Fearless in High Heels

by Gemma Halliday

  I let out a sigh. As much as I hated the idea of walking into a possible blood drinking orgy, I had to admit that this was our best, and possibly only, chance of catching up with Becca.

  “Fine,” I relented. “Let’s go rent some fangs.”

  Chapter Ten

  Luckily Dana knew the perfect place to get vampire attire – the set of Moonlight II: The Eternal Kiss, the sequel that half the known world was awaiting with baited breath (yours truly included) and which was currently being filmed at Sunset Studios in Hollywood.

  Sunset Studios houses the biggest and best names in both television and film, and is encircled by an impenetrable wall that is so heavily guarded it makes Buckingham Palace look like a joke. Inside the paparazzi-proofed walls, the studio grounds are laid out like a small city; only the city is a little schizo. There are streets of Brooklyn brownstones butting up against suburban tree-lined neighborhoods, right next to a futuristic post-apocalyptic town that also doubles as the old west, depending on which production is currently shooting. Dana and I had once gone undercover to help in one of Ramirez’s investigations here, and I’d gotten lost wandering the pseudo neighborhoods on more than one occasion.

  Today, however, we did not need to go undercover as, thanks to Dana’s movie star boyfriend, she was on The List. One look at her ID and the guard at the massive iron gates waved us through, indicating parking in a lot just to the right, where we quickly traded her Mustang out for a golf cart, the studio’s main method of transport.

  Moonlight II was being shot in the Brooklyn neighborhood, today, a rare daylight scene involving Lila and Daniel being forced to walk among mortals to find a magic potion that turns vampires into humans for just long enough for them to consummate their relationship. (A scene which Dana was not looking forward to. Rumor had it Ava had been paid extra to go full frontal.) We parked our cart on the edge of the set, then walked in, stepping between camera tracks, lighting racks, and microphone cords to a pair of white trailers set against the storefront of an Italian deli. “Ricky Montgomery” was taped to the door of the first in block letters, “Ava Martinez” on the other. Dana spared one dirty look at door number two before knocking on door number one.

  A dirty look that, as it turns out, she could have delivered in person, as Ava opened the door to Ricky’s trailer a beat later.

  She blinked, batting long, fake eyelashes at us. “Yeah?” Ava asked, unceremoniously.

  “We’re here to see Ricky,” Dana informed her.

  “And you are?”

  Dana’s teeth gnashed together. “His girlfriend.”

  “Oh.” Ava gave Dana slow up and down, doing a hot-girl-to-hot-girl assessment. “I see. Well, I guess you can come in then,” she said, standing back to allow us entry.

  I could tell it took all Dana had not to elbow the stick figure out the door as she passed by her. Very big of her, really.

  I, on the other hand, actually was very big and did end up knocking into Ava in the tiny trailer doorway. Just a little.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled. “Bun in the oven.”

  “I can see that,” Ava responded, eyes flickering to The Bump. “What’s that in your bag?”

  “Nothing. Just a baby.”

  She frowned and opened her mouth to respond, but never got the chance as Ricky emerged from the back room.

  “What a surprise! What’s my favorite gal doing here?” he asked, moving in to give Dana a peck on the cheek.

  While Ricky’s image on the big screen made moviegoers across the world swoon, I had to say that the in-person version was even more spectacular. He was tall – well over six feet – had broad shoulders, slim hips, and every inch of his body was hard muscle, attesting to his gym-rat status. His hair was black at the moment, long and lose to his shoulders. Which might have been a little too early-Banderas to be sexy had his skin not been tinted a pale white that was so ethereal, the entire look was kind of mesmerizing. I could see why girls were hot for him. I firmly gave my own over-active hormones a down-girl talk as I perched myself on the edge of his sofa.

  Marco sighed beside me, echoing my own thoughts as he whispered, “God, that man is hot.”

  “Smokin’.” I nodded, watching Dana return Ricky’s hello with a kiss. I noticed that she included a little tongue for Ava’s benefit.

  “Wow, nice to see you too,” Ricky said once she let him come up for air. “To what do I owe this surprise visit?”

