Real Vampires Know Hips Happen Part 24

"Can we appeal?" She looked up at him hopefully.

"No, they're the only game in town." Richard shook his head. "You'll have to see if Ian has an idea about how you can work off this debt or if it's enough justice for him that he won. It's given him bragging rights and entree into the power circle." Richard looked back at the men gathered around Ian, lighting up. "I think we need elections. Term limits. I don't care if Damian is my brother-in-law."

"Calm down, darling. I hate politics. Don't get involved in them." Flo patted her husband's arm as she pulled us down the stairs. "Perhaps Ian will surprise you and be satisfied with this night's outcome and forget dear Aggie."

"Satisfied? No way in h.e.l.l. I want Aggie to work off every dime." Ian strutted down the stairs, his guards behind him. He was puffing on a cigar and stopped next to the former Siren. "I know just what you can do too."

"I won't sleep with you. Or give you my blood." Aggie pulled the tunic's neckline up to her chin.

"Don't want either one. Sick of both." Ian blew a perfect smoke ring up toward the ceiling. "No, I need a housekeeper. Someone to clean my toilets and scrub my floors. You'll do nicely." He looked her over. "I even have a uniform you can wear. Though I guess I'll have to send out for a bigger size now. What have you been doing lately, eating your way down Sixth Street?"

"Pig. I don't do housework." Aggie backed away from him.

"You do now." Ian nodded at Richard. "Tell her, Counselor. I just had a nice talk with Damian. He agreed that if Aggie doesn't pay off her debt to me that he'll slap her in lockup. Did you know they have one now?" He grinned. "Yep, a jail. It's really for vampires so you might have a little trouble being fed." He chuckled. "Which is one way to lose those extra pounds you've packed on. Hope you like tight s.p.a.ces. It's a coffin in Damian's bas.e.m.e.nt."

Aggie turned pale and looked like she was about to faint. "A coffin? Richard?"

"Housekeeping can't be that bad. I want something in writing, Ian." Richard was still in full counselor mode. "How many days does she have to do it before the debt's paid?"

"Well, let's figure the going rate for housekeeping is fifty bucks a day and you run the numbers. That's how long it'll take her." Chuckling, Ian headed for the door. "You're mine, b.i.t.c.h, for a long, long time."

"Two thousand days." Richard had pulled out his phone and used the calculator. "That's how long it will take you, Aggie."

"I'll be dead by then."

I heard a thump and looked down. Aggie had hit the floor and I didn't blame her. Payback really was a b.i.t.c.h.

Flo pulled on my sleeve. "Where are the kangaroos? I didn't see them."

Richard and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes. Between Flo and Aggie, we had our hands full. He took Flo, carefully explaining what a kangaroo court was. I knelt down next to Aggie and gently patted her cheeks.

Damian and the other council members stopped to watch.

"A little help here?" I glanced up at the men.

Damian handed me a bottle of water. "Flo told me you used to be a Siren. You haven't pulled any of the dirty tricks Aggie used, have you, Glory?"

I sighed and pressed the cold water bottle to Aggie's forehead. I could see she was waking up. I needed to get her out of here and without a scene.

"No. But I have some pretty awesome powers now." I smiled. "I suggest you guys clear out so you don't have to hear Aggie b.i.t.c.h when she comes around. You're not exactly her favorite people now."

"You get tired of Blade, call me." Damian moved closer. "I have always liked you, you know." He looked down when Aggie moaned. "We're out of here. She got what she deserved, I think. Be careful around her, Glory." He and his two council buddies strode off toward the library, trailing cigar smoke behind them.

"I can't believe this. So unfair. Judge Judy would never have run her courtroom that way." Aggie struggled to sit up. "Guess you're stuck with me, Glory. Toilets!" She checked her nails, painted in a bright red for court. "My hands will be ruined."

"Rubber gloves, Aggie." I pulled her up beside me.

"You'll have to teach me to drive. And loan me your car..." She kept chattering as we walked toward the parking lot.

All I heard were the sounds of my life falling to pieces. Stuck with Aggie. I had to get her some of that Siren treasure. Maybe I did need to take a trip to Olympus. I was surprised my mother didn't appear on the spot. It was almost as if she'd planted Aggie in my life as a way to get what she wanted. Oh. Surely not. Now I was just being paranoid. Or was I?

Eighteen.

My cell rang just as I drove into my parking lot. It was Jerry.

"Hey, where are you?"

"I just got back from Miami. Where are you?"

