"You still going to stay at Blade's?"

"No, I like having my own place. And his mother's there. Until after the ball."

"Oh, yeah. I'm going to that winter solstice thing. Nathan and Dad too."

"You're kidding." Hard to imagine. But I guess Ray might as well start mixing and mingling with the local vampire crowd.

"Damian, Flo's brother, invited us." Ray shook his head. "What a character he is."

"Yep. I think he has a panty collection to rival yours."

Ray laughed. "I don't keep them. Well, not all of them, just the really unusual. You ever want a pair made out of beer bottle caps, call me."

"Ouch. Maybe you can open a panty museum some day, one of those 'believe it or not' things."

"My whole life's turned into a believe it or not thing. Damian says this party's a benefit for orphaned were-kittens?"

"Yes, Ray, isn't that sad?" I knew Ray was waiting for an explanation of were-kittens, but it was fun to make him wonder.

"I don't know what the hell they are, but orphaned anything is sad. So I told Damian I'd sing and help raise some money. I've written a new song." Ray glanced out at the two women who'd been joined by three more. "Oops, I think I'd better sign some things and get out of here before you have a riot on your hands at four in the morning."

"That's nice, Ray."

"What? That I'm sparing you a riot?"

"That you care about orphans."

"Well, sure. I had two loving parents." He watched Des putting the moves on Brittany. "Sometimes too loving. But I've always had the security of knowing I've got a home to go to. Two homes. I'll see you at the ball. I want you to hear my new song, Glory. I wrote it for you."

And then he just walked over to those giggling fans and signed T-shirts and skirts, refused to sign bras and breasts, and left. Leaving me hanging. A song for me. Israel Caine. Oh.

Twenty-three

"Glory, I thought you'd never get here!" Lacy met me at the shop door. She held it open and practically shoved Valdez inside.

"I'm only five minutes late." Okay, closer to ten, but to give Lucky credit, the camera thing for checking makeup is genius. I'd spent some time with my camera phone trying out an eye-shadow technique I'd seen on the Home Shopping Network. I'd also left another message for Derek and one for Greg. I needed help if I had even a whiff at the reward for finding Lucky's attacker. If just one of them could describe D. L. March for me, I might actually have a chance at figuring out who had hired the hit on Lucky. Then I had checked my computer and YouTube.

A quick search for vampires had taken me straight to my video. Yep, there I was. Fangs out, kneeling over Lucky. And the hits!

Forty-eight thousand and climbing. I was a regular media star. Thank God I'd had a brainstorm about how to handle the fallout.

"Sorry, Lacy. Have you been swamped? By weirdos looking for a vampire?" I tensed while I waited for her answer. The video had been handily tagged with the name of my shop and the address. My blackmailer obviously played hardball. There were a few customers in the place, but none of them rushed up to me, begging to see my choppers.

"No. But that guy came back. The one who was asking questions about you before. The first one. I was right. He was from Mr. Carvarelli. He gave me a wad of cash to stay late so you could take a meeting with Mr. C." Lacy looked out the front window.

"They'll be back any minute. They came in a huge black stretch limo."

"Lacy, calm down." I felt as jumpy as she looked. Lucky's father here. A mob boss who had the power to make me rich or put a stake through my heart. There were four customers in the shop in various stages of decision making. One was actually on her way to the register. I gestured to Valdez to follow me to the back room and closed the door.

"You know he's not going to let me get into the limo with you, don't you?" I collapsed in a chair.

"Then don't go, Blondie. You can bet he's going to have his bodyguards with him."

"No, I'll make that a condition. We meet one-on-one."

"Like he'll let you set terms."

"I saved his precious daughter's life. He's grateful."

"Now that we know his precious daughter, maybe he wishes we'd let her bleed out." Valdez paced restlessly. "I don't like it. You should call Blade. You think Carvarelli's people found out who attacked Lucky?"

"That would be a good thing." Even if it cost me money. Let the Carvarellis handle their own enemies. I pulled my cell phone out of my purse and stuck the purse in a drawer. No text from my blackmailer. I thought he might have wanted a farewell swipe at me. No message from Derek either. Too bad. If I could deliver a name to Lucky's father that might actually pan out, then maybe he'd hand me a check.

There was a voice mail from Jerry confirming what time he'd pick me up for the ball tomorrow night. He was meeting with the architect about the new house tonight. That message made me smile. A few naughty words about our hot tub on the hilltop. Yeah, I'm easily distracted. I snapped the cell phone shut and slipped it into my pocket.

