Free Mercy's Debt (Montgomery's Vampires Series Book One) by Sloan Archer

fact that I’d been hired to congregate with the walking dead, but Liz didn’t have to be so judgmental and behave as if she suspected that I was selling crack to school children. It wounded me, knowing that she thought so little of my capability to make righteous decisions.
    Pushing the Liz situation to the back of my mind, I threw on a pair of jeans, slapped on some lip gloss, and tied my hair back into a messy bun. There was no need to put on airs for my trip; it was daylight, so nobody would be awake for my arrival. I hopped in my car and arrived at Dignitary within minutes.
    As Marlena had promised, the front door was unlocked. It felt intrusive, letting myself into somebody else’s house, but I felt better when I found the envelope she’d left for me by the door. I ripped it open, discovering directions to Robert’s, additional details about the gala, and a note about the location of the gowns. Apparently, Marlena had picked out a dress she thought would look nice on me and had hung it on the back of the closet door.
    I made my way to the walk-in closet, which was bigger than my entire apartment. I found the dress Marlena had chosen, protected inside a long garment bag. I unzipped the bag and let out a squeal. As much as I disliked Marlena, I had to give it up to her for her choice in clothing. It was one gorgeous dress: midnight navy, long, strapless, with a slight train. I ran my fingers over its front. It was fitted, made of silk, with intricate beading along the sweetheart neckline, and soft boning underneath.
    I quickly undressed, crossing my fingers that the gown would fit. I ste pped into it, executed a reach that was more like a yoga move, and finally managed to get the zipper up. I stood in front of the mirror, feeling as fabulous as a bride on her wedding day. The dress fit perfectly, almost as if it had been made with my exact curves and measurements in mind.
    Something poked into my skin underneath the side seam, and I reached down into the dress and partially extracted the price tag. I saw the numbers $1950 and cringed; no red wine for me that evening. I couldn’t imagine that Marlena would be too happy if I stained a brand-new dress.
    Still feeling the tag digging into my skin, I pulled it higher, revealing the full price of $19,500, and nearly fainted. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
    I looked at my reflection in the mirror and then down at my getup. “Well, gorgeous, at least you’re mine tonight,” I said, perfectly aware of how crazy I sounded conversing with a ball gown. But, if a girl couldn’t be a little nuts when wearing clothing that expensive, then when could she be?
    Somebody knocked softl y on the door, and I jumped, nearly tripping over the train.
    “Hello? Is there anybody in here?” asked a soft voice.
    Feeling like a complete jackass for having been caught chatting to a dress, I opened the door and peered out shamefacedly. A pretty Asian woman in her mid to late twenties waved at me and smiled.
    “Hi,” she said. “I’m Erika.” She was petite, with a strong jawline, amber-colored eyes, and porcelain skin.
    I opened the door fully. “Hi, Erika, I’m Mercy.” We shook hands.
    “Wow. Th at’s a great dress,” she grinned, running her fingers through her long, glossy black hair. “You look amazing.”
    “T hanks,” I said. “I feel amazing, too.”
    “Y ou must be the new girl. I’m also a chaperone here.”
    “I s ure am,” I said. “Actually, tonight will be my first time chaperoning.”
    “How cool! You’re going to have blast,” she assured me. “Are you nervous?”
    I held my wobbly hand up for her to see. “Yah, just a little,” I chuckled raggedly.
    “Seriously, don’t be ! I was petrified when I began chaperoning- you know, being aware that vampires could easily break our skulls between two fingers. But everybody was so cool that I almost felt bad for getting paid. They really aren’t as scary as you think.”
    “W hew,” I said,