  “Can’t a girl come visit her boyfriend?” Dana asked. Though whether she was talking to Ricky or Ava, I wasn’t totally clear.

  “If that’s the kind of hello I get, you can visit any time,” Ricky said, still grinning.

  Dana shot Ava a look that said round one had clearly gone to her.

  Ava narrowed her eyes. “Actually, Ricky and I were kind of in the middle of something, so maybe this isn’t the best time.”

  “I’m sure it can wait,” Dana shot back.

  “I don’t think so. It’s very important.”

  “What could be that important?”

  “We’re rehearsing our next scene.”

  “Oh, which one?” I jumped in, unable to stop myself from going fan-girl just a little.

  Ava smirked. “The one where Lila and Daniel have sex.”

  Dana froze, her entire body tensing.

  Uh oh. I had to ask.

  Dana turned to Ricky, her eyes narrowing into tiny slits. “You were rehearsing this scene?”

  Ricky nodded. “We were just running lines when you got here.”

  “How many lines are there?” she hissed. “It’s sex.”

  “Oh, you’d be surprised,” Ricky said, cracking open a water bottle, seemingly completely oblivious to the steam starting to spout from Dana’s ears. “It’s way harder than you’d imagine to have sex on camera.”

  “Pretend to have sex on camera,” Dana corrected, shooting daggers at Ava from her slitty eyes.

  “Rwar, cat fight,” Marco whispered.

  “So anyway,” I broke in, figuring we better get to the point of the visit before we had another dead body on our hands. “We were wondering if we could borrow a couple pairs of fangs for the night? We have a vampire party to go to and need something authentic.”

  Ricky nodded. “Totally. The ones they have in make-up are great. Glue on, stay put all day.”

  “Even through kissing scenes,” Ava said, shooting a saccharine smile at Dana.

  Dana’s teeth clenched so tight I feared we’d need the jaw of life to pry those suckers open.

  “You think we could impose on make-up for a few minutes?” I asked Ricky.

  He shrugged. “Sure. Want me to show you where the trailer is?”

  “Please,” I urged, grabbing Dana by the arm and steering her out of the room before someone got hurt. Not that I would blame her. Ava was, as it turned out, a bit of a twit. But I honestly wanted to let the twit finish filming.

  * * *

  If Sebastian’s estate had seemed fairytale-esque before, it was positively Gothic after dark. The turrets loomed against the evening sky, casting long, eerie shadows across the circular drive. The trees lining the estate were lit from below, creating long, silvering fingers up to their tops. And the bricks framing the front door took on a sinister red hue. As a stark contrast, the circular driveway was lined with shiny, modern cars tonight, all way pricier than my bank account could afford.

  Dana parked her Mustang between a Jag and Ferrari and cut the engine. From here, we could already hear music radiating from inside, above a soft muffle of voices, a slow organ playing a song that belonged in a haunted house.

  “Are we sure about this?” Marco piped up from the backseat. “I mean… maybe we should have brought some garlic or a wooden stake with us.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I think we’ll be okay.”

  “You know, I pride myself on my flawless neck.”

  “Look, Sebastian said they’re all fake anyway,” Dana reassured him, swiveling in her seat.

  �
��Sure. Right,” Marco agreed, nodding. “Only one of those fake vampires sucked Alexa dry.”

  “Do you want to stay in the car?” I asked.

  Marco nodded. “Yes, please.”

  “Fine.” I shoved my leather tote at him. “Then you can babysit.”

  Marco opened his mouth to protest, but I hopped out of the car before he could, leaving the chicken-livered vamp in the backseat.

  Honestly? I wasn’t a whole lot of notches higher on the bravery scale. While I wasn’t worried (much) about having my blood sucked, it was highly likely that we would encounter a murderer tonight. Not a comforting thought, no matter what kind of costumes we’re talking.

  I adjusted my fangs as we walked up to the massive front door, hoping we could blend well enough.

