The Undead Next Door (15 page)

“My toys!” Bethany dropped the yellow bear on the floor and knelt in front of her dollhouse.

Heather blinked, speechless. Parked next to the dollhouse was Bethany’s doll carriage.

She noticed her makeup case on the dresser. “How did you do this? There was a deputy guarding the door.”

“My guards are excellent,” Jean-Luc said.

They had to be good if they’d managed to sneak all this stuff out of the house.

Fidelia dropped her purse on one of the queen-sized beds and sat. “How did they do it?”

“It is done.” He looked worried. “I thought it would make you happy.”

“I’m happy!” Bethany announced.

I’m suspicious. Heather looked slowly around the room. The walls were painted a soft green. The two beds were covered with blue damask comforters. A beautiful stained glass lamp rested on a bedside table between the two beds. There was no mirror above the dresser, but a lovely painting by Monet. Against the wall rested the bags of stuff they’d bought at the discount store.

“Heather?” Jean-Luc approached her. “Will this be all right?”

“Yes.” She avoided eye contact. “Thank you.” He’d obviously tried to make her happy, but the opposite had happened. She didn’t know what to think.

“I’ll be in my office down the hall for the next hour or so if you need me. Robby will be here soon with your truck.”

“Okay.” That seemed odd to Heather. Hadn’t they used her truck to bring Bethany’s toys here?

“I noticed a few boarded-up buildings in town,” Jean-Luc continued.

“Yeah, the discount store made them go out of business.”

“Robby and I will check them later tonight.”

“You mean…?” They thought Louie might be hiding in one of them? “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No,” he answered quickly. “You’ve been through enough tonight. Your daughter, too.”

That much was true. Heather didn’t think she could handle any more excitement right now. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow evening, yes. Phil and Pierre will watch over you during the day.”

And where will you be? She met his eyes. There was still too much mystery surrounding him.

“Good night, chérie.” He took her hand and raised it to his mouth. His lips were soft, sensuous.

Heather’s face flooded with heat when delicious memories swept over her. His kiss had been glorious. She’d felt so safe and wonderful in his arms. She wished that feeling could come back, but it was gone. Instead she suffered from a nagging sensation that something was seriously wrong.

“Sleep well.” He left the room, closing the door behind him.

“Juan is very romantic,” Fidelia observed. “Muy macho.”

“Muy something,” Heather muttered. “Let’s get Bethany to bed.” And then we can talk. The words dangled at the end of the sentence, unsaid.

Thirty minutes later, Bethany was sound asleep in the bed she would share with her mom. Fidelia and Heather took turns washing up.

Heather exited the bathroom and waved a hand toward the dollhouse. “How do you think they managed this?”

“I don’t know.” Fidelia fluffed the pillows up against the headboard of her bed, then slipped beneath the comforter. “They must have sneaked past the deputy.”

Heather rested a hand on one hip. “I don’t think Billy and his deputies could be that incompetent.”

Fidelia chuckled. “You never know. At least we have the smart ones on our side.”

“Smart or just…sneaky? There’s something very odd going on around here.”

Fidelia nodded. “Juan seemed to be listening to someone. He may be psychic.”

“I got that impression, too.” Heather perched on the end of Fidelia’s bed. “Could you hear anything?”

“No, but I’m sensing strange…energy. Maybe I’ll dream something tonight that’ll help.”

Heather nodded. She wasn’t quite ready to voice her earlier suspicion that Jean-Luc could be immortal. It still seemed too bizarre.

“This is the only bedroom upstairs,” Fidelia continued. “And Juan said there are none on the first floor.”

“That seemed strange to me, too,” Heather conceded.

“Where are all the people in this house sleeping?” Fidelia asked.

Heather winced, remembering the locked cellar doors. “I guess they’re in the cellar.”

“That’s strange,” Fidelia muttered. “And what was that with Alberto? I think those bitches scratched him. Or cut him. There was blood on his fingers.”

“I saw that. And Jean-Luc kept telling us to stay away from the cellar. Of course, that could be a good warning with those psycho women living down there.”

Fidelia made a clucking noise. “Why were you late to hear Bethany sing? That is not like you.”

A blush warmed Heather’s cheeks. “I was…distracted.”

“By Juan? Did he make a pass at you?”

Her blush grew hotter. “I was willing. Far too willing. I…I thought I was falling for him.”

“And now?”

