Stakeout (Aurora Sky (19 page)

Dante cranked his head around, doing his own
once-over.

“So, this is what it looks like from the
inside.”

“Shhh!” I narrowed my eyes at Dante.

“Nice place you got here, Buck,” Dante called
after our host.

“Thanks,” Buck called back from the adjacent
kitchen. The door of his fridge closed, followed by the sound of
bottle caps hitting the counter. Buck walked in, three open bottles
of Alaskan Stouts in hand. “Nicole and I have talked about
homesteading further north.”

“Fairbanks not cold enough for you?” Dante
asked with a chuckle.

“Plenty cold, my man,” Buck said, handing
Dante a beer.

“Thanks,” I said when Buck handed me
mine.

“Cheers,” Buck said.

The three of us tapped bottles and tossed
them back. Wow, the taste was rich. I would have preferred
something lighter than stout, but in the end beer was beer and
better than nothing.

“Good stuff,” Dante said, smacking his
lips.

Buck grinned and nodded. “Go ahead and have a
seat. Nicole will be here soon with the grub.”

Dante plopped onto the couch without a second
thought. He slung his arm over the back.

I sat right beside my supposed boyfriend,
taking another swig of stout, and swishing it around before
swallowing it.

Buck sat on a rocking chair in front of us
and leaned back, holding himself in that position with the tips of
his toes.

Dante tapped the threadbare upholstery with
his free hand just above my shoulder and looked straight across at
Buck. “So what’s the plan with Nicole? Stay together until she’s
twenty-five then ditch her for a younger model?”

Buck’s face dropped. “Nicole and I want to be
together as long as we can.”

“I suppose if you’re really attached to this
one you can wait and move on once she’s lived out her life.” Dante
broke out into a wide grin. “Hey, it’s not cheating if she’s
dead.”

Buck lowered himself in the rocking chair and
looked at the floor.

I kicked Dante. “You’re such an ass,” I
hissed under my breath. Speaking up, I said, “Don’t listen to him,
Buck. Dante’s a total liar. He hasn’t even been a vampire for more
than a year. He uses humor to deal with his recently acquired
afterlife. Although calling it humor is debatable.”

“Hey!” Dante said.

Buck looked at Dante closer. “So, you got
sick, too?”

Dante squared his shoulders. “No, I wiped
out, big time, man, snowboarding at Hatcher Pass.”

I cleared my throat. Dante glanced sideways
at me before resuming his story.

Dante circled his wrist in the air. “Then I
got taken to the hospital where I got sick. Breeding ground for
germs, ya know?”

Buck nodded. “Nicole’s studying medicinal
herbs.”

Dante shot me a quick look that said, “Can
you believe this vamp?”

Buck smiled suddenly. “Ah, here she
comes.”

I stopped drinking, surprised I hadn’t heard
the approaching vehicle until now.

“I’ll go help her. Sit tight.” Buck got up
from his chair, leaving it rocking under the abrupt loss of his
weight. He set his beer bottle on the ground and stepped
outside.

The door had barely closed before Dante
turned to me, frowning.

“This whole thing’s a bust. We should take
this vamp out for being so boring.”

I snorted. “Come on, you know you like
Buck.”

Dante rolled his eyes. “Sure, he’s very
hospitable. Now can we eat, drink, and go?”

“Hold your horses. You haven’t even gotten a
chance to bite me yet.”

“I can bite you back at the cabin.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Fine. Whatever. I’ll stick it out. I’m
hungry...” Dante tossed up a hand. “For pizza.”

I smiled. “That’s the spirit.”

Buck returned holding two pizza boxes. His
girlfriend, Nicole, came in a second later all bundled up. I was
sure the combination of pizza and Nicole would settle Dante’s
nerves. Nicole was a beautiful woman, and she didn’t need makeup
and heels to show it. Her hair wasn’t quite blond, but close, and
she had striking blue eyes that sometimes looked grey.

Plus she was nice.

“Hi, Noel,” Nicole said, eye’s lighting up
when they met mine. “I couldn’t believe it when Buck called and
said he ran into you.” Nicole removed her coat, scarf, gloves, and
hat as she spoke.

