"Let's bring your friend up here. We can help you decide how and what to tell him." Jerry was actually being cordial, which threw Ray way off his stride.

So Ray and Jerry headed downstairs. Flo picked up one of the tabloids.

"Here's a cute picture of you, Glory, catching panties." Then she gasped and stuck the newspaper under a cushion.

"What?" I made a grab for it.

"No, forget it, girlfriend. Tell me about Israel kissing you. Was it totally hot?" Flo's cheeks were pink and she was signaling Richard. I jumped up. "Flo, what was in that paper?"

" Stupido! Or maybe my reading is not so good. Throw it away, Richard." Flo tried to wad it up and toss it to him, but I snatched it out of the air.

I walked over to the breakfast room and smoothed out the paper. My picture was in full color and I was snatching the panties from a grinning Ray. Of course he never took a bad picture. He looked . . . amazing. Then I read the caption.

"Israel Caine's New Flavor of the Month, Gloriana St. Clair. Check Out those Supersized Blueberries. But Lay Off the Marshmallow Crème to Last the Full Thirty Days." I felt Flo's arm around my shoulders and Valdez's cold nose on my wrist.

"They spelled your name right." Valdez chuffed.

"You know what pisses me off?"

"What, honey?" Flo patted my back.

"They didn't mention the shop! You know what this kind of free publicity is worth?" By the time Jerry and Ray returned with Nathan, Flo and I had picked our favorite stories and had piled up a few destined for the shredder downstairs. Richard had discovered that someone had already set up a "Defend the Blueberries" MySpace page for me on the Internet.

Nathan was clearly confused by the shabby apartment and by the group of people who wouldn't leave him alone with his friend, even when he threw out not-so-subtle hints that they had business to discuss. Even Valdez seemed to bother him. Of course my dog would stare at him, probably reading his mind to see if he was the trustworthy sort. Clearly Ray thought the world of the guy and a few minutes clued us in to the fact that the two had grown up together in an affluent Chicago suburb where Ray's mother had settled with her second husband, a wealthy American manufacturer.

"Don't listen to Nate if he ever tries to go all ghetto, homeboy on you. The only hood he knew growing up was the hood of his dad's Jag in their five-car garage."

"Now, Ray. I was going to run my act by Glory later." Nathan grinned and winked. He'd already congratulated me on the tabloid cover shot. Apparently good media coverage made up for a lot, even the inconvenience of staying in Austin. I'd read his mind though, and he was planning to get Ray alone and talk him into going back to New York, even if they had to drag me along with them.

"Nate's got a Harvard MBA. That's why I trust him with my business. That and the fact that he's like a brother to me. That's why you people have to understand. I'm going to tell him the truth." Ray looked around the room. He was in one chair. Flo, Jerry and I were on the couch. Richard leaned against the door not far from Valdez. One by one we all nodded.

"Truth? What truth, bud?" Nate sat in the only other chair. He put both elbows on his knees and leaned forward until he was looking Ray dead in the eyes. "You're scaring me, Ray. Are you sick? Buster and Sam said you're not eating or drinking. What's up with that?"

Ray took a deep breath, reached out and gripped Nate's hands. "I had an accident, Nate. A bad one."

"Oh, shit. Is this about a DUI? They're not so cool about that in Texas. I mean, if they'll burn the president's daughter . . ." Ray must have squeezed hard, because Nate looked down and yelped.

"Hey, watch it, brother. I'll get you a good lawyer. We'll get this straightened out. Unless, oh, shit, man, there's not a dead body somewhere is there?"

"No, no DUI. No, dead body. Except mine." Ray tried to laugh, but it came out more like a sob. "Sorry if I hurt your hand, Nate. I guess I'm stronger than I used to be." Ray glanced at me and I nodded. He let go of Nate and wiped his eyes. "I can't do it. Tell him for me, Glory."

"Tell me what?" Nate jumped up and put a hand on Ray's back. "Shit, man, are you crying? We haven't cried since the Bulls lost Jordan."

"Hell, no. I don't cry."

But Ray was crying. I sniffled, and Flo broke down beside me.

"Nathan, listen to me. Just listen." That came out of me kind of shaky, but it was all I had. Ray shook his head and stood up. "No, I should do it. It's on me." He took a deep breath, put his hand on Nate's shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Nathan, I'm a vampire."

Nineteen

Nathan looked around the room. We all just stared back, solemn as if we were at a wake. Suddenly he burst into laughter, slapping Ray on the back, then collapsing into his chair.

