Free Green-Eyed Envy by Kasey Mackenzie Page A

plan to have me be her wedding planner is brilliant? When did she slip you the Kool-Aid?”
    Scott rolled his eyes. “Think about it, Riss. You’re a shape-shifter. So you assume a disguise, come up with a cover story, and get instant access to everything and everyone involved in the wedding. The bridal party, relatives, guests, caterers, entertainers—you get the perfect excuse to poke your nose into everything associated with the bride and groom. Because they’re supposedly paying you to make sure their perfect little day goes off without a hitch.”
    “So you think it’s a great plan and I should roll with it?”
    He leaned against the doorway and shrugged. “I think it’s got potential. Trinity and I could pose as your assistants easily enough. We’re much less newsworthy than the Chief Magical Investigator and, thus, easier to disguise without magic.”
    “Oh no, Murphy. You don’t get off so easy if I have to go through with this stupid idea.” I poked him in the chest. “Harper and I discussed that while you were in the little boys’ room. You, my dear, are now Groomsman Number Eight. Congratulations.”
    Horror seeped into his gorgeous features. “Oh hell no, I’m not being groomsman to that . . . that—” His brows shot straight up. “Did you say eight groomsmen?”
    I fought back a snicker as his horror ratcheted even higher. “Eight out of ten. You know how Cats and Hounds are serious about that whole be fruitful and multiply thing. Look at it this way: You’re not really his groomsman; you’ll be acting as his bodyguard during wedding-related events. It could be worse: Your pal Vic the Slick is stuck being her man of honor to avoid a brawl between all her sisters and cousins.”
    Scott shuddered. “Gods, you couldn’t pay me to stand up there with nine bridesmaids.”
    While I’d valiantly held back a snicker, I couldn’t fight off the smirk that came over my face. “Would the thought of playing the part of ‘Groomsman Number Eight’ go down easier if I remind you that I am paying you? Well, the MCU is anyway.”
    “Only if you promise I don’t have to start being nice to that jerkoff.”
    “Why would you start being nice at this late date?” I shot him another smirk and finished twisting the key in my front door. Magic rushed over my skin, cataloguing me as being on the allowed list, and then set a dozen magical alarm bells shrilling painfully. Scott’s supernatural hearing had him clapping hands over his ears and letting out an inadvertent whine. I reacted instantly at the warning that someone had breached my home’s very expensive magical defenses sometime over the past twelve hours. Nemesis and Nike hissed into action when I shifted to full Fury form, twining their way from upper shoulders to lower arms and mentally demanding I let them down. Which I did.
    They promptly slithered into the townhouse to take point. Scott grabbed my arm and bit out a choked, “What the hell, Riss?”
    “The alarm. Someone got in while we were gone.” I didn’t have to specify that someone had been an arcane. We both knew the alarm wouldn’t have reacted so violently to mortals.
    “The Cat killer?”
    “Maybe.” Unease trickled down my spine in the form of shivers. “Stay here while I check it out.”
    “Oh hell no, Princess.”
    I rolled my eyes since he couldn’t see them. “Fine, come on in with me and get zapped into unconsciousness by the defenses just like whoever broke in did.”
    He cursed up a storm when I darted into the house but wisely stayed on the other side of the threshold. Stubborn but not stupid—just one reason we made such a perfect match. When we didn’t want to kill each other.
    I kept my body low, following the magical trail left by Nemesis and Nike, and checking each room on the lower level, though I found nothing out of the ordinary. I frowned. How did whoever broke in stay conscious long enough to get in and back out? It would take someone with an insane