Rule #1: Never get involved with someone who won't be there for you when the
sun comes up.
Once bitten, twice shy - and sexy PI Jackie Morrisey wasn't going there again.
Vincent Argeneau may be the hottest guy she's ever met, living or dead, but she's
here to stop a killer from turning this vampire into dust, not to jump into bed
with him.
Rule #2: Never kiss a vampire . . . it can be a pain in the neck.
“Vincent? Are you there? If you’re there, pick up the phone.”
Vincent Argeneau forced one eyelid upward and peered around the dark room.
His home office, he saw, managing to make out the shape of his desk by the sliver
of light coming through the door cracked open to the hallway. He'd fallen asleep
on the couch in his office.
“Vincent?”
“Yeah?” He sat up and glanced around for the owner of that voice,
then realized it was coming through his answering machine on the desk. Giving
his head a shake, Vincent got to his feet and stumbled across the room. He snatched
up the cordless phone, dropped into his desk chair, and growled, “Bastien?”
“Vincent? Sorry to wake you, cousin. I waited as late as I could before
calling.”
Vincent grunted and leaned back in the chair, running his free hand over his
face. “What time is it?”
“Five PM here in New York. I guess that makes it about two there in L.A.,”
Bastien said apologetically.
“Two,” Vincent muttered. No wonder he was exhausted. He’d
been up until 9 AM dealing with phone calls, then had drawn the blackout curtains
in the room and lain down on the couch here rather than go to his bed. He hadn’t
wanted to miss Bastien’s call.
“Are you awake?”
“Yeah.” Vincent scrubbed his hand over his face again, then reached
out to turn on his desk lamp. Blinking in the increased light, he said, “I’m
up. Were you able to get a hold of that private detective company you said was
so good?”
“That’s why I couldn’t call any later than this. They’re
on their way. In fact, their plane was scheduled to land at LAX fifteen minutes
ago.”
“Jesus!” Vincent sat up abruptly in his seat. “That was fast.”
“Jackie doesn’t waste time. I explained the situation to her and
she booked a flight right away. Fortunately for you, she’d just finished
a big job for me and was able to put off and delegate whatever else she had on
the roster.”
“Wow,” Vincent murmured, then frowned as he realized what Bastien
had said. “She? The detective’s a woman?”
“Yes,
and she’s good. Really good. She’ll track down your saboteur and have
this whole thing cleaned up in no time.”
“If you say so,” Vincent said quietly. “Thanks, Bastien.
I appreciate it.”
“Not a problem. Happy to help.”
Vincent opened his mouth to speak, then paused as he heard a woman’s
muffled voice in the background. He began to grin. “Is that Terri?”
“Yes. She says hello, and says to warn you—” He paused to
clear his throat. “Er…Vincent, mother is on her way out there too.”
“What?” Vincent stood abruptly. The news was rather shocking. Aunt
Marguerite hadn’t visited his home in decades. Usually, he visited her in
Canada. She’d chosen the worst possible time to decide to visit sunny California.
"Why?"
"Er…well, that’s a funny thing really." Bastien gave
a nervous laugh. "It seems she’s come to the conclusion that you may
be lonely and depressed.”
“What!" Vincent gaped at the phone.
"Yeah. She thinks your being here in New York and witnessing Terri and
I getting together – as well as seeing my siblings with their life mates
-- may have upset you, your still being single and all. She seems to think you
may need cheering up or maybe some help seeing to the situation."
"Dear God," Vincent muttered, raking one hand through his hair.
“Yeah, I thought you might feel that way," Bastien said sympathetically.
"I did try to dissuade her from going, but…You know how my mother is
once she gets an idea into her head.”
“Dear God,” Vincent repeated.
“She’s on a later flight,” Bastien informed him. “She
won’t arrive until six o’clock your time and she’s arranged
for a car rental so you won’t have to pick her up.”
“Does she know about what’s going on here?”
“No,” Bastien said. “And unless you want her interfering,
I suggest you not tell her.”
Vincent gave a bark of laughter. Interfere was an understatement. If Marguerite
Argeneau knew someone was sabotaging her nephew’s business, she’d
be determined to track them down and sort it out. She was very protective of those
she loved and he was fortunate enough to count himself in that category.
“Dear God,” he said unhappily.
“Just stick her in a guest room, give her a bunch of tourist pamphlets,
and let her entertain herself,” Bastien suggested. “She’ll get
bored and move on eventually.”
