Part 10 (1/2)

”It takes longer than that just to punch in my pa.s.sword.”

”Thirty,” he ground out, ”or I might as well turn you in myself.”

”You wouldn't do that.”

He eyed me. ”Wouldn't I?”

No. Yes. I held his gaze for several long seconds before I finally nodded. Not that I felt one hundred percent certain that he would. I just wasn't one hundred percent certain that he wouldn't. ”Thirty seconds,” I grumbled.

”Good. And keep-”

”-the door locked,” I finished for him. ”Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

He stared at me long and hard before his expression softened. ”I'll be back around two. Just behave yourself until then and we'll talk.” He winked and then he was gone.

I locked the door and barely resisted the urge to pick up the phone and call the cops myself.Thirty seconds? Was he crazy in addition to being totally megawatt hot?

I dropped to the sofa and stared at the cordless phone sitting on the coffee table. I thought of Viola and the desperation I'd seen in her eyes. And then I thought about the big, fat check that had been left in my desk amid the chaos of my arrest and escape.

And then I thought of at least a zillion other things I needed to discuss with Evie.

Thirty seconds?

Totally impossible.

I simply couldn't do it.

I wouldn't.

But thirty seconds was longer than the initial twenty. On top of that, while Ty had limited the call length, he hadn't limited the number of calls. I wasn't an expert, but I'd seen enough cop shows to know that the good guys couldn't trace short and sweet no matter how many. I could make as many phone calls as I wanted which beat, hands down, the one phone call from jail. It wasn't the ideal way to do business, but a vamp had to do what a vamp had to do.

I smiled and reached for the phone.

Chapter Eleven.

I pinched my nose the minute I heard Evie's familiar h.e.l.lo? ”Yes, this is Mrs. Vanderflunkinpitt”-the voice came out very high- pitched and nasal-”from your local telephone provider. We received a service call stating that you were having difficulty with your phone line in Room A.”

”We don't have a phone line in-”

”The trouble started yesterday evening. Big trouble.”

”Lil,” Evie's incredulous voice asked. ”Is that-”

”I promised your owner-a Miss Lilliana Marchette-that we would deal with the problem ASAP and we are. We're fixing everything as we speak. Just proceed with business as usual while we make the necessary adjustments to get things back to normal.”

”What did you say your name-” Clunk.

I let loose of my nose and counted the seconds on Ty's digital clock until a full minute had pa.s.sed (I wasn't sure how long it took to fully disconnect, but I wasn't taking any chances) and hit redial.

”Vanderflunkinpitt,” I said when Evie picked up the phone. ”Mrs. Vanderflunkinpitt.” I emphasized the last syllable and silently begged her understanding.

”Oh.” Two seconds ticked by. ”Oh.” Evie's voice perked up. ”Well, urn, thank you. I was, um, really worried about the, er, problem with that line. That's my favorite line and I've grown really fond of it and I don't know what I would do if it were out of commission permanently.”

Previous Top Next”You and me both.”

”But you're okay? I mean, you're sure the line is all right? It isn't permanently damaged or traumatized or anything like that?”

”Nothing a new outfit won't fix.” Open mouth, insert designer-clad foot. ”New wiring,” I blurted, ”Nothing new wiring outfitted to the, um, initial wire won't fix. You just keep things running on your end and take care of new clients and I-that is-we will do our part on this end with the pre-existing ones. That is, we'll make sure your phone calls get through. And make sure to go to the bank. I-that is-we usually charge an arm and a leg, so you'll need lots of funds, particularly that extra large check from your latest client. Not that I know the exact amount or anything, it's just that Miss Marchette mentioned it when she placed the service call and I've got a good memory for these things.”

”I'll take care of-” Click.

”Sorry,” I told Evie when she picked up the phone the third time. ”I must be losing signal on this end.” I crackled for effect.

”Take care and I'll see you-that is, we'll contact you as soon as we can. In the meantime, just tell Miss Marchette when she calls from Costa Rica where she's on special a.s.signment until her communication problems are fixed, that Vanderwalkenpitt is on the job.”

”I thought is was Vanderflunkinpitt?”

”Whatever. Just keep things going.”

”You're the boss. I mean,” she rushed on, ”you're obviously the boss at your service center because you sound so authoritative and in control. You're not my boss, of course. She's, um, in Costa Rica, probably basking in the sun and buying really cool souvenirs.”

”Exactly. Don't worry about anything,” I rea.s.sured her again. ”Everything's going to be all right.”

I hope.

The thought lingered in my head as I made more phone calls to everyone on my close, personal friends list-The Ninas. Francis and Melissa. The Ninas.

I know, I know. Depressing. But at least I didn't have to keep pinching my nose or thinking up stupid names. Besides, it wasn't the quant.i.ty of friends that mattered, it was the quality. And I happened to think that mine were right up there with a silver lame Fendi and a Tiffany bangle bracelet.

I set the phone on the coffee table and ignored the urge to push to my feet and pace. Pacing would mean that I was worried and I was not-repeat not-worried. Everything would be okay. It was just a matter of laying low until the police realized their mistake.

If they realized it.

They would, I promised myself. Meanwhile, I was going to forget all about chopped-up undercover reporters and Death Row and the way the handcuffs had felt when they'd snapped around my wrists.

Relax. Ty's deep voice echoed through my head.

He was right. I needed to relax. Even more, I deserved to relax. I'd been under nonstop stress since opening Dead End Dating and so this confinement could be viewed as a good thing. This was my time. I could rest. Regroup. I could even take a nap if I wanted, provided I could calm my hormones down long enough to think about sleeping rather than the fact that I was stretched out in Ty's spot, in Ty's bed, in Ty's apartment.

Okay, so I wasn't going to take a lot of naps, but the point was I could. Just like I could take a long, leisurely bubble bath and give myself a facial and do my toenails and watch oodles of cable TV.

Why, before I knew it, it would be daybreak and another night closer to freedom. I pushed off the couch and made a beeline for the bathroom.