Real Vampires Live Large
Page 16

“I’m going to look around some more.” Will looked at Valdez. “You stay here with her.”
“Like I take orders from you.” Valdez looked up at me. “Sit down, Glory. Flo and Lacy should be back any minute.”
“What’s going on here?” The man in the doorway provoked a bark-a-thon that made my head scream. I collapsed on a stool and leaned my head on the counter. “Nothing.”
“Why’s the door standing open?” Richard Mainwaring glared at Valdez, then Will when he came trotting inside.
“I left it open. I needed air. My head’s killing me.”
“Close your eyes.”
Sue me, but I did. Because the light was killing me, not just because he told me to. I felt his hand on the top of my head. Had I combed my hair in the past few hours? Nope. In fact, I think there were globs of yellow paint decorating my crown. I couldn’t get worked up about it. The pain!
“The vampire’s been working you again. What happened? ”
“It was stupid.” I kept my head down, eyes closed. “I followed the voice. Like I was under the whammy or something. ”
Richard’s hand on my head had actually made the pain stop. I sat up. “And I started taking off my clothes. Like he told me to. How sick is that?”
Richard nodded toward Will. “Back outside. See if you can find this vampire who wants Glory naked.”
“On it.” Will smirked at Valdez, I swear it, then headed out the door just before Richard closed it.
“Maybe we should lock the door.” Valdez was obviously not happy to see Will given an assignment and not him. “We don’t want that Glory-obsessed vampire in here.”
“Maybe we do.” Richard sure looked scary when he was mad.
“Like a door will keep out a vampire.” Flo shouted from outside. “Open up.”
Nine
Richard flung open the door again and stepped back. He just stared at Flo, his face grim.
“Richard.” Flo’s look as she walked past him, her arms full of clothes, was equally grim.
“Why do you want to keep out vampires? They’re some of our best customers.” Lacy had her hands full of shoe boxes! And purses!
No headache can stand up to my love of good accessories. I jumped up to help both of them set the things on a table.
“Some vampires are much more interested in causing trouble than in looking good.” Richard stared at Flo for a heartbeat or two.
“Some vampires are interested in nothing but looking good.”
“Excuse me, but I take pride in my appearance. ” Flo carefully set a pile of silk blouses on the table. “And I’ve done the impossible. I’ve kept my look fresh and up to date in spite of being more than a few centuries older than most of the present company.”
I put my hand on Flo’s shoulder. She was shaking with anger, her fangs visible at the edges of her Cherries in the Snow lipstick. Her color, but so last century. I sure wasn’t about to tell her that. Block, block.
“You’re my role model, Flo, my guide to fashion forward thinking.” I gave Richard a go away look. “Richard’s concerned about some vamp he’s hunting.”
“No, Richard’s concerned about Gloriana being stalked.” At least he wasn’t glaring at Flo anymore. Now he was glaring at me.
“Stalked?” Flo looked at me, fangs full out. “Who would dare do that to my roomie? I’ll rip his throat out. A vampire? No, his throat would heal. Where’s a stake when you need one?” Flo grabbed a paint brush and eyed the wooden end. “A little dull, but with enough pressure—”
“Chill out, vamp girl, I think Richard can handle it.” Lacy had stacked the shoe boxes neatly. She leaned against the counter so her tiny tank top rode up to show a slim middle that made my jaw clench. The tall redhead had something of a crush on Richard. She was all for his piercing gaze, broody thing.
“You should all be on guard.” He turned to his former mistress. “Florence, I don’t suppose you’ve heard voices in your head lately.”
“Voices? Like I’m crazy?” Flo was determined to hate Richard and I’d given up trying to make peace.
“No. I’ve been hearing voices, like someone is inside my head, trying to get me to come to them.” Okay, so maybe I was an incurable peacemaker. “You hear anything like that?”
“No, no one has done this.” Flo studied me with worried green eyes. “Do you recognize the voice? Is it Damian again?”
Flo’s brother Damian had done a number or two on me with his little mind games while trying to make me another notch on his bedpost. But I’d made it pretty clear to him that I wasn’t playing and I think he’d moved on. “I’d recognize his voice. This one is different. Sounds pure American. Doesn’t have the cute little accent you and Damian have.”
“Cute, of course. But very little. Whoever is in your head—he’s dead meat. Am I right, girlfriend?”
“Right. Now show me some shoes. I can’t believe you’re letting me sell them.”