I returned Nicole’s smile. “I was just as
surprised. It’s nice to see you guys in your neck of the
woods.”

Nicole had a nice laugh. She walked over to
Dante and said, “Hi, I’m Nicole.”

Dante stood up. “I’m Dante.”

Nicole grinned. “Nice to meet you,
Dante.”

While we’d been making introductions, Buck
took the pizza to the kitchen and returned with a beer, which he
handed to Nicole. She kissed him on the cheek and thanked him. I
wasn’t the sentimental sort, but aw, they were so sweet together.
Maybe now Dante wouldn’t be so glib with his remarks.

“Should we dish up in the kitchen and eat in
front of the fire?” Buck asked.

Nicole smiled at him warmly. “Sounds good to
me.”

“Sounds great,” Dante said.

We followed the happy couple to the kitchen.
Nicole turned her head toward us as she walked. “I wasn’t sure what
to get you guys, so I got one with everything on it.”

“Good call,” Dante said.

Once we were dished up and back on the couch
eating semi-warm pizza off plates in our laps, Nicole said, “So,
Dante, you’re like Buck?”

Dante raised a brow. “Incredibly charming and
handsome? Why yes, Nicole, I am.”

Nicole looked momentarily confused then her
lips extended and she quickly laughed. “You’re funny.”

Oh, Nicole, don’t say the
words.
Dante was suddenly sitting an inch taller on the
couch.

“No, it’s okay,” Dante said. “I know what you
mean and yes, I am immortal.”

Good thing I hadn’t taken a sip of beer. I
would have snorted it out of my nose.

Buck set his slice of pizza down. “I wonder
why we’re like this.”

“Why wonder?” Dante asked. “Just enjoy the
ride.”

Nicole and Buck glanced at each other.
Vampirism didn’t seem to strike them as a thrill ride. That was
another thing that struck me as unique about Buck the first time I
met him. He acted like this was an affliction rather than a
gift.

When Dante’s words produced no comment, he
chewed several times then asked, “So, Nicole, what do you do for a
living?”

Nicole exchanged another quick glance with
Buck. She sat in a chair next to Buck’s. Their legs intertwined at
the ankles, like hand holding for feet. She unhooked it now and
slouched in her seat, hair falling forward.

“Well, I was working as a receptionist for a
dentist, but then I got offered this other job that pays really
well.”

It was my turn to exchange glances with
Dante. Why did this sound like it was going somewhere weird?

“This man, this patient of Dr. Bradly’s, was
some kind of scout for a vampire named Diederick.”

Dante glanced at me. I shook my head. Never
heard of the guy.

“He’s an event planner.”

Dante gave a little grunt beside me.

“He puts together these super fancy,
expensive tastings.”

I swear Dante’s ears visibly perked up.

“Tastings?” he asked.

Buck placed a hand on Nicole’s arm and nodded
for her to continue.

“It’s for well-to-do vampire winos. They’re
looking for young women to drink expensive wine and then vampires
pay to feed on them.”

“Nicole!” I didn’t shock easily, but this one
came at me out of left field. Wine tastings through women’s blood?
Now I’d heard everything.

Maybe it shouldn’t have surprised me that
Dante looked positively delighted by this discovery. He set his
plate aside and began massaging his hands gleefully.

Nicole looked surprised by my tone. Probably
unexpected coming from a Goth wench and regular at Marcus’s
parties. It wouldn’t take a trained spy to notice me accompanying
different vamps every weekend to the rooms upstairs.

“Is it safe?” I asked.

“Perfectly safe, I promise,” Buck said. “I
checked it all out before Nicole would even take the interview with
Diederick. The entire operation is regulated under the strictest
rules. No one crosses Diederick.”

Why didn’t I find that comforting?

Nicole nodded. “I would never put my life at
risk. No sum of money is worth that. But Buck and I did check it
out thoroughly, and Diederick was very forthcoming. He’s not the
friendliest undead guy, but he takes his work seriously and leaves
no room for error.”

“And I’m there each time,” Buck said.

“That’s right,” Nicole said. “Buck drives me
to every event. Diederick has no problem with that. It saves him
having to arrange a cab.”

I leaned forward. “What exactly is it you do
at these things again?”

