"I have no idea. I'm just glad you're okay." I gave him a fierce hug, then pulled back fast. "Did that hurt? You are okay, aren't you?"
He smiled. "I'm fine. Just a little stiff… like someone hit me in the chest with a bullet."
"You remember?"
"I remember a lot of things," he said, then gave a confused frown. "Including things I really ought not to remember, considering I was unconscious at the time. It was very… strange. I was-" His lips curved in a slow smile. "Oh."
"Oh what?"
"I just remembered how I got back here." His smile broadened to a lazy grin that lit up his eyes. "The Fates. You talked to the Fates. You told them-" He paused, and the grin dissipated, eyes sobering. "I must say, though, you were taking a serious risk, Paige. If they'd called your bluff-"
"Bluff?" I squawked. "You think I was bluffing? I couldn't tell a lie to save my own life, let alone someone else's. I can't believe you'd think-"
He tugged me down to him in a kiss. "I had to check." A smile. "Just in case."
"Well, you shouldn't have to, and if you think you do, then that's my fault. No more head games. You're stuck with me. I even followed you into the next world. Now that's commitment… of the scariest stalker-chick kind."
His grin broadened. "Are you sure I'm alive? Because if this is my afterlife, I must have been a very good boy."
"The best," I said, bending over him.
As our lips met, Lucas reached up and pulled me down on top of him. I entwined my fingers behind his head and kissed him with ferocity that surprised me and sent a chuckle rippling through him. He returned the kiss full-strength, his lips parting mine, the tip of his tongue tickling mine. We kissed for a few minutes, then his hands slid to my rear, pulling me against him-
"Uh, sorry to interrupt," a voice wafted from down the alley. "But if any clothing is about to be shed, could you toss it this way?"
I jumped off Lucas so fast I nearly kneed him in a place I really didn't want him injured.
"Elena?" I said.
She peeked out from the end of the alley, her face a pale blob in the blackness.
"Uh, yeah. I am so sorry, guys, but I thought I'd better cut in before it was too late."
"So that was you. The wolf."
"Sorry if I startled you. I'd been by here about a half-dozen times tonight, so when I picked up your scent, I figured it was the old trail, from this morning. Then there you were."
I walked forward. She hadn't moved from her spot behind a garbage bin.
"Why are you-" I began, then grinned. "Oh, wait. You weren't kidding about the clothes, were you?"
Lucas had been coming up behind me, but now stopped in mid-stride.
"That's okay, Lucas," she said. "I'll stay back here. But if anyone has a spare piece of apparel…"
Lucas already had his shirt half-unbuttoned. He handed it to me and I took it to Elena.
"Always the gentleman," she said as he turned his back. "Thank you. I promise I'll get it back in one piece-Oh." She fingered the bloodied bullet hole, eyes widening. "What happened?"
"Got shot through the heart," I said. "But he's fine now."
"Uh-huh," she said, brows arching. "That must have been some healing spell."
"It's a long story. I'll explain later. So what the heck are you doing here, anyway?"
"Looking for you two," she said as she shrugged on Lucas's shirt. "When you missed your eleven o'clock check-in yesterday morning, I started to worry. I phoned your cell and left messages, then I kept phoning and finally someone answered-a guy who found your phone lying in an alley near here. Not a good sign. So we caught the next flight for Miami."
Elena tugged down the shirt, craning her neck to see how far it fell.
"Everything's covered." I leaned around the corner. "Lucas? She's decent."
"So long as I don't bend over," she said with a sigh. "I really have to start leaving my clothing in more convenient places."
"Or you could buy a big fanny pack," I said. "Strap it around your waist before you Change."
"Don't laugh. I've actually considered that."
"Where's Clayton?" Lucas asked. "I assume you didn't come alone."
"Oh!" I said. "Savannah. Did you-"
"She's with Jeremy at a hotel near here. Very worried and mad as hell about being left out of the search. You should call right away. I have my cell phone…" She grimaced. "… which is with my clothing. Sorry."
"Fanny pack," I said.
"No kidding. Now, Clay…" She looked around. "We split up to cover more ground. I should have howled for him before I Changed back, but I was so surprised seeing you two here that I completely forgot."
"You could howl now," I said.
She fixed me with a look. "No, thank you."
"Can you whistle?" Lucas asked.
"A much less embarrassing choice," she said. "Now let's just hope he recognizes it."
Elena put her fingers in her mouth, but only managed a squeal that sounded more like a stuck pig. A laugh sounded behind us.
"You sure howling wouldn't have been less embarrassing, darling?" Clay asked as he rounded the corner into the alley. He lifted a bundle of clothes. "Forgot something?"
"Thank you." Elena took the pile, rooted into her jeans pocket, and handed me her cell phone. "Just hit redial for the hotel."
I spoke to Jeremy, then to Savannah. I told them we were fine and we'd be there in a few minutes. By the time I hung up, Elena was walking out from an adjacent alley, twisting her hair back in a ponytail. Lucas and Clay were talking off to the side.
"We're too late, darling," Clay said as Elena approached. "They finished without us."
She glanced at me. "Bad guy dead?"
I nodded. "Bad guy dead."
"Damn," she muttered. "Well, that's good, of course…"
"But not much fun."
She grinned. "I'll survive. So what happened?"
"His dead lover tore open a portal into the ghost world and we all jumped through. Well, Lucas fell in, I jumped in after him, and Edward jumped in after her. We came back, which is good. He didn't come back, which is also good… except that it means that in punishment for his crimes he gets exactly what he wanted all along-eternal life with the woman he loves."
"Uh-huh. I think I'd better get the uncondensed version after we get back to the hotel. Oh, wait, you guys must be starving. First stop: food."
"What time is it?" Lucas asked, tapping his watch and frowning at it.
"Mine stopped, too," I said. "I don't think they survived that return trip."
"It's just past four A.M.," Elena said.
"You might have some difficulty locating a restaurant," Lucas said.
"Don't worry," Clay said. "We'll find food. We always do."
We stood at the take-out counter of a twenty-four-hour Cuban restaurant. Neither Elena nor Clay had ever eaten Cuban, so they were soliciting opinions and advice from Lucas. After placing the order, we took our coffees into the dining area to wait. After a few minutes, I realized we were getting a lot of attention. The restaurant had only eight other patrons, but every eye had slid our way a couple of times and, by the time my coffee was half-finished, I swear every busboy and cook had peeked out from the kitchen. Now, I'll admit, Elena and Clay made an eye-catching couple, but this seemed a tad excessive. The next time someone looked our way, I followed his gaze to Lucas's shirt.
"Uh, Lucas?" I said.
When I had his attention, I tapped my fingers against my left breast. He arched one eyebrow, lips curving in a slow grin. I rolled my eyes and discreetly pointed at his shirt. His gaze slid down to the bloody bullet hole.
"Ah," he said. "Perhaps I should wait outside… in the alley or someplace suitably dark."
"I'll come with you," I said. "Elena? Can I borrow your cell? I should call Cassandra, let her know we're okay, in case she's noticed we've been missing for eighteen hours."
"Not likely," Clay muttered. "Ten bucks says she hasn't noticed you've left the hotel room yet."