I looked around the room. Not a Stetson or pair of boots in sight. When had my life gone so wrong?
Seven
"You're really going after whoever attacked me? My family could-" Lucky scanned the crowd.
"We need to handle this ourselves. Anybody could have found you in that alley. The vampire who left you for dead didn't give a damn about what that might mean for the vampires who live here." I saw Richard and Jerry nod. Flo was busy checking out the compartments in the Birkin bag.
"If you do find whoever did this . . ." Lucky stroked her throat. "Well, kill the son of a bitch. My family will be happy to compensate-"
"Really, Lucky. First things first. We need more information." No way was I letting Will get his paws on my shot at financial freedom. Besides, he'd probably piss it away at the nearest casino.
"Speak for yourself." Will put on a sympathetic look. "How much will they pay?" Lucky frowned at him. "You're a deadbeat, Kilpatrick. Find the right vampire and we'll talk. But you're still on my short list of suspects. And get this. Killing me won't cancel a debt. It will only make things worse." A cell phone rang-a blast of "SexyBack." Lucky picked up her phone from the coffee table. She frowned and shut it off.
"This 'family' business sounds interesting." Jerry glanced at me.
I deliberately stepped in front of Lacy and Will, who were edging toward the door.
"We keep good records and have stiff penalties for non-payment." Lucky said this like we were supposed to be impressed. Yeah, right. How reassuring to know a loan shark was well organized.
"For one thing, the Carvarellis have collateral. At least for large loans. Something very special to the debtors. You'd forfeit it. Right?" Lacy kept her hand on Will's arm. "I had a cousin who lost his family's vacation home in Vail. Boy, was his mom pissed." Lacy made a face. She and I had both had an up close and personal with a pissed mom-cat. Lucky smiled at her. "Everyone knows the Carvarellis always get their money, one way or another."
"That's why, even though my loan was pretty small, I was determined to pay it off. But Will-"
"Darlin', say no more. Really." Will patted her hand. "Ms. Carver, I may have lost my temper there for a minute, but I fully intend to pay back every damned dime I owe your family."
Lucky shrugged and picked up her BlackBerry again. "So you say. Talk's cheap, Kilpatrick. That token you gave my father will be forfeited in thirty days. And then the serious shit hits the fan."
"I wondered-" I glanced at Jerry. "Seems like loaning to paranormals is a lose-lose proposition. What if they don't really care about their collateral. What's to keep a borrower from disappearing on you? Flying the coop, so to speak?" And, yeah, I meant that literally.
"We have paranormal enforcers on the payroll too. Trust me, you don't want any of them after you." Lucky flicked her gaze over Will. "You need a reminder of what might happen, Kilpatrick?"
"They send in the clowns." Will muttered it. Broadway show tune? His serious face said otherwise.
"What do you mean?" I turned to Lucky but it was Jerry who spoke up.
"Clown Demons. A man in Scotland refused to pay. And they came after him. Those buggers are no joke."
"Clown Demons." I tried and failed to keep a straight face. "What do they do, laugh you to death?"
"Dying would be a relief after the ten thousandth bad knock knock joke." Jerry grinned and I figured he was kidding.
"Truth. Honest." Lucky finished punching in a text and shut off her PDA. "They hound you. Embarrass you because they never leave your side." Lucky looked at Will and shook her head. "Keep smiling, buddy boy. By the time the clowns get through with you, no woman will ever look at you again. And your friends will avoid you. And when the practical jokes start, you'll wish you were dead."
"All right. I get it. Pay up." Will frowned, then looked at Jerry. "I don't suppose you've got more work for me."
"Not as
my
bodyguard." I was sure about that. Will popping in and out of dog body had been tough to take. Especially since his vampire body, which he'd insisted needed to be naked, was centerfold material. And with Blade paying him . . . Well, let's just say I don't need that kind of frustration.
"Mayhap I'd like to see you with a couple of clowns." Jerry's accent deepened and he moved closer to Lucky. "Tell me, lass, what has the man given as token?" He gave Will a hard look. "I think I know, but I hope to hell I'm wrong."
"It's a ring. A family heirloom." Lucky smiled and focused on Jerry. "Love the Scottish accent. From the Highlands?"
"Aye." Jerry wasn't smiling. "The ring. Would it be sportin' the Kilpatrick family crest, by chance?"
