DraculaVille - New York - Book One

by Lara Nance

  “Seriously, Tal.”

  “Seriously, I don’t know.”

  “Did you work on the video today?”

  “Yes, I went to Justin’s this morning. It’s fabulous. But it won’t work if Drake’s not around to follow through after the presentation.”

  “Can I make you something to eat?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not hungry. Felix might be.” Her stomach was currently squeezed into a hard knot. No way it would accept any food.

  Gerri went after Felix, and Talia laid her head on the arm of the sofa. She was so tired and her nerves so frayed she’d progressed to the point of numbness. Her brain didn’t work right, either. Drake’s face floated in her mind. She couldn’t make plans or think past this very moment.

  A savory smell hit her nostrils and she guessed Gerri must be whipping up something in the kitchen. It only made her stomach flip and squish. She glanced at her watch again. Almost six. The sun was going down. Surely she’d hear something soon. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her chest.

  Voices woke her. She’d dozed without knowing. Damn it. Her watch read ten after seven.

  “Talia,” Felix called, urgency shading his voice.

  She yawned and sat up, turning toward the door. There Drake held Pip’s hand with Felix and Gerri beside them. Her throat constricted as she tried to say something and only a squeak came out. Her heart thumped and tears started to her eyes.

  Drake released Pip’s hand and strode toward her, eyes intent. She jumped up and rushed into his embrace, tears spilling past her lashes. He was safe. She twined her arms around his neck, and pressed him close, while his circled her waist. He lifted her off her feet as if she weighed nothing, and hugged her tightly to his chest. The coolness of his body leeched into her. She shivered, but not in a bad way.

  When he set her down, she stepped back and grasped his upper arms. His eyes burned hot as his gaze devoured her face. He must not have eaten in a while.

  “Are you all right?” she managed past a tight throat.

  “Yes. I’ll tell you everything in a minute. First, I need to put Pip in bed.”

  The little guy appeared worse for the wear. His nice new clothes had rips and stains and his hair was in clumps.

  Drake motioned him forward with a flick of his hand. The boy trudged across the floor, head down. He stopped in front of Talia. “I’m very sorry, Mom. I won’t do it again.”

  Drake took his shoulder and directed him down the hall. “You’ll stay in your room until I tell you to come out. Is that clear?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “That’s right, young man,” Talia pointed a finger at him. “You are, are, uh, you’re grounded.” She didn’t have the heart to correct his calling her Mom.

  Then she took in Drake’s appearance. He wasn’t as shredded as Pip, but he looked tired and hungry, with amber eyes glowing.

  “Do you need blood?” she asked.

  “Yes, I’ll get it.” He went to the kitchen and returned after a moment. He appeared relaxed and his eyes no longer pulsed with fire. His tongue slid over his lips and he sighed before joining Talia on the sofa. Felix and Gerri gathered near.

  “We’re so glad you’re not hurt,” Gerri said.

  “Talia was going to slash her wrists, but I stopped her,” Felix said, an evil twinkle in his eyes.

  “I was not, you bozo.” Talia punched him in the arm, then turned to Drake. “Now tell us what happened.”

  “Well, I tried to track Pip down after he left. I went to some of the places we had visited together, I asked people if they had seen him, but no one had. Just before the sun came up this morning, I decided to go to Coney Island. I found him in one of the storage sheds. By that time, we had to spend the day hiding from the sun.”

  “Why did he leave after your warning?” Talia asked.

  “For some reason, he’s fixated on this lady he met. Personally, I think she’s a vampire and is the one who turned him, but he doesn’t remember.” He rubbed his forehead. “He says he was looking out the window and thought he saw her on the street, so he ran outside to catch her. He followed her until she went into the side door of a deserted store that was boarded up. He couldn’t open the door to go after her, so he gave up. By then the sun was close to rising, and he’d lost his way, so he went to the only place he really knew.”

  “How did he get all the way to Brooklyn?” Gerri shook her head.

