Page 42 of Coven of Corpses

"You. Us. How we've made it through all the shit thrown at us."

"Don't jinx it. We're not through this latest patch of shit yet."

"No," Cody agreed. "But we will be. We always are."

Demmy turned in his arms, kissing him. "Yeah. We always are."

They settled back into silence, limbs tangled together, heartbeats gradually syncing. Demmy pressed himself against Cody’s side, arm across his belly. He dipped his head to breathe in the smell from Cody’s armpit, then gently bit his nipple before resting his cheek on Cody’s chest.

“Do I still smell the same?”

“Yep. Like clean sweat and fresh laundry and all man.”

“Glad you like it,” Cody said, kissing the top of Demmy’s head. “Don’t think I could change it.”

“Don’t you dare.”

They lay quiet together for a while, then Cody said, “Lucia came by the store tonight.”

Demmy lifted his head. Cool air rushed to replace the warmth of their contact, and Cody felt a tiny ache at the change.

“Oh?” Demmy supported his head with one hand and ran the fingers of his other through the hair in the center of Cody’s chest. “What’d she want? Did she take you in for questioning again?”

“Surprisingly, no. She was asking about Tracey.”

“Oh yeah?” Demmy sat up, the sheet piling in his lap. The lamplight gave a golden hue to his pale skin. “Oliver and I talked with her today.”

Cody turned to look at him, surprised. “You did? Where? She wasn’t at the library when I went by.”

“I know. Oliver was waiting by my truck after you dropped me off. We went to the library to see if she’d come into work. When we arrived a bunch of people were running out of the library.”

“What? Why?”

“Heath was going on some kind of rampage. Even that older man who works there had evacuated. We could tell something is definitely wrong with Heath.”

“Oh, yeah, Lucia mentioned a couple of deputies had been dispatched to the library for something.”

“Yep, they were heading that way as we left.”

“Think the witch has possessed him or something?” Cody asked.

“Well, after we left the library, Oliver had the idea to stop in at Drives Rite and see if we could find out anything about Rita.”

“The woman whose body was found out in the woods?” Cody said.

“Yeah, Rita Haines.” Demmy shook his head and laid on his back. “The owner recognized me and kicked us out pretty quick.”

“Ugh. Was it bad?” Cody rolled on his side and traced a finger down Demmy’s arm.

“It was all right. No worse than I expected.”

“Sorry.”

Demmy smiled and touched the side of his face. “Not your fault.”

“Well, it kind of is. I killed Phil.”

“You stopped an already deceased Phil from turning me into a zombie. There’s a difference.”