"We"re friends. I thought we needed to catch up. In a public place." I sighed. "Remember how hung up on him I was?"
"The Israel Caine shrine. No kidding. For a long time it was all fantasy. But then you two finally hooked up before you left here. Did you tell Blade about that?"
"Not yet. But I will." I grabbed Rafe"s arm. "Don"t you dare mention it."
"It"s your secret, not mine. But I can tell you from experience, these things tend to leak out. Don"t stall, Glory. If Blade hears it from somebody else first, he"ll think it meant more to you than it obviously does if this meet is a kiss-off." Rafe rubbed my shoulder. "And that"s what it looks like to me."
"Yeah, that"s it. Better go. You know he saw me come in." I ran up the stairs, quite a trick in high heels.
"Glory girl, sit down." Ray jumped to his feet. He had two gla.s.ses in front of him. "Have a drink. You"ll be happy to know I"m off the sauce. Have even been going to some meetings. AA. Nate insisted. We"ve started work on a new alb.u.m and the record company wouldn"t ink the deal until they knew I was sober." He settled me into a chair.
"I"m glad, Ray. Not that they were playing hardball with you, but that you wised up and sobered up." I grabbed my drink. "To your next hit record. And another Grammy."
"I"ll drink to that." He took a swallow. "Blade won, I saw that."
"It wasn"t a contest." I set down the gla.s.s. "But we"re together. I"m sorry if that bothers you."
"Of course it bothers me. I love you, Glory. You knew that when you left here." He picked up my hand. "s.h.i.t, babe, I laid it all out for you. I don"t do that for any woman."
"I know." Tears filled my eyes. "And it was wonderful. Our time together. Rafe called it. He said you were my fantasy."
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. But my reality isn"t such hot stuff, is it? I drink, drug, can be an a.s.shole when I"m under the influence, which has been most of the time you"ve known me. Not the steady soldier Blade is."
"And I"m not the kind of woman you"re used to, Ray. I introduced you to our world. You think you love me, but mixed up in that is a whole lot of grat.i.tude, reliance, whatever you want to call it, because I helped you figure out how to be a vampire." I leaned forward to whisper that last word, aware that Israel Caine, rock star, was always being watched when he was in a public place. The mortals at the next table had been trying to get a good angle with their cell phone cameras the whole time we"d sat here, probably video too.
"Don"t sell yourself short, Glory. You"re more than a mentor to me. Always have been. And the women I"d always hung out with before, used me. You never did." He drained his gla.s.s then frowned at it. "s.h.i.t. Being sober bites. I really want to get out of here. Notice the yahoos behind us? What do you bet they sell those pics to the tabloids and we are either back together or having a baby this time next week?" He grinned when I dropped his hand which I"d been holding across the table to try to make my words more palatable.
"I could take those phones and flush them down the N-V toilets. Then wipe their memories so that they had no idea Israel Caine even existed." I glared at the people and they quickly hid their phones.
"Relax, babe. You and I know it"s all bull and free publicity. You look killer in that dress. Smile for the cameras and stand up like you could care less who takes your picture." He slid his arm around my waist as soon as I was on my feet. "Did I tell you I"ve got a new Harley? How about a ride in the hills? I gotta get a rush from somewhere." I gave him a look when his hand slid down toward my b.u.t.t. "Okay, I won"t try any funny stuff. Let"s just have a little fun. Blow off some steam."
I glanced down at my dress. "What the h.e.l.l? If I"m having your baby, the least I can do is enjoy a little more time with you first." I grinned and waved at the idiots clicking away. "Let me go change clothes and I"m game."
"That"s my girl." Ray threw some bills on the table and followed me down the stairs. At the bottom he was surrounded by fans who wanted his autograph. He grinned and signed everything from c.o.c.ktail napkins to full b.r.e.a.s.t.s clad in tight T-shirts. "Go ahead, Glory. I"ll meet you in front of your place."
"Right. Ten minutes." I left, glad to see him happy. If a motorcycle ride would help us smooth things out, I could humor him. I hurried down the sidewalk and up to my apartment. In minutes I was in jeans and a shirt, a jacket over it.
