Kate and her ominous assessment of my sister-in-law come to mind. What in the world would make her think that Emma is trouble? When I left this morning, Lexy was busy showing Kate all of the new social media apps she’s missed out on since the time of her demise. She even sent me a picture of the two of them with overlays of cartooned puppy faces and, of course, Lexy’s exaggeratingly long tongue swooping out at me for a quick lick. It’s strange seeing Kate in pictures taken just minutes prior. It’s odd seeing her anywhere. She’s dead. And considering the fact she doesn’t have a drop of angelic blood in her, she probably should have stayed that way. There’s no way in hell I’m letting Kate leave the house. She’s not one to be taken by the feds. And for damn sure, I don’t want to sponsor some post mortuary family reunion. We cannot tip off her family or else God forbid this blows up and the media gets involved. Things will fall to shit for the people of Paragon faster than you can say MarshallDudley.
I give a brisk knock over the slimy Sector’s door before letting myself in. I take that back. Dudley isn’t slimy. His intentions toward Skyla may not be chaste, but his deformed heart seems to be in the rightplace.
The spacious interior to his home is dimly lit. The fireplace lets out a muted roar as the flames fill the room with their glow. A murmur of voices stems from the dining room, and I head over to find Laken and Coop, Ezrina and Nev staunchly seated with Dudley at thehelm.
“I guess I’m late to the party.” I head in with a smile and slap Cooper five, but the expressions of just about everyone else remain cold asstone.
The entire lot of them rises to their feet atonce.
“We’ll discuss this in length at another time.” Dudley gives a slight bow like a stage actor coming to the end of this performance. “Mr. Flanders, I assume you understand what is expected ofyou.”
“Expected of you?” I look to Coop for a clue, but he merely grunts at Dudley as he heads to the exit. “What’s going on?” I try to slow both him and Laken down, but they seem determined to get to the other side of that door—can’t say I blamethem.
“Nothing.” He takes a deep breath and pats me on the back. “Looking forward to the big party you’re throwing this weekend.” His forced grin melts into a pained look of pity. “Are you really okay withthis?”
“Decimating my youth?” I grimace at the thought. The bowling alley will be destroyed soon after the big bash I’m hosting, and a part of me is dying all over again. “I’m petrified. But hey, do something that scares you every day, right? Isn’t that how the sayinggoes?”
Laken offers a sorrowful laugh. “I’m pretty sure Eleanor Roosevelt’s esoteric quote was suggesting something a little more positive.” She leans in and gives my cheek a pinch as if I were a child. “You really do look like Coop. You should bring your girlfriend around sometime and the four of us can double date.” Her entire countenance brightens at theidea.
“My what?” I’m momentarily perplexed, and before I can piece it together Coop laughs itoff.
“Logan and Lexy aren’t reallytogether.”
“What?” she squawks so loud Ezrina shoutsbless youfrom the next room. “But I thought—shesaid—”
“No, it’s my fault.” I grind my fist into my eye, trying to get both the fatigue and the regret out. “Lexy has this thing for me, and I can’t seem to get rid of her. I’m a one-woman man, and that woman happens to be Skyla.” The words grind down to a whisper, but I think they get thegist.
“I’m sorry.” Laken clutches at her chest. “I just thought—oh, never mind what I thought. How is she, anyway?” Her lips curl into a scowl. “We haven’t exactly been on speaking terms. I mean—outside of bumping into her, I’m not really calling or heading over to seeher.”
“Why not?” My heart thumps so loud it rattles me. I’m not sure why it kick-starts on occasion, but I’m always up for anything that makes me feel genuinely alive again, and usually I can trace that rare thump right back toSkyla.
“Because she eschewed my advice and insists on latching onto that rat with angel wings. Chloe is a menace, and as long as Skyla is buddying up with her, I can’t see our friendship movingforward.”
“Ouch.” Coop wraps an arm around his wife’s waist. “On that note, I think we’ll headout.”
“I’ll catch you later.” I don’t stop them as they head out the door, but Coop has to know I’ll be grilling him on whatever the hell was happening heretonight.
Nev passes me by with a wave while Ezrina lays her hand tenderly over her swollen belly. A few weeks back Dudley let me know the cat was out of the bag—or the baby as it were. I’ve always suspected Ezrina had a nurturing bone in her body, and now here she is making it come tofruition.
“Whoa.” I step in front of them blocking their path. “What’s going on?” They’re pretty loyal to Dudley, but hey, I let them live rent-free and eat all the pizza from the bowling alley they want, so it’s worth ashot.
“Frightful.” Ezrinashudders.
Nev leans in, towering over her from behind. “She means what you’ve done. How you think dragging the dead into this will play out in your favor is beyond me,” he says it sternly like a father to a child, and I can’t help but shed a tiny smile. Nevermore is going to make a damn good father. “We’ll see you back at thehouse.”
I take it that’s a hard no as far as letting me in on their little powwow. “Willdo.”
“Logan”—Ezrina pauses before they hit the door—“the girl’s head has been stitched on proper.” Her jowls harden as she glares my way. I know she’s talking about Kate. I asked her to help out with that entire headlessmess.
“And the corpse you resurrected, Ezrina? How is shedoing?”
The two of them suck in a fresh lungful of air, shocked as shit that I wentthere.
Nev ushers his bride out the door in haste as if I had threatened them. “We’ll see you at thehouse.”
“What’s chasing them out the door?” Dudley springs up from behind just as the two of them rocket through thefog.
“None of yourbusiness.”
