Real Vampires and the Viking
Page 26
“I want the combination.” Ursula was almost frantic as she paced around the room.
“Well, don’t look at me. Flo is with her husband, your son and Gunnar. What do you think your chances of surviving an encounter with that crowd would be?” I was enjoying this. Watching Ursula unravel. Had she really set up Gunnar to be frozen? I tried to probe her mind but her thoughts were all about money. She was obsessed with it. Well, she clearly was guilty of something and I’d like to see her get her due. But then Jerry was right, I’d had enough killing the past few days to last me forever.
“Call her. You’re her best friend. She told me that in the car. Tell her you need her. For something silly like to match a sweater to a skirt. That’s her kind of expertise.” Ursula snarled and looked me over. “Empty headed bitches, both of you, more interested in your wardrobes than in what’s important. I’d like to see you do the kind of things I had to do in order to survive all these years.”
Now that offended me. This woman had no idea what I’d done to stay alive for over four hundred years. No idea who I really was. She’d made a snap decision based on my appearance. Which I admit was pretty smoking hot tonight in my brown leather coat which matched my boots perfectly.
“Make me.” I looked her over. “You talk tough but I have special skills. Want to go one on one and see?”
She’d tossed her mink coat and hat on a chair and reached under the coat. Damn. There was that machine gun. She aimed it right at my heart.
“Yes, your friend Florence was bragging about your skills. So I won’t look you in the eyes, will I?” She kept the gun steady. “But I won’t need to when I pull the trigger and kill you. Now sit down and call the little bitch. Get her to come here.” She threw the phone at me.
I picked it up off the floor and sat on the couch. “Seriously? You think I’ll get Flo here so she can unlock her safe? Not without a promise that you won’t touch her. Or her jewelry. We both won’t be hurt or it’s no deal.”
“Do I need to put a bullet in your leg first?” She moved the barrel down to aim at my foot.
“That would be stupid, Ursula. The noise would get the rest of the gang here on the run. Not to mention the police.” I was happy to point that out. I sure didn’t want a wooden bullet in my leg either.
“Okay, so I promise not to hurt your little friend or take her jewelry. All I’m after is the gold. It’s what Gunnar owes me.” Ursula’s eyes gleamed though as she must have realized Flo’s jewelry was probably worth a fortune. Which it was. She really must think me an airhead if I would believe any promise she made. I didn’t have to bother to read her mind this time when she was so obviously out to get whatever she could.
“So you didn’t find Gunnar’s stash in his room?” I wasn’t about to start dialing, but Ursula grabbed the phone anyway and put it on speaker before she handed it back.
“Well, yes, I did. But I think I should have it all.” Ursula nodded toward her mink.
“What makes you think that wasn’t all of it? He had a bag of gold. What are you doing here looking for more?”
“Gretchen’s mind, stupid. She was worrying about the half Gunnar had given to your pal’s husband. Thinking about the value and if it would be enough to make him rich.” Ursula laughed. “Ancient coins. They’re worth a fortune now. I know people who will pay a good price for them. But it won’t be Gunnar who will enjoy those riches.”
“He earned them, didn’t he?” I couldn’t take my eyes off that gun. I hoped she knew what she was doing. It could go off and I’d have those damned wooden bullets inside me. After seeing Jerry hurt so…
“No, I earned them.” Ursula gestured with that machine gun. “You have no idea how I suffered at Bjorn’s hands. The man had sex like he was trying to break a speed record. I wasn’t kidding about smelly Vikings either. He didn’t bathe or clean his teeth.” She shuddered then poked my leg with the gun barrel. “Dial or I’ll knock your teeth out. One hard hit with this gun and you won’t ever bite into your husband’s jugular during sex again. How would you like that? Your friends won’t hear that hit either.” Her gestures became more alarming, the gun butt so close to my face, I knew she was serious. I made a grab for the gun but she was too quick for me.
“What are you waiting for?” She kicked my shin. “Hurry!”
“I can’t do it.” I gasped when she jammed that gun butt down on my foot. It hurt so bad that my eyes watered. “Shit!”
