Coffin Fit (The Grateful Undead series Book 4) (25 page)

Paul's chest stopped rising and falling. His eyes held firmly to hers, their lips less than an inch apart.

"Can we get going?" Jeni said, all serious, eyes unblinking, "A wedding dress doesn't pick itself out, bridal registries take time to set up—"

Paul covered her mouth with his. She palmed his chest and pushed him back an inch or two. "Not now, hon. I have a big-bad-wolf book to read." She started off in the direction of her home. "And you have a soon-to-be mother-in-law to deal with." She laughed as she strutted toward lights in the distance. "You thought a fight with a doppelganger was gonna be a bitch?"

He chased her laughter across a field to the Stech house.

~~~

Twenty-five

~~~

I crouched behind a dumpster in an alley across the street from the furniture warehouse located on a corner on the outskirts of town. It was an area in Leesburg that was frequented by drug dealers and loitering pedestrians day and night. There was an old home, long vacant, on the opposite corner with an exterior of mortar mixed with broken colored glass. Like most of the houses in this area, it was an abandoned business. I considered breaking in and setting up surveillance there but thought better of it. I figured if it was easy to get into, it was probably already taken by that time of night.

The hiding spot in the alley gave us a view of the building front, the street or alley on both sides, and a drain grate that led into the sewer located below the curb, circling the corner across the street.

Christopher was huddled up next to one of the alley walls, probably checking with Lily. Gaire and Gracie's double were crouching directly behind me.

"Any word from anyone?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Nan's located an elder," Luna whispered with Gracie's voice. "But that one is not comfortable with exorcising a doppelganger alone. Nan said the doppelganger is dressed in the corpse of a man. Lily told Frank—that's the corpse's name—that he smelled like roadside carrion. Nan laughed while telling me Lily then proceeded to tell the doppelganger wearing the cadaver it should consider my practices of doubling up, and listed several more reasons why. My grandmother is becoming very fond of your niece."

"Anyway, they're in route to meet with several more elders. Nan didn't mention anything about the real Gracie or your friends, but she did tell me Betty was with them."

I poked Marcus
. Did you hear that?

I did. And did you hear my conversation with Paul earlier?
Marcus nudged back.

Yeah,
I mind pushed.
But I'm still never going to be happy with it. And you know what? I think they had relations back when we were all in Miami for our visit with the council.

We are not going to theorize this.
Marcus's words mentally assaulted my anger
. I suggest your family rein in the gossip. Conjectures could be the death of them.
Your daughter is a grown woman. Need I remind you she was the only mortal in your immediate family that did not choose immortality over living her life the way she desired?

So, you coming now, or what?

Marcus chuckled.

I'd changed the subject because it wasn't leaning in my direction and there was no way I wanted to take up time trying to prove a point I now had no control over. My only consolation was Paul was going to be part of the family soon and his life was soon to become an open book. I smiled while thinking about it.

We are preparing to use the tokens. Karl, Razzo, and Randy will be with me, so I need you to be on your best behavior when Paul gets there. He's very tense about becoming a pack member to make this right. This will happen as soon as he arrives. Karl must bite him to leave the mark of the pack on his neck or shoulder. It is a solemn moment. Do you understand?

Are you telling me my daughter's frigging moving to Italy with my flea-bag, soon-to-be, son-in-law?

No. Did you hear a word I said?

I heard Paul is joining an Italian wolf pack! What the hell?

Only to keep this situation from becoming vital. His pack duty and responsibilities will be amended due to the circumstances. Paul has been promised entitlement to withdraw from the pacchetto after everything is settled with their upcoming marriage.

I huffed. All of that didn't concern me. My daughter was marrying a werewolf. That concerned me.

I will be by your side in less than five minutes, darling,
Marcus pushed, and then through his eyes, I saw him face three wolves in a room that looked straight off
The Tudors
miniseries set.

"It is time, gentleman," I barely heard Marcus say.

