DraculaVille - New York - Book One (12 page)

After a few minutes, Drake reappeared and paused at the entrance to the living room. He crossed his arms and then uncrossed them. After a few uneasy seconds, he returned to the couch and sat beside Talia.

She stared at him, enjoying his discomfort.
Okay, Mr. know-it-all vampire, what’s your plan?

“I suppose the entrance of Pip into our lives creates some slight…inconvenience.” He ran his palms down his thighs.

“You could say that.” She crossed one leg over the other.

“Thank you, for taking Pip in. I can’t explain it, but it seems really important that we help him.” Drake hung his head and pressed his fingertips together. “Talia, I also feel that I never thanked you properly for what you did for me. Parts of my memories are starting to return and I realize how much I lost. I honestly believe if you hadn’t forced the issue, I’d have perished there by that dumpster, too frightened and lost to make sense of what happened to me.”

She blinked back tears and glanced at the ceiling. Her life had turned upside down after that night in the alley. She couldn’t deny it. But she was glad she’d helped Drake, and happy he was involved in her life. After only a week, he’d become an integral part of her small group of friends. She hadn't realized how lonely she'd become as a driven workaholic. Taking in the boy was another issue altogether, however.

“It’s okay. As long as you don’t think I’m just using you,” she said. “But Drake, seriously. What are we going to do with Pip?

He crossed his arms. “I'm not sure. I only know we can’t abandon him.”

She came to her feet and let out a deep breath. “I’ve got to get some sleep. Think about it. Tomorrow we have to return to work on the campaign. We can’t be distracted by any more drama.”

“I don’t think he’ll be a problem,” he murmured.

She planted her hands on her hips. “He’s a child. They don’t raise themselves. Someone has to teach them things, they’re supposed to go to school, play baseball and video games.”

“I’ll teach him.” Drake met her gaze squarely.

She stepped closer. “And who’s going to teach him about being a vampire? You? You’re like a child yourself in that matter.”

He didn’t answer, but stared at the floor.

She threw up her hands and headed to her bedroom. Maybe tomorrow would make things clearer. Right now, she didn’t see how this was going to work out. They had to get this campaign locked down or there would be no more money coming in to buy blood or anything else. She hoped all her vampires realized that.

Chapter 15

Talia pushed open the door to her apartment, juggling bags of groceries. Her head swam with a list of items still to be accomplished. It was past eight, so she expected Drake to be up by now. She was eager to tell him what she had planned for Monday night.

“Drake?” She placed her bags on the kitchen counter and removed the items that needed to be stored in the freezer and refrigerator. The rest could wait. She went into the living room. “Drake?”

No answer. Maybe he was still in his room. A knock on his door brought no response, so she pushed it open. Empty. What the hell? She quickly searched the rest of the apartment, but the two vampires weren’t there.

Irritation bubbled in her stomach, and then an icy fear swept over her. Had Drake left with Pip because of what she’d said last night? She’d only meant to make him aware of the difficulties ahead, not drive him away.

She rushed to the kitchen and pulled her cell phone from her pocketbook. Her finger shook as she punched Gerri’s number. Tomorrow she would buy Drake his own phone, damn it.

“Hello?” Her friend sounded tired.

“Ger, it’s me. Have you seen or heard from Drake?”

“No, wha…”

“Okay, bye.” She hung up and dialed Felix.

“Yes, master,” he answered.

“Is Drake at your place?”

“Sadly, no. What’s up?”

“Have you heard from him today?”

“Noooo. Again, what’s up?”

“He’s gone.” She bit the nail of her forefinger.

“Pip, too?”

“Yes, yes. All of the vampires are missing,” she snapped.

Her phone beeped. Gerri was calling back.

“Gotta go.” She hung up and answered the call.

“Tal, what the hell happened?”

“Drake and Pip are gone.”

“Oh, no. Any idea where they went?”

“I don’t know. I came home and they weren’t here.”

Her front door slammed.

“Oh, someone’s at the door, bye.” She dropped the phone on the counter and ran to the foyer. Drake stood there showing a stern expression, holding a bunch of shopping bags in one hand. His other hand grasped the back of Pip’s collar. The young boy had on a new white shirt and pullover sweater with jeans.

