Entangled (Spellbound #1)

Chapter 24

Gray pulled up in front of the sign announcing Hedrick the Healer. Locating Adrian had been ridiculously easy. He was listed in the Yellow Pages.

A bell tinkled when she walked through the front door. She stepped into a cramped room. There was a small round table covered with a cloth in the center. All that was missing was a crystal ball.

Raj was pacing, a large text in his arms. He looked up abruptly. "Gray? What are you doing here?"

"My mom's gone."

"Gone?"

"She heard from her contact."

Raj was about to speak when a young man pushed through a curtain and entered the chamber. Adrian Hedrick Montez might not have his powers, but his presence reeked of supremacy. He was built like a fireman—one who started rather than put flames out.

A smile spread over Gray's face even as Adrian looked at her as though she were trivial. "Who's the skirt?"

"No one," Raj said at the same time Gray said, "Graylee Perez."

"Well, Graylee Perez, your boyfriend and I have work to do so if you don't mind..."

"I'm not here to see Raj. I came to see you."

"Oh, really?" Adrian studied her with renewed interest. Mostly he stared at her chest and legs. His eyes ping-ponged between the two.

"I'm in need of your services."

This earned a look in the eye. Adrian swept his hand over to the small round table in the center of the room. "Take a seat. What ails you, my dear?"

"This body," Gray said as she settled onto the hard wood chair.

Adrian's eyes roved her once more. "I see nothing objectionable about the one you have now. Don't tell me Raj has told you otherwise—a breast enhancement, perhaps?"

Raj snapped his book shut and stepped forward. "That's enough."

Gray didn't break eye contact with Adrian. She made a steeple with her fingers then folded them over her hands and set them flat on the tabletop. "Flattering, Mr. Montez. This isn't my body. I'm borrowing my twin sister Charlene's body at the moment and I wish to extract her... permanently."

"Gray..." Raj's mouth dropped at the same time a smile spread over Adrian's face.

Gray ignored Raj. "Can you help me?"

Adrian leaned forward. "So you're the one who needs a body transfer, are you? The question is: Where is your own body, Miss Perez?"

"My body's not an option."

"And why is that?"

"It's decomposing at the cemetery."

Now Gray had his full attention.

"You mean you died and were brought back?"

"That's correct."

Adrian looked at Raj. "How could you keep this from me?"

Raj crossed his arms. "It's on a need-to-know basis."

Adrian looked back at Gray. "I'll do it, but I don't want money. I want to know how the spell was performed."

Gray snorted. "It didn't even come out right."

"Is that all you can think about? You were brought back from the dead. Death is final." Adrian leaned in closer. "I wonder, why you?"

Right, 'cause Gray was nothing extraordinary. That's what Adrian was implying, wasn't it? She narrowed her eyes. "Sorry, can't help. Don't know a thing about it."