When I heard the deep roar of a motorcycle engine, I ran down the stairs. The bike was a thing of beauty, all chrome and shiny black. It reminded me of the one Richard, Flo"s husband, rode when he was in a certain mood. Of course Ray being Ray, he hadn"t bothered with a helmet so I just climbed on the back, grabbed his waist and we were off.
He seemed to revel in the power of the engine and the way it took curves. We went up and down steep hills. It reminded me of a roller coaster, something I"d never been too fond of. You"d think a vampire who could fly like a bird would be okay with a little danger but I"m not a fan. Ray laughed like a maniac when he made me squeal and clutch at his waist at a particularly crazy plunge.
Finally he pulled into a hilltop overlook and killed the engine. He slid off the seat and helped me climb down. I admit my legs were rubbery, and he hugged me, laughing again at my complaints about his crazy driving.
"Check it out. This is why I love Austin." He threw his arms wide. It was a beautiful view of the twinkling lights of the city. "It"s quiet too."
"I"m glad you"re happy here, Ray." He"d come to Austin to be near me. Luckily it also had a great music scene that suited him. Now that he realized we weren"t going to be together I wondered if he"d soon move on.
"I"m staying." He looked at me, his bright blue eyes reflecting the moonlight. "I know you say we"re done and I believe you mean that. I"m moving on with my life. Sienna"s coming and we"re going to make another record together."
"A duet. The last one was your Grammy winner." He and Sienna Star made beautiful music together. I thought about telling him I had my song back but figured this wasn"t the time.
"Exactly. So we"re trying for a repeat." He smiled, that wicked upturn I knew so well. "And not just with our music. She"s a little young for me, but we"ve always had chemistry and hooked up before. Nothing much came of it then." He stared out at the city. "I"m going to see what happens this time if I put in a little effort."
"Good. That"s good." I laid my hand on his arm. "But she"s a mortal, Ray. Be careful. You"ve already let one mortal in on our secret. It"s not good practice to reveal it to too many people."
"Nate handled it well. Which I knew he would." Ray sat down on the dry gra.s.s. You"d never know there had been a rainstorm the night before. Maybe it hadn"t rained at all up here, only near Ian"s house. Typical Storm G.o.d maneuver.
"I think "well" is a slight exaggeration. Nate did freak out at first. The idea that vampires do exist threw him for a loop. Then we asked him to donate blood once too. Luckily Nate"s levelheaded and is now pretty cool with our whole paranormal world." I liked Ray"s manager and best friend. They"d grown up together. Ray had insisted he tell Nathan the truth right after he"d been turned. I"d been Ray"s mentor and discouraged it, but Ray always did what he wanted to do, so Nate got the news.
"Yeah, I couldn"t ask for a better friend." Ray looked at me. "Except for you, Glory."
"Yep. Friend." I changed the subject, telling him all about my trip, Jerry"s amnesia, even my mother. I wound up with an account of Aggie and her relationship with Ian.
"You"re s.h.i.ttin" me. I heard you say she was now a mortal but it didn"t register. That little b.i.t.c.h gave up her Siren gig for Ian?" Ray laughed so hard he fell over. "And what do you bet Ian never does turn her vampire? Oh, G.o.d, but it would serve her right. You remember how she tortured us? Dragged you through Lake Travis until you were spitting fish and seaweed?"
"I"ll never forget it." I lay back next to him and stared up at the stars. It was beautiful. I was glad to be lying here with a friend. Jerry took things so seriously, always wanting to fix everything. And you couldn"t mention a MacDonald without Jerry pulling out a knife, ready to go to war. Ray knew how to laugh. He kept talking, telling another story about Ian, and we both cracked up. I rolled over and pounded the ground we got so hysterical.
"G.o.d, Glory." He put his arm over my shoulders. "Don"t get so hung up on Blade that you give up this, hanging out with me, having a laugh. I"d hate to see you as uptight as he is all the time."
I smiled. "Ray, relax. Can"t I have friends that I have fun with and a lover who is there for me when things get tough? Life isn"t all fun and games, you know." And hadn"t I had plenty of examples of that lately?
"Seems to me, the best thing would be a lover you have fun with who is also your best friend." He leaned over to kiss me. I saw it coming and rolled away.