Vincent grimaced, thinking nothing was ever that easy. “I’m guessing
I wasn’t expected to pick up this Jackie and…” He paused, trying
to recall the second name Bastien had mentioned.
“Tiny,” he supplied. “No, they’ll have a rental too.
Otherwise I’d have called sooner.”
“Right.” Vincent sighed.
“I’m guessing you probably have about half an hour before they
get there. I figured that was enough time to get ready.”
“Yeah,” Vincent agreed.
“Okay. I guess I’ll let you go wake yourself up before they arrive.”
“Yeah, okay. Hey, tell Terri--” Vincent paused and glanced toward
the hallway as a knock sounded at his front door. Frowning, he stood and headed
out of the office, taking the cordless phone with him. “Hang on. There’s
someone at the door.”
“That’s probably the package I sent out for Mom,” Bastien
said. “If so, you’ll have to get it in the refrigerator right away.”
“Must be nice having your meals prepared and delivered,” Vincent
said dryly as he walked up the hall.
“We’ll eventually sort that out too, cousin,” Bastien said
quietly, and Vincent felt guilty for bellyaching. Bastien had set his scientists
to work on finding a cure for his problem years ago. If there wasn't one yet,
it wasn’t for lack of trying.
“Is it the blood?” Bastien asked as Vincent pulled the front door
open.
“Umm…no,” he answered, his gaze running over the duo on the
marble step before him. He’d never set eyes on such an unlikely pair. The
woman was blond, the man a brunette. She was extremely short and curvy, he was
a great behemoth of a man who stood well over six feet. She was dressed in a black
business suit with a crisp white blouse underneath, he wore casual cords and a
sweater in pale cream. They were a study in contrasts.
“Vincent Argeneau?” the woman asked.
When he nodded, she stuck out her hand. “I’m Jackie Morrisey and
this is Tiny McGraw. I believe Bastien called you about us?”
Vincent stared at her hand, but -- rather than take it -- pushed the door closed
and lifted the phone back to his ear as he turned away. “Bastien, she’s
mortal!”
“Did you just slam the door in Jackie’s face?” Bastien asked
with amazement. “I heard the slam, Vincent. Jesus! Don’t be so damned
rude.”
“Hello!” he said impatiently. “She’s mortal.
Bad enough she’s female, but I need someone who knows about our special
situation to deal with this problem. She--”
“Jackie does know,” Bastien said dryly. “Did you
think I’d send you an uninitiated mortal? Have a little faith.” A
sigh traveled down the phone line. “Look, her father started the Morrisey
Detective Agency and did lots of work for us. She’s known about us since
she was in her late teens and has always kept the secret. Jackie has run the company
since her father’s death. She has a bit of an attitude when it comes to
our kind, but is the best in the business. Now, open the goddamned door for the
woman.”
“But
she’s mortal and…a girl,” Vincent pointed out again, still not
happy with the situation.
“I’m hanging up, Vincent.” Bastien hung up.
Vincent scowled at the phone and almost dialed him back, but then thought better
of it and returned to the door. He needed help tracking down the saboteur out
to ruin him. He’d give Ms. Morrisey and her giant a chance. If they sorted
out the mess for him, fine. If not, he could hold it over Bastien’s head
for centuries.
Grinning at the idea, Vincent reached for the doorknob.
###
“The nerve of the man!" Jackie scowled at the door that had just
slammed shut in her face. She was exhausted after their long flight and this was
the last welcome she'd expected after dropping everything to fly out here to help
Vincent Argeneau.
"It isn't the warmest reception we've had," Tiny agreed, his voice
as deep and powerful as mountains shifting.
Jackie snorted at the understatement, then glanced at the big man curiously
as he moved sideways on the wide marble stoop under the portico at the entrance
of the two-story mansion. She raised an eyebrow in question as he peered through
one of the narrow windows on either side of the entrance, but was then distracted
by the low murmur of a voice coming from the other side of the dark oak door.
Frowning, Jackie leaned forward and pressed an ear to the wood, trying to make
out what Vincent Argeneau was saying. Her eyes narrowed and she began to fume
on hearing the protest that she was mortal and a girl.
The door suddenly opened again and Jackie straightened abruptly. A blush tried
to make its way up her face at being caught with her ear to the door and that
just made her angrier. It put her on the offensive. Before he could say a word,
she spat out the facts from the file she’d studied on the plane.
