Demons LLC (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (15 page)

"You got it.
 
Thanks, Paul."

"Yeah.
 
Holler if you need me for anything."

Alex stood and turned, and only then could he relax somewhat.
 
He almost felt a tear coming on as he left the office.
 
Sometimes his powers were a wonderful experience.
 
Then there were the times he wished he didn't have them.

*****

The lunch bell was music to Alex's ears, as well as his coworkers, his fellow brothers-in-arms.
 
It was like the last day of school as the bell echoed throughout the warehouse.
 
Everyone dropped what they were doing and ran for the doors.
 
Cars peeled out of the parking lot.
 
They only had a half hour for lunch, and they had to make every minute count.
 
The seasoned veterans sped down the road, already knowing exactly where they were heading.
 
Alex spotted a group of rookies, casually walking to the lot, debating on where to go.
 
Those were the ones who would be back late.

Alex had to nearly dodge a car leaving the lot.
 
It was dangerous to be on foot at his work at lunchtime.

Behind the parking lot was a wooded area with a few picnic tables.
 
On nice days Alex liked to eat in the shade, enjoy the weather.
 
It was still unseasonably warm in October.
 
He wanted to enjoy as much time outside as he could.
 
There was the added lunch bonus of being able to talk to Cindy, through texting on his phone.

He was in the middle of idle chat with her, talking about their days, when Paul sprinted out of the warehouse.
 
Alex put his phone on the table, unable to take his eyes off his supervisor.

He couldn't even imagine what Paul was going through.

The look on his face said it all.
 
Paul had received the call telling him his wife was gone.
 
Alex didn't know whether his daughter was alive or not.
 
He prayed she was.
 
He half-expected Ann to come running out of the warehouse with him, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Paul jumped in his car and drove away as fast as he could.

"I'm sorry," Alex whispered aloud.
 
"Good luck."

Glancing down at his half-eaten sandwich, he'd lost his appetite.

Alex noticed a woman wandering the lot near the warehouse dock doors, seemingly lost.
 
He couldn't make out many details from his position behind the parking lot, but she looked young.
 
She was probably one of the girlfriends that occasionally showed up to take her boyfriend out to lunch.
 
The warehouse wasn't easy to navigate, and Alex's coworkers took great pleasure in sending some of them all over the place.

He was impressed with himself, as he'd learned a new skill.
 
On his phone, he'd managed to split the texting app and Internet browser, and was chatting with Cindy while also searching the local news.
 
Information traveled fast in the world they lived in, but there was nothing yet on Paul's family.
 
Nausea settled in as he thought of Paul's wife, Ann, desperately trying to get his attention.

Alex could have helped.
 
He could have told Paul about his ability to see ghosts.
 
All he had to do was take Paul's hand, and husband and wife would have been able to talk to each other.
 
Case closed, as he liked to say.

But he chose the normal instead.

He tried to give himself a break.
 
Allowing Paul to talk to Ann would have brought to light his unusual gifts.
 
There would have been no way to prevent that from spreading all over the warehouse.
 
It would have changed his life, and possibly not for the better.

He texted Cindy about what happened earlier in the day, and how he was kicking himself.
 
Cindy's simple response brought a smile to his face.
 
She had that magic about her.

You did the right thing.
 
I love you.
 
I'll take care of you when I get home.

Movement in the parking lot caught his attention.
 
Looking up from his phone, the woman from before still wandered the lot, walking in between cars.
 
Alex laughed to himself at the thought of her possibly being drunk.
 
She peered into random car windows, and he wondered if she was actually looking to steal something.

With her being closer, he could pick out more details about her.
 
He was correct about her being young.
 
She was younger than he thought, maybe seventeen or eighteen.
 
There was a slight geeky look about her.
 
She wore glasses that were too large for her face.
 
Her light brown hair hung in her eyes, which she constantly pushed away.
 
Alex liked her clothes.
 
A simple pair of jeans with sandals, along with a magenta shirt with a cartoon cat on it.
 
Quirky and funny.
 
It was much different than what others her age might wear.
 
As an older brother, there were times Alex wanted to smack Alicia for her wardrobe choices, especially now that she was dating Kevin.
 
Less wasn't always more, but she loved to make the witch drool.

They made eye contact.
 
She frowned, and seemed to be studying him as much as he did her.
 
Alex wasn't sure why.
 
Eating lunch alone wasn't nearly as suspicious as loitering about a place of business.

She made a beeline toward him.
 
He sighed and put his phone down as she headed his way.
 
Her frown deepened as he watched her.
 
She turned once, to see if he was looking at someone behind her.
 
Her glasses sat lower on her nose than they were supposed to.
 
She fixed them with a quick poke.

"Hi," he greeted as she approached.
 
Alex tried to think of who she could be looking for.
 
"Are you here for Billy?
 
If you go to the front desk, they'll page him—"

"So," she said, putting her hands on her hips as she stood over him.
 
"You're the one that can talk to ghosts."

Alex took note of her sarcasm, the edge in her voice.
 
He smiled in return, hoping his unpleasant mood was obvious.
 
It had already been a bad day.

"That's me.
 
I can talk to ghosts."
 
He animated spookiness with his hands.
 
