Real Vampires Get Lucky by Gerry Bartlett Page B

Lucky, then me. "Then I woke up in the rental car this morning. I've been looking for you ever since."
    "Where's your cell phone? You could have tried calling me." Lucky looked like she wanted to believe this story, but, like me, she saw there were holes in it you could heave hobo bags through.
    "I lost it. My purse, my ID, even the keys to the rental. I found my stuff this afternoon in the Dumpster, but the battery in my cell phone was dead."
    I moved my foot ever so slightly and Brittany gasped. "I think you broke my wrist."
    "Doubt it. But you ever aim a stake at me again . . ." I frowned down at her. I've had way too many close calls lately. And I couldn't forget how I'd found Lucky alone and bleeding out in this alley.
    Brittany reached for Valdez with her good arm. "Rafael, baby. I'd never betray a client. You know that."
    "Quit torturing her, Glory. Let's hear her out." Valdez stopped short of actually vouching for her. He put a paw in the middle of her chest when she tried to get up. "Stay put, Beth, until we hear the rest of your story."
    "There is no rest. I woke up in the backseat of the rental car, realized Lucky was missing and started searching. I saw the blood in the alley, but when I couldn't find her, I hoped someone had saved her." She had a watery smile for Lucky. "Or that Lucky had saved herself and used one of her knives to get away."
    "I used a knife. But I'm no match for a vampire. Or at least I wasn't." Lucky actually patted me on the shoulder.
    "Ah, gratitude." I wasn't sure what to believe and I still had a sore spot where the stake had pricked me. I looked down and checked out my sweater. Yep, a tiny hole and a bloodstain, but black is pretty forgiving so hopefully no one else would notice.
    "What do you mean?" Brittany tried to get up again, and this time Valdez moved out of her way. I stepped back, determined to keep my eyes on her. She had legs a mile long and wore her designer jeans tight and her cable knit sweater loose. The stake had come from somewhere. She probably had a damned arsenal tucked in her waistband.
    "Hand over your weapons, Brittany." I held out my hand.
    "You want to leave me defenseless?" Brittany said it to me, but glanced at Valdez.
    "I don't think you're ever defenseless, lady." Valdez nodded. "Give." Brittany sighed, but handed me a gun she'd had tucked into her waistband. I dropped it in my purse. I've never been big on guns. They aren't much help when you make a vampire mad.
    "You're not going to believe what happened, Brit. Glory came along and saved me. She had to make me vampire or I would have bled to death." Lucky showed off her new fangs.
    "Oh, my God. Your father is going to have me killed for this." Brittany was pale and held her injured wrist against her chest.

"I've talked to him. Neither one of us thought you could have done this to me. And Daddy's actually decided it's pretty cool to have a vampire in the family. Now the company will go on forever." Lucky reached out and touched Brittany's arm, then looked at me.
    "Do you think I can heal her, Glory? Like you did me?"
    "You sure you want to? I know you two were buds, Lucky, but I haven't heard anything yet that convinces me she wasn't in on the plot to take you out."
    "Hey, I told you-"
    "Oh, hush, Brittany. I believe you, but Glory doesn't know you like I do. Give me your arm. Vampires can do this healing thing. I want to practice on you." Lucky grabbed Brittany's wrist and I heard the bodyguard's hiss of pain.
    "Fine. You can try. But it takes a lot of power to heal someone, Lucky. You're awfully new." I shut my mouth when Brittany eeked and big, fat tears ran down her porcelain cheeks. Valdez-no, make that Rafael, baby-stayed by my side but his eyes never left Brittany aka Beth.
    Valdez has always kept his past a secret. He knows everything about me, except my weight of course. No one knows that. But I know next to nothing about him. If he and Brittany, sorry, but I was calling her that, had hooked up, then