"This rain won't let up, vampies." Aggie snuffled and wiped her slimy green snout. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was crying.
"What do you mean?" Even Valdez was interested now.
"This isn't your ordinary Austin cloudburst. This weather is courtesy of my boss. I'm in deep doo-doo here."
"Circe did this?" I looked at Ray. "I know she threw a little thunder at you before, but"
"No, you don't get it. I told you. Circe's not my boss. I just made a side deal with her. To try to rescue my lover. This is the work of my real boss, the Storm God, Achelous. He tracked me down here. What you're seeing tonight is Achy kinda pissed." She waved a flipper and lightning lit up the night sky. A wind gust sent a ten foot wave crashing into the dock, almost tearing the boat loose.
"Man, I'd hate to see him really pissed." Valdez backed away when water ran over the deck and covered our feet.
"That's when you get typhoons and category-five hurricanes." Aggie shuddered. "Anyway, we've got to move everything up."
"Up?" I grabbed on to Ray before I went for her throat. "You know how hard we've worked to get you"
"Not interested in hearing it. Already heard it actually. But now Wednesday won't cut it. Tomorrow night. Tuesday. Got to seal the deal with Circe Tuesday night or it's Glory, Ray and Will goin' bye-bye. I'm already skating close to the edge of extinction myself. Achy wants this cleared up yesterday, if you know what I mean. Was up to him, I'd toss you three down below right now and be stuck lookin' like the Jolly Green Giant gone bad forever." Aggie sniffled again. Hey, I was right there with her, ready to cry buckets that would make the waters lapping my ankles come up to my thighs. She had to be kidding. But her drooping snout and redder than ever eyes weren't saying anything but serious.
"I don't see how the hell we can do it." Ray's arm tightened around me. "Especially if this weather keeps up."
"Oh, it'll keep up all right. This is Achy venting." Aggie seemed to suck it up. "Get Casanova out here. I want my beautiful Siren form back. And I sure as hell didn't go through all this just to give up a shot at seeing Charlie again. You hear me?" Hear her? The voice of doom? I put my head down on the table again. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and I figured I was having a preview of hell and my destiny.
Chapter Eighteen
"It's about time you got in here. I was about to try my luck with your Siren." Jerry dragged me into his arms.
"God, Jerry, don't even joke about that." I held on to him, ignoring the fact that I was soaking his dry clothes.
"You do realize what time it is, don't you?" Jerry treated Ray like he was invisible.
"I know. I feel dawn in my bones." I turned to our host. "Ray, can we sack out here?" Ray, his mouth firm, studied Jerry's possessive hold on me. Finally, he shrugged. "Sure, there are plenty of extra bedrooms and I wouldn't make my worst enemy"he nodded in Jerry's direction in case he didn't get the reference"go out in this weather. Sniff out one that doesn't have a mortal in it. I assume Nate and Sienna aren't in the same one."
"Nathan was complaining about that, but apparently Sienna Star sees him as a friend and nothing more." Jerry smiled like he was happy with Ray's hostility and he wasn't about to let go of me.
"Poor Nate." I saw that Brittany had found Valdez and they were having a heated discussion in the doorway to the kitchen. I heard enough to know Brit was worried about my bodyguard. She was in good company. Aggie's new timeline had me in a fullblown anxiety attack.
"Let's go, Jerry. Ray, I'll call Flo, Richard and Damian right now. You've got that direct line to EV headquarters, right?" Ray frowned. "Sure. But what are the chances Simon will drop everything and come out here tomorrow night instead of Wednesday? Aggie's really screwed things up."
"What's this?" Jerry looked down at me.
"I'll tell you upstairs. Ray, I'm going to stop in your bedroom and grab some clothes." This perked Ray right up. "Sure, Glory. You know where everything is. You've slept there many times." He grinned at Jerry's glower. "If you need anything at all, babe, you'll know where to find me."
"Right." I grabbed Jerry's hand and hustled him up the stairs. Outside Ray's bedroom door, I stopped. "I'll be right out." I tried to slip inside alone, but of course Jerry had to check out the fact that Ray had a king-size bed.
"You slept with him here."
"Vampire sleep. Unconscious." I said this from the closet, hurrying to grab a T-shirt to put on when I woke in the evening. I figured I'd sleep raw next to Jerry because I needed to feel his strong body close to mine. There was nothing more reassuring to nerves that were frayed almost unbearably thin. I rushed into the room with a pair of Ray's shorts in my hands too.
"You're very familiar with the layout here." Jerry leaned against the bathroom door checking out the large shower and the Jacuzzi tub. "You do like your baths."
