Real Vampires Hate Skinny Jeans (42 page)

“You okay?” Laurie shifted and stood beside me while I got back to human form. It took me a while because I was at pretty low tide on the energy scale.

“Okay? Um, let me check. In one piece. Yes. Still sizzling. Kind of. Achy did a number on me but he let me live. All in all it was pretty intense.” I smiled at her. “Thanks for coming to the rescue.” I felt my hair and came away with some pieces that were toasted. I was obviously going to need a trim before I traveled anywhere.

“You handled it pretty well on your own. And, I’m sorry I abandoned you, but I was under orders I had to obey. I felt horrible
leaving you there.” She clapped me on the back so hard I staggered. “Let me make it up to you. Ray says you’re headed out of town. Need backup?”

“No, I’m good. Did he send you? Across the lake?”

“No, he never heard a thing. Too into his music. Circe called me. I left Will in charge of Ray and took off.” Laurie shrugged. “Guess you must have figured out that I’m hers to command. I don’t exactly advertise that fact so keep it to yourself.”

“Sure. We all have secrets. Keep an eye on Ray while I’m gone, will you?” I sighed, the idea of flying back to my apartment absolutely exhausting.

“Glad to. And if you want a ride tonight, I’ve got a car parked a block away.” She grinned. “Yes, I read your thoughts. Come on.”

When we were in the car, Laurie glanced over at me. “You look terrible and you lost a lot of blood. I never saw anything like what Achelous did to you, Glory. Stabbed with lightning. Ouch.”

“Yeah. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.” I sighed and leaned back in the seat.

“You’re drained.” She held out her wrist. “Here. Help yourself.”

“Are you kidding me?” I had to admit my fangs had been down since I’d landed next to her. Hot shifter blood.

“I can take it. Got to warn you, my stuff is high-octane.” Laurie grinned. “It’ll rev your engine.”

“Then I’m not saying no.” I picked up her wrist and took a whiff. Hello. “Promise to pull me off if I get carried away.”

“You got it.” Laurie didn’t even blink when I sank my fangs into her vein.

Oh, sweet Heaven but she’d been right. High-octane and I could feel the power flowing into me with each swallow. It was a matter of will to ease away from that fountain and lick the punctures closed. Were-tiger. And plugged into Olympus. Oh, yeah, there was something extra here.

“Thanks.” I sighed with contentment as Laurie started her car and headed to Sixth Street.

“No problem. You really let Achelous have it tonight. Watching you two go at it, I admired your guts.” She laughed. “Or figured you were suicidal.”

“I was just really, really steamed. I kept having these flashbacks, seeing the things I’d had to do with him, for him, horrible things.” I shuddered. “No woman should have to live like that. The Sirens were abused for too long.”

Laurie nodded. “Circe says there’s a Siren treasure. You did work for Achelous for a thousand years and change. Seems like that should have earned you a little compensation. Not promising anything, those gods and goddesses do like their gold, but you might have something coming to you later. The wheels of justice will turn slowly and Zeus will have to pry it out of Achy’s hands, you know. But Circe says she’s going to try to get you a little severance pay.”

“No kidding? Thank her for me.”

“She owes you, Glory. You don’t think she took the Sirens on because of girl power, do you?” Laurie smiled wryly. “It was all about the gold.”

“Wow. So Achelous…?”

“He’ll be after some of it as reparation. The Olympus CPAs will be very busy over this whole deal.”

“Interesting.” I sighed. “Well, if a little of it comes my way, I’ll be thrilled but obviously I won’t hold my breath. Thanks for letting me know. And thanks for the backup.” I hugged Laurie when she let me out at the apartment building. When I got upstairs I had a visitor waiting.

Aggie sat on the top step. “Girlfriend, that was some tough talk you pulled out of your ass tonight.” She jumped up and threw her arms around me. “The sisters sent me to tell you we’re in your debt.”

“Hey, glad I could help. I had some things to get off my chest anyway.” I unlocked the apartment door. “Come in. You think Circe will be okay as a fearless leader?”

