the sound.
A jingle. Somebody had entered the office.
Damn it. They should have locked the door. They were lucky no one had walked in during the spell removal.
She swore against Darrak’s lips as he kissed her one more time before releasing her, and they turned toward the door. A young and pretty raven-haired woman stood there looking at them with a hand on her hip and a raised eyebrow.
“Am I interrupting something?” she asked.
Eden cleared her throat and stood up. Her legs felt shaky, and she ran a hand through her long hair to neaten it.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “That must not have looked very professional.”
Darrak shrugged. “Sometimes I just can’t keep my hands off her. She’s irresistible.”
Eden couldn’t help but laugh as she cast a look in his direction. “Anyway, let’s start again.” She moved toward the woman and stretched out her hand. “I’m Eden Riley. Welcome to Triple-A Investigations. And you are?”
The young woman grasped Eden’s hand tightly in hers, her eyes sparkling with happiness. “Honey, it’s me.”
Eden frowned. “Excuse me?”
“It’s me,” the woman said again. “Your mother. I’m back!”
FIVE
Eden tried to process what she’d just heard.
Her mother? That was impossible.
This dark-haired woman was barely in her midtwenties and was completely different from her mother. Caroline Riley had looked just like Eden, only with blonde hair rather than the bright red Eden always dyed to a less attention-grabbing auburn.
“I know this comes as a shock, sweetie,” the woman said. “But it’s true. Maybe you should sit down.”
Eden did just that, staggering behind her desk and dropping back into her swivel chair. “What the hell is going on?”
The woman spread her hands. “Okay, so I died.”
“I know that part.”
“Next thing I know I’m in a holding cell in Hell scared out of my mind. I had no idea why I was there and it truly felt like forever, before they told me I was free. Next thing I know I’m back here, but I had no body. I had to improvise.”
“You’re a drifter,” Darrak said, eyeing her carefully.
The woman eyed him right back. “Is that what I am? Sounds like a good term for it.”
Eden’s heart sank. A drifter was a bodiless spirit who was able to possess humans at will, pushing aside their consciousness to make way for their own. Unlike Darrak, who was stuck with one human host until their death or his exorcism — or, preferably, his curse removal — a drifter could change bodies as easily as changing their outfit.
Her mother had died three months ago after breaking her neck falling down a flight of stairs in Las Vegas. She already knew Caroline had been sent to Hell. Lucas used her mother as blackmail to get Eden to help him out recently. She’d agreed, albeit reluctantly, and the last she knew her mother’s soul had been released.
Eden assumed she’d gone to Heaven.
Instead she’d flitted around until she’d found a suitable body — a young, pretty brunette.
“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” Caroline laughed at her own joke. “Listen to me. Still hilarious after everything I’ve been through. But seriously, thank God I was able to find a body. Otherwise I’d be totally screwed. No way to communicate with you or anyone else. That would be so horrible. You know how much I love to talk.”
“Where did you get this body?” Eden said tightly.
She turned in a circle as if modeling a new dress. “She’s an aspiring actress. Twenty-three. She’s done a little lingerie modeling to pay the rent in the past. Adorable, isn’t she? I barely remember having boobs this perky.”
“And you just stole her body like it means nothing?”
“Borrowed. There are agencies out there who help set up this sort of thing. Who knew, right? This girl has rented out her body to me for six months. It’s not cheap, believe me.”
“Are you serious? You rented it?” Eden had never heard of anything like that.
“You think I’d just steal a body? What kind of person do you think I am?” Caroline pouted. “And here I thought you’d be thrilled to see me. Guess I was wrong.”
The nausea Eden had felt earlier again rose in her throat. “I don’t feel so good.”
“Can I do anything to help?” Caroline asked, moving closer.
Eden held up her hand. “You should leave.”
“But I just got here.”
“Seriously…
Caroline’s gaze turned sharply toward the demon. “I don’t know what your game is, demon, but trust me, now that I’m here you’re not going to be able to corrupt my daughter any longer with your evil ways.”
Darrak sighed. “Just what I need. A cranky mother-in-law from Hell.”
Eden couldn’t process this. Her mother hadn’t been horrible, but she wasn’t exactly a kindhearted woman who’d baked cookies for her only child and been there as a shoulder to cry on or offer up advice when it was needed. No, Caroline Riley was more of a hard-drinking, professional gambler who’d been away more than she’d been at home, who’d paraded a succession of equally unreliable men through their lives as Eden was growing up.
Eden had learned at a very early age how to avoid phone calls from collections agencies, make dinner for herself, and take public transit at the age of ten since Mom wasn’t always around to pick her up from a friend’s house.
No wonder she had issues with trust and always had a desire for a solitary, peaceful life.
Despite her flakiness, Caroline didn’t have a hard or cruel heart. She meant well, really she did. At least, Eden always hoped so.
She eyed the brunette. “Wait a minute. How do I know this isn’t some sort of trick?”
The woman frowned. “A trick?”
“I’m just supposed to take this all at face value? Just believe what you’re telling me with no proof? I don’t think so. I don’t know if you’re trying to con me by using the grief I feel for my mother—”
“You really felt grief for me, honey?” She looked pleased by this. “I knew you were angry that we didn’t spend much time together anymore. I wasn’t sure if you’d be glad I was gone, but you missed me!”
Eden let out an exasperated sigh. “I can’t deal with this.”
“It’s true. I’m here. It’s really me. I can prove it…” She chewed her bottom lip and looked thoughtful. “You had a teddy bear when you were a kid. You called him Mr. Snuggles.”
Eden crossed her arms skeptically. “That’s not exactly a huge secret.”
“You spilled grape juice on him and I tried to wash him, but he fell apart. You were devastated. We buried him in the backyard and then I bought you that… uh, a turtle. A little green turtle.”
“And what happened to the turtle?” Eden asked slowly.
She seemed to concentrate for a moment before her expression fell. “Oh, honey. I ran over him with my car.”
“And then you tried to pretend that he committed suicide.”
