“Garlic can poison you?” Catherine asked, clearly fascinated by this glimpse into vampire life and lore.
I shook my head ruefully. “Unfortunately. It smells phenomenal, but if it touches us, or worse, if we ingest it, we become incapacitated pretty quickly. And in large enough amounts, it can be fatal.”
That sobered us both, so I moved on. “Code Red is a true emergency. Anything that needs to be handled right then, typically when a vampire is in danger or the Family is in danger of being immediately exposed.”
“You sent a Code Black. They were still here before you.”
“Must have been in the neighborhood.”
Catherine’s cellphone trilled an incoming call in time to her laughter at my little joke.
“This late?” I whispered, glancing pointedly at the clock on my wall. She lifted a single shoulder and accepted the call.
“Hello?”
“Catherine, so glad I caught you,” a soft voice greeted Catherine, who rolled her eyes.
“Hello, Barbara, what can I do for you this early?”
A short chuckle came across the line. “Don’t pretend you were sleeping,” she chastised lightly. “I know you’re chatting with Evelyn Jones.”
Two sets of eyebrows shot up at this statement. I glanced around, briefly wondering if my condo was bugged, before figuring she just as easily could have tracked Catherine here.
Catherine’s face was stretched tight and she barely managed to control her anger.
“Why are you tracking my movements?”
“No need to be upset. The last time Robin spoke with Evelyn, the vampire made it clear that she wouldn’t speak to my associate – my lackey – anymore. I’m simply honoring her wishes.”
Catherine stuck her tongue out at me and mouthed thank you before returning to the call. “Then why are you calling me?”
“The reason I’m calling you both is to congratulate you on solving the murders. As a city councilwoman, I believe it’s important to give credit where credit is due.”
I snorted and Catherine clapped her hand over her mouth to silence her giggles. I snatched the phone from her hand. “Do you really expect us to believe that’s why you’re calling, Madam Councilwoman?”
If she caught the sarcasm in my use of her honorarium, she did not let on. “I did have some follow up questions, Evelyn.”
Of course she did.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“What can I answer for you?”
Catherine chuckled at my saccharine tone and I shrugged. They say you catch more flies with sugar than vinegar.
“Did you ever find out who the original being targeted for the hit by the Family was?”
I cocked my head, curious about the question and her use of the word being. I suspected she knew much more than she let on.
“No. Why do you ask?”
“For the safety of the city.”
“That’s a convenient non-answer.”
I swore I heard an almost imperceptible sigh on the councilwoman’s end of the call. “Let’s just say I’d rather that individual remained breathing.”
The call ended.
I chuckled. “She obviously knows who the target was and wanted confirmation. I wonder what this was really all about.”
“I have absolutely no idea,” Catherine stated, adding, “She’s been fixated on me since I arrived in town.”
“That’s weird. I wonder how that plays into this individual who’s been targeted for a hit. You have no idea why the demon is interested in you?”
“I really don’t.” She sighed. “We can figure it out later. Back to our conversation that was so rudely interrupted. Fixers are different from Cleaners, which is what Derek was?”
“Yep,” I answered, feeling a bit like I was conducting Vampires 101 at the local community college. “Cleaners take care of problems by making people and, rarely, other vampires disappear. Fixers do exactly that – fix anything caused by a vampire or human that doesn’t need cleaning but puts the Family at risk of exposure.”
“I don’t understand. Ryan knowing that you exist puts the Family at risk. Why not leave Jim in jail and kill Ryan?” She looked chagrined when I winced at her question. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad they aren’t handling it that way. Still…” she trailed off. “Vampires are portrayed as vicious blood-suckers for a reason. Present company excluded, of course.”
“Of course,” I agreed with an eye roll. “Believe it or not, we try to find solutions that result in the fewest number of innocent folks negatively impacted, whether human, vampire, or other. It’s also the most pragmatic approach. To not draw unwanted attention from humanity.”
“Okay, that makes sense, I suppose. I’m thankful to you for your part, so PTA can get back to business.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, with dead bodies and killer vampires running around, everything’s been on hold while it got sorted out.”
“The movie’s going forward? Even without Derek?”
“Yes! A new producer has come on board. And, don’t worry, she’s keeping all of the casting the same, so you and Ryan are still co-stars.” Catherine must have seen something in my expression because she reached out to put her hand on my arm. “How are you and Ryan?”
“There is no me and Ryan,” I answered, failing to keep the sadness from my voice.
“Why not?”
I looked at her incredulously. “You heard what happened at his house!”
“Well, sure,” she agreed. “But that’s only a blip.”
I laughed mirthlessly. “I don’t think Ryan considers it only a blip.”
“What do you want?”
This question stumped me. I liked Ryan’s personality. We had oodles of physical attraction. But…
“Evie, I could practically hear your entire internal conversation just now.”
I smiled sheepishly at Catherine. “There are so many moving parts to this,” I finally stated.
