“Liam, I’ve warned you before. Leave my people alone,” Red shouted through the door then nodded. Her employee unlocked the door then shoved it open. Inside a vampire had taken off his shirt and had a woman pinned down on a couch. She wore next to nothing, and that had been ripped open. His fangs were in her throat and he gripped her arms with long nails that were making bloody furrows in her skin.
“Let her go!” Red grabbed his shoulders and tried to shake him off of her. He didn’t budge. He sent her a mental message that I caught as well. Then he shoved the woman’s legs apart and fumbled with his zipper. “Don’t you dare!”
“I’ve got this.” I touched his back and he was frozen. Red and her guard stared at me as soon as it became clear that the vampire couldn’t move. “Now let’s get this girl out from under him.” I peeled his hands off of her arms then jerked his mouth away from her neck. She sobbed gratefully.
“Max, grab Liam and throw him on the floor.” Red pulled the girl up and helped her out of the room. “I don’t know how you did that, Glory, but you just saved Amy’s life.”
Amy swayed and Red told Max to take her down to her office where he could find a blanket and a protein bar for her.
“Does this kind of thing happen often?” I stared down at the vampire. He was handsome, but had a cruel look to him. The long nails and greasy hair along with the dark clothes were probably supposed to make him look dangerous. It was working.
“No or I’d have closed my doors long ago. Vampires around here know I won’t tolerate this kind of behavior.” Red snarled. “Liam has a tribe of followers across town, assholes like him who seem to have forgotten what it means to be human.”
I nudged Liam with my foot. “Listen to me, asshole. Right now you’re at my mercy. Red could cut off your package and you couldn’t lift a finger to stop her. Are you hearing me?” I got his mental message. “Oh, I wouldn’t talk to me like that if I were you.” I aimed a kick at his zipper and put enough into it to make sure he knew I wasn’t playing around. Tears leaked from his eyes but he stared at me with hatred. “Now are you taking me seriously?”
Red nodded. “Oh, yeah, he heard you, Glory. And he’s dying to hold onto that teeny wienie cause it hurts like hell. Doesn’t it, you son of a bitch?” She walked over and slammed her stiletto into his thigh. Red turned to me with her hands on her hips. “That has got to be the coolest power I’ve ever seen. Can you teach it to me?” Red backed up, casually stepping on Liam’s fingers.
“No, it’s inherited.” I shook my head when Red decided a stiletto heel on his other hand was called for. “I didn’t know about it until recently. My parents just found me. Long story. What are you going to do about this piece of trash?” I nodded at Liam.
“I can’t kill him, damn it. That would start a war that I can’t afford. So here’s the deal, Liam. You can’t come back here. Ever. If you do, I’ll send for my pal Glo here and she’ll do this again. But next time she’ll leave you outside when she’s done. That’s where you’ll meet the sun. Do you hear me?”
We both heard him in our heads. He was furious but knew when he was beaten.
I got down in front of him and stared into his eyes. “And, Liam, no retribution on Red for this. You knew the rules here and chose to ignore them. I don’t think Amy signed on for being raped and drained dry. Did she, Red?” I glanced at her.
“No, she sure as hell didn’t.” Red kicked Liam’s head, just to make that point. “In fact, you only paid for a drink, not a fuck. So you’re not only a sleaze, you’re a cheap bastard.” She shook her head. “When Glo here lets you go, you are to head straight for the door and out of here. You will not tell anyone about what happened tonight or I will make sure every vampire that crosses my path knows that you cried like a little girl when Glo beat you tonight. Are we clear?”
Liam’s curses were colorful but somewhere in there was an agreement. Then I released the freeze. He got slowly to his feet, cradling his hands against his body. He glared at both of us, obviously thinking about making a move before he shrugged and headed for the door. Max followed him until he was outside and staggering down the sidewalk.
“Well, that was something. You ever want to come back to New York to live, you can work for me. I can always use another strong enforcer.” Red slung her arm around me. “Come on. I’ll buy you a drink.” She walked me to the bar. “Looks like your friend Flo is having a good time.”
