The Moon Rises (Gigi Monroe)

by Angela Horn

  Gigi said nothing and Ella gave her a weird frown.

  “That’s good, Gigi. When guys request a chick, she gets more work and she gets better tips. I make a lot more money working for the ghouls because they request me and I act like I like them.”

  “Okay.”

  “Yeah, more relaxed would not be good,” Ella said.

  Gigi smiled again, just because she was completely lost in the conversation. Ella might have realized this fact because she headed for the door.

  “Sara said you don’t know how to work an ATM. I’ll show you how, but we won’t take money to Michael. If he wants to help you, he’ll only get paid when he actually does some work. We’re not letting him take advantage of you, just because you’re…” Ella paused then shrugged. “New to town.”

  Gigi followed Ella out of the apartment and into the warm morning. Ella wore skimpy shorts which looked like something had torn them apart. Gigi wondered if she should look more naked too?

  After they used the ATM card and PIN number from inside the checkbook, the females drove to Michael’s office. Riding on Ella’s motorcycle, Gigi clung tightly, praying not to fall off and die. By the time they arrived at the offices, Gigi was a nervous mess. She grew more nervous when she noticed the name on the office door said Robert Hannigan. Ella was sure Michael was inside though.

  The office was empty when the females entered, but a television played quietly on the wall while a stereo played in the corner. Ella stood in the office and wiped sweat from her freckled forehead. Gigi noticed there were freckles all over Ella and she was curious why, but she wasn’t going to ask.

  “Man, oh, man, it’s hot in here,” Ella said, opening a window.

  “Did I say you could do that?” a male voice asked from a room in the back.

  “Well obviously not, Michael. Don’t be a dick. You have guests.”

  Michael stepped out from the backroom wearing only a pair of jeans. Gigi wasn’t sure why she kept being surprised by how half dressed everyone was in the Circle. Apparently monsters weren’t fond of clothes. Or maybe they just got hot easily.

  “Michael, this is Gigi. She wants your help.”

  The Were was tall and lean, but not scrawny. His lack of shirt made it clear he was muscular, but not how Anton and Declan were muscular. Michael’s blue eyes studied her and he did look grumpy. Finally he turned up the television and asked what they wanted.

  “I swear you have the worst people skills, Mikey. It’s like you were raised by wolves.”

  Grinning, Michael ran a hand through his dark blond hair.

  “If I say please and thank you, will you tell me what the hell you want and get out?”

  Ella smirked. “Depends on if you say it while on your knees?”

  Gigi wasn’t sure why Ella was being grouchy with Michael, but his grouchy face grew grouchier. This chat wasn’t what Gigi hoped for when she agreed to help Sara.

  “My friend might be dead,” Gigi said and Michael’s eyes shifted to her. “I need your help to find her.”

  “Have her Alpha find her or have him ask me.”

  “She’s not a Were,” Ella said, sitting on a table while she flipped through his mail.

  Michael frowned, but Gigi wasn’t sure if it was because Ella was messing with his things or because she said Katia wasn’t a Were.

  “What was she?”

  “She might still be alive,” Ella said then grunted when Michael yanked the mail from her hands.

  Gigi walked over to Michael who was checking the mail he took from Ella. She snapped her fingers in front of his face the way she saw Justine do to Silas when he wasn’t paying attention to her.

  “Someone took her and no one cares. Someone should care.”

  Michael glanced at her then reached back and grabbed a beer bottle. He took a swig and sighed.

  “I don’t help humans.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m not human.”

  “If you needed help, I would help you and I’m not a Were.”

  “Yes, but I’m not you.”

  “No, you’re not,” Gigi said. Again she felt a hint of frustration at how people didn’t behave the way she thought they should. “I can pay you.”

  “Not enough.”

  “How much do you want?”

  Michael cocked an eyebrow. “How much do you have?”

  Ella jumped up and walked over. “No way are you taking advantage of her just because she’s…”

  “She’s what?”

  Ella frowned at Michael. “She just moved to town.”

  “To look for her dead friend?”

