Eight

"Hey, Glory, just in time." Derek was busy ringing up a sale and there were two other women waiting to pay. "I could use some help. Got to love the Christmas rush."

"Sure." I turned to Lucky and Brittany. "Stay." I smiled when the customers gasped. "My dog, of course. Valdez, stay." I gestured to the front door and Valdez ambled over and sat down. Looking at him, you'd think he was just a well-trained, cute-as-a-button Labradoodle. And you'd be wrong. If either Brittany or Lucky tried to leave, they'd be wearing his teeth marks on their butts. Valdez sent me a mental message.

"Glory, that other vampire looks familiar. Keep your eye on him."

I checked him out. Not your typical hunk-type vamp. This one looked like he'd fallen on hard times and he could use a shave and a bath. Lucky and Brittany gave him a wide berth on their way to the sweater section.

I helped complete sales, breathed a sigh of relief over the day's totals, then pulled out $485 in cash and stuck it in an envelope. Damned credit-card customers. Of course I couldn't afford not to accept credit, even debit cards, but it made the cash on hand pretty skimpy. I spotted some coupons my neighboring business had left for free coffee at Mugs and Muffins. I stuffed five of those in and licked the flap, sealing the envelope.

Lucky headed into a dressing room with an armload of black. I popped into her mind and realized she was thinking of going Goth. Hey, she was a vampire now. Queen of the Freakin' Damned. Obviously she'd be in there some time while she perfected her new look.

"Derek, I'm going out to the car. I left some bags and price tags I bought the other night out there."

"Yeah, sure." Derek grinned when Valdez jumped up and followed me. "Guess you should walk the dog while you're out." My clerk knew Valdez would never let me go without him anyway.

I threw the new dead bolts and glanced outside. The lights were working and Valdez bounded out, head high as he sniffed for trouble.

"Make it quick, Blondie. I feel like this is Death Alley back here. Too much has happened." I shivered. "No kidding." I pulled my car keys out and made a big deal of opening the back of the Suburban. I did have a bag of stuff I could bring in. I grabbed it, slammed the rear door closed, then froze.

"Did you hear that?"

Valdez whipped around and stared at me. "What?"

"I think I heard someone moving near the back door of our shop."

"Stay here, Blondie. I'll check it out."

I watched him hustle to the doorway, then I tiptoed over to the Dumpster and jammed the envelope under one corner. With vamp speed, I was back where Valdez had left me by the time he came trotting back.

"Nothing there. Probably just a rat."

"Gross. Let's get inside." I glanced back at the envelope, but it was just a bit of white paper, blending in with the trash around it. I hoped it satisfied the creep trying to ruin my life here. I thought about telling Valdez about it, hiding in the car and trying to catch the blackmailer, but a mortal could wait until daylight to pick up the cash. Damn it. I sniffed the air. No one else nearby. If anyone was waiting for the money, he wasn't here now.

We headed back inside and dumped the tags and bags I'd brought in on a shelf in the back room. I was headed to the counter when the dirty vamp approached me. Valdez didn't waste a second putting himself between me and the new guy.

"May I help you find something?" I could see the guy's hands were empty.

"Are you Gloriana St. Clair?"

"Yes, who wants to know?" Sure, I sounded surly. But I've had some bad encounters in the shop and this guy had hard eyes, though I had to admit they were a gorgeous blue.

"I'm Etienne Delacroix. We have a mutual friend."

"Who?" French name. I've had a few French lovers in the past. The distant past. But this guy hadn't been one of them.

"Gregory Kaplan."

Valdez growled and I grabbed a pencil, the only pointy wooden object close at hand.

"Greg is not my friend."

Etienne grinned. "Excellent. This was a test, you see. I hate that bastard. I would like to see him wearing a pencil through his black heart."

I looked around, but the only mortal in the shop at the moment had stepped into a dressing room.

"Maybe I've got a test for you." I leaned in and put on my fiercest face. Valdez bared his teeth and made a sound so menacing Brittany came running from the other side of the shop.

"What's up?" She took a whiff, wrinkled her nose, then leaned close to Etienne. "You giving my friend here a hard time?" She had dangerous down to an art form. Etienne paled and made a grab for the pencil, knocking my arm aside. Big mistake. Valdez chomped down on the man's dirty jeans and obviously got some leg too. Etienne yelped.