  “By taxi. I’m afraid our little friend is an adept pick-pocket and stole the money to get him there.” Drake crossed his arms over his chest.

  Talia slapped a hand to her forehead. She was harboring a midget vampire pick-pocket. Great.

  “I think you’re right,” Felix said.

  Talia narrowed her eyes. “Do you want to clarify?”

  “That lady he’s talking about. I bet she’s a vampire. We know there’s more than one in town, so that means they have to have a place to stay that’s secure. What if that deserted store is just a front and they have a whole gang in there.”

  “You read too many scary novels,” Gerri said.

  “He may have a point,” Drake said. “It certainly sounds like they have an organization, based on what Lucilla said at the club. They have a leader and follow certain rules. It would make sense for them to live in one place together. It’s safer and easier to protect.”

  “Like in Underworld,” Felix added.

  “An underworld society?” Talia blinked.

  “No. The movie, Underworld.”

  “Right.” She turned to Drake. “So, do we have to worry about Pip wandering off again?”

  “I think I finally convinced him to follow our rules. I told him if he goes out without telling us again, we won’t let him return.” He pressed his lips together. “He’s smart enough to realize now that there could have been a whole lot of trouble behind that door, not just a pretty lady.”

  Gerri let out a deep breath and came to her feet. “Well, I’m just glad you’re both back safely. I need to go home and get some rest so I can crawl into work tomorrow.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Felix said. He slapped Drake on the back. “Nice to have you back, dude.”

  “Felix, will you please pick up a cell phone for Drake tomorrow? We can avoid a lot of worry if he can call if there’s trouble,” she said.

  “Sure. See you later, peeps.” He headed for the door.

  After the two left, Drake said, “I’m very sorry you had to worry, Talia. Is everything else okay?”

  “If you mean the campaign, yes. Now that you’re back everything’s fine.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Justin and I finished the TV commercials this morning, and the meeting with the Romanians is set for Friday at seven.”

  “At night?” he asked.

  “Yes. Apparently, one of them is arriving late.”

  “I promise to keep Pip under lock and key until then so you don’t have to worry.”

  “Good. I appreciate it.” She stood. “I have to get some sleep.”

  He rose and stepped close. “You look tired.”

  His nearness gave her chills, and not from the cool temperature of his body. “Well, I couldn’t sleep last night after you left, so I’m properly zonked.”

  He traced a finger down her cheek, his eyes brown and warm. “You’re a good person, you know that?”

  Any more inspection from those piercing eyes and she’d fall apart. Happiness, relief, guilt and shame all battled for supremacy. She was such a fake. He thought she was good, but in reality, she was just selfish. She wanted him safe to save her campaign…and damn it, because of how he made her feel.

  Chapter 17

  “Stop messing with the projector.” Talia slapped Felix’s hand. “I have it focused and ready to go.”

  “Okay, okay. Just checking.” Felix held up his hands in surrender and backed away.

  She tugged on the jacket of her burgundy Donna Karan suit and
glanced at her watch. Six p.m. Good. They were almost finished setting up. She turned in a circle, surveying the meeting room. She’d instructed the manager of the hotel to have black curtains hung on the walls. Easels covered with black drapes circled the long table at the center of the room. At one end, a blank screen waited. At the other, a projector and her laptop sat ready.

  The door opened and Harvey stormed in red-faced and cheeks puffed. “Finally, you show your face. What the hell have you been doing all week?” He marched over, fuming. “How dare you not run this idea by me before presenting it.”

  She’d managed to dodge his calls all week to avoid giving excuses for not involving him in the decision-making process. But this was her show, and she suspected he wouldn’t have liked her idea.

  “Why, Harv, you sound like you don’t trust me.” She brushed past him to check the presentation packets her assistant placed at each seat. His face turned redder, and his eyes appeared ready to pop out of his head. “You need to tell me what’s going on here.”

  “You’ll see it with everyone else,” she said. “Like you said, I’m the best in the business. So relax and enjoy the show.”

