Grave Attraction by Lori Sjoberg Page A

asked once they were halfway down the aisle.
    â€œJust curious to see who else was in the market for horn,” she said, her eyes busy scanning the area. The crowds in the market were starting to thin, and some of the dealers were already closing up shop.
    â€œDo you know who Mistress Zoe is?”
    â€œOh, yeah.” She sounded far from impressed. “She’s a witch, and not a very good one. Mostly, she deals in love potions and shit like that.”
    â€œCould she be the one who put the whammy on my associate?”
    Marlena pursed her lips as if mulling it over. “I suppose it’s possible, but I doubt it. I’ll have Cassie give her a call, though, and see what she’s up to.”
    â€œSounds good.” As they walked past the concession stand, he considered buying a funnel cake, but then he remembered something the vendor had said. “Why was Freddie so afraid of me?”
    â€œBecause you’re a reaper.”
    He stared at her for a few beats. “Care to expand on that?”
    She looked up at him as if the answer was something he should already know. “In case you haven’t noticed, you guys have a bad reputation. Folks generally don’t like to mess around with something if they know it can suck out their soul.”
    Well, that explained a lot. But it wasn’t like reapers ran around harvesting souls for shits and giggles. It was a grueling profession, one he and his associates took seriously, and not every reaper made it through with their sanity intact. Just look at what had happened a couple years ago with the reapers who’d snapped and gone rogue. In the end, twenty-nine of his kindred were lost, including two that he considered close friends.
    He was about to say something when he noticed that Marlena had frozen dead in her tracks. “What is it?”
    She held up a finger to indicate she needed a moment. Closing her eyes, her head tilted up, she seemed to be sniffing the air. Her chest expanded on a sharply drawn breath, and just as suddenly, her eyes flew back open. Pure fury flashed across her face. “One of the lowlifes who kidnapped me is here.”
    â€œAre you kidding?”
    â€œDo I look like I’m kidding?”
    â€œNo, you look royally pissed off.” Adam scanned the aisle but didn’t see any signs of danger. “Where is he?”
    â€œIt’s hard to tell with so many people around.” Inhaling again, she focused on the scent of her prey. It belonged to the submissive member of the duo who’d taken her prisoner. During her time in captivity, she never saw his face, so her memories were limited to smell and sound. Another deep breath, and she pinned down the origin of the scent. “This way.”
    She took off like a shot, not waiting for Adam, determined to capture her quarry before he got away. A couple with three small children blocked her path, forcing her to slow down to maneuver around them. Once free, she raced through the exit and into the rear parking lot.
    Shit, where did he go? She sniffed the air, but his scent was gone. That probably meant he was inside a vehicle. A number of cars were heading for the exits, but since she’d never seen what the guy looked like, she couldn’t tell which vehicle belonged to him.
    â€œDammit!” Frustration filled her with the urge to punch something. Breathing heavy, she balled her hands into fists so tight her fingernails dug into her palms.
    She sensed Adam’s presence nearby, close but not quite touching. The smell of him—rich, earthy, and male—invaded her senses and took the edge off her nerves. A part of her yearned to turn to him for comfort, so tired of being alone. So tired of existing instead of living. And even though she ached with the need for her chosen mate, she gritted her teeth and held herself in check.
    He touched her then, just a hand to her shoulder, and the contact made the ache almost unbearable. No, not