All Hallows Night (Night Series) Read Online Free Page B

were exposed wooden planks in the ceiling. Traditional woven tapestries decorated the walls in a colorful burst of pinks, teals and oranges, and extremely fat beeswax candles lit the sparsely decorated room. There was just the couch I sat on, the leather chair Grace sat on, and one floor rug.
    “Better,” I agreed. I’d always been of the less-is-more variety.
    “Aye.” She nodded, but I sensed she wasn’t altogether here. She was more distracted than normal, and I’m sure I knew why.
    I wasn’t supposed to have survived my night in Hell. And I probably wouldn’t have if Billy hadn’t been there. I saw that night so differently now, when at the time I’d been confused as to whether he meant to kill me himself or rescue me.
    The last place in the world I wanted to be was here now. I wanted to talk to Billy, wanted to figure this impossible situation out, which meant I had to be perfect.
    “Grace, you’re distracted.” I smiled sympathetically. “What’s the matter?”
    Her eyes jerked back to my face and she shook her head. “You always were good at reading me.”
    I shrugged and wondered if she knew that the night I’d returned from Hell I’d hovered over her bed with a knife in my hand, ready to slit her from neck to sternum. “You’re like the mom I never had, Grace. I just worry about you.”
    “That’s nice.”
    “Sooo...,” I drawled when another ten minutes passed. What was up with Grace? She was definitely not on it tonight; it had to be more than just the fact that I’d survived her betrayal. No, she was definitely off her game. “Where’s you’re assistant? Shouldn’t she be bringing my files? You told us to come to Mexico. Something to do with zombies, right?”
    Jerking as if she’d been slapped, Grace rubbed her forehead with the back of her liver-spotted hand. “I gave Lupe the night off. But you’re right.” She nodded. “I am distracted and not just about the case.”
    Feigning interest, my brows twitched. “Oh? What’s the matter?”
    Her smile was weak, never reaching her eyes. “Just a phone call I got before you arrived.” She swished her hand.
    When you live as long as I have, you come to learn tells pretty well. Most of them, believe it or not, are fairly universal across distance and language barriers. Grimaces for bad smells. Eyes widening for a lie. Swallowing compulsively from nerves.
    She was moistening her lips and swallowing hard. An obvious sign that she was nervous about something. Very nervous.
    I can’t deny that got my curiosity burning. Very few things had ever made Grace this way. She was the quintessential example of cool under fire.
    “My documents are over there.” She pointed a gnarled finger at the pitifully tiny kitchen counter. “Next to the hot plate. Can you grab them?”
    I quickly retrieved the papers and started thumbing through them. Same routine as all the other times before. “So what’s up, Grace?”
    “Zombie hive has activated for some reason. We’ve kept an eye on this part of the region for a while, suspecting that perhaps the hive might be planning something.”
    You might hear hive and feel a little confused. Point in fact, zombies are not the mindless killers books have made them out to be. They do have a pack mentality, but they only attack when ordered by their creator or, as they refer to her, their queen. Of all the paranormal baddies in the world, zombies were pretty all right by me. They liked to eat brains and mostly kept to themselves. But if you didn’t bother them, they usually wouldn’t bother you. Unless of course you were dinner and well... then all bets were off.
    But knowing that, I couldn’t help but think of the conversation I’d heard back in the bar. True, zombies ate humans for food, and yes there was a hallmark to their style of killing but I only knew that when I happened to interrupt one in the middle of feeding, which wasn’t often. Like I said, they’re not the murderous band of killers movies