In Sickness and In Elf (Paranormal Wedding Planners Book 1)

by AE Jones

  Alex’s eyes popped open. The simian’s hairy face was within inches of hers. She gasped and attempted to scramble away from him.

  “Now, now. Stay put.”

  Adrenaline surged through her and she gasped. “Where am I?”

  “Safe with me. I was worried about you. Imagine my surprise when I found you alone in your apartment. Not being held captive like you told me.”

  Alex shrugged, although she was feeling anything but nonchalant. “They let me go.”

  “And why would they do that?” he asked.

  Her brain was spinning to find an answer he would buy. “I promised them I wouldn’t tell anyone about the supernatural.”

  “So if they let you go, why did you bother to sneak the keys to me?”

  Alex sat up in the bed to delay her response. What the hell was he talking about? “I didn’t know what they planned to do with you, so I wanted to help.”

  “I’m surprised they didn’t realize the keys were missing.”

  Alex didn’t have time to respond before the door opened and Stan lumbered into the room.

  The simian stood up. “This is Stan. You spoke to him on the phone.”

  Alex said nothing, watching both men warily.

  Stan glowered at her. “I met her already, Gene. I’m actually surprised to see her…alive.”

  The simian circled the bed. “Stan told me about your conversation. Apparently you were very insistent that I was going to sell out my friends. I’m confused about why you would say that.”

  Alex swallowed. It was better not to deny it. “I’m sorry. I was afraid they wouldn’t come and rescue us unless they were worried you would tell them something, so I let them think you were going to tell the team the truth.”

  “So it was all about saving us?”

  “Of course.”

  He smirked at her. “So then why did Stan find you in the alley with Devin? You are an accomplished liar. I’m glad we’re going to be spending some quality time together, pet.”

  He walked closer to the bed, and Alex held her breath and instructed herself not to cringe when he reached his hairy hand toward her.

  “Don’t touch her,” a feminine voice commanded from the doorway.

  The simian’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was going to protest, but then controlled himself.

  The woman either didn’t see his anger or chose to ignore it as she stepped into the room. She was beautiful; long red hair, and blue eyes that lacked any emotion. She matched the descriptions from both the anura demon and werewolf weddings.

  “I know you want to punish her for tricking you, but I think you’re missing the bigger picture.”

  “What?” Stan asked.

  She ran her cold gaze over Alex. “For some reason beyond my comprehension, Devin is enamored with this human. Knowing how noble he is, he’ll do anything to stop her from being hurt. He’s more than likely on a rampage as we speak.”

  “How do you know Devin?” Alex blurted.

  Her lips quirked into a twisted smile. “I know him…intimately.”

  Alex stopped from curling her lips in disgust. “Then why would you want to hurt him?”

  “Hurt sounds so mundane. I want to destroy him. Take away everything he holds dear. I think you’ll do nicely as part of the plan.”

  Alex gaped at the woman. “What did he ever do to you?”

  “He thought he could use me and throw me away. That’s not acceptable.”

  Alex’s mind absorbed what she’d said and a theory sprang to life. It couldn’t be possible. “Marina?”

  Lorinda’s Wedding Tip: The groom needs to be pampered too. Have the bride give him a small token of affection.

  Chapter 36

  Dead ends. They were surrounded by dead ends. It had been twelve hours since they found Alex’s apartment empty. Twelve hours of running around with little to go on.

  Connor had tried to track Alex and the simian, but once outside the apartment building, he’d lost their scent near the street. He thought they must have gotten in a car at that point, which meant tracking them was impossible. They went to Gene’s apartment, but the simian didn’t return.

  “What next?” Connor asked as he climbed into the back of the van.

  Devin turned to him from the front passenger seat. “We’re returning to the bar where Stan works. Giz was able to find more information on the simian. Gene worked there as a bouncer. We may be able to get a lead on one or both of them. I would think someone there would know where Stan lives.”

