Free Sleeping With the Entity by Cat Devon Page B

forget one widow requesting the song ‘Up, Up and Away’ by the 5th Dimension be played over and over again.”
    “Did they request smiley-faced cupcakes, too?”
    “No.”
    Suz took the empty bowl to the sink and started cleaning it herself. “Speaking of cupcakes, I’m surprised you use a handheld mixer instead of one of those stand models.”
    “The bowls are too small in the stand models.”
    “These are mega-sized.”
    Daniella nodded. “I call them ‘arms-around size’ because if I make a circle with my arms and have my fingertips touch, it matches the size of the stainless mixing bowls for the batter. It’s true that I’ll need a new handheld mixer every couple of months, but for now it’s worth it.”
    “These frosting bowls are a little smaller but not much.”
    Daniella cleaned her sticky fingers in the separate hand sink. “Tell me again that there’s no reason for panic.”
    “There’s no reason for panic,” Suz obediently said before adding a hug. “Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”
    But Daniella did panic when strange noises woke her in the middle of the night. They were coming from the street below. She got out of bed and tiptoed to the living room. Pushing aside the curtain covering the window, she snuck a peek outside. The streetlight on the corner illuminated two people throwing something at her front window.

 
    Chapter Seven
    Nick was not amused. “Egging? Come on,” he said in disgust. “That’s pitiful. What has the world come to that vampires are egging a cupcake shop? That kind of juvenile behavior is for wimps, not vamps.”
    “They were trying to get Daniella to come outside,” Neville said.
    “She didn’t fall for that, did she?”
    “No. She called the police, but egging is a minor issue on a busy Chicago police schedule.”
    “Was it the same group of vamps that came before?” Nick asked.
    Neville shook his head. “No, this is a different bunch.”
    “Great. So now we’ve got two groups of outsiders trying to get Daniella. A trio of gangsta vamps and a pair of vampire wimps.”
    “I heard that Tanya wasn’t real pleased with Daniella’s visit to her tanning salon. Tanya thinks her human clients will get fat on the cupcakes and not want to wear swimsuits or get tanned.”
    “That sounds like a lame excuse to me,” Nick said.
    Neville shrugged. “You know Tanya. She likes being the only female business owner in Vamptown.”
    “She’s still the only female vampire business owner in Vamptown.”
    “You don’t think she has anything to do with these incidents, do you?”
    “I’ll check it out,” Nick said.
    He left the Vamp Cave and headed for Tanya’s Tanning Salon. She was clearly pleased to see him. “Nick!” She came closer to kiss his cheeks in the European fashion, even though she’d never stepped foot on the Continent. She then planted her mouth directly on his.
    She was trying to stake a claim.
    Nick didn’t like anything to do with stakes. It was a vamp thing.
    Firmly setting her aside, he gave her a hard stare. He wasn’t going to be distracted by sex. “Why the warm welcome?”
    “Why not?” Her smile was sultry. “I’m always glad to see you, Nick. You know that.”
    “You seem unusually pleased today. Not suffering from a guilty conscience, are you?”
    “I’d have to have a conscience in the first place and I don’t.”
    Nick could tell the salon was empty at the moment. He sensed no human or vampire presence. So he was direct.
    “Egging, Tanya? Really? Come on,” he mocked.
    “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    “I’m talking about those lame minions you had egg the cupcake shop last night.”
    “Why would I do that?”
    “Jealousy.”
    “Oh, please.” Tanya drew herself to her full height, which was even higher thanks to the stiletto sandals she wore. “Why would I be jealous of her?”
    “Then why egg her place?”
    “She doesn’t belong here. You said so yourself.”
    “I changed my