by Judith Post
They climbed the graceful, winding staircase to the second floor. Enoch hadn't visited these rooms. The vampires stayed here. The windows on this floor and the next were painted black.
Feral went from one door to another, briefly opening them, motioning for Danny and Enoch to peek inside, before moving farther down the hall. At the third door, Danny stepped inside. Wayne, a beat cop who often worked with Derek, lay, limbs tangled, with one of the waitresses—a vamp with a pierced nose and tattooed arms.
"Oh, Lord." Danny shook his head. "He's not going to be happy with himself when he realizes what he's done."
Feral called, "Goth! Wake up! Your customer needs to leave here."
The girl rubbed her eyes, untangled herself to sit up, and pulled the sheet higher when she noticed Danny and Enoch. "Wayne works nights," she said. "What's the hurry?"
"He never ended his shift," Danny said, "never reported in. We thought something happened to him."
Goth grinned. "Oh, it did." She reached out a hand to rub his cheek. She sighed and bent to kiss his forehead. Wayne's face was long and narrow, his eyes deep set. No one would claim he was good looking, but Goth's expression softened as she gazed at him. "Is it true he still lives at home?"
Danny nodded. "He spends all of his extra income, helping his sisters through college."
"I've never met such a sweet man."
Feral frowned. "He's a customer, and it's time he leaves. Get him up and ready. Send him on his way."
"Okay." Goth bent to nibble Wayne's ear. "Hey, lover, wake up."
Danny glanced at Enoch. His look said What the Hell?
Enoch's thoughts fluctuated between how nice to how did this happen? He knew these men, had met them on cases. They didn't walk into bars and pay to bed girls.
Feral led them to the next room. Before she reached to open the door, a young man stumbled out of it into the hallway. Hair rumpled, he staggered. Fang marks punctured his bare chest. Enoch glanced through the cracked door. A girl, who looked to be about twelve, stared back at him. He swallowed hard, revolted.
Feral shook her head at him. "Don't be fooled. That's Marya. Russian. Someone changed her out of mercy when she was a kid, dying of fever. Thought they'd spare her. She'll look like an innocent, little girl until she's dust, but she's an old one…and vicious. Rumor is she killed her sire."
"The vampire who rescued her?" Danny asked.
Feral nodded.
"And you hired her?" Enoch found the girl repulsive.
"Customers who prefer the exotic hire her. Fine for vampires. Too much for most mortals." Feral watched the young man cling to the railing as he made his way down the stairs. "He's a regular. His parents must be rich. My girls aren't cheap, and he can afford one every night."
"That doesn't bother you? That you're letting him destroy his life?" Enoch watched him stop at the base of the stairs to gather enough strength to make it to the outside door.
"I'm not a Sunday School teacher. It's not my problem. Besides, men like him will find some way to entertain themselves anyway. Maybe here, he'll hit bottom faster and get it over with."
"Not if he becomes addicted." Danny's voice was hard.
Feral stared at him. "A cop who still cares—how touching."
Danny ignored her. "I need two more men."
Two doors down, they found Rob, one of Danny's fellow detectives. He lay in bed, fetal style, facing the wall with a sensuous, Latino vampire lying next to him, facing in the opposite direction.
"Rob!" As Rob sprang to his feet, taking the sheets with him, Danny scraped a hand through his short, blond crew cut.
The girl, nude, propped herself on an elbow to look at them.
Rob looked around the room, trying to acquaint himself with his surroundings. "How did I get here?"
Danny sighed. "That's what I'd like to know."
Rob turned and glared at the girl.
She shrugged. "Don't look at me. You brought me up here and then fell asleep. I haven't had this much rest in a long time, only stole a few nibbles from you." She sounded bored.
Rob felt at the base of his neck and grimaced. He pointed an accusing finger at her. "You remind me too much of my ex. Nothing was ever her fault, either." He crossed the room to where his clothes lay on the floor and gathered them up.
"You didn't report in last night. Why?" Danny asked.