"I'm about to head into the shop. Can you meet me?" I slammed the car door. Aggie had already headed inside. She'd complained that she was starving. I think there was a pint of ice cream with her name on it upstairs. I didn't need a diet book or a psychology degree to know she was stuffing her stress.

"What about your apartment? We'd have more privacy."

"No, we wouldn't. Aggie will be there. Why do we need privacy?" Not that I didn't like to be alone with him, but something in his voice made my stomach clench. What was this about?

"We need to talk. I've been thinking about the way we left things before I took off for Miami. You were right. Everything I do is your concern. I'm ready to come clean. Can you come over here, to my house? Lily's not here." He sounded really serious. What kind of secret had he been keeping? Murder? Another woman? My mind raced.

"Let me run inside and check for disasters. If everything is okay, I'll be there in thirty minutes. Lily is here, by the way. I hope you don't mind that I put her to work." Aggie had left the back door into the apartments wide open; I shut and locked it then dealt with the one into the shop's back room. I would have to get onto her about security.

"No, she needed to face reality. I don't mind setting her up in an apartment, but a job is good for her. Lets her see how ordinary people earn a living."

"Yes, that was the idea." I just hoped Lily was through stealing from those ordinary people. "Look, I'll hurry. See you soon." I hung up and headed into the store.

Lily was there, helping a customer. She wasn't like Flo about vintage clothes; she actually liked them as long as they were high quality. I still had to work on her sn.o.b factor since some of my vintage clothing, especially the sixties and seventies stuff, originally came from discount stores. But she'd gotten into dressing for the job and apparently still had some of her favorites from the last century. Tonight she wore a great sixties Goth outfit in black leather and lace that I'd meant to compliment her on earlier. Her thigh-high boots had spike heels and she'd worn her dark hair in a ma.s.s of tangled curls. She was a walking advertis.e.m.e.nt for the stuff we sold.

"How's it going, Lily?" I stopped next to her at the cash register.

"Fine. You know you should really put all of this on a computer system. It would make keeping track of inventory easier." She handed a customer her change. "Hey, Laurie, come by and show me how that works out on Halloween. I'd love to see you."

"You bet, Lily. Maybe the boss lady here will let you off early and you can come with. The party will be awesome. I can get you in." The girl glanced at me. She was a regular but I'd never caught her name before.

"Sure, we'll work something out, though Halloween is a big night for us." I glanced at the sales total. It was a sizeable cash sale. Nice. "Thanks for coming in." The girl left and I turned to Lily.

"Don't say it. I know she's mortal." Lily held up a hand. "But I can be around them and not go all bloodthirsty." She kept her voice low so none of the other customers could hear. "I am trying to be friendly. I don't have any buds here."

"I wasn't going to say anything about that. I'm glad you're making friends. And she's nice. I know she's a student at UT. As long as you don't put her on the menu, I think it's a good idea to make friends." I glanced around and saw everything was under control, the other night clerk helping another customer. "Your dad is back in town and I'm headed over to his house. Aggie's upstairs. Her hearing didn't go well. When you get off, you might want to go up and give her your sympathy."

"Oh, wow. Sure." Lily sighed. "No surprise. I didn't want to say it, but the deck was stacked against Aggie all the way."

"Right. Look around the apartment while you're there. I heard there's a vacancy on the third floor in this building. Could you stand to live so close to me?" My place was on the second.

"On Sixth Street?" She actually hugged me. "I'd freaking love it. Thanks, Glory. That's exactly what I need-a place of my own near all the action. I can use my own laptop to get your inventory online here, then transfer the files to yours. You get the apartment for me and I'll do that for you. On my own time." She glanced around. "You know retail isn't a bad career option. I've enjoyed this. I have lots of ideas for improving this place."

"Slow down, Donald Trump. I'm pretty happy with the way things are, though the inventory thing sounds great." I couldn't believe this smiling vamp was the angry girl who had acted out just days ago. You'd think after hundreds of years she'd have figured out a purpose for her life. It was too bad she'd been allowed to drift so long. "Thanks, Lily. I'd love to hear your ideas. Soon." I hugged her back. "And I love the outfit. You make the shop look good."

She glanced down. "Hey, I was just trying to fit in. I could have sold it six times already. But thanks. Now go, don't keep Dad waiting." She winked. "Work your magic and get me that place."

I shook my head. No magic here. I waved and set off. I lost my smile fast. What did Jerry have to tell me? A move and name change. Well, I'd done the same thing many times. I had to stop guessing and see him there, so I could find out the truth.