“I guess. Remains to be seen. I’m not putting a whole lot of trust in anyone who hangs their hat in Olympus, you know what I’m sayin’?” Aggie shrugged. “We’re all more than a little freaked-out now that we know we can lose our song and the sea, like you did. As a punishment, it’s a living death, you know?”

“I don’t know. That’s the only thing Achy did right, wiping my memory. I can’t mourn what I didn’t realize I had.” I settled on the couch, still jazzed from Laurie’s donation but itching with the need for a shower.

“You going to share what the private convo with Achy was about? We’re dying to know.” Aggie made herself comfortable in the chair across from me.

“No big deal. He just wanted a couple of last words. Like he said. He popped me a few times with lightning too. Just to make sure I knew who was a god and who was a lowly vampire.” I wasn’t about to get into this with Aggie. Not tonight. A daughter of Olympus. Did that mean I had a mother somewhere? A goddess? The very idea made my head hurt.

“Well, you look like the last words were ‘Die, bitch.’” Aggie got up and patted my shoulder. “I’ll leave you to shower and do whatever vampires do to recover. Jump a mortal in an alley or whatever.”

“I have synthetic blood if I need it.” I walked her to the door. “I’m heading to Scotland soon. Going to tell Jerry he’s not my victim and see what happens. Wish me luck.”

“Sure. Go get your man.” Aggie grinned. “Me? There’s lots of fish in the sea. Speaking of… If you ever want to get over that water phobia, look me up. I’ll start you off in the shallow end of a pool. Sorry about that rough trip across the lake before. I was a little, um, nervous about the confab with Achelous and Circe.”

“I get it. But I won’t forget it.” I was wet and felt like I had lake creatures in my bra as I said good-bye to Aggie. One thing I did pull out was Ian’s note to Jerry. I tossed it on my dresser. Maybe it was for the best if it arrived illegible. I didn’t really trust Ian to pass a love note to the Campbells.

I was getting undressed and examining my various wounds when I heard the familiar chime that meant I had a text. Alesa giving me an update:

Two more demons in hell. I wondered how they celebrated. Had Alesa enjoyed a baby shower? Was there a maternity ward in hell’s hospital? I knew I couldn’t worry about the two little ones and that “C.U.,” which must mean “See you.” Waste of energy. Demons were unpredictable and uncontrollable.

I jumped into the shower. If tonight had done nothing else, it had taught me that I was tougher than I’d ever imagined. Hey, I’d taken on the Storm God and survived, by damn. If I could do that, I could certainly handle a little trip by myself to a foreign country. Because I was going. On my own with no help from anyone. Of course, what I’d find when I got there was anyone’s guess.

Maybe it was the were-tiger blood I’d downed that made me feel pumped and ready to take on anything. Or maybe it was the idea that I was a daughter of Olympus, whatever the hell that meant. But Glory St. Clair was on her way to Scotland. The guys in kilts had better watch out.

Dear Reader,

I had such fun revisiting some favorite characters in
Real Vampires Hate Skinny Jeans
. To read more about Lucky Carver and the night she turned Israel Caine into a vampire, you can check out
Real Vampires Get Lucky
. And then there’s Aggie, the Siren, who really got Ray and Glory into trouble in
Real Vampires Don’t Diet
.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter in Glory’s life and will hang in there with me for her next exciting adventure as she journeys to Scotland. You didn’t think she was going to give up on Jerry, did you? Keep reading to find the first chapter of book nine in the Real Vampires series. I hope you enjoy it.

To keep up with Glory and for sneak peeks at future releases, go to my Web site at
www.gerrybartlett.com
and sign up for my newsletter. You can also follow me on Twitter or go to my author page on Facebook. I hope to see you there! Thanks for jumping into the world of Real Vampires.

