“No problem. I already told your daughter I might be able to find your remains. Know what? She didn’t even shed a tear. Did a happy dance around my shop ’cause that meant she’d get to your cash sooner rather than later.” I smiled when Westwood looked sick. Aw, did I break the big bad man’s heart?
“Don’t be a bitch, Gloriana. Chocolate?” Simon strolled over and dropped one into his mouth. “The others were just to make sure you stayed around long enough to see reason. And you have, haven’t you?”
“What I see is that I have no choice. Unlike you two social rejects, I do have friends. And I won’t have them bothered on my account. Don’t interfere in Flo’s wedding or hurt any of them, financially or otherwise.” I was over chocolate. Just the smell had my stomach doing jumping jacks into my windpipe.
“Cooperate and everyone near and dear to you will be fine.” Simon smiled and went for another candy. Sadist. “Sure you won’t have one? These are excellent. I may let you have some for your little bachelorette party.”
Bachelorette party. Like I could think about that now. It seemed so normal and impossible.
“Let’s get this over with. Bring out the camera.” I looked from Simon to Westwood. “Let Rafe go as a sign of good faith.”
“Not so fast, Gloriana. As I said, we have things to arrange first. But you and your”—Simon winked—“friend may leave. You understand the consequences if you try to back out of this deal now, don’t you?”
“Yes, yes. Just tell me when and where, and I’ll do it.” I grabbed the doorknob. To my surprise, it turned beneath my hand. “Release Rafe and we’re out of here.”
“Why not? I’ll have Gregory give you a ride.” Simon walked toward his desk and picked up the phone.
“Forget it. We’ll shift and get back on our own. Call and tell them to release Rafe.” I glanced out into a hallway but had no idea exactly where they were keeping him. Simon had led me through two buildings before we’d arrived at his office. “Have him meet me outside.” I could see the glass door to the grounds at the end of the hall. “Now.”
“So demanding.” Simon picked up the phone. “Send the shifter to the front of the temple. Tell him you’re taking him to his girlfriend, but put an extra guard on him, he’ll probably give you trouble. Release him when she gets there.” He hung up and looked at me. “Satisfied?”
I didn’t bother to respond. I hurried to the door and pushed it open. I was in the area in front of the gold-domed temple where the goddess resided. I heard an ominous groan coming from there, and my nerves shredded. When I saw Rafe being half dragged from the opposite side of the clearing, I ran to him. The guards just dropped him at my feet and stepped back.
“Was this necessary?” I snarled at the guards. They didn’t bother to answer. “Bastards!”
“Rafe, what the hell happened?” I knelt beside him and touched his forehead. He was bleeding from a new gash.
“Taser again. I wanted to know if you were okay and where they were taking me. They didn’t like questions.” Rafe held on to my arm. “What now?”
“We’re free to go. Can you shift? I can get us a ride, but I thought we could just fly the hell out of here.” I glanced at the stony-faced guards. One of them had a bruised chin and the other the beginning of a black eye. All right, Rafe.
“I can manage.” He looked at the guards. “Let’s jet.” He visibly pulled himself together. With a groan, he changed into a bird in a blur of motion.
I did the same and we headed out. Not that I had a clue which way to go, but I figured Rafe had found me out here, he could lead us home.
I was right. We landed less than a block from the shop and apartment. The flight had been a long one, much longer than I was used to, but Rafe had been watching out for me to make sure I didn’t stray too far from him. We shifted back, and both collapsed on the grass under a tree.
“I want to hear what you had to do to get us out of there, but home first. It’s late.” Rafe slung his arm around me.
I leaned against him. “You’ve been Tasered and kicked around. Can you stand up?”
“Think so.” He pushed himself up, using the tree for leverage, then put his arm around me again. “You did great, Glory. Shifting like that.”
“Thanks. And I’ll tell you everything when I wake up. It is late, and you need to lie down before you fall down.” We walked toward the alley, Rafe limping but surprisingly strong. He was still the bodyguard, scouting out the area first before we got close to the back door of the shop. Luckily Rafe still had his keys. Mine were inside where I’d left them.
In the back room, I grabbed my purse, then remembered that my cell phone was in my pocket. Three missed calls and a voice mail from Jerry. Later.
We checked in with Erin, who promised to phone Lacy and let her know I was all right, then headed for the apartment. I opened the door and almost walked into Nadia, who’d just come out of the kitchen with a glass of her favorite synthetic.
