Sleeping With the Entity (17 page)

“Calm down,” Nick said. Sure,
now
he used his reassuring voice. “We had nothing to do with your mother’s death.”

“Right.” She stood swaying just a bit from fear and adrenaline. “Like you’d admit it if you did.”

“She has a point,” Bruce said.

Nick glared at him. “Not helping.”

“I never saw you around the neighborhood twelve years ago,” she said to Nick. “Why is that?”

“Because I didn’t live here then. I was in Boston.”

“And I was in Florida,” Bruce said.

She focused her attention on Pat. “You were here then.”

Pat nodded. “True.”

“Then it was you.” She pointed an accusing finger at him, hoping he didn’t notice the slight tremble. “What did you do to her?”

“Nothing.”

Daniella needed to protect herself. Who knew what these vampires might do? What about a wooden stick? Or a stake? How big did a stick have to be to earn the description of a stake? She had a wooden yardstick in the closet. Would that work?

“Calm down,” Nick repeated.

“Do not try to compel me,” she growled.

“I already told you that you can’t be compelled,” Nick reminded her. “None of us can compel you.”

“Good thing, too,” she said.

“Although being able to compel you would make life more convenient for us,” Bruce said. “Not that the world is all about us,” he hurriedly added, given her acidic glare at him.

“You’re freaking out for no reason,” Nick told her.

“Right,” she scoffed. “Discovering your neighbors are vampires is no big deal.”

“How do we convince you that vampires had nothing to do with your mother’s death?” Pat said.

“A lie detector test,” she said.

“We don’t exactly have a normal pulse,” Pat said.

“Of course you don’t,” she said. “You drink blood. Blood that you steal from my family’s funeral home.”

“We don’t steal it. We pay good money for it,” Bruce said before clapping his hand to his mouth. “That wasn’t a secret, was it?”

“No.” Pat gave his partner a smile.

“So how can I be sure a vampire is telling the truth?” Daniella demanded.

“By trusting us,” Nick said.

“Like that’s going to happen. I could have you swear on a Bible or something.” She paused, unsure of the protocol. Weren’t religious objects a problem for vampires? “Okay, maybe not a good choice.”

“You want us to swear on a copy of
Twilight
?” Nick mocked her.

“I want to pretend none of this ever happened,” she said.

“I could make that happen if only I could compel you,” Nick said.

“Not gonna happen, Count Chocula,” she shot back.

“Let’s be logical here,” Nick said.

“By all means,” she said sarcastically. “Let’s logically examine why vampires may have killed my mother.”

“You’re basing that accusation on what? The fact that I lived in the neighborhood and I’m a vampire?” Pat said. “Did she die under unusual circumstances?”

“She was killed in a car accident involving a drunk driver.”

“Look at me.” Nick turned her to face him. “Trust your instincts. I’m telling you the truth when I tell you that no vampire had anything to do with your mother’s death. I’m sorry for your loss, but it was a human who caused that accident.”

“There would have been fang marks on her throat,” Pat said, trying to stay logical. “There weren’t.”

“Maybe there were and you compelled people to forget.” But her words were weaker now as her instincts strongly told her that Nick was not lying. “I want to believe you.” Her voice was thick with emotion.

“Then do.” He gently pulled her into his arms and rubbed his hands up and down her back in a motion that was incredibly soothing.

She briefly rested her forehead on his shoulder. This was the man who’d saved her life. The
vampire
who’d saved her life. She had the feeling that had he wanted her dead, she’d be dead. She also had the feeling that Pat was telling the truth. Human stupidity had caused her mother’s death, not supernatural beings.

“Better now?” Nick asked her.

She nodded and stepped away.

“We’ve been trying to figure out why you are immune to compelling,” Bruce said.

“Because I’m stubborn,” she replied. “Cheerful but stubborn. Or so I’ve been told.”

“Plenty of humans are stubborn. They can still be compelled. But there’s something special about you.”

She saw the three of them share a look. “What? What was that about?”

“Maybe you should ask your dad when he comes back in a few days,” Nick said.

“What? Ask him why I can’t be compelled by the neighborhood vampires? Sure, that makes perfect sense.
Not
. You just swore me to secrecy and now you want me talking to my dad?”

