Chapter 23

Chapter

Twenty-Three

DASH

“Dash?Dashiell, dear? It’s time to wake up.”

I opened my eyes to see the sun wasn’t up, but Jo was sitting in the chair in our bedroom that I usually used as a clothes hamper until Keir got fed up and hollered at me before he cleaned it up. I’d have to stop doing that. Like he’d said more than once, he wasn’t my maid.

“Josephine, where’ve you been?”

I got up from my lonely bed and made my way to the bathroom to do my morning routine. I did remember to close the door behind me since a lady-ish was in the next room.

“I’ve been checking in with other gatekeepers and keys to see if they’re getting the same amount of demonic activity that you and Keir are getting here. I also checked on Keir. He’s anxious to see you, which is why I dropped in. Your flight is early, isn’t it?”

“Shit!” How the fuck had I forgotten about our flight to Iowa? It was the last fucking place I wanted to go, but it was where Keir was, and I wanted him back.

Keirnan and I had talked the previous night for a couple of hours, and he seemed like a decent guy. His wife sounded like a gem for putting up with him because he was opinionated, even without the demon inside him. He’d said some awful shit to her about the baby, and even I wondered how he’d explain the situation to her, though it was with the demon inside him.

“Thanks for waking me up, Jo.” I quickly washed my hands and turned on the water for the shower.

“Keirnan is already awake and making coffee. His wife will be glad to get him back, I believe. I hope he can live up to the impression Keir has made. Both families love him and think Keirnan has made a remarkable turnaround.”

I opened the door to see Jo making the bed, bless her. “You don’t have to do that.”

I went to the closet and started grabbing clothes for the flight, having packed a duffel the night before when I couldn’t sleep.

“It’s a favor. Don’t worry, I’ll ask one of you someday.” We both chuckled.

“What’s not to love about Keir? Why do you think I’m in such a hurry to find him and get him back?” I carried everything out to the bed and spread it out.

“He’s made an appointment with that mobster tonight at ten o’clock. Beelzebub and Michael will meet all of you at the location Keir has chosen. Just remember, Dash, you’re not bulletproof. I’m not saying you’d die from a bullet wound, but right now, I can’t say what would happen.”

I turned to Jo, and I couldn’t hold the laugh. “Really? You don’t know what would happen to me if I got shot? Come on, Josephine. You know what’s going to happen. Give me a hint. I want Keir back, and I’m going to bring him home, right?”

Jo smiled before she disappeared. I had a few choice words for her about how the whole thing was handled from the others’ side, but I had a plane to catch. I’d chew her out another time.

I hadmy duffel over my shoulder and was pulling a carry-on with Keir’s clothing so he would feel comfortable in his own things. Keir would be bringing some of Keirnan’s clothes for him to the bed and breakfast where I’d made the reservations. It was the only place to stay in town. I hoped it was clean.

“Hurry up.” I was short with Keirnan, but the guy was dragging behind me as we left the parking garage at the Sacramento airport.

I had no fucking idea why he was taking his time, but I needed him to get his ass in gear. I wanted to see Keir, and Kiernan was lollygagging like we had all fucking day. Didn’t he want to see his wife?

I stopped on the sidewalk and turned around. “What the hell is wrong?”

Keirnan stopped and took a deep breath. He stared at me before he fell into my arms. I was shocked.

“I’m sorry, Dash. I’m afraid that I was too shitty to Sibley, and she might not take me back. I know she loved me before that demon got involved, but some of the things I said might be too much for her to forgive. She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever known, but I’m afraid I really hurt her.”

I hugged the poor bastard because he needed it. “Can I tell you something?”

Fake Keir nodded. “I was afraid of my feelings for Keir right after we met, so I planned a trip to Italy to get away for a while and think about everything. Dumbest thing I ever did, and I really hurt him. It had been my late father’s dream to tour the Ducati factory, but he never got to. I was determined to go, and hoped maybe I could get Keir out of my system. I can tell you it didn’t work. Somehow, Keir forgave me when I came home.”