Rob frowned. "We came here to check on things, as ordered. We sat at the bar. We each ordered a beer, and that's the last thing I remember."
Danny turned on Feral. "You drugged them."
She grimaced. "I don't need to drug mortals. That's what most of them come here for—our venom."
"Then what?" Danny looked at Enoch.
"What did you order?" Enoch asked.
Rob took a minute, trying to remember. "They didn't have any brands we knew. We ordered something dark."
Enoch sighed. "You drank beer laced with blood and exotic ingredients. You ordered from the vampire menu."
"You didn't ask?" Danny snapped.
"You told us to keep it low key. We didn't want to call attention to ourselves."
Feral laughed. "You must have ordered Plorgasm, plasma mixed with beer to give a good head." At Danny's shocked look, she said, "Foam. Lots of foam."
Rob looked like he might be sick. "Will I be all right?"
"It affects humans differently than it does vampires. It's like you drank a dozen shots in a row." She narrowed her eyes at him. "You look better than I'd expect."
Rob headed to a small, attached bathroom. "I'll get dressed and be with you in a minute."
They finally found Derek on the mortal servants' floor. He was lying with his forehead pressed against the forehead of a girl who looked like an angel—or at least, like most angels are pictured in children's books. Long, wavy, white-blond hair framed a heart-shaped face that looked so pure, she could have worn a halo.
Enoch went into the room to tap his shoulder. Even with plorgasm in him, Derek had been unable to pair with a vamp. He'd ended up with a human. Enoch regretted that the young detective had ever been exposed to vampires, but they'd come to his city, and if Enoch hadn't been around, Derek could be dead.
Derek opened his eyes and squinted at Enoch. Then his hand went to his forehead, and he turned greenish. A hangover. And a bad one. Derek leaped from the bed and bolted for the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, pale and shaken, he staggered out of it. He wore jeans and nothing else.
Medium height and build, Derek rippled with muscles. He and Wayne worked out together, Enoch knew. With short brown hair and sky-blue eyes, Derek rarely had a shortage of women, and he made sure everyone knew that. Wayne, on the other hand, equally as buff, had probably never been with one.
Enoch sighed. That had changed, for sure.
"What happened to me?" Derek asked.
"You drank vampire booze." Enoch didn't want to explain about plasma and blood. It would freak out Derek.
The girl in the bed stirred. Derek went to her side. He knelt close to her. "I have to leave now. I'm sorry about last night."
She woke and shrugged. "Not your fault. How would you know?"
Enoch frowned, and Derek explained. "Vampires usually pay Ilona for her services. She doesn't just get money, but venom, too. She hasn't had a mortal customer for centuries."
Enoch stared at her. "How did that go?"
She smiled. "For Derek, it was worth it. I went into the shakes for a minute, but he held my hand and helped me hang in there."
Derek reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Are you going to be all right?"
She smiled, and he gently pulled the sheets closer to tuck her in.
"You'll be back, won't you?" She took his hand again. "It's been decades since I've slept with another mortal. It was nice."
Derek wouldn't meet Enoch or Danny's gaze. "I'll be here for you whenever you need me. You have my number."
As Feral led them down the stairs, she looked bemused. "Who'd have guessed? My gir
ls are pros. I guess we've all been in the business so long, we just think of it as a job. Men don't care about us, and we don't care about them."
Derek and Wayne glared at her, and she laughed.
"Will the drink change us at all?" Wayne finally asked. "Does it do anything to our systems?"
Feral shook her head. "No more than a crazy night on the town might change you. My girls can't get pregnant, so you don't have to worry about that."
The men exchanged glances, and Enoch realized they'd been so drugged, they might not have used condoms.
Danny sighed. "The emotional baggage is yours to deal with. For now, I'm glad you're safe. Let's get you back to the station. Tony wants to hear your reports."
At their supervisor's name, the men grimaced.
"I'll stay with you," Danny promised. "Tony understands about vampires."
When they walked to Enoch's Land Rover, two other cars still remained in the parking lot. Enoch didn't want to think about what kind of shape those two mortals were in. They must have partied or partaken way too much last night.