"You promised, Ray." I frowned at him.
"You know me too well to think I don"t lie like a rug when I need to." His grin teased an answering smile out of me. Then he got serious. "I"ll never forget being with you, Glory. I"ve tried to move on. It"s tough. Mortals don"t cut it and other vampires..." He shook his head. "Ignore me. I am inching toward pathetic here. I"ll put this into a song. Make people sob into their beers." He turned away to stare out at the lights of the city again.
"Ray. Part of me will always love you." I leaned against him, shoulder to shoulder, for a moment. "But I made my choice and my relationship with Jerry is none of your business. Now I think it"s time we headed back to town." I stood, brushing the dirt and gra.s.s off my jeans.
He jumped up and grabbed my shoulders. "Your choice? I can"t see it, Glory girl. You with Blade. He"s too intense. The brooding Scot. I bet he wears a knife to bed." He stared, trying to read my mind. Not happening.
He was determined to make me hurt him. "Ray, I hate to break it to you, but Jerry doesn"t wear a d.a.m.ned thing to bed." I touched his cheek. "I"m fine. Just be my friend. I would like that."
He took my hand and pressed it to his lips. Of course he had to sc.r.a.pe his tongue, then a fang against it. Unrepentant, he grinned when I tugged it free. "You say you"re happy, so I"ll take your word for it. But I"ll always be here when you need to relax and let go. Just don"t fool yourself into thinking that Blade is perfect, he"s not."
"Never said he was, Ray. Now, are you taking me back to town or do I wing it?" I knew I sounded defensive, but he was. .h.i.tting a nerve. There was no such thing as a perfect man. Didn"t he know that? If he weren"t vampire, all he"d have to do was look in a mirror to see how far from perfect he was. If Jerry was too serious, then Ray wasn"t serious enough. The rock star had way too many issues, including those addictions he"d listed. Now he was setting himself up for another problem. Hanging out on a nightly basis with a mortal lover. How long would that last before he landed in trouble?
He started the engine with a roar then we headed back to town. He didn"t try any tricks this time, though the steep hills were unavoidable. I just held on, a lot on my mind. I wasn"t stupid. I loved Jerry, but that didn"t mean I was blind to his faults. I just thought his virtues outweighed them. By the time I got back home, I"d decided to surprise him at his house. I needed to see him, rea.s.sure myself that I"d made the right choice. Being around the other two men I loved had shaken me up more than I wanted to admit. So I packed a small bag and jumped in my car.
Most of the lights were on when I arrived twenty minutes later. I parked in front since there were a couple of cars I didn"t recognize in the driveway. I walked up the sidewalk and rang the bell. It was three o"clock in the morning but there was still loud music playing inside. It was a wonder the neighbors hadn"t called the police. I wasn"t surprised no one heard the doorbell. I had a key but tried the k.n.o.b first. It was unlocked.
"h.e.l.lo?" I saw a couple of men in the doorway to the kitchen through a haze of smoke. I knew at the first inhale that it wasn"t from regular cigarettes. One of them finally heard me and turned around.
"Oh, hey. It"s the girl who was with you at the club, Lily." He strolled over and hooked an arm around my neck. "Want a drag? It"s good s.h.i.t."
I pushed him away. "Where"s Jerry?"
Lily appeared carrying a tray of cheese and crackers. She set it on the coffee table in the living room. "He"s upstairs in his office. Working. What are you doing here?"
"Does he know you have company and that they"ve brought illegal substances into the house?" I stalked over to the stereo and turned off the music. "It"s too late for that noise. You have neighbors, you know."
"Hey, we didn"t bring anything illegal here. It"s hers." The guy who"d taken a fancy to me pa.s.sed the joint to his friend. "Not that we"re complaining." He picked up a gla.s.s that I could tell had booze of some kind in it. "We"re having a party. Don"t go upstairs. Join us."
"No, she"s no fun. Let her go." Lily pulled him to her by his shirtfront and laid an openmouthed kiss on him. "I have another girlfriend I can call, or not. Let"s get this party started."
"Now you"re talking." The other man pushed against Lily"s backside, rocking as he grabbed her breast.