  “No. She didn’t know Katia. In fact she took Katia’s spot at The Moon Rises.”

  Michael turned his frown to Gigi who stared back at him, not caring if it was rude to stare. She was pretty sure he was being rude too.

  “One, Silas definitely knows how to find new talent. Two, as a waitress you can’t afford my services. Three, why do you care about some chick you’ve never met?”

  Gigi stared at him and Michael stared back. If it was a contest, Gigi was pretty sure she won because he finally looked away and watched the television.

  “Why won’t you help me?” Gigi asked. “Do humans not matter?”

  “No, not particularly.”

  “How come?”

  Michael frowned darkly and another staring contest took place. Again Gigi won.

  “I don’t like humans.”

  “Is it because I snapped in your face? I don’t think Silas liked that either.”

  Michael smiled like he thought she was weird. It was a look she got a lot.

  “This girl is probably dead and finding a dead person in the Circle is pretty impossible. If someone ate her, there won’t be anything left to find.”

  Gigi hadn’t considered Katia being eaten. The Circle was full of monsters and monsters ate people. It made sense, but Gigi wanted to know the truth like the lady on the TV.

  “Can you try?”

  “I’m very expensive.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m very good.”

  “At what?”

  “At finding things out.”

  Ella snorted. “You’re an enforcer, not a detective, so you better not take her money when we both know you can’t find Katia.”

  “What’s an enforcer?” Gigi asked.

  “It means I hurt people.”

  “Because you don’t like humans?”

  “No, sweetheart, I’ll hurt anyone. Weres, Vamps, ghouls, witches, humans, doesn’t matter. If someone hires me, I make their enemies pay. Now if you were asking me to punish whoever killed Katia, maybe I’d help you. You have no clues. Like the ginger pointed out, I’m not a detective.”

  Gigi stared at him, unsure what to do because for some reason, she just assumed he would help. It made no sense for him not to.

  “You’re a dog, right?” Gigi asked.

  Ella laughed, but Michael only squinted at her.

  “I think I’ve figured out what you were talking about, Ella.”

  “Say it out loud and I’ll enforce your head into the toilet, Michael.”

  Smiling, he took another swig of beer. “Yes, sweetheart, I’m a dog.”

  “On TV, the police used dogs to find a dead body. Can’t you smell around Katia’s apartment and see what you find?”

  “Well hell, Gigi, I could do all sorts of things, but that doesn’t mean I will.”

  “Because you don’t care?”

  Michael sighed. “You’re a nag, aren’t you?”

  “She has a point though,” Ella said. “You don’t care. It’s why you have no friends or a mate. You suck pretty hard.”

  Rolling his eyes, Michael studied Gigi again, but this time his eyes weren’t so grouchy.

  “I could look into it, but I won’t find anything.”

  “Okay,” Gigi said excitedly and Michael frowned from the nose up while grinning from the nose down. It was weird. He looked happy and mad a
t the same time.

  “Give me her name and address.”

  Ella moved quickly and handed him a piece of paper. Just as quickly, she grabbed Gigi and pulled her towards the door.

  “She’ll pay you if you find something. You can reach her at the club.”

  Michael frowned, grouchy again. He looked at the paper then glared at Ella who was nearing the door with Gigi.

  “Thank you, Michael,” Gigi said.

  “For what, I haven’t done anything yet?”

  “Yes, you have.”

  “Yeah, great,” Ella said, shoving Gigi from the office. Once outside, the redhead sighed. “I can’t believe that worked. Dudes really dig you. We should find a way to use that skill to our advantage. Maybe start a con or something.”

  “What’s a con or something?”

  Ella grinned at Gigi and patted her head. “Smart, you are not, but you certainly have other qualities. Michael never helps anyone, especially not humans, but he said he would help you. Miracles do happen.”

  “He might not do it. People lie sometimes.”

  “Yes, but Michael’s obsessive. Once he starts looking into Katia’s disappearance, he’ll keep looking until he finds something or there’s nothing left to find. Even then, it’ll nag at him. It’s why he doesn’t like helping anyone. He hates obsessing and he’ll obsess like crazy over this.”