"I mean you no harm. I swear it on my mother's life." Still, he'd managed to get the pencil and held it like a dagger. Brittany apparently wasn't worried about death by graphite. She sneered. "Unless your mother's also on a liquid diet, she probably kicked the bucket centuries ago. Now if you want to swear on your own life . . ." She whipped a stake out from under her baggy sweater. Obviously Brittany packed a spare. When would I learn to do a body search?

"Whoa, Brit, those things make me nervous now." Lucky dumped an armload of clothes on the counter and checked out Etienne.

"There a problem here?" She showed off her new fangs, then looked at Valdez, who still had Etienne's leg between his teeth. "Hey, V-man, great defense."

Valdez wagged his tail, but didn't let go.

"This guy says he knows Greg Kaplan." Brittany obviously wasn't thrilled that Valdez was getting all the credit here.

"You know where to find him? I'm looking for him." Lucky dug in her bag and pulled out her BlackBerry. "He owes my family a ton of money. Play your cards right and there might be a finder's fee in it for you."

"I could use it." Etienne jerked when Valdez pulled on his leg and he finally dropped the pencil. "Please, I would like to help you. Maybe we can work together. He owes me too. And I heard him talking about Miss St. Clair. I wanted to warn her. He is not a man she should have dealings with."

"What the hell do you know about me and Greg?" Greg had lured me out to the Energy Vampire stronghold like I was the catch of the day.

"Oh, my God! That dog is biting-" My mortal customer screeched, dropping two sweaters and a pair of hundred dollar Levi's "red line" jeans and her credit card on her way to the door.

"Stop her." I gestured to Lucky. "Here's how. Look into her eyes and tell her to stop. This will try out your whammy. If it works, she won't be able to move. Hurry!"

"Cool." Lucky bounded across the room, threw herself in front of the door and locked eyes with the woman. "You are not going to move." She clapped her hands when the lady stopped in her tracks. Lucky grinned at me, then hit her with the whammy again.

"Pick up the things you want to buy and pay for them at the register. Nod if you hear me." Sure enough, the woman nodded and bent to collect her finds.

"Valdez, let go of Etienne. Brittany, take this guy in the back and out of sight while I ring up this sale. I want some answers and Derek will help you if this guy tries to cut and run before I can get back there."

"As if I need help." Brittany waited for Valdez to release him before she grabbed Etienne's arm.

"Gack!" Valdez spit out bloody blue cotton. "What the hell you been drinkin, man?"

"Homeless winos and stray dogs," Etienne snarled. "This violence wasn't necessary, Miss St. Clair." He reached toward me. "I mean you no harm."

"Touch her and die." Valdez growled, showing all his teeth. Etienne shouted a few obviously choice words in French, then spoiled the effect by limping with as much haste as he could manage into the back room.

Lucky was practically dancing with excitement. "Forget him. The whammy is so cool. I mean, I could tell her anything, right? And she'd do it? Like you did with Will and Lacy earlier?"

"In theory. It helps if you know a name." I really didn't want this to turn into a sideshow, but the whammy is excellent defense. If Lucky was going to start acting like Vampira, then she'd need practice erasing memories. Lucky grabbed the woman's chin and forced her to make eye contact again. "Tell me your name."

"Janice."

Lucky grinned. "Janice, quack like a duck."

"Quack."

I was not going to laugh. Even though Janice looked more urban chic than waterfowl. "Enough, Lucky. I've got a business to run. Tell her to pay for her purchases. That she'll remember she loves this store and wants to come back often and bring her friends. Then say, 'Snap out of it.' "

"I love this. The possibilities are endless." Lucky glanced at the back room. "Why didn't you do that to Etienne? I could tell he was upsetting you."

"He's a vampire and obviously on guard. You can't just whammy anyone you want. Mortals, sure. Paranormals, only if they're weak or distracted and you sneak up on them, like we did with Will and Lacy earlier." I heard a crash and ran toward the noise.

"Everything okay in there?"

Brittany opened the door a crack. "Etienne had a little accident. No worries. Take care of your customer." I turned to see Janice duck-walking around the hat rack, quacking the "Star Spangled Banner."

"Cool it, Lucky! More customers could come in. You hurt my business and I'll catch you unawares someday and make you do something really cute, but with a wider audience." I hummed the theme from Jaws.

"Aw, gee. You're no fun." Lucky looked disappointed but did the necessary. Finally, Janice left, her package in her hands and a smile on her face as she promised to come back soon.

A couple of college students pushed inside. Since there'd been no more noises from the back, I put on my smile. "Hi, there. Let me know if I can help you find anything."