My cell rang just as I drove into my parking lot. It was Jerry.
"Hey, where are you?"
"I just got back from Miami. Where are you?"
"I'm about to head into the shop. Can you meet me?" I slammed the car door. Aggie had already headed inside. She'd complained that she was starving. I think there was a pint of ice cream with her name on it upstairs. I didn't need a diet book or a psychology degree to know she was stuffing her stress.
"What about your apartment? We'd have more privacy."
"No, we wouldn't. Aggie will be there. Why do we need privacy?" Not that I didn't like to be alone with him, but something in his voice made my stomach clench. What was this about?
"We need to talk. I've been thinking about the way we left things before I took off for Miami. You were right. Everything I do is your concern. I'm ready to come clean. Can you come over here, to my house? Lily's not here." He sounded really serious. What kind of secret had he been keeping? Murder? Another woman? My mind raced.
"Let me run inside and check for disasters. If everything is okay, I'll be there in thirty minutes. Lily is here, by the way. I hope you don't mind that I put her to work." Aggie had left the back door into the apartments wide open; I shut and locked it then dealt with the one into the shop's back room. I would have to get onto her about security.
"No, she needed to face reality. I don't mind setting her up in an apartment, but a job is good for her. Lets her see how ordinary people earn a living."
"Yes, that was the idea." I just hoped Lily was through stealing from those ordinary people. "Look, I'll hurry. See you soon." I hung up and headed into the store.
Lily was there, helping a customer. She wasn't like Flo about vintage clothes; she actually liked them as long as they were high quality. I still had to work on her snob factor since some of my vintage clothing, especially the sixties and seventies stuff, originally came from discount stores. But she'd gotten into dressing for the job and apparently still had some of her favorites from the last century. Tonight she wore a great sixties Goth outfit in black leather and lace that I'd meant to compliment her on earlier. Her thigh-high boots had spike heels and she'd worn her dark hair in a mass of tangled curls. She was a walking advertisement for the stuff we sold.
"How's it going, Lily?" I stopped next to her at the cash register.
"Fine. You know you should really put all of this on a computer system. It would make keeping track of inventory easier." She handed a customer her change. "Hey, Laurie, come by and show me how that works out on Halloween. I'd love to see you."
"You bet, Lily. Maybe the boss lady here will let you off early and you can come with. The party will be awesome. I can get you in." The girl glanced at me. She was a regular but I'd never caught her name before.
"Sure, we'll work something out, though Halloween is a big night for us." I glanced at the sales total. It was a sizeable cash sale. Nice. "Thanks for coming in." The girl left and I turned to Lily.
"Don't say it. I know she's mortal." Lily held up a hand. "But I can be around them and not go all bloodthirsty." She kept her voice low so none of the other customers could hear. "I am trying to be friendly. I don't have any buds here."
"I wasn't going to say anything about that. I'm glad you're making friends. And she's nice. I know she's a student at UT. As long as you don't put her on the menu, I think it's a good idea to make friends." I glanced around and saw everything was under control, the other night clerk helping another customer. "Your dad is back in town and I'm headed over to his house. Aggie's upstairs. Her hearing didn't go well. When you get off, you might want to go up and give her your sympathy."
"Oh, wow. Sure." Lily sighed. "No surprise. I didn't want to say it, but the deck was stacked against Aggie all the way."
"Right. Look around the apartment while you're there. I heard there's a vacancy on the third floor in this building. Could you stand to live so close to me?" My place was on the second.
"On Sixth Street?" She actually hugged me. "I'd freaking love it. Thanks, Glory. That's exactly what I need - a place of my own near all the action. I can use my own laptop to get your inventory online here, then transfer the files to yours. You get the apartment for me and I'll do that for you. On my own time." She glanced around. "You know retail isn't a bad career option. I've enjoyed this. I have lots of ideas for improving this place."
"Slow down, Donald Trump. I'm pretty happy with the way things are, though the inventory thing sounds great." I couldn't believe this smiling vamp was the angry girl who had acted out just days ago. You'd think after hundreds of years she'd have figured out a purpose for her life. It was too bad she'd been allowed to drift so long. "Thanks, Lily. I'd love to hear your ideas. Soon." I hugged her back. "And I love the outfit. You make the shop look good."
She glanced down. "Hey, I was just trying to fit in. I could have sold it six times already. But thanks. Now go, don't keep Dad waiting." She winked. "Work your magic and get me that place."
