(eng) M. R. Forbes - Ghosts & Magic 01 by Dead of Night

Author:Dead of Night [Night, Dead of]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Lost

FIVE YEARS EARLIER...

I didn't know what time it was. I didn't know how many drinks I'd had, or even the name of the dive I was sitting in. I knew it was late, and I was drunk. I knew I didn't care.

My cell vibrated in my pocket for the fiftieth time. I didn't need to look at it to know it was Karen, wondering where the fuck I was, and what Rob had said. I knew she was worried about me. I was worried about her, too.

How was I supposed to go home, look her in the eye, and tell her that I was a dead man walking? How was making her wake up next to a corpse every day for the next two months supposed to help her, or me, or Molly?

The bar was cold and moist against my forehead. Some part of me thought I should pick up my head, but the other part had lost the will, and it was winning. The world was a dangerous place nowadays. The dead of night was the last place someone like me should be. I had a life insurance policy, I was going to die anyway. What was the point?

"Hey, shithead. It's two o'clock. Pay up, and get the fuck out of my bar."

I heard the voice, but I didn't know it was directed at me until a ham hand grabbed my hair and lifted my face from the bar. An angry mug was glaring at me from the other side.

"I said, pay up, and get out."

He let go, and my chin hit the counter. That was enough to nudge me out of my stupor, and I slid off the stool and stumbled to my feet. Where was I anyway? I couldn't remember.

I'd left work and driven to... I couldn't recall. I'd driven away, into some other part of the city, and came to a stop when I saw the sign for the bar. I'd planted myself on the stool, and cried for an hour or two while I drank. Then I just drank. Maybe I'd passed out at some point? I didn't know.

The bartender came around the bar. He didn't wait for me to find my wallet, he just reached into my back pocket and pulled it out, taking my card and scanning it.

"Don't forget the tip," I mumbled. He smiled and scanned it a second time, and then returned everything to its place.

"Good luck out there," he said, at the same time he led me to the door. "All the smart guys sobered up and left hours ago."

All the guys who gave a shit if they survived the night. I didn't say anything else, letting the guy aim me out of the door and into the street. It was dark and cold, a light drizzle coating everything in a layer of moisture. I tucked my arms for warmth and started walking towards where I thought I had parked the car.

Two blocks later, I decided I had gone in the wrong direction.

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