“Yes, but that was because you always moved on to a new man before.” I hugged her. “This time you plan to stick.”
“You’re right. But Ricardo makes no sense.” Flo stepped across the hall. “If I had bought one of his religious relics for him? Hah! No limit then. I say we rob a grave, then tell Ricardo we’d found old bones of saints. And look at the pretty bracelet the saint was wearing!” Flo wobbled a little, obviously feeling her champagne, before she slammed the door.
I was smiling as I put my bottles into the mini-bar fridge then called Jerry. He wanted to hear about the dress shopping and I laughed about my night and the struggles with the entourage and their “help.”
“But did you get the dress you wanted, Gloriana?” He sounded concerned.
“Of course. I can’t tell you the details, but it’s vintage and I love it.” I went on to thank him for the synthetic blood. Then I said good night with the excuse that I was tired and longing for a long soak in the bathtub. But I wasn’t headed for the tub. Instead I got on the elevator again and went down to the floor where Charis had her room. I needed to have it out with her again about her stealing.
I was relieved when she answered my knock.
“Checking up on me?” She was in pajamas and the TV was on pay per view. It was a movie that included nudity. I had to remind myself that she was an adult. “I’m here, as ordered.”
“Can you pause that thing so we can talk?” I sat where I didn’t have to see the threesome on the screen.
“Sure. Or you could take the stick out of your butt and watch it with me.” Charis flounced over to pick up the remote to hit pause.
“I’m not a prude, Charis. I’ve seen and done plenty of things. Though I have no idea if they match up to your experience.” I crossed my legs and waited until she was settled on her bed. She’d poured herself a drink but didn’t offer me one. Which was okay. I’d had enough for one night. Clearly she watched a lot of TV. She talked more like a twenty-first century girl now than I did.
“In Olympus I’m still considered something of a child, sheltered until I’m married. Not that I’m a virgin. We’re given sexual freedom. But we live at home with our parents and you know first-hand that marriages are arranged. Ridiculous conventions.” She made a face. “You saw that, despite your grandmother’s preferences, staying true to your mate is no big deal in Olympus. Most of us are adventurous.” She glanced at the TV to make her point.
“Yes, Hera would like it to be like the old days. But immortals don’t seem to be built for monogamy.” I knew that from dealing with vampires too.
“No kidding.” Charis leaned forward. “I knew about Earth before I came here but the way Zeus keeps everything kind of old fashioned up there didn’t really prepare me for this reality. Fast cars, so many good looking men and then all the paranormals!”
“You’re seeing those paranormals because you’re traveling in my circles, Charis. Most mortals don’t have a clue that there are werewolves, shape-shifters, and vampires living among them. We keep a low profile deliberately and what you’ve been doing since you got here is jeopardizing that way of life. That’s why I have to come down hard on you.” I tried to see it from her point of view. Okay, so she’d been pampered, spoiled, and kept in an archaic world where she was part of the pampered hierarchy. Then she’d come down here and she’d been just one of the crowd.
“I see what you’re thinking, Glory. You’re right. I hate not standing out.” Charis rattled an ice cube in her glass. “I know I have my looks but there are so many other pretty girls in Austin. I’m learning that most of them go to the University of Texas. They’re smart and know so much! I know nothing!”
“Would you like to go to school? Enroll in the university and be part of that scene?” I had no idea what kind of schooling Charis had finished. I’d seen no signs of a teaching program there but then I hadn’t been looking.
“Glory, you are so easy to read.” Charis smiled. “We have tutors and I am well-educated in a way. My last tutor was quite handsome.” She waved a hand over her face as if to cool her cheeks. “He taught me things my mother would be horrified to discover.”
I was horrified too, but figured that saying so would brand me a prude again. Instead I tried to imagine Charis as part of the University crowd. Yes, she could fit in and, with her bubbly personality and great wardrobe, would be a hit with the sorority girls. We’d have to invent a background for her that would work, but it could be done.
“Are you serious about wanting to go to the University?” I looked at her lolling on her bed, ready to open yet another bottle from the mini-bar.
