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Acknowledgments

To Shaho has been a constant in ed in fire, loss, and laughter To Jessica, who taught me competency is a superpower! Will, who helps with research, and answers odd questions without thinking them odd They saw a book from inception to completion for the first time Welcome to the literary salt mines Sherry who feels she has allies at last in the battle to organize a house full of artists Mary, my roups new venture I hope it makes all your dreams come true! And last, but not least, to Sasquatch, who sits bynight for fourteen years To Keiko and Mordor, who have been sitting at my side for only a couple of years, new furry muses to help me write

Thanks to Peter Orca for the title Dead Ice, and to Isis Maria Hess for nas: Etoile du Soir, or "Evening Star"

And for Susan Allison, my editor for over a decade She was able to retire early and I'm happy for her, but sad that this is the last book she will be ferrying through for me Enjoy the

horses, dog(s), your husband, and yourself, as you ereat adventure

1

"SO, YOU'RE ENGAGED," Special Agent Brenda Manning said She wore a black pantsuit with a heavy belt that could wrap around her waist and hold the gun at her side She was FBI and didn't have to worry about concealed carry, so the fact that her gun flashed when her suit jacket flared out, which was every tiainst her white button-down shirt

"Yep," I said My own gun was at the sun fro belt loops added to my skirts so I could wear a belt that could stand up to the weight of a gun and holster I'd coht fro Raise the Dead for a Killing" Bert, our businessthe dead was a rare talent, and you paid for talent But lately my job as a US Marshal for the Preternatural Branch had been taking more and more of my time Like today

The other very special agent, Mark Brent, tall, thin, and looking barely old enough to be out of college, was bent over the portable co on the room's only desk He was dressed in a suit al's except his was brown to un was still a black buainst his white shirt We were in the office of our head honcho, Lieutenant Rudolph Storr Dolph was currently soeant Zerbrowski I wasn't sure which was erous to my peace of mind, but I knew Zerbroould mouth off more He was my partner, , and I didn't owe her my life story

"The article I readout of a fairy tale," Manning said She sth hair back behind one ear and it stayed put, because it was straight as a board My own curls would never have behaved that well

I fought the urge to sigh If you're a cop and a woman, never date a celebrity; it ruins your reputation for being a hardass I was a US Marshal, but ever since we'd gone public with our engagement I'd become Jean-Claude's fiancee, not Marshal Blake, to most of the women I met, and a lot of the men I'd really had hopes that the FBI would be above such things in the , but apparently not

The real problem for me was that the story we told publicly was both true and a lie Jean-Claude had done the big gesture, but only after he'd proposed in the middle of shower sex It had been spontaneous and wonderful and messy, and very real I'd said yes, which had surprised hiirl He'd toldto live up to his reputation for the /president to have a certain flair, and the real proposal was too mundane I hadn't understood that flair would include a horse-drawn carriage--yeah, you heardhorse-drawn carriage If I hadn't already said yes, and loved him to pieces, I'd have told hiotten ine a wedding that topped it sort of scared me

"Oh, yeah, Anita is all into that princess stuff, aren't you, Anita?" Zerbrowski called froainst the wall He looked like he'd slept in his suit, complete with a stain on his crooked tie I knew he'd left his ho-Pen from the Peanuts comic: Dirt and mess just see out of his house His salt-and-pepper hair was getting h to be all h Only his silver-fra around his brown eyes

"Yeah, I'm all about that princess shit, Zerbrowski," I said

Agent Manning frowned at both of us "I' I was just trying to be friendly"

"No, you anting the princess to talk about hoonderful the prince is, and how he swept her off her feet," Zerbrowski said, "but Anita is going to disappoint you like she's disappointed the last dozen woesture"

I wanted to say, it wasn't a big roesture and I had hated it Jean-Claude had loved being able to finally pull out all the stops and just do what, apparently, he'd wanted to do for years while we dated--the whole princely sweep-you-off-your-feet shit I liked to keep round unless sex was involved, and you can't really have sex in a horse-drawn carriage; it scares the horses No, we didn't try, because ere on freaking cae coordinators, so of course we had a videographer It had been all I could do to keep froh all of it, so I'd ss, but it's not my real smile, and my eyes in a few frames have that "wait until we're alone,about this" look

I decided to appeal to Manning's sisterhood of the badge and said, "Sorry, Agent Manning, but ever since the story went live I'irlfriend than ame"

Her face went serious "I' one of the guys and building your rep, and I ask you about your engage"

"I've never seenyou today, Marshal Blake," Brent said as he unbent fro over the coer He seemed fresh-faced and less jaded than the rest of us Ah, to be bright and shiny again, when you thought you could actually win the fight against evil

Manning looked eents, especially not when you've just met them

"Knock it off, Brent," she said

He grinned at all of us "It's just that we've worked together for two years, and I've never seen you squee over anything"

"It's the horse-drawn carriage," Zerbrowski said "Chicks dig that kind of shit"

"Not this chick," I said, quietly under my breath

"What did you say?" Manning asked

"Nothing Is the video ready, Agent Brent?" I asked, hopeful we could actually do our jobs and leave my personal life out of it