  In addition to the teeth, the Moonlight II costume department had been gracious enough to let us raid their stock of extras’ outfits for loaners. After we’d totally geeked out at the array of choices, Dana had finally settled on a long, corseted, black dress with a slit up the side showing off her legs. It sat just off the shoulders, so we paired it with a spider-web inspired shawl and a pair of fishnets that mimicked the pattern down her legs, ending in spiky red heels. I’d dittoed her fishnets, but I’d obviously had to forgo the corset. Instead, I’d found an empire waisted black velvet dress that was just long enough to cover The Bump, short enough to show off my lace-up boots, and wide enough that I could thankfully still fit my butt into it. And, to cap off our looks, we’d both donned long, black wigs borrowed from the hair trailer. Overall, we were feeling total vampire-chic as we slipped inside the heavy, mahogany doors of Sebastian’s house.

  Which looked as if Victorian London had suddenly collided with Miami Beach. Men and women in dark, drapey clothing mingled to the sounds of J Lo telling them to get on the floor from speakers hidden in the antique moldings in the ceilings. Large, opaque goblets circulated among the guests on trays held by women in mini-skits, dark stockings, and tight tops.

  And everywhere that people laughed, smiled, or talked, fangs peeked from behind their painted lips. Seriously, fangs all over the room. Most of the patrons had opted for Ricky’s pale-face look, though some were in their natural flesh colored states. The women were, by and large, adorned with thick black eyeliner, and Dana and I would have stood out like sore thumbs in our blonde hair. Everyone was sporting Dracula-black wigs.

  “See anything suspicious yet?” Dana asked, whispering in my ear. Her voice had a slight lisp to it due to the fangs.

  “Define suspicious.”

  “Good point.”

  “Let’s look for Becca,” I said, eyeing a couple in the corner who were giving each other serious hickeys. At least, I hoped they were just hickeys.

  I pulled my cell out and dialed Becca’s number, on the off chance she might pick up. Or we might hear a tell-tale ring from someone’s corset. Unfortunately, I got the voicemail routine again. Leaving us with only the low-tech route to finding our suspect.

  We circled our way around the downstairs, passing through groups of cocktail-drinking partygoers (God, I hoped they were cocktails!), snippets of conversation floating past us as we searched their faces for the girl we’d seen with Alexa at the Crush. While she’d been a redhead there, I didn’t put it past her to don a wig like Dana and I had. Especially if she was in fugitive mode.

  While most of the party-goers were in some sort of affected state of undead make-up, I was surprised to see the majority were middle aged, average looking, every-day people that one might encounter in line at Starbucks. Heck, take away the capes and white foundation and you had any other party in the Hollywood Hills.

  All except for one person.

  As we rounded the corner into the study, I spied Sebastian chatting with a woman in another long, black wig. He stood near an enormous, seven-foot-tall fireplace, a crackling fire filling its mouth despite the California heat. His long legs were encased in another pair of crisp slacks, his black button down shirt opened at the collar. His spiked hair was messed into an effortless style, and I could see the glint off his fangs in the glow cast by the antique chandelier above his head.

  As if he could feel me watching him, his gaze suddenly turned toward mine. His unnaturally blue eyes (which had to be just contacts, right?) held mine for a half-second. Just long enough to make me wonder if my disguise was all that disguising after all. Then he turned his attention back to his companion.

  Despite the heat from the fire, I felt a chill run up my spine. I tried to tell myself it was just fear of getting caught and not fear of having my bodily fluids drained, but I grabbed Dana by the arm just the same.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I lisped in Cindy Brady fashion into her ear. “We haven’t checked for Becca upstairs yet.”

  Dana nodded, and we quickly backed out of the room, slipping into the hallway where a large staircase spiraled up to the next floor. The second I was out of Sebastian’s presence, I felt a sigh of relief sweep over me. Supernatural or not, that guy had an unnerving effect that made me jealous of Marco sitting in the nice, safe car outside. The sooner we found Becca and got out of there, the better.

  At the top of the stairs, the landing gave way to another series of rooms. Fewer people were mingling up here than in the lower part of the house, and Dana and I quickly made our way through the first three rooms with no sign of our MIA redhead, before pausing outside of what looked like a master bedroom.

