Blood, Sweat and Demon Tears (The Grateful Undead series Book 3)

by Susan Stec

  Dorius ran his fingers over his goatee, his facial expression in contemplative mode. "Have you made preparations involving the surveillance of the French Quarter?"

  Chick rhythmically clicked a pen opened and closed against a small desk, studying the pages of a yellow pad in front of her. "Yeah, Susan and Marcus will be on a motorcycle, surfing the streets and alleys. Jeni and Lily will remain in the communications van. Zaire and Betty will start at one end of town—Paul, and Jake, the other."

  Chick looked up and locked eyes with Dorius. "Now here's where it gets tricky. Gibbie's a no-brainer; he can't be seen by mortals, so he can buzz around, in and out of the establishments, checking in with Paul and Jake; but I'm thinking I want Paul in wolf form at the end of a leash that Jake will be holding. He's been to all of the crime scenes, and I figure if the rogue is there, he could catch a scent better. Even more importantly, the vamp won't be able to catch Paul's scent while he's in wolf form."

  "Don’t you think Jake, walking a wolf down the avenue, would attract more attention?" Dorius asked.

  "No, because it's like a friggin' zoo down there. Christopher and I have been checking out the locals, and in this town, almost anything goes. Hell, they have bars in the Laundromats open twenty-four/seven. Just about everyone is lit up like Macy's on Christmas Eve. But immortal speed is an issue. I think I can count on Zaire and Betty to be discreet, but my daughter has a whole trash bag of issues when it comes to following orders—whether Marcus is around or not. That's why they're getting on the damn motorcycle. And besides, they can cover a lot more ground on wheels, and get outta there a hell of a lot faster, should anyone spot Eric. We bought a nice Harley, all decked out, yesterday. It's parked in a local garage."

  Dorius' lips twitched. "Does my brother know he will be maneuvering around town, straddling a motorcycle? Zaire would have been a better choice."

  "Yeah, Zaire was my first choice. But I need to chain my idiot kid down. It's gonna be tough for Susan to leave that spot behind Marcus' ass, since they'll both be decked out in wedding ensembles." The corners of Chick's lips turned up. "Believe me, the ones I picked out will have those mortals turning their heads if we should find ourselves in need of an acceptable distraction."

  Dorius strategically placed his index finger under his nose, hiding a smile under his palm. "What about Resi?"

  "That's where you come in. I figured you wouldn't sit around BAMVC twiddling your thumbs—not with your mate here." Chick laughed, eyes darting to Christopher for a second, then back to Dorius' image. "I know you got married and mated this morning. Now you and Betty will have the same advantage as the rest of the idiots on the team. No one from our world can read your immortality now. That's another reason Christopher and I will not be joining you guys. The vamp would smell us a mile away. Anyway, I paired you off with Resi. You can act like a well-lit couple, staggering around the Quarter."

  Dorius hooded his eyes, brows reaching for each other. "Your knowledge of the event is not only unexpected, but clearly updated as far as my mate's whereabouts during the hunt. I haven't discussed my decision to join the group with Betty as of yet; and I'm going to try one more time to discourage her from participating. I was waiting to see if she showed up at the altar, and then allowed me to mate with her afterwards before making my decision to join the group final. You may have to alter your roster; she will not be going out properly unattended."

  "Resi talked to Zaire this morning after the wedding, and before the shopping trip they were going on," Chick informed him. "Zaire told her you guys mated, but she's not the one that mentioned you joining in on the hunt." She gave Dorius a toothy smile.

  "I can't figure the blasted woman out," Dorius snapped, his hand waving in the air as he paced in front of the screen. "Not even now that I am free to roam her very cluttered mind." He turned to the laptop. "I suppose Dennis' tongue was waggling as soon as he purchased the plane tickets this morning!"

  "Not with me. He just got off the phone with Christopher."

  Dorius hissed, "The gosssiping little twit! We will be having yet another talk about his loose lips, my station, and the need for absolute privicy in my personal affairs."

  "Hey, welcome to my world," Chick snickered.

  He glared at Chick. "Where is Christopher?"

  "On the bed, sucking a blood bag."

  "I will expect both of you to keep your mouths shut when the team arrives, or pay the consequences."