“Where have you been? I was so worried,” Talia said, her heart thumping. A wave of relief washed over her, and her shoulders slumped.

“I thought I would go out and buy some clothes for Pip. He ran off, and I had a hell of a time finding him.” He jerked Pip’s collar, and the boy looked appropriately abashed.

“I thought I saw the lady,” he said, bottom lip sticking out. “I wanted to find out if she knew what happened to me.”

Talia and Drake shared a glance of concern. He pulled Pip into the living room and parked him on the sofa. “You mean the one that asked you to escort her through the alley?”

Pip nodded. “She was so pretty. Black hair, white skin, and cherry red lips like a doll.”

“You can’t run off like that. You’ve already been hurt once. Wasn’t that a lesson to you?” He crossed his arms and stared at the boy.

Pip hunched his shoulders. “I guess. I’m sorry.”

Talia shook her head and went into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine. Gerri’s tiny voice echoed across the counter calling her name. Damn, she’d forgot to hit END.

Talia picked up the phone. “Ger, sorry. It’s okay. They’re here now.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Gerri said and hung up on her.

Uh oh
. Talia got her wine and returned to the living room. Drake had stopped lecturing on discipline and was opening the packages he’d brought home.

“I used the credit card you gave me,” Drake said. “I hope that’s okay?”

“Did you buy a new house or a Hummer?”

“No. Just clothes for Pip and a Nintendo DS.”

“Then I’m pretty sure it’s okay.” She didn’t care what he bought as long as he came back. Looking at him made her knees tremble. How humiliating. She sank into the wing chair. Now that he'd returned, her jittery panic subsided. The weird feeling of connection between them deepened every day, yet no one else seemed to experience it. She had to figure it out. Maybe she needed an exorcist.

Drake removed the Nintendo from its package and showed Pip how to load games and use the controls. They sat on the sofa, heads together. Drake murmured directions and pointed at the game while Pip pressed buttons with his thumbs, eyes alight with excitement.

As she watched them, an ache pressed on her heart. Drake could be any regular father, sitting there showing his kid how to play a video game. It was cute and sad at the same time.

He glanced at her. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, now that I know you’re alright.”

“Sorry. I didn’t anticipate hunting for Pip. Did you have a good day?”

She smiled. “Yes. I arranged for you to shoot a video tomorrow night that I’ll use as an example of what sort of TV commercial we can produce for the campaign.”

“I guess that’s good then.”

“After that, you won’t have too much to do. It’ll be up to me to put everything together and present it to the Romanians.”

“I see.” He turned to Pip, smiling at the boy playing with his new toy.

“You don’t really like all this publicity biz, do you?” she asked.

His smile faded and he glanced at the floor before turning his gaze to her. “Talia, what do you want from me?”

She crossed her legs, and swung her foot back and forth. Good question. What
did
she want? “I don’t know. Maybe some indication of enthusiasm for what we’re doing so I don’t feel like I’m forcing you into it.”

“Is that so important?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, this crap is how I make a living. It buys blood and clothes and Nintendo games. If you hate it, my job gets really difficult.”

“Why?”

She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Because I want you to be a willing participant. If I think I’m forcing you to do this, it upsets me.” There, she said it. “It may be hard for you to believe, but I want you to be happy.”

The wrinkles on his face smoothed. “It’s okay, Tal. I don’t hate it. I want to help you after all you’ve done for me.”

She hoped he was serious. This would be a long term project if the Romanians went for the plan. It would take a long time to build the park and get production running. Drake would be needed constantly to help with promotion. If his heart wasn’t in it, somewhere along the way it would show and they would fail.

Her phone rang. Felix.

“Vampire central,” she said.

“So, are they back?”

“Yep. Drake took Pip shopping.”

“Okay, good. What’s on board for tomorrow?”

“I met with Justin today. He’ll do the video commercial tomorrow night at his loft studio.”

“That’s great.” Her assistant sounded enthused. “Is Drake okay?”

“I think so. I need you to help him work on the script. Come over at six tomorrow night and practice with him until we go to Justin’s at eight.”

“Sounds good. By the way, what did Drake buy Pip to wear?”