“I don’t know. I’m attracted to him. He’s gorgeous and sexy—”

“And rich.”

Heather gave her an annoyed look. “That’s not what matters to me. Cody had plenty of money, and it sure didn’t make me happy.”

“Then what do you like about Juan?”

“I think he’s an honorable, intelligent, kind man. It was very sweet the way he got that bear for Bethany. And he likes me the way I am. He treats me with respect. He actually listens to me and cares about my feelings.”

Fidelia nodded. “He is a good man. I am fairly certain of that.”

“Fairly certain?”

Fidelia shrugged. “Appearances can be deceiving. I sense something…wrong.”

Heather snorted. “You don’t have to be psychic to know that. There are secrets in this place. Secrets that Jean-Luc wants to hide from me.”

“I agree.”

“Then how can I trust him?”

Fidelia lounged back against her pillows, frowning. “You must be very careful.”

Heather’s eyes burned as unwanted tears threatened. She’d so wanted to believe in Jean-Luc. He’d seemed so perfect. But she had no choice. She needed to keep a distance between them. She couldn’t let herself fall for Jean-Luc Echarpe.

Jean-Luc paced in his office. He’d made a stupid mistake. He’d thought the sight of her daughter’s toys would cheer her up. It had certainly cheered up Bethany. But Heather—he’d only succeeded in making her suspicious. She was clever. He couldn’t underestimate her again. And she was fiercely independent, not as easily impressed by gifts or grand gestures as women he’d known in the past. She didn’t seem to need gifts at all. She needed honesty—the one thing he didn’t dare give.

Seeing her in proximity to Simone and Inga had confirmed his strong feelings for her. The models were perfection in death, beauty frozen for all time, like statues of goddesses. Heather was life—imperfect and unpredictable. In one evening, she’d melted in his arms, kissing him with passion. And she’d watched him, wary with suspicion. She was volatile, full of emotion. Exciting.

She was also sweet, loyal, and loving. He enjoyed watching her interact with her daughter and Fidelia. They formed such a strong family union, and more and more, he wanted to be part of it.

The thought of losing her made his legs drag with heaviness. He came to a stop by the window overlooking the showroom. His merchandise was there, still on display although the store was closed.

What was it all for? Thirty years ago, he’d enjoyed building a fashion empire, and he’d reveled in his financial success. But somewhere along the line, he’d lost the need to prove himself. It was simply work to fill in the time.

He wanted more, something beyond himself. He wanted Heather to be proud of him. The sort of panic she’d experienced when she feared missing her daughter’s show; he wanted her to feel that strongly about his shows. He no longer wanted to create alone. He wanted her to create designs with him. He wanted companionship.

And creating merchandise was no longer enough. He wanted more. What good was a financial empire if he had no child to pass it on to? He wanted children with Heather’s hair and eyes, her generous heart and clever mind. All he had to do was keep her safe from Lui and win her heart.

He sighed. Was that too much to ask?

He spotted Robby entering the showroom through the front door. He’d probably left Heather’s truck parked in the driveway.

Ian and Phineas walked into the showroom to meet him. Jean-Luc considered teleporting down to join the group. In a second, he was materializing by the base of the stairs.

Robby’s hand halted halfway to his sword. “Och, ’tis you. Did yer guests enjoy the surprise?”

“The little girl was delighted, but we may have made Heather too suspicious.”

Robby winced. “I was afraid of that. These modern lassies are far too clever.”

Ian snorted. “Do ye prefer them stupid?”

Robby shrugged. “I try to avoid the mortal ones altogether.” He turned to Jean-Luc. “I was just telling the others here that we need more surveillance cameras. When we planned this building, I thought we’d only be guarding you.”

Jean-Luc nodded. Right now, the only cameras were in his office, outside his office, and inside his bedroom. “We need a camera in every room.”

“And outside,” Robby added. “I know Connor has a stash of spare ones at his security office at Romatech. I’ll teleport there to bring them back.”

“We also need to buy some food before morning,” Jean-Luc suggested. “The bare pantry looked suspicious.”

Robby frowned. “Och, I dinna think of that. Pierre’s been ordering food in. He was alone here during the day and couldna leave us unguarded.”

“I’ll go to the store,” Ian offered. “What shall I buy—porridge and a leg of lamb?”

“Dude, you are so out of touch with the twenty-first century,” Phineas scoffed. “You need Cheetos, Doritos, Oreos, SpaghettiOs—”

“That’s food?” Ian asked.

