“Hey, kidding! I’m just here to see Rafe. You really should go outside like he asked you.” I smiled at Diana. “Sorry about your troubles. Why don’t you call Damian? I’m sure he’d bail you out.”
“I’m not asking him for money.” Diana looked down at the floor again. I hated myself but read her mind anyway. She’d always believed that only whores asked their lovers for money. She’d tried to avoid that in her long, long life and she wasn’t about to sink that low now. “He’s such a great businessman and I… Well, I’m just not good with money. I tried to save but there always seemed to be an emergency.”
“Sure, like a shoe sale at Nordstrom’s.” Lucky eyed Rafe then got down to business. “I’ve done some digging, Diana. Don’t give me any sob stories. If we wore the same size, I’d be taking those Prada slingbacks right off your pretty feet as a down payment.” Lucky nodded and we all looked down.
Diana had on this season’s suede peep toes and I knew they’d cost her several hundred dollars even on sale. I sure couldn’t afford them. Hmm.
“You wouldn’t—” Diana’s cheeks were pink.
“Sure I would but, like I said, wrong size.” Lucky winked at me. “Sounds like I’m getting that spot next to you, after all, Glory. I’ll hire a decent manager, then, when I’m in town, we can hang out here together.” She actually gave Rafe a hip bump. “Valdez, I like your little club.”
Rafe dug into his back pocket. “Diana, how much do you need? For this first payment?”
Diana whispered to him and my eyes popped. She glanced at me. “The interest is terrible but I have bad credit. I told you, I don’t handle my finances very well.” She mumbled something about a shopping addiction.
“I’m not judging. You know I used to have a gambling problem. Totally blew my credit rating. There are twelve-step programs…” I caught Rafe’s look. “Well, I highly recommend them. I know I had to reach bottom before I got that though.” I couldn’t believe that Rafe was writing out a check. Did he have that kind of cash to spare? I glanced around the club. It was doing well and had really caught on with the college crowd. Vampires too liked to have a place to hang out and I saw several at tables on the balcony with glasses of blood, probably with alcohol, in front of them.
“There, now get out, Lucky. Diana, you and I will talk later. This is a loan. With interest. Though not as high as what Lucky obviously charged you.” Rafe began pulling Lucky toward the front door. The bodyguards stayed out of it when Lucky waved them off again.
“Rafe, wait!” Diana threw her arms around him. “Thank you!” She kissed his cheek. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“Not for you, Diana.” Rafe stared at me. “I don’t want Lucky planted next to Glory, or to have any reason to stay in town. Understand?”
“Oh, sure. I remember their history.” Diana gave me a sympathetic smile. “Glory, I promise I’ll pay back every penny. Like Rafe said, with interest.”
“Can you stop a minute?” Lucky jerked her arm out of Rafe’s grip. “Quit with the bum’s rush. Maybe I want to hang out for a while. Drink and dance. Isn’t my money good here?” She fluttered her eyelashes at Rafe.
“No way in hell.” He looked grim. “Glory, what do you say?”
“Hit the road, Lucky.” I turned toward the bar and picked up my drink, ignoring her squeal of outrage.
“You owe me, bitch. Don’t think I’m letting this slide.”
“Ms. Carver, you want we should handle this?” One of her guards, the thick-necked shifter, put his shoulder close to mine.
I heard Rafe growl before I turned to send Lucky a mental message. It would cause all kinds of problems, but I could make those boys of hers into statues here and now then take care of the fallout later. If she wanted to save face, she’d better move along. She got it.
“No, this is getting to be a bore. I have a date later anyway. Let’s go.” She twitched her hips and waited while the shifter rushed to open the door. Then she headed out into the night. Her vampire guard stopped and glanced back at me, catching my gaze. I read something dark and determined there that made me shiver before he disappeared into the night.
“What the hell is she doing in town?” Rafe took my arm and steered me toward his office.
“Ian contacted her. About her blood. She wanted to know what it meant.” I waited until we were inside with the door closed. “I talked to Aggie. Seems unlikely it means anything. It’s not the Siren blood that’s important.”
“Well, if you talked to Aggie, does that mean you found out whether I’m under your spell?” Rafe moved close and slid his arms around my waist.
“Seems Sirens draw men to them with their song. I lost mine thanks to Achelous.” I sighed and gently took his hands off of me. “So any feelings you have for me, Rafe, are purely your own.”
