"Guess we showed her what's what around here." Valdez sat and scratched behind his ear. "Glad I didn't have to bite her. Were-cats taste like shit. Bet I could have taken her if it came to a smackdown."
"My money's always on you, puppy. Thanks." I took over the ear scratching. "Just remember that some were-kitties are okay. Especially Lacy."
"Yeah. Had to admire how she stood up to that mother of hers." Valdez sighed as I went to work on his other ear.
"And I need her to cover days here. But after this, I wouldn't be surprised if she quit." I looked around the shop. Merchandise had been tossed around in the apparent panic over discovering my bleeding clerk.
I shut the back door and shoved a table in front of it since the dead bolts were now history. Then I unlocked the front door and posted Valdez next to it in case the attacker decided to make another try. I picked up a vintage cane and wished I had time to whittle it into a point. I'd never staked another vampire, but anyone pushing into my shop with murder on his mind definitely had it coming.
Customers and the evening rush kept me busy for the next several hours, so it was after midnight when I finally realized Lucky hadn't come downstairs. Damn.
I picked up my cell phone. The home phone rang until the answering machine picked up. "Lucky! If you're there, please pick up. I'm worried about you."
A breathless Lucky answered the phone. "I'm fine. You have company. Or I guess I should say we have company. I was on my way downstairs when he was coming up. He says he's a friend of yours."
"Who's with you, Lucky?" I smiled through my dread as another customer came through the door. Had the vampire who'd attacked Lacy somehow managed to get past our security and up the stairs? And how had he convinced her to stay? My whammy should have made her hell-bent on getting to the shop.
"Your roommate's brother. Damian?" Lucky said something away from the receiver. "I told him I have to come downstairs, but he said you'd be busy. So he's helping me understand my new, uh, role. As vampire."
Oh, great. Nothing like a love 'em and leave 'em vampire to initiate Lucky into her new world. Damian was plenty powerful enough to override one of my whammies and he'd be more than willing to give Lucky a demonstration of the perks of vampire sex. Hmm. He did know his way around a bedroom, not to mention a woman's body. I pushed down any residual sizzle and decided to give in to the inevitable.
"Careful, Lucky. He's not a commitment kind of guy. And you're vulnerable right now. After the shock you've had."
"Yeah. I am in shock, what with my near-death experience. Damian is helping me feel, um, better." Lucky giggled. Oh, boy. I was not walking in on Casanova and Lucky doing the bedroom bossa nova.
"Put Damian on the phone."
"Gloriana." Damian had a way of rolling his Rs . . . "I am so proud of you. You made a new vampire!"
"Yeah, well, I didn't have much choice."
"Yes, you did, cara. You could have left her to die. Which would have been such a waste of a beautiful woman." I heard Lucky giggle again. Gag me. A customer stopped in front of me, a question in her eyes. "I've got to go. I'll be home just before sunrise. Don't be there. Go home to your own coffin, Damian." I hung up.
"Coffin?" The customer was bug-eyed.
"What? Oh, no. Coffee. A friend. And he always drinks the last of the decaf."
"Men." She rolled her eyes. "What do you have to go with this dress?" Ah, business. Something I could definitely handle. I helped the lady accessorize her fifties cocktail dress and put my worries about my new protégée on the back burner. So Lucky got her heart broken. It probably wouldn't be the first time or the last. I rang up a nice sale and picked up my cell phone again. Thoughts of what Lucky and Damian might be up to made me want to talk to Jerry. But I got voice mail. Damn it. There were other men I could call, but the new self-sufficient me didn't need a man. I did try Flo though. It had been a long forty-eight hours since I'd heard from her. Another voice mail. I was striking out on all fronts.
"Glory, are you all right?" Diana Marchand, the vampire who owns Mugs and Muffins, that business next door where I'd sent everyone earlier, rushed in an hour before dawn.
"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"
Diana sat on a chair next to where I tried to bring order to my selection of vintage shawls. No customers at the moment, but the night shift should be letting out soon and we'd have a mini rush.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because all my customers could talk about was your clerk getting attacked in here earlier this evening. What happened?"
"Lacy's okay." I threw down a red velvet shawl that I really wanted to keep for myself-perfect for Christmas. "But I need to keep a stake behind the counter. A damned rogue vampire attacked her. Probably one of the EVs. At least I could heal the wound for her."
