“You mean like attack an innocent bystander. Taking down one of those assholes with a camera wouldn’t be a bad idea.” Sienna laughed when I started to squawk. “Kidding. I have been listening to you, Glory. And the last person I’d drink from would be a member of the paparazzi. Bunch of user losers.” Sienna scowled and disappeared into the bathroom.
“Finally, a few minutes of alone time. Tell me quick, Rafe, about this plan of yours. How are you going to give the illusion that we are unprotected?” I settled onto the couch.
“Do the dog thing again. Valdez back in action.” He grinned and shifted. Now he was a black Labradoodle, cute with curly fur and dark eyes that were the same as they’d been for five years while he’d guarded me, employed by Jerry.
“Oh, no, you can’t do that to yourself. You hated it.” I shook my head as he jumped on the couch. “Seriously?”
Back then he’d communicated in my mind, especially when we were in public. This time he just spoke using his mouth, which looked freaky in a dog but was something I could handle. “I figure that if she tries to come after you and sees you asleep in your bed with only a dog to protect you, she’ll try something, figure she can stake you. I can take her, I know it.”
“Yes, you could if she were a mere mortal. But, Rafe, if she’s using voodoo spells . . . ?” I ran my hand over his head and tugged one ear. So soft. “This is dangerous. We need to find out more about her powers. Have some magical weapons of our own. Flo is getting me the phone number of a voodoo priestess down in New Orleans. Even if it’s a different kind of voodoo, maybe we can get some spells of our own to throw at Mel.”
“I heard you tell Bart that. That’s good. But in the meantime, I’ll be here during the day today. And Blade certainly can’t object if I’m in my dog persona. You know how he can be.” He lay down, his head in my lap. Trust Rafe to get close while he had the chance. I couldn’t push him away.
“Is that why you’re doing it, the dog thing? To keep things cool between Jerry and me?” I rubbed his ears. “I know he’s been jealous in the past, but I think we’ve worked through that.”
“Good. But staying in dog form can’t hurt. I’m mainly doing it to trick the bitch who came after you. She invaded your space when you would’ve been defenseless. I’m scared for you.” He raised his head and bumped my chin.
“Thanks, Rafe.”
“What’s this? Where’d the dog come from?” Sienna emerged from the bathroom in a tank and boxers. Obviously she was ready for bed. She was going to have to sleep on the couch and we were sitting on it. Which was a problem. If Mel came into the apartment, the first vampire she’d encounter would be Sienna. Would she attack her? Just because she hated vampires who weren’t Jerry? I couldn’t run that risk.
“Take my bed for today, Sienna. I’ll sleep out here. We’re dead during the day so it really doesn’t matter where we land and Rafe wants to be close to the door.”
“But where is he? And what about the dog? Where’d he come from? I thought Rafe was supposed to be protecting us.” She had scrubbed off her makeup and I was glad to see that her recent feeding had done some good, fading those blue spots on her face and arms.
“Rafe’s here.” I patted his back. “This is how he protected me when he was my bodyguard. Cute, isn’t he?”
“You are shittin’ me.” Sienna moved closer. “Yes, he’s a cute dog, but I can’t believe . . . Say something, Rafe. So I know it’s true.”
“It’s true. And Glory’s right. We’ll sleep out here. Close to the door in case anyone tries to bother you guys during the day. If they do, I can be in human form in a heartbeat and take them down.” Rafe woofed for good measure when Sienna squealed.
“That is so freaking amazing. Shape-shifter. Holy crap. I remember you now, the cute Labradoodle hanging around Glory when I first met her. I had no idea . . . I wouldn’t have believed this if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.” She yawned. “Must be close to dawn. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Thanks for the bed, Glory. Night.” She smiled before she headed into the bedroom. “And thanks for guarding us, Rafe. Appreciate it.”
I pushed Rafe off my lap and got up to get bedding out of the linen closet. It was no problem to make up the bed. I could feel the dawn too but worry about Jerry made me resist the pull. I tried his cell one more time. No answer. Where could he be? Had Mel done something to him? I headed into the bathroom to wash and change into a sexless sleep shirt, my Snoopy one, to razz Rafe.
Just before I passed out, I tried Jerry once more. Voice mail. I didn’t bother leaving a fourth message. If he had his phone, he knew I was worried and looking for him. Obviously he couldn’t call me or he would have. Dawn edged even closer and I prayed he was where daylight couldn’t touch him. Surely Mel wouldn’t hurt him. Unless she finally got the message that he didn’t want her. I needed to check out her Web site, but dawn hit before I could reach for my laptop.
