Sealed with a Hiss by Addison Moore (read 50 shades of grey .txt) 📕

on this planet. And I promise, it’s going to be a perfectly romantic yet deadly exit.

“Bizzy? Is everything okay?” Jasper does his best to catch my attention as I hold Fish twice as tight in response.

“No,” I whisper as I look out at the crowded room. “I don’t think anything is okay. In fact, I think there might just be a real corpse to go along with this casket.”

Chapter 2

Death is in the air. I can smell it a mile away.

The lights flash and flicker as the music stalls a moment and Bobbie waves from the front of the ballroom, calling for us all to take our seats.

Fish mewls in my arms, I don’t like this, Bizzy. I’d have Jasper call for backup.

“Not a bad idea,” I whisper.

Jasper raises a brow. “So I’m getting lucky?”

“No, not that—but for sure, yes to that.” I make a face at the crowd of women all jockeying to get a seat up front. “Fish thinks you should call for backup.”

“I like how you think, Fish.” Jasper gives the crowd a quick sweep with his eyes. “I’ve already called Leo, and he’s on his way.”

Leo Granger is Jasper’s good friend. He was the best man at our wedding, in fact. But the two of them weren’t always so close. Way back when, Jasper’s ex-fiancée decided she wanted a bite out of Leo, too, and ruined Leo and Jasper’s friendship for a time, not to mention flushing her engagement to Jasper down the toilet simultaneously.

Suffice it to say, Jasper and Leo had a falling-out after that, but about a year ago Leo came to Cider Cove—because of me, actually. It turns out, Leo shares my quirky gift when it comes to reading minds. We’re something called transmundane, and our strange ability is further classified as telesensual. There are other supernatural abilities that fall under the transmundane umbrella, but ours is unique in that it gives us the ability to tune into other people’s private musings. On the downside, there’s no off button.

Aside from Emmie, only a few people know about my strange quirk, and that would be Jasper, Leo, and Georgie. A friend of mine in Vermont is transmundane, too, but her supernatural quirk involves seeing the dead. Believe me, I’ll take a few noisy minds over a renegade ghost any day of the week.

“Let’s find ourselves a seat,” I say as Fish snuggles up next to my neck.

Jasper gives a quick glance to the refreshment table. “How about you save me a seat, and I’ll snatch up a handful of cookies for us to munch on while we watch the show? And I do believe it’s going to be entertaining.”

I nod. “Let’s hope it doesn’t prove to be deadly.”

We break off in two different directions, and I spot an entire line of familiar women seated together near the front, so I head their way.

Mom waves me next to her, and lucky for me there are two empty seats. I set Fish down next to me as I plop into my own chair.

“You get to warm Jasper’s seat for him,” I tell the feisty feline.

Fish rolls her eyes. And you get to make sure no one sits on me while I’m busy warming his seat.

“Touché,” I whisper just as Sherlock Bones joins us and takes a seat by my feet.

Gizmo and Sugar are just at the end of the aisle. He lets out a friendly bark. I told Gizmo all about the stash of bacon in Georgie’s pocket and he’s dying to meet her.

It’s true. The pockets of Georgie’s kaftans have been known to be a veritable carnivore’s delight. I’m sure any dog within a ten-block vicinity can sniff her out of a crowd.

Mom pulls me in for a quick hug. “Bizzy, this is fabulous,” she pants while fanning herself with one of those hot pink fliers they were distributing at the door.

I’ve already scanned them, front and back, and they’re filled with all of Bobbie and Lacey’s social media info on them.

My mother is petite and gorgeous. Her caramel-colored hair is feathered back, circa nineteen eighty-something, and she typically dresses like a preppy as an ode to that totally awesome era, but tonight she’s donned one of those wonky quilt dresses she and Georgie are making a killing off of down at their shop.

And yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like, a large quilt draped over her like a dress—think blanket with a hole in the middle cut out to poke your head through. The strips that comprise the quilt are cut into all sorts of wonky, mostly triangular shapes, with frayed edges to boot, and the quilts are as comfortable as they are adorable. It’s no wonder they’re flying out the door.

I can’t help but notice that Mom’s cheeks are a caustic shade of red and she has sweat beading on her upper lip.

“Mom, are you okay?” I ask, fanning her with my hand in the event she decides to pass out.

“No, I’m not okay. Georgie bamboozled me into rolling myself in quilt batting because she said it would be a great way to advertise. And here she is in a breezy cotton number while I’ve bundled myself in winter bedding.” She turns to scowl at Georgie. “I’m about ready to pass out in the event you were wondering.”

Georgie makes a face. “Not soon enough, Toots.”

Juni leans in from the other side of Georgie.

Juniper Moonbeam is Georgie’s daughter, the one that happened to be my old stepmother for all of five hot minutes. Juni is a hippie biker chick who has a penchant for leather duds and old leathered dudes to match. She did some time at a correctional facility for who knows what, but she’s out now and she’s been wreaking havoc in Cider Cove ever since.

“A funeral, Bizzy!” Juni claps her hands together. “Can you believe it? And not a single body in the casket. I bet it feels as if it’s your lucky day.”

Macy snorts. “Don’t worry about the