A Love for Romance

by Kahlen Aymes

  Jerry sat back and smiled. “Okay, great. But before we start, I do need to ask you for your discretion. If word ever got out that I consulted with you—”

  “All of my clients receive my utmost confidentiality,” I assured him. “No one will ever know that we had this talk today.”

  He nodded. “Okay, good. Good.”

  Gallus reached over and patted his friend on the shoulder. It was a show of compassion I wouldn’t have expected from the stoic man. “She can help you.”

  Jerry looked at Gallus with tears brimming on the edges of his eyes, before finally turning to me. “I lost a good friend a week ago,” he started. “Well, we’d known each other so long, that it felt like we were actually brothers.”

  I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. I’d discovered that it was sometimes just best to let the clients tell me what they needed to, regardless if it meant I could contact them easier or not.

  “He...he left something behind but forgot to tell me where he stored it,” Jerry continued with a shaky voice. “It’s important. Like really important, and I don’t want the wrong people getting their hands on it.”

  “Okay,” I said, intrigued by his vagueness. “What’s his first name?

  Jerry looked at Gallus with questioning eyes. The Gladiator moved his head in the smallest of nods. Then he looked at me and smiled.

  My stomach flipped in a way I hadn’t felt for several years. Gallus sat back against the couch, seemingly satisfied that he had an effect on me. Unless that was just my imagination...

  “William,” Jerry finally answered.

  Clearing my throat and focusing again, I asked Jerry, “Did you bring something of his?”

  “Uh...no,” he looked at Gallus again. “I didn’t know I had to.”

  “It’s okay,” I assured him. “It’s not always necessary.” Hopefully, since William was only a week dead, he hadn’t moved on too far. “George?” I called out to the air around me. I saw George standing with his arms crossed over his light grey prison jump suit, but a part of what I did was put on a show.

  “You know I’m standing right here,” he grumbled.

  “Can you please help me find William?”

  “Are you going to get rid of this dead guy?” he asked, flicking Gallus in the back of the head with his invisible hand. Gallus sat up a little straighter.

  “No,” I said, and Jerry’s attention focused on me.

  “But his kind isn’t right for you.”

  “His kind?” I asked. This time I knew Gallus reacted to that question.

  “The walking dead,” George hissed. “You know, the bloodsuckers, nosferatu, vampires?”

  “George, Halloween was two months ago. Are you going to help me or not?” Trying to brush off his comments, I maintained a professional face. But inside, my nerves were firing in all directions. Looking at Gallus and his impressive size, I wondered. A vampire? In my living room? I’d never met one before...

  “I already have him,” George said, yanking my attention away from the man sitting across from me.

  I looked up to see that George had moved to the side of the room, a new ghost now standing next to him. George’s hand was wrapped tightly around the back of the man’s neck, holding him in place whether the man wanted to be there or not.

  “George,” I warned.

  “What? He got one look at ol’ Jerry there and tried to bolt.”

  I focused on Jerry, whose attention honed in on the empty space by the window. “Is he here,” he asked, voice quivering.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Who’s George?” Gallus asked. His eyes too, were honed in on the place George and William were standing. Could vampires see ghosts?

  “My helper,” I answered and George huffed.

  “Your savior,” he corrected me, ego filling the room.

  I’d never understand why the two of us had been drawn together. I often wondered who I’d angered to deserve a spirit guide like George. A generation older than me, George was incarcerated as a teenager and never left prison before his death. He was rude and unpredictable, but yet somehow, we were forced together as a team.

  Fate had a twisted mind for sure.

  “William, can you understand me?” I spoke to the man, similar in age to Jerry, but much taller and skinnier. He cowered under George’s grasp, the expensive suit hanging on his gaunt frame. Although newly deceased, he seemed to have the blank look spirits pulled from the past typically had. With eyes glazed over, he slowly focused on me.

  “Yes,” he said in a deep, throaty voice.

