Dead and Beyond (18 page)

I tapped a finger against my lips, thinking.

Maybe talking wasn’t such a bright idea. The guy would just end up denying everything and we’ll live happily ever after…until he managed to raise his crazy ex.

So a trap it was.

But how would I go about things? Obviously, checking his emails and wiring his phone calls wouldn’t work, what with her being dead and probably not having cell phone reception in Hell, where she belonged. I could also scratch the other obvious things like GPS logger, going through his browser history, or the girl trap—Aidan wasn’t so stupid as to fall for the ‘hot chick chatting him up in a bar’ technique that was about as old as humanity.

A voice-activated recorder would record everything he said on his cell phone while driving because, in the case of an affair, a working vehicle’s a necessary tool in his deceptions. In my case, I could use it record any monologues if he talked into thin air, thinking his dead beloved was listening. Trouble might be figuring out where to hide it so he wouldn’t find out. A teddy bear concealing the nanny cam might just be too obvious with an overly careful guy like Aidan.

The excitement of having come up with a plan wore off pretty soon. The recorder idea wasn’t bad but, all in all, my options were slim and not exactly reliable. Let’s be honest, except for the few tidbits I picked up reading Cosmo, I had no real-life experience with catching cheaters. I began to chew my nails as I realized I needed to talk to a pro. Preferably someone who was a master at disguising the truth, and who might be a better choice than Cass? After her stunt with Dallas during which she made him believe he was about to die and the only way to enter Heaven was to marry her, I had yet to decide whether to be shocked or amused. The girl had a great deal of imagination, I had to give her that. But she also couldn’t keep her mouth shut if her life depended on it.

Call her or not call her?

I had nothing to lose so I fished my phone out of my pocket and dialed her number. She picked up on the second ring.

“It took you a week to call. Do you realize how long that is in Hell-years?” Cass yelled.

I smiled. “I missed you too. It’s so lovely to find you in such a good mood.” Slowly counting to ten, I pushed the phone away from my ears as Cass fell into a long tirade of whining in self-pity.

“—and then Dad—” she was talking about Lucifer “—had the cheek to offer Dallas a job. Do you know what that means? Even if he married me, which by the look of it he never will, we’d be stuck down here because Dallas is too scared to tell Dad to shove his job where the sun don’t shine.”

“Maybe Dallas wants the job. He seemed to get along with your dad just fine.”

Cass snorted. “Like a house on fire. Last week Dad showed him the dungeons and forgot to bring him back. It took me four hours to find him.”

I sighed, ready to change the subject before she started recalling more of those incidents that only made me feel bad for both Dallas and my parents. I mean, I should’ve protected my brother rather than let him get involved in this mess. Our poor parents believed we were having a quiet summer in Scotland and that we’d be home by Christmas. How would I explain that not only was I a vampire now, but Dallas was stuck in Hell after a voodoo priestess returned his soul to his dead body? Talk about perfect dinner conversation. I could picture it all in my head: Dad: Amber, how was your day?

Me: Great.

Dad, leaning over the table, interested: What did you do?

Me: I went to class and then stopped to grab a bite.

Dad: Sounds fantastic. What did you have?

Me (kicking Dallas’ leg under the table so he wouldn’t burst out in laughter): Judging from the accent, I think I had something French.

Dad, pointing at my plate: That certainly explains the pecking at your food.

“Hey, are you still there?” Cass yelled in my ear, jerking me out of my thoughts.

“Sure.” Cass’s inability to stay focused was slowly rubbing off on me. “I meant to ask you about your new abilities.”

“They’re cool. Wouldn’t be bad if I actually were in the real world where I’d have a proper use for them.” I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “So, why did you call?”

Her question took me by surprise. “To see how you’re doing.”

“Of course. What else?” She clicked her tongue. “This pretty face ain’t stupid, mate. If you had been interested in my wellbeing, you wouldn’t have waited a whole week to inquire about it. Just spill.”

“I would’ve called but so much came up.” Even though it was the truth, I cringed at how horribly fake my excuse sounded. “One day we’ll sit down and I’ll explain everything.”

“You bet your ass we will. In fact, I’m free this weekend. You could pop over, maybe even stay the night, you know, girls’ night in.” Cass only ever invited me twice: to impress Dallas and for her birthday party so I could persuade Dallas to marry her. The girl was clearly in desperate need of any contact with the outside world.