“You were born in 1592 to Victor and Marion Argeneau, both vampires --
or immortals as you prefer to be called. Marion was good friends with her sister-in-law
Marguerite Argeneau and you were, in fact, born two months behind Marguerite’s
son Bastien. The two of you spent a good deal of time together growing up and
are as close as brothers. Your mother died in 1695, burnt at the stake while pregnant
with what would have been your sibling. Your father has been reclusive since then,
spending his time acting as an enforcer for the council. You see very little of
him.
“You decided to become an actor when you met Shakespeare at ten. You’ve
traveled the world, staying no more than ten years in each place before moving
across the globe and starting again. You’ve been in California eight years,
ten years in England before that, and before that, Russia, Spain, and France.
You have shares in Argeneau Enterprises, but also own V.A. Inc., which has fingers
in several pies. One of those pies is your own production company, which presently
isn’t producing anything because a series of events you think are sabotage
has forced you to shut down any and all productions.”
Jackie fell silent and took great satisfaction in the expression on Vincent
Argeneau’s face. He looked staggered. It served him right. She was only
here as a favor to Bastien. She had other cases she’d rather be working,
but did this guy consider that? No, he slams the door in her face, then has the
nerve to protest to Bastien about her being mortal and a girl.
Jackie was used to people judging her on her sex and size. It annoyed her sometimes,
but she could deal with it. However, she’d be damned if she was going to
put up with prejudice against her species. She was human and proud of it. Some
of these night feeders were too darned smug in her opinion. They slept all day,
drank bagged blood at night, then acted all superior because they couldn’t
catch the common cold and had perfect health.
That thought reminded Jackie of a point she’d left out.
“You inherited your father’s genetic disposition, which won’t
allow you to feed off bagged blood like the rest of your kind. On a strict diet
of bagged blood, you’d starve to death. You’re forced to hunt your
meals and feed off living donors.” She arched her eyebrows and added, “Tiny
and I aren’t on the menu. If you bite either of us, we’re on the next
plane back to New York. Understood?”
Jackie didn’t wait for a response. Deciding she’d spent long enough
on the doorstep, she moved past him into the house, aware that Tiny stayed directly
on her heels.
“Your security here is nonexistent,” Jackie announced, glancing
into each room she passed on her way up the hall. “Your front gate was wide
open. We drove straight in. Anyone can.”
“My home security isn’t in question.” Vincent Argeneau sounded
irritated, she noted, but otherwise, appeared recovered from his shock at her
bullet like recitation of his life to date.
“It should be,” Jackie informed him, then pointed out, “Now
that you’ve closed down your productions, your saboteur has lost his original
target. He’ll be looking for another, and your home is the first place that
comes to my mind.”
Jackie glanced back as she reached the end of the hall and wasn’t terribly
surprised to see him peering worriedly toward the front door. She hadn’t
heard the lock click into place when he’d closed it a moment ago. He moved
back to lock it now and she smiled to herself as she pushed through the door into
the kitchen.
Tiny waited just inside the room as Jackie walked around, opening and closing
cupboards while she waited for Vincent to catch up. She was peering into his empty
refrigerator when he hurried into the room.
“You have a lot of glass in this house,” she commented. “French
doors, sliding glass doors and windows deluxe. Do you, at least, have a functioning
security system on those?”
His hesitation was answer enough.
“What are you looking for?” Vincent asked instead of admitting
he didn’t have an alarm system.
Jackie shrugged. “If Tiny and I are going to be staying here, I need
to know what we need. As expected, you have nothing in the way of food in this
house, not to mention dishes, silverware, or appliances,” she added dryly.
Closing the refrigerator door, she glanced at her assistant. “You’d
better start making a list, Tiny. Just write Everything on it.”
“You’re staying here?” Vincent asked with horror.
“If you hadn’t closed down your productions, we would be renting
somewhere and taking on positions on one of your plays as our cover while we nosed
around. Since you have shut down all your plays and made yourself and your home
the only available targets, we’ll have to stay here and choose a different
cover.” She turned to peer at him. “I understand you don’t have
a personal assistant?”
“No,”
Vincent answered reluctantly.
“You do now,” Jackie informed him, she gestured to Tiny as she
added, “You also have a cook/housekeeper.”
Vincent stared at her and then glanced to Tiny, who nodded solemnly.
