The Undead Next Door

Page 35

During lunch on Saturday, she discovered another super power that vampires possessed. Great hearing. In the kitchen, Ian heard a car coming up the driveway. Heather accompanied the two guards to the foyer of the showroom.
Phil peered outside the window. "It's a pickup truck, pulling a flat trailer."
Heather peeked out the window to see who was exiting the truck. "Oh no, it's Coach Gunter."
"Is he a threat?" Ian asked.
"Only to every woman on earth," Heather muttered. She noted the big black boxes in the back of the truck and piled on the flat trailer. "He's brought the runway." And that had to mean he was Liz Schumann's new boyfriend. Good Lord, Liz had to be out of her mind.
Coach strode to the front door, ignored the doorbell, and pounded on the door with his fist.
Heather winced. "You'll have to let him in. I'll fetch Alberto." She rushed down the hall to Alberto's office. Even from there, she could here Coach's booming voice as he entered the foyer.
"The runway's here," she told Alberto. "And I promised Liz three tickets to the show."
Alberto reluctantly handed over three tickets. "I barely have enough for the school board and big shots in town."
Heather winced. "I guess with only twenty guests, we won't be raising much money."
Alberto snorted. "These local people don't have any money. Jean-Luc's giving the donation. Twenty thousand."
"Dollars?" Heather gulped. "That's awfully generous."
"He has his reasons." Alberto waved a dismissive hand. "Not that he isn't generous. Jean-Luc gives a lot to charity. But in this case, he's paying for silence. When the store closes after the show, Jean-Luc wants this place to be forgotten. I believe your job will be over."
She remembered that he'd hired her for only two weeks. "You mean no one will come here at all?"
"Hopefully not. If they do, there'll be a guard here to turn them away. I'll be returning to Paris with the models, and Jean-Luc will go into hiding."
It sounded so lonely. Heather recalled the first card Fidelia had turned over for Jean-Luc. The Hermit. He would be so lonesome. But she could change that if she agreed to let him court her.
"Well, I should take a look at this runway." Alberto strolled from the office.
Heather took her time returning to the foyer. Phil and Coach had set several runway sections in the showroom, and Alberto was examining them.
"Hey, Heather!" Coach yelled as he headed outside for another section of runway. He pointed at Ian, who stood in the shadows looking embarrassed. "That kid's no help at all. You should fire his lazy ass."
Heather gave Ian a sympathetic look. She knew he had to stay out of the sunlight, but apparently Coach was giving him hell. After twenty more minutes, the runway was completely unloaded.
She gave Coach his tickets.
"You know I'm dating Liz Schumann now." He paused by the front door.
Heather nodded. "I figured that."
"Yep." He flexed his biceps. "She's one lucky little lady. You don't know what you're missing."
"I'm devastated. Please tell Liz to drop by on Friday so I can make sure her gown fits." Heather had already arranged for two other teacher friends to model.
"How fancy is this shindig?" Coach asked. "Do I have to dress up?"
Her gaze drifted over his tank top and gym shorts. "You might consider wearing pants. And leaving your whistle at home."
"Oh, really fancy, huh?" He marched out the door. "See ya next Saturday."
Heather went back to the design studio to work on her second outfit. Alberto left to hand-deliver the rest of the tickets.
About six P.M., Ian collapsed again. Heather was relieved her daughter was having supper in the kitchen and didn't see it. Still, Ian was starting to look older, and she was at a loss how to explain that to her daughter.
She was walking to the kitchen with Phil when the doorbell rang.
Phil peeked out the window. "It's the sheriff."
Heather opened the door and let him in.
"I wanted to make sure you were all right." Billy looked her over while he stuck a toothpick in his mouth.
She shut the door. "We're fine. Any news?"
"Nope. I can't find this Louie guy." Billy strode into the showroom and looked around. "We got some fingerprints from the museum, but they're not in any system. And we don't know his real name, so we're at a dead end."
"I see." Heather followed him into the showroom.
"Did you find anything useful from Heather's truck?" Phil asked.
"Nope." Billy wandered around the runway sections. "So you're getting ready for the show Saturday?"
"Yes," Heather replied. "Since I'm going to be at the show, Jean-Luc thinks Louie will come."
Billy wheeled around to face her. "He's using you as bait?"
Heather shrugged. "He's bait, too. Louie wants to kill us both."
Billy chewed on his toothpick, frowning. "I'll need to be there, along with my two deputies."
"We'll be glad to have your help," Heather assured him. Ian had told her that if the mortals saw anything they shouldn't, the Vamps would erase their memories.
Billy strolled back to the front door. "Cody's acting weird again. He was at Schmitty's Bar last night. Got drunk and started raising a stink about you. Then, all of a sudden, he says he's a cockroach and scrambles all over the pool tables, messing up everybody's games."
Heather sighed. One more problem to deal with.
"I had to lock him up for the night." Billy opened the door and paused on the front porch. "He was fine this morning, but I'm telling you, the guy's psycho."
"I understand. Thanks for stopping by." She closed the door and locked it.
It was a strange world when the vampires appeared more normal than the mortals.
Chapter 24
That night, Heather learned about another super power the vampires possessed. She stood in the showroom, amazed, while Robby and Ian hung material from the catwalk to make a curtain that partitioned off the back of the showroom. The models would use the back section as their dressing room during the runway show.
What amazed Heather was the two Scotsmen didn't need a ladder. They simply levitated in the air.
"I guess you can do that, too." She slanted a glance at Jean-Luc, who stood beside her.
"Yes." He leaned toward her. "In my arms, we could rise to new heights together."
She wasn't sure he was referring to levitation. "I'm fine being a lowly mortal."
