Page 29 of Ride or Die (The Body Shop #5)

T he street-level door to the townhouse swung open before I could palm my key, and Josie clamped her hand around my wrist. She yanked me across the threshold, slammed the door behind Anunit, and then hugged me until I thought my stuffing might fall out.

“I’m not sure which was more terrifying,” she began. “You walking?—”

“—out the door,” Matty finished for her, “or watching Kierce headbutting marble.”

The reminder shocked my priorities into order, and I wrenched free of Josie. “I have to see him.”

“You might want us to clean him up some first.” Carter made the offer from beside the crypt door. “It’s a mess in there, and he’s at the center of it. Are you sure you want to see that?”

Nothing on Earth—or Abaddon—could have stopped me from going to him.

The door hung off its hinges, but Carter had propped it in the entrance in case Kierce got up swinging.

One look inside confirmed there was no danger of that. Kierce was healing, but he was in terrible shape.

And I had handed over the one person who could yank out the bone bullet to Dis Pater.

With a pitiful caw that sounded like a plea for help, Badb hopped up and down on the stone bench.

“Shit.” I slipped in blood and cracked my tailbone landing next to him. “Oww.”

One of his eyes slitted open, swept down me with dull recognition, then closed again.

“Hey.” I pushed his hot, sticky hair off his face to examine him.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but we need to get the bullet out so your body doesn’t have to split its focus while healing you.

Your head is a mess.” I tightened my mouth to keep my bottom lip from wobbling. “What have I done to you?”

Soft words, reassuring in their cadence, fell from his lips into the silence, but I didn’t recognize the language.

“The bullet is out.”

Twisting around, I found Pedro floating in front of the rear vaults wearing a somber expression.

“How?” I searched him for an exit wound, but there was too much blood. “Did Kierce…?”

“As soon as he stopped screaming, it shot from the left side of his ribs.” Pedro indicated the far corner. “I lost it when it ricocheted. The door was open, so it might have gotten out, but I don’t think so.”

“Okay.” I reached inside myself, deep into my core of power, and used the same method that helped me identify the Alcheyvāhā bones to locate my own.

I found it wedged between two drawers. Impact hadn’t chipped it or cracked it, and it held its bullet shape.

“Phew.” As gross as it was to hold on to a gory bit of toe, I tucked it in my pocket.

“I wouldn’t want that to fall into the wrong hands. ”

“The damage kicked his healing into overdrive, and his body ejected the bullet.” Harrow stuck his head in. “That’s my guess. Shifters heal that way. They purge foreign materials to avoid infection.”

For a second, I had almost credited Dis Pater with patching up his investment. “That makes sense.”

“Carter and Josie have made a bed in the back of the wagon.” He shoved the ruined door aside for easier access. “Jean-Claude and I will carry Kierce out and get him settled when you give the word.”

“Hey.” I twisted to face him. “Thank you. For helping with Kierce.”

“Magic is easier for me to use in service to others.” He ducked his head. “Maybe that’ll change one day.”

To accept his power was to accept himself, and I wanted both those things for him. “Maybe so.”

“We packed your things,” Josie called in. “As soon as you say your goodbyes, we’re ready to go.”

“We’ve got the box for the Suarezes,” Matty added. “We just need to find Pascal.”

“He went to say his goodbyes.” I forced myself to my feet. “He probably just needs someone to let him in.”

Behind them, I heard Rollo volunteer, and I picked my way out of the crypt to find Vi standing there. The look on her face wasn’t encouraging, and I could guess why. “Any word from Lucia?”

There was always a chance Ithas left before she made her move—she struck me as the cautious type—but anger could turn anyone reckless. With phones useless in Abaddon, we had no way of checking in on her and no easy path to offer help even if she could ask for assistance.

“She’s running late to say her goodbyes. That’s all, cher . Don’t you worry.” She gathered my hands in her soft ones. “Lucky for you both, she can portal to Thunderbolt and do the honors there.” Her fingers grew damp in mine. “You’re sure you’re not angry with me for contacting her?”

“You saved me, so I can’t be mad about that.

” I chose my words with care. “I’m glad to understand how I came to be.

Even if it wasn’t the sort of origin story anyone wants for themselves, I can make peace with my peculiarities knowing it’s not lacking talent or skill that kept me from becoming a necromancer. I was never Society material anyway.”

“You’re safe from them now, and that’s not nothing if you’re going to remain so near Savannah.”