Leaving him to absorb the changes that were about to overtake his life, Jackie
headed for the kitchen door. “I’m going to make a few calls. I presume
I can use the phone in your office?”
"Yes, of course." The words sounded almost automatic, he was looking
bemused by all that was taking place.
“Do you want me to unload the luggage?” Tiny asked as she reached
his side.
“Yes, please. And I’ll need my briefcase from the car, as well.
After I make the phone calls, I’m going to go through the second-floor rooms.
If I’m not in the office, you’ll find me upstairs.”
“Okay, boss,” Tiny murmured as he trailed her from the kitchen.
Vincent didn’t follow this time and Jackie let her shoulders relax a
little as she walked back up the hall.
“You were kind of tough on him,” Tiny commented as they reached
the door she’d spied the office through on the way in.
Jackie shrugged. “He needs a wakeup call. They get to a certain age and
think they’re invulnerable. This place is a burglar’s dream. It’s
luck alone that he hasn’t been robbed blind, or attacked…And now he
has someone out to get him. We don’t have time to handle him with kid gloves.
We have to secure this place quickly so we can concentrate on tracking down his
saboteur.”
“And he was rude slamming the door in our face,” Tiny added dryly,
bringing a smile to her lips. The giant rarely let her get away with lying to
herself.
“Yeah,” Jackie admitted. “He was rude. And he doubted I can
handle the job, and my pride was hurt, and I made sure he rethought that opinion.”
“You think he’s rethinking?” Tiny asked.
“I think he’s wishing he’d never called Bastien and asked
for aid finding someone to help deal with this matter,” she said with a
pleased grin.
“If he’s miserable then our work here is done,” Tiny said
solemnly.
“I wish,” Jackie drawled, but was chuckling softly as Tiny left
to go out to the car and she headed into the office. The giant man’s ability
to jolly her out of any mood was priceless and she’d thanked God for it
many times. Jackie suspected she was going to need it many, many times before
this job was through.
Sighing, she dropped into the desk chair and stared at the phone. It was cordless,
and now that she was here staring at the empty receiver, Jackie recalled that
Vincent had been talking on the phone when he’d answered the door. He still
had that phone.
Shaking her head, she stood again and started around the desk, pausing when
Vincent Argeneau suddenly appeared, the cordless held up in his hand. After a
hesitation, Jackie continued forward and reached for the phone, but he held onto
it when she would have taken it.
“I apologize for my rudeness in slamming the door in your face. I’m
afraid I’d just woken up and wasn’t on the ball, and -- from the information
Bastien had given me -- I wasn’t expecting you for another half an hour.”
“Our flight caught a good tailwind. We landed early,” Jackie explained.
Vincent Argeneau nodded. “Well, I was startled to find you on the step,
then even more startled that you were mortal. Bastien hadn’t warned me that
it would be otherwise and I just assumed that it would be one of our own dealing
with the situation.”
Jackie hesitated, then felt her shoulders relax and nodded slowly. “Apology
accepted.”
“Good. Then perhaps we can start again.” He released the phone
and held out his hand with a conciliatory smile. “Hello, my name is Vincent
Argeneau. You must be the amazing Jackie Morrisey that my cousin Bastien has sent
to save my bacon. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’d appreciate any
help you can give me in this matter. Welcome to my home.”
Jackie automatically placed her hand in his, then blinked at the little frisson
of awareness the contact caused. Startled, she quickly pulled her hand free. Her
words came out fast and sharp as she said, “I’d like to have someone
come out and set up a proper security system. It will run you a lot of money.
If you have a problem with that…” Her voice trailed away as he nodded.
“If you think it’s necessary, by all means, arrange it. With that
out of the way, perhaps you can concentrate on my saboteur. I realize now I’ve
been lax about such things. I suppose I’m lucky I haven’t been robbed
blind, or attacked. Thank you for the wakeup call.”
Jackie stiffened as she recognized her own words to Tiny moments ago, and suddenly
recalled that Vincent's kind had exceptional hearing. They could also read minds,
she reminded herself grimly. She’d have to be careful around him and try
to keep her thoughts blank when he was near. It was a trick she’d learned
years ago. His people could read minds, but – hopefully -- only if you were
thinking something. Keep your thoughts blank, or recite some silly children’s
rhyme over and over, and they were somewhat hampered. She’d have to remember
that around this man.
“I’ll leave you to your phone calls and go shower and dress.”
