Free Pretty When They Collide by Rhiannon Frater

he now knew the truth.
    If she ever got the chance, she would escape.
    An especially vicious little weed refused to give its hold up on the earth and she tugged harder. She respected its tenacity , but she wasn ’ t about to let it choke the life out of her sage. Digging at the gnarled roots, she couldn ’ t help but compare the weed to Frank. Frank ’ s roots were deep in the soil of her life and he was choking the life out of her.
    Checking her watch, she saw that her little tracking spell would be ready soon. The dhamphir was Frank ’ s next target, that much was clear. Aimee didn ’ t know a lot about dhamphirs, but she had one of Frank ’ s researchers working on remedying that fact. When the vampire had finally fallen asleep, she had carefully unwound the strands of chestnut colored hair from the clips of the extension and stored them in a small cotton bag. She had straightaway mixed the tracking spell upon returning to the estate.
    A long shadow fell over her. Aimee immediately twisted about, and saw Ivan, one of Frank ’ s most trusted guards, standing over her.
    “ What is it?” she asked, squinting behind her tinted glasses.
    “ He ’ s awake and he wants you.”
    Sighing, Aimee set her tools in the bucket caddy beside her. Tugging off her gloves, she tucked them into one of the side pockets. Ivan leaned over and claimed the bucket caddy, and gestured sharply with his head.
    “ He wants you now. I ’ ll put this up.”
    Frank had to be in a truly bad mood if Ivan was willing to clean up after her. She pulled off her gardening hat and glasses and handed those to Ivan.
    “ Thanks,” she said, then strode through her garden toward the sliding glass door that glinted in the sunlight.
    The door slid open when she drew near and the cool, stale , air - conditioned air flowed out , brushing over her heated skin. With a shiver, she stepped into the dimness beyond the door.
    Another guard slid the door shut, cutting off the heat of the day, then slid the heavy thermal curtain over the glass, banishing the daylight. Candles and lamps lit the interior of the house. The wide rooms with high ceilings felt cavernous, but were crammed with antiques. Frank was an avid collector and she was annoyed at how easily he could fill a room with his countless acquisitions. When they had first moved into the much bigger house on the massive estate in West Texas, she had loved the airy feel of the rooms. Now they felt as stale and heavy as their previous home in Louisiana.
    Aimee was sweaty and grimy and considered cleaning up before entering Frank’s bedroom, but then thought better of it. If he was demanding to see her immediately , he could put up with her being grungy. She hated when he wakened in the afternoon hours. It was rare for a vampire to be able to do so, and Frank used this rare gift it to his advantage. He loved to wake up early and scheme.
    Frank ’ s bedroom was black and red, filled with heavy antiques from his home country of France, and always smelled of incense and blood. Still in his black silk pajamas, Frank was greedily sipping from the wrist of one of his blood minions. The young woman ’ s eyes were closed in rapture, and beneath her silk teddy, her body was trembling with pleasure.
    Aimee turned away so she wouldn ’ t have to witness the woman ’ s erect nipples pressing against the fine silk of her garment and her hands moving between her thighs. Instead of watching, she occupied herself by surveying the vast array of cologne Frank had arranged on his bureau. He was obsessed with smelling like anything other than death. There were a few new bottles and she once again contemplated the possibility of slipping a spell into one of them.
    A reluctant moan and slap on the rump indicated the feeding was over . Aimee returned her gaze to Frank as the blood minion scurried out of the room. Aimee no longer learned their names. She ’ d tried befriending the few who had been living with Frank when she had