“I’d like that,” I said, hoping she’d forget about the invitation before the week was over. As much as I loved Cass, I couldn’t take the heat down there.

Literally. “I meant to ask you something. Let’s say this friend of mine suspects her boyfriend might still be hung up on the ex. How would you go about trapping him to find out?”

“Oh!” Tiny pause followed by a giggle, then, “You’re talking about this friend of yours called Amber?”

“No,” I said slowly. “I’m talking about the other friend called ‘it’s none of your business, got it?’ Now, can we get back to the trapping part, please? What do you suggest?”

“Pretty obvious. Plan a trip out of town, but you’re not actually going anywhere, just make him think that you are. This is where you set your trap. If he thinks you’re going to be away, then there’s a good chance he might use this as an opportunity to meet up with the other chick.”

I regarded the leaves on the ground as I took in her advice. Not bad at all…if I didn’t leave out one tiny detail. “What if the chick’s whacked?”

“You mean like in ‘dead’? Doesn’t matter. In fact, getting in touch with a corpse is kinda time-consuming and requires a lot of preparation so I’m pretty sure he won’t let the opportunity go to waste.”

She made it sound as though my boyfriend was indeed cheating on me. “It’s not definite. He might not really be cheating on my friend.”

She made it sound as though my boyfriend was indeed cheating on me. “It’s not definite. He might not really be cheating on my friend.”

“Yeah,” Cass said unconvinced. “You know, I should send over one of my most trusted advisors. His name is Kinky and he knows a thing or two about guys.”

Kinky? The tiny devil that used to sit on Cass’s shoulder to teach her proper Hell etiquette? “Ah, yeah, no!” I laughed. “Unless I wanted a divorce!”

“You mean your friend wanted a divorce.”

Damn it. I was the worst liar ever. I couldn’t keep my stories straight if they were written across my forehead. “That’s what I said.”

“I bet you did.”

Time to change the subject again. “Cass, do you think kissing another guy on the cheek is cheating?”

“Did you use tongue?” I could hear the amusement in her voice. Eww, what would I use that for? I shook my head as she continued, “It depends on whether the boyfriend in question is Scottish. ‘Cause if he is then, according to the Scottish laws of dating, it’s second degree cheating. And if the other guy is hot, then it’s automatically moving up to first degree.”

I didn’t know whether to take her seriously or not, but it sure made me feel bad. “Really?”

“Of course not. It was just a peck…unless you harbored lots of naughty thoughts afterwards. Did you?”

“No!” Why did I sound as though I was lying even when I was telling the truth?

“Shame,” Cass said. “Wait, you sound guilty.”

“I’m not.” My answer came out all squeaky and loud.

“Maybe you should since you cheated on him according to Scottish standards. I’ll send over Pinky who can help you develop a guilty conscience.”

Pinky was the opposite of Kinky, instructed by Cass’s seraph mother to teach Cass proper Heaven etiquette. Knowing Cass, that job didn’t turn out so well.

“No, thanks. I’ll call you to let you know how my friend’s trap turned out.”

“You gotta go already?” She sounded whiny. “Don’t forget to call.” I felt bad at the disappointment in her voice. I could only imagine how lonely it must be down there in the deep pits of Hell with only a handful of demons as company.

“I won’t,” I said. “Thanks, Cass. You’re the best.” I meant every word of it. A minute later, I hung up and took a deep breath before I headed for Aidan’s mansion, a plan already forming in my head.

I entered the house through the backdoor and crossed the marvelous yet unused kitchen in a few long strides. Everything was deserted as usual, which didn’t surprise me. I took a shower in my own bathroom to wash off the scent of Devon, the succubus, exhaust fumes, and crowded streets, and put on a pair of jeans and a long sweater, then sat down in the library to wait for Aidan.

My fingers started drumming on my thigh as I counted the seconds until Aidan arrived. The sun set outside in a multitude of colors, bathing the sky in copper and red. Under normal circumstances, nothing could’ve kept me from enjoying the breathtakingly beautiful view, but I couldn’t focus on it tonight. Not when my boyfriend was probably plotting to raise his ex this instant.

