung in tattered ribbons low on hips, leaving shockingly little to the imagination.

  “Whoever sent that hired a bellhop to deliver it. He was a skittish young man who has now been traumatized for life. Thankfully, he didn’t see me shift, but only because I tackled him face-first into the carpet as a wolf and then shifted back without meaning to. Any ideas who that was?” He jerked his chin towards the phone I’d dropped onto the mattress.

  My gaze drifted back to the cell phone like it was a coiled serpent ready to strike. “You said no one could blame me for what happened in Maine all those years ago? Well, that… was No One.”

  Chapter Five

  Occasionally dozing off in between staring at the planted phone was the closest I got to actual rest that night. Reid, however, zonked out mid-Golden Girls marathon and was quietly snoring on the opposite side of the room.

  The little pig-in-a-blanket on my lap added his own rhythmic snorts to that peaceful chorus. Easing him off me and onto a pillow, I slid off the bed as quietly as I could. Bare feet padding across the coarse hotel carpet, I eased open the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the balcony.

  With my back to the room, I tipped my face to the moon and spoke to the sapphire cloak of night. “I know you’re here, Elba. I’ve been able to see my breath for the last twenty minutes. I know manifesting is hard, but I need to see you. If there’s any way you can—”

  “Octavia.”

  The sweet serenade of my own name cut off my plea, drawing my attention to the bistro style table and chairs shoved into the corner of the balcony. Comprised of cobalt radiance, Elba’s spirit sat perched on top of the table with the heel of one boot propping on the edge of a chair.