  “Jerry would like to know where you placed something important to him.” I looked at Jerry. “What was the object?”

  “A contract,” Jerry whispered. His face had paled to a stark white and his pupils had dilated, making him look like he had black, soulless eyes.

  “Do you remember where you put the contract?” I asked William, but he didn’t answer. In fact, he snapped his lips shut and squeezed his eyes closed like that would help him escape. He remained obstinate until George slammed him to the ground and stepped on his throat.

  “Answer her!”

  “George!” I cried out in warning.

  “Who’s George?” Jerry asked, voice barely a whisper as he strained his eyes to see the ghosts I was speaking to.

  “Answer her, corpse!” George loved to play the bad cop. And the slight grin on his face confirmed that for me.

  Gallus shifted close to the edge of the couch, watching intently enough that I suspected he could see everything going on.

  “He’s going to kill him,” Caroline said from behind me.

  I sighed, stood, and crossed my arms. “He’s already dead,” I responded to Caroline before focusing on George again. “Let him up, George. He can’t talk with your foot on his throat.”

  “What’s going on?” Jerry breathed, face paling even more. Gallus patted his friend on the shoulder again but didn’t say a word. Instead, his gaze flickered back and forth between me, George, and Caroline.

  George finally released William, lifting him up off the ground by the collar of his thousand-dollar suit. It scared me sometimes how much power George seemed to have over other ghosts. I suspected it was because he was a spirit guide for a medium, but had never confirmed that with anyone. A part of me simply didn’t want to know.

  “William, where is the contract?” I asked again.

  William stared at his friend sitting on the couch, pausing a long time before moving his lips. “I gave it to someone.”

  “Who?” I asked, getting a little annoyed.

  William shook his head. “He doesn’t want to know.”

  “He does. That’s why he’s here,” I snapped.

  Jerry stood, twisting his fingers and looking like he might pass out. “What’s he saying?”

  “He doesn’t want to tell you.”

  Jerry looked into the empty space where his dead friend stood his ground. “William, please. I have to know.”

  William sighed and tried to pull away from George. “Fine,” he grumbled. “I gave it to Ivar.”

  “Do you know an Ivar?” I asked Jerry. He instantly dropped his mouth open and sat back down. But it was Gallus’ reaction that had me on edge.

  “Ivar Einarsson?” Gallus asked William, looking directly at him. His voice came out in a growl, the gravelly tone sexy and frightening at the same time.

  William nodded as George and I shared a confused look.

  “Shit,” mumbled Gallus. Then, turning to glare down at his friend, he asked, “What kind of contract is it?”

  Jerry hung his head, refusing to answer. But William suddenly became a Chatty Cathy. “It’s for his soul. We both have one. How do you think Jerry got so successful so quickly?” William’s anger filled the room and thickened the air. “He talked me into signing one too and look where that got me.”

  Gallus clenched his teeth together and spun on his heel to look back at Jerry. “We need to go.”

&nbs
p; “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I couldn’t—”

  “Let’s go.” Gallus waited for Jerry to stand and then ushered him toward the front door as the rest of us watched in stunned silence at the abrupt change in demeanor from the bodyguard.

  George gave me a shrug and then disappeared with William in tow. Caroline hustled behind the two men, trying to hear their whispered conversations. But when Gallus stopped and Caroline floated into his back, he turned and glared at her. “Some privacy, please?”

  She squeaked with surprise and immediately slipped away. Rushing to my side, Caroline looked like the young teenager she was. “He’s kind of scary,” she breathed. “Hot, but scary.”

  “Do you know what just happened?” I asked her, knowing she probably wouldn’t have any information.

  “I’m guessing Gallus knows Ivar and it’s not a good thing that he has a contract to Jerry’s soul.”

  Rolling my eyes and trying to be patient, I reminded myself that Caroline was young. And she barely left my home so she wouldn’t be privy to all of these names being tossed around. I stood in the middle of my living room, pondering what to do next when Gallus walked back into the space, sans Jerry.

