For someone sleeping with a vampire in their closet I slept like that dead, and if Prada hadn't been licking my face I would have slept the entire day away. I groaned and pushed the little dog off my chest, "Get off Prada." I whined. I so did not want to get up at all. I was used to being up at all hours of the night. Stripping during the day just didn't bring in the money. People felt bad about doing "bad" things in the light. "It's just seedy," a lady had told me in the grocery store. Though in Las Vegas many clubs were open 24 hours a day, the Cottontail wasn't.
I glanced at the closet once, I was sorely tempted to open it and see what a sleeping vampire looked like, but the sunlight was streaming into my room and a particular patch I noticed was aimed right at the door. I slid out of bed and closed the curtains and the blinds. He couldn't say I wasn't a good hostess. I glanced at the clock as I pulled on my robe and pulled it tight. It was barely nine, and I hadn't gone to sleep till a little after five. I was not going to be a happy camper. But first things first, I needed coffee if I was going to face the day.
I was on my way to the kitchen when I heard a knock at the door. The day was already starting, I sighed and padded over and opened the door. It was Calvin from down the street. His eye popped when he took in the bathrobe I had one. "Um I'm here to walk Prada," he said as a way of a recovery. I had sent him a text message before I finally crashed last night. I was slightly dismayed and pleased at his early arrival.
I gave him and look and once he looked away properly cowed, "$200 a week. You come in through the back door. You walk her every single day. Change out her bowls. And you can help yourself to a snack or something. The key will be under the flower pot by the back door." I told him. He brightened at the dollar amount and nodded like the Derek Jeter bobble head head toy I got in my box of Rice Krispies the other day. I handed him the money and Prada's leash from the side table inside the door. Prada came barking happily over. I knelt down and scratched behind her ears. "Take care of her or its your ass." He nodded several times as he hooked her up to her leash. I watched them as they walked down the road. Prada was the only thing in this world that I loved.
Some of the other neighbors were stirring and heading off to work, and I headed back into the house. I went into the kitchen to start my day and perk up a bit. I wasn't used to anyone being in my house and this was grating on my nerves and my sense of well-being. I poured my coffee with one hand and bit into a donut with another. Yeah, yeah I know. But I paid for it with my workout routine. So I didn't feel the least bit guilty. Other women acted like I was supposed to feel guilty, which I never understood. Oh well.
I was settling in to watch the The View when my phone rang, ok this was getting beyond irritating. I picked it up and answered it, "Hello." I didn't keep the irritation out of my voice either.
"Mr. de Castro would like me to inform you he has a meeting in Louisiana and he would like you to accompany him. His plane is departing the airport at 9pm this evening and he expects you there at 8:30. Pack for a couple a days. Business casual, and a few formal gowns. A car will be there to pick you up."a snitty voice informed me. Oh great a business trip. It was Queen Snotty on the other line, and she just picked the wrong morning to give me attitude.
"I have to work tonight. You can't just tell me these things out of the blue like that." I shot back. I was really starting to hate this woman.
"Quit your job then." she said. I could hear the little self important nod over the phone. "Mr. de Castro will require you when he requires you." she told me. I snorted and hung up the phone.
"Damn," she spat out savagely. I did not need this today. It had only been one day and already these vampires were turning my life upside down. I steamed and fumed for several minutes, totally missing The View. I liked having a job and I liked my job. Yeah I was a stripper, but no one expected anything out of me. I didn't have to put in any effort or even brain power. I just jumped on the stage, danced and stripped down to be g-string. "Ah hell," I was going to quit my job.
Well if I was going to quit I needed to go into the club and get my last paycheck. I drained my cold coffee and chased it with another donut and wandered back into my room and got dressed. It was a good thing I had a habit of dropping my clothes on the chair beside my TV because I couldn't go into my closet. Luis was in there. I wasn't too sure how he would react to me waking him up during the middle of the day.
I threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed my purse and was out the door. The heat index was nearly 102 and though I had the air blasting I was still burning up. It barely took my two TLC songs to get to the club. I was really pressing my luck with the speed limit.
There were only a few cars in the parking lot and I pulled right up to the door and got out.
It was weird seeing the club in the daylight. It was a nice exterior than most strip clubs, with its Grecian columns and potted topiary flanking the front door. This made it seem like we were sophisticated strippers, but it was still a strip club.
I could see KP was up in his office and that's where I headed. His glass fronted office faced the door and it overlooked the main stage. Tamala was working behind the bar, restocking everything and straightening up. She took her job seriously and had been at the club longer than anyone else. Other than KP himself. I waved to her on the way to KP's office.
His door was open and I knocked on the door jam. He looked up and waved me in. "I need to talk to you." I sat down in the chair facing his desk. "I've taken a new job and I'm here to collect my last paycheck." There was no use in idle chitchat.
He looked up at me and threw his pen down on his desk. I jumped and looked at him. So much for not pissing him off. "You signed a three year contract with me Ember." he looked at me. "And if you aren't going to another club, and I'm not letting you go." He said that like he owned me. "I've got a whole campaign push going with calendar shoots, and you're one of my top earners. Hell your damn name is on the marquee. You aren't leaving." he said the last sentence with a cold fury that shocked me.
I stood up from my chair, "You know what keep the money." If he thought he could control me he had another thing coming. I had done my share of being the sheep and I wasn't going back to it. He stood up too and glared down at me. He moved from around his desk as I moved toward the door. He had a gleam in his eye that I had seen before and I looked around for something to grab to hit him in the gut with you. He snatched at my arm and yanked me off my feet.
He glared down at him twisting my arm painfully behind my back. Sharp pains shot up my arm and I whimpered. "I own you." he growled. I should really take Karate or something.
I was pulling in air to scream, surely Tamala would coming running to my rescue, but he must have seen what I was about to do because his hand went for my throat and chocked off the air I was pulling for a high pitch scream. I was hanging from his vice grip.
"I would let the lady go." rumbled a deep voice. My eyes were watering and I had to blink several times before they cleared so I could see my rescuer. It was a man the size of a large boulder. Complete with the round bowl haircut.
KP glared at the man, "Who the hell are you?" incredulously.
The man rolled his shoulders giving off an impressive display of muscles, "Miss Ember's bodyguard. Now I suggest you let her go." I had no idea who this guy was but at this point the room was taking on a dark haze and I just wanted KP to let go. And thankfully he did throwing me to the ground. The mountain caught me before I face planted and he set me right back up on my feet, keeping a massive paw at my back. "Now I believe you owe her some money. Hand it over and we will be on our way." he said it some calmly that KP was stunned into just handing over my money. I rubbed my throat and glared at him the whole time.
The mountain helped me out of the club and back into the harsh sunlight that had suddenly blared to life. "What's your name?" I managed to croak as I slid into my car.
He stared down at me, "Chase," I blinked up at him. I thought his name would be Diesel or Bullet. Something dangerous. "Boss said to watch you during the day till Luis is awake. I will follow you home." He nodded and climbed into his black H3.
I didn't feel like going home. There was nothing for me to do there anyways. So I drove over to the Char-Grill drive in for something to eat. I pulled in and tied a bandana around my neck. I didn't want anyone looking at me funny. Chase climbed out of his car and people parted like cold butter cut with a hot knife. It was impressive to say the least. I walked up the the window and snagged one of the order pads to place my order.
"Do you eat here?" Chase asked looking at the menu.
"Only when I need a pick me up. Its been a hell of a day and its not even noon yet." I ordered chili cheese fries with a large orange slice milkshake. They had the best milkshakes I ever had, and boy were they addictive. Chase ordered several plain garden burgers. He explained he was a vegetarian when I gave him a sideways glance. We grabbed one of the outdoor tables with a umbrella overhead. I sucked on my milkshake and almost let loose a deep sigh when the cool liquid slid down my aching throat. I looked in my compact mirror and saw the outline of KP's beef hand print around my neck. The jerk, I thought savagely.
