"What about my bodyguard though?" Lucky bit her lip. "Brittany can be a badass. That's why I hired her. I can't believe she'd let anyone past her, unless . . ." Lucky sidled closer to Jerry. "Maybe that vampire put her into one of these trances." She gestured at Will and Lacy. "But where is she now? How long can one of these hold?"

"It's too much of a coincidence to be different attackers. I suppose an EV could owe Lucky's family money too." I hoped this was all about Lucky. It would be too freaky if she'd been attacked just because she'd happened to be in the alley behind my shop.

"I can give you the names of the clients I'm trying to track down here." Lucky dug her PDA out of her purse. "You got a computer and printer? I could e-mail the list to you and you could see if you recognize any names. I don't know if any of them belong to this EV thing or not."

"Do it, Lucky." I rattled off my e-mail address, then glanced at Will and Lacy, took pity and snapped them out of it.

"What the hell just happened?" Will stared at Lucky. "And who's this?"

"That's the loan, uh, officer I met the other night, Will. Lucky Carver. She represents the Carvarellis."

"Oops. Well, got to jet. Dinner in the oven." Will headed for the door.

"Not so fast, Kilpatrick." Lucky blocked his path and poked Will in his broad chest. She was nothing if not gutsy. "You owe us money. I'm here to collect."

Will snarled, his fangs suddenly enormous. "I'd like to see you try."

"If you owe a debt, you pay it, Kilpatrick." Jerry was suddenly between Will and Lucky. "And back off. Ms. Carver is under my protection."

"She's my responsibility, Jerry. Not yours." Now I was getting pissed. He'd known Lucky for five minutes and now she was under his protection? Lucky was my vampire, thank you very much.

Will still looked like he was either going to bolt or do something stupid. "Will, calm down." I put my hand on his arm. "Did you try to rip out this woman's throat last night?" I pointed to Lucky.

"Hell, no!" Will was as close to the door as he could get. Obviously he'd counted and knew the odds against him weren't good.

"I've never seen her before in my life."

He reached for the knob and I slapped the door. "You're not going anywhere. Yet." I glanced at Jerry. "You want to ask him the same question? Since now Lucky's under your protection?"

"Are you two going to fight over me?" Lucky grinned and glanced at Flo and Richard. "You guys want in on this?"

"Forget him. Where did you get this incredible purse?" Flo picked it up and looked inside, obviously not the least bit interested in Will's problems. "I want one. Does it come in red?"

"Sure. There's a waiting list, but-" Lucky gave me a dirty look. "It's Glory's now. Because I'm so grateful that she saved me."

"Nice." Flo grinned at me. "I may need to borrow-"

"Sure. Whatever." I'd just about had it with the whole bunch of them. "Lucky, go ahead and send the e-mail with your client list to me." I held up a hand when I could see both Richard and Jerry ready to object. "I'll forward it to both of you. And to Freddy since he's been in Austin a lot longer than any of us. Maybe he'll recognize a name that we wouldn't." Frederick von Repsdorf, his partner and his mother were part of my extended family. Not actual relatives, but the closest I'd come in a long time. They were one of the reasons I'd moved to Austin. That and a lust for some cowboy action.

I looked around the room. Not a Stetson or pair of boots in sight. When had my life gone so wrong?

Seven

"You're really going after whoever attacked me? My family could-" Lucky scanned the crowd.

"We need to handle this ourselves. Anybody could have found you in that alley. The vampire who left you for dead didn't give a damn about what that might mean for the vampires who live here." I saw Richard and Jerry nod. Flo was busy checking out the compartments in the Birkin bag.

"If you do find whoever did this . . ." Lucky stroked her throat. "Well, kill the son of a bitch. My family will be happy to compensate-"

"Really, Lucky. First things first. We need more information." No way was I letting Will get his paws on my shot at financial freedom. Besides, he'd probably piss it away at the nearest casino.

"Speak for yourself." Will put on a sympathetic look. "How much will they pay?" Lucky frowned at him. "You're a deadbeat, Kilpatrick. Find the right vampire and we'll talk. But you're still on my short list of suspects. And get this. Killing me won't cancel a debt. It will only make things worse." A cell phone rang-a blast of "SexyBack." Lucky picked up her phone from the coffee table. She frowned and shut it off.

"This 'family' business sounds interesting." Jerry glanced at me.

I deliberately stepped in front of Lacy and Will, who were edging toward the door.

