Murder, Mayhem, Monsters, and Mistletoe

by Lindy Spencer

  One

  Roman stepped into the darkened bedroom on cat's feet, doing his best not awaken his sleeping wife, Sabrina. Moving through the dark room, he stripped out of his clothes in silence before pulling the blankets back and sliding into bed beside his wife's warm body. In moments, he'd settled against the pillows and pulled Sabrina into his embrace. Feeling her snuggle against him with a little sigh, Roman closed his eyes and let sleep steal over him.

  Sabrina awakened slowly, luxuriating in the warmth of the blankets surrounding her. Sliding her hand across the bed, she reached for Roman, and felt a stab of disappointment when she realized that he wasn't asleep beside her. Before she could do more than register his absence, however, she felt her stomach give a mighty lurch. Clapping her hand over her mouth, she rolled from bed and bolted for the bathroom. In moments, she was on her knees before the toilet, helplessly retching. She wanted to call out to Roman, but knew he wasn't home. She could tell by the sound of the silence in the apartment around her that she was the only living being in the place. So she kneeled on the cold bathroom tiles alone and lonely, and retched into the bowl until she was certain she would shrivel up and blow away.

  This was the third morning in a row and the fifth in ten days that Roman had been gone when she awakened, and though she was certain it was business at the club that kept him out until well after she'd fallen asleep, and caused him to leave so early, it still unsettled her. Christmas was just a few days away, and she hadn't spoken to Roman face- to- face in days. To make matters worse, the apartment looked dark and dreary without the festiveness of lights and a tree, and though she was certain Roman wouldn't mind if she went ahead and decorated, she wanted to have him by her side, just like their previous two Christmases together. But for some reason, Roman didn't seem to want to spend any time with her, and the idea that he was growing more distant from her twisted her already oversensitive emotions closer to the breaking point.

  Pulling herself to her feet, Sabrina flushed the toilet and turned to the sink to rinse her mouth out and brush her teeth. Then, feeling as if she hadn't showered in days instead of hours, she pulled her old nightshirt over her head and dropped it into the hamper. Reaching into the shower, she turned it on. While she waited for the water to warm up, she turned sideways in front of the floor to ceiling mirror and studied her reflection. The four parallel scars that ran from her left shoulder, between her breasts, and down her belly before curving to her right hip were no more than soft and silvery fine lines that she took as much notice of as she would the color of her eyes. They were the reminders of a Strigoi attack that had occurred the first time she'd gone out with Roman. In the end, Roman's friend, Caine, had saved her life, but Roman, with his love and devotion, had saved her very soul.

  Running her hands over her body, Sabrina noted the slight rounding of her belly and cradled her hands protectively over it. Closing her eyes, she sent a silent prayer heavenward.

  Just a few more days, please, her heart whispered.

  Then, before she could be caught up in maudlin thoughts and worries, she shimmied out of her panties and dropped them into the hamper before stepping into the now steaming shower.

  Thirty minutes later, Sabrina sat down to a small breakfast of fresh fruit and plain scrambled eggs. She took a bite of the eggs and looked up to give Morgan, Roman's right hand faun a smile. "Perfect," she said, meaning it.

  "Miss," Morgan began, wiping his hands on the hand towel he carried with him, "Don't you think it's time to tell him?"

  Sabrina set her fork down with a little shake of his head. "I don't want to get his hopes up just yet, Morgan," she said in a soft voice, "Just a few more days, until I'm certain."

  Morgan gave a stiff nod, obviously not happy with Sabrina's words, but knew it would be useless to try to talk her out of the course she'd set herself upon. With a sigh, he returned to the kitchen to allow Sabrina to finish her breakfast in peace.

  Roman stared at Callahan Salter, unable to believe that yet another issue had cropped up. "Are you kidding me?" He asked in disbelief, "Who let them change the reservation like that?"

  Callahan shook his head. "I don't know," he replied, shrugging, "But Alex won't be here to cover the kitchen staff that evening." He gave Roman a commiserating look. "I can do double duty that evening, if you need me to," he offered, "As long as no one expects me to do any of the actual cooking."

  Roman gave a mock shudder of fear at the thought; Callahan Salter had become rather well known for being an agent of culinary disaster; the man had once burned water. Picking up the phone, he dialed the kitchen extension. A few spoken words later, he sat back in his chair and gave Callahan a steady look. "I'm leaving standing orders that you are never to be given so much as a pot of water to boil," he said dryly.

  A quiet knock sounded on the office door a few minutes later and a tall, blonde haired and blue eyed Adonis walked into the room.

  "Alex," Roman said, warmth in his tone, "I'm desperate here, man." At his head chef's questioning look, Roman went on. "The Bennett party added twenty more guests, and three are special meal orders."

  Alex closed the door behind him and sauntered across the floor. "And this has made you desperate, why?" He asked, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled.

  Roman pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes closed. "Alex," he sighed, striving for patience, "Twenty more guests and three more special meals means that many more ways for the staff the screw things up without you there to make sure things are right."

