I drove home, thinking about my relationship with Jerry. Not only did we look at love differently but we were different kinds of vampires. He didn’t hesitate to use his powers, shape-shifting often, even flying when he wished. I was a fearful vampire.
Jerry loved the hunt. He liked to stalk mortals and drink their blood. For sport! He loved the chase, the danger. Now that there were cameras so many places, it just increased the risk and the rush for him. He rarely drank synthetic and did it only in a social setting, to please me. This opportunity to buy one of Dom’s franchises would be a business decision. If it was a money maker, Jerry would consider it. But he wouldn’t be thrilled to own it for his own pleasure like Fergus and Maggie would. The foolish man would still go out in the late-night hours and look for prey, hunting down hapless humans and taking blood the old-fashioned way. Oh, it made me crazy!
I was terrified he’d be caught someday and there would be hell to pay. Literally. To be honest, wasn’t that where a blood sucking vampire was bound to end up once death finally took him?
25
I couldn’t believe Halloween was almost here. Jerry had arrived the night before, taking the same luxury suite he’d had. I got a text from him asking me to meet him but I let him know I’d be too busy to see him. That killed me, but Dom had me working every night from sunset until almost dawn. He was really nervous about this blood tasting.
“I can’t believe so many RSVPs have come in. I think I should have rented out a ballroom in a hotel for this.” Dom paced his office, going over every detail. He had Caroline stationed at the door to the club in case one of his invited vampires or one he hadn’t invited decided to show up early. It seemed Dom worried about everything, even problems that were unlikely to happen, like a vampire raid by one of his old enemies. Our storerooms were bulging with premium synthetics worth a fortune.
“It would help if you’d calm down. But you’re right about one thing: this will be quite a crowd. I can’t handle this many people by myself. You’ve got twenty-three vampires coming along with their ‘companions.’ That makes thirty-seven. Who knows if more will show up with a friend? This has turned into a party, Dom.” I was checking lists and feeling overwhelmed. His big idea of making this into a costume party had resonated with the vampires. This was obviously more of a social thing than he’d intended. Now the tasting and bidding for territories was taking a back seat to the Halloween bash.
“A party with serious business going on, Glory.” He rifled through some papers.
“You’re going to have to give in and hire local vampires to help. I know of a couple of vamps who could use the money. Halloween falls on the first Monday, Dom. They’ll be available to work as waitstaff.”
“Who do you have in mind?” He didn’t even look up.
We hadn’t explained to Manny what we were doing on the night the club was usually closed, but Dom had told him to help me decorate the club for Halloween the week before the big event. The usual spider webs and fake skeletons had been upgraded to strobe lights in orange and displays of bats flying out of caldrons filled with smoking dry ice to give them an eerie effect.
“You know Connie Washington. She could work as a waitress. The male vampires would love her. Dennis O’Hara would charm the ladies. How about those two? I have their numbers.” I tapped Dom on the shoulder to get his attention. “Are you listening to me?”
“Those two. Yes. Not Karla. She’ll try to make trouble. She’s still mad at me for keeping all of this territory for myself.” He frowned at his computer. “Do you know a Robert MacDonald? He says he knows you.”
“Yes, we go back centuries. Why?” I pulled out my cell phone. I knew both Connie and Dennis could use the tips they’d get from this event. I hated losing what I could earn, but had faced the fact that I couldn’t handle a crowd that big alone. Not a crowd of vampires who’d be drinking synthetics laced with alcohol and cocaine.
“He’s at me to take the Hollywood territory. Says that should be its own section. MacDonald claims it’s going to be huge and I know he’s right. He’s offering quite a chunk of change for the right of first refusal if I will consider it.”
“Think about it, Dom. How can you service Nevada and California? San Francisco and L.A. plus Las Vegas? You’ll get a percentage of everything he sells, won’t you? That would be huge and you wouldn’t have to do a thing but count your money.” I knew Dom wasn’t doing such a great job of keeping the people here in Las Vegas happy. But then how many wealthy permanent residents did he have here? He kept the vamps at the Council House supplied with premium, with the hope they had rich friends who would visit.