"There's nothing lowly about you. And I've had some trouble lately with certain parts levitating on their own."
She snorted. "What other powers do you have?"
"Superior vision and hearing. An advanced awareness of my surroundings. For instance, did you know Fidelia is hiding behind the scarf display case?"
"No. Why on earth would she do that?"
Jean-Luc's mouth twitched. "You can't guess?"
Heather lifted her gaze. Above the display case, Robby was hovering in the air, wearing his blue and green plaid kilt. "Good Lord. This is embarrassing." Thankfully, Bethany was in the kitchen, eating cookies, while Phineas stood guard.
Ian dashed into the showroom, carrying more bolts of fabric to use as curtains. He moved so fast, his body was a blur.
"You're super fast and strong," Heather observed.
"We have great endurance." Jean-Luc smiled. "We can last all night long."
She scoffed. He had a one-track mind tonight. In that respect, Vamp men had not advanced one iota from their mortal beginnings. "Your eyes put you at a disadvantage."
"How's that? Don't you like knowing when you turn me on?"
"Yes, but if I ever see you look at another woman, and your eyes turn red, you'll be in big trouble."
He winced. "I never thought about it that way. Fortunately, I plan to be faithful."
How could he remain faithful when she was old and gray? Heather sighed. "What other powers do you have?"
"Telepathy. We don't do it that often, because it's not private. Any Vamp could pick up a message being broadcast. That's the problem with vampire sex."
"What?"
"Vampire sex. Any Vamp can join in and play along."
Heather grimaced. "That's disgusting."
He arched an eyebrow. "You might like it."
"I am not into group sex."
"Good, because I refuse to share you."
Time to change the subject. "What other powers do you have?"
"Mind control. We can manipulate and erase thoughts."
She nodded. "You think Louie might use mind control on someone involved with the show. Even Simone."
"It's possible, but don't worry. I won't leave your side."
She wondered whom Louie would choose. Would his victim act strangely, making it obvious? "Oh my gosh, what if he's messing with Cody?"
Jean-Luc blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Cody's been acting weird ever since Louie arrived on the scene. Maybe Louie's using him to get to me."
Jean-Luc shook his head. "No, he's not."
"How can you be so sure? Cody went berserk again last night."
"He must have cursed you."
"Billy said he was ranting about me, but - how would you know?"
Jean-Luc sighed. "He is being manipulated. By me."
Heather gasped. "Why would you do that?"
"He was cursing you. He deserved it."
"He's been running around like a cockroach."
"Exactly." Jean-Luc nodded. "It suits him perfectly."
"That's not your decision to make."
"I was protecting you."
"No." Anger sizzled inside her. "You were scaring the hell out of me. I've been worried for days. I had to call my lawyer to see about changing visitation rights."
"I'll pay your bill."
"That's not the point! You had no right to interfere in my personal life."
"I thought I was part of your personal life." He crossed his arms, frowning. "The next time I see your ex, I'll erase the command. He'll go back to being his usual repugnant self."
"Thank you. I can't believe I've been worrying over this, and it was just a joke to you."
"I was not laughing, Heather. I wanted to kill the bastard for the way he was treating you. A hundred years ago, I would have."
Her chest constricted, making it hard to breathe. She felt...closed in. Suffocated. She wasn't ready for this.
"Are you all right?" He touched her shoulder. "You're heart is pounding."
She stepped back. "I have fought too hard for my freedom just to throw it away now." She turned and stalked to the kitchen to be with her daughter.
He was losing her, and he didn't know what to do about it. Vampires weren't accustomed to rejection. In the old days, if Jean-Luc wanted a pint, he could always resort to mind control. That way, the lady in question never said no.
But it wasn't blood he wanted from Heather. He wanted her love, and that was proving much harder to obtain. His sense of honor precluded using mind control on something this important. He wanted her love to be true.
His old methods of seduction hadn't quite worked on Heather. She had her own career, her own home, her own family. She valued her independence, and she didn't really need him.
Merde. The more she pulled away, the more he ached for her. In the days that followed, he was tempted several times to whisk her down to his bedroom and make love to her till she couldn't see straight. He also considered using vampire sex to seduce her while she slept, but he rejected that idea, too. She'd not reacted well to his manipulating her ex's mind. She would not appreciate his playing games with her head.
So he was left with a totally lame course of action - being a nice guy. He'd always considered himself somewhat nice, so it was surprising how much he had to work at it. He had to constantly remind himself not to tease her with his usual lewd sense of humor. He had to force himself, over and over, not to touch her.
She immersed herself in work, and every evening, he reviewed her daily accomplishments in a businesslike manner. He made polite suggestions while he mentally pictured her clothes falling off. He gave her sincere encouragement while he imagined her screaming his name in the throes of a massive climax.
As the week wore on, he even pictured her beautiful body growing ripe with his child inside her. Dammit to hell, he wanted to start a life with her. He wanted to be her husband. This being-nice crap was for the birds.
By Friday, Heather was ready to scream, and she didn't know why. Jean-Luc was being very polite. He didn't even try to touch her. Unfortunately, he also stopped teasing her and making jokes. He no longer looked at her like he was ready to devour her. Had his love for her already gone cold? If that was the case, then she was right to withdraw.
She had felt angry about his turning her ex into a cockroach, but when she'd gone to Fidelia to complain about it, they'd both ended up rolling with laughter.
Heather sighed. She missed the old Jean-Luc. In the last few days, all the fun had gone out of him. Even Fidelia noticed the difference.
"Poor Juan-Luc," she moaned. "He has lost his mojo. You must help him get it back."
"How?" Heather was hesitant to ask.
"Go down to his bedroom and take off your clothes while you do the tango."