by AE Jones
She huffed. “Sheila’s here, and it was a shock. I don’t know what to say to her.”
“There’s no rush.”
“She’s going to figure out something is wrong before I’ve thought what to say. And then I’ll bungle it.”
“From one conversation? I think you’re worrying about nothing.”
He didn’t understand women very well and now was not the time to get into it. “Have the guys seen anything?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Where do you want me next?” she asked.
Where, indeed? What would be the safest place for her? “Can you check out the tent?” He held his breath, waiting for her to protest.
“Sure.” She headed in that direction immediately.
He continued his rounds, ending up at the entry point. Jack nodded.
“Have all the guests arrived?” he asked.
Jack reviewed the list in front of him. “Yes. Everything’s normal so far.”
“Charlie and Connor are covering the wedding party. Send one of the Shucks to walk the perimeter. I have a job for the other one.”
* * *
The country club staff was putting the finishing touches on the interior of the tent. Crisp white linens sat on the tables, along with wildflower arrangements that perfumed the air. Once the last of the crew exited, Alex ran a practiced eye over the space. Everything was in order.
Had Devin sent her on a wild goose chase? She’d said yes to his suggestion to check the tent since she was flustered about Sheila and wanted to avoid the actual ceremony in the clubhouse. She had insisted on being included, so there would be no hyperventilation, heart palpitations, or hysteria allowed.
She turned to leave and stifled a gasp. One of the shucks stared at her from the doorway.
Alex swallowed hard. “Hey there, fella. What are you doing in here?”
He cocked his head and watched her with a look of bemusement while his tail twitched side to side.
“You should go keep an eye on the guests.”
Did he just shake his head? The shuck moved closer and sat down next to her. Before she could put a comfortable distance between them, he bumped his head against her hand. She patted his huge head warily, surprised to discover the dark fur felt incredibly soft.
“Looks like you made a new friend,” Sheila announced as she entered the tent.
“I guess so.” Or was it protecting her? She wouldn’t put it past Devin to orchestrate that exact thing. “Why aren’t you in the clubhouse? The wedding should be starting about now.”
Sheila shrugged. “I’m worried about you.”
“Why?”
“I’ve known you too long to play the ‘nothing’ game, Alex. You were acting weird earlier, and it was more than your wedding phobia. Have I done something to upset you?”
Crap. Too bad Devin wasn’t here so she could say, I told you so. “No.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
Alex glanced away from Sheila for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. It was not the right time for this conversation. She took a deep breath. “We do need to talk, but it’s going to have to wait until after the wedding, okay?”
Sheila studied her face, then took a breath to reply. Before she could say anything, a man wearing overalls entered the tent. He was carrying a metal canister with a spray hose attached to it.
“Can I help you?” Alex asked.
He kept walking toward the far wall of the tent without pausing or turning around. “I’m in here to spray for bugs.”
That made no sense to Alex, and she reached up and pressed her ear so the guys could hear her. “Why are you spraying now?”
He shrugged. “I’m just doing what I was told. The setup crew said they saw some ants up front and wanted me to take care of them.”
“We’re too close to serving dinner in here. It’s dangerous to have those chemicals anywhere near the food.”
He turned, tightened his grip on the canister, and moved toward her. The shuck growled and leapt. The man swung the canister and hammered it against the shuck’s head with a sickening thud, and the dog collapsed.
“No!” Alex cried.
He grabbed her and she struggled against his grip.
“Let her go!” Sheila yelled.
He backed toward the tent opening with Alex in front of him like a shield. Sheila started to follow, until he held up the hose.
“Don’t, Sheila. He’s targeting supernaturals. Stay back!”
* * *
Devin raced for the tent, pulling the gun out from under his tuxedo jacket, his heart pounding in time with his steps. How strange to have to rely on human weapons. “Jack, where are you?”
“Already on my way.”
Charlie broke in, “The wedding party is covered.”
Devin tore into the tent, hoping to find Alex. Instead he almost plowed into a woman who was rushing from the tent. The shuck lay unconscious next to her.
“Who are you?” Devin demanded.
The woman’s eyes widened as she stared at Devin’s gun. “I’m Sheila, Alex’s friend. Are you Devin?”
“Yes.”
“A guy grabbed Alex and ran toward the tennis courts with her. We have to go after them.”
“Stay here.” He took off and pushed his ear com. “Tennis courts, Jack.”
He ran onto the courts, but they were empty. Shit. Where the hell was Alex? “Alex, do you read me?”
Nothing.
“Alex!”
He ran around the courts, meeting Jack coming from the other direction. “Do you have her scent?”
Jack nodded and took the lead, following the trail into the woods. The further they ran, the more Devin’s alarm bells went off. He would not allow her to be hurt. Not on his watch.
He touched his com. “We’re coming for you, Alex.”
Her answering scream echoed through the woods.
Lorinda’s Wedding Tip: Use a firm hand when dealing with wedding crashers.
Chapter 18
Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!
The man dropped her and the canister on the ground next to a van and yanked the door open. Alex launched to her feet and took off running. A deep voice sounded close behind her.
