Read Online Ghostsnaps (Knead to Know Book 4) by Liz Schulte - Free Book Online Page A

most people don’t think about things like that. When you meet someone in a coffeehouse, your first thought isn’t why did they find me? You just assume it’s kismet. But it wasn’t, not with Baker. He sought me out. He worked for Holden at the time.”
    “The jinni who took care of the reporter?”
    “Yeah, that’s him.”
    “Why would he send Baker to find you?”
    I shifted so I could better face him. “He didn’t send him. Olivia did because it was Christmas and she was looking for Holden’s family. Anyway, long story short, I’m related to Holden. However, I had no idea any of them existed—and at the time, I didn’t realize that one event was going to change my entire life forever. I started dating Baker.” I smiled a little, remembering what it was like. “He was different from other guys—like Humphrey Bogart brought back to life. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was so unique about him, but I fell hard for that man. And I fell fast. I didn’t protect myself because I didn’t know that I needed to. That’s part of what makes this time different.”
    I crossed my legs, tapping my foot in the air, gently rocking the truck with my movement. “The relationship wasn’t perfect—as Izzy likes to remind me—but there were times it was close to that. Then everything came crashing down and this world was exposed to me. Baker kept trying to push me away, and I didn’t understand. He didn’t want what happened to happen. He didn’t want me exposed to this world, and he didn’t want to be tied to me because he was already tied to someone else: Holden. That’s how the Abyss works. Holden and Baker had a partnership that meant more to him than I did. I couldn’t understand that for a long time, but I’m starting to see why. I was just another human, like countless others he had probably known throughout his long life. I was going to get old and die and all he could do about it was watch. The pretty picture of us that I had painted in my mind wasn’t something we could ever have. His purpose was bigger than mine.”
    Sympathy washed over his face. “How did he die?”
    “We had recently split and, of course, there was some major fiasco going on that Holden and Olivia were in the dead center of. Basically, there was this pathway to hell that needed to be closed, but required a sacrifice.”
    He whistled. “He sacrificed himself.”
    If only it were that simple. Baker couldn’t kill himself. That wasn’t the way it worked. I had to kill him. I had to watch him die. I was supposed to carry him out, but I couldn’t. The moment he died he burst into flames and I couldn’t withstand the pain. I froze and we almost lost him for good. For far too long after that night, I thought we had and that it was my fault. “Yeah. But what all this has to do with what we’re talking about is . . . well, I don’t know if I can ever love someone like that again. Just the thought of it makes my stomach churn. And if I’m being completely honest with you, I still love Baker. I know it’s pathetic. He’s gone. I’ve changed his diapers, for crying out loud, but in my heart, that isn’t Baker. My Baker is still in here.” I pressed my hand to my chest. “I think part of me is still waiting for him to come back. I will get over it and I’m headed in the right direction, but I’m not ready for anything serious. I don’t want to jump into anything again until I’m positive about the other person.”
    “Can we go back to the diaper bit? What does that mean?”
    I laughed to cover up my slip. I trusted Boone, but it wasn’t my secret to tell. Baker was a chol, which was like a phoenix. Whenever he died, so long as his ashes stayed together and weren’t lost, he was reborn. This last time, he had been given to Olivia and Holden when he was reborn as a baby. The main problem with other people knowing about him was that consuming his ashes could provide immortality. So it was information that risked his