  The parking lot was full when they arrived. Since it was Friday night, the bar was packed. Connor and Charlie walked in opposite directions, looking for Stan or Gene.

  Devin didn’t waste any time and honed in on the tattooed bartender from the other night. “Is Stan working tonight?”

  The man frowned. “No. You a friend of his?”

  “Sort of. We were supposed to meet here.”

  “Well he’s missed two shifts this week, and if he’s not here tomorrow, he’s fired.”

  “You know where I can find him?” Devin pushed.

  “If I knew where to find him, he’d be here working.”

  Devin pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and placed it on the bar, holding it still with his index finger. “I really need to talk to him. Do you have any idea where I can look? Got an address for him?”

  The bartender shook his head. “If you’re his friend, how come you don’t know he lives in one of the apartments upstairs?” The man reached for the cash.

  Devin placed his hand over the bill before he could snatch it. “I think you need to give me something else to earn this. Is there anyone here tonight I could talk to who is friends with Stan?”

  “He used to hang around with one of our bouncers, but that guy took off over a week ago, and I haven’t seen him since. The chick he hangs around with isn’t here, either.”

  “Do you have a name for the woman? What she look like?”

  “No name. She’s tall with a nice set of tits and cat-shaped blue eyes. Long red hair. She’d be pretty if she didn’t look at you like you were gum on her shoe.”

  Devin nodded and slid the money toward the bartender. The description matched the woman Godfrey and the anura demon had described. They needed to figure out who the hell she was, and fast.

  * * *

  Alex stared at the woman in front of her. This couldn’t be Marina. Could it? Devin and the rest of the team would have recognized her from the composite. But from the look of wide-eyed surprise on the woman’s face, it couldn’t be anyone else but her.

  “You’re supposed to be dead.”

  “I did die that night. Marina no longer exists.”

  “How did you fake your death?”

  “There are numerous ways to appear dead. As there are ways to hide your true identity. As a human, you have limited understanding of what we are capable of.” Marina glowed and her facial features changed. Her hair turned black and her eyes changed from blue to green.

  Alex staggered back a step. “But why?” Alex asked, not able to help herself.

  “It was time to move on before my cover was blown.”

  “You were working for the gang all along.”

  She smiled. “Yes. Devin was getting too close to unveiling our leader, so I died. Which meant they had to stop the investigation to deal with bureaucratic red tape. Our magistrates are nothing if not overzealous with paperwork. And the added benefit was that Devin was punished for it. Poetic justice, really.”

  Alex took a step toward her. “He’s blamed himself for your death. Suffered for your betrayal. You left him a damn note!”

  Marina laughed harshly. “The note was the icing on the cake. Knowing Devin, it ramped up the guilt even more. And look at you. You’re ready to attack me to protect his honor.”

  “I’m ready to attack you because you’re a duplicitous bitch.”

  Alex had been stupid to blurt the angry words. This was confirmed a second later when Marina’s
eyes flashed bright green and an invisible hand backhanded her. The sting radiated along Alex’s jaw and up into her cheek as her head snapped to the side from the impact.

  “He’s not as noble as he’d like you to believe. He used me and then threw me aside when he was done.”

  “Sounds like you didn’t do a good enough job seducing him,” Alex retorted.

  Marina glared at her. “You really have a sharp tongue, don’t you? We need to do something about that.”

  Alex backed away from her and screamed when she ran into a large mass. Stan stood behind her and grasped her around her stomach, trapping her arms at her sides. She struggled against him until a voice resonated in her head like a gong. It told her not to move.

  Her muscles obeyed for a second, locking in place even though her brain and heart rebelled. What was happening to her? But then the voice faded and she was able to move again. Stan growled and tightened his grip. The simian stood behind Marina watching the whole exchange, eyes widening, but he remained silent.

  Marina stepped closer, a wicked gleam flashing in her eyes. “I think it’s time to let Devin know we have you. And so that he believes us,” she stopped inches from Alex’s face and smiled, “we’ll send him a souvenir.”