  “Should we go in?” Dana whispered, looking over her shoulder.

  “I guess we should. I mean, no stone unturned.”

  “You wanna go first?”

  “Nope.”

  Dana sighed. “Okay,” she said with her hand on the doorknob, “but I swear to God, if I find a coffin in there…”

  I elbowed her in the ribs. “You have been spending way too much time with Marco.” Though, I’ll admit I let out a small sigh of relief when we saw a king sized bed under a paisley-printed quilt stare back at us.

  “See. He’s just a guy who likes to wear fangs,” I said, much more confidently than I felt.

  “Uh huh,” Dana said, moving toward the closet. “And apparently women’s clothes?” She held up a tiny, black dress with a one-shoulder strap.

  Which was an exact match for the one Becca had been wearing the night of the murder.

  I felt my heart skip a beat, landing somewhere in my throat. “Ohmigod, that’s Becca’s dress!”

  I almost hated to look, but…

  I leaned in close, squinting at the dark fabric for any sign of Alexa’s blood.

  Dana did the same. “I don’t see anything on it,” she finally concluded.

  I nodded. “Me neither. Still, what’s it doing in here?”

  Dana shook her head. “I don’t know. But it’s pretty solid evidence that Sebastian knows more than he’s telling us.”

  “Agreed. And it’s time we found out what,” I decided, taking the dress from Dana and making for the study with the enormous fireplace again.

  Only we never quite made it.

  We got as far as the bottom of the stairs when a woman in a long, flowing maxi-dress darted from the study, slamming squarely into both Dana and I.

  “Uhn,” I said, feeling the wind get knocked out of me. Which, honestly, didn’t take much. The trip down the stairs had been enough to bring me to half-wind already.

  “Hey, watch it. She’s pregnant!” Dana shouted at the woman.

  She turned around only briefly to acknowledge our presence before continuing her flight.

  But it was enough for me to recognize her face and the distinct strands of red hair peeking out from a wig fallen askew in her haste.

  Becca.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Becca, wait!” I called, though her retreating back didn’t slow down a bit. If anything, she picked up pace, hauling it through the crowd toward the back of the house at lightening speeds.

  “I’ve got her,” Dana said, darting after her, pushing her way through
the crowd.

  I did my best to waddle after them, but the fact was a) I wasn’t nearly the gym devotee that Dana as and b) carrying an extra fifteen pounds around kinda put a damper on my efforts. No way was I going to catch up.

  I watched the two black wigs bob toward the back of the house, then out the back doors, where I lost them. I pushed my way through the party-goers, hitting the pair of French doors just in time to see two figures in heels and black dresses sprinting across an expanse of manicured lawn behind the house, before they disappeared into a grove of trees. Crap. The heels on these boots were so not made for tramping across a soggy lawn.

  “What’s going on out there?” a voice said, suddenly at my ear.

  I jumped, letting out a little Chihuahua-style yip and spun around to find myself nose-to-nose with Sebastian.

  I took one giant step backward.

  “Uh, nothing. Just, um, getting a little fresh air.”

  He cocked his head to the side, his icy eyes pinning me to the spot. “I thought I saw your friend jogging across my lawn just now.”

  I bit my lip. “Did you?” I squeaked out.

  He nodded slowly. “Yes.”

  “Well, that’s Dana. Any excuse for a little exercise.” The second the words left my lips I mentally cringed at the lameness of my lying skills.

  Luckily, Sebastian let it go.

  Unluckily, he took a step forward, uncomfortably closing the gap between us again.

  “You know, I don’t remember inviting the two of you to this party,” he slowly drawled.

  I swallowed loudly, my throat suddenly bone dry. “I’ll forgive the oversight.”

  “Hmmm.” He narrowed his eyes at me, assessing.

  I swallowed again, cleared my throat, and firmly told myself he was just some guy in contacts and a pair of plastic teeth.

  “Exactly what are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Looking for Becca,” I found myself confessing under his steady gaze.

  “And did you find her?”