“Damned straight. You know, you old-timers can be really clueless. You’d better let me do the shopping.”

“You are a young Vamp?” Jean-Luc asked.

“Hell, yeah. Just over a year. My family’s still alive, so I know what people eat.”

Jean-Luc arched a brow. “Is your family healthy?”

“Well, my aunt is diabetical, and my little sister’s kinda chubby—”

“Healthy food.” Jean-Luc handed him the keys to the BMW and several hundred-dollar bills. “Bring back some healthy food.”

“Okay, fruits and vegetables and crap. I can do that.” Phineas zipped toward the front door. “Cool! I get to drive the BMW.” The door slammed behind him.

“While he’s gone, I’ll teleport to Romatech and bring back more cameras.” Robby paused when they heard the squeal of tires on the driveway.

Jean-Luc winced. “He’s new with the company?”

“Dr. Phang?” Ian grinned. “Angus and Emma found him last year. The Russians had transformed him, but he dinna want to bite people. So Angus hired him.”

“And what about Phil?” Jean-Luc asked.

“Completely trustworthy,” Robby answered. “He’s been guarding Roman during the day for over six years.”

Ian nodded. “I’ve known him all that time. He’s good.”

Jean-Luc recalled the awkward moment when Phineas had claimed Phil smelled different from other mortals. He’d detected something odd, too. “Is there something about Phil I should know?”

Robby’s face went blank. Ian seemed suddenly absorbed with the purses on display.

“I’m trusting him with Heather’s life. And my own,” Jean-Luc added. “I should know.”

“’Tis a company matter,” Robby muttered. “All I can tell ye is, Phil keeps our secrets, and we keep his. I’ll go to Romatech now.”

“Hurry back,” Jean-Luc told him, aware that Robby was trying to change the subject. “As soon as Phineas returns with the car, I want us to check those empty buildings in town.”

“I’ll go with you,” Ian offered.

“I need you and Phineas to stay here,” Jean-Luc replied. “We can’t leave the women unguarded.”

Ian nodded. “I’ll do a perimeter sweep.”

He zoomed outside and Robby teleported away, leaving Jean-Luc alone to wonder about Phil. What kind of secret could a mortal have that even vampires were loath to share? He was tempted to call Angus, but the bloody Scotsman would be just as closemouthed as his great-great-grandson Robby. At least Robby and Ian both agreed that Phil was completely trustworthy.

Phil and Pierre would be in the cellar now, sleeping in the dormitory-style bedroom for the guards. As mortals, they were expected to sleep at night, so they could guard during the day. Vamps were totally vulnerable during their death-sleep, so the responsibility of guarding them was huge. Even so, the daytime guards rarely ran into danger. Vampire enemies were also dead during the day, and most of the mortal world was ignorant of their existence.

Alberto was a mortal who knew about vampires. Jean-Luc had confided in his young protégé after Alberto had served faithfully for five years. It was a good arrangement.

Alberto kept their secrets, and in return, he was given opportunities that were rare in the fashion industry. He arranged shows and hobnobbed with powerful, influential people. He was allowed to present his own designs with the advantage of Echarpe distribution and marketing. He’d become Jean-Luc’s representative during the day. He was a hardworking perfectionist with only one flaw.

He was obsessed with Simone and Inga. Learning that they were lady Vamps had only increased his desire.

They enjoyed toying with him, but tonight they’d gone too far. Jean-Luc wasn’t concerned about Alberto spilling vampire secrets to the media. He and Robby could use mind control to wipe out Alberto’s memory if they needed to. But it would be hard to replace Alberto.

Simone and Inga didn’t realize it, as vain as they were, but they would be easy to replace.

The memory of Alberto’s bloody fingers shot a surge of anger through Jean-Luc. He’d warned Alberto to stay away from Simone and Inga, but obviously the man could not resist the lure of the forbidden. The irony of the situation hit home. Jean-Luc couldn’t resist the forbidden, either. It would be so much more convenient if he could fall for a Vamp woman, but no, he wanted Heather.

He teleported back to his office and tried to do some work. Pierre had left an invoice on his desk. The harpsichord he’d ordered had arrived during the day. Good. Jean-Luc didn’t consider himself a great musician, but after four hundred years of practice, he was certainly adequate.

