“You’re the reason she’s going to be spoiled,” I warned him, slipping my gaze to my co-worker Oliver Samuelson. He was fixated on the gate, to the point I worried his mind would implode if he didn’t unclench a bit. “Not that I’m not happy to see her or anything — she’s always welcome here — but do you think it’s wise to have her present when we’re about to try something we haven’t ever tried before?”
Cormack’s hand was busy as he stroked Lily’s soft hair but his smile slipped. “She’s not staying for when we flip the switch.”
That was interesting. “She’s not? I didn’t realize she could wander away on her own. She’s getting so big.” I smiled at the baby, who offered me a gummy smile in return. Given the fact that she’d spent the first few weeks of her life wailing in despair because she picked up on the emotions of her overwrought mother, the constant giggles and smiles were welcome.
“Ha, ha.” Cormack rolled his eyes. “Cillian is picking her up. He texted from upstairs, in fact. He should be down in a second. I want to make sure she’s safely away from the gate before we throw the switch.”
Cillian, one of the middle Grimlock children, was the most responsible member of the family as far as I could tell. I was relieved to know he would be removing his niece from what could turn into a fraught situation. “That’s good.”
As if on cue, Cillian picked that moment to stroll through the door. Like the other Grimlocks — honestly, they were like a breeding experiment gone awry — he boasted black hair and purple eyes. Unlike his other brothers who wore their hair shorter, his brushed the top of his strong shoulders.
“What’s good?” he asked, immediately heading for his father, a huge smile on his face. “How’s my favorite girl?”
Lily laughed in delight when she saw him and immediately reached out to grab a handful of hair. She made a “sah” sound as she made contact.
“I don’t think Maya’s going to like it if she hears you’ve been saying stuff like that,” Cormack warned, although he didn’t put up a fight when Cillian plucked Lily from the carrier. Once the infant was free, he unfastened the device and handed it over. “No one wants to be supplanted, son.”
In addition to being Cillian’s girlfriend, Maya Taylor was also Lily’s father’s sister. I found that if I thought too hard about the way the two families were connected, I gave myself a headache. The important thing was that they didn’t seem to believe it was weird. I was just happy to be included in the fun.
“Maya loves Lily, too,” Cillian countered, wedging his niece on his hip and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “She understands that Lily’s stolen my heart.”
“Lily has stolen everybody’s heart,” Cormack agreed, offering his granddaughter one more smile before turning serious. “Did you do the other thing I asked?”
Cillian nodded, his expression matching the one that had clouded his father’s face. “I checked on her. She’s ... unhappy with life.”
I didn’t have to ask who they were referring to. It wasn’t exactly a secret. Mary Grimlock, Cormack’s mother, had spent the better part of the last few weeks locked in a jail of her own making. Cormack had arranged it, fudging the truth about his parents’ interest in sabotaging the reaper council under wraps ... at least for the time being. It seemed there might be a mole in our midst — more powerful even than his rich parents — and he was trying to ascertain who was on which side before announcing what his parents had done to the masses. Only a handful of higher-ups in the organization were aware.
“How is Mary’s health?” I asked when the conversation lapsed. “I mean ... is she feeling any better?”
Cillian shook his head. “She’s frail, weak. That doesn’t stop her from cursing my existence whenever I stop in to talk to her. She’s a very unhappy woman.”
I nodded in understanding. “She’s dying. That’s fear driving her.”
“I don’t really care what’s driving her,” Cormack countered. “She turned her back on her family. Worse, she was willing to sacrifice her family for her selfish needs. I have no respect for the woman.”
I couldn’t help but notice he hadn’t withdrawn his love. She was his mother, so of course that meant he still loved her. The rage he felt regarding what she’d done, however, was palpable. I knew better than to delve into his emotions — the Grimlocks were grizzly bears when it came to warding their feelings — but I couldn’t help myself. “Have you stopped in to see her?”
Cormack’s expression was blank. “Why would I want to see her?”
“She’s your mother.”
“I don’t care.”
I knew better. He cared. Much like his children, though, he would dig his heels in rather than admit it. I risked a glance at Cillian and found him studying his father’s strong profile with an unreadable face. He obviously loved his father and worried about the toll this was taking on him, yet he seemed perfectly comfortable taking a step back to let Cormack work things out on his own.
It was frustrating to behold.
“What about your father?” I pressed, refusing to let it go. “What do you expect to happen when we bring back the gate?”
Cormack tilted his head as if confused. “What do you mean?”
I hesitated and then barreled forward. “Do you think he’ll be there, ready to cross back over?” On the same day Mary had been taken into custody, Emmet Grimlock was knocked through the barrier that separated the living from the dead. He’d been injured at the time and odds seemed slim he’d somehow been able to survive. Still, there was always a chance, and given who the Grimlocks were, I’d learned on numerous occasions that they could