“Not about us. About
you
. About your past.”

“What about my past? Do you three know something I don’t?” she demanded.

“I’m sure we know a great deal more than you do,” Nick mocked.

“Very funny. That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it. There’s something else you’re keeping from me.”

“We’ve told you what we can. More than we’ve told any other human,” Nick said.

“Then why stop now?” Daniella said. “Especially if this secret concerns me. I have a right to know.”

“Give your father a chance to tell you first,” Nick said.

“To tell me what?”

All three remained silent.

Sensing that Bruce was the most empathetic of the group, she focused her attention on him. “Please. I have to know.”

Bruce shook his head regretfully. “I’m sorry.”

“Fine. Be that way.” She’d had it with the bunch of them. “It’s time for you all to leave.”

“Actually, that’s something else we need to discuss,” Nick said.

“Pardon me if I’ve had enough exposure to vampires for one day.” She directed her sarcasm at him. “I want you out. Now.”

“The incident today indicates that our rival vamp clan is ramping up their efforts to get you. Therefore, we need to ramp up our security,” Nick said.

“I’ve already got security systems.”

“You need a full-time bodyguard,” Nick said.

“You’re volunteering for the job.”

“I wouldn’t call it volunteering, exactly,” he said.

“Then what would you call it?”

“Filling a need,” he said.

She was sure he deliberately made his voice go all husky and sexy. “I don’t want you filling my needs.”

“Don’t you?

“No. Absolutely not.”

“You’d rather be attacked by a rogue vampire than be protected by one who will put your safety first?” he said.

“I’d rather not have to deal with vampires at all,” she retorted.

“That’s no longer an option,” he said.

“It really is for your own good,” Bruce said.

“Better the vampire you know than the one you don’t,” Pat said. “It’s in our own best interests to keep you safe.”

“Not all vampires are created equal. Some are stronger than others. Some are more evil than others,” Nick said. “More violent.”

“And where do you guys fall within that spectrum?”

“Strong,” Nick said. “Not evil. Not violent unless we have to be.”

She sank back into her chair. “So what exactly are you suggesting?” she said.

“That I’m with you twenty-four/seven,” Nick said. “That I go where you go.”

“And how am I supposed to explain why you are in the cupcake shop at five in the morning while we’re baking?”

“You won’t even know I’m there.”

“How do plan on accomplishing that?” she demanded. “Do you have a cape that makes you invisible like Harry Potter?”

“No.”

“And what about after work? What about at night?”

Nick tilted his head toward the other side of the room. “Your couch looks comfortable.”

“It’s not. Even if it was, there’s no way I’m having you in my apartment while I sleep.”

“Why? Because I’m a vampire?”

“Because you’re you.”

“So you’ve said before. I still don’t know what that’s supposed to mean,” he said.

She ran her hands along the arm of her favorite chair. The soft linen felt surprisingly comforting against her skin. She needed comfort now because she was becoming overwhelmed with this all. “What about when you’re asleep?” she said.

“Vampires don’t need much sleep,” he said.

“I thought they spent half their time in coffins and stuff,” she said.

Bruce rolled his eyes.

“Excuse me if I don’t know the sleep protocol for vampires,” she said sarcastically.

“You’re excused,” Bruce said. “There are a lot of urban myths out there about vampires.”

“Like the fact that you exist?”

Bruce frowned. “Of course we exist.”

“She may be trying to convince herself again that she’s in a coma,” Nick told Bruce.

“Don’t be silly, Daniella,” Bruce said. “Of course you’re not in a coma. Why would you think that?”

“Because I’m talking to vampires,” she said. “And they’re talking back to me.”

“Would it be better if we didn’t talk back?” Bruce asked.

She shook her head.

“Do you at least believe now that we didn’t have anything to do with your mother’s death?” Bruce said.

“I don’t know.” She eyed them all warily. “And I am not approving that overnight plan, either. Besides, you have businesses to run.”

“We have staff for that,” Nick said.

“Do they know you’re vampires?” She saw the answer on Bruce’s face. “No way! Your staff are all vampires, too?”

“We tend to stick together in small groups,” Bruce said.

“How small?”

“Two or three dozen.”

