The Mercenary and the Mortician (The Silent Hollow, #1)

by Alexandra St. Pierre

To everyone who’s ever had to save themselves. May you find your Ryan.

What did a mercenary and a mortician have in common? Dead. Fucking. Bodies.

Silly little ginger snap. We would be doing all kinds of things together after this… he just didn’t know it yet.

“Stop calling me that.” “You don’t like ginger snap? I thought it was cute.” “It’s. Not. Cute. You’re a fucking intruder! You attacked me with a gun!” “Yeah, but that was before. I thought you were a child abuser. Now that I know you’re not, we can be friends like I said.”

Cal leaned forward and growled in the man’s ear. “Hope you have a landline, pal. Now run home and call the police like a good little bitch.”

HOTTTTTT

Theo shrugged and ashed her joint out on the steps before getting to her feet. “I don’t know. Maybe because I’ve never seen him look at someone the way he looks at you.” Omg. Swoon.

The blond girl leapt up from the couch, tossing her Kindle next to her squishy gnome pillow.

Me too girl

“It’s fucked up that this Damian guy took such a kind, gentle soul and turned him into a fucking killing machine. You were made to help people, Cal. Not hurt them. And I will never forgive the man who fucking took that away from you.”

This wasn’t like every other time we had kissed. This one was slower. More casual. Like we had done it a thousand times, and we would do it a thousand times more.

“Do what you need to do for now, Callum, but I’m not giving up on you. I’ll be right fucking here, waiting for you to come back to me when you’re ready,” I promised. “You’ll be waiting a long time, then.” He sighed, taking another step back toward his car. “I’ll wait for you forever if I have to, angel.” His mouth parted, and his eyes turned glassy. “Angel?” he whispered just as Naomi’s voice rang out behind me.

Omgggggggg

My fears died the moment my eyes fell on the cause of my mental fucking breakdown. “Hey, ginger snap.” Cal beamed at me as he stepped through the door. He was backlit by a purple and orange sunset, his almost black hair glowing chestnut brown where the light hit it.

I stopped myself and closed my eyes, biting back the words that I always seemed to say but never seemed to be returned. I couldn’t say them now. Who the fuck said that shit to someone when they were balls deep in them for the first time?

“Say red!” I bellowed, but he refused, giving me a sad smile. “I love you, angel,” he whispered, and the entire world stopped spinning.

‘Tell him you’re talking to Gavin,’ the spirit said, and I didn’t hesitate. “Gavin’s spirit is here. He’s telling me he knows where Cal and Naomi are. Damian took them. We have to go now.” Vox froze. I had never seen the mercenary look shocked before. His face was usually an impassive, grumpy wall. But the second Gavin’s name left my mouth, his silver eyes widened, and his lips parted in shock.

Im gna cry

“Will do, Ry-guy!” She gave me a mischievous grin. I frowned at her. Why was she looking at me like that? I glanced at Vox, and even he had a small smirk on his face. He gave me a lazy, backward peace sign and drove off, leaving me feeling confused and suspicious. Why did I feel like they were in on something and I was about to get punked?

Shaking my head, I jogged up the front steps and scooped up an Amazon package on my way inside. “Angel, you’ve gotta stop ordering so much shit, you don’t make murder money any⁠—” The words died in my mouth as I entered the foyer. There were lilies… everywhere. They were in hundreds of vases on the floor and spilling over every possible surface. There were bouquets in armchairs, on the desk, and end tables. They were wrapped in a garland that lined the banister of the grand staircase… They were just… everywhere.

My hand flew to my mouth, and a wave of emotion rolled through me. I was literally trembling when Cal reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. “Because your father is no longer with us, I couldn’t ask him for his blessing,” Cal said, opening the box to show me a simple gold band. “So I figured this was the closest we could get to having him here with us while I asked you this.”

“I spent most of my life believing that I was a devil. Some sort of evil demon cursed to bring nothing but pain to this world… And maybe I am, in some ways.” He chuckled at the frantic way I began shaking my head at his words. Making a gentle ‘shhh’ sound, he stopped me from interrupting him. “But you taught me that even the devil is just an angel that fell to the ground.” Tears were streaming down both his cheeks as he fought to get his words out. “You picked me back up and reminded me how to fly, baby.”

And that was how, in the middle of a sea of lilies, I promised myself to the man who’d taught me that I was enough.