Read Definitely Dead for Free Online

the mansion of a shifter.”
    I’d learned a lot about him in two minutes flat. “So you put on events in the supernatural world, like the contest for packmaster.” That had been a dangerous job and one requiring a lot of specialized paraphernalia. “But what else is there to do? A packmaster’s contest can only come up every so now and then. How much do you have to travel? What other special events can you stage?”
    “I generally handle the Southeast, Georgia across to Texas.” He sat forward in his chair, his big hands resting on his knees. “Tennessee south through Florida. In those states, if you want to stage a fight for packmaster, or a rite of ascension for a shaman or witch, or a vampire hierarchal wedding—and you want to do it right, with all the trimmings—you come to me.”
    I remembered the extraordinary pictures in Alfred Cumberland’s photo gallery. “So there’s enough of that to keep you busy?”
    “Oh, yes,” he said. “Of course, some of it is seasonal. Vamps get married in the winter, since the nights are so much longer. I did a hierarchal wedding in New Orleans in January, this past year. And then, some of the occasions are tied to the Wiccan calendar. Or to puberty.”
    I couldn’t begin to imagine the ceremonies he arranged, but a description would have to wait for another occasion. “And you have three partners who do this full-time, too? I’m sorry. I’m just grilling you, seems like. But this is such an interesting way to make a living.”
    “I’m glad you think so. You gotta have a lot of people skills, and you gotta have a mind for details and organization.”
    “You have to be really, really, tough,” I murmured, adding my own thought.
    He smiled, a slow smile. “No problem there.”
    Yep, didn’t seem as though toughness was a problem for Quinn.
    “And you have to be good at sizing up people, so you can steer clients in the right direction, leave them happy with the job you’ve done,” he said.
    “Can you tell me some stories? Or is there a client confidentiality clause with your jobs?”
    “Customers sign a contract, but none of them have ever requested a confidentiality clause,” he said. “Special Events, you don’t get much chance to talk about what you do, obviously, since the clients are mostly still traveling beneath the surface of the regular world. It’s actually kind of a relief to talk about it. I usually have to tell a girl I’m a consultant, or something bogus like that.”
    “It’s a relief to me, too, to be able to talk without worrying I’m spilling secrets.”
    “Then it’s lucky we found each other, huh?” Again, the white grin. “I’d better let you get some rest, since you just got off work.” Quinn got up and stretched after he’d reached his full height. It was an impressive gesture on someone as muscular as he was. It was just possible Quinn knew how excellent he looked when he stretched. I glanced down to hide my smile. I didn’t mind one bit that he wanted to impress me.
    He reached for my hand and pulled me to my feet in one easy motion. I could feel his focus centered on me. His own hand was warm and hard. He could crack my bones with it.
    The average woman would not be pondering how fast her date could kill her, but I’ll never be an average woman. I’d realized that by the time I became old enough to understand that not every child could understand what her family members were thinking about her. Not every little girl knew when her teachers liked her, or felt contempt for her, or compared her to her brother (Jason had an easy charm even then). Not every little girl had a funny uncle who tried to get her alone at every family gathering.
    So I let Quinn hold my hand, and I looked up into his pansy-purple eyes, and for a minute I indulged myself by letting his admiration wash over me like a bath of approval.
    Yes, I knew he was a tiger. And I don’t mean in bed, though I was willing to believe he was ferocious and