More Than Flesh & Bone

Chapter 28

BRINGING SEXY BACK

"Hurry up!" I hollered into the mostly dark garage. Zed made me help him push Zayne's car up the drive and then into an empty bay of what I'd mentally dubbed their airplane hangar. Seriously, no one needed a garage that big. Although I'd happily take the car. The way I saw it, the Aston Martin Vantage could be reparations for killing me.

"Will you shut up?" he hissed.

"How long does it take to put away a set of keys?" I grumbled, inspecting my chipped and dirty nails. Turns out, punching assholes in the face was hell on a manicure. I made a mental note to paint them a nice shade of reaper black… or maybe zombie green when the flicker of a porch light caught my attention.

"Zed, honey, is that you?" Zed's mom called, opening the door. I recognized her voice from last time, although I hadn't gotten a good look at her through the bushes. Mrs. Necrodopolus looked every inch the wealthy socialite. She was gorgeous. Tall and blond, her perfectly tailored dress was a subtle shade of pink, and she wore a pair of ridiculously high heels on her feet.

Oh, shit. "I think we've been spotted," I whisper-shouted, trying to back slowly into the relative darkness of the garage.

The sun had only just set as we'd pulled up, and the sky was still a wash of orange and dusky pink, but there was just enough darkness that we were mostly in shadow. At least for the moment.

"Maybe id you'd kept your mouth shut like I'd told you to…" he whispered back, his silhouette taking shape as he moved closer.

"Zed?" she called again.

What was it with this woman almost always catching me sneaking around with her son? Did she have, like, mega-momdar or something?

Zed sighed. "Might as well say hi, or we're never going to get to SU."

"Wait. What? Zed…"

But he was already walking out of the garage and heading toward his mother.

"Fucker…" I muttered, slowly trailing along behind him.

"Hey, Mom. Didn't realize you were home," he said, leaning down to brush a kiss on his mother's cheek.

"Apparently," she said, her eyes moving from him and landing on me. "And who is this?"

"Mom, the is Addison, Tracey's twin sister."

His mom's face was instantly contrite. "I am so very sorry for your loss. Tracey was such a wonderful boy. I was always certain he was going to do amazing things in this world."

I'd been trying to avoid all thoughts of Trace since his little stuffed body went up in flames. The sincerity of her words made it impossible to avoid the small wave of grief as it washed over me. "So did I," I said softly as I reached Zed's side.

"You must be devastated. Please, come inside, let me make you something to eat."

Zed and I both started protesting at once.

"That's sweet but…"

"Mom, Addison, and I are…"

The muffled sound of Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back" joined our chorus of protests. Bree and her fucking timing. I could feel the heat work its way into my face as I prayed Zed's mom didn't remember the song.

No such luck.

She held up her hands with a small chuckle, her eyes shrewdly assessing me. "So you're the one who dented the window frame."

"I, uh…" I lifted my hand and wiggled my fingers in an awkward hi.

"Now you simply must stay for dinner."

"Mom, some other time," Zed insisted. "Addison and I have plans tonight, and we're already late."

"Oh?" She got a devilish glint in her eye. "Plans?"

"Yeah, we've gotta go patr…" I started.

"On a date," Zed said quickly.

I lifted an eyebrow, joining his mom in surprise. "Oh?" I repeated.

"I'm taking her to Le Poisson," he said, generating the name of the fanciest restaurant in town.

"Well, don't let me hold you up," his mom said. A wide smile spanned her face. She was ecstatic, and I didn't really understand why.

Zed smiled softly at her and went to kiss her cheek. "Thanks, Mom," he murmured. She smiled kindly as he offered his hand like a real gentleman and started to lead me toward his car, which was parked out front.

"A date?" I whispered when we were far enough away I didn't think his mom would hear me.

"You were starting to tell her we're going on patrol," he said.

"But we are," I argued.

"And she has no idea about the Brotherhood or Supes," he said close to my ear. His breath fanned my bare skin, and I shivered. "Besides, she'll be thrilled if she thinks I'm dating."

"I mean, we could make it a reality. If you want to take me to Le Poisson first, I'm not really going to argue…" I started.

"We need to be on campus in twenty minutes."

I sighed. "Why is it always the case that the lies people tell are the nice things, and the truth just sucks?"

Zed let go of my hand to open the passenger door and motioned for me to get in, still keeping up the charade for his mom.

I plopped down in the passenger seat of the convertible. The door slammed shut and a few seconds later Zed climbed in on the other side.

"Because pretty lies are easier to swallow than the much crazier truth, especially where you're involved," he said, answering my question as he started the car.

"You know, everyone's lives would be much simpler if people just told the truth. You wouldn't have to hide from your mom. I wouldn't have to pretend to be a reaper. We could be eating French food right now. The list goes on."

"You know as well as I do, it's not that easy," he said.

My stomach gurgled in protest. "You don't think they do takeout by any chance, do you?"

Zed leaned over and used one hand to pull open the glove box. Inside a treasure trove of Taakis made my mouth water.

"You're telling me you had this the entire time?" I complained, grabbing one of the bags and tearing open the foil.

"Consider it a consolation prize."