“So what? Give it some time,” she instructed. When I didn’t respond, she continued. “I ran away when I found out Alex was an incubus. I needed time to process.”
I nodded at her statement, something like hope flaring bright in me. What had I gotten myself into? I liked this man. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs and glanced out my floor-to-ceiling windows at the sun noticeable over the horizon.
“Time for you to go to bed,” Catherine advised.
“Indeed.” We stood and I walked her to the door. I opened it, leaning against it in a deceptively casual posture. She noticed and paused in the doorway.
“Give him time. You might be surprised.”
After a quick hug, she continued down the hall to her condo. “Good luck” floated past the door as I closed and locked it.
With a final glance out my windows, I entered my bedroom, pulled the door firmly closed, and fell into bed, fully clothed, exhausted from the day I’d had.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I hopped out of bed as the last rays of the sun vanished with its setting. I snagged a bottle of my favorite O+ blood from the refrigerator, warmed it slightly in the microwave, and downed it in one long gulp. I tossed the bottle in the recycling bin and hopped on my couch. I turned the local news on.
As I had hoped, it was the top story. And apparently had been all day. Elizabeth Addison, an entertainment reporter who sometimes also appeared on the regular news, was interviewing a woman with short curly brown hair and brown eyes, rocking an amazing power suit.
Elizabeth held the microphone to the woman’s face, her perfectly coifed brown hair not moving when she nodded at the woman’s words.
“Jim has maintained his innocence from the beginning. I’m just glad that this came out before a true miscarriage of justice occurred.” I recognized the name at the bottom of the screen. Gina Johnson. Jim’s lawyer. Her brown eyes narrowed, but she smiled widely, the gap between her front teeth drawing my ey
e. “The Las Vegas Metro Police Department has apologized to my client, and they expect to release Jim before the end of the evening.” Uh huh. That look coupled with that sentence? I smelled a lawsuit.
The screen changed to show a smoldering vehicle, make and model uncertain. A bubbly Asian stood across the street from it. She indicated the wreck behind her. “According to police, the charred remains found in this vehicle belong to the actual killer of Monica Freeman and Sophie Chase. The department spokesperson declined to provide additional information, other than to state that the unnamed deceased individual in the car is without a doubt the murderer.”
I clicked the television off with a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. No more dead bodies. No more worry. Jim could get on with his life. Such as it was, I realized, since his vindication wouldn’t bring his wife back to life. I frowned and considered what I had just seen. The Fixers kept their word. They definitely stuck with the old adage – stretch the truth as little as possible. Aside from the actual identity of the crispy critter in the car (probably an unidentified body from the morgue, if I had to guess), an innocent man was freed and the guilty party was gone. If I also had to guess, the police would never correctly identify the body or release additional information, and in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, I was certain a celebrity or politician would do something to draw attention. And life would go on.
A knock on the door startled me out of my reverie. My jaw dropped when I saw Ryan on the other side through the peephole. Tuning into him, I heard the nervousness in his body language, shifting from foot to foot.
“Hi,” I greeted him when I opened the door.
“Hi,” he responded.
We stared at each other. My eyes couldn’t help but roam over the lithe muscles straining under the black t-shirt molded to his torso. His eyes sparked in response.
“Can I come in?”
“You want to come in?”
Scintillating conversation aside, his presence at my condo floored me. I moved to the side of my doorway so that he could enter.
“Can I get you anything?” I asked out of habit and he chuckled.
“I’m okay, thanks.”
Yes, you are, I thought to myself as I watched him walk toward the couch. The man filled out a pair of jeans like nobody’s business. I inwardly rolled my eyes and smacked myself. Stop it.
We sat on the couch, mere inches apart. It could have been miles. I bit my lower lip. His eyes zeroed in on the movement and became pools of desire.
Geez, I sounded like a romance novel. But, really, they did.
I cleared my throat. “How’s it going?”
Ryan belly laughed. “Sorry. I’m not laughing at you.”
“You’re not?”
His face fell. “I’m not.”
“I’m kidding,” I assured him.
“I know. It’s not that.” He stared out the window. “I love that you have a view of the Fremont area on one side and the Strip on the other.”
I cocked my head at the non-sequitur.
He looked directly at me. “Thank you.”
I heard the sincerity in his voice, but there was an undercurrent of something else. “I let the Family know and they took care of it.” I shrugged. “We always fix our messes.”
Ryan looked abashed unexpectedly. “Still.”
“You’re welcome,” I responded simply.
“I didn’t know if you’d see me,” he said quietly.
My lack of response created an awkward moment. The seconds stretched by.
“Say something. Please.”
“I don’t know what to say. I didn’t think I’d see you again.” Though I certainly had hoped, I didn’t add aloud.
“I didn’t think I’d see you again, either. But I wanted to say thank you.”
“Okay.”
“I hurt you.”
“Yes.”
“I was so focused on Jim that –” He shook his head. “That’s no excuse. I messed up. I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you.”