I stopped and put my hand on his chest. He wore one of Ray's T-shirts, but it was snug on him. Jerry was bigger than Ray, broader where it counted. I smiled up at him and let him read that thought in my mind.
"Jerry, I'll take a shower with you in the extra bedroom and bath if you'll hurry. The sun's going to be coming up in a little while. I'd hate for us to fall asleep with the water pounding us in a shower stall."
Jerry lifted me into his arms. "No danger of that. I'd have you in bed well before that happened. Point the way." I laughed and did just that. Foolish of me. I had phone calls to make. But I knew Richard and Flo would get here tomorrow night no matter what. And Damian would be happy to push Casanova and especially Maurice to join the party. Hopefully the council would be on board too. How could they resist with a serial killer and his helper to apprehend? I sure didn't want to meet that creep Maurice without significant backup.
I'd definitely quit laughing by the time Jerry set me down inside the bedroom that was as far away from Ray's master suite as we could get. The storm still raged outside, a good reminder that there was a lot riding on getting everyone to cooperate. So much could go wrong.
Jerry looked down at me and took my face in his hands. "Quit worrying. I'm not so jealous you need to play games with me to keep me pacified. Make your calls now."
"Aggie's moved up our deadline. We've got to get everyone here tomorrow night or Will, Ray and I are hellfire bound." Jerry kissed my cheeks, my nose, my chin and then my lips. "You will not be going to hell. Tomorrow night or ever. Just tell me how I can help."
I leaned against him for a moment. "Thanks, Jerry. I'm really glad I don't have to face this alone. Let me call Flo first, then I'll tell you what you can do." I pushed back. Of course my cell was in my purse locked inside Jerry's car on the other side of the raging river we'd crossed. I mean how do you carry anything when you shape-shift? The more experienced vamps did it all the time, but I'd been so freaked-out, I hadn't been able to organize my thoughts, much less my stuff. I'd even left my "engagement" ring in my purse.
I grabbed the phone by the bed. In this rock-star household, there were four outside lines. I hit one that wasn't lit up and punched in Flo's cell phone number.
"Hello?"
"Flo, it's Glory. Our plans are all shot to hell."
"What do you mean? I talked to my brother. He's got Casanova hot to work his wiles on some beautiful women at Israel's party." Flo muttered something in Italian. "I'm not happy with mio fratello. He showed Berto a picture of you, Glory. Are you mad?"
"No! Whatever works." Though it did make my stomach churn a little. Stupid. Like that man could somehow lure me away from Jerry. If Israel Caine couldn't, I figure nobody could, even a notorious lover.
"All right then. And Maurice is happy he will get to meet Simon at last. Even the council members are coming on Wednesday. As soon as all the nasty ones are in Circe's hands we'll have a great celebration. No?"
"No. I mean yes. But not Wednesday. It's all got to happen tomorrow night instead." I sat on the side of the bed and kicked off my wet high heels. Damn. Those new peep-toe pumps would never be the same.
"Insano. If I know Berto, it will take him two days to decide which shirt to wear. And have you seen this weather? Maurice hates rain. It rusts his knives."
Wasn't that a happy thought. "Can't be helped, Flo. Aggie's moved things up. Surely Damian can persuade them" I heard Flo sigh. "If he must. I call. I beg. But I wanted to wear my new leather pants and, if it is raining, I cannot."
"Sorry, Flo, forget leather pants. You'll even have to shapeshift to get here. The road is impassable."
"Did you? Shift?" Flo said something to Richard. "My poor roomie. You were desperate. What did you make yourself? Not a bird in this wind. And I can't see you as a dog. Though something with a curly tail would be cute. Tell me. I must know." I closed my eyes and counted to three. All I had time for. "Flo, forget it. This is an emergency. All of Austin is going to float away if we don't do something. This weather is the work of Aggie's boss, Achelous, the Storm God. He's letting her know he doesn't like her doing business in Austin behind his back. Aggie seems to think that getting the Circe thing settled will calm him down and she's determined to get her Siren form and her lover back. I figure you can relate to that."
"I would never end up looking like a monster for a man." I heard a squeal and Flo gasped. "Except for my darling Ricardo, of course. Tomorrow night. We won't let you down, Glory. Ricardo wants to talk to you. Ciao. "
"It's already pretty bad here, Gloriana." Richards deep voice came on the line. "The TV is full of stories about local flooding. And the winds have taken out some huge old oaks at the state capitol. Those trees were hundreds of years old."