"Are you saying this was arson?" The reporter was all business now, gesturing at the cameraman so he could pan to the broken and blackened windows.
"Absolutely." I looked directly at the camera when it was aimed at me again. "And I want to put whoever did this on notice. I will re-open. I will not just disappear."
"Gee, you make this sound like a hate crime. Are you, um, a minority?"
Blonde, blue-eyed white girl a minority? I smiled and read the reporter's mind. Hmm. I could set her straight—ha, ha—but why bother?
"I'm a woman, trying to support myself. Some people"—maybe I was digging a hole here—"don't like independence or people who are different."
The reporter thrust the microphone at Flo, who had somehow managed to pull her hair back into a chic ponytail, her sheet now a toga that Julius Caesar himself had probably taught her how to wrap.
"Are you Ms. St. Clair's partner?"
Flo grinned, obviously reading the reporter's mind too.
"Glory and I haven't been together long," she linked her arm through mine, "and the business is all hers. Me, I'm into new. I have a wonderful shoe collection, spared from the fire, thank God. I just hope Glory's business survives this." Flo actually kissed my cheek and I swear I jumped a foot.
"We're not—"
"Hush, Glory. Let me tell Donna about my shoes." Flo began rattling off designer names until the reporter's eyes glazed over and she signaled the cameraman to cut.
"I think we have enough. Excuse me, I see an arson investigator has arrived. Good luck with your business, Ms. St. Clair. Here's my card, if you need to contact me for a follow up."
Follow up. I took one more long look at my shop, shook my head then went inside the apartment building. The halls were wet and the smell of smoke made my nose run and my eyes sting. I climbed the stairs, then stepped over the door Valdez had knocked down to get me out. The frame was broken, the locks shattered. I felt him beside me.
"You really are a hero, Valdez." I dropped to my knees and buried my face in his damp fur. Oh, great. Now I cried. I held on to him and felt Flo patting my back. I know blood sucking vampires are supposed to be tough, but we're still human, sort of. We have feelings. I swear sometimes I think if I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck at all.
Full-Figured Vampire 1 - Real Vampires Have Curves Page 31