She laughed. Trust Felix to deal with the fashion issues. “He’s in a white shirt, a sweater and jeans. Very Abercrombie and Finch, and kinda preppy.”

“I’ll take a look at him tomorrow.”

She laughed and hit END.

“That was Felix?” Drake glanced up.

“Yes, he’s worried you bought unfashionable clothes for Pip.”

The boy giggled. “When’s Uncle Felix coming over?”

She paused with her wine glass halfway to her lips. “Uncle Felix?”

Drake nodded. “And Aunt Gerri.”

She rolled her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead. This grew more absurd by the minute. And just where did that leave her?

“Mom? Dad said I should thank you for letting me stay here.” Pip gave her an angelic smile.

Her heart skipped a beat. “Don’t call me that.”

“What should I call you?” Pip tilted his head to one side.

“I don’t know…Your Majesty, Your Highness, Obiwankanobi. Anything but Mom.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Pip hung his head.

Mom? She glanced at Drake and he shrugged.
Mom
? Dear God.

***

Talia ran a finger down the script one more time. Felix stood beside Drake in front of a green-screen backdrop, giving last minute instructions. The loft’s brick walls and exposed pipes running across the ceiling made Talia think of a warehouse. Track lighting and cozy decorations, exuded a warm homey feeling, however. Jason had made a steal when he bought the rundown building ten years ago. He’d renovated it into five apartments with his at the top. He lived in the part not used as a studio with his girlfriend, Vivian.

“Okay, Tiger. Let’s do this.” Justin held a light meter to his eye, then gave a thumbs up to his two crew members who made final adjustments to the lighting. Justin came to Talia’s chair, his six foot, four inch height towering over her. A sleeveless T-shirt displayed tattoos lining his heavily muscled arms. “Your guy ready?”

“Felix?” she called.

He held up a finger and nodded, giving Drake one final comment. Then he trotted across the studio’s polished wood plank floor and sat in a chair beside her. “He’s ready.”

Justin pulled his long gray hair back and wound a rubber band around it at the nape of his neck. “We’ll do a few takes and see if we need more, okay?”

“Sounds good.” Talia rolled the script, nervousness sending jittery shivers through her abdomen. She’d pinned her hopes on Drake being as good on video as he was in the still shots Anton had made. These commercials would be crucial to the success of the campaign. They had to convey the right tone and allure or the whole project would crash and burn.

“Quiet on the set,” Justin’s assistant, Anna, called out.

The bustle of the assistants ceased, and all eyes focused on Drake. Felix had him dressed in a thigh length, black velvet jacket, and his white poet’s shirt hung open at the neck. His black pants were tucked into knee high leather boots, and a gold necklace with a dagger pendant glittered against the pale skin of his chest. His black hair was slicked back, accentuating his angular features and full sensual lips.

“This guy looks great,” Justin murmured. “Where did you find him?”

“The vampire actors guild, of course.” Talia gripped her script in one hand as she stared at Drake.

Justin snorted. “Good one, Tiger.” He adjusted some settings on the video camera and then pointed a finger at Anne.

“Commercial for Romania, take one,” Annie said and stepped away.

“Speed and…action,” Jason pointed to Drake.

Drake stared into the camera a moment before speaking. “My name is Dracula. I’d like to welcome you to my home…to Romania, where all your fantasies can come true.”

Talia’s heart raced. He was good. Wow. He went flawlessly through the script. At the end, he turned to walk away then paused and looked over his shoulder, a slight smile revealing his elongated teeth.

“Come to Romania. I’m waiting for you.” Then he put his back to the camera and took a few steps toward the green-screen.

Talia had a crazy urge to run after him and throw herself in his arms. Like the time at the photo shoot. She sucked in a breath. Stupid worthless bracelet.

“Cut,” Justin yelled. He glanced at her with a questioning look.

She sat poised on the edge of her seat, leaning forward. Her trembling lips managed a smile and she scooted back in her chair, the impulse broken.

Drake made a very convincing Dracula. They continued through a few more takes of that script, then did a few takes on a variation, which focused more on the theme park and resort. Talia’s grip on her rolled up script relaxed with each successful scene.

“He’s really good, Tal,” Felix whispered. “A natural.”