Pierre had left a note that he’d instructed the workmen to set up the harpsichord next to the baby grand piano in the music room. Jean-Luc winced at the thought of mortals down in the cellar during the day, but Pierre would have made sure they saw only the main corridor and music room. No mortal would suspect some of the rooms hid vampires in their death-sleep. Still, Jean-Luc was uncomfortable with any mortals knowing about the cellar. He’d have Robby visit these workmen and erase their memories.

And what about Heather? She knew there was a cellar now. How long could he hide his secrets from her? How could he court an honest woman with lies? He’d refused to let her go hunting with Robby and him because he figured the boarded-up buildings were locked. Robby and he could easily teleport inside, but not if Heather was with them.

When they found Lui and killed him, Heather would be free to go on with her life. Would he have to let her go and erase her memory, too?

The thought of spending eternity without her was difficult to bear. Merde, the thought of spending a week without her was painful.

Jean-Luc paced to the sideboard and poured himself a glass of Blissky. The mixture of whisky and synthetic blood burned his throat, but it didn’t dull the pain.

He was losing his heart to Heather, and he didn’t know how to stop it.

Heather winced as Bethany kicked her again. Between sleeping with a live tornado and her worries about the house and Jean-Luc, Heather had hardly slept a wink.

Fidelia moaned suddenly, jerking Heather more fully awake. She glanced at the bedside table where the clock numbers glowed red in the dark. Five-thirty A.M. The sun would be up soon.

Fidelia moaned again, thrashing her arms and legs. Heather considered waking her, but she really wanted whatever information Fidelia’s dream had to offer.

The older woman sat up so suddenly, Heather gasped.

“Fidelia,” she whispered. “Are you all right?”

“Eyes, red glowing eyes in the dark. Danger.”

That was creepy, but it didn’t tell them very much. “Anything else?”

With a sigh, Fidelia rested against the headboard. “I couldn’t see much. It was dark. Nighttime. I heard growling. A white flash of long gnashing teeth.”

Heather shuddered. The room grew silent except for Bethany’s slow and even breathing.

Finally she stood and stretched. She couldn’t let a bad dream stop her from living. And since she couldn’t sleep, she might as well get to work. The first thing she needed to do was buy some groceries. “Do you want anything from the kitchen?” She snorted. “Some champagne?”

Fidelia chuckled. “I’m fine. I’m going back to sleep. I’ll get up when the little one wakes up.”

“Okay. Sleep well.” Heather stumbled into the bathroom. After a quick shower, she dressed in the new underwear, jeans, and green T-shirt they’d bought the night before. She slipped on her old athletic shoes and exited quietly into the hallway. A window at the end of the hall provided some dim light. The moon was half full, and stars sparkled in a clear sky.

She paused outside Jean-Luc’s office. Would he be inside? They’d never discussed the specifics of her job. A red blinking light overhead drew her attention. The surveillance camera was on. Was someone watching her?

She slipped down the backstairs and peeked into the main corridor. Empty. There was a faint sound. Music.

She glanced at the cellar door. After a quick look around, she tiptoed to the door. The sound of music grew louder.

She pressed an ear against the door. Classical music. A piano and something with a tinkling sound. A harpsichord? She curled her fingers around the doorknob and gave it a twist. It turned slightly, then stuck fast. Locked.

“May I help you?” a deep voice spoke behind her.

She whirled to find Robby MacKay standing in the hall. “I…good morning. I was looking for the kitchen.”

“Over here.” He turned to indicate the door on the other side of the staircase.

“Oh, that’s right. I’m still learning my way around.” She strode toward the kitchen. “I thought I’d make a list of things we need from the grocery store. The pantry’s bare, you know.”

“’Tis full now. We bought ye some food.”

“Oh.” She paused outside the kitchen door. “Well, thank you. That was very efficient of you.”

He crossed his arms, giving her a thoughtful look. “I found yer handbag in yer truck last night. ’Tis in the security office. I’ll bring it to you.”

“Great. I might need to run some errands.”

He frowned. “If there’s anything ye need, tell one of the guards. For yer own safety, ye must stay here.”

“Oh.” Was she a prisoner? “I see.” She let herself into the kitchen, then leaned against the door, taking deep breaths. She wasn’t a prisoner, she reminded herself. They were just trying to keep her, Fidelia, and Bethany safe.

And they were keeping their secrets safe, too. Curiosity killed the cat, the old saying warned her. But she was no cat. She was woman, hear her roar.

She would uncover all their secrets, one by one.