Chapter 31

Chapter

Thirty-One

DASH

I steppedout of the large SUV and walked around to let the newly engaged Amelie and Trent out on the passenger side. Trent had popped the question on Thanksgiving when Amelie took him to San Francisco to meet her parents, whom Trent had already contacted and asked for their daughter’s hand. Turned out that Trent didn’t need our help at all.

Vale got out of the rear driver’s side, and Jonas stepped out of the shadow of a large elm tree, having come separately, jogging over and pulling Vale into his arms. Thankfully, their recent drama with the waiter’s hot ass was a thing of the past, but I had every faith it wouldn’t be their last.

Keir and Lake had driven to Sacramento Valley earlier. She wanted to see if Horace had decayed very much and, if so, what Keir did to hide it. Surprisingly, she loved working at the funeral home. I wasn’t sure if she would make it a full-time commitment or simply supplement her income by working for us when Keir really needed her, but she’d dug into the science surrounding the business and, of course, Keir encouraged her at every avenue.

Adonis walked from a wooded area, looking as if he’d stepped off a runway in his perfectly tailored suit. An old truck pulled into the visitors’ lot, and Dr. Carl stepped out, surprising me. Adonis was like a blur as he booked it across the lot and stopped at the man’s vehicle, the two of them hugging.

“That is so fucking weird.” Of course, my voice wasn’t soft, and Amelie elbowed me in the gut, but Trent was right there with me, shaking his head.

A flashy sports car parked next to Dr. Carl’s truck, and Beelz got out, walking around to the side and opening the door to reveal Jo. I made my way over to hug her. “How’ve you been?” I kissed her soft cheek, reminding myself she wasn’t a sainted aunt but a massive angel with a huge wingspan and a cocky sense of humor.

“I’ve been busy. How about you, dear?”

“Couldn’t be better.” I offered my arm, and for once, she left her knitting bag in Beelz’s car.

“Beelz.” I bumped fists with the prince of Hell, and the three of us made our way to the administrative building, where we were told to wait. Once inside, we saw Keirnan, Sibley, and Rachel speaking with the Army chaplain who’d performed Horace’s service at Dearly & Son.

I leaned toward Beelz. “Won’t you burst into flames around a chaplain? Thanks for not wearing a tracksuit, by the way.”

He gave an inappropriate booming laugh. “No flames. I’m in Armani. Like my wheels? I just found it outside Frick’s apartment.”

I rolled my eyes and glanced at Jo, who was trying to hide a smile. Oddly, the two of them got along. It was the strangest fucking thing to me, but hey, whatever worked.

I noticed a few of the older members of the VFW in Reardon who had been at Horace’s service had also shown up, which was a surprise. I assumed that Amelie had contacted them. It was nice to see them there in support of Horace.

Adon and Dr. Carl entered the room, and Keir and Lake came in through a side door. My gorgeous man walked over to the chaplain and whispered something, earning a nod from the military man.

“Everyone, may I have your attention?”

Everyone quieted down and turned in his direction. “The funeral caisson and honor guard will be here momentarily. Thankfully, the good Lord has seen fit to give us sunshine today, so we’ll walk behind the caisson and the body bearers to the burial spot. Mr. Dearly was kind enough to coordinate with the director here at Sacramento Valley, so everything is ready. It’ll be a fifteen-minute ceremony, and then you’re free to make your way back here to your vehicles. We appreciate your cooperation.”

Beelz leaned over to me and whispered, “That means no playing with the dead. Damn.”

That time, I cracked up and got a surly look from the chaplain, but what was I supposed to do? Beelz was a funny son of a bitch.

“I’m going to separate you two.” Leave it to Josephine to try to rein us in.

We all walked outside to see an impressive entourage assembled behind a fancy black wagon where Horace’s flag-draped casket was resting. Horace was standing by an oak tree with another soldier watching everything, both of their spirits white, which was a relief.

Keir ushered Rachel, Sibley, and Keirnan to the front of the crowd, and we all filed in behind. The group was quiet as one of the entourage members shouted orders and a cadence before the four black horses began slowly walking. The soldiers on both sides of the wagon marched in time, and we followed behind.

Keir waited and fell in beside me, taking my hand. “Did you see Horace? Who’s with him?” I discreetly pointed toward the tree.

Keir nodded in greeting, and both spirits waved. “That’s Sandy George, Sibley’s older brother. They were Army buddies, ironically, and Sandy’s how Naomi ended up in Gilbert, remember?”

Keir had told me the story, which still shocked me that a guy would go to so much trouble for a buddy’s ex. Sandy George must have been a great human being.

We made a left a few hundred yards up the paved road, and there, at the crest of a hill, was a tent set up with chairs beneath, much like we had for graveside services. Watching the pomp and ceremony of it all had me a little choked up.

The body bearers moved Horace’s casket onto the lowering device, and then the chaplain said a few words before offering a prayer. There was a twenty-one-gun salute, and as the bugler played taps, the flag was meticulously folded. Two brass casings from the salute were slid between the folds of the flag before a soldier with the honor guard carried it over to Rachel and knelt in front of her.

“On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Army, and a grateful Nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service.”

Rachel lifted a tissue to dry her eyes, and I found myself doing the same. It was very moving, and it was everything Sergeant Horace Green deserved.

Keir walked to the front of the tent and offered a somber smile. “That concludes our service. Thank you all for coming. The family would like to invite you to a small breakfast reception at Brookstone’s Restaurant just up the road.”

Everyone began making their way back to the administrative building, but I was waiting for Keir. As I glanced around the cemetery, I could see many, many deceased soldiers had attended the service to honor a fallen brother, and I was touched.

