A Gift of Ghosts (Tassamara) Read Online Free PDF Page B

“What will happen to me?”
    Akira started shaking her head, “No, no, there’s no need to
call the insurance company. I’ll get it repaired.”
    Zane’s eyes narrowed. “You seem determined to keep this car.”
    Akira paused. She glanced at Dillon, and bit her lip, then
looked away. What could she say? She coughed gently a few times, a delaying
tactic as she tried to think things through. Should she let the car get
totaled? Taken away to some junkyard? Stripped for parts, and then crushed?
What would happen to Dillon?
    If her father were here . . . but he wasn’t. He’d been dead
for three years.
    Chin set stubbornly, she said, “I am, yes. I’ll get the car
fixed.”
    “Tell you what,” Zane offered. “You let me take you to the
hospital and have a doctor take a look at you, and I’ll see about getting the
car repaired.”
    Akira shook her head again. “No hospitals. I don’t—I don’t do
hospitals.”
    “How can you not do hospitals? You’re hurt. You could have
internal injuries, a concussion, brain damage for all I know.”
    “I’m fine.” The wince as she touched her chest probably didn’t
help convince him, but she did think she was fine, just bruised.
    “I’m your boss. I could order you to go to the hospital,” Zane
suggested, exasperated.
    Akira just looked at him. Obeying orders to go to the
hospital was not in her job description. It was a vague job description, but if
it entailed hospital visits, she was not going to be sticking around, contract
or no contract. And while he might technically be her boss she was going to
have a hard time thinking of him that way. Even in the formal interview
setting, he had a casual air about him that said he’d rather be having fun than
working, and today, in his blue jeans and t-shirt, he wasn’t a convincing
authority figure.
    “Yeah, I didn’t think that would work.” Zane scratched his
head. “What about this—my sister is a doctor and GD has a medical lab with all
the latest scanners. Will you let her take a look at you?”
    Akira thought about it, and then nodded. Medical care wasn’t
the problem. She just didn’t like hospitals.
    “All right.” He took her chin between two fingers and tilted
her head up. She met his gaze, surprised to feel a tingle of warmth touching
her cheeks. What was he doing? Her lips parted slightly, almost involuntarily,
as she realized how attractive he was. She hadn’t thought of him that way, but
standing so close to him, with his arms almost around her, his eyes intent on
hers, she couldn’t help but notice. “Your pupils are both the same size. That’s
about the only thing I know how to look for.”
    She pulled away. “I don’t have a concussion.”
    “I’m going to call Nat and get her to meet us at GD. Will you
wait here?”
    Akira’s confusion must have shown.
    “I drove this car here,” he said, nodding toward the black
Taurus. “I was going to have a flying lesson, so my ride home won’t be ready
for a while. I’ll see if I can clean this up enough to be drivable. Or at least
enough to get us to GD.”
    “Oh, you know, if you have something to do, I’ll be okay—”
Akira started.
    “Nice try.” He brushed a finger along her cheekbone. “Wait
here,” he ordered. “I’ll be right back.”
    Akira leaned back against the hood of the car. As Zane strode
away, Dillon spoke, “I’m so sorry. I was working on stretching. I was in the
hangar. But when the car started moving, it really hurt. I didn’t realize what
was happening.”
    “It’s okay,” Akira spoke quietly, watching for anyone who
might be looking at them. “I’m sorry I messed up your car.”
    “What do you think would happen to me if the car got totaled?”
asked Dillon, his tone fascinated yet uncertain.
    “I think you’d be living in a junkyard,” Akira answered. “I
never have figured out how and why ghosts are tied to places, though. And with
a car—well, I don’t know. It might depend what you’re really