Part 2 (2/2)

Israel Caine, nickname Ray, pulled me into a hug that turned Jerrys grin into a frown. Why am I here? How could I miss your wedding? I have to be there in case you come to your senses and decide to bolt. Ill help you get away. We can s.h.i.+ft to Tahiti and lie naked on a beach together. Ray ignored my efforts to put some s.p.a.ce between us. When your fiance asked me to sing..? Ray finally let me go with a pat on the b.u.t.t. Hey, nothing I like better than singing to you, babe.

Maybe this wasnt such a good idea. Jerry jerked me to his side.

Oh, no. I love it. It will make the night just perfect. I sent my man a mental message to let me go. Jerry put out his hands, giving me some s.p.a.ce. You started this and you should have remembered that Israel Caine doesnt do anything without att.i.tude.

You so get me, sweet thing. Ray grinned and pulled out a chair. His dont give a s.h.i.+t att.i.tude this time didnt fool me one bit. He was a little steamed, but he wasnt about to let Jerry see it.

You dont have to do this, Ray. I know youre a busy man. I knew he wasnt nursing a broken heart and neither was I. We were friends and had settled that a while back.

Never too busy for you, Glory girl. If you are determined to marry this throwback to the dark ages, then Ill sing whenever and whatever you want. He winked at me, letting me know he was enjoying pulling Jerrys chain.

Good to know. I moved over to stand behind Jerry when he sat down again, my hands firmly on his shoulders. I could feel the tension in them. He was right to be jealous of Ray. What on earth had possessed him to drag the singer into this?

I say we make it a duet. Ray sat down and motioned to a waitress. She knew what he liked. Every waitress at N-V was half in love with him and had been since hed performed there the first time. He and Rafe werent best buds, but since Ray had made Austin one of his homes, he liked to try out new songs at this club that catered to vampires. Rafe wasnt about to turn down good business, and a famous rock star brought in the bucks.

I was Rays mentor. It had taken him a long time to come to terms with the vampire life since hed been turned against his will. Now he was mentoring his own fledgling vampire. Payback was a b.i.t.c.h as they say.

A duet? Maybe. Is Sienna still in town? A duet with her would be better. As the bride Ill be pretty busy. I settled into my chair again since Jerry had calmly picked up his drink and hadnt made a move for one of his knives. Sienna Star was the new vampire Ray was now responsible for. Id turned her, but Ray had accidentally drained her. That had left him stuck with her as far as I was concerned. I hated making new vampires and Sienna hadnt exactly embraced her new role, not without causing problems.

Yes, shes here. And giving me fits. Shed still like nothing better than to out all vampires. If the label hadnt threatened to pull her next alb.u.m, Im afraid shed already have had a press conference about it. Ray leaned back in his chair. Youre right. I should bring her to the wedding. Work up a duet with her.

He smiled as the waitress set his gla.s.s in front of him. No alcohol for him, he was a recovering alcoholic. At least I hoped he was still on the wagon. I casually picked up his gla.s.s and sniffed.

Hey, you dont have to do that. Im still clean. Siennas giving me enough s.h.i.+t that I need a clear head.

I relaxed and handed him back the drink, synthetic blood and the highest quality. Sorry. You know I worry about you.

Can we get on with our plans? Jerry practically growled. Gloriana certainly doesnt need to sing at her own wedding. Caine, you and Sienna Star doing a duet. Perfect. Right, darling? He slung his arm around me in a death grip.

Yes. Ill have enough to worry about that night. I have to look as good as possible and then there are those out-of-town guests to entertain. I grimaced. Flo, what are you doing?

Registering you. Give me a color for the bathrooms. And bedroom linens. This is such fun. Her eyes were s.h.i.+ning. Ricardo, I think I divorce you and we do it again. Marry. I didnt register last time. I want to do this.

No, darling. Youre stuck with me. Richard was grinning as he put away his phone. We have New Years Day at eleven pm. Now you can order invitations. Ill email you the details, Gloriana.

Stick with neutrals, Flo. Sheets too. No satin. I glanced at Ray, some memories surfacing. Too slippery.

Neutrals are boring. Ricardo, you love my pink sheets, dont you? Flo teased her husband as she filled in a bridal registration for me. I just sat back and listened. Ray was goading Jerry, suggesting songs that he knew my Scot would hate sung at his wedding. One was Glory Girl, a song Ray had written just for me. If Ray even hinted that he and I had been together once Id never told Jerry about that. My nerves suddenly got the best of me.

Stop it! I dont even know the difference between a fingertip towel and a hand towel. And who cares whether its ecru or beige? Youre right, Flo, theyre both boring but I cant make a decision right now. Ray, sing something romantic. You should know what I like. And quit trying to make Jerry pull out one of his knives. I jumped up. Come on, Flo. Ladies room. Now. Marriage. Id run from it for four hundred years. Why? I dont know. Fear of monogamy forever? I wasnt a s.l.u.t but the idea suddenly sounded overwhelming. The four of them stared at me when I grabbed Flos arm.

But Im only halfway done, amica.