I shook my head. No magic here. I waved and set off. I lost my smile fast. What did Jerry have to tell me? A move and name change. Well, I'd done the same thing many times. I had to stop guessing and see him there, so I could find out the truth.
When I drove up to his house, I saw that he'd turned the porch light on for me. Before I could get out of the car, my mother materialized in the passenger seat.
"Whoa. You startled me. Thanks for not doing that while I was driving."
"Of course I waited. Wouldn't want you to have a wreck, darling." She glanced at my outfit. "I see you are wearing the dress I gave you. That pleases me. I still want us to go shopping together, my treat. It's a fantasy of mine to have a mother-daughter night in a mall."
"Mother, Jerry is waiting for me. Did you have something important to say?" I leaned back against the door. She was still in her toga. "Did you come straight from your duties with Zeus?"
"Yes. It was exhausting. Especially since I was keeping tabs on you while having to dole out pardons and listen to the endless bickering that goes on up there." She put a hand to her forehead. "It's enough to give me a migraine. Did you ever get one of those?"
"You're the only headache I have at the moment. Speed this up, please. I have a dawn time limit, you know." I sighed. "Sorry, but Jerry says he's going to clue me in about his big secret. I'm a little worried."
"Of course you are, darling." She reached out and stroked my cheek. "If he disappoints you, Mars told me he would be happy to punish him for you." She smiled. "Now as to why I'm here...I heard what happened with that fallen Siren. And you have her in your apartment, making messes, spending your money. Such a nuisance!"
"You got that right. Can you help me out? She owes Ian a ton of money." I leaned forward. "Do you carry cash with you?"
"Don't be silly. I'd never bail out that bitch." She brushed off her toga like the very idea had soiled her. "But I have a way that you can do it yourself." Her smile was crafty.
I didn't like this. She was definitely up to something. "Okay, what do you have in mind?"
"Well, the Siren treasure is there in Olympus for the claiming. I can talk my way into a bit of reparation for you. Aggie" - she shuddered - "such an ugly nickname, probably not. Even though you both left the program, you left involuntarily. Achelous definitely owes a debt for that. I can make sure you are paid your fair share."
"Seriously? I don't want part of anything Siren, but Aggie really needs a small fortune. To pay Ian and to support herself so she can move away from me and my place. What will it take to get her a piece of this treasure?"
"You can choose to give her your portion, of course. If you truly don't want it for yourself." There was that secret smile again. "If you are that desperate to be rid of her, it will require just a small sacrifice on your part, Gloriana. You must come to Olympus personally with me and ask for it." She sighed and touched my hand. "I know how reluctant you've been to do that very thing. You've made your views perfectly clear."
"And you can't get this treasure for me?" Wasn't this falling in with her wishes just a little too neatly?
"Oh, no. Only a former Siren can claim the gold. And, if you've been paying attention to the news, you know that gold is very, very valuable right now. Your portion, if you give it to Aggie, would set her up for life, whether she remains mortal or ends up a" - exaggerated shudder - "vampire."
"Mother, did you do this? Orchestrate this Aggie fiasco?" I squeezed her hand.
"Darling, you're hurting me!" She jerked her hand away. "My, vampires are strong, aren't they?" And that wasn't an answer, was it?
"Maybe I can live with her after all." I tried not to picture Aggie as I'd last seen her when I'd run upstairs to check. She'd fallen asleep on my couch, the overturned carton of ice cream making a puddle on my new coffee table. Her spoon was stuck on the front of her robe, her snoring so loud it drowned out Judge Judy awarding money to a sobbing woman who'd been tossed out naked after a fight with her boyfriend. My cat, Boogie, had braved the noise to lick up the mess. Every light in the apartment had been left on and the refrigerator door was ajar.
"Fine. I'm sure after a few years you'll be just like real sisters." She pulled down the visor to check her hair, acting like she hadn't just described my worst nightmare. "I just wanted you to meet your grandfather at least once."
Years. Wait. Had that been a confession? "Mother..."
"I'm not saying I had a hand in any of this, just offering you a way out. Be logical, Gloriana. I'm sure Zeus will be putty in your hands if you tell him how desperate you are to get that former Siren out of your apartment." She shut the mirror then leaned back in the bucket seat to stare at me. "Are you? That desperate?"