We stared at each other. My arms ached to hold him. My lips—
Ryan pulled me into his arms and our lips met. Soft at first, giving way to deeper desire. We melted into each other, the blood coursing through his veins warming me through my clothing. I clutched him closer and he moaned in response. Our lips separated but we stayed in each other’s arms. I rested my head on his shoulder, allowing his heartbeat to surround me. This felt so right.
“I guess that answers that,” he murmurs into my hair. I felt the rumble through his chest when he spoke.
“Answers what?”
“How you feel about me?”
I nestled in even closer. “I didn’t think that was ever in doubt.” He tensed and I pulled away.
Not touching now, we gazed at each other, such conflicting emotions. “When I heard Jim was going to be released tonight, the first person I wanted to call was you.” He half-smiled. “I picked up the phone so many times, even scrolled to your number. I never pushed Call. I tried texting. I never pushed Send.”
“Yet, you’re here now?” I was almost afraid to ask, to shatter the moment that was building.
“I waited for the sun to start going down since I figured you would be sleeping.” He grinned in response to my giggle. “Then I grabbed a Lyft over. I wanted to see. To see you. To see if…”
“I’m glad you did. But.”
The light in his eyes dimmed. “But what?”
“I don’t know if this is the right thing to do,” I admitted helplessly.
Needing to move, I stood and walked to the sliding glass door. I opened it a hair to feel the wind on my face. Ryan moved behind me, snaked his arms around my waist, and rested his head against mine.
“We can work on our trust issues together.”
I rotated in his arms so that we were pressed together. His reaction mirrored my own. I kissed him lightly on the lips.
“Yes, we can,” I agreed and he smiled. “That doesn’t solve the bigger problem.”
“That you’re a vampire,” he said flatly.
“Yes. I’m an undead immortal being. And you’re a living mortal.”
I closed my eyes against even the thought. “I don’t know how we can do it. Me watching you grow old and dying. You becoming bitter when I stay forever young and beautiful.”
He smiled at my attempted humor.
“Why do we have to decide my entire life and your entire afterlife right now?”
“Live more in the moment?”
“Yeah.”
“Vampires don’t really do that well. We’re usually in it for the long game; since we have all the time in the world. Typically,” I added, as an image of Derek with the stake in his chest flashed in my mind.
“Don’t think about that,” Ryan responded, and I almost wondered if he heard my thought.
“So, you’re suggesting we don’t focus on the happily-ever-after?”
“Nope. How about, happily-for-a-human-lifespan,” he offered.
I laughed. “Ugh, no. I like your other idea better. Living in the moment. Happily-one-day-at-a-time.”
“Happily-one-day-at-a-time,” he agreed. “And if one day, we decide to have that bigger talk, we will,” he promised.
“We will,” I echoed.
Our lips met in a replay of our tender kiss from before. I relished the feel of his lips on mine, his arms holding me against him, our legs intertwined. We separated and he smirked.
“Besides, Catherine told me the movie’s a go again with a new producer. You’ll see me every night for three weeks anyway.”
“I guess I’ll see you on set!”
EPILOGUE
“I’m so glad you could meet me for drinks,” the green-haired, green-eyed being sitting across from me said with a wide smile.
We were at a paranormal café, Soprannaturale, Italian for supernatural. The owner was a werepanther from Italy. Tucked behind some n
ondescript storefronts on Main Street, it was unlikely an unsuspecting human would stumble upon it.
“Thank you for inviting me, Ms. Fynn,” I responded with my own smile.
“Please call me Mia.”
“Thank you, Mia.”
“I wanted to meet with the leads of Vampire Nights before filming recommences, since I’m coming in late.”
“You’re a step up from our last producer,” I quipped, though felt a stab of pain at the thought of Derek. I didn’t regret killing him exactly, but still. He had been my husband and sire.
Mia must have seen something on my face because she reached over to take my hand in hers. “I know I’m not a vampire, but as a fellow being different from most, I can sympathize with what you’re going through.”
“Thank you for that,” I told her sincerely. “I’m looking forward to no more unexpected deaths and smooth sailing for the entertainment industry in Las Vegas and for Catherine’s company, the Paranormal Talent Agency. That’s not too much to ask, right?”
That’s a Wrap
Episode Three
CHAPTER ONE
One thing I adored after 200 years on the planet was the ever-evolving technology. It still seemed almost like magic to sit in my home office watching someone online, and I happened to know that magic was real. Right now, the lead actor in my movie was starting a Facebook Live video.
“Hi, everybody, I’m Chad Anthony – though hopefully most of you already know that.” He laughed, his boyish good looks meshing well with his charming demeanor. He ran his hand through his wavy black hair, the only indication to me that he might be nervous.
We wrapped filming of my latest movie last week and this was the first bit of post-production online marketing. Chad was great. Cute young man. I suspected this would be his breakout role – and I’d been around a long time!
Paranormal Talent Agency Omnibus Page 20