Page 32 of Death is Familiar

The sun was still high, but our time was running out. Jez couldn’t be seen with us, and she had to prep for the gathering, I needed to ask my next question and quick. “Anything else you can give us to help us with Lenore?”

“Ha!” Jezebel coughed, trying to cover her outburst. “Sorry. I know. Not a laughing matter. It’s just… Lenore will do everything in her power to make sure her brand doesn’t get ruined. It won’t matter to her that the FBI is asking questions. If she thinks her bottom line will be impacted, and not in a good way, she won’t give you the time of day. Consider that when you approach her. Use it to your advantage. That’s all I’ve got.”

“This has been extremely helpful, Jez. Thank you for your time.” I stood, wiping the grass off my legs. Todd followed suit. “I look forward to seeing your alternate personality this evening.”

“Wait. Wait.” Jezebel shot to her feet, her garment bag in tow. “I meant what I said about the clothes. You’ll need to wear something vampy.”

“I’ll find something.”

Jezebel laughed. “Oh, no, dear god, D. I brought you something.” She handed me the garment bag she brought. It was a lot heavier than it looked. “Wear that and you’ll have no trouble. Shoes included.”

“How do you⁠—”

“Wear it. Trust me, it’ll fit. The shoes might be a bit tight, but you’ll survive.”

Now it was my turn to glare. Clearly, Jezebel thought I was incapable of dressing myself. I shifted the garment bag over my shoulder. “Fine, what about him?”

Jezebel flashed her hand in Todd’s direction. “He just needs to lose the top two buttons and he’s good to go.”

Todd raised his brows. Smug.

I clenched my jaw. Only I had to get in costume for this event. I forced my attention back to Jezebel. “If this dress has cleavage, I’ll kill you.”

Jezebel pretended to check her wrist for a watch that wasn’t there. “Oh wow, look at the time, I really must be going.” With a wave, she took off in the opposite direction with Dog. “I’ll see you tonight!”

Without opening the bag, I knew the clothes would put a lot more of me on display than I’d like. The question was how much.

Todd maintained his silent, yet self-satisfied, grin.

“Ugh. Vampires,” I sighed, adjusting the garment bag over my shoulder. “Next case, I call dibs on the Elvis Resurrectionists. Then you’ll be the one in costume.”

8

“Oh, come on.”

When I first pulled the dress out of the garment bag, I felt relief. There was so much fabric. But now that I had the dress on, it was another story. Somehow, all the inky-black velvet did nothing to cover my body.

I looked like I was in a constant state of walking out of my clothes. The slit in the skirt was so high up that the dress had a built-in bodysuit. The sleeves barely graced my shoulders. The lapelled V plunged so deep it hit just above my navel.

By some miracle, none of the scars on my stomach were on display.

Maybe I just felt exposed. Maybe if I looked in the mirror, I’d see that… Nope. Looking at myself in the mirror didn’t make things any better.

My attention went right to my chest. My breasts were practically their own exhibit. Even though I’d taped them in to avoid any accidental slips, I looked a breath away from giving someone a show.

And the shoes Jezebel packed? They were platform stilettos.

I hadn’t worn heels this high in, well, ever. For the first few steps, I felt like a newborn foal trying to get my footing.

I cursed Jezebel under my breath.

But she had been right. It did fit. A little too well. She’d made me the perfect vampire bait.

I tucked my hair up into a bun with a few dark strands framing my face, concealed what remained of the bruises, but left my “two” on display. Then, for the first time since I met the agents, I put on eyeshadow. And mascara. I added on layers until I achieved a smokey eye that made me question whether or not it was really me looking back.

After giving myself one final inspection, I shoved away all the thoughts about how I couldn’t wear this in front of the agents, and I stepped into their room.

“Let’s get this over with…”