"A vampire?" Diana grabbed my arm. "Did you know one of my employees found a pool of blood in our alley this morning? No victim though. Hector refuses to go to the Dumpster anymore. Do you know anything about that blood?"
"Unfortunately." I looked up toward my apartment. "I now have a new houseguest because of it." Diana jumped up. "What?"
I sat in the vacated chair and pulled off one of my boots to rub my aching foot. If customers came in, they could just enjoy my Christmas tree socks.
"I found a woman bleeding out back there. Vampire attacked her." I sighed as I got the second boot off.
"Did she say who did it? Maybe it was the same one who came in here tonight."
"No, she was just about gone when I found her." Okay here goes. I grabbed Diana's arm. "Would you believe it? I turned her vampire!"
"No way!" Diana knew me well enough to know my views on doing this kind of thing. I blended with mortals, didn't drink from them and sure didn't make a mortal into a vampire. This was like announcing that Sarah Jessica Parker had decided to give up her Manolo Blahniks.
"Yes! All by myself." I saw Valdez raise his head at his post by the front door. "Well, almost. Blade told me what to do over the phone."
"And she came through all right?" Diana was clearly impressed.
"It was touch and go at first. But she made it through the day. I left her upstairs."
"By herself? The first twenty-four hours are critical. Maybe I should go check on her for you." Diana started for the door.
"Don't bother. Damian's with her. Teaching her God knows what."
Diana fell back into her chair. "Damian!"
"I know." I patted her hand. We were both veterans of the Damian not-a-fan club. "But she's pretty savvy about men. She'll be okay."
"What about this attack? What's a vampire doing hunting in our alley?" Diana was really pale, but then it was close to dawn.
"She doesn't remember anything about the attack but, get this, she's a loan shark-her family loans to paranormals." Just then the doorbell tinkled and two customers walked in, clearly hospital workers fresh off a night shift. "Well, back to work. Stop by sometime and meet her."
I smiled and stood, walking over to drop my boots behind the counter. "My new guest's name is"-big grin-"Lucky Carver." Diana headed for the door. "Sounds like she was Lucky you found her, Glory. See you later." She was out the door before Valdez even got his usual head pat. I waited on customers, happy to see my day help arrive a few minutes later. By the time I dragged myself upstairs, I had less than fifteen minutes until sunrise and I felt it. I opened the door to a scene right out of my worst nightmares.
Five
Damian was on the couch teaching Lucky how to find a vein. At least he was still above the waist, but, knowing Damian, the always interesting inner thigh was on his agenda.
"Hello?"
Lucky looked up, her cheeks pink, her fangs wet with Damian's blood. "Oh, hi, Glenda. Damian was just showing me-"
"Glory." Nice. She got Damian's name right but couldn't remember who made her? I should just hand her over to Casanova. But he'd break her heart and then I'd still have to deal with her, only with the screwed-up notions of vamp behavior that Damian was no doubt eager to teach her. Mind control was his favorite.
"Good-bye, Damian. Thanks for helping out, but Lucky and I don't need you."
"Speak for yourself, sister." Lucky snuggled against Damian, clearly all for joining the dark side. "You just took off and left me here. I was about to make a horrible mistake."
"What?" I gave Damian a stern look when he chuckled.
"I almost put on Florence's favorite boots. Damian says his sister would rip out my throat if she caught me in them."
"It's true. You know how Florence is about her shoes." Damian was still grinning and even I had to admit he was sex on a stick, especially with that devil lurking in his dark eyes.
"And how would you know what her favorite boots look like?" I stalked to the kitchen and grabbed a cold Fangtastic. After I twisted off the top and took a swallow, I stormed back to the living room. "Well?" Damian laughed. "They're all her favorites. Lucky would be better off wearing her own soiled boots until the rest of her luggage gets here."
"Luggage?" Flo and I already had every closet and drawer stuffed.
"Surely you realize, Gloriana, that Lucky will have to stay in town for a while, to learn what she needs to survive as vampire." Damian smiled down at her.
"I should get a hotel room." Lucky frowned. "But when would the maid clean? If I'm, like, asleep all day."
"A hotel room is out of the question. I have spare rooms. You can stay with me, Lucky." Damian had on an earnest look now, like he was doing this out of the goodness of his so-called heart.
"Really?" Lucky was all over the idea. "I haven't sent for anything yet, but obviously I've got a lot to learn. And I'll have to get used to"-Lucky licked her lips-"all this."