I walked over to where Keir was talking to Rachel. Lake was standing nearby, watching Keir’s every move. After Rachel whispered something to him, Keir glanced at Lake and nodded.

She moved in front of the casket while Keir unlocked the lid. Each of them stepped to the ends, and they raised the lid together, removing the blanket draped over the body inside. Keir made a few adjustments, then offered his hand to Rachel.

The folded flag was handed off to Sibley as Rachel stood, walking to the large box to peer inside. I stepped a little closer to see how it had gone, and there, inside, was Sergeant Horace Green. He appeared to be smiling, and it took my breath away.

Horace and Sandy stepped on either side of Rachel, Horace touching his daughter’s shoulder, though I doubt she felt it. I saw the same contented smile on the spirit’s face. Maybe now, the man could have his peace.

After a moment, Keirnan and Sibley stood next to Rachel, and Keirnan wrapped his arm around her shoulders, directing her from under the tent. “Okay, honey, let’s go.”

Keir and Lake redid the tucking and locking of the box, and Keir nodded to a young man waiting patiently. We walked away just as the box began lowering into the ground, Horace’s final resting place.

We let Keirnan, Sibley, and Rachel go ahead of us before Keir turned to Horace and smiled. “She’s going to pick up the safe-deposit contents today. You did right by her, Horace. I’m so happy we were able to find her for you. May you now rest in peace. Hey, if you see my father, tell him I love him.”

Horace nodded, and he and Sandy George walked down a row of white headstones, nodding as they passed the spirits of those who had gone before them. It was one of the most beautiful services I’d seen.

Keir and I stopped at Brookstone to allow our companions to get something to eat and to say goodbye to Keirnan and Sibley. We wished them a bright and happy future, and then we took our crew and headed back to Reardon. I was emotionally exhausted, and I could see that Keir was as well. We needed a fucking nap.

Thursday morning,I was loading the car for our nearly four-hour drive to Monterey. The weather had taken a turn for the worse with heavy rains, but there was no snow or ice, so we would be fine. I went upstairs to get the garment bag with our tuxedos, and standing in the living room was my dead brother, Danny. WTF?

“D-Danny? What...? How’d...? Man, what the fuck are you doing here?”

“David Dearly sent me. He’s part of the Angel-of-Death Collective now, so he was able to spring me from Limbo for a hot minute to give you a heads-up. He wanted you all to know that things are heating up down there, and he doesn’t think this firefight will be too far in the future. You’re going to need as many supporters as you can get because that big, mean chick is down there schmoozing and kissing up to get a lot of the unsettled souls to come to her side. When she’s ready, you’ll never be able to control them coming to this plane. You’ve seen Limbo, man. It’s like a mob scene.”

I reached up and slapped myself across the cheek a couple of times, but when I opened my eyes, he was still there. “Damn. I’m wide awake. Okay, what else? Can’t they do something to stop it before it starts?” I mean, come the fuck on!

Danny chuckled. “You’d think, but apparently, that’s not how it works. Seems Jophiel is trying to close the nine portals around the human realm. She’s closed three so far, which has pissed off both Lucifer and the big broad. Not only are they preparing for a battle with each other, but they’ve made a side bet.”

I was stunned. “Are you fucking kidding me with this? What’s the bet?”

My brother, always the cocky fucker, just smirked at me. “Dude, I want to take a piece of the action, but I haven’t decided which side I’ll come down on, so I’m not giving you an unfair advantage. Just be careful.”

I snarled at him. “If you’re not going to be helpful, get the fuck out. We need to get on the road, man.”

“Where’re you going?” Danny stared at me for a moment, but his aura had darkened as we’d stood there talking. What was happening to him?

“Lucy’s wedding. She gets married on Christmas Eve, and we’re getting married on New Year’s Eve.” He seemed surprised by that news.

“Who’s the hot piece of ass living in my condo? If you’re gonna be gone, maybe I’ll⁠—”

“You better fucking stay away from Lake and Jamie, asshole. Why did David let you out?” Fuck. Now I’d have to go to the condo and salt the fucking doorways to keep him away. What the hell was David thinking?

Why would Keir’s father send Danny, and what wasn’t he telling me? I really wanted to punch him, but then I thought of something else. “Tell me about the bet, dickhead, or I’ll get Keir to send your ass to Hell right now.”

Danny laughed. “Look at you, Billy Badass. You can’t do anything about me, so you’ll get the big bad Gatekeeper to do it for you. You’re pathetic.”

“Keir!”

Danny released a howling laugh before disappearing, and someone I’d never seen took his place in our living room. What fuckery was this now?

The demon in front of me moved closer. I snapped my fingers to slow it down, but nothing worked, showing me there was a limit to my power—it didn’t work on others, just humans. How fucking great was that? Sarcasm implied.

“Now you get it. You’re not indestructible. Who will he pick? Who will he pick?” The thing danced around our living room shouting in a high-pitched voice before disappearing.

Keir came into the living room, humming along with something. I saw his air pods in his ears and his phone in hand, which was why he couldn’t hear me yelling for him.

I walked over to him and jerked one out of his ear to hear Christmas music. I’d bitched about him playing it that morning, so he was listening on his phone. What a prick I was!

“You know, you can play your music if you want. I was just in a shitty mood. Are you ready to get on the road?” I immediately felt calmer with him near me.

I pulled Keir into my arms, seeing his beautiful smile before I nuzzled into his neck to take in his spicy scent. I didn’t know what was meant by that visit I’d just had with an unknown entity, but there was no way I was ignoring it.

I just had to figure out what it meant.