Six
I woke up with a start at sunset. The worry I’d gone to bed with was still there. I smelled coffee and knew that Rafe must have morphed back into his human form and was fixing breakfast for himself. In the bad old days, when he’d been forced to stay in dog form twenty-four/seven, he’d subsisted on Twinkies, his favorite snack, and rare steaks when I’d cook for him.
I tried Jerry’s cell again. No answer. So I got dressed and took my laptop into the living room before I found Mel’s Web site. She had quite a professional setup. And there was a place to contact her. I composed a message. But when I found myself begging her to let Jerry go, I deleted it. I had no way of knowing if Jerry was even with her. Maybe he’d lost his phone and had arrived home just before dawn. I ran through various scenarios in my mind but kept coming up with no real excuse for him not to call me back unless he was hurt . . . No, impossible. Mel claimed to love him. She would never hurt him.
So I scrolled through the woman’s Web site. No wonder she was so successful. Even I got sucked in by her inspiring message. “Be the master of your own fate. Take control of your life. You can own the world. The only thing limiting your reach is your own fear.” Her words resonated and if I hadn’t met the bitch I’d be tempted to sign up for one of her seminars. In fact, she was holding one here in Austin this weekend, at a hotel downtown. I gasped when I saw the price she was charging. Yeah, I bet she owned her world. Unbelievable. The large ballroom was almost sold out.
“What’s doing?” Rafe stood behind me, reading over my shoulder. “She actually gets that price?”
“Apparently. Look, only three spots left.”
“We should go. It’ll be nice to get our minds off the vampire drama.” Sienna had joined Rafe and read the description too. “I’ll buy the tickets. The woman sounds fabulous. Look, Glory, you could take your shop to a whole new level. End up with a string of Vintage Vamp’s Emporiums all over the world.” She patted me on the shoulder. “I want to thank you for mentoring me. Let’s go to this. It sounds good.” She bumped against Rafe’s shoulder. “And the bodyguard can come. In human form. I doubt they’d let the dog in. Even though your Labradoodle thing is cute.”
“I’d do it again if that’s what she needed to stay safe.” Rafe wasn’t taking Sienna up on the flirting. Guess he was serious about Lacy.
“You have no idea why I’m looking at this Web site, Sienna. And take you to a ballroom full of mortals? Not a good idea.” We’d never mentioned Jerry’s stalker chick by name other than Mel. Her picture here showed a professional woman who looked nothing like a voodoo priestess.
“So I’ll fill up before I go. Come on, Glory. You hit this site for a reason. You going to deny she’s got something you want?” Sienna flashed me a smile.
The bitch’s head on a plate. But I didn’t say that. Instead, I took a breath. Did I want to hear Mel speak? Definitely. Even if it was only to get a better idea of the enemy I faced. What would she do if I walked into one of her seminars? Probably smile smugly and go right on with her spiel.
“I’m guessing you want more out of life than a small boutique. Not that it isn’t great. I love your little shop. It’s cool and you have great taste. But it could use more marketing. Expansion.” She glanced around my tiny apartment with its used furniture. The only new piece was the massive coffee table Jerry and Rafe had bought after they’d destroyed my old one during a fight. “Seems like you need to increase your income. This seminar could be a good thing for you.”
I exchanged glances with Rafe, who’d moved around the couch to settle into the chair across from me. He’d made himself an egg sandwich. Now he took a bite and raised an eyebrow. Okay, he was thinking this might not be a bad move. I decided then and there that Sienna didn’t need to know the truth about this woman’s identity.
“You’re right. I’ve got a small life, that’s what this woman calls it, and I’ve been satisfied with it. But maybe it’s time to think bigger. Going to this seminar might give me some ideas. Thanks, Sienna, I’ll take you up on the offer. You handle the tickets. Do you have a name you use when you don’t want to be recognized?”
“Yeah, sure. And a special credit card for just that purpose. I’ll put the tickets on that one.” She snatched her purse off the kitchen table. “I’d better hurry before they’re sold out.”
“Good.” I patted the seat next to me then handed her the laptop.
“If it wasn’t at night, we wouldn’t be able to do this. I still can’t wrap my head around all the limitations . . . Well, you don’t want to get me started on that.” She pulled her credit card out of her wallet and began typing. “I need this distraction so I won’t go over to Ray’s and try to kill him again. This night out will be nice. The three of us going somewhere together. I’ll be in disguise of course. I have a long black wig and sunglasses that I wear when I’m hiding from the paparazzi. You’ll see. No one will have a clue I’m there.”