"I can explain-" Will paled and eased toward the door.
"You risked your family's honor for a gaming debt?" Jerry moved in on Will. "You know what it would do to your father if he found out you gave that ring to a bunch of soulless moneylenders?"
"Hey, it's an honest profession. We do a service." Lucky seemed to realize this was not the time to start a debate on the merits of loan sharking when Jerry didn't even spare her a glance.
"I'll not let you disgrace your family, Billy boy. How much do you owe?" Jerry had a fistful of shirt and Will up against the door.
"Quarter of a mil, give or take." Will was smart enough not to try to fight him off. Or to smile.
"A quarter of a
million
?" Wow. I thought
I
had problems when I maxed out three Visa cards. Jerry dropped Will and stepped back. He turned to Lucky. "I want to buy the ring. Not discharge this worm's debt, just take the collateral out of your hands. Send in your clowns."
"Hmm. That's kind of irregular. I'd have to call my father." Lucky glanced at Will. "I'll get back to you on that."
"I'll do any kind of work, Blade, if you'll front me the money. Even do the dog thing again." Will had the nerve to smile at me.
"Come on, Glory. We got on well enough. You made anyone mad lately?"
"Of course. She brought Lucky back from death and made her vampire. I figure whoever wanted Lucky dead will be
mighty pissed."
Valdez had obviously been a silent observer long enough.
"There you go. Sounds like we need to double your guard." Will exchanged looks with Valdez. Probably sending him a silent mental message that he'd cook for the pup, if Will came back as my guard again. Valdez will do anything for a good meal. Even accept another dog into the family.
"Well, gee, you don't have to sound so damned happy about it." I sent Valdez my own mental message that there'd be generic dog food all around if Will came back.
"But maybe I won't have to work after all." Will moved closer to Lucky. "Your family know you're vampire now? How's the old man going to take the news?" He nodded toward Lucky's cell phone. "What's it worth to you to be the one who tells him? Or would you rather I break the news?"
"Daddy knows and he's thrilled. Now the company will live on forever." Lucky smiled at Blade. "I'm going to make damned sure my father takes Blade's offer. Then I send in the clowns to work on you, Kilpatrick. Or would you like me to call
your
father for you? Maybe he'll bail you out. I'm sure he'd like to have his ring back."
"It's not his ring, it's mine. He gave it to me centuries ago." Will looked like a sullen child. "How the hell am I supposed to come up with that kind of cash so soon?"
"Try Prince Igor of Transylvania. He's always had a soft spot for a sob story." Jerry leaned against the door, his arms across his chest.
"I've gone to that particular well too many times. He said he'd have to tell my parents next time. For my own good. What a crock."
"Prince Igor of Transylvania? For real? He's a vampire?" Lucky tapped into her BlackBerry. "I don't have him in my records."
"You wouldn't. He's old money. But he's always doing fund-raisers, for his many charities." Flo frowned at Will. "You should be ashamed asking Igor for money. He is kind and helps many deserving people who are down on their luck. But a gambler. Pah! You should suffer the penalty for stupidity."
I kept my mouth shut, glad I'd never spilled my guts to Flo about my own gambling problem.
"According to my records, Kilpatrick, you've had this debt for over a year. You think we don't realize you've been dodging us? I don't care where you get the money, just pay up." Lucky sat and leaned down to pull off a boot and rub her foot. "Flo, these boots are cute, but they hurt like hell."
"I know, Luciana, why do you think I passed them on to you?" Flo laughed and shook her head. "Richard, I want to go out. I've had enough of William's issues. And I'm, um, thirsty. I want a little more than a bottle of Fangtastic." She looked at Lucky. "Come with us. I'll give you a lesson in being vampire. We're very careful. The mortals never know they've been touched."
"No way!" I grabbed Lucky when she shoved on the boot and hopped to her feet. "You and I are going shopping." I checked out my clock. "Well, the mall's closed, but you can come down to the shop. Meet Derek, who's working tonight, and see if there's something down there you'd like to wear." I glanced down at her feet. "I've got a pair of barely worn Prada pumps in your size." Lucky looked torn. Shopping? Or taking her new fangs out for a test drive? She sighed and glanced at Flo. "Rain check? I need something of my own to wear and Prada . . ."