"Lily, get these guys out of here or I"m telling your father what I caught you doing the other night." I hated to see her degrade herself this way. It reminded me of how she"d acted with other friends. Like she was willing to do anything to keep these men here. Where was her self-esteem?
"f.u.c.k off." She ignored me, grinding her hips against the man that she kissed again.
I ran upstairs, refusing to believe she wouldn"t get rid of them as soon as she saw I meant what I said. When I got to the landing, I looked down. Unbelievable. She had pulled off her corset top and thrown one of the men onto the leather couch. Was she high?
Heartsick, I opened Jerry"s study door. He was on the phone, his laptop open in front of him. He looked up and smiled, obviously happy to see me. That wouldn"t last long. He held up a finger, like he"d be off the phone in a minute.
I sat in a chair, dropping my suitcase and purse next to my feet. I could see that he had a stack of mail he"d been going through and a file open on his laptop. It was obviously something to do with his hotel in Florida. I could tell from his side of the conversation that whatever crisis had erupted while he"d been in Scotland was still going on. Finally he hung up and swung around in his office chair to look at me.
"How"d the meeting with Caine go?"
"Okay. He"s moving on. We parted as friends."
"That"s good." He c.o.c.ked his head. "Glad to hear the music"s stopped. I thought I was going to have to go downstairs and turn it off. It"s too late for that racket. The neighbors would have started to complain." He smiled. "But I was happy Lily felt comfortable inviting friends over again."
"Jerry, they were smoking pot when I got here."
"That"s not good. They shouldn"t have brought it into my home." He frowned but didn"t get up.
"They said Lily had it when they got here." Obviously Jerry wasn"t too worried about it.
"That was stupid of her. She was just complaining about how broke she was and it won"t even get her high. I"ve tried it."
"Are you kidding me? That"s your problem with it? That it"s a waste of her money?" I jumped up. "It"s illegal, Jerry."
"Relax, Gloriana. We"re vampires. Some mortal laws mean little or nothing to us." He smiled at me indulgently. "You know how we can manipulate minds if the police are called. I"ve seen you do it yourself when you were stopped for speeding."
"A traffic ticket isn"t the same as knowing your daughter is out doing drug deals." Who was this man? "Maybe you"ll tell me now why you had the name change? You remember. Rafe mentioned it the other night. How you were so eager to come to Texas not just to be with me but because you had to give yourself a fresh start? What"s up with that?" I was p.i.s.sed. Forget Lily. She could screw two guys from one end of Jerry"s leather sofa to the other. Of course I"d not be sitting on it ever again. Yuck.
"It doesn"t concern you." He picked up his phone when it buzzed. "Excuse me. I have to take this." He listened then started talking into the phone.
I couldn"t believe it. It didn"t concern me? What had happened to all that love talk? We were supposed to be partners. Lovers who shared everything. I wasn"t moving a muscle until we had this out. I sat and waited. It took a while. He was typing into his computer. Going from screen to screen. He raised his voice, clearly not happy with whatever the guy in charge in Florida had done to try to fix the problem there. Finally he slammed the phone down.
"I"ve got to go out there. The man"s incompetent."
"I"m sorry. But I"m not letting what you said go. Everything you do concerns me, Jerry. I thought we were clear on that." I managed to say it calmly even though I was shaking I was so angry. How dare he close me out when we"d been through so much?
"Gloriana, not now. My business is going through a crisis. I might lose the hotel in Miami. That"s millions of dollars down the drain. You"re a businesswoman. I thought you could understand." He hardly looked at me, busily going through papers and stuffing them into his laptop case.
"I understand that our relationship means more to me than a business deal. I got my priorities straight after nearly losing you in Scotland. I thought you had the same concerns I did. To keep our lines of communication open." My nails bit into my palms. How could things go to h.e.l.l between us so quickly?
"Why are you taking this personally? I told you, it"s business. It has nothing to do with you, us." He ran his hand through his hair. "I don"t have time for this. Did you have something you wanted to say to me? About Lily?"
"Never mind. If you"re going downstairs, you may see for yourself. Are you leaving tonight?" I looked at my watch. "Three hours until dawn. Not a good idea. You should wait until sunset tomorrow night."