“That’s just the start. Trust me, your teeth are next. Get with it. When I have what I want, I’ll be out of here. I don’t want to kill you or your friend and, you’re right, the noise of the machine gun will attract attention I don’t want. I just need to get the gold. Now do what I said.” That white stripe in her hair was quivering. The look in Ursula’s eyes and my throbbing toes convinced me she would be happy to torture me until I obeyed her.
One of my skills is that I can dematerialize--disappear from one place and reappear in another. I’d been waiting for my chance to do that so I could overpower Ursula with the element of surprise and take that gun. I decided now was the time. But I’d left it too late. The pain in my foot made it impossible to concentrate and I couldn’t vanish. Damn it.
Plan B: I was pretty sure reinforcements would help me figure a way out of this. I dialed.
“Flo? I’m at your room.” I could hear the sounds of the rest of the gang in the background. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes, of course. What is it? We are busy here. Gunnar’s gold is gone and he is ready to tear someone’s head off. Ursula’s if he can find her.”
I glanced at the woman. She smiled and gestured with the gun.
“You remember the cute T-shirts we saw in the boutique? I just couldn’t resist them. I went by there and bought us each one. So we can match. You are always helping me. I had to get you something as a thank you.” I had emphasized the “helping”. “Don’t bring Richard and Jerry along with you. Let’s make it a surprise.” I hoped she understood what I was trying to tell her. I’d emphasized the key words—“bring”, “Richard,” “Jerry,” and “along”—saying them louder than the rest of the sentence. I couldn’t do more than that to send her the right message.
“Matching T-shirts, amica?” Flo clearly knew something was up. My fashionable friend would die before she put a T-shirt on her body and she knew I was aware of that. “What color? You know I’m not going to wear yellow, don’t you? That is for cowards.”
“You are always brave. No need to prove it to me.” I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Ursula was frowning, like she was getting suspicious of this conversation. “Really, Flo. If this isn’t a good time …”
“I’m coming.” She hung up.
“Satisfied?” I handed the phone back to Ursula. She really was being cagey and I’d tried but hadn’t been able to capture her gaze to mesmerize her or turn her to stone. Now I’d have to wait for Flo to get here. Oh, God. Wooden bullets. I didn’t like that machine gun aimed at me. I didn’t want it aimed at Flo either but two against one meant we might have a chance to distract Ursula. If only Flo had taken my hint and would show up with the men.
“You did very well. I’m surprised. I thought you’d fight me harder on calling your little friend.” She sat on the bed but kept that machine gun steady. “Of course I would have happily broken every bone in your body to make that happen.”
“You already broke a couple of my toes. I’m not into pain.” I wondered if I found the bag of gold first if I could get Ursula to just leave. Probably not. Now that she knew about the jewels, she wanted them too. But it was worth a shot. I scanned the room. Surely if I concentrated, I’d find Richard’s hiding place. Then I saw it. There was a bag of dirty laundry hanging on the back of the door with an interesting lump at the bottom. Knowing Richard, he’d dropped the coins there on his way out the door. I got up and limped over to it. Damn, but my toes hurt.
“Where are you going?” Ursula waved the gun at me.
“I’m g
oing to let her in. You don’t want Flo running away when she sees you, do you?” I leaned against the door. Sure enough, I felt the hard bulge at the bottom. It was the right size and shape to be Gunnar’s gold coins. I could pull it out and throw it at Ursula. Perfect distraction.
“Is that door shut this time?” Ursula got up to check, still wary around me. “She must use her key. I expect you to pull her inside and close the door after her. Get it?”
“You’re crazy. I hope she runs like hell when she realizes you’re here.” I really didn’t want to do this. I was trying to get to the gold without Ursula noticing while I heard Flo’s key in the lock.
“Glory! How did you get in my room?” Flo gasped when she saw Ursula. “Mio Dio! It’s a trap!”
I looked behind Flo, scared and disappointed that the men weren’t with her. Of course this could have turned into a blood bath if they’d come in with their guns blazing.
“Yes, my trap. And it worked perfectly, kvinna.” Ursula smiled and stood, her gun on Flo now. “Shut the door then come over and open your safe.”
