Finding Lily

by Emma Shade

  “Calm down, Sam. It’ll be okay. We’ll find her.”

  “Really, Ashton? Because sitting around on our asses won’t get Lily back. You’re supposed to be fighting for her, not standing around watching your phone and email like a teenage girl. Now people are out to kill her? I just can’t believe you two idiots haven’t made a move yet!” He retorted and stormed out of the room.

  Blake narrowed his eyes to mere slits. “He’s right, you know. We aren’t helping Lily by sitting around. Besides, the stakes have changed. I’ve got to stop this.”

  “Jamison’s got it under control for now. But, how are you going to stop the Enforcers?”

  He smiled, a sarcastic one, but a smile nonetheless. “All I have to do is make a few phone calls. Not sure if it’ll do any good. But before I do, I need you tell me how you know Jamison.”

  I reluctantly filled him in. Jamison and I had met when I’d been a vampire for about a hundred and fifty years. During those years, people traveled in droves to the California in search of gold. At the time it had actually worked for me because I needed to move on.

  Unfortunately, in those days, everyone knew your neighbors by name. When you didn’t age, well, that was a problem. So I paid a hefty fee and hopped on the next caravan out to uncharted territory. I didn’t need to hit it rich, I already was. But, Jamison Masters hadn’t know that. The sarcastic southern irritated me daily. His fiancé, Rebecca, flirted with me without preamble.

  Being so naïve back then, I thought I was God’s gift to women. And so if a woman seduced me, I barely hesitated. Taking full advantage of the situation, I replied to her advances in full.

  Jamison hated me. He threw jabs and punches in whenever he could. Until she developed cholera. As she screamed and whimpered from pain, I snuck into her campsite late one night and fed her some of my blood to heal her. What I didn’t know was that Jamison had followed me. Watched the entire thing. To my surprise, he wasn’t scared, but more curious than anything.

  The next day, Rebecca healed miraculously to everyone but Jamison and I. She’d been so delirious that she hadn’t remembered a thing, thank God. Subsequently, he dumped her when her flirting moved onto the doctor of our little troupe.

  Jamison, never giving up, followed me around trying to find answers about what he saw that night. We became fast friends and always in each other’s company. We both corralled women and drank a little too much.

  Then after several years of slaving away at the gold mines, Jamison was stabbed by a neighboring miner in a fight for territory. I couldn’t sit on the side lines and watch him die. So I healed him and finally told him about vampires.

  When I finished the story, Blake stared at me with furrowed brows.

  “That’s it?” he asked incredulously. “How did he become a vampire?”

  “You just asked how I knew Jamison. Not how he became what he is today.” I chuckled sarcastically.

  “You’re an asshole, Ashton. This doesn’t help us get any closer to finding Lily,” Blake growled and marched out the front door.

  I laughed as he left. Standing, I stretched and headed into the living room to speak with Sam. I needed to explain myself a little better about him traveling on his own. But, to my surprise, he wasn’t watching his reality TV shows.

  “Sam?” I called out, but the house remained silent.

  Storming upstairs to his room, I shoved his door open and roared. Sam’s clothes scattered the room, his mini-fridge stocked with blood opened to show it bare, and his suitcase was gone. I jogged back down the stairs, through the kitchen, and into the garage. Only to find one of my cars missing. Son of a bitch!

  *****

  BLAKE

  That sneaky rat bastard knew it would drive me up the wall to figure out this secret behind Jamison Masters. Something bigger was involved, but Ashton was holding out this information as long as possible. Whether it was pay back for keeping Lily’s pictures, or because he knew I was a threat to winning over her heart, I wasn’t sure.

  Then throw in the Enforcers after Lily and my life had turned into a race against time. Acting on any link I had to delay them and keep her alive. Enforcers hadn’t cared who they killed or maimed. It’s what they felt was right, or somebody told them was right anyway.

  To top it all off, I’d hurt Sam’s feelings. My stupid mouth had blurted out my prejudice for vampires without thinking. It had been an impulse reaction. Not that I hated vampires. If I was completely honest, I never thought they differed from what I was. Just a little altered DNA. Saying that all vampires were evil was the pot calling the kettle black.

