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Lucien gasped and cried out as he stiffened above me. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
Afterward, we lay in a boneless puddle, Lucien on his back with one arm behind his head and me using his chest for a pillow.
It was safe to say I’d cured him.
I couldn’t help grinning. “How do you feel?”
“My head hurts. ”
I felt myself giggle. “Join the club. ”
He was kissing my hair, my forehead, my nose, pretty much any place he could reach. “I haven’t had a headache since 1908. ”
“Then you’re due. ”
He found my lips again. The man could not keep his mouth to himself.
“1908, huh?” I said, when I managed to extricate myself from yet another deep, hungry kiss (admittedly, I hadn’t been trying very hard).
He scooted back on the couch and cradled me in next to him. “I could tell you stories,” he said, toying absently with my hair, “if you’d let me. ”
“That might be nice. ” I’d have to think on it.
He propped himself over me. “Heather, not that I’m complaining”—he caressed the stretch of skin between my ear and my chin—“but what happened tonight?”
I was almost afraid to tell him. “What do you remember?”
He looked somewhat embarrassed. “I was at Nina’s party, and then nothing. ”
“You were drugged. ”
“Me?” He seemed surprised. “Amazing. ”
“Slimprol. ”
His expression darkened. “Bliss. ”
“Exactly. ”
He nodded to himself, calculating. “Where is she now?”
Just like that, I knew our alone time was over.
Lucky for me, I liked a good fight.
CHAPTER 9
I strapped on my fixed-blade daggers, holstered my Glock 22 with silver bullets, added handcuffs, a stun gun, mace, and of course, my lucky boot knife.
It felt good to look like me again, with certain improvements. I wore a pair of black leather pants Tia had picked out, with a matching tank top that let me move.
Lucien watched me with obvious hunger, which I enjoyed thoroughly.
Probably because I knew he was going to do something about it later.
When I’d double-checked my gun and finished with my daggers, he tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “Thanks for saving my life. ”
“My pleasure. ” Parts of me went gooey just thinking about it.
Vinny clomped through the kitchen, carrying a shotgun in each hand. “Never mind the fact that I was stuck in the garage for the last two hours. ”
I checked the clock on the mantel. Two hours? I ran a palm up Lucien’s arm, admiring his tight black T-shirt. “I’m impressed. ” The man had stamina.
“And I had to send away the medic,” Vinny grumbled. “Good thing you weren’t exactly subtle. I don’t like surprises. ”
“Why does he think this is about him?” I asked Lucien.
He kissed me on the nose. “I have no idea. ”
Vinny headed for the front door. “Can you knock it off? We have a tiger to cage. ”
It was about the only thing he could have said to move me from that spot.
“Later,” Lucien whispered, his breath hot against my ear.
God, I hoped so.
I admired his ass on the way to the front door. He wore jeans and combat boots, which was a very nice look for him. I was about to tell him so when we opened the door and found a visitor on the front stoop.
“Tia,” I said, surprised. I remembered her following us earlier tonight, but I had no idea she’d still be here.
She stood as soon as she saw us. Tia wore her dress from the dinner party, although it was torn on one shoulder and bore grass stains up the side. She’d also lost her shoes.
Guilt pricked at me. I’d been inside, having my way with Lucien, while she’d been, well, what had she been doing?
“What happened to you?” Vinny asked.
She ignored the question, eyes trained on me. “I told you I needed to talk to you,” she said, voice shaky.
“That you did. ” But I really didn’t think she’d camp out.
Vinny took her by the arm. “Did someone attack you?”
“Excuse me?” She seemed surprised. “Um. No. I, well, it’s hard to run in a dress. ”
Funny. That had been my point all along.
Tia being here was all fine and good, but we had to get moving. I’d say we had barely an hour of darkness left.
I led her down the front walk while Lucien started up the car and Vinny loaded the trunk with shotguns. “Okay, well what did you need to talk about? We’re on our way to kick some tiger ass. ”
“That drug you found in your drink,” she said. “It was sparkly. ”
“Yes. ” I didn’t want to rush her, but as soon as Vinny went back for a few extra cases of silver bullets, we were leaving.
