Kim Harrison Bundle #1 (Hollows, 1-4)

by Kim Harrison

“The princess of paranoia wants a word with me.”

“Love, trust, and pixy dust,”

“They’ll release him to a responsible person.” His grin looked a tad nervous. “And in the absence of one, they said you would do.”

“We’re looking for a white male, early thirties. Witch. Name is Francis Percy. I.S. runner. “He’s no better than a warlock,” I interjected, bracing myself as we came to an abrupt halt at a red light. “The suspect is probably carrying spells,” Edden continued. “He’s harmless,” I muttered. “Do not approach unless he tries to leave,” Edden said tightly. “Yeah.” I snorted as we lurched into motion again. “He might bore you to death.”

To the man who knows caffeine comes first, chocolate comes second, romance comes third—and when they ought to be reversed.

Edden, do you still have that pink folder I gave you last spring?” “The one with the disc and datebook containing evidence that Trent Kalamack is a manufacturer and distributor of illegal genetic products?” The squat man grinned. “Yeah. I keep it by my bed for when I can’t sleep at night.” My jaw dropped. “You weren’t supposed to open it unless I went missing!” “I peek at my Christmas presents, too,” he said.

“You put blood in it!” he said, and my head came up at his disgusted tone. “Well, duh. How else was I supposed to quicken it? Put it in the oven and bake it?”

“How do you deal with it? How do you keep from falling apart? That—What happened to them is horrible. How can a person do that to another?” Rose took a slow breath. “You cry, you get angry, then you do something about it.”

Will you look in your books for a ley line charm to find—um—dead people?” There was a long hesitation. “That’s what I like about you, Ray-ray,” he said as I heard the sound of a sliding book followed by a thump. “You say the sweetest things.”

“Using sarcasm to cover your fear makes you look very young.” “And twirling your pencil in your fingers makes you look nervous,” I shot back. It felt good to argue with someone who wouldn’t bite me if things got out of control.

“You always tag master vampires in your bare feet?” “Only when they’re in their pj’s.” I clutched the blanket around myself miserably. “Want to keep it sporting, you know.”

She was strong in the sunlight, a cruel goddess after sunset, balanced on the edge of helplessness in the battle she fought against herself.

I kinda liked that he was too smart to be manipulated by wicked female logic.

“And then there are the rare ones who know love, who understand it. Who freely give of themselves, demanding only a return of that love, that trust.” His faultless blue eyes never blinked, and I held my breath. “It can be beautiful, Rachel, when there is trust and love. No one is bound. No one loses his or her will. No one becomes less. Both become more than they can be alone. But it is so rare, so beautiful when it happens.”

Typical little man. He has an ego the size of the Grand Canyon.”

“You need to be needed, Rachel,” he said, inches away as his breath shifted my hair. “You live so brightly, so honestly, that you need to be needed. You’re hurting. I can feel it.”

“You’ve had to be your own keeper for a long time,” he said. “Yeah.” Lips pressed tight, I turned back to the mirror, my foot bobbing up and down. “What doesn’t kill you—” “Hurts.” I watched his reflection. “It hurts. It hurts a lot.”

“Get ahold of yourself, Morgan. Hysterics won’t help.” “Don’t tell me what to do!” I exclaimed, my knees starting to shake. “I think best when I’m having hysterics. Just shut up and let me have them!”

“You do know the last man I saw in a robe, I beat into unconsciousness with a chair leg,” I quipped, desperate to break the silence. Trent almost smiled. “I’ll be careful.”

“Well isn’t that just too bad. I’m not going to kill him, and I’m not going to let you kill him, either, so sit down, shut up, hold on, and watch how real people solve problems.”

“It wasn’t your fault they died,” I said again, feeling as if I had found a new way to see. Before me lay the same world, but I was looking around corners. What was I becoming? Was I a fool to trust, or a wiser person finding the capacity to forgive?

“Why are you so good to me?” he said softly as we picked up speed and passed a car. Because I think I could love you? I thought, but I couldn’t say it yet.

’Cause you’re my alpha bitch, babe, and no one else’s.”

Dedication To the man who invariably says, “Really? Okay,” instead of, “You want to do what?”

He taught him how to be a thief, and not even a good thief. He taught him to be a two-bit crappy thief who got caught!”

You’ve got a great body, and you don’t see me trying to get into your Fruit of the Looms.”

And as an alpha, I can claim ascension over whomever in hell I want to. Look me up. I’m in the catalog.”

“I can take care of myself,” I said, not caring that Nick was listening. “I can take care of myself too,” she said. “But if I’m making an ass out of myself, I’d hope you’d stop me.”

I shouldn’t have trusted him. But I wanted to trust. Damn it, I deserved to be able to trust someone.

“Dangerous doesn’t always equal untrustworthy. Drink your cocoa and get over it. Then find someone to trust who’s worth trusting you back.”

I won’t let any vampire hurt you. I can do this. I’ll stay big, and make sure no one hurts you again. It’ll be okay. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

She needs to be accepted for who she is so badly. And I was able to do that. Do you know how good that felt? To be able to show someone that, yes, you are someone worth sacrificing for? That you like them for their faults and that you respect them for their ability to rise above them?”

“Oh, I’ve got big plans for you,” I lied, surprised at the ma’am. “Jenks wants to string you up as an object lesson. I’m halfway to letting him have his wish.” I leaned back, tired. “It works great when he murders garden fairies.”

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, and you can kiss your ass good-bye.

“He said how I feel when I die is the one thing I have control over. I can be afraid, or I can go boldly. I want to do it bravely—even if it hurts. I’m tired of hurting, but I can take a little more.”

“Rachel’s worth fighting for,” he said softly. “If she asks me, I won’t say no.”

So I lived in a church with pixies and a vampire who wanted to bite me but was afraid to. So I dated her old boyfriend who was likely going to spend his free time convincing me he was a better choice, when he wasn’t angling for a threesome. And yeah, I was alpha of a pack and the only curse I could Were with was black, but that didn’t mean I was going to. No one knew I had a Were artifact in my freezer that could set off a vamp/Were power struggle. My soul was coated with darkness from saving the world, but I had a hundred years to get rid of it. And so what if Nick might be smarter than me? I had friends. Good ones.