When I drove up to his house, I saw that he'd turned the porch light on for me. Before I could get out of the car, my mother materialized in the pa.s.senger seat.

"Whoa. You startled me. Thanks for not doing that while I was driving."

"Of course I waited. Wouldn't want you to have a wreck, darling." She glanced at my outfit. "I see you are wearing the dress I gave you. That pleases me. I still want us to go shopping together, my treat. It's a fantasy of mine to have a mother-daughter night in a mall."

"Mother, Jerry is waiting for me. Did you have something important to say?" I leaned back against the door. She was still in her toga. "Did you come straight from your duties with Zeus?"

"Yes. It was exhausting. Especially since I was keeping tabs on you while having to dole out pardons and listen to the endless bickering that goes on up there." She put a hand to her forehead. "It's enough to give me a migraine. Did you ever get one of those?"

"You're the only headache I have at the moment. Speed this up, please. I have a dawn time limit, you know." I sighed. "Sorry, but Jerry says he's going to clue me in about his big secret. I'm a little worried."

"Of course you are, darling." She reached out and stroked my cheek. "If he disappoints you, Mars told me he would be happy to punish him for you." She smiled. "Now as to why I'm here...I heard what happened with that fallen Siren. And you have her in your apartment, making messes, spending your money. Such a nuisance!"

"You got that right. Can you help me out? She owes Ian a ton of money." I leaned forward. "Do you carry cash with you?"

"Don't be silly. I'd never bail out that b.i.t.c.h." She brushed off her toga like the very idea had soiled her. "But I have a way that you can do it yourself." Her smile was crafty.

I didn't like this. She was definitely up to something. "Okay, what do you have in mind?"

"Well, the Siren treasure is there in Olympus for the claiming. I can talk my way into a bit of reparation for you. Aggie"-she shuddered-"such an ugly nickname, probably not. Even though you both left the program, you left involuntarily. Achelous definitely owes a debt for that. I can make sure you are paid your fair share."

"Seriously? I don't want part of anything Siren, but Aggie really needs a small fortune. To pay Ian and to support herself so she can move away from me and my place. What will it take to get her a piece of this treasure?"

"You can choose to give her your portion, of course. If you truly don't want it for yourself." There was that secret smile again. "If you are that desperate to be rid of her, it will require just a small sacrifice on your part, Gloriana. You must come to Olympus personally with me and ask for it." She sighed and touched my hand. "I know how reluctant you've been to do that very thing. You've made your views perfectly clear."

"And you can't get this treasure for me?" Wasn't this falling in with her wishes just a little too neatly?

"Oh, no. Only a former Siren can claim the gold. And, if you've been paying attention to the news, you know that gold is very, very valuable right now. Your portion, if you give it to Aggie, would set her up for life, whether she remains mortal or ends up a"-exaggerated shudder-"vampire."

"Mother, did you do this? Orchestrate this Aggie fiasco?" I squeezed her hand.

"Darling, you're hurting me!" She jerked her hand away. "My, vampires are strong, aren't they?" And that wasn't an answer, was it?

"Maybe I can live with her after all." I tried not to picture Aggie as I'd last seen her when I'd run upstairs to check. She'd fallen asleep on my couch, the overturned carton of ice cream making a puddle on my new coffee table. Her spoon was stuck on the front of her robe, her snoring so loud it drowned out Judge Judy awarding money to a sobbing woman who'd been tossed out naked after a fight with her boyfriend. My cat, Boogie, had braved the noise to lick up the mess. Every light in the apartment had been left on and the refrigerator door was ajar.

"Fine. I'm sure after a few years you'll be just like real sisters." She pulled down the visor to check her hair, acting like she hadn't just described my worst nightmare. "I just wanted you to meet your grandfather at least once."

Years. Wait. Had that been a confession? "Mother..."

"I'm not saying I had a hand in any of this, just offering you a way out. Be logical, Gloriana. I'm sure Zeus will be putty in your hands if you tell him how desperate you are to get that former Siren out of your apartment." She shut the mirror then leaned back in the bucket seat to stare at me. "Are you? That desperate?"

Well. No one could ever accuse my mother of missing an opportunity to get what she wanted. I rested my head on the steering wheel. Two thousand days of Aggie in my home while she b.i.t.c.hed and moaned on her way to cleaning Ian's house. Two thousand days of Aggie eating like she needed a drop cloth, watching reality TV endlessly and using up all the hot water. And after that? Would she have the money to move out? No.

