Real Vampires: Glory Does Vegas

by Bartlett, Gerry

  One shoving match had Caro in the middle with the two shifters Dom had hired from the Turnbulls helping her maintain order. More than one vampire was in a rush to start bidding, almost hurting my hand as he snatched his tablet. I saw Robert and Jerry eyeing each other. I made sure they weren’t close enough to see what they were bidding on.

  “Guests, please remember, this will be a money maker for you. I can even split territories if you would like for me to. Use the notes section if you have some ideas on that.” Dom had grabbed the microphone from Marlene in mid-song. “If we have a tie, I will work with you to make sure this has a happy solution.”

  “You’re mad. I’ll tell you this.” Simon, the ultra-rich vampire, got in Dom’s face. “If I don’t win the territory I want, there will be Hell to pay.” He looked toward the door. “And I’m not talking about the stupid demonic kind.”

  30

  I t was my job to collect the bids once the guests had made their decisions. To say there were some unhappy bidders, was an understatement. Luca and Adela did their part by talking to some of the vampires about selling their brands exclusively in some parts of the world. Simon, the arrogant vampire, seemed determined to be difficult. I took his tablet and saw he was after most of North America as well as Africa. He had some stiff competition, including from Jeremiah.

  “Do you have any influence on who gets these franchises, Glory?” Robert whispered in my ear when he handed me his bids. He was only interested in Hollywood and wanted the most expensive brands with alcohol, including the Brazilian champagne and the Peruvian laced with cocaine. I’d learned to steer clear of that one. It packed a punch that left me dizzy.

  “Not at all, I’m afraid.” I patted his hand where it rested on my arm. “Let me go before Jerry pulls his sword. You know how he is.”

  “Yes, I do. I’m surprised you’re still with him. Odette and I will soon part. Give me a call if you decide to give Campbell the slip.” Robert tucked a business card in my fanny pack. “I mean it. I’ve missed you.”

  I just looked at him. Sincere? Or trying to revive an old feud? It didn’t matter. My life was complicated enough without him involved.

  “I didn’t see Micah here,” I said as I took his tablet.

  “Called away on business. I have no idea what kind. He’s always full of secrets.” Robert shrugged. “Call me.”

  I smiled and walked away. There was much chatter about how we’d run this competition. Because that’s what it was. Vampires might complain but they loved it. With long, long lives, anything that smacked of the unusual or stirred excitement would be talked about for decades. Dom stood surrounded by vampires who wanted answers. When would they be notified of the results? Could compromises be reached? Would this Halloween party become an annual event?

  That last question made me smile. Marlene had turned on music but was no longer singing. Instead, she’d found her way to Simon, the ultra-rich vamp, and was talking to him. No surprise that when Dom announced he’d be emailing the results of the bidding the next night, that Marlene left with Simon on her arm. Clever woman.

  “Did you see that?” Connie stood next to me. “Marlene went after him like a jungle cat stalking prey. The minute she heard him say how rich he was, she zeroed in.” Connie laughed. “Good luck to her. He struck me as cold. Only interested in his business.” She suddenly yelped and turned around with a glare.

  “What is it?” I saw Luca behind her. “What did you do?”

  “He pinched my butt. He’s been following me around all night.” Connie held her tray in front of her. “Do it again and see what happens. I don’t care what you’ve invented!”

  “But, my dear, did I tell you what’s next? Do you crave real food? Something you can, umm, chew?” Luca grinned and looked from Connie to me. “Ah, that got Glory’s attention. Yes, Adela and I are working on that now. She misses chocolate most of all. Chocolate candy. How does that sound?”

  “Now you’re torturing me.” I slapped him on his arm. He wore a toga tonight and looked good in it. “Stop lying and definitely stop pinching Connie. You hear me?”

  “Yes. But you stop trying to take the fun out of the evening.” He pretended to pout. “I’m not lying about the food. We definitely have a chocolate flavored liquid synthetic almost ready to go. I’ll send you some soon. What do you think?”

  “I think I’ll love it.” I held the bidding tablets close to my chest. “Now I have business to attend to. Behave, Luca, or I’ll tell your wife.”