“Never doubted it. But what about yours for me or any of the men orbiting planet Glory?” He frowned and sat on the edge of his messy desk. A few papers fell to the floor but he ignored them. “You say you love me. You love Blade. Hell, I’ve even heard you say you love the rock star. What does that mean to you, Glory? Seems to me you throw the word around a little too easily. Hell, you even love your new boots.”
“You making fun of me? You have to know this whole Siren thing has put me through the wringer.” Was I looking for sympathy? I could see by Rafe’s expression that I wasn’t getting any here. “And, for the record, I don’t love my new boots. I just bought them because they were on sale.”
“You know what I mean. Don’t try to deflect. This Siren thing is just the latest wrinkle in the Glory-go-round.” Rafe kicked a paper across the room. “Under a spell or not, I don’t like hanging around waiting to see how your love life falls out.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Maybe I’m finally ready to jump off the ride.”
“Rafe.” I wished there was something I could say to get our old friendship back where it belonged. But Rafe had his pride and I’d hurt it. Damn. “I hope that loan to Diana wasn’t just for my sake. To keep Lucky from moving in next to me.” I wanted to touch him, say something to ease the tension he was clearly feeling. “I can handle Lucky and her goons.”
“So I should just let you try?” Rafe moved closer. “Sorry, but I can’t stand back and wait to see if you really can handle her. The Glory I know and love isn’t exactly known for kicking butt.” He smiled wryly. “So much for jumping off the ride. Obviously I’m still yours whether you want me or not.”
I looked up into eyes that knew me too well, cared for me more than I deserved. I didn’t want to lead him on.
“I appreciate everything you do, have done for me, Rafe. But you have to stop it. If I have problems, they’re my problems and I have to deal with them. If I fail, then the fallout is on me, no one else.” I laid my hand on his arm. His skin was hot, shifter hot. God, but I felt weak where he was concerned, wanting to lean on him and let him take care of me. Even now, it was all I could do not to rest my head against his broad chest.
“Maybe I’m finally getting the message, Glory. You keep pushing me away, telling me to move on.” He stared at the ceiling, his jaw tight, then looked at me again. “I get pissed and feel like saying to hell with you. No woman is worth what you put me through. But then I see you and all those good intentions evaporate. Damn it, I keep thinking I’m right for you, that we make a great team. And someday you’ll realize that and decide my time will come again.”
“Rafe, I can’t—I won’t—” I shut up, not sure what to say to him. He was the best friend I’d ever had. He’d taken care of me, guarded me, risked his life for me. I did love him. And he was right. He wasn’t the only man I loved. The Siren in me didn’t seem to be built for monogamy.
“You are really blocking your thoughts. Maybe I don’t want to know what you’re thinking.” Rafe scrubbed his hands over his face.
“Maybe you don’t. I can’t make any sense out of this anymore.” I pulled his hands away to run my fingers over his jaw, so strong and masculine. “I’m a mess right now, Rafe. And one thing I need to do is straighten things out with Jerry. I’m going to Scotland. To let him know that he’s not under that Siren’s spell. I don’t know if that will make a difference to him, but it’s something I have to do.”
“Blade. He’s always first with you, isn’t he?” Rafe pulled me to him and, being weak, I allowed it. “I saw it up close for five years, Glory. I don’t like it, but I know you love him, really love him, and it’s not the new-boot kind of love.”
“Yes. Maybe I’m the one under a spell. Could Circe have done that?” I shook my head. “No, not blaming some goddess for my own feelings. He saved me, Rafe. When I was about to starve. And he’s been my hero more than once. Just like you’ve been.” I kissed his cheek, the kind of kiss I would have given a brother.
“So we’re friends now.” Rafe hugged me and breathed against my hair. “I’ll take it and try to learn to live with it.”
“Thanks.” I sighed and pushed back. “Now what about that check for Diana? Where did that money come from?”
“It tore a hole in my savings. But I wasn’t about to let Lucky have a reason to come back to Austin. She’s nothing but trouble. Why is she here anyway? What about her father and his rules?”
“He died and she took over the family business. Apparently she’s doing a good job if that demo with Diana is any indication. She did get her payment.” I stepped away from him. “And you’ll get your money back. Diana and I will have a little chat. As her friend maybe I can help her get her financial house in order, get into a twelve-step program if this is an addiction to shopping. Shoe sales?” Of course I had new boots myself and then had come up short when I was scrambling for plane fare. Lucky for me I seemed to always have a man handy when I needed bailing out. Diana had too much pride for that. Why didn’t I? It was something for me to think about. And I got a queasy feeling that it was a conversation with myself that was long overdue.