BooksBarbecue
Back Fractured Save as PDF
Chapters (42)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION PAGE
  4. CONTENTS
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  42. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

He looked entirely unconcerned. “What I can do and what I will do are sometimes two different things. I am not here to give you what you want. I am here to—”

I held up my hands. “To give me what I need. I know. Fine.” I folded the phone receipt a few times. “Okay, then, I need a few things,” I said as a plan formed in my mind.

He tilted his head. “I’m all ears.”

“I need camping stuff. Used. Heavily used.”

“What, exactly?”

“One tent. Two backpacks. A sleeping bag or two. And a bunch of old clothes. Like stuff you would find in the dark city. But I could do without the … you know, stringy, slimy stuff?” I could only go so far in the line of duty.

“Non-slimy but heavily used camping equipment and clothes.” He stood up. “They’ll be waiting for you at the Guard house.”

I stood up, too, not willing to let him get away yet. “Hey, where’s Aden’s soul now? Can you tell me? Is he in the Mazikin realm, or is he somewhere else? How does that work?”

For the slightest moment, the edges of Raphael blurred and glowed, and I tensed. He frowned. “As that police detective said, I am not at liberty to say.”

“Why not?”

The glow disappeared. “Need, Lela. Only things you need.” And then he disappeared, too.

FOURTEEN

FOURTEEN

THE MOMENT I PULLED into the driveway of the Guard house, Malachi was out the door and on the porch, striding forward to meet me. He looked like he was planning to rip the car door off its hinges and scoop me into his arms. His relief and desperation made my heart beat double-time.

But then he stopped dead at the edge of the walkway, like he’d run into an invisible wall. As I got out of the car, his smile faded to nothing. “We’ve been waiting to hear from you, Captain.”

I ground my teeth. “Sorry about that. It turned out to be a minor complication. I hope.” I slowly walked past him and up the steps. Grab me touch me tell me it was all a mistake. Tell me you want to be with me. Tell me you were worried sick and then kiss me and make me forget.

He didn’t. He followed me, keeping a respectful distance as we entered the house. Jim and Henry were in the living room, sitting next to the computer. The empty chair in front of the keyboard was overturned. Malachi leaned over and set it upright. “We were trying to fulfill your orders to check Facebook. And I’ve called or spoken in person to all the individuals we sat with on Friday. All are accounted for and appear to be themselves.” He gave me a weird look. “Ian Moseley asked how you were doing.”

“Huh? It was his best friend who died.”