  “Hah! She won’t care.” He glanced at a dark corner where Adela stood very close to an attractive male vampire. “Why do you think we have a suite with two bedrooms?”

  “I’m sorry about that. If Connie wants your attention, she will let you know.” I walked away with Connie’s excited questions behind me. She might not want to join Luca in bed but she definitely wanted to know more about food for vampires. And chocolate. Didn’t we all miss that?

  “Did you get them all?” Dom finally fought his way free of the other vampires and grabbed my elbow. “Let’s go to the office.”

  “I have no idea how you are going to resolve this. So many vampires are fighting over the same territories.” I followed him and carefully laid out the tablets on his desk then ran to lock the door. Before I could close it, Valdez was inside.

  “I hope this night ends soon.” Valdez collapsed on the couch. “After Davenport, then the werewolves… Even MacDonald is here hitting on you. Honestly, Glory, I don’t think I can take much more stress.”

  “Poor Valdez.” I proceeded to ignore him and joined Dom as we sorted through the results.

  “I can’t stand it. I have to print these out. I’m old school.” He hooked up his main computer and soon had each bidding sheet printed.

  “What do you think?” I admit, I liked seeing everything on paper, too.

  “Some of these bids aren’t serious.” Dom cast them aside. “Those vamps are here for the free drinks and to party.”

  “This one is easy. The Turnbulls want England and Scotland. Their bid is high and we could also throw in Ireland and Wales. Done deal.” I was happy my friends were going to like tonight’s outcome.

  “Good. Look, Glory.” Dom held up a paper. “Australia has only one serious bidder. We can give her the rights for New Zealand as a bonus.” Dom laughed. “This is fun.”

  “Wait till you see North America. It’s a nightmare. We have too many bidders, Dom. Some are laughingly low, but then there are two…” I bit my lip. Of course, they were Jerry and Robert, fighting over territory again. “I say forget Simon. He bet most of his money on Africa. Give him the entire continent.”

  “I can give him Asia as a bonus. There’s pent up demand there. He should see the value of that. That’s actually going to work out.” He shuffled through the papers. “North America? MacDonald is mainly interested in the west coast and didn’t you say Blade is working out of New Orleans?” Dom stared at the figures. His hands were shaking, he was so excited by the numbers. This was going to make him rich, one of the big boys, and his dream was coming true.

  “Yes, that’s the south or we could do east coast and southeast.” I hoped that wouldn’t make either of them mad. “Take a map of the United States and draw a line. Make it clear what each one has. That would give Jerry New York City which has huge potential. But Robert would have L.A. and San Francisco. Big consumers there.” I smiled at Dom’s excitement. “You can keep Las Vegas for yourself.”

  “I think that will fly.” Dom continued going through the bids. “Then we can cut up Central and South America for the bidders that wanted smaller territories. Canada doesn’t have much of a client base but this guy might like it. Maybe he’d like Alaska and Hawaii thrown in. Unless MacDonald wants to keep Hawaii. We can check on that. Luca and Adela insist on holding onto Russia and the Balkans, but they never expanded into Europe. I’ve got strong interest in the parts of Western Europe the Turnbulls don’t have. I’m going to meet with the Schmidts tomorrow night
and see if I can persuade them to let go of Italy, France and Spain, even the Netherlands. Germany has good potential too. They’ll get the profits from the sales of their own synthetics without the headache of the paperwork.”

  I smiled at him. “You’ve done it, Dom. I think you’ve actually pulled this off.”

  “I have. Not only that, but the Halloween party was a hit. I might have it become an annual thing.” He laughed and picked up a glass. “Pour yourself some of the Brazilian champagne, Glory. We need to celebrate. Our hard work paid off!”

  I toasted with him, looked over his plans and agreed that he had thought of everything.

  “Tomorrow night I’ll send out the emails.” He yawned. “If we don’t hurry, the sun will catch us. I’m locking these in my safe here then heading home. Thanks for all you did, Glory. Big bonus coming. Count on it.”

  “I am.” I walked to the door. “Valdez, will you watch Dom until those papers are safely locked away. I’ll be right out here with Jerry.”