Flo was surrounded by men and had several drinks in front of her. I noticed for the first time that she wasn’t wearing her wedding band or engagement ring. Bad Flo. I wasn’t about to say anything to her though. As far as I could tell all she was doing was a little harmless flirting.
“We have the real deal on tap if you want it.” Red nodded toward a row of blood bags lined up behind the bar then signaled the bartender. “What’s your favorite?”
I told her. “How do you get it on tap?”
“My drones donate. I pay them well for it and feed them to keep up their strength. There’s a steak house around the corner and we have an arrangement.” She grinned when a handsome mortal sidled up to the bar. “But if you’d prefer to drink straight from the source, Ben would be happy to take you to a private room.”
I was almost tempted. Jerry took blood from strangers’ veins all the time. But that seemed too intimate to me. Ben was friendly and cute. I’d be lying to myself if I said it was a necessity, a meaningless way to get nourishment. I shook my head. “AB Negative, if you have it. If not, whatever is on tap. But thanks, Ben. I’m sure it would have been a pleasure.” He shrugged and moved on down the bar. He’d never said a word.
“He’s not drugged, is he?” I took the glass the bartender handed me and sipped. Oh, it was fresh.
“No, but some are. If you want to get high, I can arrange it. Coke, meth, whatever is your pleasure. Some vamps still do that. Get high vicariously. No need for the alcohol thing now that we can get blood with alcohol. You remember how we used to have drones for the alcoholics?” Red started reminiscing about the old days. I just listened, only remembering some of it. Damn Greg Kaplan. If I could find him, I was going to make him pay for what he’d done to me. It was long overdue.
Two hours later, Flo and I piled into our limo. We were tired and not a little tipsy because we’d switched to the blood with alcohol. Red had given us whatever we wanted on the house and we’d taken full advantage. I’d danced with her and a few of the men who were everywhere. It had been fun.
“You were having a pretty good time, pal.” I leaned against one door and Flo against the opposite one.
“Are you mad at me? Will you tell Ricardo?” Flo had even disappeared into a private room with a drone.
“No. You can do what you want.” I was pretty sure I was drunk. “How far did you go? With Ben.”
“You think I’d betray my Ricardo?” A big tear ran down her cheek. “How can you say that?”
“So you didn’t, uh, you know?” I could have sworn she’d come downstairs with her dress on crooked.
“I was tempted. You know how it is. He was handsome. I was feeling, um, hot.” She giggled. “He touched me a little when I was taking his blood which was really delicious, by the way.” She sighed. “But then I remembered that Ricardo is my love. I cannot betray him.” She blinked and frowned. “Do you think I am bad? That I wanted to see how it would be with another man? I liked that Ben seemed to want me.” She wailed. “Oh, what have I done?”
“Nothing!” I patted her shoulder. “It was a little experiment, that’s all, am, amica. Yeah, that’s what you call me. We don’t want to turn into old married women who become invisible to men.” My head was too heavy for my body and I finally just let it fall back on the leather seat. “What would we do if no other man ever gave us ‘the look’?”
“I know!” Flo sat up straight. “So I thank you for taking me there tonight. I feel renewed. I still got it, as they say. Yes. Florence da Vinci can still make a man want her. Hah!” And with that she fe
ll over on the seat and started snoring.
I didn’t point out that Ben had been paid to want her as I stared at the night passing by the limo’s windows. I hoped I still had it too. A few male vampires had approached me and offered to buy me drinks. I hadn’t been tempted even once. Good to know. All I could think about was getting home to Jerry. I’d had enough alcohol that I wanted to go to bed and make love with my man and no other man would do. I closed my eyes and didn’t open them again until the driver shook me awake at the hotel.
“It must have been a good trip. You brought back an extra suitcase.” Jerry greeted me at the airport with a big smile. I had thrown myself into his arms when I saw him. Now we were at baggage claim and I was relieved to see that extra suitcase with my wedding dress come around the carrousel. Richard had already met Flo and they’d hurried away with her bags, eager to be alone.
“It was fine. I got everything I needed.” I stood back while he effortlessly carried both bags.
