CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Under the full moon’s glow, Declan gently pushed Becca on the Zephyr Land swings. His thoughts leapt back to a time when he would do the same for his younger sister, back in Boston. How was Brianna doing now? Just like Amanda, his sister went through a period when she didn’t trust herself. Didn’t believe in her instincts until danger forced her to start.

He didn’t want Amanda to get herself into danger just to believe in the talents she possessed. She seemed more than ready to help, but he needed more info.

Maybe she’d had issues with her boyfriend. One thing about the living, they always got overly concerned about the opposite sex. In truth, when he’d played the role of cocky air force pilot, so had he.

“Declan, push harder,” Becca said.

Her tiny voice forced him back to reality, where apparently he’d let his push-her-on-the-swing duty lapse into nothingness and she could no longer soar as high.

“Sorry. I’m lost in thought.”

“Why don’t you ask for directions?” Becca quipped. Quite the kid.

He laughed. “Men don’t ask for directions. Not even when we’re dead.”

“That’s silly.”

“Maybe so.”

Declan turned his head at the sudden gust of wind in the trees. Coincidence? He stared down at his hands. They were fading, even from his semitransparent form. No. Not now!

“What’s happening?” Becca asked, her voice trembling.

I’m about to get yelled at.

“Don’t be afraid, sweetheart,” he said. “I’m being summoned by my boss. I’ll be back soon.”

She let out a scream as he faded from sight. Everything instantly shot past his peripheral vision, like entering an infinite spiral of colors.

Seconds later, he stood on the front lawn of the Alabama plantation. He walked between the arrays of oaks, searching for Connell. Why had the boss summoned him now? Last time they’d spoken, Connell had sounded too busy to even answer questions.

Declan rounded the next tree and stopped short. Connell sat atop Thunder, the majestic black ghost horse.

“Where’s your carriage and other horse?” Declan asked.

“Helping out with the war.” Connell leapt off his horse with a fluid jump. “So, how much longer are you going to take on this assignment? I need progress.”

Declan still wondered what war Connell spoke of, but he knew better than to ask questions the boss would not answer.

“Amanda has agreed to help. She is gathering info on who caused the derailment.”

Connell glared at him. “That’s it? You haven’t made any more progress than that?”

Declan swallowed hard. “I had to spend time convincing her to help us. Then she had to research and agree to share info with me.” His mind grasped for words like a desperate reaching for straws. “She was supposed to meet me at the carousel a few nights ago, but she didn’t show.”

“Why didn’t you go find her? Tell her she needs to hurry? You have an entire abandoned park and all the props at your disposal to scare her into helping you. Why haven’t you made more progress?”

He stared at the ground. Why didn’t upper management ever understand the pressure that some of these assignments created? Things were not as simple as being able to get Amanda to move faster. Humans—especially female humans—were complicated and took some time to gain trust.

“I appreciate our time frame,” Declan began. “I’ve been doing my best to gain Amanda’s help while dealing with thirty people who are pissed off they were left to rot for ten years.”

Connell’s stern gaze softened a bit. “I need you in Louisiana. Soon.”

“What’s the assignment? More people we forgot about?” As soon as the words left his tongue, Declan yearned to take them back.

Connell took two forceful steps forward and placed himself inches from Declan’s face. “Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry,” Declan said. “My impatience got the best of me.”

Angry cold eyes glared at him for what seemed an eternity. “Next time my impatience gets the best of me, I’m coldcocking you to the ground. Then I’ll put in a request to send you to Death Valley in summer. Understand?”

“Yes, Boss.” He cleared his throat, exhaling the breath he’d been holding.

Connell stepped back, put a foot in the stirrup, and mounted his horse. “You have thirty-six hours to get these souls moved across. After that, I can’t hold Liam back any longer. He’ll do with you what he wishes.”

A knot formed in the pit of Declan’s stomach. Now he was at the mercy of some new boss, Liam, to get this assignment complete in less than two days? He’d been helping souls into the next realm for over fifteen years now. Didn’t seniority count for anything?

“What’s going on, Connell? Who is this Liam guy? I haven’t heard his name in five years. Now you say he may toss me to some crappy assignment?”

Connell looked down on him—literally, from his horse—and sighed. “He runs things now. I can only protect my own people for so long, so take in my words, Declan. Get this job finished, or the next job will finish you.”

Two minutes later, Connell had disappeared, and Declan was back in Zephyr Land. Only he’d returned two steps closer than where he’d vanished from. A second later, Becca’s high-flying swing hit him in the face. Declan fell to the ground and held his aching jaw.

“I guess you got in your punches after all, Connell,” he muttered as he stood up.

Wind rustled in the trees, and Declan swore he heard laughter.