Were-Devils' Revenge [Were-Devils of Tasmania 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Simone Sinna Page A

Five
     
    Queensland, Present Day
     
    As soon as Gabriella heard that the Richards boys wanted to go to Cairns on Friday she offered them a ride. Her father was taking her to the family funeral, and there was room in the plane.
    Gabriella introduced them to her father, Vince, who grinned and shook their hands, winking at his daughter. She winked back. Her father could always read her without having to be able to read minds.
    The light plane was a five-seater, and she ended up next to Mitch with Mac behind.
    “So what are you doing in Cairns?” Vince asked.
    “Just looking around,” said Mac evenly. “We haven’t spent much time in this part of the world, so we want to take advantage of our time here.”
    “You should go up to Palm Beach and Port Douglas,” Vince replied. “Great beaches.”
    The brothers nodded, but Gabriella didn’t get the impression they were intent on checking out beaches. She didn’t see them as souvenir hunters either and, for the first time, wondered what it was they were going to do.
    “Were you close to your…aunt, was it?” Mac was polite but distant.
    Gabriella had the feeling he knew about her and Mitch, and it made her feel uncomfortable, though there was nothing about the night she regretted. She stole a glance at Mitch who winked at her. If Mac saw it, he didn’t react.
    “Great-aunt,” said Gabriella. “And no, but all my family will be here, so it’s kind of a ‘can’t get out of’ occasion.” She looked at her father who rolled his eyes. He had been remarkably tolerant of his wife and her weird relatives.
    They landed smoothly and took a cab, dropping the boys off in the center of town. Gabriella braced herself for the rest of the day.
     
    * * * *
     
    As soon as Mac got out of the plane he had a bad feeling. This time it didn’t have anything to do with Gabriella. He looked at Mitch who had felt it, too. When they were dropped off in town, they headed toward the marina, but they already knew that Lena and Zachary weren’t going to be there.
    “I feel the aura to the west,” said Mac. He looked to the sky as if expecting to see ghost bats swarming, but there was only blue sky and wisps of white.
    “It means more than one or two then?”
    Mac nodded. “We had better spray ourselves again.” Auntie Kate had provided them with a concoction she guaranteed would block the bats from identifying them at a distance. Up close it might be less reliable. It had a slightly sweet, musty rose smell. It seemed they were going to need it.
    The marina, as predicted, though busy, was devoid of the ghost owners of Tropical Tours. The brothers headed west toward the sensations that were coming strongly, a mix of olfactory sensations and a vibration that seemed to be movement but was hard to pinpoint. They got to the edge of the city and instantly knew they were nearly at the source. In front of them was a sprawling cemetery. They looked at each with the same thought. Gabriella would be here.
    To the side of the cemetery the road was lined with pine trees and they took this approach. The gathering was just inside the hedged wall.
    Two hundred, Mac estimated. Maybe more. The heads were mostly blonde and white which made finding the redheaded Gabriella all the easier. She was standing on the edge of the crowd with her father, a blonde woman who was presumably her mother, and an older, white-haired woman who, for all of Mac’s instinct, was stunning in an ethereal way. She held herself with great poise, though he could tell she was troubled.
    “Look,” whispered Mitch, pointing to the right of Gabriella. Mac stiffened. Approaching Gabriella was a striking woman of about her own age with exceptionally pale skin and hair. Lena. The woman joined Gabriella, hugging her.
    “What do you think?”
    Mac was thinking a lot and trying to not only make sense of this but also make some common sense, immediate decisions. They obviously weren’t going to be able to take Lena and Zachary out