"He won't be happy about this," Chase commented scaring the crap out of me. I thought he had gone to pick up our order. For a mountain he sure moved softly and lightly.
I took my box of chilli cheese fries, "Who won't be happy about what?" I scoop up a fry with some piping hot chili.
With one bite he finished off an entire burger. "Mr de Castro." he said as he unwrapped another burger. "He is very particular about his people and you are very important to him." He swallowed two burgers in rapid succession "You seem like a normal human to me. Are you rich or something?"
"Do you think if I was rich I would be stripping?" I shot back.
He smiled and his dimples almost sunk into his face, "Guess not," he finished he food and waited patiently for me to finish mine.
"I guess I have a skill that he wants to use," I wasn't sure if I should be telling everyone what I was. Never had a divulged that piece of information and something was telling me that I should keep my mouth shut, and I did. I finished eating in silence and Chase let me. He was actually good company. I took my time eating but when I finished we had barely been sitting there for an hour. I cleaned up my mess and Chase followed me over to my car. "I'm just going home Chase no one is going to bother me there." Plus I didn't want someone else invading my home, even if he saved me from a sure butt whopping.
"Bridget said to watch you and that's what I'm going do." He didn't leave any room for argument, so I just shrugged and climbed into my car and headed for home.
I would rather spend my off days at the pool in one of the hotels or just relaxing at the Hard Rock or something, but I just felt like crawling into my bed and never leaving. So it was a slow drive home and I was happy to pull into my garage and hop out. Chase parked on the street and walked into the garage as I was unlocking the door. He was looking over the house and for once I was glad that I was a pit of a neat freak with the public areas of my home. I just hated making my bed.
"Make yourself at home. There are some bedrooms upstairs if you need a nap. I'm taking some Ibuprofen and a nap." I announced, Chase just nodded and went to explore the house. I went to my room and did just what I told him I wanted to do.
We touched down in Louisiana and the first thing I thought was what a country bumpkin town. I mean the airport was one building and I turned to ask Felipe's secretary why we didn't pull in at a major airport, but decided against it. My job wasn't to worry about the travel arrangements. That was her little territory.
We didn't taxi to any gates at the one building airport, but we kept on rolling right into one of the hangers dotted around the airport grounds. A limo was sitting beside a red carpet. Well, this was a nice surprise. I had never been on a red carpet before. Not that there were any camera or anything to greet us.
Stepping off the plane I was almost chocked by the humidity. It felt like a heavy winter coat that I didn't want to wear, but I had to. I mean I could physically swallow it. Louisiana was not my favorite place just for that reason. If I was going to be hot I wanted a nice cry heat. I was dressed in a simple yellow MAXI dress that clung to my assets. It wasn't overtly sexy, it was just sexy by default, and I was wearing it well. I could feel the resentment rolling off Secretary Snotty as she followed behind me on the stairs. I was higher up the food chain than she was and this was only my first day of work.
The driver nodded as I stepped into the limo and say opposite Felipe and Luis. Snotty slid in beside me and I scooted as far away from her as I could. I didn't want her to touch me. I was slowly letting my guard down and if she touched me I would be drenched in her emotions and thoughts. I was working and I had to keep the mental "highway" as clear as possible.
Snotty rolled her eyes at me as she picked up the phone in the armrest when the car started rolling out of the hanger, "Fangtasia." she spoke and then hung up the phone. That must be some sort of code word.