“Well, who is going to carry mine?” Mother complained behind me.
“And mine?” Charis managed to tug hers off the revolving platform and stood with her hands on her hips.
“You can pay for a rolling cart and fit both of them on it. Then drag it out to the curb.” I loved being able to give both women a dose of reality. “Jerry, why don’t you sit my bags down out there and we’ll wait for you to bring the car from the parking lot?”
“Fine.” He kissed my cheek, led me outside and planted the bags where I could wait with them. Then he strode off without a backward glance.
“He’s really not going to help us?” Charis wasn’t getting the picture as she followed me outside.
“You want to stay and act like a normal person, get with the program.” I pointed to the sign with the rules for the rolling carts. “Need change for the cart?”
“No problem, Gloriana.” My mother snapped her fingers and her bags disappeared.
“Mother!” I glanced around. Several people were rubbing their eyes like they might have had a hallucination. Well, yeah.
“This is what you get when you try to play hardball with me, darling.” Mother raised an eyebrow. “There was nothing there I can’t recreate with a snap.”
“Cool. I can do that.” Charis raised her hand.
“Don’t you dare!” I ran over and grabbed her hand. “Your bridesmaid dress is in one of those.”
“True.” She grinned. “What are you going to do about it?”
I looked around and saw an abandoned cart then hurried to get it. “Why didn’t you get luggage with wheels?”
“It wasn’t as cute as this.” She hefted her bag onto the cart.
“Now push it outside. Damn you both.” I was over this whole trip.
“No need to be rude, Gloriana.” Mother smiled. “Which is what you were when you wouldn’t help your elderly mother with her bags.”
“Elderly?” I laughed. “Oh, right. Next you’ll be whipping out a Medicare card and asking for a senior discount at MacDonald’s.”
“Oh, do they give one?” Mother winked. “I do love their big hamburgers and the French fries!”
“Now who’s being rude?” I winced when Charis ran over my toes with her cart. “Watch it!”
“You’d better go stand by your suitcases. What if someone steals your wedding dress?” She pushed through the automatic doors. “Where’s Jerry anyway?”
The idea that I’d left my suitcases unattended galvanized me. I raced outside, breathing a sigh of relief that they were still where I’d left them. Of course they were. Because standing guard was a man who looked like he’d escaped from a gladiator movie.
“Dad! I didn’t expect you to be here.” I gave him a hug. “You really need to dress more appropriately for the place, you know.”
“It’s almost Halloween. I told the policeman a minute ago that I was going to an early costume party.” He kissed my cheek then turned to my mother. “Hebe, you’re looking beautiful as always. Love the earrings.”
“Thank you, love. You paid for them. We gave your credit card quite a workout in New York.” She kissed him on the mouth for a long time until Charis finally gave her father an elbow.
“Dad, I’m here too, you know.”
“Of course. Did you have a good time?” Mars hugged Charis.
“It was okay. I saw a play. A musical about shoes. It could have been worse.” She glanced at me.
“You do like shoes.” He turned. “There’s Blade with the car. Let me get all these bags. You girls get in the vehicle. I had to run off a character who tried to take your two bags, Gloriana. That’s why I’m here. Lucky for you I was paying attention tonight. I knew you were riding in one of those airplanes. Hate the things. So I was tuned in and here comes this man about to grab your bags.” He began stuffing suitcases in the back of Jerry’s SUV while I stared at him.
“What?” I counted my bags. Yes, they were both there.
“Lucky I interfered in time. That man won’t be walking right for some time, I tell you. The policeman liked the way I used the suitcase as a battering ram. He took the fellow into custody.” Mars slammed the hatchback closed and walked around the car.
“Dad! Thank you! If I’d lost my wedding dress…” I broke into tears. Stupid, careless…
“Glory, relax. He saved the day. Get in the car and quit making a scene.” Charis grabbed my arm.
“Gloriana, sweetheart, it’s okay.” Jerry ran around the car and pulled me into his arms. “Don’t cry. Mars took care of it.”
“I know. But I almost lost it.” I sobbed against his chest. What the hell was wrong with me? I didn’t fall apart like this over small things.