  Chick turned away from the computer. "Speaking of the team, here they are." She turned the screen toward the door in the hotel room. "Say hello."

  Dorius composed himself and addressed everyone ambling up to the screen. "Chick and I have been going over the arrangements for tonight's meeting. She will instruct you. I will be contacting you after I meet with Elizabeth and Zaire in," he glanced at his wristwatch, "three hours. The plane leaves here around seven. I will fill them in before they leave."

  Marcus stepped up to the screen. "I hear congratulations are in order. I insist you and your bride join all of us in Chick's room for a little celebration before you cut her loose for the hunt tonight."

  Dorius' eyes went from blue to black, and he became rigid. "The gods be damned! My bride doesn't even know I will be joining her, yet it seems every other member of my team does! I'm going to kill Dennis a second time before we leave tonight."

  * * * *

  When the screen went black, the grin on my face turned into an angry scowl and I turned on my mother. "You are such a pain in my ass! I can't believe you stole the only phone I had to talk to my sister, then dragged my partner off on some wannabe demon chase, after some wannabe vamp you saw in an HBO series, who turned out to be the frigging rogue, out killing humans!"

  "Okay," my mother said, military eyes scanning the group, visibly ignoring every goddamned thing I just said. "I booked five more rooms."

  I was fuming.

  Marcus was laughing in my head.

  Tootles whimpered, and wiggled between Jeni's feet.

  The rest of the group stood silent, probably waiting for this to play out.

  My mother marched over to the dresser, picked up a pile of key cards, and began to hand them out as she paired us up. "Paul, Jake and Gibbie, room one-oh-four." She slapped a key in Paul's hand. "Resi, Zaire can join you when she gets here," she shoved a key at her, "room two-eleven." She handed Jeni one. "Jeni, Lily and Tootles, room two-twelve."

  With hooded eyes, she bared her fangs at me and hissed, slipping a card in Marcus' hand. "Marcus, you and the bane of my motherhood are in room one-fifteen," she said, walking over to the empty bed beside Christopher's.

  Christopher giggled. My mother whipped up an ashtray, and in Frisbee style, with a speed only an immortal could possess, tossed it at him. His hand, equally fast, reached up and snatched it out of the air, placing it gently on the bedside table.

  Lily held Jeni's hand, a big smile on her cherubic face. "I feel just peachy, Grandmother. It's so lusciously delicious to be in the same room with all of you."

  Mom shot her a pair of Italian eyes. Lily licked her lips, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply. A vision of Hannibal Lecter, doing that succulent, lip-sucking, tongue thingy flashed through my mind.

  Slapping a card labeled "honeymoon suite"—clearly for Dorius and Betty—against her palm, Mom eyed each one of us, and continued. "You can all go get settled in; we'll meet back here in one hour to go over the plans. No one leaves the hotel until we leave for the French Quarter around midnight. That gives you about six hours to get some rest after the meeting."

  Turning to Jeni, she said, "Don't go out for food tonight, order room service and put it on the BAMVC tab." Looking around the room, she asked, "Any questions?"