Derek rubbed his hands over his eyes, and Danny asked, "Are you okay to drive?"
"I've felt better."
"Let Enoch take you back to the station." Danny put out a hand for his keys. "I'll meet you there."
The three men climbed into the Land Rover. They sat silently. Enoch had a suspicion that Derek was thinking about Ilona, and Wayne about Goth. Rob just looked pissed. When Enoch dropped them off and started the short drive home, he thought about Voronika. He'd met many a woman in his centuries on Earth, but she's the one who'd hooked him. A vampire. Who knew how a man's heart worked?
Chapter 21
Enoch quietly let himself into the apartment and found Voronika waiting for him.
"You have to make a special supper tonight," she said, "an early one. I told Maggie to come at five."
"Maggie?" Enoch was beginning to feel like he was constantly a step behind, just bouncing from one unexpected event to the next.
Voronika hugged herself. "Danny's taking the afternoon off to go for an ultrasound with her."
Aaah, now he understood. "Maggie's going to bring the first picture of their baby."
"Isn't it exciting? We'll know if it's a boy or a girl. Then I can start buying presents for it."
Oh, boy. "Babies grow fast, you know. Maggie won't need a hundred outfits for newborns, and she might like to pick out some on her own."
"When it's cloudy outside, we can go shopping together."
Enoch sighed. Maggie and Voronika shopping for baby things…Danny might have to build a new room on their house. Luckily, their charming Cape Cod had a finished basement and a nice-sized yard, and it was in a great family neighborhood, but would its closets be big enough?
Voronika waved away his concern. "Maggie's practical. She'll keep me in check."
"Like she did for the food at their reception?" Voronika had volunteered to cater their wedding, and her list of dishes kept growing.
"That was different." Voronika started for the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and dismissed everything she saw. "Maggie's favorite is Italian. Tomato isn't agreeing with her right now, so I told her you'd make seafood lasagna with white sauce."
"You couldn't have settled for spaghetti alfredo?"
She turned and looked at him. "For the celebration of an ultrasound?"
He shook his head. He wasn't going to win this one. "I'll run to the store and start the lasagna before I pick up Angel from school."
Voronika stretched and yawned. "Wake me up when Angel gets home."
"Are you going to wake up every day with her?"
"That's what real parents do, isn't it? They spend time with their kids?"
"Will you get enough sleep?" He didn't need any, but Voronika usually slept through each day.
"I don't need as much as I get. It's just habit. I'm used to hiding during sunlight hours, and usually, there wasn't much to do, so I'd sleep."
He smiled at her. "And here I thought all those hours of beauty sleep was what made you so gorgeous."
She raised a pale eyebrow. "What if my beauty faded? Would you love me anyway?"
He looked her up and down, considering. "No, I'd kick you to the curb."
She burst out laughing. "At least you're honest."
He went to her, wrapped her in his arms. "I'd be lying if I said your face and body didn't attract my attention, but I love everything about you. I'd stick around if you turned gray and wrinkled."
"But you'd still look like you."
He shrugged. Angels didn't age. He'd forever look the same. "I loved Grace until death took her. I'd never do that again. It's too hard to lose a mortal, but to me, she was just as beautiful in old age as when we met. You'll always be beautiful to me, too."
She pressed her face against his chest. "You might be a keeper, you know that?"
His embrace tightened. He didn't think he could ever get enough of Voronika. "Get some sleep. Vampires should never walk around with bags under their eyes."
She laughed. "You're horrible. That doesn't happen, and you know it, but we do get grumpy."
She went to her room, and Enoch shrugged into his coat, pulled down the grids, and left for the store. By the time he had to leave to pick up Angel, he had the lasagna ready to slide into the oven.
Angel flew to the car when she left the school building. She started talking before she fastened her seat belt. "We learned how to measure today in arithmetic. We used yard sticks to measure our feet—how long and how wide they are. Then we used tape measurers to find how many inches we are around and how long we are from our shoulders to our hips."