  “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

  He was looking directly at me and my heart fluttered with lust and a little bit of fear. “Sure,” I said quietly.

  Gallus looked at Caroline, moving closer to us, even as she tried to hide behind me. “I’m sorry for snapping at you. I lost my temper.”

  Caroline’s eyes widened as she looked at me and then back at Gallus. “You can see me?”

  He nodded, jaw grinding together.

  “Apology accepted,” she whispered.

  Gallus focused on me again. “I have to get that contract for Jerry. But I’m going to need your help.” He leaned sideways a bit to see Caroline. “And yours.”

  “What about me?’ George asked, appearing in the small space between me and Gallus.

  The vampire sucked in a breath and clenched his fists. “You would probably be helpful, too.”

  “Probably?” George snapped.

  “Stop it,” I said to my spirit guide. “And move.” I wished I could push him sometimes. “Who is Ivar Einarsson?” I asked Gallus.

  The giant man sighed and rubbed his hands over his cropped hair. Both Caroline and I watched the muscles underneath his shirt move back and forth. “He’s a vampire. And old one who works for the demons. And apparently he’s the keeper of soul contracts now,” he grumbled.

  “And how are we going to help?” I asked.

  Gallus glanced at the two ghosts flanking me right now. “We need to break into his place.”

  “Um, no,” I huffed. This was too much.

  “Yes!” Caroline said as George nodded his approval.

  “No!” I shouted at both of them. “This does not sound like a good idea at all.”

  “It sounds fun and exciting,” Caroline cheered. She moved to Gallus’ side and wrapped her ghostly arm through his. “When do we go?”

  Gallus stared at me. “We have an opportunity tomorrow night. Jerry was invited to his masquerade ball on Christmas Eve. We’ll go instead.”

  “Nope,” I reiterated.

  “And what will we do?” George asked.

  “I’ll need your help scouting out the place he’s storing the contracts. Elise and I will...” Gallus looked at me and a quick wave of heat flitted through my core. “We will make an appearance and then join you once you’ve found the contract.”

  “I’m still not on board with this,” I said again.

  “Too bad,” George chided. “We’re doing this. Even if it means hanging out with a dead guy all night.”

  Gallus huffed a laugh. “You’re dead, too.”

  “Not like you,” George made a face. “At least I can move around in the daylight.”

  “It’s not night yet,” Gallus pointed out.

  “Whatever,” George mumbled. “See you tomorrow blood sucker.” With an audible whoosh, George left my home. Hopefully he’d stay away for a few hours so I could have some time to think.

  “I’ll give you two some privacy,” Caroline giggled and then abruptly disappeared.

  “Are you always surrounded by them?” Gallus asked once the room had cleared.

  I nodded. “Pretty much, yep.”

  “Sorry,” he said and I loved the way his voice sounded when he was being sincere.

  “It’s my life. I wouldn’t change it.”

  He studied me—those intense, dark eyes watching every part of my body. I didn’t know what he was thinking, but for a moment, I totally forgot that he was a vampire and he could kill me in an instant. “I’ll have the driver pick you up at seven tomorrow, okay?”

  I could only nod.

  “Oh, and I’ll have someone deliver your costume in the morning.”

  “Costume?”

  He chuckled even though he sounded more annoyed than amused. “Ivar likes reliving his past. He loved the fifteenth century, so that’s the theme this year.”

  “Oh,” I said. What had I gotten myself into? “Are you sure we need to do this?” I asked. “I mean, Jerry did sell his own soul. I don’t know why we have to help him out of that.” As soon as the words crossed my lips, I felt bad. But it was Jerry’s fault.

  “You’re right. But I owe Jerry my life. I have to do this for him and it will be less dangerous if I can have the help of your ghosts.”