  "Yeah," I said, "who died and made you boss?"

  ~~~~

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  ~~~~

  "You're not pissed Dorius is coming?" Zaire said, tossing her duffel bag on the floor of the conference room before taking a seat next to Betty.<
br />
  "Nope," Betty answered, stretching an elbow across the table, her red fingernails buried in her Dolly-hairdo. "Why do ya think Dennis blabbed it ta everyone, but me? I'll tell ya why—to get a rise out o' me. Ain't givin' him the satisfaction. 'Sides, blood-for-brains fucked up, not Dennis. My mate shoulda told me first."

  Zaire laughed. "Yesss! Dorius is going down. I can't wait to see him try to worm his way out of this one."

  "No big deal. I'm just gonna strongly suggest we go shoppin' after we catch the rogue," Betty said with a grin, straightening bulbous breasts under her leopard-print tube top. "Payback's a bitch."

  Zaire held a laugh back. "Damn, girl! I like your shit. Resi's gonna love you."

  "Not too much, I hope," Betty said. "If ya get my drift."

  "I'm talkin' about shoppin'," Zaire said. "I fuckin' hate it—not my thing—but it sure as hell is Resi's thing. Gonna take a shitload of pressure off me. Just mention shoppin', you got a partner—I get a break."

  Warren sauntered into the room. "Who's gettin' a break?"

  "You're not. Gonna clean the streets in the French Quarter with your ass," Zaire said with a burst of laughter, resting her boots on a chair beneath the opposite side of the table.

  Warren slapped the body part Zaire mentioned into a seat at the end of the table. "Bring it on."

  Dorius stepped through the door, frowning discomfort as he nodded an acknowledgement to Betty before placing three folders in front of the chair at the head of the table. "I will be joining the pursuit."

  "Oh, goodie!" Betty said, clapping her hands, a big smile accentuating her lavishly glossed lips. "I was gonna ask you ta come along. I want some mate time, baby."

  Dorius smiled with relief as he slid into his seat. "That will be exceptional, darling."

  "Yeah," Betty said, batting her eyes, "nothin' like doin' things with my man. You can show me the ropes. Then we can go over my weaknesses during breakfast in bed the next morning," she dropped her fangs, "an' then we can wrap up the trip with a little shoppin' on the avenue."

  Zaire and Warren stared at Dorius, their anticipation written all over their faces.

  Dorius cleared his throat. "Well, we'll see. We may not have time for shopping, Elizabeth, but the time we do…"

  "Sure we will, sugar-lips," Betty said, retracting well-lubed fangs. "Yer the boss, right? You give the orders—they follow them. And I gotta tell ya, darlin', it's such a turn-on, especially when ya make special time fer little ol' me. I'll even cut ya some slack with the name thing, sweetie, since yer so busy an' all."

  Dorius' nostrils flared, his teeth grinding a tight jaw. "If there is nothing more pending, we'll see, Elizabeth."

  Warren pulled his Red Bull ball cap over his face and coughed ahead of a laugh.

  Grinning madly, Zaire said, "So, what's in the folders?"

  "The plans for the hunt," Dorius said, his eyes still on Betty. He licked his lips and continued. "Chick was not briefed on Warren joining us, but I'll call her and make sure she adds him to the roster."

  "Why’s that, sugar?" Betty wanted to know.

  Dorius looked deadly earnest. "Because I was still hoping to discourage you from going, Elizabeth, and I was going to leave Warren here to help Dennis... keep an eye on you, but after giving it more consideration, I decided… I'd prefer to go and keep an eye on you myself." He smiled, his eyes locking on Betty's.

  "Aw, that's just so sweet," Betty said, all sugar and honey. "It just makes me want ta buy ya somethin' real special when we go shoppin' in the French Quarter tomorrow afternoon."

  Warren was working really hard to keep his mouth shut, sucking both his lips between his teeth.

  Zaire studied everything in the room, but Dorius. Her lips curled around her fangs.

  "You'll have plenty of time to review the file on the plane," Dorius cranked out, all business like. "For now, Warren can insert himself in my place with Resi, and I will accompany Betty on the avenue."

  "The fuck you say! Why can't I be with my mate?" Zaire spat back, her black hair whipping her face. She flexed her muscles under her white wife-beater before leaping out of the chair and strutting around the room.

  "Because I'm sending you with Chick and Christopher." Dorius replied as he calmly adjusted the leather bolo under the collar of his blue, silk shirt.

  The phone on the table rang, and before Zaire could put up any further rebuttal, Dorius hammered the "speaker" button. "Yessss."

  Dennis' voice flowed from the speaker. "The limo is now in the driveway in front of the building, at your service, oh gracious one."

  * * * *

  "Fuck me—I am not wearing this damn dress!" I yelled the minute I stepped into my mother's room. I yanked at the hem for the umpteenth time since putting it on, trying to cover the black, silver-studded undies, which barely covered my ass. "Come on! I can't fight a rogue in four-inch hip boots, either." I looked down at the blood-red boots, tipped in silver, and embroidered with black roses. "I look like a drag queen, and the damn dress is heavy. There's enough stainless steel hanging from this outfit to forge a whole new set of pots and pans."