"Think you're brilliant, don't you, Mother?" I sat up and grabbed my purse.

"I think I have a way to solve your problem, darling. When do we go?" She had a Cheshire cat grin.

"I'll let you know. Give me some time to work up my nerve. From what I hear, Olympus isn't exactly Club Med. I'm taking my life in my hands going up there." I opened the car door and the inside light came on. The glare didn't do my mother any favors, showing how hard her mouth got when she was disappointed. "What? Did you think I'd just grab your hand and hop on the fast track to Olympus?"

"I had hopes." She sighed. "I can protect you up there."

"Forget it. Someday soon. Maybe. Right now I have this thing with Jerry. I'll be in touch."

"So difficult. Go. I'm exhausted. I'm heading home to bed. Alone. I hope that makes you happy." She frowned and rubbed her temples.

"I'm sorry you had a rough day. I said I'll think about it. Good night." I got out and slammed the door. She must have decided to leave things there because when I looked back she was gone. I started up the walk.

Suddenly I couldn't go any farther. The air reeked of evil with a smell like burnt sugar. I knew that smell way too well and almost expected some familiar demons to pop out of the bushes. I looked around, my stomach knotting and my fists clenched. Yes, I had new skills, but usually found they were useless when I was fighting the kind of powers that crackled and surged around me now.

"Gloriana St. Clair." I heard my name whispered on the slight breeze. I shivered at the malevolence that each syllable carried with it.

"Who are you? Come out and face me!" I looked from side to side. Whipped around and stared behind me. No one. "Coward! What? Afraid a vampire can take you down? Lucifer? Back for a rematch? I know you won't hide in the bushes." I kept taunting who or what must have crept into Jerry's yard and decided to spook me. The air swirled around me, cold and menacing, as it tried to knock me off my feet. I wasn't going down but I felt like I was about to jump out of my skin.

Jump. Good idea. I concentrated and dematerialized, only to pop up on Jerry's doorstep. Immediately, I felt safe again, as if I'd somehow pa.s.sed over the malicious barrier and into the land of good and plenty. I breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the doorbell. An owl hooted and I stumbled, twisting my ankle. Great. Made it past the big bad and let a bird spook me. Nice going, Glory.

Jerry answered almost at once. "You were sitting in the car for a while." He pulled me in for a kiss. "Something wrong? Are you hurt?"

I looked behind me. Of course the sweet and creepy air had vanished. "My mother was in the car. I'll tell you about it later." I dropped my purse on a hall table. "Took a wrong step and hurt my ankle." Which actually throbbed like a b.i.t.c.h. "It'll heal but I wouldn't turn down an ice pack."

"Sure, I'll get it. You want a bottle of synthetic while I'm in the kitchen?" He started to lead me to his leather couch but I shook my head. I couldn't get the picture of Lily's threesome there out of my mind.

"That would be great, but let's go upstairs to talk. In your office." I tried to shake off the heebie-jeebies.

"Whatever you say. Careful on the stairs." He walked toward the kitchen.

I limped up to the second floor. It seemed to take forever but we finally settled in his office in two leather chairs. The man did like his leather.

"How was Miami? Did you hire a new manager?" Bring back a souvenir like maybe something spooky for the front lawn?

"Yes, but it wasn't easy to leave so soon. I hired from within. That helped." He ran his hand through his hair. "Screw the business. I never should have told you my past didn't concern you, Gloriana. Not after all you did for me when I lost my memory."

"Jerry, I took care of you because I love you. You don't owe me explanations. When I was in Las Vegas for five years and you were wherever, it was understood that we were free to live as we chose." Of course Jerry had hired Valdez as my bodyguard and I'd learned that my shifter buddy had reported pretty much everything I'd done to his boss. Secrets? I just had one big one now.

"I know. When we took breaks from each other, we had lovers. I know you did and I did too." He drank from his bottle, no gla.s.s for him, though he'd made the effort to pour my synthetic into one. Jerry and lovers. Here it came.

"Mortals are the easiest, of course. Then when things go south, you can erase their memories." It was like he was talking to himself. He glanced at me. "And you know how I am. I prefer mortal blood when I can get it. So I had a mortal lover who I drank from on a regular basis."

"Is this your big confession?" I took a deep swallow to hide my feelings. Jealousy, first. Disappointment, second. Using mortals. It wasn't anything I admired, though I'd done it myself in the past.

"That's not it." He got up and started pacing. "You know I like powerful women." He stopped in front of me. "I met someone in Miami. She reminded me of you, though you look nothing alike."