"I"ll wing it. I should get as far as Louisiana tonight." He stood and jammed his laptop into its case. "I have a safe house there in Shreveport." He stopped and put his hands on my shoulders. "If this weren"t important, I wouldn"t leave now. Stop pouting and wish me luck." He leaned down like he wanted to kiss me good-bye.
"Pouting?" I threw his hands off me. "I"ll chalk that up to the fact that you"re obviously out of your mind with stress. Good luck, Jerry. Don"t let the sun get you." I turned on my heel and picked up my bag, ready to head to his bedroom. I"d sleep there tonight rather than walk through Sodom and Gomorrah.
"I give up. I"m sorry if you"re p.i.s.sed. We"ll talk when I get back. Hopefully it will be in a few days. I"ll call you." He ran out of the room and down the stairs. I didn"t hear him shout so either he didn"t notice what his daughter and her friends were up to or he didn"t care.
I threw my bag on his bed and plucked out the silky nightgown I"d brought. Too bad it was going to waste. I tried to give Jerry the benefit of the doubt. Stress over business. I knew what that was like. But keeping secrets and then labeling them not my concern? I wasn"t going to let that slide. And yet one more opportunity had pa.s.sed and he still didn"t know about Ray and me. At this point? I really didn"t give a d.a.m.n if he ever found out. It wasn"t his concern either.
When I woke, I realized I wasn"t alone in the king-size bed. I rolled over, ready to defend myself if Lily had dared bring her scuzzy friends up here. Instead my mother reclined on a pink satin pillow. Her ivory silk negligee was lace-trimmed and made my mouth water.
"Oh, you like? Do you want one for yourself?" Mother waved her hand. "What color?"
"Don"t bother. I"m too depressed." I sank back on my pillow. I really wanted to talk to someone. Normally I"d call Flo. But here was a woman desperate to have me confide in her. Did I dare trust her with a little mother-daughter talk? Could she handle it without going off on Jerry and the whole vampire thing? I rolled to face her. One thing I knew, my mother had a wealth of experience with men.
"What"s the matter, darling?" She propped her head on her hand. "Is that man making you unhappy? I did like seeing you with Israel Caine. Vampire or not, he is one handsome man." She smiled knowingly. "I can see why you had to have him at least once."
"Mother, please don"t spy on me. It makes me hate you." I wondered if I should stop this right now.
"Oh, dear. I"m sorry. But how can I resist? We have so much catching up to do. The way you two laughed together." Her hand landed lightly on my shoulder. "Admit it, darling. You still love him, just a little."
"Of course I do. But it"s not anything I wish to pursue. It was a fling. I know you understand flings." I glanced at her then looked away again. I couldn"t take the sympathy swimming in her bright blue eyes.
"My, oh my, yes. Mars and I had a pa.s.sionate weekend once. You met him." She sighed. "He is an incredible lover. So inventive. What he can do with that plume..."
"Please spare me the details." I faced her again. "Now see if you can give me some motherly advice."
"I would love to." She sat up straight and threw back her hair, obviously thrilled.
"Jerry doesn"t want to tell me something about his past. Should I press him about it? Or let it go?" I struggled to sit up. Lying down wasn"t working for me. This was important.
"Well. Let me think. Is it something that you think will irrevocably harm your relationship? Another lover? A betrayal?" She tapped her chin. "A child you don"t know about? I have had those crop up from time to time. Deal breakers, Gloriana. Every time."
"Well, it couldn"t be a child. We went through that with Lily. And while she"s proving to be a trial, it"s not really Jerry"s fault." I studied her nightwear again. "Black, I think." She didn"t misunderstand and I now wore a gorgeous set just like hers in black with ivory lace trim.
"It was something Jerry did that made him change his name. And want to move." I fingered the lace. Alencon. Lovely.
"Ah. That could be one of several things. A business deal gone wrong. A run-in with the law. A woman after his blood." She giggled. "Literally, with a vampire, I suppose."
"Not funny, Mother."
"Did you ask him about it?" She watched me play with the negligee. "Of course you did. What did he say?"
"He said it was none of my concern." I said it quietly.