  Jeni giggled. "Red dress, red hair; the two reds do clash terribly, Nanna. Maybe we could stuff her hair into Marcus' hat. Then her head would match her undies."

  I tugged on the dress again. "Damn it!"

  Marcus said, "You'll be straddling a motorcycle, darling. The red dress is an excellent diversion. I can't seem to take my eyes off your…"

  I glared his mouth shut. Easy for him to say—his ass was covered, and he didn't have a shitload of metal weighing him down.

  He wore a black leather tux jacket over a red, silk shirt with a tie made from a sprocket chain. Leather pants fit him like a second skin and he had black boots with leather straps around the ankles, held together by silver rings. The black leather cap was pulled down to his brows. Dark, wavy hair, tucked behind his ears, and fanned out over his back and shoulders. Damn it, I would have liked to shimmy those pants down and hop on. That is, if I could hop in this frigging dress! "Gimme the damn hat!"

  Marcus adjusted the cap. "I think it would be a shame to hide those flaming curls, whipping around your creamy white skin, accentuated by your green eyes, under this cap"

  "I'm bringing my jeans and a t-shirt and tennis shoes," I said.

  "No, you're not," my mother said about the same time Resi walked into the room and started dancing around everyone. Suddenly I felt a bit better.

  Resi's outfit was way over the edge. She wore a pair of double-skinned, translucent jeans filled with what looked like lime-green and orange-colored gelatin, and a halter top to match. When she moved, the gel inside bubbled like a lava lamp, covering all the right places—depending on her motion.

  "This is awesome!" Resi sang. "Wait 'til Zaire sees me! She's gonna love this outfit."

  Marcus' cheeks colored as he said, "The gods be damned! I don't know which one of you to rest my eyes upon."

  I was about to tell him what he could do with his damn eyes when my mother said, "Exactly, and we have our two points of distraction." She looked way too smug.

  "Why can't you be the distraction?" I wanted to know.

  "I won't be on the avenue, remember? Me and Christopher will be–"

  "Dorius wants to speak with you, Nan," Jeni said from the laptop. She was sitting at the table in front of the curtained window.

  Mom strutted over. "What's up?"

  Dorius' image answered, "Betty and Warren will be joining the pursuit after all. I will accompany Betty, and Warren is going to team up with Resi in my stead."

  "What about Zaire?" Mom asked, picking up her note pad and scribbling down the changes.

  "She will join you and Christopher," Dorius said in a voice that left no room for argument. Except he forgot he was speaking to my mother.

  "Like hell she will!" Mom said, slapping the pad against the table in front of the viewing screen. "I told you, I don't want to run Eric off!"

  With angry eyes and a deadly
voice, Dorius said, "Zaire is joining you. That's a direct order, Chick. Do I make myself clear?"

  "It's clear alright, but I don't like it!"

  "Has everyone been briefed?" Dorius asked, dismissing Mom's comment with a wave of his hand.

  "Yes," Mom said. "Paul, Jake and Gibbie went down to the hotel restaurant with Christopher to discuss the plans and get something to eat. Susan, Marcus and Resi were just showing the rest of us their outfits. Everyone is staying in the hotel until we leave."

  "We are almost ready to board the plane; and we should be arriving in about an hour. Make sure someone is at the airport to pick us up and our room is ready before our arrival. I want you to schedule a brief meeting in your room before we make our way down to the avenue."

  "I'll send someone in the Suburban. It'll be there when you get off the plane. I booked the honeymoon suite and the keys are at the front desk." Before Dorius could answer, Mom slapped the laptop closed and snarled at it.

  Jeni patted Lily on the head. "How you feeling, sweetie?"

  "Just peachy, Cousin Jeni," Lily answered from a chair beside her. She had her bare feet tucked up under her jeans and she looked cute in her Bratz t-shirt. "I wish I could join the group outdoors. I want to be there when Mother calls later."

  I whipped my head in her direction. "Your mother is going to call?" I picked up the pink phone off the dresser and concealed it against my thigh, inside the leather boot and next to my knife.

  "Yes," Lily said, opening a little, red purse draped over her shoulder. "Father came home and they both expressed their dissatisfaction over a contract Lord Rahovart, tormentor of the affluent and companion of Satan, had drawn up. Mother refused to sign the indenture until she talks to you, Aunt Susan."

  Every time the kid opened her mouth, I had a brain freeze. I shook my head.

  Lily opened the purse, pulling out a Nintendo DS, and turned it on. "Father is not content with Mother's decision and has left her alone in the cage while he discusses the alternatives with Lord Rahovart, tormentor of…"