"We keep good records and have stiff penalties for non-payment." Lucky said this like we were supposed to be impressed. Yeah, right. How reassuring to know a loan shark was well organized.

"For one thing, the Carvarellis have collateral. At least for large loans. Something very special to the debtors. You'd forfeit it. Right?" Lacy kept her hand on Will's arm. "I had a cousin who lost his family's vacation home in Vail. Boy, was his mom pissed." Lacy made a face. She and I had both had an up close and personal with a pissed mom-cat. Lucky smiled at her. "Everyone knows the Carvarellis always get their money, one way or another."

"That's why, even though my loan was pretty small, I was determined to pay it off. But Will-"

"Darlin', say no more. Really." Will patted her hand. "Ms. Carver, I may have lost my temper there for a minute, but I fully intend to pay back every damned dime I owe your family."

Lucky shrugged and picked up her BlackBerry again. "So you say. Talk's cheap, Kilpatrick. That token you gave my father will be forfeited in thirty days. And then the serious shit hits the fan."

"I wondered-" I glanced at Jerry. "Seems like loaning to paranormals is a lose-lose proposition. What if they don't really care about their collateral. What's to keep a borrower from disappearing on you? Flying the coop, so to speak?" And, yeah, I meant that literally.

"We have paranormal enforcers on the payroll too. Trust me, you don't want any of them after you." Lucky flicked her gaze over Will. "You need a reminder of what might happen, Kilpatrick?"

"They send in the clowns." Will muttered it. Broadway show tune? His serious face said otherwise.

"What do you mean?" I turned to Lucky but it was Jerry who spoke up.

"Clown Demons. A man in Scotland refused to pay. And they came after him. Those buggers are no joke."

"Clown Demons." I tried and failed to keep a straight face. "What do they do, laugh you to death?"

"Dying would be a relief after the ten thousandth bad knock knock joke." Jerry grinned and I figured he was kidding.

"Truth. Honest." Lucky finished punching in a text and shut off her PDA. "They hound you. Embarrass you because they never leave your side." Lucky looked at Will and shook her head. "Keep smiling, buddy boy. By the time the clowns get through with you, no woman will ever look at you again. And your friends will avoid you. And when the practical jokes start, you'll wish you were dead."

"All right. I get it. Pay up." Will frowned, then looked at Jerry. "I don't suppose you've got more work for me."

"Not as my bodyguard." I was sure about that. Will popping in and out of dog body had been tough to take. Especially since his vampire body, which he'd insisted needed to be naked, was centerfold material. And with Blade paying him . . . Well, let's just say I don't need that kind of frustration.

"Mayhap I'd like to see you with a couple of clowns." Jerry's accent deepened and he moved closer to Lucky. "Tell me, lass, what has the man given as token?" He gave Will a hard look. "I think I know, but I hope to hell I'm wrong."

"It's a ring. A family heirloom." Lucky smiled and focused on Jerry. "Love the Scottish accent. From the Highlands?"

"Aye." Jerry wasn't smiling. "The ring. Would it be sportin' the Kilpatrick family crest, by chance?"

"I can explain-" Will paled and eased toward the door.

"You risked your family's honor for a gaming debt?" Jerry moved in on Will. "You know what it would do to your father if he found out you gave that ring to a bunch of soulless moneylenders?"

"Hey, it's an honest profession. We do a service." Lucky seemed to realize this was not the time to start a debate on the merits of loan sharking when Jerry didn't even spare her a glance.

"I'll not let you disgrace your family, Billy boy. How much do you owe?" Jerry had a fistful of shirt and Will up against the door.

"Quarter of a mil, give or take." Will was smart enough not to try to fight him off. Or to smile.

"A quarter of a million?" Wow. I thought I had problems when I maxed out three Visa cards. Jerry dropped Will and stepped back. He turned to Lucky. "I want to buy the ring. Not discharge this worm's debt, just take the collateral out of your hands. Send in your clowns."

"Hmm. That's kind of irregular. I'd have to call my father." Lucky glanced at Will. "I'll get back to you on that."

"I'll do any kind of work, Blade, if you'll front me the money. Even do the dog thing again." Will had the nerve to smile at me.

"Come on, Glory. We got on well enough. You made anyone mad lately?"

"Of course. She brought Lucky back from death and made her vampire. I figure whoever wanted Lucky dead will be mighty pissed." Valdez had obviously been a silent observer long enough.