Free The Undead Next Door by Kerrelyn Sparks

is?”
    “Yeah, it’s real late for you to have a boyfriend over,” the masculine voice sneered. “Why don’t you wait till the weekend when I have Bethany? I don’t want her exposed to the lowlifes you sleep with.”
    Jean-Luc sucked in a deep breath. This had to be Heather’s ex-husband.
    “I have several out-of-town guests spending the night,” Heather gritted out. “And it’s none of your damned business.” She slammed the phone down. “God, I hate Thelma.”
    “Who is she?” Jean-Luc asked.
    “My next-door neighbor. She’s best friends with Cody’s mother, and she spies on me. She calls Cody’s mother, who calls Cody—”
    “And he calls you,” Jean-Luc finished the sentence. He wished this Cody would show up in person. The bastard needed to learn how to respect women.
    “I’d better check on Bethany.” Heather rushed from the room. “The phone might have woken her up.” She jogged up the stairs.
    Jean-Luc moved to the base of the stairs so he could admire her swaying hips.
    Fidelia swooshed through the kitchen door with a beer bottle in her hand. “Enjoying the view?” She chuckled as she headed for the stairs. “Ay, caramba, but you are muy macho. I am glad you are here, Juan.”
    “It is my pleasure.” He wondered if the older woman had been eavesdropping. Probably.
    “Good night.” Fidelia started up the stairs.
    She must have forgotten about the tarot card left from her reading. “Good night.” Jean-Luc wandered back into the living room.
    The last card remained facedown on the coffee table. Supposedly this was the card that foretold the outcome of their dilemma. He reached down and flipped it over.
    He jerked his hand away as if it’d been burned with silver. A skeleton rode a horse.
    Death.
    Chapter 6
    “Come on, sweetie. There are some people I want you to meet.” Heather led her daughter down the staircase.
    Bethany had been half awake when Heather had checked on her, and she’d thought it best to introduce the four-year-old to their new bodyguards. The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to be frightened if she woke up and found a stranger in her room.
    Bethany held tight to her mother’s hand, taking each step one at a time.
    Heather reached the foot of the stairs and turned to face her daughter. “Sweetie, we have two people visiting us. I want you to meet Emma ’cause she’ll be staying in your bedroom tonight.”
    “Why?” Bethany scratched at her pink pajamas.
    “Just to make sure you’re safe. Sorta like your own personal guardian angel.”
    “Oh.” Bethany blinked. “Does she have wings?”
    “No, but she’s as pretty as an angel.” Heather led her daughter to the living room and spotted Jean-Luc at the coffee table. He stepped back and stood stiffly by the wingback chair.
    Heather narrowed her eyes. She’d detected a hint of guilt in his expression before it had gone blank. What had he been up to? She glanced at the coffee table. The tarot cards had been gathered together into a neat stack.
    She wondered what the seventh card had been. Had Jean-Luc seen it? She dragged her gaze from the stack of cards back to him and realized he was staring curiously at her and her daughter. “I brought Bethany to meet you.”
    “She looks so much like you.”
    “Yeah. It’s called genetics.” Heather got the impression he wasn’t around children very much. “Sweetie, this is Mr. Echarpe.”
    Bethany raised a hand. “Hi.”
    Jean-Luc bowed. “I am honored to meet you, Bezanie.”
    She tugged on her mother’s pajamas and whispered, “He talks funny.”
    “He’s from France. Like Belle,” Heather whispered back, aware of the wry look he was giving her.
    “And the Beast?” Bethany asked.
    Heather returned his wry look. “Exactly.”
    “Is he my guardian angel, too?” Bethany asked.
    “No. Emma is yours.” Heather glanced around, but Emma was apparently still on the front porch.
    “I will be guarding your mother,” Jean-Luc