“I don’t get it. How have you stayed under the radar?” she said.

“We’ve vampified the neighborhood. Not many humans hang out here.”

“This is too weird for me,” she said. “I can’t process this.” She put her hand to her head. “I’m getting a headache.”

Nick gently moved her hand aside and checked her for bruises. “Did you hit the pavement? I thought I caught you in time.”

His touch was so gentle, so human, so sexy. She stared at his face, searching for some sign that he was different.

“Looking for my fangs?” he said.

“To quote your friend Pat, let’s be logical here,” she said. “First you inform me that not only are you a vampire, but most of the neighborhood is as well. Then you tell me that not only do vampires exist, but some of them are trying to harm me. Yet I’m supposed to just say
Sure, move on in, Nick. Let’s have a sleepover pajama party. No problem.
”

“Of course there will be problems. But they won’t be as bad as you falling into the wrong hands and being taken. This wasn’t the first time they tried to grab you. Remember those guys in the alley?”

“The gang members?”

“They were vampires. Outsiders.”

“From the Gold Coast clan,” Pat said.

Her eyes widened. “Gold Coast? You mean like ultra-wealthy bankers and brokers? Vampire bankers and brokers?”

“The vamps in the alley were hired help,” Bruce said. “The Gold Coast clan wear much better clothing. Armani suits. I’ll never forget the first time I saw their leader, Miles. He’s over six feet tall, and was wearing a very natty pin-striped suit with a purple tie and matching pocket square. He has excellent posture, silver hair, and a dapper mustache.”

“You’re saying vampire bankers and brokers are after me?” Daniella said.

“They are cutthroat dangerous,” Pat quietly said. “Especially Miles the Mustache. Do not underestimate the havoc they can create.”

She could believe that. Just look at what they’d done to the economy with their greed. “Did vampires cause the global recession with the mortgage derivative thingies?”

“They weren’t all vampires,” Bruce said. “Most were human. You can’t blame everything bad on vampires. That’s racist. You shouldn’t do that.” He paused before admitting, “That wasn’t easy for me to tell you. To quote Len Goodman, the
Dancing with the Stars
judge who says he’s misquoting Churchill—‘The three hardest things in the world are to climb a wall that’s leaning toward you, to kiss a girl who’s leaning away from you, and to criticize someone who’s looking at you.’ I’m not good about criticizing someone when they’re looking at me,” he told Daniella.

“If we can get back to the matter at hand,” Nick said impatiently.

“Nick was in the British army,” Bruce said. “Therefore he likes giving orders and doesn’t care for chitchat.”

“We can’t all be former clowns,” Nick growled.

“Once a clown, always a clown,” Bruce said proudly.

“You were in the British army?” she asked Nick, who nodded curtly.

“Which is why he’s an excellent bodyguard,” Bruce said.

“You mean like James Bond or MI5? That kind of British army?” she asked.

“Close enough,” Nick said.

She wanted to know more about Nick. Clearly the only way she’d find out was to ask questions. “Why don’t you have an English accent?”

“Because I’ve lived in this country a long time.”

“How long? I’m not just being nosy. I need to know more about you before I can decide whether to let you protect me.”

“She’s right,” Pat said.

“How about I’ll tell you more about me if you behave and go along with the bodyguard plan?” Nick countered.

“Behave? You mean I should just be a good little girl and go along with what the nice vampire wants?” Her outrage came across in her curt voice as she stood to face him.

“Right.”

She glared at him. “Wrong!”

“He’s already saved your life twice,” Pat quietly pointed out. “You really don’t want to risk a third time, do you?”

“Isn’t there something I can do to protect myself from vampires?” she said. “What about garlic?”

“Smells bad but doesn’t bother us,” Nick said.

“A crucifix? A Bible?”

“Keep them handy if they make you feel better,” he said.

“Will they keep vampires away?”

“No.”

“What does?”

“Fire,” he said bluntly.

“So you’re saying I should sleep with a flamethrower in my bed?” she said.

Nick actually grinned. “It sounds sexy when you put it that way.”

She socked his arm before she could stop herself. Hitting a vampire may not have been the smartest thing to do, but she couldn’t resist. “So we’re back to me trusting you on blind faith.”