Well. No one could ever accuse my mother of missing an opportunity to get what she wanted. I rested my head on the steering wheel. Two thousand days of Aggie in my home while she bitched and moaned on her way to cleaning Ian's house. Two thousand days of Aggie eating like she needed a drop cloth, watching reality TV endlessly and using up all the hot water. And after that? Would she have the money to move out? No.
"Think you're brilliant, don't you, Mother?" I sat up and grabbed my purse.
"I think I have a way to solve your problem, darling. When do we go?" She had a Cheshire cat grin.
"I'll let you know. Give me some time to work up my nerve. From what I hear, Olympus isn't exactly Club Med. I'm taking my life in my hands going up there." I opened the car door and the inside light came on. The glare didn't do my mother any favors, showing how hard her mouth got when she was disappointed. "What? Did you think I'd just grab your hand and hop on the fast track to Olympus?"
"I had hopes." She sighed. "I can protect you up there."
"Forget it. Someday soon. Maybe. Right now I have this thing with Jerry. I'll be in touch."
"So difficult. Go. I'm exhausted. I'm heading home to bed. Alone. I hope that makes you happy." She frowned and rubbed her temples.
"I'm sorry you had a rough day. I said I'll think about it. Good night." I got out and slammed the door. She must have decided to leave things there because when I looked back she was gone. I started up the walk.
Suddenly I couldn't go any farther. The air reeked of evil with a smell like burnt sugar. I knew that smell way too well and almost expected some familiar demons to pop out of the bushes. I looked around, my stomach knotting and my fists clenched. Yes, I had new skills, but usually found they were useless when I was fighting the kind of powers that crackled and surged around me now.
"Gloriana St. Clair." I heard my name whispered on the slight breeze. I shivered at the malevolence that each syllable carried with it.
"Who are you? Come out and face me!" I looked from side to side. Whipped around and stared behind me. No one. "Coward! What? Afraid a vampire can take you down? Lucifer? Back for a rematch? I know you won't hide in the bushes." I kept taunting who or what must have crept into Jerry's yard and decided to spook me. The air swirled around me, cold and menacing, as it tried to knock me off my feet. I wasn't going down but I felt like I was about to jump out of my skin.
Jump. Good idea. I concentrated and dematerialized, only to pop up on Jerry's doorstep. Immediately, I felt safe again, as if I'd somehow passed over the malicious barrier and into the land of good and plenty. I breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the doorbell. An owl hooted and I stumbled, twisting my ankle. Great. Made it past the big bad and let a bird spook me. Nice going, Glory.
Jerry answered almost at once. "You were sitting in the car for a while." He pulled me in for a kiss. "Something wrong? Are you hurt?"
I looked behind me. Of course the sweet and creepy air had vanished. "My mother was in the car. I'll tell you about it later." I dropped my purse on a hall table. "Took a wrong step and hurt my ankle." Which actually throbbed like a bitch. "It'll heal but I wouldn't turn down an ice pack."
"Sure, I'll get it. You want a bottle of synthetic while I'm in the kitchen?" He started to lead me to his leather couch but I shook my head. I couldn't get the picture of Lily's threesome there out of my mind.
"That would be great, but let's go upstairs to talk. In your office." I tried to shake off the heebie-jeebies.
"Whatever you say. Careful on the stairs." He walked toward the kitchen.
I limped up to the second floor. It seemed to take forever but we finally settled in his office in two leather chairs. The man did like his leather.
"How was Miami? Did you hire a new manager?" Bring back a souvenir like maybe something spooky for the front lawn?
"Yes, but it wasn't easy to leave so soon. I hired from within. That helped." He ran his hand through his hair. "Screw the business. I never should have told you my past didn't concern you, Gloriana. Not after all you did for me when I lost my memory."
"Jerry, I took care of you because I love you. You don't owe me explanations. When I was in Las Vegas for five years and you were wherever, it was understood that we were free to live as we chose." Of course Jerry had hired Valdez as my bodyguard and I'd learned that my shifter buddy had reported pretty much everything I'd done to his boss. Secrets? I just had one big one now.
"I know. When we took breaks from each other, we had lovers. I know you did and I did too." He drank from his bottle, no glass for him, though he'd made the effort to pour my synthetic into one. Jerry and lovers. Here it came.