I snorted, stuffing a chip into my mouth. "I accept your offer of atonement."

"Atonement?" he repeated.

I nodded, swallowing the half-chewed spicy goodness. "For wrongly getting my stomach excited about food and then denying it in favor of patrol."

"Uh-huh…" he muttered. "Then where's your atonement for my having to put up with you?"

I pulled out another chip and popped it into my mouth. "Well, courtesy of me, we don't die," I said while chewing. "I think that's more than fair."

He was silent as he considered. "Yeah, no… that just prolongs my torture."

I threw a chip at his face. "Asshole."

He smirked, but never looked my way.

We sat in silence for a moment before I was diving back into the glovebox for another bag.

"Bree know we're on our way?" he asked.

My hands stilled mid-tear as I remembered that my best friend was pissed about my radio silence since we dropped her off the other day. "Not so much…"

"So we're just going to drop in and surprise her and a house full of succubi? That seem like a smart plan to you?"

"Nope, but it's the one we got."

Zed sighed and risked a glance at me. "At least tell her we're on our way."

His eyes snagged on my mouth as I licked my lips clean. "See something you like?" I asked.

"Nope," he said, tossing my words back at me. The heat in his eyes proved him for a liar, and I was grinning to myself as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and shot off a text.

Zed and I are on our way to SU.

Then five seconds later, another.

Iloveyoupleasehavefood.

"What'd she say?" Zed asked as my phone chirped less than thirty seconds later.

"She said she'll meet us outside, that I should probably throw a tarp over you if I don't want to beat off a bunch of horny supes, and that my food ban is intact." I said the last bit sadly.

"Food ban?" he repeated as he careened around a corner.

"That was the part you wanted clarification on?"

"It's not my first time around a group of succubi."

That was it. One enigmatic sentence.

"And?" I prompted, staring at him.

His eyes flicked to mine. His lips tugged up in a grin. "You have a few crumbs on your face."

I glared at him, my voice taunting. "I was saving it for you."

Zed came to a stop at a red light, his eyes dipping to my lips as he reached over and gently brushed his thumb on the corner of my mouth. The contact lasted less than a heartbeat, but I felt it in every inch of my body.

His eyes lifted as he put his thumb in his mouth and sucked.

My breath caught as I started imagining all sorts of other things for him to suck on.

"Not as spicy as it looks," he murmured, flooring the gas and killing the moment.

I was still breathing heavy a few minutes later when he parked in front of the SU house. "You coming?" he asked, climbing out and looking entirely unaffected.

"I wish…" I muttered under my breath, slamming the passenger door harder than necessary as I raced up to the door.

As promised, Bree was waiting for us on the porch, her arms crossed and a smile stretching across her face. "I was going to ask where you've been, but…" she paused long enough to sniff, "I can tell. Good for you. Now, want to tell me what you're thinking bringing him here?"

"I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter. Your mom tell you the Council put a curfew up?"

"Ugh. Yeah… don't even get me started on that one. The girls are pissed. Nighttime is when we do our best hunting." She let out a little purr that wasn't completely human, and I fanned myself, feeling a little warmer… which was awkward as all hell.

"Yeah, well, hunting aside. The Grimms decided that the curfew needed to be enforced. So Zed and I are on patrol duty. We're supposed to make sure no one leaves their houses while the other reaper dudes are out trying to find this werewolf."

"I see…" she murmured. "Well, I can only imagine how well that's going to go with the shifters down the street. I don't advise stepping foot in their house. Especially with this one," she motioned to Zed. "Tensions are so high they might actually try to kill you."

"Well…" I drawled out. "About that… We need to talk."

Bree narrowed her eyes. "About?" she prompted.

"Ummm," I said, looking around her to see if any succubi or other assorted supernaturals were around. The door was closed, though, and it was only her, Zed, and me. "We kinda sorta found Trace yesterday… except it was Zed's brother who had him, and apparently the fucker is also the one who killed him, but before we could do anything, he killed us, but then we came back again and…"

"Whoa, whoa…" She held up both hands. "Slow down. You went to find Trace, and Zed's brother had him… and this brother is also the one who killed him and then he killed you guys too?"

I nodded solemnly.

Bree looked from me to Zed. "How are you alive right now if you died again?"

"Blood rite," we both said in unison.

"Ahhh," she nodded. "While that makes some sense, I'm pretty sure zombies only get one freebie. What am I missing here?"

"Well…" I started again when Zed held up his hand.

"We went to Eliza this morning. Turns out Addie isn't a reaper."

"What is she, then?" Bree asked, her eyes ping-ponging between us.

"Eliza thinks I'm something called a Daughter of Death," I answered.

Bree opened her mouth and then closed it. Apparently, all the other news didn't faze her but finding out what I really was, did.

"You know what? I think it's best if you two come inside and run this all by me one more time, from the top."

"Wow," Bree said a little while later, sitting back in her desk chair. "That is the mind fuck of the century."

"Seriously," I said from my perch on the bed.

Zed was leaning against the door, his feet crossed at the ankles. I was pretty sure it was the only place he felt safe. Bree's room was currently looking like a cross between a lingerie store and an adult toy store. As he checked his phone, I discreetly pulled the edge of her comforter up over some panties and closed the bedside drawer to hide its contents.