“You didn’t, did you? Now come on, get in the car. We’ll be home soon.” Jerry tenderly helped me into the front seat, daring anyone to object to the seating arrangement. Charis had a tendency to call “shotgun”, something she’d learned on TV. My mother also wanted to ride up front, claiming car sickness in the back. Now they both meekly got in the backseat, making a tight fit with Mars.
I buckled my seatbelt and pulled a tissue from my purse. It had been a near miss. I had to get over this kind of emotional reaction and concentrate on moving forward with wedding plans. It wouldn’t be long now and I would be Jerry’s forever. Uh oh. Fresh tears. Of happiness. We should have eloped. Because we’d tried to do this before and hadn’t made it to the altar. What else could go wrong? I knew better than to ask a question like that.
Chapter 19
“I have some bad news.” Richard looked solemn to go along with his statement.
“Just spit it out.” Jerry held my hand.
“I got a call from the venue for your wedding. They had a fire last night. Seems a drunken guest knocked over a candle and the whole place went up.” Richard had his laptop open and spun it around. There was a picture of the Tuscan villa we’d chosen for our wedding. It was on a hilltop, miles from the nearest small town. A beautiful setting and unusual in Texas. But the villa was now a smoldering ruin.
Richard slammed the computer closed. “I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t say a word. Jerry’s arms came around me.
“Oh, mio Dio! I can’t believe it. I am beginning to think your marriage is cursed.” Flo crossed herself.
“Shut up, darling. You’re not helping.” Richard glared at Flo. “But I have a solution. I was on the phone to Damian earlier and he is perfectly willing to let you have his home. Like he did for Flo and me. I thought it made a beautiful setting for a wedding.”
“It did! Glory, it will be perfetto.” Flo wiped away a tear. “You tell me to shut up?” She whispered a spate of Italian at Richard that promised retribution. “If you don’t mind, Glory, Jeremiah, why not move the date to the Winter Solstice? Damian will have the decorations ordered already and he always does a beautiful job, doesn’t he?” She wouldn’t look at Richard.
I turned to Jerry. “At this point I don’t care where we get married. I just want to get this over with
.”
“You make it sound like having a tooth drawn.” Jerry grinned. “I know what you mean though. Why give the fates or Olympus another chance at us? If you’re okay with it, I’m okay with it.” He pulled me closer and kissed me. “I love you. I want to marry you. Whenever and wherever you say.”
“Shall I call Damian back?” Richard wanted this nailed down. As best man he took his job seriously.
“Flo, are you sure you don’t mind? That we’re having our wedding in the same place?” Maybe I minded a little.
Flo had put a foot between herself and Richard. “We will make your wedding unique. It is you, not me who is the bride this time.” She stepped forward and hugged me. “I don’t want you to worry. I love you.” She glared at Richard. “Glory, you would never tell me to shut up. We have a month to make this wedding amazing. Am I right?”
“Thanks, pal. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I smiled at Richard over her shoulder. “And give Richard a break. He’s stressed. I’m sure he’s sorry he snapped at you. Aren’t you, Richard?”
His slight nod wasn’t exactly an abject apology then he pulled out his phone and hit speed dial. “Damian, Richard. The wedding is on. Can we come over and look at the house? Gloriana has an idea about bagpipes.” He smiled at me. “Yes, a Highland wedding. That should be different from mine, don’t you think?” He walked out of the room, still talking.
“Flo, forgive him. You know a man doesn’t like to be bossed around.” I whispered this in her ear.
“She’s right, Florence.” Jerry patted Flo on the back. “Glory has led me a merry chase for centuries. I know you have Richard well-trained but you are usually more subtle than this.”
“Stop it.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Can’t I be mad at him for at least five minutes?” She sighed. “Ricardo makes me pazzo. You would say crazy. Since I got back from New York I feel guilty. I did nothing I tell you. Maybe a little something but he keeps looking at me like I was indecente while I was there. So I block my thoughts. That just makes him more suspicious.”
(Glory St Clair 11) Real Vampires Say Read My Hips Page 34