I then went on to tell Keirnan about my accident and the things that happened after. He was shocked, as I believed anyone would be, but he listened.

“When I got home, Keir was right here waiting for me. After the accident, we discovered I could see auras of the living and the spirits of the dead. I can hear their voices too. Keir’s able to speak to our guests at the funeral home, and he tries to help the dead with their unfinished business so they can cross over. We fit together like a lock and key.” I chuckled a little bit at my stupid analogy, but Keirnan’s face was blank.

I touched the man’s shoulder. “I’m guessing you’re freaked out and don’t believe any of this, do you?”

Keirnan stared at me as though waiting for me to say I was joking. Obviously, I wasn’t.

“You’re being serious, right? You believe that shit you just said?”

“I know it’s more than you can comprehend right now, but that’s fine. It’ll become clearer, I promise.”

Keirnan stood still for a moment and stared at me. He seemed to finally understand he wasn’t living in a dream.

“How will I ever get over this? How will Sibley ever forget some of the things I said to her?” Kiernan was quite worried, and I knew telling him it would be fine was a little condescending.

I sighed. “Look, you’ve been through the worst of it, and you’re still alive. You’ll be with your wife, and you have a baby on the way. This won’t be a drop in the bucket to what your life will be like in the future. Don’t dwell on this shit. Chalk it up as a learning experience and move forward with your future.”

I grabbed his hand and pulled him and the luggage behind me. We had a plane to catch.

We landedin Des Moines at three o’clock local time. We had a two-hour drive to Gilbert, and then we had a little business with a mobster regarding Keirnan’s family farm.

He’d laid out the whole thing to me on the five-hour flight, and I was ready to kick some ass. I’d had some exposure to mobsters and gangs in Folsom, and I knew they fought dirty, but with my newfound gifts, I was ready to mix it up. I couldn’t say the same about my companion.

I’d treated us to business class because Keirnan had long legs like my Keir, and he had enough on his mind. I wanted him to be comfortable.

“Let’s go get the rental car.” I grabbed my duffel and the rolling bag, and we headed off the plane and up the passenger boarding bridge. Des Moines International Airport was a flurry of activity, but then again, it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

We fought our way through the crowds to the security exit, and just as we were taking the escalator down to the rental car shuttle, I was scooped into someone’s arms from behind.

When I glanced over my shoulder, I laughed. It was Beelz and his ugly fucking tracksuit. Michael was standing a few feet away looking at a magazine beside a news stand. When he heard me laugh, he put the magazine back and came over with a friendly smile. His T-shirt of choice was a long-sleeved Def Leppard tour shirt from their 1988 Hysteria tour.

“Did you go to all of those concerts?”

“Of course I did. I love a good party. I’m a headbanger from way, way back.” We both laughed at that.

I wiggled out of Beelz’s grasp, thankfully landing on my feet. It was then I noticed Beelz had on a Dubuque Fighting Saints hat, the bill cockeyed on his head.

Michael smirked. “He’s wearing the hat ironically, he says. So, do you have checked bags?”

I shook my head. “Okay. Let’s go.” Beelz touched me and Michael took Keirnan’s arm, and suddenly, we were outside the rental car agency’s office.

I turned to Michael and cocked my eyebrow. “Why did you make us fly here on a commercial airline to the tune of three grand when you could have just popped us here?”

“First, you’re the one who chose to pay for more expensive seats. You could have flown in coach for a third of the price. But regarding getting you here, we didn’t feel like going through all the channels to get approval. Once we’re here, how we get around is left to us. Now, make sure to get a nice SUV that holds all of us, and hurry up. Keir’s losing his mind to see you.”

I wanted to slap the archangel again but decided not to risk it. I hustled inside and up to the desk. When it was my turn, I smiled at the young man sent to wait on me. “I have a reservation for Clegg.” The young man started to type into the computer in front of him, but then he stopped moving.

“We’re ready.” Beelz was next to me with a set of keys in his hand.

“Where’d you get that?” I was almost afraid to hear the answer.