  I sped down the road after I left Ashton’s in a foul mood. The phone rang and the person on the caller ID really sent my mood in a downward spiral. Fast. I clicked the answer button on my steering wheel, and barked out, “What?!”

  The feminine voice on the other end, sweet like sugar and as fake as a three dollar bill, crooned through the car speakers, “Blakey, why do you always answer the phone like an imbecile. It doesn’t flatter you.”

  “Because I don’t want to talk to you. Yet, you keep calling me. Take a hint,” I growled, my temper flaring.

  “Now you know that’s not possible. You’re involved now. Way too involved. You know how this is going to end, and I want you to change your mind.”

  “You know my decision and it’s final. I’m not going back. If you weren’t so cold hearted, then you’d understand.”

  Silence greeted me and heels clicked on a hard service as she paced back and forth. With a sigh, she said, “Why are you doing this? I don’t understand.”

  “Because I know what love actually is. Goodbye, Leslie.” I ended the call and after a few seconds, the music filled the cabin of my vehicle.

  I pounded the steering wheel and roared in frustration. I should have seen it coming, but I ignored the warning signs. Leslie getting involved was bad. Really bad.

  CHAPTER NINE

  LILY

  My head pounded as though it was pressed in a vice. Muscles ached, thirst groused my throat, and my stomach rolled with any movement I made. I barely made it to the bathroom and upchucked my alcohol. Hugging the cold, porcelain toilet, the liquor from last night smelled even worse the second time around. Which caused me to retch again.

  As I hugged the toilet, I realized that Paige and I were horrible undercover operatives. We woke up hung over more than we actually sought after our suspect. Yes, it was in the back of our minds and the reason why we explored the casinos, but somehow we usually ended up sloshed by the end of the night.

  Paige shuffled into the bathroom with a pained groan, and croaked, “Kill me now.”

  My only response was another dry heave. I whipped my mouth with the back of my hand and flushed the toilet. Turning my head to look at her, I tried to laugh, but my body protested it as my vision spun. Stomach heaving, I wretched again.

  “You better move before I piss on your head,” she warned.

  Her hair was flattened on one side and the front of her hair stood fanned out. Her mascara and thick eyeliner smudged down her cheeks as though she had cried the entire night. Wrinkled and disheveled, we both wore our clothes from the night before.

  I moved out of her way and stumbled to the sink, turning on the water to rinse my mouth out. After the water stopped flowing, I leaned against the vanity and rested my forehead on the cold granite. “Don’t let me drink like that again, Paige. I don’t remember much of the night. That’s how bad it was.”

  Paige gave a pained chuckle and flushed the toilet. “Yeah, I’m getting flashes here and there. Was it my imagination or did Jamison call you by your real name?”

  I frowned at her once she pulled up her panties. Had he? If Jamison said my real name, well, I was up a creek without a paddle. But, how had he known? He couldn’t. Unless, he wasn’t who he said he was. “I don’t know. How would he know it?”

  She shrugged and washed her hands. “Not a clue. Maybe I imagined it through all the alcohol. I was in a pret
ty bad alcoholic haze.”

  “Probably imagined it. Hell, I can’t remember shit.”

  Laughing, she groaned and grabbed her stomach. “I feel like shit.”

  “What’s the next step?” I asked, following her back into the room.

  Paige strolled to the hotel window, pulled the curtain back, and stared down at the street below through squinted eyes. She said, “We can take the path less traveled and reach out to Alistair. If we have a death wish, we could call Jeremy. Or...we can ask Jamison himself.”

  “And how do we ask to Jamison? We don’t have his number and he’s never called my cell.”

  Her face swiveled in my direction with a shit eating grin. “You don’t have to call him. He’s downstairs near the fountain.”

  “What!?” I stormed over to the glass to peer down, and the glaring sunlight caused me groan in protest. “What’s he doing here?”

  Jamison leaned against the railing to the fountains below our room. Dressed in ripped jeans, a faded t-shirt, and aviator sunglass, he picked at his nails as though he hadn’t had a care in the world.

