Read Fated: Karma Series, Book Three for Free Online Page B

handles. “What are you buying?”
    He looked around, grabbed a bag of marshmallows and threw them in my cart before he tugged on my ponytail. “Nice get up,” he said, eyeing me.
    I thought it was. My tank top, although disarmingly lacy, allowed for good mobility, and my flirty skirt hid holstered knives, strapped to my thighs, which were easily reached. The only sacrifice I’d made was the beaded flip-flops with wedged heels. The girl in me couldn’t pair sneakers with this outfit, no matter how practical.
    “It’s highly functional.”
    “Just so we’re clear, I don’t want you disappearing anywhere with Paddy.”
    He had a point, but it was a point I’d seen for myself. “When did I become incapable of handling my own affairs?”
    “I’ve got more experience than you.”
    “At handling my affairs? I think that might be impossible, even for you.”
    “At handling everything.”
    His tone made it clear exactly what he meant to handle and the smirk made its return. It never seemed far away anymore. It was hard to be angry, frustrated, or really anything else when he looked at me like that.
    And I wasn’t the only one. Some dippy lady ran her cart into an end display, too preoccupied by Fate and his smirk to pay attention to where she was going.
    The pickle jars crashing to the floor broke the spell for long enough to get my senses under control. It was taking more and more these days but the overwhelming smell of vinegar helped. “I can’t do dinner tonight.”
    “That’s the deal we made.” The smirk was gone.
    “We didn’t actually ever make a deal.”
    “Is this about your twisted bucket list or the perfume?”
    I paused a minute. The perfume for Mother annoyed me but I wasn’t going to screw up the only reliable working partner I had because of it. Besides, flirting aside, we had a working relationship. I didn’t have any claim on him and I had to keep that straight in my head. Maybe the perfume was a good thing. It clarified things. He’d flirt and use all sorts of tactics to his advantage but it didn’t mean anything.
    I hoped the perfume was something sickly sweet as I tried to keep my voice from coming out as nauseating as I found his gifts to her to be. “Bucket list. I have to get them off the street.”
    I’d been trying to track down every person I’d saved for Malokin and had made a bucket list of sorts. Some people had a list of things they needed to do before they died. I had a list of people who needed to be killed before Malokin used them.
    “What time did you plan on having your killing spree?” He asked the question the way someone would inquire about when a tee time was.
    “Not a spree.” My shoulders drooped a bit. “It’s not that easy to get them all in one place. More along the lines of serial killings.”
    “I’m sorry. That’s tough.”
    “Are you mocking me?”
    “No. That really is a pain in the ass. I had to make sure a war started once. It was an ordeal getting everyone together long enough for things to click into place.”
    “Which war?”
    “I’d prefer not to say. I don’t like to brag.”
    “Did you feel bad about it?”
    “No. The guy was a total ass and I knew he was going to lose.”
    “But what about all the deaths?”
    “You’re letting your human show again. Death isn’t final, not for humans. It’s just a layover before you get back on the train. Why would I be upset about that?”
    “What about the people left behind and grieving?”
    “It’s not like they aren’t going to see them again.”
    “But they’re distraught for a while, sometimes for years and years.”
    “Years are nothing. You really need to get those human thoughts under control. It’s why you can’t lose the transfer nickname.” He reached over and grabbed an unbroken jar of pickles left on the display and placed them in the cart. “What time do you have slotted for your murder tonight?”
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m going with you.”
    I pushed the