  He let out an explosion of air and crossed his arms over his chest. “You screw this up, Tiger, and you’ll never work in advertising again.”

  “Are you threatening me, Harv?” She kept her face composed but her heart lurched. She’d taken this too far. If it backfired, she was done. She swallowed and straightened her spine, refusing to let him see her fear. He and Saracin had screwed her. Let him sweat.

  “It’s a fact, not a threat.”

  “Hmm. Sure sounded like a threat to me.” She bustled to the front of the room and flipped through her notes. No wonder she’d turned into a bitch, being treated like this. “If you don’t mind, I have a presentation to give, and you’re distracting me.”

  He growled and plopped into a chair near the front. He might be furious, but she knew he was also afraid. This whole thing reflected on him and the Saracin advertising group. He had bosses, too, and they’d have his head if this didn’t work out.

  Felix returned with hotel staff who carried bottles of wine they’d be serving during the presentation. Talia smiled, imagining everyone drinking red wine while they talked about vampires.

  She took a deep breath and blocked out the distracters in the room, and all the annoying issues poking at her brain, like what Drake might be doing right now. Reaching deep inside, she found her focus and let everything else melt away.

  Promptly at seven, somber but expectant Romanians filed in. Their leader, the bald man with the bushy mustache, introduced himself to her as Cosmin Funar, undersecretary of internal affairs.

  “We are very excited to see what ideas you have to help our country,” he said in his thick accent.

  She shook his hand. His fingers were like plump sausages. He introduced her to the rest of the group, but she was so focused on remembering her presentation she forgot half of their names. Another man and four women, all in dark suits with somber expressions.

  “The secretary herself will be here shortly,” Cosmin informed her. “She let us know she would be a few moments late.”

  “Of course, have a seat and enjoy a glass of wine until she arrives.” She gestured to the table and was pleased to see his brows go up as he recognized the Blue Danube label on the bottle of feteasca neagra wine from Romania. He lifted his glass in salute to her before drinking.

  Harvey milled around, talking shop with their guests. He kept saying things like, “you’re going to love what Talia has done.” He was a showman. A tummler. She had to give him that.

  The door opened, and a hush fell over the room. A tall, thin woman with dark brown hair pulled in a bun entered. She stopped on the threshold, unsmiling, and surveyed the occupants. Dark brows swooped over piercing blue eyes.

  Cosmin rose to his feet and cleared his throat. “May I present the Secretary of the Interior, Madam Amelia Negrescu.”

  She inclined her head, her slender white neck bending gracefully like a swan. Her navy suit was unquestionably Chanel. “Thank you for the introduction. I’m very happy to be here and excited to see what you have come up with that will entice visitors to our fair country.” Only the slightest accent marred her English.

  Felix stepped forward and escorted her and her two assistants to seats at the opposite end of the table from Talia.

  Harvey stood and made a pretty speech about welcoming her and the other Romanians. He promised they’d be pleased with the campaign. When he sat, sweat beaded on his forehead. He gave Talia a nod.

  She pressed her control to start the PowerPoint slides. Felix hit the lights and the room sank into darkness. A black and white image appeared on the screen. Her vision of Dracula’s castle. Showtime.

  Thirty minutes later she had gone through the presentation outlining the theme park, rides, and resort. She’d included proposed locations as well as facts and figures from other countries that had opened major tourist attractions and what to expect in revenues not only from the park, but anticipated travel to other areas of Romania. Gesturing to one of the wine bottles, she indicated the benefit to Romanian products that would also increase in revenue. She played the TV commercials, and introduced Drake as the spokesperson in the guise of Dracula.

  As Felix slowly raised the lights, hotel workers removed the covers on the easels. Life size photos of Drake stared at them with his eerie amber eyes. Felix wheeled in a cart displaying a miniature model of the park and resort. He positioned it beside the table.

  “Here it is. Our vision of DraculaVille.” Talia swept her arm toward the model.

