Real Vampires Get Lucky (12 page)

"Make it quick, Blondie. I feel like this is Death Alley back here. Too much has happened."
I shivered. "No kidding." I pulled my car keys out and made a big deal of opening the back of the Suburban. I did have a bag of stuff I could bring in. I grabbed it, slammed the rear door closed, then froze.

"Did you hear that?"

Valdez whipped around and stared at me.
"What?"

"I think I heard someone moving near the back door of our shop."

"Stay here, Blondie. I'll check it out."

I watched him hustle to the doorway, then I tiptoed over to the Dumpster and jammed the envelope under one corner. With vamp speed, I was back where Valdez had left me by the time he came trotting back.

"Nothing there. Probably just a rat."

"Gross. Let's get inside." I glanced back at the envelope, but it was just a bit of white paper, blending in with the trash around it. I hoped it satisfied the creep trying to ruin my life here. I thought about telling Valdez about it, hiding in the car and trying to catch the blackmailer, but a mortal could wait until daylight to pick up the cash. Damn it. I sniffed the air. No one else nearby. If anyone was waiting for the money, he wasn't here now.

We headed back inside and dumped the tags and bags I'd brought in on a shelf in the back room. I was headed to the counter when the dirty vamp approached me. Valdez didn't waste a second putting himself between me and the new guy.

"May I help you find something?" I could see the guy's hands were empty.

"Are you Gloriana St. Clair?"

"Yes, who wants to know?" Sure, I sounded surly. But I've had some bad encounters in the shop and this guy had hard eyes, though I had to admit they were a gorgeous blue.

"I'm Etienne Delacroix. We have a mutual friend."

"Who?" French name. I've had a few French lovers in the past. The distant past. But this guy hadn't been one of them.

"Gregory Kaplan."

Valdez growled and I grabbed a pencil, the only pointy wooden object close at hand.

"Greg is not my friend."

Etienne grinned. "Excellent. This was a test, you see. I hate that bastard. I would like to see him wearing a pencil through his black heart."

I looked around, but the only mortal in the shop at the moment had stepped into a dressing room.

"Maybe I've got a test for
you
." I leaned in and put on my fiercest face. Valdez bared his teeth and made a sound so menacing Brittany came running from the other side of the shop.

"What's up?" She took a whiff, wrinkled her nose, then leaned close to Etienne. "You giving my friend here a hard time?" She had dangerous down to an art form. Etienne paled and made a grab for the pencil, knocking my arm aside. Big mistake. Valdez chomped down on the man's dirty jeans and obviously got some leg too. Etienne yelped.

"I mean you no harm. I swear it on my mother's life." Still, he'd managed to get the pencil and held it like a dagger. Brittany apparently wasn't worried about death by graphite. She sneered. "Unless your mother's also on a liquid diet, she probably kicked the bucket centuries ago. Now if you want to swear on your
own
life . . ." She whipped a stake out from under her baggy sweater. Obviously Brittany packed a spare. When would I learn to do a body search?

"Whoa, Brit, those things make me nervous now." Lucky dumped an armload of clothes on the counter and checked out Etienne.

"There a problem here?" She showed off her new fangs, then looked at Valdez, who still had Etienne's leg between his teeth. "Hey, V-man, great defense."

Valdez wagged his tail, but didn't let go.

"This guy says he knows Greg Kaplan." Brittany obviously wasn't thrilled that Valdez was getting all the credit here.

"You know where to find him? I'm looking for him." Lucky dug in her bag and pulled out her BlackBerry. "He owes my family a ton of money. Play your cards right and there might be a finder's fee in it for you."

"I could use it." Etienne jerked when Valdez pulled on his leg and he finally dropped the pencil. "Please, I would like to help you. Maybe we can work together. He owes me too. And I heard him talking about Miss St. Clair. I wanted to warn her. He is not a man she should have dealings with."

"What the hell do you know about me and Greg?" Greg had lured me out to the Energy Vampire stronghold like I was the catch of the day.

"Oh, my God! That dog is biting-" My mortal customer screeched, dropping two sweaters and a pair of hundred dollar Levi's "red line" jeans and her credit card on her way to the door.

"Stop her." I gestured to Lucky. "Here's how. Look into her eyes and tell her to stop. This will try out your whammy. If it works, she won't be able to move. Hurry!"

