Dead Is the New Black by Marlene Perez Read Free Book Online Page A

Mom's working late again tonight," she commented. "She'd have a heart attack to see you looking like this. She still thinks you're five."
    "Poppy, thanks so much!" I gave her a hug. She hugged me back, just for a second, and then said, "Oh, don't worry. I'll think of some way you can repay me."
    Whatever torture she had dreamed up in repayment would totally be worth it, I thought, but I knew Poppy well enough not to say it out loud.
    The doorbell rang and I looked at my watch. It was five to seven.
    "He's early," Poppy said. "He's got it bad."
    We started for the door, but then I thought of something. "Hey, Poppy?"
    "Yeah?" She paused at the top of the stairs.
    I gestured to my borrowed finery. "This isn't going to float off my back at midnight, is it?"
    "Of course not," she replied. "I gave you permission to borrow this outfit. And besides, Ryan Mendez is a million times hotter than Brian Miller."
    Poppy went into the kitchen while I answered the door. For a minute, I stared at Ryan and forgot to breathe. He looked amazing. His shirt matched his green eyes. We locked gazes, and neither of us would look away.
    "Hi," he said, smiling softly. "Wow."
    "Hi," I said, still looking into his eyes.
    "Are you ready to go?" he asked. "Or maybe I should come in and say hi to your mom before we leave."
    I opened the door wider to let him in. "Mom's not home from work yet. I think she's still working on that case."
    Ryan shifted his feet nervously but took one step inside. "Really? Dad's still working, too," he said. "Maybe we should just go, then."
    I grabbed my purse. "Poppy, we're leaving. Let Mom know where I am, okay?"
    She came out of the kitchen with the cordless in her hand. "Have fun, you guys." Then, into the phone, "That's a large pie, with everything, extra cheese, and lots of anchovies."
    I made a face. I couldn't help it. I hated anchovies, but Poppy loved them. It was her chance to munch on the fishy morsels to her heart's content.
    "You don't like anchovies, huh?" Ryan said. "I'll have to remember that for next time."
    Next time, huh? There was going to be a next time. I smiled at him. This was going to be a great evening. That's what I thought, anyway. I was definitely not the psychic in the family.

Chapter Seven
    The evening started to go downhill as soon as I got into Ryan's car and saw Samantha sitting in the front seat. Sean was in the backseat, and he looked about as happy as I felt, which was not at all.
    Ryan opened the rear passenger door for me and shot me an apologetic look. "Samantha gets carsick in the back," he explained.
    She had spent plenty of time in backseats, I thought. Of course, the car wasn't usually moving at the time.
    "I hope you don't mind," Samantha said sweetly. "Queasy stomach."
    "I know the feeling," I muttered, but in a louder voice I said, "Not at all. Sean and I can talk about"—I searched frantically for something we could possibly have in common, until I realized he was in my English class—"English."
    Samantha laughed. "That's kind of a sore subject," she said.
    Sean looked at me, stony faced. "I'm flunking it."
    "Oh," I said.
    On the way to the club, Samantha and Ryan chatted easily in the front of the car, while Sean and I maintained an awkward silence in the backseat. I frowned when I noticed how often she managed to touch Ryan's arm in the course of casual conversation.
    She was dressed entirely in alabaster white, from her top to her gorgeous leather boots. Who buys white leather boots? You could wear them maybe once without getting them dirty. The Devereauxs did have money to burn, but it seemed excessive, even for Samantha.
    She caught me staring at her outfit and said, "White is the color of mourning in China." So she was going to dress for death in all seven continents? And designer dead, I'd wager.
    The ankh around her neck gleamed in the dark, and I remembered what Rose had told me about the history of the symbol. Why was Samantha wearing a symbol of the afterlife? And why