  “I suggest you brush your teeth and find out. You don’t have time to shower the alcoholic stench permeating from your pores though. He might be gone by then.”

  With one last glare at Paige, I rushed to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth, hair in a ponytail, and my makeup washed from my face, I traveled to the elevator. Paige, face freshly scrubbed, paced directly behind me.

  The sunlight glinting off the fountain blinded me momentarily, and when my vision cleared, Jamison gazed at me.

  “Mornin’, darlin’. I see y’all are havin’ a rough start to the day,” he said and straighten from his leaning position with a chuckle. “Same outfits from last night and all.”

  “No thanks to you,” Paige grumbled.

  “Too bad it’s not the walk of shame. Now that would’ve made me a happy man. But y’all aren’t those type of girls and I’m cool with that.”

  “What’re you doing outside our hotel?” I asked, and wished I had his sunglasses. Damn hangovers.

  “I was in the neighborhood and hoped to see you lovely ladies.” Jamison shrugged.

  Normally, Jamison’s southern drawl was cute. This morning though? Everything got on my nerves. Especially the thought that he’d lied to me. “Bullshit. Tell me why you’re here.”

  “You caught me. It’s true. I have ulterior motives. There’s a masquerade ball Friday at the Desert Sands Casino, and I thought y’all would like to join me. It’ll be a good time, I promise.”

  Peeking out of the corner of my eye at Paige, she stiffened. We knew the casino’s name well enough. Did Jamison have something to do with the illegal blood trade? Surely not, but who could we really trust?

  “A masquerade ball? People actually have those?” I asked, frowning in suspicion.

  He chuckled. “Yep, they sure do. Whataya say? I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  Jamison’s stared down at me and waited for a reply. Even though suspicions rang in my ears about who he was, curiosity won out. I glanced in Paige’s direction and replied, “Okay. We’ll go. But no funny business or I’ll kick your ass.”

  His lips edged into a smile that would envy the devil. “Would never think of it, darlin’. Two days to pick out your dresses and get your masks,” he said and handed me a business card. “This place is cool. You’ll both find something there y’all will like, I’m sure.”

  “What time is the ball thingy?” Paige asked as she strolled up beside me.

  “It starts at ten Friday night. Late, I know, but we are in Vegas.” He shrugged like that should explain everything.

  “And how are we arriving at the ball? By taxi?” Paige seized the business card from my hand.

  “I’ll send a limo a half an hour early,” Jamison answered. Turning towards me, he reached forward and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. “Miya, I can’t wait.”

  At that, he sauntered away from the fountains and onto the sidewalk, leaving Paige and I flabbergasted at his hasty retreat. Soon he blended in with the crowds of people making their way along the busiest walkway in Las Vegas.

  “Well, maybe that answers if he used my real name or not,” I muttered.

  “Still, I don’t trust him. Where are these friends he always talks about anyway? Something doesn’t add up.”

  I shrugged and chewed my lip. After racking my brain for a minute, I said, “That may be, but I’m willing to find out if he’s the man in charge of this blood trade thing. His friends? He keeps saying they’ll meet us soon. Let’s just hope they aren’t the vampire prostitutes. Otherwise we’re going to be in for a surprise.”

  *****

  Later that night, the two of us hailed a taxi to investigate Desert Sands Casino. The tall building jutted into the sky with a twist of metal, dark glass windows shined against the lights of the city, and several bellhops, dressed as though they were straight of the Disney movie Aladdin, toted suitcases inside.

  After paying the driver, we both exited the taxi and stepped onto the concrete entranceway. Once inside the hotel, I had to bite my tongue before something rude slipped out of my mouth like word vomit. To say this place was eclectic would be putting it nicely. All we needed were a few belly dancers and this motif would be complete.

  Paige concealed a chuckle.

  “Don’t make me laugh, Paige,” I grumbled.

  “This place is fucking tacky. Do they sell magic carpets at the front desk? And maybe a harem of women to go with them? If this place is ran by a vampire, his class went out the window when he was converted.”

  I cleared my throat to keep from giggling. “Or he never had class to begin with.”