“What? You are stealing my jewels?” Flo grabbed my arm. “Glory! How could you call me for this?”
“Seems your best friend gave you up because she didn’t want her teeth knocked out. So much for loyalty.” Ursula stepped closer and jabbed the gun into Flo’s stomach. “Get over here. Open the safe and give me Gunnar’s gold.”
Flo pushed the gun barrel away from her stomach. “You are hurting me. For nothing. Gunnar’s coins are not in there. I have filled the safe with my pretties. I told Ricardo he would have to find his own hiding place. I don’t know where he hid the gold.” She glanced at me. “Tell her, Glory. I don’t travel without my jewels. I have many of them. Enough to fill the hotel’s little safe to the brim.”
“It’s true. Look at her new earrings, a Christmas present from her husband. Chocolate diamonds set in gold to match her coat today. The rest are kept locked up close to her at all times. Read her mind if you don’t believe us.” I was watching for my chance to grab that gun. I’d almost had it when she’d moved toward Flo but I was afraid, with Ursula’s finger on the trigger, that a sudden move would get Flo shot. “I’m sorry, Flo. I didn’t want to call you down here.”
“It’s okay. I don’t want you to die or lose your smile. Jeremiah would never forgive me.” Flo reached out for me. “But if we are buried, we should be in matching T-shirts, capiscimi? Not yellow, of course. I won’t even wear a yellow diamond. It is not my color. But a pretty pink perhaps. I look good in pink and so do you, amica. We will have to decide someday. Coral is nice. What do you think?” She winked, obviously working on a distraction so I could make a move.
“Stop all this silly talk.” Ursula was quivering she was so mad. “Open the safe, slyna! Or I will hurt you and you will know it!” Ursula waved the gun around, her finger finally off the trigger as she got ready to hit Flo with the stock as she’d hit me.
This was my chance. I grabbed the barrel, jerking the gun out of Ursula’s hands. She screeched in outrage, lunging at me, determined to wrestle it back.
“No, cagna! You cannot have it! Get her, Glory! Make her a statue!” Flo jumped on Ursula’s back, raking her hair with her fingernails until she had a handful. She twisted and pulled while Ursula screamed.
I tossed the gun aside and held onto one of Ursula’s ears while Flo kept her hair in a firm grip. Ursula couldn’t move her head. She squeezed her eyes shut but I poked at them with my fingers until she was forced to open them. In seconds the woman was turned into stone.
“There. Relax, Flo, she’s out of commission now.” I almost fell over when Flo launched herself at me for a tremendous hug. Then she let go, both of us out of breath.
“Grazie a Dio! We did it!” Flo grinned. “I couldn’t believe it when you called and started talking about matching T-shirts.” She laughed and hugged me again. “I knew then that you had either hit your head and gone crazy or were in trouble. I had to come.”
“Right into danger.” I wanted to smack Ursula for what she’d done to me and to Flo, but it’s no fun hitting a statue. “Thank God she didn’t hurt you.”
“You are limping. She hurt you.” Flo stared down at my foot. “And she ruined your boot. Cagna inutile.” She smacked Ursula on her arm then ran to pick up the machine gun and quickly took out all the bullets. “This thing. I hate it. If it had killed either one of us . . .” Just then the door flew open and Richard stood on the other side.
“What is this? Florence? I wondered where you ran off to. Ursula is here?” He rushed inside and gathered Flo in his arms.
Jerry was right behind him. “What the hell, Gloriana?” He saw Ursula’s strange position next to me. “You caught her? What happened?”
“She was trying to force Flo to give her Gunnar’s gold. She wanted Flo’s jewels too.” I grabbed Jerry and held onto him. “Thank God that’s over.”
“Is it?” Gunnar strode inside. “Where is my gold?”
I smiled at Richard. “Behind the door there. Show him, Richard.”
“Maybe I’m not as crafty as I thought I was.” Richard walked over to the door and pulled down the laundry bag. “Did you really find it, Glory?”