"Commune with the dead."

Her lower lip twitched.
 
Her eyes turned glossy.
 
She pushed hair from her face as she suddenly struggled to breathe.

"I'm…dead," she said.
 
She was on the verge of breaking down.
 
"I'm a ghost.
 
I'm dead."

"Oh God, I'm sorry," Alex said, jumping to his feet.
 
A ghost that willingly revealed themselves often didn't trigger his cold chill.
 
He felt horrible as he rushed to her side.
 
"I…didn't know.
 
Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" she repeated, laughing and crying at the same time.
 
"What does that even mean?"

Alex took her by the hand.
 
She let him lead her to the picnic table.
 
After taking a step, her eyes bugged out of her head.

"You can touch me?"

"I can," he said, offering a genuine smile this time.
 
"One of my little perks."

She nearly jumped into his arms, nearly knocking him over.
 
Alex hugged her while keeping an eye on his surroundings.

"I can feel you," she said, her words almost unrecognizable.
 
"I can actually
feel
you.
 
You're so warm."

"Yeah, well."
 
He pried himself loose and held her at arm's length.
 
"Let's relax a little on the hugging, okay?"
 
He glanced at the parking lot.
 
"People are starting to come back from lunch."

"I'm sorry.
 
I just…."

She didn't finish.
 
She sobbed in between heavy breaths.
 
Alex waited patiently.
 
He wished he could offer her a tissue.
 
It was a strange sight to watch tears run down her cheeks, then disappear as they fell.
 
As absurd as it was, he couldn't shake the thought that he'd never seen a ghost with glasses before.

"I'm Kylie."

"Alex."

They shook hands.
 
He wondered how long Kylie had been a ghost.
 
Her raw reaction suggested not long.
 
Days, perhaps?
 
He tried to push away sadness at the thought of a girl who'd barely started on life having to adjust to being a spirit.

"I was starting to think I'd never find you," she said.
 
"I need your help."

The lunch bell rang.
 
Everyone slowly made their way back to the warehouse, emptying their vehicles.
 
Several cars sped recklessly into the lot, looking for the first spot available.
 
Alex wanted to talk, but his main job came first.
 
It had to.
 
It paid the bills, at least for now.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get back to work."

Kylie wrinkled her nose as she looked him up and down.

"I thought you'd be older, and less…dirty.
 
What do you do here?"

Alex wasn't sure whether to be offended or amused.
 
He chose amused as he stood up.

"I didn't know there was a minimum age to be able to talk to ghosts."

"Oh!
 
I didn't mean it like…."
 
She struggled for words.
 
"I'm sorry.
 
Just ignore me."

He laughed.
 
"I get off work at four.
 
Can you be here?
 
We can talk then."

"Yes.
 
Believe me, I'll be here."

"Okay.
 
I'll see you then."

She grabbed his hand as he walked away.

"Thank you," she said.
 
"Even other ghosts have given me a cold shoulder, and I thought we were supposed to help each other out.
 
So…thank you for not ignoring me."

He squeezed her hand.
 
"You're welcome."

Alex hid a frown as he walked away, trying to push back bad memories.
 
The last time a ghost asked for his help at work was only a month ago.
 
He ended up fighting for his life.
 
If it wasn't for the help of Jack Kursed, he'd be a ghost as well.

He would be very cautious in talking with Kylie.

Alex waited several minutes when the bell rang at four o'clock.
 
He punched out and sat in the break room.
 
He wanted the parking lot to have cleared out by the time he left the warehouse.
 
Several times in the past he'd been caught by other employees talking to thin air.
 
His reputation had already taken a hit, with him labeled
strange
.
 
There was no need to push the title any further.

Kylie was sitting exactly where he'd left her at lunch, at the picnic table.
 
He wondered if she even left at all.
 
She stood up when she saw him, but didn't move.
 
Alex leaned against his truck and gestured with his head as best he could, signaling her to approach.
 
A group of employees hung out by their cars a few spots over, talking and laughing like they always did.
 
They discussed plans for the evening, which bar they were going to, whose house they were going to crash.

"Hey, Teague!" Damien shouted.
 
He was the leader of their group.
 
"You want to head out with us tonight?"

"Ah, no thanks," Alex said.
 
"I've got too much to do.
 
I'll probably pack it in early."

He wondered how long it would take for someone to bring up his wife.

"How about Cindy?" Damien asked.

Apparently not long.

"Yeah!" Mitch said, pumping his fist.
 
"She can stay at my place."

Alex forced a smile.
 
Good-natured joking or not, he couldn't wait for the warehouse to focus on someone else's attractive significant other.

"Sorry, guys.
 
She's in with me tonight."

"Damn," Damien said.
 
"Maybe next time, then."

The guys went back to conversing amongst themselves.
 
Alex turned to check on Kylie, only to see her standing three feet away.
 
He jumped and put a hand to his chest.
 
Ghosts didn't make noise when they walked.
 
Technically, they didn't
walk
at all.
 
They could be as quiet as they wanted, or shake a house with the force of an earthquake.

"Sorry," she said.
 
"Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay.
 
Trust me, I've seen scarier things.
 
Do you mind if we go back to my house?
 
I really want to get away from here."