Publication date: February 11th 2021
There are few things worse than being on the Arcane Bureau of Investigation’s naughty list.To keep myself out of hot water, I’ve made a deal with the devil—using my skills as a grave talker to help the ABI solve some very cold cases.
But there is something mighty amiss in this task—especially when quite a few of these cases lead me right back to my home town of Haunted Peak and the secrets buried there.
Excerpt
“Out less than a minute and already talking to spirits and punching ghosts. Way to
go, Adler.”
That smooth voice did not belong to my best friend, J. Oh, no. I wasn’t that lucky.
The big hunk of man-meat Siobhan had been talking about was not my partner, but the
death mage ABI agent who’d simultaneously saved my bacon and torched it.
I swung my head to face Bishop La Roux, straightening my shoulders like I was
going to have to punch him, too.
Dressed in a criminally hot pair of jeans and a T-shirt that should be illegal in at
least five states, Bishop held out a bag with a very familiar logo on it like he was
warding off a lion. Ignoring his messy hair and scruffy beard, I met his coal-dark eyes
with suspicion. But instead of punching him like I had Hildy, I snatched the Si Señor bag
from his hands, opened it, and dug in. The prison fare was a step above cat food, in my
opinion, and just the thought of that yummy bit of heaven made my mouth water.
“Good to see tacos still work,” he said, chuckling. “You need a ride home?”
The last time he’d needed to bribe me, he’d done it with these tacos. Good god in
heaven, I was a pushover. I ignored the ridiculously hot man in favor of unwrapping a
taco one-handed and shoving an end in my mouth. My teeth crunched into the blissfully
crispy half-steak, half-pork taco, and my eyes rolled back in my head.
“Maybe,” I said around a mouthful of food. If he were any other man, I might have
felt weird about my rudeness, but just like Hildy, Bishop was on thin ice. Though, tacos
were an excellent way to strengthen his footing.
That taco was gone in another two bites, and I swallowed the yumminess before
continuing, “How’d you hear about me getting out? Even I didn’t know until today.”
Bishop gave me a sly smile. “A little birdy told me.”
“I suppose you could give me a ride if you don’t have anything better to do,” I
conceded, my tone only mildly petulant.
“No, Adler,” Bishop said, his voice a hell of a lot closer than it had been a few
seconds ago. I whipped my head back to find him solidly in my space. “I don’t have
anywhere else I want to be.”
Well, okay then.