  * * *

  He would not give up.

  Devin rubbed his eyes when the computer screen in front of him started to blur. Stan’s apartment had been a bust. It was bare of anything but a king size mattress on the floor and a beat-up couch and coffee table piled high with empty frozen dinner containers.

  It was already Saturday afternoon, and the team was at Bennett Bridal. Peggy and Sheila had been poring through computer files most of the night. Now Devin and Charlie were helping, so Peggy had brought several laptops into the conference room to use for the search. They had interviewed some of the others who had also had wedding mishaps, but hadn’t turned up any new leads.

  Devin glanced up when Charlie brought in a pot of coffee to refill everyone’s mugs. The smell of fresh coffee invaded his brain, and he stood up, handed his mug to Charlie, and did a deep, bone-cracking stretch.

  They hadn’t slept in two days, so the caffeine was a desperate attempt to keep them awake and sharp. His phone buzzed and he snatched it up. A text from one of the magistrates reminding him of his trial tonight and that there would be no more extensions allowed. Shit. His trial was no longer the priority. Not while Alex was out there somewhere with those Vipera bastards.

  It took him a moment to realize that everyone was looking at him.

  “The text was nothing important.”

  Peggy took a sip from her mug and blew out a breath. “When should we tell Lorinda about Alex?”

  Sheila spoke up. “I told Lorinda Alex texted me after the wedding was called off and decided to stay for the weekend in San Francisco. That bought us until tomorrow.”

  He clenched his fists. He’d hoped to have Alex back before her grandmother found out, but they were running out of time. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. “We tell her tomorrow if Alex isn’t back by then.”

  Chrystal knocked on the door jam. “Sorry to disturb you, but a courier just dropped off a package.”

  Peggy nodded. “I’ll get it in a minute.”

  “It’s not for you. It’s for Devin.”

  Devin exchanged glances with Charlie. “Where is it?”

  Chrystal hesitated for a moment at the sound of his tense voice. “Up at the front desk, why?”

  Charlie stood and ran out the door.

  “What’s wrong, Devin?” Peggy asked.

  “Who would send a package to me here? Who else is in the building besides us?”

  “No one.”

  “I want the three of you to go out the side door and wait in the parking lot until we give you the all clear.”

  By the time Devin reached the front desk, Connor and Giz were there with Charlie. Giz was running a small Geiger counter over a cardboard container the size of a cigar box.

  Gizmo acknowledged Devin’s arrival. “I’m not detecting radiation, and from what I can tell, there are no spells attached to it. Although if the caster is powerful, I might not be able to sense it.”

  Connor spoke softly. “There’s no return address. It doesn’t smell like a bomb to me.” He opened his mouth to continue and then hesitated.

  The tight look on his face made Devin’s stomach bottom out. “What is it?”

  “It smells like Alex.”

  Devin lurched forward and Charlie grabbed his arm. “Easy! We’re going to take this slowly.”

  Devin slit open the tape on the package carefully with his pocket knife. Charlie knelt down and watched for wires while Devin gingerly pulled back the flaps a couple of centimeters. Charlie gave the all clear sign, and Devin opened the flaps the rest of the way to reveal a piece of paper folded in half lying on top of tissue paper. He opened the paper and read the printed message out loud.

  We have Alex Bennett. If you want to see her alive, come to the carousel at Balboa Park at 7 pm. We will contact you with an exact location to meet once we know you’re alone. We hope the gift enclosed confirms our sincerity.

  Devin reached down and folded the tissue paper back, letting out a harsh breath when he saw the contents.

  A tangled mass of hair. He would recognize it anywhere. Alex. His chest constricted and Charlie swore beside him.

  He clenched his jaw and spoke through gritted teeth. “Giz, take this box and find out what you can. Use your gadgets and your magic to get us a lead. Connor, let the women know they can come back inside, and ask Chrystal about the delivery guy. See what she remembers about him.”