“Get back here,” he growled, while his hands gripped her shoulders and brought her to a halt. He yanked her against his chest.
“Let me go!”
He snorted, grasped her around the middle, and tucked her under his arm like a football. Alex’s arms and legs dangled while he lumbered along the fence line back to the van, and her head spun while she struggled against his steel grip.
Her captor pulled her in front of him and displayed her to the man from the tent. “A new toy.”
The other man shook his head, and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Your new toy stopped me from spraying. Kill her. We need to get out of here before someone comes looking for her.”
“I’m going to keep her,” the behemoth announced.
A familiar voice answered him. “No, you’re not.”
The man spun around, taking Alex with him. Devin stood at the edge of the small clearing holding a gun. Thank God he’d found her. Behind them, a door slammed and the van raced away, tires screeching.
The man who held her captive didn’t seem too concerned about being left behind. Instead, he scoffed at Devin and pulled her in front of him like a shield. “What do you think that gun’s gonna do?”
Devin inched closer. “Let her go.”
“I don’t think so. You don’t scare me.” He flipped Alex around so she faced him, her feet still several inches off the ground. She gasped at her first sight of him. He couldn’t be human. His face was large and round, but his dark eyes were small and deeply set, with a black beard covering much of his face.
Before she could protest, he flung her over his shoulder, knocking the breath out of her in a whoosh. That did it! She was sick and tired of being treated like a rag doll.
But before she could get a
word out, he bent his knees and launched them into the air. Alex’s scream cut off when he landed with a thump on top of the tall fence. They were at least ten feet up, and he was holding onto the metal frame of the fence with his feet!
Alex closed her eyes for a second while her stomach bottomed out. Her fear of heights was not helping right now.
Why couldn’t she be normal? And why did everything have to revolve around her fears? She sucked in a breath, nearly gagging on his sharp, musky scent. When she finally opened her eyes, she couldn’t see Devin, since she was hanging precariously over the man’s back. She glanced from side to side and tensed when she caught sight of Jack sneaking up along the fence line toward them.
The monster holding her responded to her flinch and saw Jack as well. Dang it!
“Now he’s one I need to worry about,” he muttered.
He yanked her off his shoulder and dangled her in front of him. “Sorry I have to cut our play time short, pet.”
He flung her though the air, and she screamed in terror, her arms spinning in a frantic but futile attempt to slow her fall.
* * *
Alex flew through the air, and Devin’s heart stopped beating. “Noooo!”
He stood frozen and powerless while Jack bounded toward her. He wasn’t going to make it. Suddenly, three trees bent together, their branches interlocking just before Alex landed in their midst high above the earth. Thank the Fates.
A flash of yellow caught Devin’s eye and he jerked to the right, pointing his gun. Sheila stood several feet away with her arms raised above her head. She must be controlling the trees.
Jack came to a halt, and Devin jerked his head toward the fence. Jack loped away, morphing into his lupine form before racing after the bastard who had catapulted himself through the air, swinging through the trees. Damn simian demons.
Rustling sounded above him.
Sheila called up to her. “Don’t look down, Alex!”
Naturally she didn’t listen. Why would she? Her face blanched and she collapsed back into the branches.
“Alex!” he yelled, cursing his helplessness, cursing his lack of powers.
“Stay out of range until I can bring her down,” Sheila demanded.
He waited impatiently while she lowered her arms and the branches bowed to the earth and laid Alex gently on the ground. He lurched toward her, surprised to find his legs unsteady.
“Alex?” He knelt down next to her unconscious form and started to examine her. Other than a scratch on her neck, he couldn’t find anything else overtly wrong.
“How is she?” Sheila asked from behind him.
“I can’t find any broken bones. Maybe she has some internal injuries.”
“She’ll be fine.”
“She’s unconscious!”
Sheila smiled down at him. “I don’t sense anything seriously wrong with her. She’s afraid of heights. She freaked out when she saw how high up she was.”
His heart beat frantically. If only it was as simple as that.
Sheila interrupted his thoughts. “There are a couple of doctors attending the ceremony. Let’s get her back up to the clubhouse so that someone can take a look at her.”
Devin nodded. He picked her up gently and hugged her to his chest.
Sheila touched his arm to stop him. “What are you?”
He took a deep breath and inhaled Alex’s sweet scent. It was hard to equate the spitfire he faced off with yesterday to the fragile woman he was holding. If it hadn’t been for Sheila, she could have been badly hurt, or worse.
“I’m not anything anymore.”
Lorinda’s Wedding Tip: A love-smitten bride will often attempt to play matchmaker with members of her wedding party. This can lead to disaster.
Chapter 19
Alex opened her eyes slowly. When her vision cleared, she blinked at her surroundings. She was lying on a couch in a room she’d never seen before. Several tables were littered with makeup and mirrors, as well as piles of discarded clothes.
“How are you feeling?” Sheila asked from the chair across from her.
“I’ve been better.” She rubbed her hands over her face. “Where are we?”