“Maybe.” Flo lifted the top off one of the shoe boxes. “And maybe I need to keep these. I remember the night I bought them. In New York.” She glanced at Richard. “A generous lover and a famous musician, very famous, demanded I have only the best.” She picked up a red lizard pump and hummed a few bars of a song I recognized immediately.
“Flo, are you kidding? Was your lover—” Lacy stopped when Flo held up her hand.
“I can’t say his name. We did not part well. I had to sign an”—she shuddered—“agreement.”
“Surprise. Surprise.” Richard’s smile made me shudder.
Flo looked daggers, then turned her back on him as she stroked the shoe. “You can get a good price for these, Glory. Barely worn.” She smiled at me. “I move on. There are many more”—she glanced at Richard—“better shoes out there.”
“Hey, why bother with shoes at all? You don’t need them when you spend most of your time horizontal.”
Whoa. Richard was playing the scorned lover, big time. Clearly Flo had dumped him. Now Flo muttered something nasty in Italian and rounded on him, hands on hips. I stepped between them, taking my life in my hands, but what ’s a girl to do? I needed both of them on my side and I’d just put the shop into some kind of order. Any fight between them was bound to be messy.
“Behave, please.” I rubbed my head and came away with yellow paint on my hand. How cute was that? I grabbed a rag, wiping my hands while I smiled at Richard.
“Richard, thanks for the help with my headache. I feel a thousand times better.” This did not go over big with Flo. I put my hand on her shoulder again and felt her quivering with the urge to leap over me and go for you know who’s throat.
“Flo, I’m dying to see what you brought me. Let’s dig in.” The door opened and Will trotted in.
“All clear outside. Whoever’s after Glory has left.” He shot Valdez a smug look. “Too bad. I was fully prepared to take him out.”
Flo quit giving Richard a “go to hell” look long enough to examine me with concern. “If this happens again, do what he says. Go outside. Then we attack, all of us. An ambush.”
Lacy gave up on her seductive pose and moved closer. “Right. We’ll teach this brain buster to mess with our friend.”
“Thanks. It’s a thought.” I glanced at Richard. “But Richard here is the vamp enforcer. Maybe he can run down this guy. I’ve got too much to do to waste my time dealing with some vague threat.”
“Not so vague if he’s trying to get you alone. For sex, do you think?” Flo bit her lip. She didn’t like the idea of asking Richard for anything, obviously. But the former priest had a reputation for dealing with rogue vampires in a way that stopped the problems they were causing permanently.
“Not everything is about sex, Florence.” Richard winced when Valdez sat on his foot. “Hey, watch it, fella, I’m on Glory’s side.”
“Sorry.” The dog moved a quarter of an inch, max. Not surprising. My dog had a crush on Flo that he didn ’t bother to hide. He’d obviously decided he had issues with Richard. “Are you going to help Glory or not?”
“You sure it’s a vampire? You know Westwood’s probably got guys keeping tabs on this place. Because he knows vamps work here.” Lacy had just made a good point. I hadn’t told Flo or Lacy about Westwood’s e-mail. I gave them a quick recap.
“Bastard!” Lacy snarled like she wanted to change into cat form and rip someone apart. I hid a smile. She’d confessed once that her form was more lap kitty than saber -toothed tiger. What was she going to do? Purr him to death? Flo was agitated too, muttering in Italian.
“The guy was talking in Glory’s head. Unless Westwood’s got a paranormal on his payroll, he’s not behind this stunt.”
Valdez got up and stretched. “I’m going outside for my own look-see. Lacy, do you mind coming with? And use the leash. I figure we’d be well rid of somebody here if animal control had seen him running loose out there, but I don’t want to be the problem instead of the solution. ” High and mighty Valdez stalked to the door.
“Is the little doggy afraid of animal control?” Will pushed his head under my hand. “Unlike you, doodle bug, I’m fearless. I’ll stay here and take care of the mistress.”
Flo and Richard both gave Will a narrow-eyed look. Ho. So I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like the “m” word coming from my dog.
“You’re both part of the problem if you don’t get over this rivalry. I’ve got a good mind to call Blade and let him know what’s going on.” I rubbed my hair with the rag and came away with even more paint. There was a mirror in the dressing room, but it ’s true that vamps don’t reflect. Just as well. I’d have sent myself screaming into the night. “You guys are a pain and not in my head.”