Free Real Vampires Have More to Love by Gerry Bartlett Page A

squealed. Luckily mine came out as a chirp.
    Greedy bitch? Westwood had come after me . I hopped off my perch and landed behind Viv. Another shift and I was ready to show Viv how a real monster worked. Not that Sean would have considered what I had in mind such a freak-out. But Viv would go absolutely nuts. Not even a glance at Sean’s lethal size twelves could stop me. Hey, I was pissed.
    I eased around beside her really nice boots, gray suede, and crawled up the sole to the edge of her jeans. Inside gave me an interesting perspective and a fragrance in a “the woman used a really expensive body lotion” kind of way. It was almost too much as I headed north. I got to the top of her boot and hit the inside of her knee.
    Hey, Viv, you’ve got a visitor.
    “Oh, my God!”
    She jumped, and I slid a few inches down a well-waxed and toned calf. Her squeal could have shattered glass. Nice.
    “Ms. Westwood? What is it?” Sean’s deep voice was hushed and worried. “You see her?”
    “No! There’s something, oh, oh, crawling on me!”
    I scampered up until I was in ick territory, way too close to a pair of sheer black panties, then made a circuit of her thigh, doing a little impromptu break dance that made her squeak and screech. Plenty of room for dancing since she hadn’t favored tight jeans. She hopped around, doing a pretty good high kick until she jarred me loose. I slipped down to the top of one boot and almost fell inside, hanging on to the rim with both claws or whatever the hell cockroaches call those things they grab with.
    “Hush, now. Someone could hear you. I reckon if there’s something illegal goin’ on in that shop, your girl could have muscle helping her. You want them to come check this alley?” Sean’s voice was soothing, and Viv froze, proving she wasn’t as dumb as she looked. “Where is it? Point and I’ll kill the sucker.”
    Uh-oh. I clung tightly to my perch. I really didn’t want to end up inside, next to Viv’s bare foot. These were obviously last year’s favorites, if you get my drift. What had seemed like fun now wasn’t.
    “Don’t hit me.” Viv shook her leg. “This is stupid. I don’t feel anything now. Must have been my imagination.”
    Easy for her to say. At least I was slipping down the outside of her boot now and ready to run for freedom.
    “There goes your imagination, lady.” Sean sounded gleeful. Viv shrieked.
    Guess she’d seen me. I put on vamp speed at the sound of Sean’s shoes behind me. Could I be one of those flying roaches? I was all set to take wing when I was hit from behind and slammed into the brick wall at the back of the shop. I fell to the pavement and lay dazed and still. I knew better than to struggle to my feet. It was dark and from the sweet smell I figured I’d landed in, oh, great, a puddle of molasses from Mugs and Muffins next door. I’d be invisible to a mortal.
    “Got him, Ms. Westwood. Ready to call it a night?”
    “Yes. I need to talk to my brother. This vampire thing is nuts. Daddy was, sorry to say it, a little nuts too. That will makes no sense, and I’m not doing this. We need to lawyer up and see what we can do to get the estate settled.” Viv sounded determined. “But we need to find Daddy or his, um, body. This Glory St. Clair may have killed him. She looked like the kind of woman who would go after a rich man and take advantage.” Viv sniffled. “Poor Daddy. Bet he tried to break up with her and she wouldn’t accept it.”
    How did I get to be the bad guy? I wanted to shift and tear out her throat. I even tried to move my foot, but the sticky mess held me prisoner.
    “Is some money missing? Maybe you need to check your daddy’s accounts.”
    “Good idea, Sean. I find checks made out to this St. Clair woman, I’ll make sure you get a bonus. A very generous bonus.” Viv’s voice faded as they headed out.
    I lay there, utterly miserable, and decided to console myself with a taste of my bed of pain. Because that kick