It wasn’t long before he stormed in and stopped in his tracks, as though he was surprised to see me. His cheeks flushed, giving his skin a pink hue. “You’re home.”

I cocked a brow. “Isn’t that where you told me to be?”

“I did. I was just—” He waved a hand in the air, searching for words.

“Surprised to see I listened?”

He laughed nervously. “There’s something I need to finish. I’ll be in my study.”

“Sure. Take your time.” I narrowed my gaze as he walked out. Talk about acting all weird. If he thought I wouldn’t try to find out what he was up to, he was in for a big surprise.

After five minutes of tapping my fingers against my thigh to kill time, I tiptoed up the stairs and crept to his office, avoiding the creaking floorboards and the heavy furniture Aidan called ‘antiques’ while I liked to call them ‘dust magnets’.

The door was closed, but my vampire senses were heightened enough to make out muffled sounds. I pressed my ear against the keyhole and held my breath to listen. Aidan was walking up and down the room, the sound of his boots was almost swallowed up by the thick carpet, which suited me just fine because it didn’t distract from his conversation.

“No! I want you to stay there until I’ve sorted out this mess,” he whispered. I could tell he was mad but struggling to keep his voice done the way only Aidan could. “Look, there’s nothing you can help with. You’d only overcomplicate things and I don’t need the distraction right now. Just stay put and I’ll get you when it’s done so we can commence the gathering. And one more thing, Amber’s been very suspicious lately. She doesn’t need to know so don’t talk to her.”

I took a deep breath, hundreds of thoughts racing through my mind. As I figured before, Aidan was keeping a secret from me. Again. But now I was pretty sure this one involved his ex, Rebecca, and he didn’t want her ghost to talk to me. I knew all along the guy was too good to be true. Must be running in the family.

Just look at Kieran and his tendency to whisper sweet nothings to every woman crossing his path to make them fall in love with him. Once they did, he moved on to the next.

“You’re so busted, Mister,” I mumbled under my breath as I tiptoed back down the stairs, considering my next step. Of course I could just follow Cass’s advice and plant a trap, but there was no need for it any longer. I had all the proof I needed. Obviously, I wouldn’t hang around until his psycho ex made her grand appearance. The plan was to help find Angel, and then get the hell out of there. My heart was about to burst from the pain of Aidan’s betrayal. A voice inside my head screamed to kick him where it hurt the most. And maybe I would, one day, but right now I needed to focus my mind on my friends who really mattered.

Even though I had already checked the shed in the woods and found nothing but a mirror, I had the strange feeling I missed something. I dashed out the door into the backyard, ready to teleport, when I felt a hand on my back, startling me.

“Whoa,” Aidan said. “It’s just me. Talk about being engrossed in your thoughts. I hope I was in them.”

I smiled weakly as I averted my gaze, ignoring his unspoken question. “Do you need to leave again?”

“You caught me.”

Yeah, that wasn’t the only thing I caught. “The whole night?” I asked. He ran a hand through his hair as I regarded him. I took that as an affirmative. “It’s fine, Aidan. Don’t sweat it. I’m busy anyway.”

“Thanks, I won’t be long. You’re the coolest girlfriend ever. I swear I’ll make it up to you. What do you say we spend tomorrow evening together? Just the two of us.”

I nodded because deep in my heart I couldn’t imagine anything that would give me more pleasure. But playing happy couple wasn’t the way things would roll from now on.

Aidan kissed me quickly, then dissolved into thin air as I patted my tingling lips. They felt naked, empty, as though Aidan had taken a part of me with him.

It was probably this eternal bond we shared that made me love him more than he loved me. Maybe he was immune to it, or his love for Rebecca was stronger. I wanted to fight for him, but was there even a point when Rebecca and he had a history no one would ever be able to erase? Whatever he chose, I only wished him happiness, so I vowed I wouldn’t get involved.

Five long minutes later, I closed my eyes and imagined the shed. A tremor shook my body, making my stomach turn. When I opened my eyes again, I was standing on the narrow path leading up to the shed.

The rising moon bathed the trees and leaves in a dark silver, tranquil hue. A strong breeze stirred the fallen leaves on the ground. I took a deep breath of the cool night air and started up the snaking path at a fast pace. I barely reached the shed when my hearing picked up something in the distance. Like the long wail of a —wolf?