Chapter 200

Blue and gold draped the Victorian-style ballroom. The light of the chandelier twinkled on the glitter of the gold fabric, creating a starry-night effect across the white ceiling. A Moon Goddess altar had been erected at the far end of the room, beneath a life-sized portrait of the building’s founder.

Beneath the altar stood Andrew in his best deep blue three-piece suit. He held his hands together in front of his pants, for want of something to hold in his anxiousness. I knew that he still objected to this wedding, but Lisa had made it clear that if he wanted to be involved in her life, he would need to swallow his emotions and support her, no matter what.

As everyone else took their seats and Bob and his groomsmen took their spots near the altar, I approached Andrew under the guise of straightening his tie.

“Are you all right?” I whispered as I fidgeted with his tie.

“As I can be,” he said under his breath. “Are you?”

I dared a glance back at Bob. He was deep in conversation with his best man. I turned my attention back to Andrew.

“About as well as you, I suppose.”

Andrew forced a smile.

“It’s going to be all right.”

I smiled back.

“I know.” I reached up and kissed Andrew gently on the lips. “Just hang in there.”

“Thank you, my love.”

I rushed to my seat as the string quartet began to play “Here Comes the Bride”.

At the other end of the ballroom stood Lisa in her magnificent fairytale-esque wedding gown. With her bouquet of yellow and blue-dyed roses clutched in her hands, she glided down the aisle with a grace that many women spent years trying to master. Her smile lit up the room and eclipsed even her two bridesmaids—her cousins—who were to give her away in lieu of her father and in light of Louis Beaumont’s death.

She and her bridesmaids came to the altar and took their positions at the altar.

“Dearly beloved,” Andrew began, “we are gathered here today…”

I watched Andrew closely as he delivered his speech, the same speech that I had heard him rehearse a million times over the past several months.

On the outside, he appeared strong and confident. Some people might have even thought that he was happy to be officiating the ceremony. Yet I could see something deeper at play.

His jaw and neck clenched. His eyes flashed every time he looked in Bob’s direction. His fingers dug into the backs of his hands as he said, “…until death do you part.”

Lisa and Bob exchanged their “I do’s”. As they placed their rings on each other, I saw Andrew’s knuckles turn white. I knew that it was taking everything in him to not rip out the heart of the man who was taking away his baby girl—worse, who might be abusing his baby girl.

I glanced at my watch. Noah said that it would happen today, that he only needed to tell them where the wedding was occurring. I just wondered what was taking them so long.

“You are now husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” Andrew announced. Was that a hint of venom that I heard in his tone?

Everyone except for Andrew and I cheered as Bob grabbed Lisa by the waist, pulled her in close, and kissed her hard on the lips.

Hand-in-hand, Lisa and Bob walked down the aisle, smiling and waving at the gathering of friends, family, and who’s who in the werewolf community. At the end of the aisle, Lisa tossed the bouquet over her shoulder. It went flying through the air and landed right in my lap.

Momentarily, I was elated. I imagined Andrew and me exchanging vows on the beach, just like Nikolas and Eliza had done. Then my heart sank as it hit me: Bob and Lisa were now, officially, married.

My crew worked quickly to transform the ballroom into a reception hall. Twenty tables were decorated with alternating blue and gold tablecloths, silk on bottom and lace on top. Some of them had candelabras, while others had vases filled with blue and yellow flowers.

A DJ was set up in one corner, and an open bar was stationed in another. The center remained clear to serve as a dance floor. Smells from the kitchen wafted in as chicken and sirloin were prepared for the hungry guests.

After we were done, we brought everyone back in for dinner, toasts, and dancing. It all went by in a blur. Before I knew it, it was time for Lisa and Bob’s first dance.

The DJ started playing “Forever and for Always” by Shania Twain. Bob held his hand out to Lisa. Lisa, all aglow, happily accepted his hand, and the two walked out together to the center of the dance floor.

Lisa put one hand on Bob’s shoulder and the other on his back. Bob placed both his hands on Lisa’s hips and brought her in close. As they swayed gently to the music, slowly moving in a circle, Lisa rested her head on his shoulder.

It would have been a touching scene, had I not known the monster that hid within the groom. I glared at him, thinking back to those bruises that I had seen on Lisa’s body. I could only hope that those would be the last.

Halfway through the song, Andrew set his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him to see him smiling sadly down at me.

“We tried,” he said. “We’re just going to have to hope that the Mr. Smith’s investigation concludes before anything can happen.”

My eyes drifted to the floor.

“I suppose we will.”

Just then, I heard the pounding of several footsteps storming up the stairs. Andrew must have heard them as well, as he tilted his head toward the door.

“Do you hear that?” he asked.

Before I could answer, five police officers poured in through the stairwell and spread out across the ballroom.

“Freeze! Police!” the officer taking point screamed.

Everyone immediately raised their hands. The DJ stopped the music, and the lights were turned back on.

“What is the meaning of this?” Andrew demanded.

“We are here to arrest one Mr. Bob Barbier.”

Bob stepped forward this time, his hands high in the air.

“On what charges?”

“For the murder of Mr. John Brown.” The lead officer immediately recognized Bob and pulled out his handcuffs. “Put your hands behind your back.”

Bob reluctantly obeyed. He glared at first the officers, then at me.

“You,” he spat. “You did this to me!”

I looked away, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.

“You have the right to remain silent,” the lead officer began to read Bob his Miranda Rights. “Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law…”

Lisa stared, her mouth agape in disbelief, as the police dragged Bob away. Bob did not stop glaring at me the entire time, sending chills down my spine.

Lisa’s jaw snapped shut when they disappeared down the stairwell. She turned her gaze on Andrew and me and stormed over to us.

“How dare you!” she yelled at us. “You couldn’t just leave well enough alone, could you?”

She then ran down the stairs and off into the night.