"Cool." Lucky bounded across the room, threw herself in front of the door and locked eyes with the woman. "You are
not
going to move." She clapped her hands when the lady stopped in her tracks. Lucky grinned at me, then hit her with the whammy again.

"Pick up the things you want to buy and pay for them at the register. Nod if you hear me." Sure enough, the woman nodded and bent to collect her finds.

"Valdez, let go of Etienne. Brittany, take this guy in the back and out of sight while I ring up this sale. I want some answers and Derek will help you if this guy tries to cut and run before I can get back there."

"As if I need help." Brittany waited for Valdez to release him before she grabbed Etienne's arm.

"Gack!"
Valdez spit out bloody blue cotton.
"What the hell you been drinkin, man?"

"Homeless winos and stray dogs," Etienne snarled. "This violence wasn't necessary, Miss St. Clair." He reached toward me. "I mean you no harm."

"Touch her and die."
Valdez growled, showing all his teeth. Etienne shouted a few obviously choice words in French, then spoiled the effect by limping with as much haste as he could manage into the back room.

Lucky was practically dancing with excitement. "Forget him. The whammy is so cool. I mean, I could tell her anything, right? And she'd do it? Like you did with Will and Lacy earlier?"

"In theory. It helps if you know a name." I really didn't want this to turn into a sideshow, but the whammy is excellent defense. If Lucky was going to start acting like Vampira, then she'd need practice erasing memories. Lucky grabbed the woman's chin and forced her to make eye contact again. "Tell me your name."

"Janice."

Lucky grinned. "Janice, quack like a duck."

"Quack."

I was
not
going to laugh. Even though Janice looked more urban chic than waterfowl. "Enough, Lucky. I've got a business to run. Tell her to pay for her purchases. That she'll remember she loves this store and wants to come back often and bring her friends. Then say, 'Snap out of it.' "

"I love this. The possibilities are endless." Lucky glanced at the back room. "Why didn't you do that to Etienne? I could tell he was upsetting you."

"He's a vampire and obviously on guard. You can't just whammy anyone you want. Mortals, sure. Paranormals, only if they're weak or distracted and you sneak up on them, like we did with Will and Lacy earlier." I heard a crash and ran toward the noise.

"Everything okay in there?"

Brittany opened the door a crack. "Etienne had a little accident. No worries. Take care of your customer." I turned to see Janice duck-walking around the hat rack, quacking the "Star Spangled Banner."

"Cool it, Lucky! More customers could come in. You hurt my business and I'll catch you unawares someday and make you do something really cute, but with a wider audience." I hummed the theme from
Jaws
.

"Aw, gee. You're no fun." Lucky looked disappointed but did the necessary. Finally, Janice left, her package in her hands and a smile on her face as she promised to come back soon.

A couple of college students pushed inside. Since there'd been no more noises from the back, I put on my smile. "Hi, there. Let me know if I can help you find anything."

"We want to see the-Oh, awesome!" They headed straight to the vampire mural Flo had painted on one wall. Art students. I could hear them analyze the technique and compare it to the original Edvard Munch pieces it was based on. When one of them pulled out a cell phone and started snapping pictures, I shuddered. Had they looked at me strangely when they came in? One of them was texting, and I ran to see if I had any new messages.

I had two. The first was from a friend in Las Vegas, and I sagged in relief. The second made my stomach hurt again. I was about to start ripping out art-student throats when I realized this text had come in an hour ago and I had just forgotten to check. First the video. I ran it twice, hating the way it zoomed in on my face as I pulled back from Lucky's wrist, fangs dripping blood. No doubt about it. Glory was a vampire.

"IF U DON'T WANT 2 C THIS ON TV, PAY $500. I SAW U, VAMPIRE."

I leaned against the counter and slapped the phone shut. So the blackmailer hadn't picked up the money yet. Would five hundred dollars be enough, or was it just a down payment? I was afraid I already knew the answer to that. It wouldn't even pay for the flatscreen HDTV Valdez wanted for Christmas. And wouldn't the video look a treat on that?