"Mortals are the easiest, of course. Then when things go south, you can erase their memories." It was like he was talking to himself. He glanced at me. "And you know how I am. I prefer mortal blood when I can get it. So I had a mortal lover who I drank from on a regular basis."
"Is this your big confession?" I took a deep swallow to hide my feelings. Jealousy, first. Disappointment, second. Using mortals. It wasn't anything I admired, though I'd done it myself in the past.
"That's not it." He got up and started pacing. "You know I like powerful women." He stopped in front of me. "I met someone in Miami. She reminded me of you, though you look nothing alike."
"I don't need the details, Jerry." Oh, who was I kidding? I wanted to know every excruciating one. Was this payback? For how I'd hurt him with my affair with Rafe? I jumped up, wanting to run out of the room but my ankle gave way. He grabbed my shoulders to steady me.
"I'm not trying to hurt you. I have to warn you. Sit down, Gloriana." He pushed me down into the chair and carefully adjusted the ice pack on my ankle again. "Listen to me. This is important or I wouldn't bother you with it."
"Warn me?" I put two and two together. "Does she have anything to do with, um, magic or evil? I just had the weirdest experience outside. I had to dematerialize to get to your front door."
"What?" He looked like I'd dropped a house on him. Then a knife suddenly appeared in his hand. "Did she hurt you? Is that what happened to your ankle? Outside you say?" He didn't wait for answers, just ran out of the room before I could stop him.
I started to go after him. And what? Watch some mystery woman work her magic on Jerry? Was he under a spell? Could I shift the blame for their affair to her and let him off the hook? Wouldn't that be nice? Was she beautiful? Of course she was. And he was a man with needs. I knew that. While I waited I let my mind run on an endless loop of what to do or not to do. Then Jerry's front door slammed and he bounded up the stairs.
"No sign of her except that smell...Did you get a whiff of her magic?" He slipped his knife back into his boot. "Is that how you hurt your ankle, Gloriana? Did you two have a confrontation? I'll kill her if she hurt you."
"A confrontation. You could say that, though I never saw her." I couldn't hide my relief that he was back and obviously more concerned with me than that other woman. "She tried to keep me out of here, Jerry. I think it's pretty clear she wants you for herself. And she's evil. I know evil when I smell it. You know that."
"What did she say? Melisandra is a voodoo priestess. Yes, she's mortal but more than just that. She's dangerous, Gloriana." He knelt in front of me, seriously worried. I liked that look on him.
"Jerry, I have powers. I can handle her." I took his hands. "Not saying it was fun dealing with that shit again. It kind of knocked me for a loop so I stumbled, twisted my ankle. It'll heal. But I guess I know now how you felt when things happened between Rafe and me."
"Jealousy bites, doesn't it? I can't believe she's already here. I tried to erase her memory of our time together, like I'd do with an ordinary mortal. No dice." Jerry sat on the arm of the chair next to me. "I don't blame my infatuation with her on one of her spells. I know better. It was her blood, Gloriana. It was almost addictive. It was as if I drew power from it." His eyes lost focus for a moment, like just remembering it got him high.
"Do I really need to hear this, Jerry?" I dropped his hand.
"Yes, you do." He was up and pacing again. "She knew I was vampire and got off to it. She was comfortable in the paranormal world. Too comfortable. It made me uneasy. I knew I had to end the relationship so I stopped drinking her blood. It was a relief to know I could give it up. I told myself that when word of your move to Texas came it was a sign. I needed to get away from Mel completely, make a clean break and get my relationship with you back on track if I could. So I put my hotel there into good hands and took off. I didn't know that she would take it so hard."
"You did say good-bye, didn't you?" I could see how this woman might feel like he owed her after giving Jerry her blood night after night and maybe imagining a future with him. Then he took off to parts unknown to be with me. No wonder she hated me.
"Of course. I told her I had a commitment somewhere else but didn't name the place. As an extra precaution I decided to change my name. Problem was, I couldn't sell my hotel then, the market wasn't right. I guess you've noticed I've had problems with the management there ever since I moved here." He glanced at his laptop. "I'm still worried about it."
"Yes, you've made quite a few trips there. To straighten things out or to see her?" I gripped the arms of the chair to keep from launching myself at him. Had he been having an affair all this time? And then put a guilt trip on me for being unfaithful?
