Free A Night at Tears of Crimson by Michelle Hughes Page B

before, but one of the conditions of us living there is to allow Rafe to bring it up at his own discretion.”
    If she was being honest, it hurt her feelings a little that her friends would keep something like this from her. And why would Rafe want it to remain a secret? The thought gave her pause, but only for a few minutes. "I guess he has his reasons," she had no idea what they were but if Rachel and Angela were already living there it couldn't be that big of deal.
    “You are going to love it there,” Rachel told her animatedly as she helped prep the serving station for the night ahead.
     
    They got busy taking care of the customers and the night moved along quickly. One of Cara's regular customers had just come in and she moved over to his table quickly. He had been there the first night she worked and he had actually been the first customer she had taken on her own. Oddly enough tonight, she thought, he was by himself. The man always seemed to have a partner with him.
    “Things seem to be going well for you here, my dear,” Phillipe smiled as she sat down a coaster in front of him. He could see how nervous he made her, and she didn't understand how appealing that was.
    “Yes I really love it here,” she told him a bit shyly. He was one of her best tippers and even though she was a little frightened of him, he seemed harmless enough. He smiled warmly at me again and asked for his normal bottle of wine and she quickly moved off to take care of his order.
    Everything was in full swing at the Tears of Crimson. People were dancing, making out, and drinking from each other. She was actually growing accustomed to seeing the biting scenes, even though it made her feel strange emotions she couldn't put a name to. In the beginning those scenarios had frightened her, now she just wondered what the draw was for the people involved. Shaking off the feeling, she grabbed the wine classes for her customer and took the bottle as Michael uncorked it and placed it on her tray with a smile. I
    “Cara you look incredibly lovely tonight, would you consider driving with me after work?” Phillipe had come to the bar without a date, purposely tonight. The young waitress had tempted his palate and he was determined to entice her.
    She was actually floored that he would ask, and couldn’t think of what to say. “I, well thank you so much, um...” she realized she didn't even know his name.
    “Philippe,” he smiled warmly trying to put the young woman at ease without fully taking over her thoughts. He was confident enough in his own abilities that he rarely needed to bother with compulsion.
    “I already have plans this evening,” she told him kindly with a smile, hoping her expression showed that she was flattered.
    “Perhaps another time then, my dear,” he smiled and handed her a hundred dollar bill, “keep the change little one.” He was patient, one of the things that came with immortality was the ability to wait for things that he desired.
    She smiled at him again and walked away, feeling that for some reason that she should have accepted his offer. There was just something about the man that you couldn't put your finger on, she thought to herself. She had so many customers that night that it was impossible to sort out her feelings about him. The night was turning out to be a very profitable one for her. After the last call had been given, it was almost four in the morning. She worked to clean off her tables quickly and met the other workers at the bar. Dante as usual had prepared sandwiches and they sat around nibbling on them, and talking among themselves.
    “So I hear you're going to check out the villas tonight.” Michael said with a smile.
    “Yes I'm really excited,” as if he couldn't tell from the way she fidgeted in her chair or the huge smile on her face. All her earlier feelings of being upset with Angela and Rachel had dissipated, and now she just wanted to see what the place looked like.
    "It's about time you