Enoch had to give the teachers credit. They were using the shoes and T-shirts to get kids interested in math.
"Then we added up how many kids needed small T-shirts, medium, and large."
Even better.
"We did the same thing for the shoes. Did you know there's only about a two and a half inch difference between a kid's size four shoe and a kid's size twelve shoe?"
"Nope, didn't know that." He got a kick out of listening to her.
"The twelves look so big, but that's not that much, is it?"
"What about the shirts?"
"The kindergartners would swim in the fifth graders' shirts."
She didn't run out of information all the way home. On their ride in the elevator, she informed him, "There are more kids in the fourth grades at our school than any other grade."
"Why is that?"
"Cameron says there must have been a bad winter that year, so more parents stayed home and had sex."
Enoch groaned. "Really? That's his theory?"
Angel giggled. "I knew that would get you!"
They stepped into his private hallway, and Enoch unlocked the door to his apartment and the metal grid. Angel danced from one foot to the next, waiting for him to finish, and then she raced inside, skipping to the kitchen to look for snacks.
"We're having an early supper," Enoch called after her, but when she closed the refrigerator door and he could see her, she was licking the ice cream on a drumstick.
He frowned. "That's it. No more. Danny and Maggie will be here at five."
Voronika's bedroom door opened, and Angel went to repeat all of her good news from her school day. Enoch went to finish last minute details for supper.
Everything was ready when Danny and Maggie arrived. Maggie inhaled as she entered the apartment. "Geez, that smells good."
They sat at the teak, dining table and Enoch ladled thick slabs of lasagna onto each plate. When he reached for Angel's, she frowned. "What's in it?"
Maggie forked a big chunk of lobster. "Lobster, shrimp, crabmeat…."
"Ewww, can I have a corndog?"
Enoch cringed. He'd bought a box of frozen corndogs that she could microwave, but he was hoping she'd forget them.
"Sure," Voronika said.
Enoch scowled. "She should at least try one bite, give it a chanc
e."
"She's a kid, not into seafood." She waved Angel to the kitchen and turned to Maggie. "Well? What did you find out?"
Maggie dug in her purse and brought out a black-and-white blur of a picture. Enoch narrowed his eyes, studying it, but couldn't make out anything. From Voronika's expression, she wasn't having any more luck than he was.
Maggie smiled and traced the shape of a head, pointed to a small hand, and then a tiny foot. "That's our little girl."
"A girl!" Voronika's face lit with a smile. It was a full-fledged, all-out smile without hesitation. Enoch glanced at Angel as she returned to the table with her corndog. He hoped caring for her would be enough to satisfy Voronika.
Angel caught his look and poked her clean fork into a corner of his lasagna. She dutifully tried a bite, then shook her head. "Do I have to eat more?"
Voronika raised an eyebrow at Enoch, letting him answer.
"No, at least you tried it. That's all I ask."
Voronika nodded and turned back to Maggie. "Have you picked a name?"
Maggie stalled by putting the picture back in her purse. "We'd talked about Ronni, after you."
"Uggh." Voronika shook her head. "She's going to be a sweet, adorable person, like you. She needs that type of name."
Maggie smiled. "Danny and I will work on it."
"We need to go shopping," Voronika said. "Some nice, gray day, we need to buy baby things."
"It's too soon," Maggie said. "My sisters are going to throw a baby shower for me, and I think someone from work is going to, too. And my parents want to buy me a crib."
Voronika's face fell. "Will there be things I can buy you?"
Danny laughed. "We never turn down free gifts. Whatever we don't scratch off the list is open for a visit to the mall."
Voronika pouted for a minute, then looked to Enoch. "We'll buy Maggie a rocking chair. I always wanted one of those."
Maggie nodded. "I'd love that."
"And you guys can come over some Saturday and help us paint the nursery and get it ready," Danny said.
"Really? Oh, good!" Voronika's happiness was almost contagious. Almost. Painting didn't overjoy Enoch nearly as much as it did her.