“I put on a nice dress, drink a whole lotta
expensive wine, and let vampires have a taste.”

Dante was literally on the edge of his seat,
about ready to fall off the couch.

“I want to go,” he said.

Buck jutted his chin forward. “Do you have
fifteen hundred dollars?”

“No, why?”

Buck gave Dante a pointed look.

Dante’s eyes expanded. “Are you shitting
me?”

“Nope.”

Dante reached into his back pocket and pulled
out his wallet. “I’ve got fifteen dollars. How does that work? Do
you think Diederick would take a solid fifteen?”

Nicole and Buck’s shoulders relaxed when they
laughed.

Dante gave me a slight jab. “Hey, Noel, can
you spot me fifteen large ones?”

I crossed one leg over the other. “No, but I
can drink a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck and let you suck it from
me.”

Buck laughed harder. “You two are a riot. You
should come up to Fairbanks more often.”

“I don’t know about that,” Dante said. “From
the sounds of it, your social scene is a little out of my
league.”

“Most of the parties actually take place in
Anchorage,” Nicole said. “Diederick plans them all around the
state, but he has the most regulars in the big city. I’ll be coming
down more in the fall.”

Buck tapped his foot on the floorboard. “We
figure a couple seasons of Nicole working these tastings and we’ll
have a down payment on some land.”

“How much do you make?” I asked.

“Five thousand per night, plus travel
expenses, tips, and a bonus at the end of the season.”

I stared beyond Nicole’s shoulder mulling
that over. It had a certain temptation to it. A couple events like
that could buy me some real furniture.

“Do you get a discount or something?” Dante
asked Buck.

“No man, I stay out of the private rooms, but
I am allowed to mingle in the main room. A lot of vamps want to
check it out before investing the dough. Diederick entertains them
in the main chamber. That’s where I hang until the end of the
night. Nicole has one this Friday night. You two should check it
out if you’re still in town.”

“Oh, we’ll still be in town,” Dante said.

“Cool,” Buck said. “We can hang
together.”

“You two might want to borrow some clothes,”
Nicole said. “Diederick isn’t as eccentric as Marcus.” She said
you two
, but she looked directly at
me.

I took it the Goth look wasn’t in style among
the wine snobs.

“You can borrow one of my dresses, Noel. It
will be a little long and roomy, but I can pin it in.”

“Okay, thanks.” Guess our stakeout had just
turned into a recon mission.

Dante and I helped clear up and wash the
dishes before leaving. It didn’t take long when there were only
three plates and empty beer bottles to pick up.

The moment we were out of the cabin and back
in the Jeep, Dante slapped the steering wheel and let loose a
“whoop!”

Bet he was glad we didn’t eat and run.

“Melcher is going to shit a brick when he
finds out about this. Have you heard of anything like this
before?”

I shook my head. “Never.”

“Man oh man, we hit the jackpot,” Dante said,
drumming the steering wheel with the palms of his hands.

“Don’t feel so bad about Sitka anymore?”

“This is better than anything they can find
in Sitka.”

Dante made his way down the wooded drive.

“It’s like human trafficking, mutilation,
alcohol abuse, and prostitution all rolled into one.”

“Not really,” I said, swinging my foot back
and forth. “It’s not prostitution. She’s not having sex with these
vampires.”

“Maybe she is,” Dante said.

“She isn’t.”

“Right, ’cause she and Buck are soul mates,
and she gets paid the big bucks to sip wine while vamps sip
her.”

“Think what you want,” I said. “But I
guarantee she’s not sleeping with any of them.”

“How about this Diederick guy? He sounds like
a piece of work,” Dante said.

“I’m curious to meet him.”

“Well, you will. You and me both this
Friday.” Dante fist pumped the air. “Score one for Team Moose and
Mouse.”

“I’m surprised I never heard of Diederick,
since he operates in Anchorage. Maybe Melcher has someone else on
him.”

Dante paused at the intersection longer than
normal. When I looked over he had on a grin the size of our great
state.

“Split his name in two and know what you get?
Die Derick. And that’s exactly what he’s going to do.”

No doubt about it; pretty soon, Nicole and
Buck would have to come up with another way to save money for their
off-grid oasis.