I put my head in my hands. If I were still in Vegas, I could take my dog and disappear into the night, leaving the blackmailer holding an empty envelope. But I was established here, a member of the vampire community. I didn't want to leave. If I stayed and was outed as a vamp though, every vampire in Austin would be at risk. Blade, Flo, Damian; people with deep roots in the community might have to move on. Damn it, I'd hate to leave, and I sure as hell didn't want to ruin things for all the people I'd grown to love here.

"Glory, can you come here?" Brittany stuck her head out the door of the back room again. "Valdez, Lucky and I will cover the front."

"Lucky stays with me. You want to tell me about that crash?" I whispered as I grabbed Lucky's arm. She had a gleam in her eyes that promised art students on duck parade if I didn't keep her with me.

"Etienne gave Derek some upsetting news. I guess Derek's partner, Freddy, is related to an Energy Vampire."

"Yes, I know that, so does Derek. So what got Derek worked up?" I love Freddy, love Freddy's mother, who had had the bad taste and worse luck to have made a child with Simon Destiny, the king of the EVs. Pathetic, isn't it? A cult of vampires with a freakin' monarchy. But don't let the cheesy title fool you. They are dangerous as hell, and I'm on their shit list big-time. Neither Freddy nor his mother wanted anything to do with Daddy Dearest.

"Etienne swears he saw Freddy out there. At the EV compound. That there was a big father and son reunion. Back-slapping. Like that. Derek told Etienne to shut up with a right to the jaw. But you can ask him about it yourself." Brittany shoved me into the back room and slammed the door before Valdez could get inside.

"That woman is . . ."

"Bossy?" Etienne dabbed his bloody lip with a paper towel. In true vampire fashion, his leg had stopped bleeding, but his dirty pants were shredded below the knee.

"She's just tough. Bodyguards have to be."

I ignored Lucky's comment. It didn't take mind reading to see that Derek was ready to take another swing at Etienne. He paced the small room, his hands fisted.

"Derek, what Brittany said, about Freddy . . ."

"I don't believe this guy." He grabbed Etienne's shirt and shook him. "You got any proof?"

"Of course. I've been around a long time, my friend. Many vampires lie to stay alive. As do I." He reached into his pants pocket, and I thought Derek was going to go ballistic.

"Wait." I grabbed Derek's arm. "What are you going for, Etienne?" I doubted it was a weapon or this guy would have pulled it when Valdez had made him the taste du jour.

"My cell phone. I have pictures." Etienne waited until Derek stepped back. "I didn't know you were friendly with these people. I was just telling Brittany about the EVs and who I met out there. She's helping Lucky track down people who owe money, she said. If I can earn some fees by helping her, I will." Etienne flipped open his phone and punched in some commands. "Then this one goes crazy. Calling me a liar." He licked his lip and seemed to relish the taste of his own blood. "Hitting me."

"Freddy hates his father. He would never go out there willingly. Maybe Simon threatened CiCi if he didn't come." Derek sounded like he was trying to convince himself. Freddy was very close to his mother, but why would he sneak out there without telling his partner? The guys had been together for decades.

"Here, see for yourself." Etienne handed me the phone, but Derek snatched it out of my hands. He groaned then scrolled through some more pictures.

"I can't believe it. Why would he do this?" Derek handed me the phone, his lips trembling. I saw for myself Freddy and Simon sharing a smile over some book they were reading. The EV torture manual? Then Greg Kaplan was in the picture. He was obviously out of favor with the king, relegated to sitting on the floor while the great one preached from a pulpit. Even more disturbing was our dear friend Freddy by his father's side. I felt sick to my stomach, and my hand shook as I held the phone for a moment.

"Nice phone." I looked him over. "Kind of surprising really."

"One of the few things I managed to keep." Etienne reached for it.

"Not so fast." I put it behind me. "You ever text?"

He looked genuinely confused and shook his head. "What kind of test? I swear I am just telling what I saw." I probed his mind, but he was blocking me. No surprise there. I scrolled through the menu but got zip, not even any stored phone numbers. What did I expect? A video marked "Vampire Blackmail"? Of course I'm not exactly a technological whiz kid, and I couldn't tell the rest of the gang in the back room what I was looking for.

"I know why Greg hates me, Etienne, but what do you have against him?"

"He lured me out to that EV place. If you've been there, you know it looks like a temple. Gold dome. A holy place. I was excited. Promises were made in exchange for money." Etienne stared at his phone, and I finally handed it over.