Looks like a case of nerves to me. Second thoughts, Glory? Ray chuckled. Oh, h.e.l.l, hed put this on Jerry and thered be a fight. I didnt care. I needed to talk to Flo.

Flo has lipstick on her teeth. And we need to talk about colors before she commits on this registry. Its an important decision. Right, Flo?

She didnt hear me. She was scrubbing her front teeth with her index finger.

How long? Oh, I hate to see anyone with lipstick on a tooth. It is so ugly. Flo kept muttering as she let me drag her with me.

At the bottom of the stairs, I finally let go. Not the ladies room. Rafes office. I can see hes at the bar with Lacy. Come on. Flo just followed me through the crowd on the dance floor to where I knew Rafe kept a soundproof office. I could feel her studying me. The lipstick story had obviously not held up when shed seen her finger come away clean.

Is not nerves, is it, Glory? she said as soon as I closed us both inside. You love Jeremiah. I know you are ready to marry him.

Yes, I am. But I want you there, by my side. I grabbed her shoulders and shoved her into a chair. I was telling the truth. I was actually ready for monogamy. But this Flo thing? I couldnt just sit around drinking and picking out linens when I had a life and death issue unresolved.

Hey, what are you doing? Flo dragged my hand off of her. You almost ripped my dress.

Sorry. I paced the floor in front of her. Straight talk. That was the only way to deal with this. Did someone contact you about your necklace? The one that belonged to Marie Antoinette?

What? How do you know..? She looked up from examining her sleeve. Okay so Id gotten a little rough. But I hadnt ripped anything. Did that Cisneros say something? She jumped up, b.u.mping into me because I was standing too close. Hes a hit man. Have they put out a contract on me? Madre de Dios! She crossed herself and began speaking rapid Italian.

Slow down. Speak English. Obviously you know what Im talking about. I sank into one of the two leather chairs across from Rafes messy desk.

Of course I do. These people. They call me. Dont ask how they get my number. It is unlisted. She threw up her hands, muttering more Italian. Non e importante. Anyway, they call me. Start making demands. Like I have to give up my beautiful necklace that Ricardo paid good money for. She sank into the chair next to me. I tell you. Why should I listen to them?

Because now they want to kill you, Flo. I grabbed her hand. Miguel is trying to go straight. Give up the killing game. But they didnt know that. Apparently they just knew he was the go-to guy in this area of the country and he has a, I swallowed, sick at the thought of what this meant, good reputation for getting the job done. Anyway, they contacted him when you wouldnt play ball. They put out the contract. As a favor to me, he said hed look into it.

You mean he took their money. Flo gripped my hand until I had to pry away her fingers. She was hurting me. Couldnt blame her.

Hes trying to help me save your life, buddy. Listen to me. The first thing we have to do is return that d.a.m.ned necklace.

No. Her mouth was set in a firm line. They have no claim. I knew Marie. She got the necklace as a gift from an admirer. The Maurys must have sold it to him. Now they want it back? Too bad for them.

No, Flo. Too bad for you. Id say the admirer must have stolen it. The man who sold it to you wasnt supposed to let it go. Hes been, uh, punished.

Saul? What have they done to him? I have been buying jewels from him for years. For the first time Flo actually looked upset. He is a kind man. I forced him to sell to me. Once I saw the piece Well, I remembered it. Had to have it. Marie and I were friends. Yes, she was silly, but had a kind heart. What they did to her It has haunted me. She looked around and grabbed a paper towel from a stack next to the door to dab at her eyes. So long ago. Youd think Id get used to losing my mortal friends.

Focus, Flo. I dont like losing friends either. But be sensible. Give the necklace back. Its only a thing. It certainly doesnt bring your friend back. And it might not satisfy these people either since youve really p.i.s.sed them off.

Flo tossed down the wadded up towel. Well, theyve p.i.s.sed me off too. She took a steadying breath, her eyes blazing as she jumped to her feet. Are they vampire? Id like to see them come after me themselves. Hiding behind hit men. Pah! We will see how brave they are. I call Saul. See if he is okay. I take revenge if he is not.

Are you going to tell Richard about this? I knew I would if she didnt. Surely hed talk some sense into her.

Flo narrowed her gaze on me. Why do you ask? The necklace is mine. You make a big deal about independence. Am I right? Should I run to Ricardo with my little problem?

Its not a little problem. And Richard could help us solve it. Get real, Flo. We have to appease these ruthless people. Whats all this talk about revenge? For a p.a.w.n shop owner in Paris? You have to save your own b.u.t.t first, girlfriend. Dont you get that?

Us? It is not us in trouble, Glory. It is me. Stay out of it. I will take care of the matter. She stomped to the door and kicked it. The fact that she was probably damaging her high-heeled boots was evidence that she was truly upset. I appreciate the warning. I do. But I am not returning the necklace. Tell your friend Miguel, the hitman, to deliver that message to those people. And, if you are truly my friend, you will not breathe a word of this to Ricardo. Are we agreed?

I cant” The look in her eyes stopped me cold. My happy Italian had a dark side and I didnt want to mess with her.

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