  “Okay,” I breathed, taking a step closer to the giant man. It was like I was being pulled by a magnet. There was something happening between us yet I had no idea how it was possible. He was a stranger. And a vampire. Both bad news.

  “And I would love to take you on a date.”

  “What?” I nearly choked on my spit when I interpreted his words.

  Gallus smiled at me and brushed his fingers down the side of my cheek. I almost melted right there. “I like you,” he said. “And I don’t like a lot of people.”

  “Why not?” It was a stupid question, but one that slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

  He shrugged and continued to caress my face. “They bore me,” he stated.

  “Good reason.”

  With a grin, Gallus stepped away. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ms. Elise.”

  “It’s just Elise.”

  “Okay,” he said before quickly walking out of the living room and through the front door. I stood still, in the middle of the floor, wondering what had just happened. Did I just agree to commit robbery with a vampire? Yep, I think I did. Yet, I also couldn’t help smile when I thought about how exciting tomorrow was going to be and how I’d be going on my first date in a year.

  This Christmas season was turning out better than I expected.

  December 24th

  I adjusted my boobs for the hundredth time, wondering how women six hundred years ago could stand wearing so many layers.

  “You look amazing,” Caroline gushed. She’d helped guide me on the hair and talked me through how I needed to put on each piece of clothing. I’d been surprised that she knew so much, but then again, I loved giving her a chance to feel helpful. I always thought that was one of the reasons she’d taken her own life—she’d been ignored, as a female and as part of her family. So, if I could give her a few moments of happiness in her afterlife, I would.

  “I can barely breathe,” I groaned. Sitting in the limousine didn’t help. The corset was constricting and the weight of the fabric added at least a hundred pounds to my tiny frame. Gallus hadn’t picked me up. Instead, the driver said he’d meet me at the mansion. A part of me worried that he wouldn’t show up, but a bigger part of me couldn’t wait to see him again.

  “Wow, look at this place,” Caroline gushed as we pulled in front of one of the oldest, and largest mansions in old Baltimore. “It reminds me of home,” she whispered.

  I didn’t know all of her backstory, but I knew that Caroline had grown up on a plantation in the south and had to participate in
a lot of balls and parties due to her father’s position. I worried an event like this might make her sad, but instead she smiled wider than I’d ever seen before—happier than she’d been in a long time.

  The car pulled to a stop and I waited for the driver to come around to my door. Not because of the chivalry aspect, but because I really didn’t think I could stand on my own. My ribs, for sure, were broken. I knew it.

  “Don’t forget your mask!” Caroline pointed to the black cat-shaped masquerade mask sitting across the seat from me.

  Gallus had done an excellent job picking out my costume for tonight. Decorated in only red and black, the colors matched my blonde hair well, and the dark lace accents made me feel like a queen. I was curious as to why he’d chosen the cat mask, and I vowed to ask him when I could.

  The driver guided me out of the car, oblivious to the teenage ghost bouncing along beside me. Once we finally got my oversized skirt straightened out and I could breathe again, he gave me a curt bow and told me that I would meet my date inside.

  My date.

  I liked the sound of that.

  The cold air was a welcomed break to the constraining fabric suffocating my body. Despite it being December, we hadn’t had a good snow storm yet, and the little girl in me wished for a white Christmas. The holiday just didn’t feel right without snow. I looked up at the sky, clouds rolling in and a chill in the air. Maybe I’d get my wish after all.

  “Come on, let’s go!” Caroline squealed. She’d already rushed up the grand stairs leading from the driveway to the house and back to me again.

  “You know there might be others here who can see you,” I whispered, being careful not to draw attention to myself.

  “I know, but I’m just so excited. I finally get to leave your house!”

  I whipped my head to the side to catch her gaze. “Can’t you leave my house any time you want?”

  She smiled, a sad smiled. “Not really.”

  I’d have to remember to ask her about that later. Where did she go if she wasn’t in my house? But those questions would have to wait because I’d just spotted the most handsome man in the world standing in the doorway.