Free Til Death (Jane #5) by Samantha Warren Page A

I
looked at it, I couldn’t help but smile. It slipped on easily and
wrapped around my body like a well-worn pair of jeans. It was tight
enough to show off my curves, but not so tight that it felt
constricting. The front was cut just above the knee and draped
around to trail behind me. I did a couple turns in the mirror and
felt the corners of my lips pull up involuntarily.
    “This is the one,” I said as I opened the
door.
    Donna’s dull eyes brightened noticeably when
she saw me and she nodded emphatically. “That’s the one.”
    A sigh echoed from behind us and I grinned at
Mindy. For the first time since the whole wedding process started,
I was actually a bit excited instead of dreading it.
    The sun was coming up when Donna and I
finally ducked into the blacked-out SUV. Jax snoozed in the
driver’s seat until Donna slammed the door, startling him awake. He
rubbed his eyes and looked at me. “Any luck?”
    I nodded and smiled. “Yep. We found it.”
    “Oh, thank God. I can’t do this another
night. I killed the battery on my PSP this time.” A wicked grin
broke across his face at Donna’s disgusted snort and I fought hard
to suppress my own.
    Back at the hotel, my elation at finally
finding the right dress disappeared when we walked through the door
to my suite. It had been transformed into a garden. There were
flowers of every shape, size, and color in vases and arrangements
of all sorts. Annie stepped out from behind a Felipe-sized display
of red roses and white orchids with a small Asian man in tow.
    The next six hours were spent going over
every imaginable combination of floral decorations. I was hanging
onto my patience by a thread by the time Donna escorted the florist
to the lobby. I collapsed onto the sofa and growled. Annie plopped
down beside me, holding out a glass filled with thick red liquid. I
sipped it in between deep breaths until a knock sounded at the
door. She got up to answer it and returned moments later with a
sexy Italian behind her.
    A grin broke unbidden across my face and I
set my glass down on the side table as I bounded to my feet. Felipe
wrapped his arms around me and I sank into him, inhaling his scent
and resting my head against his chest. We stood there for what felt
like an eternity until Jax cleared his throat.
    “Listen, lovebirds, Felipe has to be back at
headquarters when the sun goes down, and Jane hasn’t slept in three
days. I’m going to take Annie and scoot for a few hours.”
    Felipe nodded at Jax. “Good plan. See you
later.”
    We waited until the door shut, then Felipe
scooped me up into his arms and sat in a big, overstuffed chair in
the corner. He looked into my eyes and ran a finger along my
cheek.
    “I feel like I haven’t seen you in days, my
darling Jane. Between the wedding and the vampires, it’s been
crazy. I think you may have been right about Vegas.”
    I gave Felipe a smirk, his classic look that
I’d been working on for the past few months. “Felipe, my dear,
there is one thing you should have learned long ago. Women are
always right. It’s inherent in our genes.”
    His deep laugh echoed through the room and
his eyes sparkled. “That may be true. You are marrying me, after
all.”
    “Vampires. Their egos grow with age,” I
quipped before pressing my lips to his.
    “Mmm. I’ve missed that,” he said when we
finally pulled ourselves apart. “So how was your day? Has Donna
finished planning your dream wedding yet?”
    I sighed for the umpteenth time that day and
rested my cheek on his shoulder. “We found the dress. It’s
absolutely beautiful, and there’s no frilly junk anywhere on it. I
think we might have the flower arrangements done, too, but she was
waffling right before the florist left, so I guess I’ll find out
tomorrow. How was the meeting?”
    Felipe puffed his cheeks and blew the air out
as he leaned his head against the back of the chair. “Tiring. Some
of the teams are making good progress. One of the teams in DC