“We worked so hard to make a home there. I don’t want to abandon it. We might not get a choice, but it would be nice to walk River Street sometimes and not have to keep glancing over my shoulder in case an overzealous sentinel decides to pick a fight.”

“Well, New Orleans will always welcome you with open arms.” She wrapped me in hers. “So will I.”

“I love you, Vi.” I kissed her smooth cheek. “You’re the best.”

“I love you too.” She sniffled and withdrew. “Check in as soon as things are settled, yeah?”

“I will.”

“Take these.” Rollo slapped two feather-and-bone charms into my hand. “Snap the bone when you’re ready. It’ll take care of…” he made a vague gesture to my bloody state, “…all that.”

“Aww.” I tucked them in my pocket then flung myself at him, embracing him. “Thanks, Rollo.”

“Merde.” He flung me off him, wiping at the stains I left on him. “Why the hell you do that?”

“I just wanted to show you my appreciation.”

“Next time, do it over there.” He walked off cursing. “Fucking maringouin .”

Chuckling at Rollo’s tantrum, Jean-Claude scooped me up in a hug that left my feet dangling.

“You better not wait so long to come back.” He squeezed me tight. “We miss you around here.”

“I’ve given you guys enough excitement to last you for a while.” I clung to his thick neck. “Next time, we’ll go fishing or jump scare folks on ghost tours. Something wholesome and fun.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” He set me down with a kiss on my cheek. “Take care now.”

“Ready?” Harrow walked up to Jean-Claude. “We can set Kierce down out here, let Frankie clean?—”

“The cleaning spell on the wagon will remove any blood or stains. Let’s get him comfortable. I’ll use the charm once he’s in the back.” I walked ahead of them to the crypt and called, “Badb, it’s time to go.”

Her low glide barely kept her from the floor, and I scooped her out of the air to hold against my chest.

Together we watched as Kierce was loaded into the back of the wagon.

I set Badb down beside him then put one of the charms in his hands before helping him snap the bone.

Magic spiraled in a glittering wave from his head down to his toes, cleaning his skin and clothes, and leaving the self-inflicted damage even starker against his freshly scrubbed pallor.

Before I could give the go-ahead, Badb tucked herself into the bend of his arm and nestled against him.

Adoration that frankly baffled me warmed Jean-Claude’s voice. “Take care of her, you hear?”

“She’s spoiled rotten, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

“You can tell a lot about a man by the company he keeps.” He huffed at me. “Your man has good taste.”

Aware he wasn’t talking about me, I heaved a sigh. “Have you considered adopting your own crow?”

Stubble rasped under his nails as he scratched his chin. “Not until I met Badb, no.”

“That might not be legal, mon amie ,” Vi interjected. “Do your research before you get attached to one.”

“If the grim can have one,” he grumbled, “I don’t see why I can’t.”

“I’m not sure Badb is all crow.” I caught her looking at me. “Crows are smart, but she’s next level.”

Add to that she could communicate with Kierce in his mind, and their bond resembled a witch and their familiar more than an owner and pet.

Or, as he liked to say, friend . Their link could have altered her over time.

Exposure to Abaddon or other forms of magic could be to blame, or maybe her otherness was what had attracted him in the first place.

I should ask him sometime for more of their story, if he remembered it.

I wished that I could ask her. I bet she had some wild memories of their time together.

“Next time I see your man, I’ll ask him.” Jean-Claude winked at me. “Maybe she has a sister.”

After the joke earned its intended laugh, he walked to Vi wearing a faint smile.

“See you at The Body Shop.” Carter tossed her keys and caught them on her palm. “Call if you need us.”

“Like you’re going to let Josie out of your sight until this is over.” I scoffed as she set her jaw. “You’ll be a car length behind us the whole way, or my name isn’t Mary Francis Talbot.”

With a growl under her breath, she marched out the door to fetch her truck from a nearby garage.

Laughing at her stomping, Harrow trailed his partner, careful to keep a few yards between them.

Once they were out of sight, I turned to the Suarezes. “You guys ready to go?”

“A nap sounds fantastic,” Pascal gusted out. “I never expected death to be so exhausting.”

“It’s all that partying,” Pedro teased him. “You should have rested more.”

“And miss out on late nights with Anita?”

Anita Fontenot, one of the spirits who inhabited the family mausoleum at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, was a fast friend of his, and something told me he would invite himself along the next time I visited Vi to spend more time with her.

Matty handed me the spirit box, and I slipped off the lid. The Suarezes entered aided by faint magical suction and disappeared from sight under the spell that would protect them from sunlight should they get jostled and the top come off during the ride.