  “Okay, but don’t leave without me. I’m feeling a little paranoid about your safety. We had a near miss tonight.”

  “With Davenport? I had that handled.” I felt good about that.

  “I think so, but never count a demon out.” Valdez snorted. “And what about the wolves? Those things are unpredictable. You could have been mauled to pieces in a moment. Didn’t you see Bob’s teeth?” Valdez jumped off the couch and faced me. “You think you’re invincible. News flash, you’re not.”

  “Thanks for the reminder.” I touched his head. “I guess I’m so used to having you around, protecting me, I don’t worry for my own safety. That’s what you’ve done for me. I appreciate it.” I opened the door and walked into the showroom.

  Alex was on the stage putting on a show and making things appear in the audience. When a woman suddenly found a long red scarf floating out of her cleavage, the vampires around her gasped then laughed. Alex was a hit.

  “There she is. Glory, please come help me with my next trick. Ladies and gentlemen, if you didn’t meet her, Glory Simpson is the woman who helped arrange this fantastic evening. Let’s give her a hand.” There was a nice burst of applause as I made my way to the stage.

  “Really, Alex, I just put up a few decorations, arranged for our fantastic singer and waiters. Things like that.” I was interrupted by a wolf whistle. “Well, I admit, they are all beautiful, even Dennis.”

  “You’re right about that.” A woman had her arm around Dennis, who had a bemused look on his face. Since he’d worn such skimpy clothing, I’m sure he wasn’t surprised at his popularity with the women.

  “Now for our trick of the night. Glory, please sit here.” Alex pointed and I climbed onto the stage to settle on the chair he’d put there. “I’m going to cover you with this tablecloth then make you disappear. Are you ready?”

  “I hate to admit this, Alex, but I don’t shape-shift. If you thought I could become one of your pigeons and fly away, I’ll have to disappoint you.” I grinned at Harry who stood on the stage with us. “But go ahead. Maybe you can make me disappear. You are the Great Anderston.”

  “Right you are. Now sit under this tablecloth and wait until I say the magic words.” He threw the cloth over my head then began saying some kind of hocus pocus.

  I waited for his spell to work but nothing happened. I did have my own trick to play so I visualized myself on top of the bar. In the blink of an eye, I was lying there. It was a trick I rarely used, but I could shift through space by imagining a place, then landing there.

  “Hey, Alex! Is this how your trick works?” I waved to the crowd and they burst into applause.

  Alex pulled away the tablecloth and there was the empty chair. He made a show of looking under it then staring at me. “How did you do that?”

  “That is my secret.” I hopped down from the bar. “Now I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think the sun is only about an hour away. I’m heading home. This isn’t supposed to be a sleepover.” I gestured toward Luca and Adela. “I want to thank our illustrious guests, the scientists who have created such wonderful synthetics. I challenge you, Luca and Adela, to figure out a way for vampires to stay awake safely beyond the dawn. That would be amazing, don’t you think?” I grinned and waved then walked toward the door.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Jerry joined me before I could leave.

  “Home. I do have an apartment here. You’ve never seen it. It’s small but not a hovel.” I led the way to my car.

  “Will you let me come home with you? I took a taxi here.” He slipped a hand under my elbow. “Fergus and Maggie have their own transportation. I don’t blame them. The last time they rode with me, we all almost died.”

  “True.” I stopped, reliving that car crash—the heart-stopping moment when I’d seen him sprawled on the hood, unmoving. I looked up at him. “When are you leaving Las Vegas?” I unlocked the car and opened the back door for Valdez to hop in.

  “Now that my business is concluded, I had planned to leave tomorrow night. If you want me to stay…” He waited to see if I would let him get in the passenger side.

  “Come along with us then.” I walked around to the driver’s side. “I can’t let you leave without saying good-bye.”

  “That’s a relief. I’m getting strange vibes from you. Like you’re mad at me. I’ll text Sherie to go back to the hotel for a day off. I’m sure Valdez can stand guard over both of us.” He got in and pulled out his phone.

  “I certainly can,” Valdez said from the back seat.