His words drew Jackie’s attention to his bare chest and she blinked in
surprise, wondering how she’d missed that earlier. The man was standing
there, his dark hair sleep-tousled and wearing nothing but a pair of dark blue
pajama bottoms. It left the wide, pale expanse of his chest on view. Jackie had
been so angry with his behavior on answering the door, she hadn’t even noticed
his state of undress. Or how handsome his chiseled face and silver-blue eyes were.
Amazing, she thought with disbelief.
“Once you’re finished with the security people, I’ll take
you and Tiny shopping for the things you’ll need in the kitchen during your
stay,” he announced. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
Turning on his heel, Vincent Argeneau left the room. Jackie moved to the door
and stared after him. Her gaze slid with interest over his muscular bare back
and his behind in the pajama bottoms as he walked back to the stairs. Realizing
what she was doing, she shook her head and turned away to move quickly back to
the desk.
“Do not even go there,” Jackie reprimanded herself as she searched
for a phone book to look up the numbers of local security firms. “The last
thing you need is to start falling for a vamp. Been there, done that, and have
the scars to prove it.”
“Talking to yourself already. That’s always a bad sign on a job.”
Jackie gave a start at Tiny’s words and glanced up to find him standing
in the doorway, a large box in his hands. “What’s that?”
“A delivery from A.B.B. The delivery truck pulled up as I walked out
to the car.”
“A.B.B.?” Jackie grimaced, knowing it would be blood Bastien had
sent from the Argeneau Blood Bank for his mother to feed on while here. He’d
warned her that Marguerite Argeneau was flying out to tend to Vincent whom she
was sure was lonely and depressed as he contemplated his single status in comparison
to his cousins, who were each finding their life mates. Jackie didn't think he
seemed depressed, but then she hardly knew the man.
Tiny shifted, drawing her gaze back to the burden he held. She stared at the
box that no doubt held a cooler full of bagged blood and decided this job was
probably going to be a trial. They didn’t normally have to live in such
close proximity to immortals and have their feeding habits in their faces. She
didn't think she'd like it.
Sighing, Jackie found the listing of a security agency in the book, and began
to dial the number on the cordless. “Put it in the kitchen and let him know
it’s here. He'll want to put it away.”
Nodding, Tiny left the room as she waited for her call to be answered.
Two hours later, Allen Richmond of Richmond Security was rattling off all the
improvements that had to be made, and the items that had to be installed, to make
Vincent Argeneau’s house secure. With each point he mentioned, Jackie put
a mental check mark beside each item on the list in her head. This was the third
man who’d looked over the house in the last two hours, but the first who
hadn’t missed anything. This was the company she would deal with.
“Can you do it today?” she asked when he finished.
“It’ll cost you,” the older man warned, running a hand over
his short gray hair. “I'll have to bump another job, use equipment from
another job as well. My men will have to work overtime and…” He paused
to do some figures on the pad he’d been making notes on as they’d
toured the house and property, then mentioned a figure that would have made most
people pale. However, it was no more than she’d expected and Jackie glanced
at Vincent, who had joined them for the end of the tour.
“Can
you afford it?” she asked bluntly.
Vincent scowled as if offended, then growled, “Do it.”
Jackie turned to Allen and nodded. “Do it.”
“I’ll call the office and have the men and equipment out here within
the hour.” Allen Richmond walked away toward his car, pulling a cell phone
from his pocket as he went.
“Well…” Vincent frowned. “I guess that puts a spanner
in the shopping plan.”
“I can keep an eye on the house while you and Jackie shop,” Tiny
rumbled as he joined them under the portico.
Jackie frowned at the suggestion. The last thing she wanted to do was go shopping
with Vincent Argeneau. Unfortunately, it was after four o’clock and heading
for dinner time. They’d need food…and coffee. She lived off the black
liquid and couldn’t go all night without. Giving in with a sigh, she said,
“I’ll get my purse.”
“I should warn you, Jackie hates shopping,” Tiny informed Vincent
as she headed into the house.
Jackie rolled her eyes at the understatement, but didn’t get the chance
to comment. The telephone was ringing as she opened the door.
“I’ll get it.” Vincent was suddenly rushing past her toward
the office.
Jackie followed him and grabbed her purse off the desk as he picked up the
receiver and said hello. She’d turned to leave the office when he said,
“What?” with such distress that she paused and turned back with concern.
The man looked both stunned and horrified.
-return to top-
