The Tessa Randolph Collection, Books 1-3 by Paula Lester (good short books .TXT) 📕

That’s untrustworthy if I ever saw it.” She tapped her fingertips on the desk calendar in front of her. “Come clean.”

“I am. I will. I wasn’t trying to be untrustworthy,” Tessa argued. “I was trying to keep us a secret. Isn’t that what I was supposed to do?”

Gloria shrugged an elegant shoulder. “Eh.”

“Eh? Eh? What do you mean eh?”

“I mean, we aren’t superheroes or something. What’s the worst that could happen if folks know we exist?”

Tessa’s scowl deepened. “I don’t know. Imprisonment? Lab experiments? I mean, I assume people might decide we’re killers. Like no one would die if we weren’t around to reap them or something.”

Gloria rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a movie. Nobody cares. Besides, I’m not suggesting we out ourselves to the whole world. I’m saying you should tell your boyfriend. There’s a big difference.”

“But what if he tells other people?”

“Ask him not to. Trust is a two-way street.” She leaned forward to rest her elbows on the desk. “Girl, he’s into you. You’re into him. If you’re honest and lay it out for him, then ask him to keep it to himself. He will. Silas cares about you.”

Tessa pursed her lips, considering. It did sound like the best course of action.

Gloria winked. “Go talk to your boyfriend. It’ll be okay.”

And, just like that, Tessa found that she was out of arguments. Gloria was right. “Fine,” she said. “You’re my boss now, so I guess I have to do what you say.” She headed to the door but stopped short and said over her shoulder, “Thanks for the pep talk.”

Gloria made a shooing motion. “Go on. Get it done so you can focus on your job. I don’t need any reapers who aren’t fully focused on their work around here.” She softened the bossy words with a grin.

Tessa smiled back and left, her steps feeling lighter than when she’d arrived.

Her friend and newly appointed boss was right. Silas did seem to care about her. And it wasn’t fair to him to withhold basic information about herself.

She’d already told him she was a reaper. Now, she could explain what that meant. He’d have to understand why she had to lie before. Then, they could move on, and she could be herself with him.

That sounded amazing.

Tessa drove a little faster than she should have to the apartment building, marveling over how smoothly Linda was running now. That Silas sure was magical when it came to mechanics.

The excitement she felt over coming clean about her job warred with a little bit of nervousness as she pulled into the lot and parked. Tessa reminded herself of what Gloria had said—that everything would be fine.

But before she got out of the car, her attention was captured by people coming out of the lobby of Mist River Manor.

And she knew it wasn’t true. Things weren’t going to be fine at all.

Because Silas was in handcuffs, each elbow held by a cop as they propelled him toward a waiting police cruiser.

Chapter 6

TESSA STOOD IN THE parking lot wondering what to do. Should she follow the officers and Silas to the police station? After all, this was all her fault. Okay, maybe not all her fault. Silas had made the choice to follow her. But he didn’t know what he was getting himself into. And she could’ve done a better job explaining away her job.

Or she could’ve told him the truth from the beginning. It seemed like such a simple solution now.

It only took a moment’s thought to give up on the idea of following him to the station—she knew they'd spend at least an hour booking and probably questioning him. It was possible they’d let him go home after that but, if not, they’d put him in a cell to await a court date. And that wouldn’t likely occur for a day or two. Then Silas would go in front of a judge, who would decide whether he had to stay in jail or could be let out on bond.

This wasn’t like visiting a patient in a hospital. Even then, she wasn’t his family. She wasn’t even really his girlfriend. Silas was incommunicado with only one phone call. And she doubted he’d waste it on her. There was very little to nothing Tessa was able to do besides get in everybody's way and annoy them.

So, shoulders slumped, she trudged through the apartment building. She was already dreaming about drowning her sorrows in a half-gallon of ice cream and hoping the streaming service she shared with her friend Abi in a different apartment wasn't overloaded and would work for her. She was dreaming of a comedy—something to keep her mind off Silas’s predicament.

Before she got to her apartment, another door opened. Mrs. Cross swayed in the doorway, without her cane. She wore a floor length housecoat and a cream-colored bandana wrapped around her hair. “Come in here, girl," she croaked, reaching out to grab Tessa's elbow and then swaying even harder.

Tessa automatically stiffened her arm to stabilize the woman.

Taken aback, she wondered if Mrs. Cross had been watching for Tessa through the peephole.

Oh, yeah, that’s not creepy or anything.

“What can I do for you?” Tessa kept her tone light, even though she was irritated about the probable spying.

"I want to talk to you." Mrs. Cross peered through thick glasses at Tessa. Her tone, as always, was gruff. Like the schoolteacher no one ever messed with, even though she was small and fragile enough to simply push over. No one would ever dare do that. She was the type who inspired fear and respect, even though she didn’t have the physical oomph to back it up.

“Okay," Tessa stammered. She cast one last longing look toward her own apartment before crossing the threshold into Mrs. Cross’s.

The lady’s apartment looked like one would expect the dwelling space of a single woman in their eighties to look. It was decorated in country style, with blue and white flowered fabric for curtains and a matching pattern