“You’ve got a point, Glory. You might make a good businesswoman, after all.” He started typing, then hit a button. “I told him I’m considering it. Happy?”
“I’d be happy if I could afford to bid on those rights.” How true. “Hey, who owns the rights to the stuff I buy, Dom? The cheaper brands?” I looked down at my phone. The number of my supplier was in there and it wasn’t Dom. “Are those yours too? Juicz, Blud-lite, Diablo Red, Blott-O?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I nail those down too? Your boy Oscar pays me my percentage every time you buy from him.” He frowned at me. “Are you going to make those calls or not? Connie Washington is a babe. She’ll add something extra to the event. Put her in a costume with a lot of skin showing. Dennis? Hell, he’ll talk too much, but ladies seem to like him.”
“They do.” I called them. Connie was as thrilled with the opportunity to make the extra cash as I knew she would be. Dennis wanted to bring Marlene with him. “Will she work? Or be trolling the group, looking for a new sugar daddy?” I didn’t trust Marlene. She’d gotten her ID papers from Karla but had yet to sing in a lounge.
“She’ll work or I’m send her packing. We both need the money, darlin’. Do me this favor?” He seemed sincere and I felt sorry for him.
“I tell you what. Tell her to bring a CD with some tunes for our Karaoke machine. She can sing for the crowd. Retro music. It’ll be nice to have some entertainment while the group samples the synthetics. I’ll run it by Dom, but I think it’ll fly. She can have a tip jar. If that doesn’t suit her, then she can’t come.”
“Oh, it’ll suit her. The crowd will love her. We’ll both be there.”
“In costume, Dennis. Tell her to make it sexy. We’ll coordinate.” I hung up then told Dom what I’d done. He didn’t care. He was still in a tizzy over logistics. The vampires were coming from all over the world, even his beloved Romania. The makers of the synthetics from there had decided to see how he was handling the distribution of their specialty brews.
“Glory, we have to make this perfect. High class.” He looked around his office and frowned. We could hear the music from the stage coming through the walls. The dancers were doing a cute dance to “Love Potion #9”, my Halloween number. They were wearing witch hats and not much else. It had been a hit this week.
“God, if the Romanians see the topless dancers, they’re going to pull this thing from me.” Dom would have torn his hair out if he’d had any.
“You don’t know that. Besides, the dancers won’t be here Monday. Meet the scientists at their hotel. When are they coming?” I walked around to look over his shoulder. “Is that the email they sent?”
“Yes. They’re coming early. Saturday. They can’t wait to see how we have things set up. Shit.” He put his head in his hands.
“Were they vampires first? Or scientists?” I touched his back. Yes, I’d been mad at him, but right now I felt sorry for him. This off-the-Strip dump wasn’t exactly the kind of place you brought serious inventors or investors and yet he was doing the best he could. This was Dom’s big chance to take his fortune to the next level. I understood the ambition. I was burning with it.
“Former scientists who are now vampires. They told me their story.” He sat up and shook his head. “I guess once a scientist, always a scientist. They were turned and then decided to use their knowledge to create th
e best synthetic they could. It’s a husband-and-wife team. I’d say bring the man here and let him enjoy my ladies doing their bare breasted dances, but I’m afraid the wife won’t like that.”
“You never know until you ask. Be honest with them, Dom. Explain your goals, your dreams. Obviously, they were driven to make their own dreams come true and their synthetics were born.” I smiled. “I think you should be there at the hotel when they check in, greet them and then tell them the truth about what we have planned. See what they say. You’ve worked your butt off. I think they’ll be impressed with your plans.”
Dom ran his hand over his bald head. “You’re right. I want you with me. Looking classy. You can help me explain our plans.”
“Dom, Jerry’s in town. Remember?” If I got involved with the out-of-towners, I’d never get free. Then there were the missing opportunities for tips. Saturday night was big here at the Velvet Slipper.
“I’ll pay you.” Dom stared into my eyes.