"Oh, man, you really had me then. You and your practical jokes. This is even better than the time you made Dave think he'd swallowed his contact lens with his Jack Daniels and that he'd have to have it surgically removed."

"No joke. Show him." Ray concentrated, then forced a smile, his fangs glinting in the overhead light. One by one, we all gave Nathan toothy grins, though it was definitely an effort on my part.

Nate just laughed harder. "Oh, stop! I can't stand it! Where'd you get them? Some costume shop? They're the best I've ever seen. Got to have some for next Halloween."

Ray pulled Nate to his feet and grabbed his hand. "Feel them. They're the real deal. They don't come out." He took a shaky breath.

"Aw, hell, I can smell your blood, Nate, hear it pumping through your veins." He looked at me. "It's making me . . . thirsty, Glory." His eyes filled again. "This is sick."

"No, Ray, it's normal. But go get a bottle of Bloodthirsty, it'll help." I could see he wasn't in any shape to walk to the kitchen so I just passed him my open bottle. He released Nathan and took a deep swallow.

His friend still couldn't buy any of this. It was like he was watching a play, waiting for act two. He wasn't about to put his hand in his friend's mouth, but he did look curiously at the bottle Ray was swigging from.

"That tomato juice or something stronger? Sorry about that crack earlier about rehab, buddy. You know I don't think you have a problem. It's just that the tabloids have made a big deal-"

"Screw the tabloids." Ray handed me the bottle. "I'm serious about this. I have to get you to believe me because what happened to me changes everything. For me, for you. Forever." He grabbed Nate's finger and dragged it into his mouth.

"Ow! Son of a bitch! What the hell was that?" Nate stared at the blood welling from his index finger.

"Look at my teeth again, brother." Ray snarled.

"Aw, no. What the hell is wrong? You can't sing like that." Nathan glared at me. "I don't know what kind of freaky scene you people are into, but Ray's a straight-up guy. Come on, Ray. A good dentist will fix you right up. I'm taking you out of here. A little rehab, corrective dentistry and you'll be back to normal in no time."

Ray just shook his head.

Nathan grabbed Ray's arm and tried to pull him toward the door. "Come on, I said. I'd like to see these people try to stop us. Let's go before I start knocking some of these fake pointy canines loose."

"No, Nate. Nothing here's fake. This isn't a cult and I'm not in line for an intervention. I wish it was that easy." Ray looked down to where Nate jerked on his arm, clearly surprised that he now had the strength to resist a man who so obviously worked out more than he did. "Buddy, sit down. Listen to me for a minute, okay?"

"No. You're freaking me out. I've got to get us out of here. You can tell me all about this game these people are playing in the limo on the way to the airport." Nathan was really upset now that he realized this wasn't some kind of twisted joke. "I don't want to hear any more of this vampire shit." He glanced at Jerry and Richard, who seemed compelled to show off their enormous fangs. "Stop it!"

Of course I thought those fangs were impressive and very sexy. Nathan on the other hand was trembling, the whites of his eyes startling in his dark face. He looked like he was either going to start swinging or pass out where he stood.

"We're not going anywhere until I explain what happened to me the other night. You remember me telling you about that woman trouble I had in New York? The year you went to Harvard and I went to the big city to try my luck in the music business." Nathan jumped when Valdez strolled over and sat near him. I sent my dog a mental message that if he said one word, he was going to be Randolph's date to the Winter Solstice Ball. He clamped his mouth shut and came to sit beside me, gazing at me with a false adoration that made me want to twist his ear.

"Ray, I don't think Glory wants to hear about some woman from your past. But, yeah, sure, I remember you tellin' me about New York. You were never the same about women after that." Nathan happened to catch Flo's eye, and she gave him a fang-filled grin. He moaned and closed his eyes.

"That's 'cause I learned a hard lesson. And Glory knows all about that woman. She was Lucky Carver, the deranged fan you saw in my dressing room last night before the concert."

"Yeah, yeah, concert. Big hit. Did you see the review in the paper? They loved you. Already talking about having you headline Austin City Limits next year. That's huge, man. Bob Dylan got that gig last year." Nathan seemed desperate to steer the conversation back to something he understood, like business. He looked down at his BlackBerry, which had miraculously appeared in his hand.

"I guess you guys know it's a big-deal music festival here. Draws over a hundred thousand fans from all over. Held in Zilker Park. Outdoors. October. I'm already clearing Ray's schedule." He checked out Ray's reaction. "Assuming you still want to come back to the area by then. Maybe it's not such a good idea." He cut his eyes toward me. "Come on, Ray. You sure you're not ready to leave now?"