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13
ADDIE
Ten minutes later, I had a thick bathrobe wrapped around my body. I’d cleaned up in the privacy of Maddox’s bathroom. Thankfully, the ghost had kept his nose out of my business. Maddox growled every time the ghost so much as moved. The way Maddox’s nose twitched made me think he could possibly smell the ghost.
Ghost smells weren’t all that uncommon. Some people reported cigarette smoke after their chain-smoker mothers passed away. Others could smell their perfume or sunscreen. Knowing that Maddox could track ghosts by scent was a good thing to keep in mind.
I came out of the bathroom, crossed my arms over my chest, and stared the ghost down. “No. I haven’t seen Hel. Why are you asking me?”
The man cringed and tugged at the collar of his shirt. “Well…you see…”
Maddox cast a glance in my direction. He, too, had his arms crossed over his chest. It would have been domineering, but I kept getting distracted by his naked body. The man had left his cock out, which might have actually been intimidating for the ghost who was doing his best to keep from looking in Maddox’s direction.
“Spit it out,” I said, tired. I wanted nothing more than to sleep beside myhusband.
Butterflies fluttered in my chest. I was a married woman now. Maddox and I had consummated our marriage, making it real. I still couldn’t wrap my head around all that’d happened today, the ups and downs that’d led to such mind-blowing sex.
“Well, no one can find Hel right now,” the ghost said, interrupting my thoughts.
The butterflies in my chest died all at once. Their little bodies dropped like heavy stones into the pit of my stomach. For a moment, I feared the worst. Fenrir had somehow gotten to her. That couldn’t be, though.
Hel was smarter than that. Maybe she didn’t have the power to take Fenrir down by herself, but I wanted to believe that she had enough to fend him off long enough to get away. There was no way that Fenrir had taken her.
Was there?
I buried my face in my hands and cursed into my palms.
“What is it?” Maddox asked.
“Hel is missing. The ghost says he can’t find her anywhere.”
The ghost nodded like Maddox could see him. “I’ve been in her underworld for fifty years. She’s never gone for this long. Everyone down there is starting to worry about her, and the Reapers won’t tell us anything.”
An electric shock zapped through me at the mention of Reapers. They were the ferrymen for the dead, helping them from one afterlife to another. It’s what would happen to me when I died.
I knew of one Reaper. I’d met her in Hel’s domain, too. If this ghost thought the Reapers were hiding something from them, then she would know. I stole a glance at Maddox. He wasn’t going to like this.
While Paige had given me her approval, I wasn’t sure how Maddox would react to seeing her again. He probably didn’t have feelings for her, but I knew that meeting her again would open wounds he hadn’t bothered to heal since her passing. This was going to be a rough night.
I could have gone off and summoned her on my own, but I really didn’t want to be alone with Fenrir running around. While I knew that the demi-god feared me, I wasn’t ready to live up to those fears. Right now, I was running on the afterglow of good sex and nothing else. If Fenrir caught me unaware, he would decimate me.
So, I looked at Maddox and said, “You’re not going to like what I have to do next.”
He cocked his head curiously.
I backed out of the room and ran to the living room where I could think for a moment. Maybe if I asked Maddox to sit in the bedroom while I summoned Paige, then we could all avoid an awkward reunion. She would take one look at us right now and know what we’d been up to. Maddox would likely try to keep a blank face, but that was enough of a giveaway for him.
Paige wouldknow.
My face warmed. A moment ago, I’d been comfortable. Now, I was second guessing everything. I didn’t want to have to summon Paige right now, right after Maddox and I finished making love. It seemed…insulting. I didn’t want to rub our happiness in her face when she’d missed out on so much of her life because of what she and I were.
Shit. I was overthinking this. Nothing would happen if I didn’t get my ass moving. We had to find Hel before Fenrir got to her. Maybe I could summon Hel…
“Pfft, like she would answer my call,” I said out loud.
“What’s going on?” Maddox put a hand on my back.
I jumped and yelped at his touch. He yanked me out of my thoughts and brought me back to the moment. I turned my gaze up to him and tried to silently apologize.
