The Grim Life: Book Three
Teenage grim reapers Max and Kody are already dealing with being dead... and now they’re expected to save the world.
With the help of their guardian angel, Slade, and each other, Max and Kody have finally discovered the destiny God planned for them—help the lost souls languishing in purgatory back to heaven. But they’re still growing into their roles. Kody, the Healer, struggles to understand the power born of his empathy, and Max’s abilities as Protector suffer because of longing for his best friend... along with Slade’s dire prediction that Max will lose Kody. So many are depending on them, and they’ll have to summon all the love and faith inside them to face a mass school shooting and bring love and hope to those who need it most.
NOW AVAILABLE!
Thank you, Tyra for hosting me on release day for the third and final book in my GRIM LIFE series. This series tells the tale of Kody, a suicidal college student, struggling with his sexuality and his faith in God. Max is the grim reaper sent to take Kody to heaven when Kody tries to kill himself. Instead Max feels a deep, unexpected connection with Kody and Max saves his life. Now they are both serving as grim reapers, taking souls to heaven.
But dating is tough, especially when you’re dead.
The third and final book in the series, THE LOST SOULS is a story of redemption, trust, and friendship. Max and Kody have recently learned they are a part of a special prophesy that tells or two souls, twin flames, who will bridge the gap between purgatory and heaven. A quick explainer, in my world, when a person dies they become a spirit, and that spirit is met by a reaper who will take them to heaven. Some spirits, however, choose not to go, and they become a shade, wandering in limbo, and that is the real hell. Recently some of the shades have learned to possess recently dead bodies in order to “live” again, and when they do that, they corrupt themselves and become wraiths.
The prophesy about Kody and Max is helping those souls lost in purgatory have a second chance at going to heaven. But they have to find the courage within and together to be able to attempt this dangerous but vital task. As they venture out, reaping souls, they discover their own strength with each crossover, because something big is coming… and one of them might not make it.
In the exclusive excerpt from THE LOST SOULS you can really feel how far Max and Kody have come in their journey.
NOW AVAILABLE!
EXCERPT:
“Do you think Slade will help me with some more shades before he lets us go out again?” Kody mused.
“Actually, he’s sending us out with Kelli as soon as you’re up to it.” I shifted until we were looking at each other. “She had a charge turn into a shade.”
Kody looked stricken. “Poor Kelli! No wonder she’s been so sad.”
I stroked his face until it softened. “I love your tender heart.”
With an amused sniff, Kody pecked the tip of my nose. “That’s all you love?”
“I love how brave you are,” I told him sincerely, hiding a smile. “Among other things.”
“I have a feeling I know what those might be,” he teased. Then he settled back on his pillow, staring up at the ceiling. “Do you think he’ll turn a wraith loose on us after that?”
“I hope not!”
“We’ll have to face them eventually,” Kody reasoned, sounding far calmer than I felt. His hand lazily trailed up and down my back, his expression thoughtful.
I nestled closer, cheek on his chest. “Slade hinted that we’ll probably start seeing wraiths too, not just shades. Said he’d send us on cases at all hours.”
“Yeah, no more easy cases after today,” Kody said, still contemplative. “Well, if we see wraiths, I suppose we should offer them the chance to move on. They’re human too, just on the wrong path.”
“So while they’re swirling above us, all creepy and cold, and looking for human vessels to possess, you plan on just asking them if they want a second chance?” I asked, incredulous. I tried to rein in my worry, knowing now how much my emotions affected him.
Kody shrugged. “Yeah, why not?” Just then, he seemed more confident than I’d ever seen him, and I couldn’t help but be simultaneously proud and worried. “We’ll help the shades and then wait for the wraiths to show up. You’ll protect our charges’ bodies while I ask them if they want to move on. If they say yes, then we’ll need all your strength to keep my emotions protected from theirs so we can help them.”
“If they say no?” I countered, unsure if I agreed with his far-too-logical and way-too-dangerous idea. We’d seen the horrors wraiths were capable of doing!
He flashed a grin, his blue eyes sparkling. “You can blast them to kingdom come, and we’ll get the hell outta there.”
Though I had serious doubts, I laughed at that, the sound rolling the tension off my body. I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation. “That it? You don’t want me to invite them over for a game of Monopoly?”
“No way,” Kody said, very serious all of a sudden. “Monopoly takes way too long to finish a game, and they would overstay their welcome. Interrupt my plans for the evening.”
“And what would those plans be?”
The smile he gave me was an impish one. “I don’t know. Any suggestions?”
“Tickling!” I cried, digging my fingers into his side.
He let out a squeal of laughter and squirmed and writhed beneath me, trying to escape my expert tickling.
He was bigger and stronger than me, and I didn’t really resist when he flipped me onto my back, pinning my hands over my head.
His cheeks were flushed, his hair askew and eyes wide and stern. “No tickling.”
“Okay, no tickling,” I agreed, voice husky from the way he had me pinned, his long lean body stretched over mine. I shifted my leg, never looking away from his face. He raised his leg in answer, repositioning our lower halves so his hips rested in between my thighs.
“It’s going to work out, Max,” he promised, voice soft and low. “You’ll see.”
“Pinky swear?”
Smiling, he released one of my hands and held up his little finger. “Pinky swear.”
I hooked our fingers, gripping hard and never looking away. I wanted to vow, then and there, to do everything to keep Kody safe, but it was both unnecessary and impossible. He already knew the depth of my devotion, and my throat was too tight to speak.
When we uncoiled our fingers, Kody pushed my hand back above my head and I let him. Our breathing synced and his face softened, eyes hooded with desire. His gaze dropped to my lips, and the grip on my wrists pulsed.
I held my breath and raised my chin, delighting in the feel of his heartbeat against my chest, the way he held me secure. A soft breath escaped me the second before our lips met. It was not a wild kiss, no tongue at all. It was soft, and radiated love and kindness.
While I marveled at Kody’s surprising new confidence, my own doubts and fears lingered in the corners of my mind. I forced them away. In this moment, I wanted nothing but to feel the touch of the person I loved more than anything in the world.
More proof Kody could sense and understand my feelings came when he took the kiss deeper, lingering—just like I wanted.
K.D. Worth has always considered herself to have the heart of a teenager with an old soul. When not talking to the characters living in her head, she loves to hang out at her favorite townie bar, then go dancing and partying with her husband and friends. There is always music playing in her home, and if it’s too loud, you’re too old! On the flip side, K.D. enjoys spending time in her vegetable garden, canning the food she grows, and making homemade jams and jellies. She also is known to crochet washcloths and blankets for her closest friends and smiles when they tease her for her “grandmotherly” ways. These two different sides to her personality create a layered tapestry of life experience that brings depth and believability to the characters she writes. She loves to hear from her fans almost as much as she loves her cocker spaniels. You can find her on online here: Facebook │Twitter │Bookbub