  No one moved or spoke. The Romanians gazed at the head of the table where the secretary sat like an ice queen with a blank expression. Out of the corner of her eye, Talia noted Harvey’s face had gone paper white, and his lips opened and closed soundlessly.

  Her heart sank. Her career was going down in an icy fog of ancient Romanian monsters. Felix leaned back against the door and closed his eyes.

  Slowly, Madam Secretary raised her hands and clapped. The rhythm of her clapping steadily increased, along with her smile. The other Romanians joined, though their faces reflected confusion. They glanced back and forth at each other.

  When the ovation ended, Madam Negrescu stood. “Well, Miss Quinton, I see your reputation was accurate. I sincerely believe no one else would have dared to throw our dark history in our face. Your vision is brilliant. This is exactly what we need to bring people to our country.”

  “Thank you, Madam Secretary. I feel confident this will achieve your goals.” Talia smiled and inclined her head.

  “This actor playing Dracula. May I meet him?” The lady’s blue eyes glittered.

  “I’m afraid he’s out of town today, but you’ll meet him eventually if we go forward with the plan.” She glanced at Harvey who had regained the color to his cheeks.

  Her boss came to his feet. “We’re glad you like the plan. I was sure you’d see the brilliance of turning the Dracula story into a benefit.”

  Madam Negrescu moved smoothly to the cart and gazed at the miniature DraculaVille. She ran one finger over the peaks of the tiny castle. The other Romanians rose and joined her, murmuring in quiet tones as they pointed to various areas of the park.

  Harvey sidled up to Talia. “Well, you pulled it off, Tiger. Congratulations. You realize what you’ve done, don’t you?”

  She raised her brows.

  “This is no longer a two hundred fifty million dollar ad campaign. You just raised the bar. They’ll need corporate sponsors and major investors to pull this off.” He tilted his head and studied her. After a moment he chuckled and shook his head. “This will probably end up topping Fizzola. But then I'm sure that was you're plan all along. Way to go, Tiger.”

  She hadn’t even considered it. This was the right campaign, that’s all she knew. But Harv was right. This project would be huge.

  “I think I’ll go see if anyone wants to nego
tiate a contract,” he said and wandered over to the group of Romanians.

  As she closed her laptop and placed her notes in her briefcase, Felix joined her. “Way to go, boss. It was iffy there for a minute, but you pulled it off. We did it.”

  “Yes, we did. Thank you for all your hard work. I really do appreciate it.” She smiled.

  “I’ll look for that appreciation in the form of a bonus.” He gave her a wink.

  Talia mingled with the group at the model and answered questions for over an hour. As the conversation progressed, the Romanians gained enthusiasm for the project and added ideas to incorporate into the plan.

  Harvey and Madam Negrescu broke away to negotiate the contract, and she and Felix drank several bottles of the excellent feteasca neagra with the rest of the Romanian party. The wine loosened them up a bit and they chatted enthusiastically about the different products that would benefit from this project. No matter how much they interacted, Talia still couldn’t remember their names.

  Despite the appreciative banter, she couldn’t wait to go home and tell Drake what had happened. She shook her head when offered another glass of wine, and gathered her coat and brief case. A glance at Felix revealed he’d made a special connection to a young man in the delegation and looked like he’d be willing to stay as long as the Romanians wanted to keep drinking.

  She smiled and gave him a wink. When she turned her focus to the front of the room where Madam Negrescu and Harvey chatted, she found the Secretary’s gaze fixed on her. For a second the expression in her eyes glinted with intense scrutiny. Her expression smoothed immediately, making Talia wonder if she’d been mistaken. No. Why else did her skin crawl?

  Chapter 18

  Talia pushed through her door, tingling with excitement, Felix followed right behind.

  “Drake?” She hurried into the living room, hungry for sight of him.

  He sat on the floor across the coffee table from Pip who perched on the couch. They played some kind of board game. He stood when they entered, his piercing gaze going straight to her.

  “Well?” he asked.