Sincerely,

Gerry Bartlett

I
couldn’t get out of the car. Ridiculous. I was a badass vampire. I knew this place, had been here a hundred times or more. Sure, not all of them had been good times, but at least I’d had Jerry by my side. Now Castle Campbell in all its ruined beauty was just yards away, and I felt the determination that had carried me across an ocean and several countries drain right out of me.

I had to smile, though, when I noticed the laird had let the National Trust open the place to tourists at five pounds a pop. Not that the family of vampires cared what happened during the day in the stone fortress above their heads. The family would sleep like the dead in the luxurious quarters they’d built centuries ago belowground. It was dark now and the tourists were long gone, the tea and gift shop in the tower closed.

“Get out of the freaking car.” I hit the plastic steering wheel. Talking to myself. Trying to screw up my courage. Because I wasn’t supposed to be here. Jerry had asked for time. To think about our relationship. And had I given it to him? Of course not. Glory St. Clair worked on her own timetable. And right now I needed, desperately, to see my man and explain
some things to him. But actually sitting here, staring at the castle where centuries ago his mother had treated me like a whore her son had dragged home, had brought me crashing back to reality.

Maybe Jerry would be better off without me. I was a freak. Not who or what he’d thought he’d fallen for all those years ago. He deserved better. For once, his mother and I agreed. I sagged against the car window. What had I been
thinking?

A knock on the glass next to me made me jump. My vamp instincts sucked if I could be surprised like that. I rolled down the window. El cheapo rental car didn’t even have power windows.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Jeremy Blade, Jeremiah Campbell III, my sire, whatever you wanted to call him, smiled at me.

“Do you want me to?”

His answer was to jerk open the door and haul me into his arms. “How can you ask that? Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?” He buried his face in my neck and just inhaled. In vamp terms that was the equivalent of the “Hallelujah” chorus.

“I was supposed to give you some thinking time.” I murmured this against the soft wool of his plaid, carelessly thrown over a cotton shirt. I inhaled him too, soaking in the dear, achingly familiar scent of male and Jerry that I craved with everything in me.

“I shouldn’t have taken off like that. You needed me.” He leaned back and looked into my eyes. “God, but I’m sorry.” He kissed me then, making sure I knew just how much he cared. Tears pricked my eyelids, but I wasn’t about to let them fall and ruin this moment. My gamble had paid off. And things would only get better once Jerry knew the truth about how we’d met and fallen in love.

I smiled as he pulled back. “I have so much to tell you.”

“No kidding. Like how you managed to cross the Atlantic.”
He glanced at my rental car and dismissed it as unworthy. “I would have sent a plane for you, Gloriana.”

“The details about my trip can wait. I have big news for you, Jer.” I held on to him, so glad to finally be with him, because the trip had been harrowing and not the lighthearted adventure I’d paint for him when I got around to sharing. I’m always on a budget and the death sleep makes travel complicated. Enough said.

“Come inside, lass. Mara had just arrived when the servants spotted you on the security cameras. She claims to have big news too.” Jerry tugged me toward the family quarters and the heavy wooden and iron door hidden behind clever landscaping.

“Mara.” Not my favorite person. She’d always wanted Jerry for herself.

“You can be nice to her for five minutes. Then we can be alone.” Jerry gave me such a brilliant smile I had to stop him in the doorway and kiss him again.

“Are you sure we can’t slip away into the pasture for a real reunion instead? I remember a time or two…”

My lover laughed. “Or twenty. Not yet. Da is inside and eager to greet you. He always did love you, you know. My mother is in Paris, so you can relax on that score. And we’ll make sure Mara is sent on her way quickly.” Jerry slid one hand around my waist and the other up to investigate my plunging neckline. “Very quickly.”

“See that you do.” I sighed as he kissed me again, lingering over it as his hands explored me. I’d stopped in the village of Dollar down the hill from the castle and booked a room so I could freshen up before I came here. I wore a low-cut sweater in his favorite blue with a skirt that showed off my legs and distracted from my hips. I pulled back and glanced around. “Where are the security cameras? Are we giving some worker a thrill?”