  “Just look at this place. Everything in here must have been ordered straight out of the Arabian Nights catalog. Let’s not spend too much time here tonight if we can’t help it.”

  I nodded in agreement. “You got that right. Hard to believe they’re having a masquerade ball, huh? I just pray that the ballroom, or wherever they have it, is a lot nicer than out here. So, where to first?”

  “To Princess Jasmine’s castle?” Paige asked with a deadpan expression. “Locate the genie’s bottle?”

  I lost it. Laughter bubbled out uncontrollably. Of all the Casino’s in Las Vegas, this one topped the cake. The theme of the entire room cloaked with its red sheer fabrics including huge tassels, dark purple walls, and stucco covered pillars seemed as if it had been pulled from a cheesy movie. I was sure people from this culture would gasp in horror at the atrocious decor.

  Paige chuckled. “Okay. I think I’ve got all my smartass comments out in the open. I feel better now.”

  “I sure hope so,” I said, and waived down a waitress dressed like a belly dancer. After placing our orders, Paige steered me to the penny slots. I plopped down in the chair and eyed her. “Are you playing cards again?”

  She sat down next to me. “Nah. I need to pay attention to our surroundings.”

  “Do you really think Jamison has something to do with the prostitutes?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied, tilting her head back and forth while she debated it. “I mean, sure, he could. Do I think there’s something he isn’t telling us? Hell yes. Although Jamison is shady as fuck, he dresses with class. Whoever owns this place isn’t classy in the least. We just need to be sure to keep our guard up. Which, by the way, is what I told you when he introduced himself. I don’t trust the Cowboy Casanova.”

  “Cowboy Casanova?”

  “Well, okay, he doesn’t wear a hat or anything, but his voice screams rodeos and roping cattle.”

  I shook my head. “Paige, you’re so judgmental. Just because he has a southern accent does not mean he’s a cowboy. He could’ve been born and raised with that twang in a big city.”

  “Whatever.”

  “You’re such a bitch. Besides I don’t think...” Paige’s hand clamped on my arm stopped me from finishing the sentence.

  “Holy shit!” she mutt
ered. Dragging me out of my seat, she pulled me down behind the slot machines to crouch close to the floor.

  “What are you doing?”

  Paige placed her finger over her lips to shush me. Peering around the Lucky Sevens machine, she quickly retreated with her back against the metal casing. “Come on. We gotta get the hell out of here. Now.”

  She instructed me to follow behind her with a wave of her hand. Keeping low, I tried to steal a look in between the machines to find out what had flipped her out so much. It wasn’t until we got to the front door that I finally looked back.

  My heart lunged straight from my chest and lodged into my wind pipe. Breathe freezing in my lungs, I stopped dead and halted Paige in her tracks. Supernatural electricity coursed through my veins like a rocket, pulsating through my skin like a tuning fork.

  Carlotta and Jeffery strolled through the casino right past were we’d been sitting.

  If Paige hadn’t spotted them first, we would’ve been discovered. What were they doing in Las Vegas? Was Paige right to think that Ashton would hunt me to the ends of the earth? Sure, I knew the man loved me, but being chased down brought a whole new spin on it. Had Blake done the same?

  Paige’s grip on my arm bordered on frantic. If she yanked any harder, my shoulder might dislocate. Although she jerked on me crueler than necessary and tugged me along, I kept my head turned in the direction of the people who meant so much to me. Before I knew it, I was unceremoniously dumped into a back of a Taxi and the driver instructed to our hotel.

  As soon as I had spotted Carlotta and Jeffery, it felt as though my heart had been ripped from my ribcage. I desperately wanted to go back in the casino and wrap my arms around them. But, was it what I really wanted? To put their lives in danger all over again because of who I was? Could everything be forgiven and would I ever be trusted again? What if they hated me?

  It was a double-edged sword. I longed to hug my friends, but scared at the same time. Unsure of what I really wanted, I felt fragmented.

  And then I was depressed because I grasped that once people are broken in certain ways they can never be fixed. This is something nobody had ever told me. It never failed to surprise me, and as I saw the people in my life break one by one, I wondered when my turn would be. Or if perhaps it had already happened.