  Alex hitched a hip up onto the corner of Roman's desk and crossed his arms over his chest, causing the sleeves of his chef's jacket the strain at the seams. "Roman," he said, his words layered with a heavy French accent, "This is nothing; I will simply tell the kitchen staff of the change, and you will trust them to do what needs to be done to ensure that everyone will be delighted with not only the food, but the entire evening."

  Roman stared up at Alex in silence, his eyes narrowed. The quiet between the three men stretched unbroken, until Roman finally heaved a heavy sigh. "You're right," he told his head chef, "Your staff can handle the extra workload." He stood and turned to Salter. "Go ahead and hire the extra security you feel you need for that night." At Callahan's nod, Roman turned to Alex. "I trust you to make sure everything goes smoothly."

  "Roman," Alex rumbled, "Relax. Nightshade is in good hands. Take your woman and run away with her before I do it for you."

  Despite knowing that his friend only teased, Roman still found himself growling possessively and flashing his fangs in annoyance. "Alex, you go too far," he threatened, turning on his head chef and taking an aggressive step in his direction.

  Recognizing that Roman's temper was frayed to the breaking point, Callahan stepped between the two men as Alex straightened with a cocky grin wreathing his too handsome face. "Roman, settle down, Alex is only teasing you," he said, his tone calm and implacable. "And Alex, if you value your life, you will stop baiting him."

  The tension ebbed, but didn't vanish completely; Roman was too keyed up and Alex was having too much fun poking the bear.

  Grumbling and growling, Roman began to pace. This was the third time in a year that he'd wanted to take Sabrina to their cabin in the mountains. The first two attempts had been scrubbed due to last minute emergencies at the club and he'd had to break their plans, much to Sabrina's disappointment. He'd vowed that this time would be different. This time, he would make sure that nothing would go awry. This time, nothing would stop him from absconding with his wife for a Christmas weekend of gift giving and love making. He'd even asked Morgan to have a tree delivered to the cabin and decorated, the lights set on a timer, so that the very first thing Sabrina would see when they walked into the warm, snug cabin would be a Christmas tree in all its festive glory.

  And here Roman felt a twinge of regret; Christmas was Sabrina's favorite time of year and he'd purposefully held off taking her to pick out their Christmas tree for the apart
ment, and was even now, pretending that Christmas was the farthest thing from his mind. He knew the lack of decorations, Christmas cookies, and carols made his wife feel a little blue, maybe even a little confused. However, if everything went as he planned, his surprise would be perfect and she would realize all that he'd done, just to make her holiday perfect.

  Nodding more to himself than Cal or Alex, Roman sighed and sat down behind his desk.

  "Go," he told the two men, "Do whatever needs to be done. Oh, and whichever one of you sees Amanda, send her to me, please."

  He listened to their murmured agreements then put them out of mind as they quietly left the office. With a sigh, he picked up the framed photo of Sabrina that sat on the corner of his desk and touched her smiling face with a fingertip. "It'll be worth it, baby," he murmured, "I promise."

  Thirty minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door, and as Roman called out for Amanda to enter, he gave the photo of his beautiful wife one last lingering glance as he set his pen aside and looked up. Sitting back, he watched as Amanda- pretty, vivacious, and curvy Amanda- bounced into the room. He knew if it had been up to Sabrina, Amanda wouldn't have been hired just because of her head turning looks but Amanda had the skills and experience needed for the job, and had a knack for dealing with the more exotic of the supernatural beings that frequented Nightshade that the other candidates hadn't possessed. Amanda was bright, vivacious, and possessed such a positive attitude that anyone who encountered always felt better for it. Case in point: as she breezed into the room with a cheery greeting, Roman noted absently that a bright red Christmas bow decorated her shoulder length dark hair, and found himself smiling, in spite of himself.

  "Hey, boss," she said, with a cheeky grin, "I just got back from my mission."

  "Good," Roman said, clearing off his desk to make room, "Show me what you found."

  Grin widening, Amanda did as he asked.

  "I won't be long," Sabrina told Morgan as she shrugged into her wool coat, "I'm just meeting Gaela and Ava for lunch and then doing a little shopping. I'll be home around five-ish."

  Morgan murmured his understanding as she opened the door and watched as she left the apartment, knowing this little venture was simply because Miss Sabrina was bored, restless, and lonely for her husband. A slight frown of disapproval marred his features as he considered Roman's actions, or lack thereof, lately.

  Roman Arceneaux was a focused and driven business man, and had been for most of his centuries' long life. Unless something drastic had occurred in the last week and a half, he'd also reached the point in his life that he had surrounded himself with people capable of insuring that operations ran smoothly with minimum guidance from Roman. So his late nights and early mornings were not easily explained away. The man was up to something, but Morgan didn't know what. It wasn't another woman, though anyone else who didn't know the half-breed as well as Morgan did, would immediately assume such a scenario. But Morgan knew better. What irritated him was that Roman had failed to keep Morgan in the loop, and as a result, he didn't know how to comfort Miss Sabrina now that she was beginning to grow worried over her husband's sudden apparent lack of interest in her, their marriage, or even Christmas.

  With a heavy sigh, Morgan turned to the kitchen, deciding that perhaps a batch of Christmas cookies would cheer Miss Sabrina up.