* * *

"Nanna!" Jeni shrieked the minute she entered the living room. "You're young again!"

"Huh?" Chick pulled her eyes off the dumb cell phones. "What are you talking about?"

Jeni ran through the kitchen and down the stairs to her bathroom. She was back in the dining room with a mirror in seconds. "Look!" She shoved the mirror into Chick's hands.

Paul came in through the sliding glass door, took one look at Chick and whistled. "How did that happen? You guys get hold of Raphael?"

Chick was dumbfounded. She kept jutting her face closer to the mirror, only to pull it away again. She turned her head from side to side, then dropped the mirror and pulled her spandex top out far enough for everyone to see clear to her naval. "Holy crap, my tits are looking up at me."

"Can you go ape-shit later?" Paul asked. "We need to get to a warehouse in Leesburg, like five minutes ago."

Chick jumped up, bounced on her muscular legs, and pumped her fists in the air. "Let's go kick some doppelganger ass."

"That would be hard to do, unless the doppelganger is dressed in a human, Nanna." Jeni took back the mirror Nanna was handing her.

Paul smiled at Jeni. "Go upstairs and get JoAnn. You two need to hop on surveillance. We'll need immediate word the minute you can catch Betty, Jake, and Gibbie's location. Your mother says they haven't had a word about them in a while. The doppelganger is wearing a rather risqué woman named Jane, blond, wearing leather. I've never seen a doppelganger on surveillance, so I'm not sure what will show up."

"I'm on it." Jeni pecked a kiss on Paul's cheek, and then turned to Chick. "Guess who's getting married, Nanna?"

"No!" Chick said. "The only better news would be that Susan doesn't know yet, and I could be the first to tell her."

"Sorry about that, Chick. Susan knows, but if it's any consolation, she's pissed and probably planning payback," Paul said with a smile. "I'm sure she'll fill you in when this is over with. You ready? We need to get to the meeting site."

"Hell yes!" Chick ran over to the altar and pulled the statue of Jesus off its doily. She kissed it and said, "Thank you. And tell your mother I said thank you, too." She put the statue back on the little white doily and headed for the front door. "My granddaughter's getting married!"

Jeni's laughter floated behind her as she ran upstairs. "Aunt JoAnn! Wake up! We have a job to do!"

* * *

Marcus stepped up behind me and knelt. Swiftly and stealthily, he grabbed me around the waist and slapped a hand over my mouth. I bit hard and started sucking.

"Ouch!" Marcus hissed and yanked his hand off my fangs. "How'd you know it was me?"

"I smelled you a block away—the minute you popped out of the sewer over on first."

"You didn't have to bite me, darling." His voice was soft and warm, his breath coppery sweet.

I had to argue with my body not to act uncontrollably stupid. I turned around, licking blood off my lips. "Yeah, I did. Be glad I'm not going to kick you in the ass right here in front of my new friends."

Marcus smiled at Gaire and Luna. "She's such a treasure."

The doppelganger and wendigo grinned.

Still squatting behind the dumpster, I waved a hand at the two. "Luna and Gaire."

Marcus nodded. "Did Luna's grandmother, or the other team, report anything new since we last made contact?" Marcus asked all of us, but he was looking at me.

"The real Gracie on the other team can only make contact with her grandmother who's working with Lily to find the elders, and then push the information to the carbon copy here." I grinned at Marcus. "Did you get all that?"

One corner of Marcus's mouth turned up. "I did."

He was so damned kissable.

It's been too long, love
, he pushed.

Warmth rushed a tingle in my lower region.

He laughed.

I tightened my jaw and turned to Luna. "Anything new?"

"Not yet, sorry," the duplicate Gracie said. "Unless Christopher got anything from Lily."

I added, "We did find out where Betty is. She's with Jake and—"

A threatening growl cut my words, and had Marcus and I both pivoting toward the shadows behind us where I'd seen Christopher a second ago.

Christopher was no longer there.

