he picked up, I jumped right in. “Hey, it’s Shia. I’ve got a favor to ask.”
“What’s up?”
I cringed, knowing what his response was going to be. “When you get back in town tomorrow, can you get in touch with Jack and ask him to call me?”
“Jack?” He didn’t sound like he knew the name, then recognition dawned. “Oh, shit! You’re not talking about the guy at the weapons dealership, are you? That guy is bad news, you should stay away from him.”
“I know, but this is important. I’m not going to go into it, but I have to get in touch with him. There are cops following me everywhere I go, so I can’t meet him in person.”
“Why are there cops following you?” I could dimly hear Sara’s voice in the background. What the hell is going on?
“Look, I’m okay. Your shields work perfectly, so you don’t have to worry. There are cops following me around keeping me totally safe and completely paranoid about my driving skills. I just need to get in touch with him to see if I can sic some White Hats on this new vamp in town.”
A woman across the aisle looked up at me sharply. I ignored her and kept going until I got to the canned soups. Hmm, chicken noodle or beef stew for lunch tomorrow?
Arnold laughed incredulously, and I could hear Sara demanding to know what was happening. “You are crazy, Shia. Absolutely, completely nuts. I’ll see what I can do for you. Hold on, Sara’s going to tear my arm out of the socket if I don’t hand her the phone.”
I grinned at that, waiting for her imperious voice to come on the line.
“What the hell are you doing over there? Do you need us?”
“No, no, no. I didn’t call to spoil your vacation, enjoy what’s left of it. I just needed help getting in touch with someone Arnold knows.”
Sara harrumphed. “Oh yeah? So what’s this about the cops following you around?”
“I’ll tell you all the dirty details when you get into town. The short story is, someone’s sent a vampire after me, and I called the cops when the vamp kept trying to get past the barrier Arnold put on the door. I’m fine.”
Dead silence. Then, “I’m coming home. Right now.”
“No, you’re not! For God’s sake, enjoy the rest of your trip and help me deal with it tomorrow. It’s daytime, no vampire is going to assault me right now, and I’ll be back behind the shields long before any of them are up and about.” I maneuvered around a guy’s shopping cart. He’d stopped in the middle of the aisle to stare at me open-mouthed. I growled a curse under my breath and reminded myself to talk more softly in public when mentioning the Others. “Don’t worry about me, Chaz is coming by before dark. Everything will be fine.”
“You better be right about that. If something happens to you before I get back, I will beat you myself.”
I laughed. “Trust me, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Besides, I’d whip you in a fight and you know it.”
Her own laughter sounded a bit less strained, and I was relieved she wasn’t going to go ballistic and come charging back to town to “save” me or something. “Okay, okay. It does sound like you’ve got things under control. Seriously, though, call me if you need me. Don’t wait until you’re in up to your neck to ask for help, all right?”
“I won’t. That’s why I invited Chaz over, remember? He’ll keep me safe.”
“Yeah, I got it. What’s the name of the vamp?” she asked. “I’ll stop by the office and run a background check.”
“Max Carlyle. I did a brief search, didn’t come up with anything solid. If you want to dig deeper, you’re welcome to–tomorrow.”
“I plan on it. I’m coming over as soon as I get back.”
“Okay, sounds good,” I said, making a mental note to pick up more snacks if I was going to have everyone camp out at my place all day tomorrow. Hmm, maybe some movies, too. “See you then.”
“Later,” she said.
The call went over better than I’d expected, mostly
“What’s up?”
I cringed, knowing what his response was going to be. “When you get back in town tomorrow, can you get in touch with Jack and ask him to call me?”
“Jack?” He didn’t sound like he knew the name, then recognition dawned. “Oh, shit! You’re not talking about the guy at the weapons dealership, are you? That guy is bad news, you should stay away from him.”
“I know, but this is important. I’m not going to go into it, but I have to get in touch with him. There are cops following me everywhere I go, so I can’t meet him in person.”
“Why are there cops following you?” I could dimly hear Sara’s voice in the background. What the hell is going on?
“Look, I’m okay. Your shields work perfectly, so you don’t have to worry. There are cops following me around keeping me totally safe and completely paranoid about my driving skills. I just need to get in touch with him to see if I can sic some White Hats on this new vamp in town.”
A woman across the aisle looked up at me sharply. I ignored her and kept going until I got to the canned soups. Hmm, chicken noodle or beef stew for lunch tomorrow?
Arnold laughed incredulously, and I could hear Sara demanding to know what was happening. “You are crazy, Shia. Absolutely, completely nuts. I’ll see what I can do for you. Hold on, Sara’s going to tear my arm out of the socket if I don’t hand her the phone.”
I grinned at that, waiting for her imperious voice to come on the line.
“What the hell are you doing over there? Do you need us?”
“No, no, no. I didn’t call to spoil your vacation, enjoy what’s left of it. I just needed help getting in touch with someone Arnold knows.”
Sara harrumphed. “Oh yeah? So what’s this about the cops following you around?”
“I’ll tell you all the dirty details when you get into town. The short story is, someone’s sent a vampire after me, and I called the cops when the vamp kept trying to get past the barrier Arnold put on the door. I’m fine.”
Dead silence. Then, “I’m coming home. Right now.”
“No, you’re not! For God’s sake, enjoy the rest of your trip and help me deal with it tomorrow. It’s daytime, no vampire is going to assault me right now, and I’ll be back behind the shields long before any of them are up and about.” I maneuvered around a guy’s shopping cart. He’d stopped in the middle of the aisle to stare at me open-mouthed. I growled a curse under my breath and reminded myself to talk more softly in public when mentioning the Others. “Don’t worry about me, Chaz is coming by before dark. Everything will be fine.”
“You better be right about that. If something happens to you before I get back, I will beat you myself.”
I laughed. “Trust me, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Besides, I’d whip you in a fight and you know it.”
Her own laughter sounded a bit less strained, and I was relieved she wasn’t going to go ballistic and come charging back to town to “save” me or something. “Okay, okay. It does sound like you’ve got things under control. Seriously, though, call me if you need me. Don’t wait until you’re in up to your neck to ask for help, all right?”
“I won’t. That’s why I invited Chaz over, remember? He’ll keep me safe.”
“Yeah, I got it. What’s the name of the vamp?” she asked. “I’ll stop by the office and run a background check.”
“Max Carlyle. I did a brief search, didn’t come up with anything solid. If you want to dig deeper, you’re welcome to–tomorrow.”
“I plan on it. I’m coming over as soon as I get back.”
“Okay, sounds good,” I said, making a mental note to pick up more snacks if I was going to have everyone camp out at my place all day tomorrow. Hmm, maybe some movies, too. “See you then.”
“Later,” she said.
The call went over better than I’d expected, mostly
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