Felipe looked at me, "Tonight you will meet one of my sheriffs Eric Northman and his telepath Sookie Stackhouse. Eric is the single holdover from the Sophia Anne regime. Sophia Anne is the queen I replaced." I got the feeling that it was a hostile take over. "Something is brewing in Louisiana and I want to get to the root of it and deal with it. I have the largest vampire kingdom in the United States in 200 years and I can feel the fangs of my fellow kings and queens on my neck and I would like to stay a step ahead of them." He explained. I nodded. And I mentally prepared myself for the mental assault I was going to put myself in.
Snotty didn't bother trying to engage me in conversation. She knew I didn't like her any further than I could throw her and she felt the same way.
Felipe and Luis were doing that silent exchange thing and I was sure they could communicate like that. I wanted to ask about it, but I stopped myself. Vampires weren't ones for just idle chatting. I settled back into the seat and prepared for the drive. It was the smoothest ride I had ever experienced and I loved it. I wasn't sure how long the drive was and I nestled myself into my seat and closed my eyes.
I didn't know where we were going and I didn't care. I was just trying to work myself up and get myself ready to go. Everyone slipped into a silence, but it wasn't the sort to make you scramble for something to say. I opened my eyes and noticed we were on the highway. There wasn't much to look at. A gas station here or there and a few bars. Nothing stood out and everything looked the same to me. That grey, dingy color. Like someone had taken a bucket and doused the entire state. I certainly wouldn't want to live here.
The highway continued to zip by and soon everything was just blurring together for me and I started to get antsy. I was never one to just sit still. We took and exit and I finally started to see signs of life. Neighborhoods zipped by, storefronts flashed on. I was glad to see some forms of life.
We pulled into a shopping center, though it was too late for the place to be crawling with soccer moms and their cargo of trailing kids. It was a U-shaped center with an alley wrapping around the entire complex. I had no idea where we were going.
The car stopped in front of a grey building with a glaring red sign. The word 'Fangtasia' winked at me and I smiled. Clubs and bars I know. I was on familiar stomping ground. I relaxed a little bit. The car slid to a stop and the driver got out. The door opened and we went out in reverse order of importance with Snotty leading the way, followed by me then Luis and finally Felipe. I was startled to see a contingent of vampires waiting for us at the door. They all bowed as Felipe let his gaze fall on all of them.
They were waiting on his instructions like they didn't know if they could think for themselves, but I took charge and sauntered up to the door. Felipe said tonight was strictly a social call just to get himself situated with the lay of the land as he called it. So I saw no need to stand on such formalities. A striking blonde was manning the door. She looked like an Amazon that had swallowed Morticia Adams. Her hair seemed to float around the black velvet dress she was wearing with the matching black nail polish on her porcelain hands.
A fierce scowl danced across her face before she caught herself. It was the quickest expression change I had ever seen. Before the right side of her mouth could finish the scowl the left side had already replaced it with a frosty smile. It caught me off guard and I had to hitch my smile higher on my face to recover.
I didn't need to read what she was thinking. You could feel it rolling off her in tidal waves. She wasn't pleased at our presence, and I was a tad scared to be approaching her. But I was too close to turn back now. I laid my little purse on the little podium she was standing behind. "Now why would a woman as beautiful as you be scowling?"I purred. I know how to ooze sex and I was turning it on. Big Time, and the dress was helping.
I could see the moonlight reflect off her teeth as she smiled down at me. "Has our king brought us a lovely snack to enjoy," she was undressing me with her acute eyesight and I tried to keep myself from squirming under her scrutiny.
I shook my head no, and my hair swept back and forth across my back. It was a flirty move I had learned at the strip club, and I was working it for all it was worth. "If you ate me now you would miss my floor show." I gave her a wink and by the time the rest of my group got to the door. The vampire was in full lust mode.
She snapped to attention, thought it was a half-hearted attempt and she gave a stiff bow to Felipe. I stepped back to defer to Felipe. "My king," she murmured.
Felipe smiled, "Ah Pam. It is always a pleasure." he inclined his head to acknowledge her bow and she swept open the door.
The music was blaring and the interior was dark.