The Graveyard Shift: A Charley Davidson Novella by Darynda Jones

Author:Darynda Jones [Jones, Darynda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Darynda Jones, Charley Davidson, 1001 Dark Nights, paranormal romance
Publisher: 1001 Dark Nights Press
Published: 2020-06-08T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

If your path demands that you walk through hell,

walk as though you own the place.

—Meme

Every person there stood so still they could’ve been mistaken for statues from a distance. The three bikers all had their pistols aimed at the girl’s head. Garrett didn’t dare move because Marika’s backside was molded to his front. If he moved, she moved. She’d stepped in front of him. She’d risked her life to spare his, and it was all for nothing because he was going to kill her.

Marika froze with the tip of the spear at her throat. If she even swallowed, it would sink deeper.

But the girl was the stillest of them all. Powerful and wild and in complete control. She hovered the spear unflinchingly at Marika’s throat but kept her gaze on Garrett.

“Elwyn,” Robert said again, softer this time. “Look at me, pumpkin.”

Her delicate brows drew together, and Garrett could see several scars on her face. One reached from her temple down across her lips, ending at her chin. The wound had been deep, and that realization disturbed him most of all.

Robert stepped forward, but the girl—Elwyn—didn’t tense. She didn’t move at all. She didn’t even look at him. It took Garrett a few seconds to realize that her eyes were welling up again. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before. Those shimmering copper irises, so unusual, so distinct. And yet, he’d missed it. And the bracelet on her wrist. The gold one that Osh had given her before he disappeared. It shimmered in the sun streaming through the branches, plain as day.

A droplet of wetness slid over her lashes, and her breath hitched in her chest. Without another thought, she dropped the spear and ran into Robert’s arms.

The rest looked on, their faces the picture of astonishment as Robert swallowed her in a hug. He swayed with her, his shoulders shaking with sobs.

“Oh, my God. Where have you been? Where have you been?”

Her slim shoulders shook as well, but she didn’t answer. Garrett didn’t even know if she could.

After a long moment in which the hellhounds, now healed and sensing no danger to their ward, disappeared one by one, Robert set her at arm’s-length. He looked her over. Pushed her hair back to examine her face. Lifted her wrist to study the damage she’d done by repeatedly biting into it.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice thick with emotion.

She shook her head, and he pulled her into another hug. A soft, light laugh escaped her.

It was then that Garrett realized that Marika was in his arms. She rested her head against his shoulder, her face alit with joy as they looked on.

“Do you remember everyone?” Robert asked at last, finally releasing Elwyn.

She kept her arms locked around one of his, almost hiding behind him before turning toward the rest of the group. She glanced from one man to the next, then to Marika. Giving up her need for safety, the girl stepped closer to Marika and lifted her fingers to where she’d pierced her skin.

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