"You gonna call him back?" Of course Valdez had listened in.

"No, I'll handle this meeting. But don't do anything crazy, Valdez. I've got a shop full of customers. And I noticed Mugs and Muffins is busy too. Remember, you're just a dog. Nothing extra as far as they're concerned." I threw open the door.

"Woof." Valdez almost knocked me over on his way to the front door.

"Glory, this is, um, Mr., well, he wants to talk to you." Lacy was in the middle of writing out a sales receipt and gestured at a tall man in a neat black business suit.

He didn't look like a gangster. She'd described him before as a fairly harmless type. But she must not have stared into his cool gray eyes. They weren't missing a single detail as they scraped over me. I suddenly wanted to run back upstairs and wipe off some of that taupe eye shadow I'd gone so nuts over.

"I'm Glory St. Clair." I smiled but didn't offer my hand. Instead, I scanned the shop to make sure a customer didn't need me. I wanted this guy to know my priorities.

"Ms. St. Clair, Mr. Carvarelli hopes that you'll join him in the car outside for a brief discussion. If you wish, you may bring your escort." He nodded at Valdez. "And we'll not move from in front of the store." Lacy finished her sale, then rushed back to help a woman who was trying to carry two long evening gowns into a dressing room without dragging them across the floor.

"We're kind of busy now. This really isn't a convenient time." I took a stack of vintage books from a woman and began to write up a sales receipt. " Nancy Drew!" I gave her a smile. "A classic."

"I'm buying them for my granddaughter. I read them all when I was a kid."

"I'm sure she'll love them."

Black Suit eased behind the counter next to me. "Mr. C. will only be in town tonight. If you wish, I'll stay here and assist your clerk." He manufactured a smile. "Not handle your money, of course." He slid the books into a bag. "But do whatever else I can. I assure you, Mr. C. will be brief. He knows your time is valuable." He handed the bag to the customer. "My daughter is eight. Maybe I should get her one of these. Not violent, are they?"

I kept a straight face while I counted out change. And tried to talk myself into getting into that car. Ridiculous. I'm a badass, bloodsucking vampire. Lucky's father was an old man who was even allowing me to bring Valdez with me. What was the worst that could happen? I found out when another black-suited man who obviously worked out more than Black Suit number one opened the limo door.

Lucky was with her father. A pouting, tear-stained, angry Lucky slouched in one corner of the leather seat and seemed to dare me to say more than hi and bye to her father.

Yes, he was old, but still had some good years left I'd say. He exuded power like some vampires exude evil. In fact he reminded me of a mortal Simon Destiny. Except Mr. Carvarelli was deeply tanned with the furrows of a man who'd spent a lot of time squinting into the sun, probably deep-sea fishing while he visited his laundered money in the Caymans. Hey, I watch The Sopranos. I wouldn't want to cross Old Man Carvarelli and thanked the gods once again that I'd never heard of his loan company when I'd been deep in the throes of my addiction in Vegas.

"Miss Gloriana." He smiled. "I knew I had to meet the woman who saved my little girl's life."

"Papa-"

He held up his hand and Lucky's mouth snapped shut.

"You did a remarkable thing. Remarkable. Will you tell me how you found her that night?"

"Glory- "

This time I held up my hand.

Valdez snapped his yap. I wasn't about to be upstaged by my bodyguard, even if I did feel like I was in a bad off-Broadway production of The Godfather.

"I'm afraid the details would distress you, sir. But it was obvious to me that a vampire had ripped open Lucky's throat and left her for dead. When I came upon her body, she was about to breathe her last." Oh, jeez. Breathe her last? I was so far off Broadway, I was in Peoria.

"It happened right here, in the alley behind my shop." As if on cue, we all turned our heads to look at my pride and joy. Now, decorated for Christmas with colored lights and with a bustling crowd in front of it, the shop was way too cheery for it to seem possible that a grisly death scene had happened right behind it. I shuddered and turned back to face Lucky's father.

"Such a coincidence. The timing of your arrival." Mr. Carvarelli reached out and took Lucky's hand. "I have sent a large donation to the Church. A very large donation. Said many prayers. Have a whole convent in Vermont praying several times a day for you, Gloriana. It's truly a miracle that you found my daughter."

I was embarrassed at the thought of legions of nuns on their knees on my behalf, but I forged ahead. "Well, I wasn't exactly the right vampire for the job. I'd never turned anyone before. I was scared and really didn't want to make any new vampires." I narrowed my eyes on Lucky. "I don't think it's right to do that. But this, well, this was an emergency."