“I don’t know. Do you think I’m smart enough?” She bit her lip.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course you are. But you’d have to really work if you plan to actually enroll and take classes. What would your major be?”
She grinned. “Classical studies, of course. I think I could nail anything about the ancient Greeks or Romans, don’t you?”
I had to laugh. “Wouldn’t that be cheating?” I shook my head. “But then that wouldn’t bother you, would it?” And now we were down to why I’d come here. “What’s with the stealing, Charis? I thought you were done with that.”
“I don’t know. I get bored. Tonight it was Glory this, Glory that. Oh, look at Glory in the gorgeous designer dress. The wedding will be so wonderful. Now let’s pick out earrings for Glory. I’d had it up to here with the Glory night.” Her hand was at her eyebrows. “What about me?” She slumped and let her glass fall to the comforter, ice cubes going everywhere.
“Can’t I have one night to be the center of attention, Charis?” I gathered up the ice and threw it in the bathroom sink. Then I took the glass and filled it with water, handing it to her. “Drink. You’ve had enough booze tonight. It’s making you maudlin.”
“You think this is just self-pity?” She sniffed then took a swallow. “Add some vodka to that and it would taste better.”
“No vodka. And, yes, you’re wallowing in it. Come on. I know you have legitimate gripes. But you have a rich and powerful father who’s let you run wild until now. He’s feeling so guilty about your mother that he’s willing to give you an apartment of your own here.” It was true. I’d talked to Mars about it already.
“Seriously? An apartment of my own?” She perked up.
“You think I want to go to bat for you now? After what you pulled tonight?” I sat across from the bed. “I’m sick of this, Charis. The stealing has to stop. You have a credit card now. All you had to do was whip it out to buy what you wanted.”
“Stealing gives me a rush, Glory. Sometimes I don’t even know I’m doing it until I leave the store and stick my hand in my pocket. Then, oops, there it is. A little something shiny to make me feel better.” She finished off the water. “It does, for a little while. I like getting away with taking something right from under someone’s nose. Making a fool of a mortal, if you want to know the truth. Surely you can relate.”
I realized I was looking at a woman with no moral compass whatsoever. With an absentee father and an unstable mother, she’d obviously been raising herself in Olympus. Well, now she had a sister who wasn’t going to let her get away with a damned thing. Charis was going to learn right from wrong even if it was painful for both of us.
“No, I can’t relate. I don’t steal. It’s wrong and illegal. And you have to face the consequences of your actions. Tomorrow you and Mother will go back to Matilde’s shop and pay for the Chanel anklet. You will apologize for taking it. Right to Matilde’s face. No excuses.” I took her glass away from her and shook her hand. “Do you hear me?”
“That would be embarrassing.” She tried to squirm away from me.
“That’s the point, Charis. I’m going to Mother now to make sure you do it.” I let her go. “Mother wants to get on my good side. Do you really think it would bother her if you hate her? You can be sure she’ll drag you kicking and screaming to that shop if she has to. Understand?”
<
br /> “Yes.” Charis hung her head. “No need to be a bitch about it.”
“Oh, there’s every need. She’ll call you and let you know when to be ready tomorrow.” I walked to the door. “If you don’t do this, you’ll be on your way back to Olympus right after the wedding. Before the wedding if you embarrass me again. That’s a promise. Clean up your act and we can talk about that apartment and the future. That’s a promise too.” With that I left her and headed to my mother’s room. It didn’t take five minutes to tell her the plan. She was all over it. I think she saw it as progress in her campaign to get on my good side.
“Thank you, darling, for trusting me with this important task. I won’t let you down.” She hugged me until I squirmed away from her.
“It’s a start, Mother.” I looked into her eyes. “Just remember that if you want to have a relationship with me, you’ll let this wedding go on as planned. Are we clear?”
“Certainly, Gloriana. I told you. I’m ready to let you have your way now. You have chosen your man and I realize there is nothing else to be done about it.” She followed me down the hall toward the elevators. “About tomorrow night. I have no desire to go to this vampire club you mentioned.”