"Say no more, girlfriend. We do it another night." Flo pulled Richard toward the door. "Jeremiah, quit frowning at William and let us out. He's a big boy and made his own mess. Now he must deal with it." Flo tugged on Richard's hand. "Come, lover, I'm sure Glory will e-mail you those names. As soon as we've fed, we'll go by your place and see if we recognize any of them." I had to give Flo credit. She knew her man. Richard never had been fond of the synthetic stuff. He followed her with barely a nod of good-bye to the rest of us. I stalked into the bedroom and grabbed my laptop. My printer was in a corner next to the TV. I plugged it in and got busy checking my e-mail. In moments I had the list in front of me. I figure my eyes widened because suddenly Jerry was right behind my left shoulder.
"Who is it? Do you see a name you know?"
Lucky hovered nearby. "There are a dozen names there, but not all of them are known to be in the Austin area. Kilpatrick's on there and I'm not ruling him out." Lucky got a fierce look. "We always collect a debt. Papa's got enforcers all over the world. Just let anyone try to take out cousin Alfonso in Thailand. Or Maria in Paris." She suddenly welled up and collapsed on the sofa. "They wouldn't have ended up bleeding out in an alley. I am such a failure."
"Now, Lucky." I liked my new vampire much better in kick-butt mode. "You were ambushed. Your bodyguard flaked out." I looked around and realized Will and Lacy had taken advantage of the distraction and left. I hoped he didn't decide to run and take Lacy with him.
"I thought my bodyguard was my friend. How could she leave me there to die?" A fat tear streaked down Lucky's cheek.
"Maybe she didn't leave voluntarily."
"Then we have to find her." Lucky looked up, her eyes wet and her nose pink. Waterproof mascara. I was definitely checking out the brand.
"Gloriana, give me the list. Who's on it?"
I thrust it at Jerry. "You'll see. I recognize at least one name. Greg Kaplan. The creep who almost got me drained by the Energy Vampires."
Lucky got up and headed for the door. "I need to get out of here. I want to look for Brittany." Jerry glanced up from the list. "Gloriana, you're not-"
"I'm going with her. We'll be in the shop if you need us." I ignored Jerry's grumble. "Work on that list." I walked up to him and slid my arms around his waist. "If you're still here when we get back . . ." I pulled down his head and whispered an interesting proposition in his ear.
"I'll be here." He snugged me closer and gave me a long and satisfying kiss. "Be careful, lass. Valdez, stay close."
"You got it, boss."
Valdez dropped his leash at my feet.
"We'll
all
be careful." I held on to the leash, but didn't bother to clip it on. It was just for show anyway. I pulled Lucky out the door. She stopped at the top of the stairs.
"You guys seem pretty tight." She glanced back at my apartment.
"Tight. Loose. Jerry made me. Just like I made you, Lucky. So we feel bound to each other."
"Excuse me?" Lucky ran down the stairs. "I'm not
bound
to you. I'm my own woman. And now that I'm vampire . . ." She concentrated, then grinned. Her new fangs were a dazzling white. "I figure I don't need anyone or anything." She tried to open the outside door, then looked down at the keypad. "Except maybe the code to get out of here."
"In a minute." I put my hand on Valdez's head. I could tell he was bursting to spout off to Lucky about how
not
ready she was to take on the world. "I'll just say this one more time. There's a lot you don't know yet. About your powers or lack of. About the predators out there who live to take a vampire fang as a trophy." Now
that
erased her megawatt smile. "And about how to keep safe and below the mortal radar. It's all about survival, Miss Not-So-Lucky. I've managed to stick around for over four hundred years so maybe, just maybe, I know a thing or two about it. Ya think?"
I waited a beat or two. Finally she looked sheepish and nodded. "Okay, okay, I get it." She glanced up the stairs again. "Besides." Here came the grin again. "No way am I risking my new life before I've had a chance to try a vampire lover."
"That's as good a reason as any. So listen and learn." I reached over and punched in the code. "Trust me, Lucky. There's nothing like sex with a vampire male, especially an ancient one. Mortals never quite, um, measure up after you've had a vampire ring your bell."
"Do I have to hear this?"
Valdez was through the door as soon as I pulled it open.
"Wait here. I'm checking out the area."
Lucky tried to head out after him and I stopped her with an arm across the door. "Wait. Let Valdez do his thing."
"You take orders from your
dog
?" Lucky tried unsuccessfully to shove my arm out of the way.