Page 1 of Unhallowed Murder
Chapter One
Josef looked in the mirror and shook his head. How had he let Kendra and Fawn talk him into this? Dress slacks, no shirt, and these insane plastic fangs. Was thisreallyhow society expected a modern-day vampire to dress? At least the historical vampires were clothed respectably.
He heard the laughter of old friends on his way down the staircase and smiled despite himself. Abbott with Spence, Kendra with Eric, and he and Fawn weren’t an item, but it was nice neither would feel like a fifth wheel. He loved seeing the light in Kendra’s eyes once again — Eric had given her a reason to find joy in life, and while Abbott hadn’t needed a reason, he, too, was much happier with Spence by his side.
Josef didn’t need a partner to give him purpose. His job was to keep his coterie, his family, safe. He was head of security, andwhile the buck might stop with Abbott, Josef ran their security team of werewolves and tech geeks. The tech geeks were a new addition, but Josef had learned to roll with society’s changes over the millennia he’d lived.
He hugged Kendra, Fawn, and Spencer, shook Eric’s hand, and gave Abbott a small bow — enough to show respect to the Master Vampire without being over the top. Josef grew up in the military and appreciated knowing the chain of command. Such things were important.
Abbott and Spencer were dressed as vampires from the twelfth century, with Abbott as high royalty, and Spencer as a young man. Their scent clearly told him Spencer likely wore a plug and some kind of chastity device so the young wolf couldn’t touch himself or get hard.
Kendra and Eric were dressed as if from the fourteenth century — Kendra as a queen and Eric as her loyal knight. Josef was aware the two often switched up their power exchange relationship, which meant Kendra would likely be in charge when they enjoyed themselves in private later.
Fawn’s outrageous ball gown made her look like a Disney princess, complete with tiny waist and too-perfect hair. She’d gone so far as to add extra red on her lips, dripping down as if she were a messy eater. Delicate little Fawnnevermade a mess with her meals.
And Josef had at least managed to be a modern-day vampire. They’d wanted him to dress in a roman general’s attire, which was fitting, but he had no desire to go back to that time. The shoes aresomuch more comfortable in thiscentury.
“Are we ready, then?” Abbott asked, his hand on Spence’s back.
“We can all fit in my Q7,” said Josef. “We should take it instead of the limo, so we don’t draw so much attention.” At Abbott’s nod, Josef stepped back to allow Abbott and Spence to exit the room first.
As with all holidays, Halloween had drastically changed over the centuries. Josef tended to be cynical about these made-up social constructs, but he’d agreed to take his shirt off and spend the evening with the other leaders of his coterie. His family.
They started at a Haunted Hill not too far from the coterie house, and then drove north of the city to a Haunted Corn Maze. They’d do Dread Hollow later, and the haunted show inside the Ruby Falls caverns last.
Josef smelled a dead body on the walk from parking lot to corn maze, but barely gave it a second thought. From the smell, the person had died the night before, but he didn’t recognize the human’s scent so it wasn’t his concern. They were there to have fun.
Chapter Two
Ronnie stood in front of the mirror, hands on her hips, and blew out a breath. “I can’t believe I let ya’ll talk me into this.”
“At least you have the figure to pull it off,” said Mandy. “I’m over here showing every damned curve I have.”
Ronnie turned and pulled her friend into a hug. “You’re beautiful just as you are, and don’t let anyone make you believe otherwise.”
The five women had been close friends since high school, and while some of them had drifted away right after getting married, or while their kids were babies,everyonehad been able to make it tonight. Amy had made their Power Ranger costumes from unitards, which — as Mandy said —hidnothing.
Only two of the five didn’t have children, and Ronnie was happy to be an honorary aunt to her friends’ kids, but had no desire to become a mom. Her career was her life, and if her friends didn’t practically demand she spend time with them, it might’ve becomeallof her life.
Getting ready together was part of the fun of these nights, and Amy’s kids were with her ex-husband, so they were using her house for the pre-party. The women talked about kids, boyfriends, husbands, sex toys, and a book about to come out from their favorite author. Ronnie was happy she’d come, and she relaxed into the energy of the group. It was nice to step away from talk of homicide. The dead would be waiting for her tomorrow.
But she’d made enemies in her line of work, and that meant she rarely went anywhere unarmed. No one said a word when she looped her cross-body mini-purse over her shoulder and situated the bag at her hip. At least she’d brought her deep blue one that closely matched the blue Power Ranger color.
The evening was cool, but Ronnie was fine in the long-sleeved unitard. Her human friends brought jackets in case they needed them, but didn’t intend to wear them.
The Haunted Corn Maze was a madhouse of kids and adults, with most everyone in costume. Ronnie immediately identified it as a security nightmare, but tried to ignore those thoughts so she could have fun. The cop in her wasalwayswatching though, as was her inner tiger.
They rode the haunted hayride first, and screamed when the guy ran after them with the chainsaw — whichshe assumed didn’t have a chain on it. They ducked when the giant spider dove at their heads and barely missed, and just all around had fun reacting to everything the ride tossed at them.
The group stopped by the restroom when they got off the hayride, and made their way to the refreshment area. Ronnie’s cheeks tingled from the chilly night air, and hot chocolate would hit the spot. Mandy bought a funnel cake and insisted they all help eat it — and Ronnie happily took her up on the offer and then bought another to share. Shapeshifters need a lot more calories than humans, and her friends were always jealous that she could eat whatever she wanted and stay skinny. In truth, the tiger wasn’t a fan of the sugary snack, but she wasn’t going to buy a burger right then.
Amy looked longingly at the plate, and Ronnie pushed it closer to her friend. “We’re going to need our strength to walk through the haunted maze — you can afford a few calories!”
“I got hot cider instead of hot chocolate.” Amy scrunched her nose. “I don’t think they’ll go together.”
She probably had a point. “Do ya’ll want to walk through the arts-and-crafts section? Or go straight to the maze?”
“Let’s do that last, in case we want to buy something,” said Amy. “I’m hoping the woman with those beautiful quilts is back, but no way do I want to carry a heavy blanket through the maze.”