“Good. I don’t want Charis there either. Why don’t you pick up tickets to a Broadway play for the two of you? Use Dad’s credit card.” I pushed the up button then dug the card out of my pocket. “Just leave it in an envelope at the front desk when you’re through with it, please.”
“You could go with us. I’m sure there’s a show you’d like to see. I know you love musicals.” She took the card.
“Yes, I do.” And how freaky was it that my mother knew that? Did her spying on me know no limits? “But I need to go to the club because Flo wants it and she’s been a very good friend to me.”
“I understand.” But Mother was frowning. “If you insist, that’s what we’ll do. Are you sure it’s safe? Two women alone in a club like that?”
“We’re not just women, Mother.” I smiled as the elevator opened. “The better question would be is New York safe from us. Remember what we are.” I enjoyed the look on her face as the doors closed. Yes, I gave her a glimpse of my fangs. How could I resist?
I never thought I’d arrive at Red in a limo. We’d dropped Mother and Charis at their play, then I’d given the driver directions to the club. I’d used my phone to look it up and saw that it was still at the same address. On Google it was listed under private clubs, membership only. I knew that was Red’s way of insuring that mortals wouldn’t wander in, not unless she wanted them to drop by. A burly shape-shifter stood at the red lacquered door. It only took a flash of our fangs for us to be allowed inside. That was Red’s problem. She had never learned to discriminate between decent vampires and the kind of low-life blood suckers out to cause trouble.
“Oh, this is a nice place.” Flo had dressed to impress in a low-cut leather sheath dress of bright red. For some reason she thought there was a color theme going on here. I’d dressed in my favorite black but had the girls out tonight in my own vee-neck top cut low enough to make a bra impossible. Jerry would have been pulling out his knives at the looks I was getting. That made me smile.
Two men approached us immediately and offered to buy us drinks.
“Why thank you.” Flo wasn’t about to turn down a freebie. She held out her hand. “I’m Flo and this is my friend Gl-”
“Gloria! What the hell are you doing back in town?” The husky voice cleared a path in front of us. I knew it instantly.
“Red.” I nodded and grabbed Flo’s arm. “How are you?” I looked Red over, determined to keep my cool. “This is my friend Flo.”
Red scanned Flo and shooed her away with a flick of her wrist. “Run along, sidekick. Troy, go buy her that drink. Gloria and I are going to be catching up in the office.”
“Wait!” Flo was being maneuvered toward the long black bar against one wall by Troy, one of the men who’d approached us. “Glory? Do you need me?” She glanced at Red and frowned, digging in her heels. “I am not leaving you unless you say the word.”
“It’s fine. Go.” I gave Troy a hard look. He seemed decent but you couldn’t always tell. The lights were dim, the music was loud and I couldn’t read his thoughts. Not a recipe for trust. “Any harm comes to my friend while I’m gone and I’ll tear off your balls and shove them down your throat. Capisci?”
“Yeah, sure.” He swallowed and dropped Flo’s arm.
“Well, well. Look who’s grown her own pair.” Red strode toward her office, leaving me to follow her. Since she stood about six feet tall even without her five inch heels, it took me a while to catch up. Of course the crowd on the dance floor cleared a path for us. No one messed with Red. By the time we arrived in her office, I was out of breath from almost running in my own high heels.
The door shut behind me and we were in silence. She had great soundproofing.
“You look good, Red.” I strolled over and sat in one of her black leather chairs, not waiting for an invitation. If she liked my new confidence, I wasn’t going to let my nerves show now. “I see you decided to go with a brighter shade this century.”
“Sure. Why not?” She ran her hand over her brush cut. It was a fire engine red instead of the burgundy it had been when I’d known her before. “I’m also into women this century. I don’t suppose…”
“No, but I’m flattered. I’m engaged.” I held out my left hand. “Getting married soon. To my sire. He’s been after me for a long time. I finally decided to take the plunge.”
“Another ballsy move.” She sat on the edge of her desk. “What happened to you, Gloria? You’ve changed.”