“Yes. But Ursula didn’t have a clue. She assumed it was in the safe. She had me call Flo for the combination.” I leaned against Jerry. “I’m sorry I did that but I don’t think--”
“Sorry?” Richard tossed Gunnar his sack of coins then turned on me. “You endangered my wife and just say ‘Sorry’?”
“Ricardo, it’s all right.” Flo threw her arms around him and looked up at him, her eyes blazing. “Don’t get all macho on me. Glory and I handled it. She gave me enough hints on the phone that I figured out she was in trouble. I could have brought you with me, but I decided the two of us could take care of one evil bitch.” She turned to grin at me. “We knew what we were doing, didn’t we, Glory?”
“I’m not so sure.” I took a breath and stepped away from Jerry. “I never should have involved you, Flo.” I blinked back tears. “She could have killed you. When I saw her press that machine gun against you . . . Well, it made my heart stop.”
“By God!” Richard’s hands were fisted.
“Don’t say a word, Mainwaring.” Jerry wrapped his arms around me again. “Gloriana was alone with a deranged woman. She did what she had to and obviously Florence made the decision to come on her own. They both acted on impulse. Thank God this did end well.”
“But is it at an end?” Edvard pushed into the room, Ian and Elsa behind him. “What am I to do now? Is my mother permanently like this?” He motioned toward Ursula who hadn’t moved or blinked since I’d put her into that state.
“I can unfreeze her at any time. But you need to decide, Edvard, you and Gunnar, what you want to happen next. She has half your gold in her coat pocket, Gunnar. The half that was in your room. If you let her go, she’s going to need a place to live.” I sighed, sick to death of the lot of them.
“I’d let her starve. Put her on an ice flow like the Eskimos used to do.” Ian was being typically hard ass.
“Not a bad plan.” Elsa nodded. “But I can’t see it working. My husband is too forgiving.” She’d been standing with her hand on Edvard’s arm, not letting him out of her sight. “She will not stay with us though, Edvard. Not a minute longer.” She let go of her husband and looked resolute.
Edvard reached for her and pulled her close again. “I agree, my love. She will never set foot in our home again.” He looked at his father. “We’ll have to make a deal with her. She must leave Sweden and go somewhere else. Far away. If you agree to give it to her, she could take enough of your coin to get settled, Pappa.”
“I would really like to kill her, but there’s been enough of that. Glory, if you can release her from this spell, we will take her away from here and figure this out. Fredrick had a nice dungeon. I would like to see Ursula inside it.” Gunnar turned to Gretchen. “What do you think, älskling?”
“Yes. Pack. For your trip to the Texas.” Gunnar smiled at Gretchen then turned to Edvard. “I will go away too. I’m sure Elsa does not need more family coming to live with her.”
“But Pappa…” Edvard looked conflicted.
“Not now, anyway. We will give you time to recover from this latest disaster. And you will have much to do if you truly wish to erase the Brodin name.” Gunnar smiled at Elsa. “Does that please you, Daughter?”
“Thank you, Pappa, for understanding. Later, you will be welcome to come back. To get to know all of the family.” Elsa walked up to him and hugged him. Then she picked up Ursula’s mink and found the other bag of gold. “Here’s your coin. Are you sure Ursula should have any of it? It would be right if she had to leave Sweden penniless and fend for herself.”
I thought about Ursula’s taunts. What she’d done to survive. Surely her survival hadn’t been at stake if she’d asked Bjorn to burn their village and take her own children as slaves. She’d denied that but I wondered... I couldn’t imagine being so coldly calculating, but I knew what it was like to be a woman, poor and alone. Gunnar looked around the room, as if seeking advice.
“It would be cruel to just toss her out with nothing. Been there, done that. Why not give her enough money for a decent start? I don’t think you want her out there somewhere, so filled with despair and bitterness that all she can think about is how to get revenge. Do you?” I reached for Jerry’s hand. He kissed my cheek, probably remembering how alone I’d been when he’d first met me. I’d been lucky enough to find him. My love. I doubted Ursula in her present mood would welcome love again. And I certainly wasn’t in the frame of mind to hope for it for her.