“They just leave the keys inside. Come on. I picked the one I want, and I’m driving.” He dragged me behind him out of the building, stopping at the door and snapping his fingers. Everyone inside started moving again, as though we’d never been there.

“So, we’re stealing a car? I really have a problem with this. You know I⁠—”

“Yeah, yeah. Yada yada prison. We all know the story. Anyway, they won’t notice it’s gone, and we’ll bring it back when you and Gatekeeper fly to Monterey in the morning. You got roundtrip tickets, yeah?” Beelz chuckled as he hit the fob and the tailgate opened.

He tossed the bags in the back and got into the driver’s seat next to Michael. I had a bad feeling about the trip to Gilbert.

“We’re here!” At six minutes after four, we pulled in front of a large white house with a sign in the front yard that read Cornstalk Inn. It was cute. I pulled my hand from Keirnan’s where he’d nearly crushed the bones because we let the prince of Hell give us the ride from Hell, and we were both scared shitless.

Beelz and Michael hopped out as though they hadn’t a care in the world. I turned to Keirnan to see he was paralyzed with fear. “Come on. It’ll be okay.” If that ride, which was scary as fuck, had him so rattled, he was definitely going to be better, left behind tonight, when we met with Marcus Shannon.

I opened the front door and stepped inside the bed and breakfast. It was like a step back in time. It was decorated like an old farmhouse, which wasn’t a surprise. It was fucking Iowa, for crap’s sake. The thing that caught my attention was all the corn kernel art decorating the walls and the cornstalks in random corners that gave the place a dirt smell.

“Oh! You must be Mr. Clegg and Mr. Dearly. The Mortons are in the dining room enjoying snacks. You can leave your bags here and join them if you’d like.” She was as round as she was tall, and with the white hair in a loose bun on top of her head, she reminded me of my favorite guardian angel. “Jo?”

The woman gave me an odd look before she smiled again. “Actually, I’m Maxine. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to dial zero on your in-room phone. If you need an outside line to make a local call, dial 9, then the number.”

She winked and led us to the dining room, where my heart began pounding. Keir stood, his face splitting with a mile-wide grin. I hurried to his side and threw my arms around his neck. “My god, I’ve missed you.”

The tears came so quickly that I couldn’t stifle the sob. “I’m so happy to see you.”

I pulled away to look into his beautiful eyes, seeing tears there too. “I’ve missed you, too, but to be honest, I didn’t know who I was for three days. I knew I was missing someone, but I didn’t know who. When are we getting married?”

He showed me the ring on his finger and relief washed over me. “Your mom’s getting married at Christmas. We could get married on New Year’s Eve. Start the year as husbands?”

“Yes, please.”

I kissed him, sliding our tongues together as they got reacquainted. I needed to be inside him, but there were so many questions to be answered. After I mapped the inside of his sumptuous mouth, I pulled back and kissed his cheeks and the tip of his nose.

Keir pulled out the chair next to him and took my hand, helping me sit. I glanced across the table to see Sibley and Keirnan were still kissing which made me happy.

“Would you like some wine? They have a vineyard outside of town. It’s not bad.” Keir held up the bottle and took a glass from the center of the table. I nodded.

I scooted closer to him and kissed his neck before moving to his ear. “I’d rather have you in our room without a stitch on, but I don’t think we have enough time. Beelz and Michael are here somewhere. What’s your plan for Marcus Shannon?”

Keir sighed. “I’m blank, Dash. I have no idea what to do to scare the man to the point he won’t retaliate and hurt the Mortons once he finds out they can’t pay back the loan. They are such a fantastic family, and I’d hate to see them harmed.

“I mean, I believe Ronald, Keirnan’s father, was so desperate that he did something I doubt he’d have done under other circumstances. I’m still trying to think of something aside from just shooting Shannon, but he’ll have guards with him, and they’ll be carrying guns.”

He wasn’t wrong, but... “You know, what if we sort of tricked them?”

“Tricked them how?”

I took Keir’s hand and kissed it. “Leave it to me, Gatekeeper.”