Page 33 of Graveyards & Greed

“She’s a bit of a mess, but I got her to you as soon as I could.” He wasn’t exaggerating.

The body was bloated and split in places, and putrefaction had set in. The skin also had a greenish tinge to it, and bodily fluids were leaking from all her orifices.

No one had reported her missing or come forward to claim her body. The thought of being thatforgettableshook me. When Ezra died, and my friends and cousins found husbands and wives, could something like that happen to me? Maybe I’d sit dead for days at my desk in the embalming room after choking on a breakfast burrito.

My odd career and large mafia-style family weren’t conducive to long-term relationships. The last boyfriend I’d had told me after we broke up that it was lucky I was pretty enough to fuck, because otherwise I was too creepy and weird.

Ezra and Fenn found me as I finished cleaning up. “I dropped by your apartment last night with some dinner, but you weren’t home,” Ezra mentioned casually.

“How’s Declan doing, and did you leave the food?” I didn’t want him to ask where I’d been.

Ezra frowned. “He’s alright, and Daisy and Poppy are getting steak for dinner tonight. I made chicken Florentine and left it in your fridge. How about we eat it for lunch, and you can tell us about Drakos Creed? I saw him dropping you off this morning.”

Damn it, I’d forgotten about the cameras. I inwardly groaned and waited for the fireworks as Fennick slowly turned to me. “What. The. Fuck?Drakos Creed?” If he only knew.

“Don’t start,” I grumbled, holding up my hand.

“Luna’s a lost cause now that she’s married to one of those ambulance-chasing pettifoggers, but et tu, Brute?”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, my God. You’re such a drama queen. I’m not betraying you, dumbass. And what the hell is a pettifogger? Was that on your Word of the Day calendar?”

Fenn narrowed his eyes. “Drama queen? Sylvie, it’s Drakos Fucking Creed, for fuck’s sake. The man is a well-known player. He’s going to use you and move on to his next fuck buddy–or buddies.” His words stung, mostly because I worried about the same thing.

“Did you lose something, Fennick? Because your fat, ugly nose is in my business again, and if I wanted to hear from an asshole, I’d just fart.” Ezra sighed and held the bridge of his nose.

Fenn’s eyes narrowed. “At least I don’t have the decision-making skills of a three-year-old.”

I started toward him when Ezra finally intervened. “Enough, you two. Fenn, she’s an adult now. Start treating her like one.” He turned to me. “And you. Flatulence jokes? Really?” I opened my mouth, but Ezra kept talking. “The three of us are going up to the apartment to eat lunch together, and you two will talk civilly to each other thewhole time, or I’ll call Aunt Sandra and invite her—and her two sons—to Sunday dinner next week and let her know it’ll be at Fenn’s house, and you will be hosting.”

Fenn and I winced at the diabolical threat. Aunt Sandra excelled at mean, underhanded insults, and her sons from another marriage tended to pick their noses in public and had poor hygiene.

Lunch lasted just over twenty minutes, and I might have strained a muscle in my jaw, keeping my insults to myself. “What would you like to drink?” I asked Fenn in a sugary voice.

“Water is fine.” He looked constipated, and Ezra smiled benignly as he watched us struggle to behave. It was a relief to get back to the bloated corpse.

Chapter 14

Sylvie

Drakos stood outside the mortuary that evening, leaning against his Range Rover. When I walked out, he straightened, took my bag and purse off my shoulder, and wrapped his arm around my neck to pull me in for a kiss. His lips felt so good against mine.

Fennick’s dislike and disapproval of Drakos made me want to wallow in his arms even more. The kiss got away from me, and a few moments later, he drew back with a full-on grin.

“Did you work up an appetite then?”

I smirked. “Yes—for food. What do you have in mind for dinner?”

“We could go out tonight, but I realized today I haven’t taken you up to see my rooftop. There’s a garden up there and an outdoor kitchen.”

He had a rooftop garden, restored classic cars, played chess, and recognized a quote from Dante? Fucking hell. I needed to be very careful with my heart around him. Fenn was probably right about him being a player, but he fascinated and drew me like no man ever had.

Sliding into the passenger seat, I turned to Drakos when he climbed in. “A quiet evening on your rooftop sounds wonderful. I’m peopled out today.”

He tilted his head and glanced at me. “How many live people did you talk to?”

“Three. But one of them was Fenn. He also knows about us, so I apologize in advance because he’s going to come after you.”

“Don’t worry. Fennick and I will come to an understanding. The rooftop it is.”

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