Free Broken Heart 07 Cross Your Heart by Michele Bardsley

asked. “C’mon. Obviously they wanted him to come here. Maybe we should be worried about the alpha’s motivations.”
    “Motivations for what?” asked Damian. He sounded both confused and annoyed about my suggestion that Calphon had ulterior motives. Well, what did we really know about the were-cats? They rarely interacted with other people in town. In fact, meeting Tawny and Serri today was the first time I’d ever met any of them. Maybe Tez should be worried about why they wanted him to hang around. I wasn’t sure how I felt about my own circuitous thought processes. Why was I so determined to defend Tez? I didn’t know. But I was firmly in his corner, and that was that.
    Tez chose that moment to enter the room, carrying the hatbox. Oh, I knew the reason he’d left. He’d been eavesdropping. What better way to get information than to leave the room and see who talks behind your back? It wasn’t even a tactic confined to policemen. Gossips at cocktail parties did the same thing. We hadn’t been circumspect at all in our dissection of his motives or character, which was exactly what he was hoping for.
    He put the hatbox on the coffee table and resumed his seat between me and Damian. He looked at me, and winked.
    It seemed he was unconcerned about what anyone thought about him, and despite all our ruminations, he had yet to confirm why he’d taken Calphon up on the invitation to visit, or if he planned to petition for residency.
    Gabriel leaned forward and plucked off the lid. He carefully removed the skull and looked it over. I wasn’t sure what information he was gleaning from it, if anything at all. He glanced at his wife. She flicked an annoyed look at him and gave a somewhat imperious gesture that I translated as Give it to Damian, you peon.
    I was shocked at her behavior. I’d never seen her treat Gabriel in such a manner. I peeked at Eva, who was staring at Patsy much the same way I was. Suddenly, Eva stood and went to Lorcan. He immediately put his arm around her shoulders and she clung to him, pressing her face against his shoulder. The tension between the two of them eased, although Patsy didn’t notice the silent makeup between Eva and Lorcan.
    Damian’s examination of the skull was cursory. He handed it to Patsy and she stared at the sockets. “I got nothing. Can you show us where you found the grave? Maybe I’ll pick up something there.”
    We all stood up and trooped out of the living room.
    “Do you want your coat, Elizabeth?” asked Tez. He grabbed his leather jacket hanging from the newel post on the staircase and slipped it on.
    “No, thank you. I’m fine.”
    He nodded, and we followed the others through the front door. I led the gang around the house and into the woods. The storm had left the path muddy and littered with debris. I watched Gabriel try to help Patsy over a tangle of felled branches, but his wife jerked away from his touch. Something was terribly wrong between the two of them—and my stomach hurt to think they might be having marital woes.
    Lorcan and Eva were at the rear of the group, so I couldn’t draw my friends aside and inquire about Patsy’s obvious ire with Gabriel. For now, I had to focus on finding the grave and discovering why I was having visions of murder. Obviously, we’d stirred something up—and it had started with the little box that Patsy had uncovered at the Silverstone mansion.
    I think it was the small whispering voice of the other Elizabeth that led me once again to the spot where I uncovered her. We gathered around the mucky hole. I was amazed at how much I managed to dig with just my hands, determination, and a little vampire strength.
    We all examined the protruding bones.
    “You’re sure she was murdered?” Patsy asked.
    “Yes.” I felt an overwhelming sadness. “We should rebury her.”
    “We should find her killer,” added Tez.
    “Patsy, tell Elizabeth about the secret room,” said Eva. She shared a look with her husband and