The growl was coming from a big ass guy circling Gracie. "This doesn't smell human." The guy snarled, and put his teeth against Gracie's neck.

"Neither does this," a black man softly said, nose against Gaire's ear.

"I'd back away from the wendigo," I told the black man, my voice slightly louder than Gaire's soft, but threatening growl.

Gaire's eyes were black, his teeth bared, and I could see his shoulder and back stretching his shirt. The wendigo was not challenging Randy, though. His warning was directed toward the big Italian.

"Please don't bite the doppelganger wearing Gracie," I told the man growling back at Gaire. "You do that and we lose our only contact with two groups of ghosts trying to help us."

"Stand down," a third wolf commanded softly, but with a shitload of authority. He was tall, muscular, and sexy with blue eyes and blond hair.

Both wolves backed up several steps. The guy giving orders must have been Karl.

"The doppelganger is a friend," I calmly said, surprised my teeth didn't chatter. "Her name is Luna. She's wearing a witch who is a necromancer. Her grandmother is dead, and meeting with Luna's elders." I pointed at Gaire. "The wendigo is Gaire, Luna's boyfriend. I wouldn't fuck with him. He is one badass looking ... thing when he shifts."

"We all know what a wendigo is," the black guy steadily said.

The big man bowed, averted his eyes, and bared his neck to Gaire. "
Scuse
, I was, how you say,
protezione, mio capo
."

Gaire dipped his head. "
Capisco
."

I almost pissed my thong. I stared at Marcus. "What the hell?"

"Sorry, love, let me properly introduce the wolves."

Marcus pointed to the tall, good looking man with blond hair and blue eyes. "That's Karl, the
Satori
of the Italian
pacchetto
."

Karl nodded and smiled at me. "Sorry about my men. They take their job seriously."

"Oh, and what are their jobs?" I asked, trying to establish something—hell if I knew what. The guy was magnetic.

"Protecting me," Karl said firmly, but one side of his mouth was turned up.

Okay, so he may have looked like a stud muffin, but even with the smile, the guy exuded alpha-badass, big time. But I had control issues, and his level dropped several notches on my stud muffiness scale.

Marcus continued. "The guy with black hair and plenty of muscles is Karl's second in command, Razzo."

"
Piacere di conoscerti bella signora,
" Razzo said.

He looked scary. I couldn't wait for Mom to get there. I had no clue what he said. I smiled at him, anyway.

"Randy, the dark-skinned man is the only non-Italian in the
pacchetto communi,
but has won Karl's first in command title. I'd say he's a wolf to be reckoned with."

Randy nodded.

"That was one hell of a greeting," Gaire said.

"Not like we haven't done worse." Luna smiled broadly and took Gaire's hand.

Marcus and I were still squatting behind the dumpster, and I signaled for the others to join us.

"Okay, so now that we got the pissing order down, have you heard anything, Luna?"

Crab-walking closer, she knelt beside me. "No. Do you want me to make contact with Nan again?"

"Could you?"

Luna moved back into the shadows, leaned against the alley wall, and closed her eyes.

Marcus was patiently squatting slightly behind me. I'd been peeking around his body to see the others.

"Got an ETA on Jake and Gibbie with the Jane chick?" Marcus encouraged Luna.

She put up a finger and shook her head.

Marcus's eyes were on my ass. I could feel it. "Susan, when did you stop aging and return to the vampire you were?"

"What?" I bolted straight up behind the dumpster. My fatty shorts fell down to my legs and I caught them with my knees. I felt a breeze on my ass through the leg holes on my granny undies. I quickly pulled my jeans up when soft laughter came from the shadows at the end of the alley. Dorius, Christopher, and Antoinette stepped into the circle of soft light cast by a pole lamp on the corner.

"Any of you guys got a mirror?" I asked.

At least the wolves made a damn good attempt to soften their laughter.

Dorius grinned. "Would you like to borrow my belt?"