“I’m going by Gloriana now.” I leaned forward, relieved that she was being friendly. As far as I could remember she hadn’t really liked me. “Will you tell me something?”
“What? You looking for Greg Kaplan? I didn’t like the way he treated you back then. Pissed me off. But then you let him bully you. That pissed me off too. If you’re ready to make him pay for that, I’ll help you.” She smiled, full fang. “He was a real asshole.”
“I know where he was a few months ago, but have lost track of him again. Thanks for the offer though.” I sat back. I was glad I hadn’t seen him in a while.
“Then what do you need?” She walked around her desk and sat behind it.
“Somehow Greg erased most of my memories of my time here. How did he do that? The Greg I met in Austin didn’t have that kind of power.”
“No, he didn’t.” Red steepled her fingers. “But he did have access to the drugs I ran through here then. I still do as a matter of fact.” She slammed her hands on the desk. “That stupid bastard. Obviously he helped himself to one of them.” She studied me. “Lost your memory? Oh, yeah. That one. I don’t sell it anymore. Too much blow back from dissatisfied customers. It’s like a roofie for vampires. The date rape drug?”
“But why would he need that for me? We were together.” I glanced around the room to keep from meeting her intense stare. Red had the light blue eyes a lot of redheads seemed to have and freckles. Maybe I could look at her if I concentrated on the light dusting of freckles across her nose. I tried and found my eyes filling.
“Aw, Glo, don’t start. He just wasn’t worth it.” Red was up and by my side in a flash. She put her arm around me.
“I’m not crying about him.” I dashed away a tear. “But that I was so stupid. And I hate that I can’t remember things from that time. There are blanks. It’s driving me crazy.”
“Sure it is. Damned bastard.” Red handed me a tissue. “I never could figure out how you got hooked up with him in the first place. He was a loser who liked playing the field. You caught him a time or two and made a scene. Then he’d talk his way out of it. I thought you were crazy for putting up with him. Obviously he decided to get rid of you but didn’t have the guts to end things like a gentleman.” Red’s frown was fierce. “One day you were just gone. I didn’t know how he did it at the time. He s
pread the story that you’d reunited with your sire. Bullshit, obviously. He must have drugged you and dumped you somewhere else.”
“Yeah.” I faced her. “Tell me more about this drug.”
“For vampires that roofie shit not only wipes out the memory of the night but of days, weeks, sometimes months.” She wiped my cheeks with her fingers and I realized I’d been crying again. “If I’d known what he was up to, I’d have staked him myself.”
“All I know is that I woke up one night and found a note. He said we were done and it was my fault for being a nag.” I took a breath. “I was in Chicago. In a hotel with about forty bucks and no idea what to do next.”
“What about your dog? You always had a guard dog with you, a shifter. That’s why I had to fire you. Couldn’t have a dog in here, running his mouth at the customers who tried to come on to you. Remember? Oh, maybe you don’t.” Red paced the room.
“He was there when I woke up. Didn’t say much. Just that he was glad Greg was gone.” I blew my nose. “Valdez always hated Greg. He obviously didn’t know I’d been drugged. Greg wasn’t stupid enough to do it in front of the shifter. Valdez would have torn Greg apart.”
“That chicken shit son of a bitch. I’ve seen the way the drug works. People walk and talk like they’re fine. But later, they can’t remember jack.” She sat next to me again. “The dog was right. You were lucky to be away from that creep. And now look at you. You survived. Got a rock on your finger and a man who loves you enough to commit forever. Tell me more. How’d you get strong enough to stand up for yourself?”
I started to tell her about Jerry and Olympus when there was a noise outside her door. Then a man burst in and began talking rapidly in another language. His gestures made it clear there was trouble in the club.
“Shit. One of my rivals is here and starting trouble. He took a drone into one of the private rooms and decided to scare her.” Red glanced at me. “You want to wait here?”
“No, I’ll come with you.” I followed her to the stairs that led to the private rooms. We could hear screams coming from behind one of the doors.
(Glory St Clair 11) Real Vampires Say Read My Hips Page 33