Free The Ravaging in Between (The Reanimation Files Book 3) by A. J. Locke

it’s like this every day. Ghosts that get drawn to us are redirected by our competitors before they even get to the lobby. The necromancers Jacob hired are mostly people who just finished their certification and were looking for their first job out of school so they could start earning some money. They spend the majority of the day doing track and retrieve. Those are the only clients we get.”
    “Well, that’s where newbies start out anyway,” I said. “But if they aren’t able to help more ghosts, Affairs will definitely sink. The government funds ghosts agencies based on how many ghosts they help. If Affairs is no longer pulling in big numbers, the funding stops.”
    “Then I’m really out of a job,” Amy said nervously.
    “Maybe you can finish your degree and work part-time somewhere else while you do so,” I said. “Outside the ghost agency business. It might be good to take a break from that.”
    “I sure wish I could,” Amy said with a sigh. She looked tired, like there was more on her shoulders than her work status. “I’ll let Jacob know you’re here.”
    She called Jacob to relay that I was here. Then she indicated that I could head to his office, aka Andrew’s old office.
    I headed to the hallway where Andrew’s office was located. It was a familiar walk, but one I had never walked with quite so much reluctance. I hesitated outside the door, then knocked. Jacob invited me in, so I opened the door and stepped inside.
    “Selene. Please have a seat.” There was no hint of emotion in his voice. I took a seat on the chair in front of the desk.
    “Let me be frank with you, Ms. Vanream,” he said. “I find myself very troubled and puzzled over the demise of my brother and this company, and it is very clear to me that you are at the center of it all. Trouble seems to follow you wherever you go, if the events of the other day are any indication.”
    “Look, Jacob…”
    “Mr. McNabb. And I am not finished speaking.” His tone was so stern I actually sat back in my seat to give myself a little more space away from him.
    “What happened to my brother?” he said. “I need to know. You got him murdered, that much I am aware of. As well as the fact that his ghost was anchored to the living world through you, but it appears so much more happened.”
    “Ja—Mr. McNabb, it was never my intention to get Andrew killed. I did everything I could to stop it, but I wasn’t able to get to him in time. Yes, it was because of certain circumstances in my life that Andrew was killed and his ghost anchored, but none of it was of my choosing and I am very sorry that any of it happened. I am well aware of the damage caused, and not just to Andrew. There’s no way I could possibly make it up to you or anyone else who has been affected.”
    “You did not answer my question,” he said. “My brother. My anchored ghost of a brother. What happened to him?”
    “You want the full, dirty truth? I’ll give it to you.”
    I wasn’t going to hedge around what went down with Andrew in his condo. “Andrew was obsessed with me in life and it carried over into his death. He wanted to be with me and there was no logic that could convince him otherwise. Without anyone knowing, Renton Morse created a new body for his ghost to inhabit. He then kidnapped, tied up, and beat up my boyfriend, then he absconded with me to his condo where he forced me to wear lingerie, eat dinner and dessert, and dance in front of my said bound and beat-up boyfriend. He then took me to his bedroom to have sex, which I can assure you, I was not a willing participant of. I used the opportunity to stab him with the heel of my shoe. A fight ensued, and the damage sustained to Andrew’s new body caused it to disintegrate, and his ghost followed suit. Renton Morse is at fault for that. That’s the long version. The short version is that Andrew simply does not exist anymore. I am sorry that the truth is so ugly, but that is the truth.”
    Jacob was