Previous Chapter:

A truck driver had an unfortunate encounter with the mysterious Lilith. She killed three men in the last book, but was not the main adversary. Now she is back. 

New Chapter:

I can’t believe how much I love this woman. Greg sat across the table staring into Jenny’s dark emerald green eyes, wondering what the beautiful dark-haired woman was thinking. Probably wouldn’t have surprised him that she was thinking the exact same thing. 

It was their one year anniversary. The first year had been rough with the hag kidnapping Jenny, but now he was hoping they would have some peace and quiet. He had offered to take her anywhere she wanted to go. Her only request was for a night alone in the cabin with him. 

They were eating grilled steaks. There was a half-empty bottle of expensive California Zinfandel sitting on the table next to some romantic candles. Mary, Jenny’s mother, was keeping GJ and Temi at her apartment overnight as she often did on Fridays. 

“A turtle?”

“Yes.”

“White Feather really said my spirit guide is a turtle?” His wife frowned. 

“Yes, a turtle. What’s wrong with that?”

“Well, they’re old for one. And scaly.” She looked at him skeptically. “Besides, you get to have a bear. Now that’s awesome. I mean, who wouldn’t want to walk through life with a bear guiding them? I’ve got a turtle guiding me. I can walk faster than a turtle. Maybe I should be guiding the turtle? No, I want a bear, too. I chose a bear.”

Greg knew the wine was starting to hit her. I like it when she gets silly. “I don’t think it works that way.”

“What do you mean?” 

“I don’t think you get to choose your spirit animal. It chooses you.”

“Really?” Her skeptical look was back. “So share your bear with me, Spirit Guide Expert. I’m sure you have enough bear for both of us.”

“What’re you going to do with half a bear?” Greg teased her.

Jenny shrugged. “Half a bear is better than a whole turtle.”

“If you say so.” He smiled at his tipsy wife. “Whatever I have is yours.”

“Gosh I was really hoping you were going to say that.” Jenny got up and grabbed a bottle of Caramel Tennessee Whiskey and two shot glasses from the cabinet behind her. It was her favorite. “Now we can really get this party started and you can put your money where your mouth is.”

“I’m sure we can think of better places for my mouth.” They stared at each other intensely for a moment, then broke out laughing at his corny line. 

Jenny tossed a deck of cards on the table and soon they were playing strip poker. It didn’t take her long to have him butt-naked while she had only removed her socks and shoes. 

“What the hell, card ssshark?” Dang, I’m slurring. 

“Did you forget the strory I told yous about my hrandfather winning my hrandmother in a posker same . . . name . . . game? Is in my blood. Okayyy . . . I’lls makes it even." Jenny was seriously messed up now. She staggered to her feet and stripped off her clothes. 

The married couple matched shot for shot, until the bottle of Whiskey was gone and ended up staggering around the house naked. They made love in the kitchen, living room, and finally their upstairs bedroom before passing out. 

                                            *     *     *

Greg’s head was pounding, along with the front door. His face was stuck to the leather couch in a puddle of drool from his mouth. Something heavy was on his back. He looked over his shoulder and saw Jenny was sleeping on top of him. He could feel a wet drool spot on his back where her lips rested. How the hell did we end up back down here? 

More insistent pounding on the front door. Each bang punctuating the drum beating a painful rhythm in his head. He gently slid his wife into the crux of the couch and covered her naked body. Then he found his clothes in the kitchen and quickly dressed. 

Once he finally made it to the door and got it open, Jenny’s brother Jesse was standing there holding two large cups of coffee. “Sorry, Chief.”

“I told you not to bother me unless it was life or death, Jesse.” Greg was perturbed as he had told his officers it was his one year anniversary. 

“It’s the latter, Greg.” Jesse handed him the coffee. “You need this. You look like shit. No worse than shit. You look like a shit taken by a shit.”

Greg waved his hand at the man to silence him, and popped the plastic lid off the cup and sucked down half of the steaming liquid, pleased that Jesse remembered he liked it strong and black. Now he could talk. 

“The latter? You mean death?” The second half of the cup went down as quickly as the first. 

“Yes. They found a body out on 395. At the old trucker rest area. Agent Harkins requested you.” Jesse held out the second cup of coffee for him. 

“Wait, isn’t that yours?”

“You know I don’t do coffee. I’m a Mountain Dew man. Besides, I knew it was going to be a two cup morning. You and sis haven’t had a night alone in months.”

Damn, I love this kid. Not only because he’s a great cop, but because he brought me two cups of coffee. "So David Harkins requested me. The FBI’s involved? Isn’t that Watson’s jurisdiction?”

“Yep. Something big is going on out there.” Jesse shrugged. “ State Trooper Sgt. Berry Winston's out there with the state crime lab. So I weighed how angry you would be for me disturbing you against how angry you would be if I didn’t. And here I am."

“Right choice.” Greg put his shoes and socks on and holstered his gun, Bass, a nickname his buddies at his old precinct in Chicago had given it. 

“I thought so. They were insistent on getting you out there.” Jesse smiled.