Tia touched my arm. “Sunny had been giving me vitamin supplements, for my husband. They were supposed to help him get extra nutrients, because, well, I’m anemic and”—a blush crept up her cheeks—“he only wanted to drink from me. ”
“How romantic,” I said, stunned that I almost understood.
“It is,” she said dreamily. “Anyway, it seemed he needed more. Or at least we thought he needed something. Thomas was getting more and more tired, until one day he decided to sleep. ”
Then it hit me. “Sunny was mixed up in Slimprol. ”
It made sense, and it didn’t. Sunny and Bliss were friends, but Bliss didn’t seem all that eager to share her pills—or her secrets.
“How can we be sure?” Lucien asked.
“I’m sure. ” She gripped my arm. “The vitamin supplements are blue and sparkly, about the size of an aspirin. ”
“Holy hell. ”
Vinny slammed the trunk. “All set. ”
“Get in the car,” I told her.
I took a seat next to Lucien and yanked the door closed. “Sunny was giving Slimprol to Tia’s husband, Thomas. ”
His expression hardened. “How can you know?”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I put one on his tongue every morning. ” She ended in a wail. “I thought I was helping him. I love him! Why would Sunny want him to go to sleep?”
“She wouldn’t,” Lucien said, pulling out of the drive. “But her husband, Gaston, is Thomas’s business partner, correct?”
Tia gave a sniffling nod.
“Pharmaceuticals,” Lucien added.
“What do you want to bet they’re the makers of Slimprol?” Vinny asked.
“About a hundred billion percent. ” I wondered just what Sunny had gotten herself mixed up in. Tia, too.
“Is he—” Tia sobbed, “is he going to be okay?”
Vinny patted Tia on the leg, clearly uncomfortable with the grieving woman next to him. “How long has your husband been taking it?”
She gazed at him through red-rimmed eyes. “Six years. ”
“Oy,” Vinny said.
“Vinny!” If I could have flicked him on the head, I would have. We all knew it was bad. She didn’t need to hear it from him.
What I wanted to know was, “What’s Sunny’s husband been doing for the last six years?”
Tia shook her head. “I don’t know, but I saw him tonight. ”
“Here?” Lucien asked. “In Eternal Life Estates?”
She nodded. “While I was waiting on the porch. But he didn’t go home. ”
“Where’d he go?” I asked, as we pulled up to Bliss’s house, ready to spring into action. By the expression on Tia’s face, I already knew.
“I love when a plan comes together,” Vinny said, cocking his shotguns like a Wild West cowboy.
“You call this a plan?” I asked, on Lucien’s heels.
Oh sure, we had Bliss and Gast
on in one spot. “It also means we’re about to barge in on a pissed-off weretiger and a bloodsucking vampire—no offense, sweetie. ”
“None taken,” he said, as we stalked to the front door, using the dense foliage as coverage. “I think our biggest consideration is that I’m still weak. ”
“And I can’t shift,” I said, “not so soon after interrogating. ”
Lucien gave me a long, concerned look as we waited for Vinny and Tia.
I held up my hands. “Hey, I can’t change my nature. ”
He should know that by now.
“Here, babe,” Vinny said, handing Tia a shotgun.
Oh yeah. That was a good idea.
“Ready?” Lucien murmured, right before he rushed the door and kicked it in.
I sprinted after him with Vinny on my heels.
By the time I got there, Lucien was locked in combat with a white-haired vampire. In the split second it took for me to assess the situation, Bliss tackled me from behind.
My head smacked the ceramic floor and my vision swam.
Yip-yip-yip!
I turned over to see Chi-Chi launch herself at Bliss’s neck. The tiger slapped the dog away. She yelped as she slammed against the wall, but it was enough time for me to unsheathe my dagger. It sliced Bliss across the chest and she roared.