  Gigi glanced back at the office before her eyes found Ella.

  “I’m not stupid,” she said calmly. “I just don’t know anything yet.”

  Ella studied her with a grin. “Okay, but even if you were stupid, I’d still think you were pretty adorable. Most chicks irritate me, but you don’t.”

  “Thank you. I like your freckles.”

  “Yeah, I noticed. Oh, and by the way, if the opportunity ever arises for you to refer to either Declan or Anton as dogs, please do it when I can see their reactions. Just priceless.”

  Thinking back to when she talked to Anton about being a dog, Gigi smiled, but she wasn’t sure why asking a dog if they were a dog was funny. Of course most things people found funny weren’t funny to her. Maybe it was one of those things she just didn’t know yet.

  Chapter Six

  When Sara hugged her, Gigi realized two things. Sara didn’t hate her anymore and Gigi really liked hugs. She could have hugged Sara for another half hour, but the girl pulled away and smiled at her.

  “I can’t believe you got him to agree.”

  “I think he wanted to help. I think he just fakes being so grumpy.”

  Gigi didn’t believe those words, but she was starting to realize the power of lies. While people always said they wanted the truth, they really wanted pretty lies. Gigi liked pretty lies too.

  “No one has ever done anything to help me like this before and I know no one ever helped Katia. Maybe whatever’s wrong with you is a good thing?”

  Gigi shrugged which was a new move she learned this afternoon while at lunch with Ella. Shrugging meant maybe or I don’t know.

  “What floor are you on tonight?” Sara asked as she tied her hair into a ponytail. “I heard Silas got crap last night for sticking you with the witches. The pack floor was pissed.”

  “I’m on the Vamp floor,” Gigi said, wondering if a ponytail would look good on her too. “I get to work with Dahlia.”

  Sara saw Gigi pulling her hair into a ponytail and gently pressed on her hands.

  “Don’t show your neck to the Vamps. It’s not polite.”

  “And don’t hide my hands,” Gigi said, repeating advice from Ella. “Don’t make sudden movements or hand them things too quickly. Oh, and don’t laugh at their dancing.”

  “Who told you that?” Sara said with a grin. “Ella or Justine?”

  “Ella.”

  “Well she’s right. The Vamps are pretentious, so don’t laugh at them period. Even if they seem like they’re joking with you, they’re not. They are always laughing at you, never with you. Just let Dahlia do all the talking until you get the hang of it. Dahlia creeps me out, but she showed me the ropes and made sure I didn’t make any Vamp faux pas.”

  Gigi took a deep breath and shrugged. She really liked shrugging.

  “I’m on the pack floor,” Sara said, checking her appearance in the mirror again, “which means I’ll spend the night listening to horny guys complain about how they can’t look at your ass. If I was smart, I would do what Monica did last night and cry so I can get pity tips. I won’t though because I can’t cry on command and besides I have a little pride left.”

  Gigi smiled because she realized Sara was being funny.

  “So, Gigi, do you want to have lunch one day?”

  “Yes. Wait, with you, right?”

  “Yes, with me,” Sara said with a grin. “I don’t have school tomorrow afternoon. We could meet somewhere. Do you know how to drive?”

  “I’m not sure,” Gigi mumbled, still wondering if she had a car in the apartment garage.

  “Then I’ll pick you up.”

  Gigi gave Sara her phone number before they separated. So excited about having another friend, Gigi didn’t really worry about Dahlia not being around to show her the ropes with the Vamps. Riding down on the elevator, she just remembered to keep her hands in front of her, be quiet, and don’t laugh.

  The music hit her first – loud to the point of hurting her ears. Gigi was shocked by the sheer volume of the music and wondered if Vamps were deaf?

  Instead of pool tables, the Vamp floor had a large dance area where people dressed in black danced in ways which involved their crotches rubbing together. Gigi didn’t know how to dance, but if all dancing was like that, she didn’t want to learn.