  “That’s done.” Jerry glanced at me. “Now I’m putting on my seatbelt. After flying through a windshield, I’ve learned a lesson.”

  “Good idea. Me, too.” I snapped it on then started the car. “I am mad at you. I’ve been mad at you for years. That’s why I’m staying in Las Vegas and working on saving for my business instead of coming with you to New Orleans.”

  “Is there any way I can fix this?” He struggled with the seatbelt, trying to turn in his seat to face me.

  “Save it for when we’re at the apartment. Right now, I need to focus on my driving.” I ignored him then, determined to do this right, to make things clear for a change. Why was I mad at him? I’d always known who he was, how he behaved and why. Was he going to change? I guess I would find out when I laid out my plans and gave him a chance.

  We rode in silence, even Valdez was smart enough to keep his mouth closed for a change. My phone signaled a text. I read it at a red light. Marlene had hooked up with Simon and Dennis had begged Connie to stay with him for old time’s sake. She’d given in. I sent a text back that I was glad for the privacy with Jerry. His last night in Vegas. I got back a smiley face.

  “We’re here. My apartment is at the top of the stairs.” I parked and let Valdez out to go first. “Check it out for demons, V. I can’t believe Davenport has given up.”

  Valdez trotted up the stairs. “All clear. He hasn’t been here.”

  I followed him up, Jerry behind me. I tried to see the complex through his eyes. Overflowing dumpster, ancient Suburban I’d just parked at the curb. I opened the apartment door with the squeaky hinge and we were in our living room with the sagging couch that even Goodwill would have turned down.

  “You have your own bedroom, don’t you?” Jerry took off his sword, looking for a place to lay it.

  I threw open the door to my bedroom. “Yes, bring your sword in here. One bathroom. The shower is small. Not enough room for two.” I had a pile of dirty clothes in one corner, topped by the sheets I’d taken off yesterday. Clean sheets on my double bed now. That was a good thing. I heard a clang and turned in time to see Jerry drop his sword on top of the sheets. Then he pulled me into his arms.

  “Glory, please. Help me understand.” He held me, kissing my neck where blood throbbed beneath my skin. “I love you. I want us to be together. What can I do to make this happen?”

  “I love you, too. I want us to be together. But tonight I met more eviden
ce of how you take other women into your bed with no thought of how that hurts me.” I pushed back and sat on the side of the bed. I was so tired. Tired of this fight, tired of working so hard to get him to understand. Tired of my own frustrations.

  “You’re right. When I bed another woman, I’m only thinking of how fucking her will ease my needs. I do have needs. You obviously are quite content to go without sex for long periods of time. I, I am not.” He sat beside me and took my hand.

  “Have you tried, Jeremiah? Because I’m telling you right now that it will take me about two more years to get the money together for the shop I plan to open. I’ve been doing research and have settled on the best location for it. I will be going to Texas, the city of Austin. The rent is cheap there and the demand for my kind of goods is strong.” I stared at a hat I had on a stand on my dressing table. Vintage, one of the pieces I would sell in a place that I’d looked up on the Internet.

  Jerry fell back on the bed. “Two years? You were serious when you said it will take you that long?”

  “I won’t go without adequate funds. That’s how businesses get in trouble. Do you agree with that?” I looked down at him, so handsome in his kilt and white shirt. He’d tossed his fancy green jacket on top of his sword and kicked off his dress shoes.

  “Yes, it’s true.” He covered his eyes with his arm. Thinking about two years like I was asking the impossible. It was ridiculous. Compared to the decades we’d known each other, centuries, a mere pair of years was nothing.

  He sat up. “Austin, Texas. You’re sure?”

  “There’s a huge state university in Austin and students love vintage clothes. I have my eye on a part of town that will be suitable. No state income tax either, I like that. I’ve even found a friend who lives there. You remember CiCi?”

  “The Countess? Da knew her first. Yes, she’s a good friend.” He picked up my hand. “You wouldn’t be alone there. That’s good.” He hit our joined hands on his knee. “You’ve really thought about this. I suppose I should investigate this Austin as well.”