"I didn't intend to ever go back. I'm pretty sure all my troubles at the hotel have been caused by Mel. She can use her voodoo powers to make things happen - accidents, illnesses among the staff, even an infestation of vermin. It's been a nightmare. I'd have to go back and then she would show up, smelling the way she does." He looked at me, his eyes dark with a familiar hunger. "It's the blood, Gloriana. It calls to me. I'd like to blame it on a voodoo spell but I'm afraid it's just my damned vampire nature taking over." He looked away and I took that as an admission that blood wasn't all he got from the woman.
"Well, shit. What am I supposed to do with this, Jerry?" I couldn't sit still another minute. I glanced down and saw that I had ripped lines in the chair's leather. Tough.
"Please, let me finish. This last trip she threatened you. Said my manager had told her my girlfriend had given him his orders while I was in Scotland. That really steamed her. She has some way of seeing things, like that damned sorcerer did. Said you'd been unfaithful to me and that you didn't deserve me. If I didn't come back to her, she'd make sure I had no choice to make." He reached for me.
"No, keep talking." I wasn't about to let him touch me then.
He ran his fingers through his hair. "I wasn't going to be threatened into a relationship. I told her that I was done with her even if you weren't in the picture. But she kept on, messing with my business, making her threats. I figured it was just wild talk, a woman scorned, you know. I wanted to kill her." He had a knife in his hand again and I knew he meant what he said. "But she has protection." He met my gaze. "I know, not very nice of me, wanting to kill a woman. She's evil, Gloriana. Like you said."
"She must be a servant of the dark arts." I believed him. That he wanted to be done with her.
He put the knife away. "This is serious. Now that she's here, be careful, Gloriana. She's capable of just about anything." He dropped to his knees in front of me. "I'm so sorry to have brought this to you."
I ran my hands through his hair. How could I condemn him? I'd brought pretty bad things to him. The latest had been amnesia and a spell that had almost boiled his brain.
"It's okay, Jerry. We've both made mistakes. And I've faced a lot worse than some witch who smells like a kitchen mistake." I faced where she probably still lurked, trying to listen in with her voodoo magic, and shot the finger. "Bring it on, bitch."
Jerry pulled me to my feet and slipped his arms around me. "Tough talk. You don't know her. Yes, I think you can handle just about anything. But can you handle the fact that I betrayed you?" He rested his cheek on my hair.
I just stood there for a minute. Betrayal. Oh, I so did not want to go there. I could rationalize his slip with a voodoo priestess. It had started before our reunion in Texas and of course she didn't want to let him go. If we were keeping score, I was way ahead in the infidelity department. I decided then and there that I wasn't going to tell him about my slip with Ray. We had enough hurt feelings between us. Bringing up Ray now would do nothing but damage our relationship and ease my conscience. It would be selfish of me to unload on Jerry now.
Luckily he'd assumed his lover's vision of my slip had been about the Rafe incident. I was leaving it at that. I slid my arms around his waist.
"She's brought this fight to Austin. First thing you need to do is convince her that you would never ever be with her again no matter what she tries. Is that the way you feel? Can you be around her and resist her blood now?" I touched his cheek and stared into his eyes.
"Of course. She was a bad chapter in my life that I'm ready to close the book on. You're my future, Gloriana. I'll do whatever it takes to keep us together." He didn't look away and opened his mind to me so that I could see his truth. I felt ashamed that I couldn't do the same. "I love you, Gloriana. I don't want to lose you. Just take this seriously. Melisandra is powerful. I've seen her power at work and it's scary as hell."
I smiled and leaned against him. To hell with guilt. As far as I was concerned, we were even. And if I was his future, he was mine.
"I've got news for you, Jerry. I'm scary as hell too."
"Oh, really." He picked me up, holding me close as he strode to the bedroom. "Lucky for you, I like a challenge." When he tossed me on the bed, we both were smiling.
"I'm not giving you up, Jerry. Whatever she tries, she's not running me off." I reached for him, more than ready to forget everyone but him.
"Stubborn and scary too. What more could I ask for in a woman?" He came down on top of me, his body fitting perfectly against mine, just as it always did. "Guess we were meant to be, Gloriana. Now I think we've talked enough, don't you?"
My answer was to kiss him. Meant to be. I heard thunder and the bed actually shuddered beneath us. Of course we were. I inhaled his scent, dear, mine. No one was going to come between us. No one.