  The whole floor was barely lit except for strobe lights which threw odd colors on the walls. Gigi didn’t like the loud music and the whole floor was ugly and dark. She also smelled something yucky underneath the scents of sweat and cologne. No matter how unpleasant the floor was, she planned to focus on work. Gigi pulled out her pencil and paper, hoping to keep her hands busy so she wouldn’t forget to keep them visible. She was near the bar when the Vamps suddenly noticed her and the place became very quiet – well except for the insanely loud music. The Vamps frowned at her then returned to their crotch dancing.

  The bartender ignored her, so she turned back to the floor and noticed Dahlia in a corner, taking orders. Eyes on the pretty Vamp waitress, Gigi barely noticed the movement to her right. Strangely fast slow movements that would have startled her had she been paying more attention.

  Suddenly he was just there. Tall, blond, and handsome with very green eyes, he hovered over her - near her while at the same time in his own space. Gigi got the impression he was moving even when he was standing still. It was disorienting, but she just stared at him like she stared at everyone. She was careful to keep her hands in view though.

  “Do you need something, sir?”

  “You’re Gigi.”

  Nodding, she lifted her pencil and let it linger on the paper. Yet she sensed he wasn’t going to order anything.

  “Dahlia didn’t do you justice.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you do.”

  Gigi’s smile faded. “No, I don’t. Is it a joke? I don’t get most jokes.”

  Eyes narrowing, he studied her. They always needed to study her and she wondered if whatever was wrong with her was obvious just by looking. The Vamp leaned closer, his green eyes lightening even in the dark room. Frowning, she watched him as he watched her.

  “Is there something wrong?” he asked.

  “I shouldn’t say.”

  “No, please do. I’m curious now.”

  Gigi glanced around then back at his handsome face. “The music is very loud.”

  “Oh, is it bothering you? Should I ask them to turn it down?”

  “Could you?” Gigi asked, shocked that he would offer.

  The Vamp frowned, his strong jaw tensing, and then he grinned. “You’re serious.”


  Gigi thought to pretend as if she was joking, but it was too late. He already knew she wasn’t. He leaned towards the bar and stared at the bartender. The same Vamp who had ignored her a few moments earlier now nodded at the green eyed Vamp who hadn’t said anything.

  The music lowered until the volume was closer to the level on the witch floor. The other Vamps groaned with irritation. Once the green eyed Vamp frowned, the groans ended and the Vamps returned to what they were doing.

  “Better, Gigi?” he asked, looking amused in the way males tended to look when they thought she was stupid. It was the same look Silas gave her when she asked if there was a reason all the girls wore the same outfits. Now the Vamp was thinking she was dumb.

  “Yes, thank you. Why was it so loud?”

  “To set the mood.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  The Vamp smiled and it was a genuine smile. “It takes courage to admit a lack of knowledge.”

  “I was trying to fake it until I make it, but it gets hard faking it and I think people were catching on.”

  Leaning forward, the Vamp his green eyes lightened again.

  “Simon,” a silky voice called out and Gigi turned to find Dahlia.

  “Hello, Dahlia,” Simon said, his eyes on Gigi. “Gigi is quite entertaining.”

  “Yes, but it’s her first night, so I better show her around.”

  Simon stopped smiling at Gigi and turned his gaze to Dahlia. When he frowned and Dahlia stepped back, Gigi got the impression he was threatening the Vamp in the same way he told the bartender to turn down the music. Simon was talking to them using his mind, but Gigi couldn’t hear him. Of course she wasn’t a Vamp which was a relief since she didn’t want him talking to her in her head.

  “Gigi will be serving my table tonight and my table only. Do you understand?”

  Dahlia nodded, her eyes lowered, her hands behind her back. Gigi wondered if the hand thing was only for non-Vamps, but she wasn’t going to ask. When Simon returned his gaze to her, he smiled.

  “Dahlia is very young,” he said then glanced at the bartender. “You can bring my drinks when they’re ready, Gigi.”

  Gigi nodded with a smile, but she was nervous now. Noticing how scared Dahlia was, Gigi wanted to be scared too. While she wasn’t actually scared, she was inching closer to the feeling.