“Stop trying to read my mind.” I jerked away from him. “You want my help, never do that.” I needed to get back out to the showroom. The music had stopped and I could hear Manny talking on the sound system. Time to make some tips. “My relationship with Jerry is rocky at best. I’ll do it if I get paid well and can plan on the night off after we’re done. Deal?”
“Deal.” He stepped between me and the door. “I’ll hire a new waitress. I need your help with this now, not out there serving drinks. Stay and look over this guest list. Go with me Saturday night and forget Jerry.” He touched my bra strap. “I haven’t forgotten our kiss.”
“You’re not serious.” I grabbed his hand. “I don’t have time for this now.”
“I’ll pay you a big bonus for your help.” He named a figure that stopped me in my tracks. “I’ll back off the flirting, whatever you want to call it.” He stepped away from the door. “Hell, Glory, I’m sorry. Can’t you see I’m losing my mind, afraid I’m fucking this up? Go look at my computer. Maybe MacDonald is right and I need to redraw the territories. Am I in over my head?”
“You’re asking me about business?” I stood there, wearing my sparkly bra and revealing shorts, and wondering if we’d both lost our minds. Dominic Mayer had found these scientists and others and managed to secure the rights to high quality brands of synthetic blood. Several of them had the kick of alcohol or a drug. They were bound to be money makers for whoever decided to invest in and distribute them. I’d have given anything if I’d been rich enough to be one of those investors. This last-minute panic was just that—panic. I shook my head then took him by the shoulders and led him to his desk.
“Dom. Show me your spread sheet. The one with the brands you have to sell.” I stood behind him while he brought up the graph.
“See? There they are.” I squeezed his shoulder. “Now bring up the territories you want to sell to distributors.” I pretended to understand how the little boxes worked on the graph. He’d put values in them. Some seemed too big, others too little. I listened while he explained them. My mind was racing. Was there any way I could get in on this? I pretended to pay attention while I mentally went over my bank balance. No way. These territories would go for millions. Dom had even estimated how many vampires lived in various cities.
“Where did you get those numbers? Vampires live off the grid. I know I certainly didn’t participate in a census.” I sat on the edge of his desk. It seemed funny that he had so much information about people who spent centuries trying to stay invisible to the mortal world.
“You saw the Council House. Las Vegas isn’t the only city with a Council. I got in touch with the Councils in Los Angeles, New York City, Houston, New Orleans, Paris, London, capitals all over the world. I’m surprised you didn’t know about the vampire network.” He hit a button and a website came up. “Have you seen this site?”
“You’re kidding me. I could have looked up the vampire councils when I moved to a new city?” I gawked at the professional website. The name was strange—Myron the Leech and Friends.
“Sure. You just have to know where to look.” He put in a question and a list came up. “See? The address of our Council House for visiting vampires.”
“Who is Myron?” I couldn’t believe this was available. No one had told me about it. Did Jerry know? Was he really trying to keep me a secret? I felt my stomach burn. I should confront him about that but I was desperately eager to see him after months apart. Gods, but I hated my weakness around him, for him.
I’d never connected with other vampires before like I had here. It was a miracle that I’d accidentally walked into Dom’s business for a job. That coincidence was changing my life forever.
“Myron is the nerd who set this up. You can imagine it took a long time and a lot of trust. It’s not on the dark web. That would make it suspicious. No, it’s out there like any other website. Look at it. Boring as hell to anyone just trolling the web. But we know it’s something more.” He grinned and hit another button. “Check this out: Myron’s Favorite Places is a list of the addresses of safe houses all over the world. Myron’s cousins? Lists of vampires who wish to be on here. You want me to add you? I can put your current name and cell phone number, city too. You can be listed as a safe contact for a vamp in need of help.”
“Do it. How do you find out about this stuff?” I would have loved to have had this resource during some really dark nights when I’d almost called Jeremiah for help. Pride had kept me from it. “How many vamps are on there?”
“Hundreds. Not everyone is open to it. Paranoia is common among our kind.” He frowned. “For good reason. Look at what happened with the wolf pack.”