"Is it okay if I step out to take this?" he asked Bree.

She nodded. "You might not want to stray too far though. A lot of these girls are the ask-questions-later type."

He gave her a distracted nod as he answered the call and slipped out of her room.

I could feel the weight of Bree's eyes on me. "What?" I asked, glancing back at her.

She shook her head, feigning innocence. "Nothing, it's just… wow. You and Zed… Bound together for life. A bond that lasts through death. That's…"

"Insane?" I supplied.

"I was going to say intense, but sure." Bree gave me a wicked grin and held up her fingers, slowly moving them away from each other. "So… when are you going to tell me what he's working with?"

"Bree," I groaned, almost impressed that after everything I'd just told her, Bree was more interested in the size of Zed's dick than the news that I was some kind of demigod. It was such a Bree response I couldn't help but appreciate the moment of total normalcy. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you."

"You mean you haven't…" she made a circle with one hand and thrust her other finger through it. "...yet?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but no. We haven't…" I repeated the lewd gesture. "...yet."

"That's so disappointing," Bree said, deflating a little.

"Tell me about it." The words were out of my mouth without consciously thinking it. It wasn't until Bree cackled that I realized I'd said them out loud.

"I knew it! You are soooo into him."

I could try to deny it, but what was the point? "I mean… have you seen the guy?"

"Mmhmm…" Bree said, grinning at me. "So what's the holdup?"

"Uh, how about all the dying?"

Her smile dimmed slightly as she considered it. "Yeah… I guess that could be a bit of a cock block."

"Just a bit," I said with a laugh.

"So Missy knows what you are?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Well, she thinks I'm a reaper. That seems like the safest explanation for everyone right now. We don't even know what being a Daughter of Death means, outside the ghosts and stuff."

"And the ghosts haven't given you any more answers?" Bree asked.

"No, I haven't seen any of them since we left Eliza's." I frowned. "Which is kind of weird now that I think about it, but I have no idea how any of that works."

Bree made a soft humming noise. "I guess you'll find out."

"Yeah… I guess. Hey, do you think he's alright out there by himself?" I asked, realizing that it had been about ten minutes since Zed left the room. Under usual circumstances, I wouldn't worry about him being able to take care of himself, but a reaper, especially a hot one, wandering around on his own in a house full of succubi was hardly normal.

"Maybe?" Bree said with a shrug.

"Should we check on him or something?"

"Probably not the worst idea."

Turns out, I was right to worry.

Standing at the very end of the hall was Zed backed into a corner. In front of him, a tall succubus with long blonde hair was speaking in low tones.

"Well, aren't you a nice handsome snack? I don't know who brought you home, but I promise I can do whatever she did better," the girl was saying.

My jaw strained as I grit my teeth. My hands clenched into fists.

"Not interested," he replied in a cold tone.

"Are you sure?" she simpered, running one delicate hand down his chest.

"Quite." He batted her hand away and some of my ire cooled.

"Lacey," Bree said. Her voice was sharp. Like something pointy I wanted to stab this girl with. "He's not dinner."

"Look at him," Lacey said, motioning with one hand. Her eyes sparkled in the low light, making her seem attractive, even to me. I suspected succubus powers were at play, and that only made me more pissed.

"Yo, bitch," I said. "Back. Off."

"Excuse me, but who the hell are…"

"Lacey." Bree facepalmed, clearly exasperated. "He's a zombie… didn't you notice the hair?"

Her mouth dropped open. "W-what?" she stammered, her pale skin turning mottled red. The dreamy, dewy quality of her skin and eyes disappeared in an instant.

"And he's taken," I added, stepping up beside Zed. His expression didn't change and a small part of me withered at that.

"Oh my… I… I didn't know," she exclaimed, taking three steps back and bumping into Bree. "I'm so, so sorry. I never would have…"

"It's fine. Don't make a habit of it," he said, dismissing her easily.

She looked back and forth between him, Bree, and me, then bolted down the hall and up the stairs. Soon after, a door slammed shut and that was that.

"Is that normal around here?" I asked Bree pointedly.

My best friend was looking much more uncomfortable at this point. "It… happens on occasion."

That wasn't the answer I wanted to hear. "She was trying to force him, Bree. What the hell?"

"Lacey made a mistake. She wouldn't have forced him to do anything, though." Bree insisted.

"Oh yeah? Are you sure about that? Can you honestly say if I hadn't come out here that she would have just backed down and walked away?"

"Yes," Bree insisted. "Succubi can be a little overly forward, but we do understand what consent is."

I pressed my lips together, not sure if I really believed that.

"Addie, as much as I appreciate you coming to my defense, we have bigger problems to deal with right now," Zed interrupted.

I looked closer, noticing the tightness in his expression. A sinking feeling filled me. "What happened?"

"The werewolf happened. A reaper is dead. We need to get back to patrolling for real so that no one else dies."

I took a deep breath and looked away.

Three killed in under a week and Zayne was locked in my basement for one of them.

We needed to catch that werewolf ASAP.

The only problem was… I had no idea how.