“We’re in a dressing room at the country club. Do you remember what happened?”
Alex closed her eyes for a moment and then gulped. “Someone tried to sabotage the wedding, and then that monster grabbed me.”
Sheila smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Not a monster. Technically, he’s a simian demon.”
“That explains why he looked like an ape to me.” She sat up straighter. “Is the shuck okay? Did they have the wedding? Did the other guy get away?”
Sheila held out her hands. “Okay, slow down. One thing at a time. Yes, the shuck is fine. They’re pretty resilient. The ceremony went off without a hitch, and your grandmother knows nothing about what happened. As for the simian, he threw you to distract us and then got away.”
Alex’s brain was still fuzzy, and she shook her head to clear it. “I landed in some trees…how did I luck out?” One look at Sheila’s face, and she stopped babbling about her luck. Sheila’s eyes danced as if she had a secret. She’d saved her. Alex wanted to hug her, but wasn’t quite ready yet. “Thanks. That’s a pretty cool power you have.”
“I have the ability to call upon nature to help me. The real heroes were the trees that cradled you.”
“Well since I don’t speak tree, would you thank them for me?”
Sheila laughed. “I already did.”
An awkward silence followed until Sheila spoke. “How long have you known?”
Alex sighed. “I found out about the supernatural when Sydney Thompson turned into a seal in front of my eyes. I didn’t know about you until two days ago. I stumbled across the information in your wedding file.”
Sheila wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I’m sorry for not telling you, Alex.”
Alex interrupted her. “Don’t. After today, I understand why you didn’t. Devin has worked with supernaturals before, and he told me your life would be in danger if the truth gets out.”
“Devin is an interesting specimen. I can see why you’ve been so worked up about him.”
“I have not!”
“Well, he obviously cares for you.”
Alex’s breath caught even as she shook her head. “He thinks I’m in the way, and after today he probably won’t want me anywhere near him or his security operation.”
“I think you’re wrong. He was very upset when he thought you were hurt.”
Surprisingly, that bit of information cheered her up. She glanced over at Sheila, who had a sly grin on her face. Could nymphs read minds? It was time to change the subject.
“Do we know what they were trying to spray?”
“No, Devin has someone by the name of Gizbo looking into it.”
Alex smiled. “Gizmo.”
“Either way, it’s still a stupid name.”
Alex shook her head, her smile fading. “We need to solve this mystery and catch the saboteurs before someone is badly hurt.”
Sheila walked over to a bar, grabbed a bottle of water, and brought it back to Alex. “I’ve been thinking about that while you were napping here on the couch.”
“What did you come up with?” Alex asked before taking a sip of water.
“You need to draw these guys out.”
“Agreed, but how?”
“Use one of the weddings as bait.”
Alex’s eyes widened. “No, Sheila.”
“Hear me out before you object. If you have enough advance notice, and the cooperation of the bride and groom, you can set up a sting during a wedding, and stop these guys. Devin can plan for every contingency if we’re in control of the wedding details.”
“After today, I’d think these guys would want to lie low for a while.”
“Use a high-profile wedding.”
Alex frowned. “That might draw them out, but it puts Bennett in the spotlight, and could ruin the business.�
�
“If you don’t stop this soon, the business will be the least of your worries.”
Alex rubbed her temples. “Where is everyone?”
“Devin’s been pacing back and forth outside, waiting for you to wake up.”
“Have you met his team yet? He’s got some gorgeous men working for him.”
Sheila nodded. “I caught a glimpse of Jack in the woods.”
“Well he’s got an identical twin running around here by the name of Connor. I haven’t spent much time with them yet. I think you’ll really like Charlie.”
“Are you playing matchmaker for me, Alex?”
She sat up. “Maybe. You don’t have a problem dating humans, do you?”
Sheila stared at her intently for a few moments. She opened her mouth, and then paused before answering, “No.”
“Then I’ll introduce you to them. But first we have to tell Devin about your plan. I’m still not sure this is going to work.”
Sheila stepped in front of her with her hands on her hips. “You know it’s a good idea. You’re just mad you didn’t think of it yourself.”
Alex chuckled. Sheila knew her too well. “Fine. I’m in. Now we just have to convince Devin.”
* * *
It almost happened again. Devin paced outside the clubhouse like an expectant father.
“She’s going to be fine, Dev,” Charlie spoke up next to him. “The doctor said she’s fine.”
Devin continued pacing.
“Dev? Did you hear me? She’s fine.”
“Yeah, no thanks to me.”
“Bullshit. You did everything you could.”
Devin stopped pacing and glared at him. “She might have died, and I wouldn’t have been able to stop it. Don’t you get it? I’m powerless.” Hell, he would have saved her himself if he had them. But he didn’t. Couldn’t. Getting his powers back hinged on this case being a success and preparing for his hearing. And he was failing at both.
Charlie shook his head. “You’re not powerless. When I was a SEAL, I worked alongside human men. Amazing men who did not have supernatural powers, and they got the job done again and again. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.”