“They seem to be leaving us alone now.”
“They’d better.” He typed in my information. “Not even your shifter should know about this. Ask him. Ask him if he knows Myron the Leech. Bet you a hundred bucks he never heard of him.”
“Wow. I’ve been pretty stupid, though. Going it alone all these years.” I hated that. “My sire…”
“He probably knows, but maybe not. Is he into tech?” Dom smiled. “A lot of the older vampires ignore this shit.” He frowned as he typed. “Some of these phone numbers probably aren’t good. People change numbers all the time and don’t update their information, and you have to be careful using the safe houses. We try to keep them a secret. This site is a carefully guarded secret.” He nodded. “Okay, you’re in. But don’t help just anyone. Be cautious, Glory.”
“I have learned to be. That’s why I’ve survived this long.” I realized my fists were clinched. I wondered if Jerry did know about this site. He hired people to do tech work for him and didn’t care for computers. Did Robert? Micah had visited the Las Vegas Council House. He must have found it on Myron’s site. I wanted to spread the word. Every vampire should know. It could be a life saver.
“I guess I could even go to a library if I didn’t have a computer and look this up if I got in a jam.”
“That’s right.” Dom did that thing he did, rubbing his bald head, when he was nervous. “Go on out and get your tips. I need to think about how we’re handling the tasting. It would be a disaster if I ran out of the brands I’m pushing. I want to check my supplies again.”
“For the hundredth time.” I walked to the door. “Jerry’s in town. I’m leaving as soon as I serve the last customer. About Saturday night…” I paused. “I’ll go with you, but I expect that bonus in advance.”
“Fine. Tell Manny to go ahead and hire an extra waitress to take your place. I can use you here in the office once the bids for territories come in.” He must have seen my hesitation. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay you extra.”
“I won’t have to wear this cheesy outfit?” I looked down at my boobs, bulging out of my bra top.
“Well, I do enjoy seeing a little skin.” He grinned.
“A lot of skin.” I stuck out my tongue at him. “Regular clothes and it’s a deal.”
“Okay, after the tasting, you work as my assistant. Regular cl
othes. Unless someone calls in sick and we need you out on the floor.” He glanced at his phone which had started vibrating. “Go, I have to get this.”
“Fine.” I walked into the noise of the bar area and grabbed a tray. I spotted Jerry immediately. He had taken a table in the corner, away from the stage. He smiled when he saw me and gestured for me to come over.
“I can get you some of Dom’s private stock if you’d like a drink.” I held up a finger as a signal to wait at a customer who was trying to get my attention.
“What I’d like is to see you alone.” He reached for my hand and pulled me closer. “What’s going on? Are you mad at me? Valdez won’t tell me anything except you’re busy with work. Helping Mayer with this blood tasting thing coming up.”
“That’s right. It’s very important to him.” I held a tray in one hand and Jerry’s fingers in the other. I wanted to move closer and kiss him hello. I’d missed him. It had been months since we’d seen each other. His eyes raked over my costume, taking in how it showed so much skin.
“You know I don’t give a damn what’s important to Mayer. I care about you. When can you leave here? Come back to the hotel with me?”
“At closing time. I’ve missed you. I can’t wait.” I pulled my hand from his. “I’ll bring you a glass of the Brazilian synthetic with a kick. You’ll enjoy it. Now let me serve my customers.” I walked away, feeling his gaze on my butt as I leaned over to take an order at the next table. One more order and I was on my way to the bar. In minutes I was back, serving the other tables first before I leaned over to place a napkin then the goblet with that fine synthetic in front of Jerry.
“There you go, sir. That will be twenty dollars unless you want to run a tab.” I stood and looked him in the eyes. “Enjoy.” He watched me closely. I knew what I looked like and I didn’t appreciate how it made me feel—exposed, cheap.
“Oh, I will enjoy it.” He held out a hundred-dollar bill. “Keep the change.”
Real Vampires: Glory Does Vegas Page 28