  Within seconds after Connor went outside, Peggy and Sheila came through the front door. Peggy spoke first.

  “What’s happened, Devin?”

  “It’s the gang. They sent us a note that they have Alex, and I need to meet with them this evening.” He kept his answer vague so he wouldn’t upset them.

  Sheila stared at him as if trying to read his thoughts. “If it was just a message, then why did they send a box?”

  Devin hesitated, and Sheila pushed the issue. “What was in the box?”

  Peggy stepped closer to him and grasped his hand. “Tell us, Devin.”

  “It was her hair. They cut her hair off.”

  Peggy’s eyes widened and she squeezed his hand as if to gather strength. “Her hair? Who would do that? What if it wasn’t just her hair?”

  Sheila let out a gasp and her face went white. Charlie pulled her into his arms, steadying her. She rested her forehead against his chest. If she was willing to let Charlie hold her, she was very upset. Devin knew just how she felt.

  Thirty minutes later, Peggy, Sheila, and his team sat grim-faced around the conference table. Peggy and Sheila had pulled themselves together quickly. Sheila was avoiding eye contact with Charlie, as if embarrassed by her reaction earlier.

  Gizmo spoke. “There are no fingerprints on the paper, but the box has a bunch of smeared prints. The paper used for the note is standard printer paper that can be found anywhere, and the message was in a font that is available in every computer on the market. However, I was able to pick up an energy signature magically.”

  Devin sat forward. “And?”

  “I think it’s a gargantuan.”

  “Stan,” Charlie and Connor said simultaneously.

  Devin nodded. “We may have gotten lucky.” Gargantuans were a rare, dying species, and as such were tracked by the Supernatural Council. “Giz…”

  “You don’t have to say another word.” Giz stood. “I’ll check the database and see what we can find out about Stan.”

  “What did Chrystal say?” Devin asked.

  Connor leaned forward. “She said the guy was dressed like a bike messenger. He was wearing a blue T-shirt with a logo on it. She’s looking up local messenger services on the Internet right now to see if she can find the logo.”

  Devin glanced at his watch. “We’ve got four hours before I g
o to the park. Let’s see if we can find Alex before then. Is there a wedding today?”

  Peggy nodded. “Yes. We have the Marshall wedding later tonight. I can have Chrystal handle it.”

  “Is it supernatural?” Devin asked.

  “Yes.”

  “You should go. There’s nothing further to be done here. I’ll make sure Alex gets home safe.”

  “What about me?” Sheila asked. “I can help you.”

  Devin shook his head. “I need you to go with Peggy to watch over the wedding. I’ll have Connor and Gizmo go with you also, to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

  Devin excused himself and walked down the hall and out the side door. He leaned up against the building, running his palms against the rough bricks. He couldn’t get the thought of Alex’s hair out of his head. He prayed that was all they had done to her.

  The door opened and Charlie stepped outside and leaned against the wall beside him.

  “Spit it out,” Devin said.

  “Your trial is at seven tonight.”

  “I don’t give a damn about that!”

  “If you don’t show up, you’ll lose your powers permanently.”

  “You’ve told me on more than one occasion that my powers don’t define who I am. I’ll survive without them.”

  “So what’s the plan?”

  “I go in alone.”

  Charlie pushed off from the wall and stood in front of Devin, shaking his head. “That’s a load of crap, and you know it. This is a setup. You don’t find it suspicious that they want you to meet them at the same time your trial is supposed to take place? We need to figure out why they’ve targeted you for this.”

  “I’d paint a bulls-eye on my chest if it will help save Alex.”

  Lorinda’s Wedding Tip: Don’t let the bride turn into a drama queen.

  Chapter 37

  There had to be a way to escape. Alex reached reflexively to tuck her hair behind her ear. But it was all gone. She flinched and then chastised herself for being such a baby. She was lucky. They could have cut off a finger and sent it to Devin. She tucked her fingers protectively into her palm.