“Rafael, where the hell have you been? I needed you there tonight.” She came closer. “What happened? You look like you were in a fight and lost.”
“Thanks a lot, Nadia. I got my licks in.” Rafe headed into the kitchen. “Here, Glory, drink one of Nadia’s power drinks. I figure you need it.”
“I do.” I smiled at a frowning Nadia. “Sorry we disappeared on you. It was an emergency. Let Rafe heal, and he’ll be all yours again.”
“Are you sure about that?” Nadia sat on the couch and crossed her long legs. “He seems to be very . . . attached to you. I bet he got hurt riding to your rescue.”
“I can rescue myself, thanks. And—”
“I can talk for myself.” Rafe sat beside Nadia on the couch, an opened package of Twinkies in his hand. He crammed one into his mouth and chewed, closing his eyes for a moment.
“So talk. What are you eating?” Nadia hadn’t quit frowning.
“It’s comfort food. Look at me. I was stomped, Tasered and generally beaten like a junkyard dog.” He winked at me. “And I don’t do dog duty anymore.”
“Not funny, Rafael. We had papers that needed signing. Work you should have supervised. And you disappeared for most of the night. What am I to think? Are you serious about this club, or do you want to go back to guarding your lady friend here?” Nadia took a deep drink of her synthetic, and we could see her fangs.
I twisted the top off a bottle and chugged some myself. God, but I needed that. The drug Simon had given me had worn off, but I was exhausted from all that flying. And the stress!
“I’m into the club thing. This was a loose end. Something I should have handled while I still worked here. I owed it to Glory to follow up.” Rafe bit into another Twinkie, then got up. “I need a beer. Glory, if you’re going for a shower, you’d better hurry. It’s too close to dawn.”
“Yes, right.” I walked over to the hall and stopped at the bathroom door. “I’m really sorry, Nadia. Rafe’s all yours. I promise I won’t distract him again.”
“That’s not your call.” Rafe stood in the kitchen doorway and took a pull on his beer. “Nadia, I have some loyalty here. Deal with it. If that ruins our arrangement, I’ll let you buy me out, or we can just cancel the whole thing.”
“No, I understand loyalty. I prize it.” Nadia drained her glass and set it on the coffee table. “And I have good news. Israel Caine’s manager called me. We’re coming to terms.” She smiled. “Thanks to Glory. So I forgive you both this time.”
“Ray’s going to do it?” I couldn’t believe it.
“For a very steep price. His manager said he was doing it as a favor to you, Glory. I owe you.” She got up and stretched, a tall and elegant woman all in red this night. Her dark hair gleamed, and her lipstick matched her two-piece outfit perfectly. She was beautiful, and I knew she was on her way to Rafe’s bedroom. They were just friends, and once dawn hit, there’d be no “hokeypokey,” but until then . . . ? I couldn’t blame Rafe if he decided to let her ease some of his pain.
“I’m going to fry up a steak, rare.” Rafe grinned. “For some reason I’ve got a craving. I’ll see you ladies when you wake up tonight. And, Nadia?” He put his hand on her shoulder. “I am sorry. I never should have flaked out on you like that without some kind of explanation. Won’t happen again.”
I left them talking and heard Rafe promise to spend some daylight hours at the club. I grabbed my robe, then shut the bathroom door. I stood under the hot water and scrubbed every inch of my body. If only I could wash away the memory of what had happened at the EV compound. Westwood alive. Ridiculous. And then Rafe’s kiss. Oh, wow. Even wounded, he knew how to make me feel things and forget for a few moments where we’d been. Trapped by Simon. Damn the EV king and his plotting. I’d get him for that if it was the last thing I did.
When I woke up that evening, I realized I’d never listened to Jerry’s voice mail.
“Gloriana, I’ve called you three times. I know you have caller ID, so why aren’t you picking up? We need to talk. I have some ideas about how to handle this jam you’re in. I even came to your shop, but you apparently took off without informing your staff. I thought you were serious about your business, so perhaps you’re merely avoiding me. You must know I intend to help you. Call me. Immediately.”
Had to love the logic there. Sure, Jerry, it’s all about you. But I wasn’t going to tell him about Westwood. Best case, Jerry would try to take over, and we’d have a vampire war with my friends as casualties. I told myself that he meant well with this protective thing, but the way he issued orders . . . I put that problem on the back burner. Obviously I needed to come up with a story that would satisfy my bossy lover.