That explains the lobby cleaning.
She continues, “And when any of us disobeyed him, he threatened to hurt our children.”
Viviana goes on to explain that Aspen purposely chose young mothers and turned them against their will. He used their children as leverage. Apparently, he’d been doing it for a very long time, though all but Viviana are in other states, used as scouts to find new “party” guests. Jeremy ran that entire side of the operation.
Monsters. And now we know that Jeremy was not in Egypt. He probably told Miriam all that to impress her and to explain his lengthy travel. Deceitful moron.
“Are all of the children safe now?” I ask.
“Yes. With family members, but yes. Thank you.”
The sadness in her green eyes does not require explaining. All family ties must be broken when someone turns. It is a tragedy. And I know that while Aspen will be caught and entombed if he is not truly dead, this is no consolation for being separated from one’s children and having to watch them grow from afar.
“Do you know where the money is, Viviana?”
“What money?” she says.
“The funds Aspen obtained for selling eternal paradise.”
“Some of it. He had twenty or thirty accounts that I know of.”
“Excellent. Please make a summary of them. We’ll divide the money among the victims. Put ten percent aside for those who might come out of the woodwork.”
I am peeved about this role, and I do not care if anyone knows it. That being said, if it must be me, I will do what I can.
“You are nothing like they say, Mr. Vanderhorst.”
I give her a stern look. “I am not a vicious man, Viviana. I am a gentleman—I keep my word, pay my debts, and treat others fairly. And…I am struggling to accept this life. Just like you.”
She nods slowly, as if she’s unable to puzzle me out. “This was just left for you.” She grabs an envelope from her desk.
“Thank you.” I take it from her and tear the strip at the top. “I have some business to take care of, but if you could be so kind as to burn all of the furniture, order us some real crap made of wood, and call a society meeting for tomorrow night?”
“Yes, sir. Right away. Oh, and what will your human cover story be, sir? Entrepreneur? Heir to a dot-com investor?”
As leader, I am entitled to certain perks that allow for a more comfortable lifestyle, one of them being assistance in establishing a new, wealthier cover.
I pause, thinking it over. “No. I’m fine.”
“But, sir, you’re the leader of two territories now, and—”
“I know who I am.” For the first time in my life, I say the words and they are true. Getting here has been a painful journey, and I still have a long road ahead, but I don’t want to bury how far I’ve come beneath more layers of lies and masks. No more. I am ready to deal with the truth and live my life. Even if I hate this place and all of its glorious damned sunshine.
“Yes, Mr. Vanderhorst,” she says.
“Call me Michael.”
She blinks at me and smiles. “Ye-yes, Michael.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
By the time I’ve taken care of a few things, such as exchanging my red Ferrari for my blue Skittle and getting a rather exciting love-life update from the rental guy—who loves his haircut and asked for my business card for future trims—I have read the letter from the council.
Remember all of those vampires Aspen created? No one seems to know where they went. And remember when Aspen said Bob Kline had been killed? No one can find any proof of that. But the interrogation with Viviana has led the council to believe that there are over five hundred new vampires unaccounted for and that Bob Kline was doing more than just helping Aspen throw parties. Several emails between the two men refer to “Project Paradise” and that its initial funding, hundreds of millions of dollars, came from a more discreet source: the cartel.
I guess Bob and Aspen didn’t want to pay them back. Instead, they brought their newbie vampire party to the ranch and ate them. As for why they’d leave behind so many vampire calling cards? Perhaps they wanted to send a message to the cartel leaders. Perhaps something happened and they couldn’t finish the task. Either way, it is now my job to find out.
No, my inner vampire child is not jumping up and down, screaming Mystery! Mystery! Mystery! When I find these missing vampires, the council wants them executed, and I simply don’t know how I feel about it. Should they all die because they were created illegally? Some might actually be good people who have a chance of becoming good vampires with the proper guidance.
But I have very clear orders, and if I told you they were unexpected, that would be a lie. For the record, I am done with lying, and it is not how I want this story to end. Because if I’ve learned something these past few days, it isn’t the challenge that defines a man, but how he faces it.
He may choose to hide from it.
Some men may choose to fight.
But I am Michael Vanderhorst. I choose to live and be happy, and that means coming out of the shadows and letting others in.
Every journey starts with one step in the right direction.
I ring the doorbell and hear footsteps approach before the iron door swings open.
A set of wide brown eyes greet me. “Michael? What are you doing here?”
I hand Miriam a box wrapped in red paper. “I bring a peace offering. You can open it later.”
She takes it. “Thanks,” she says stiffly.
“Okay. It’s a copy of Zorro. First edition. Thought you might like it.”
“It’s my favorite,” she says begrudgingly.
I knew it! “Miriam, I just—”
“I can’t do this right now, Michael.” She starts closing the door, but I wedge my foot inside to stop her.
“Wait. I know you’re mourning Jeremy and still trying to process what happened at your hacienda. And that is why I am here.” The letter from the council included the report from our team, who had Miriam’s hospital records. Apparently, there was a heavy dose of flunitrazepam in her blood. In other words, she was roofied. It explained why she told the doctors and police, in a delirious fit at the hospital, that her boyfriend and his brother had been murdered at a party by a strange man dressed as a cowboy.
I was at the party, but that is not where things went down, and I did not have the honor of ending those men’s lives. I wish. The assumption is that the drugs confused her and she was made to think she saw something, possibly in order to support a well-planned getaway.
What do I think? Yes. Aspen and Jeremy got out of that party a little too easily. They had a plan. And a witness—albeit a roofied one—left behind to tell a story and paint a picture.
Add that to the list of demands from the council: Find the two men and bring them back alive. Not highest on my list of priorities, however. In all honesty, there is only one: my twelve months with Miriam. Nice will not be letting it go, and I have to figure out how and when to break the news to her. Become a vampire or die.
I continue, removing my foot from her door, “I am not here to upset you or BS you, Miriam. In fact, I promise I won’t ever lie to you again, and there will never be a repeat of what happened in the restaurant.” She walked out that day because I wouldn’t let her in and it made her feel like she wasn’t worthy of trust. At the time, I told myself I merely wanted to protect her, but that is the story I have told myself over and over and over again. No one ever got in because I was afraid if they saw my true self, I would have to see it too. Now that Clive is gone, I’ve learned that I cannot hide from the world at the expense of living.
“What are you trying to say?” she asks.
“That when you’re healed and ready, really ready to hear the truth, I will tell you everything I know.”
She blinks at me, and this time she feels something. I can see it in her eyes. Shock, confusion, and a sense of familiarity.
“And?” she asks sharply.
“And nothing.”
“That’s it.” She shrugs. “You don’t want anything.”
“Nope.”
“Then why this big overture? Why the speech?”
“Okay. I do want one thing,” I say.
She stares expectantly. “Well?”
“I want to be your assistant.”
She stares up into my eyes. I can feel her trying to figure out what is happening between us—this odd connection. But what I’m looking for will come after she has healed and my blood is no longer in her system. There was a connection beyond all that, and it led me to her. I want to know why. Why her? I want to know what it means, and as I said before, there is nothing more enticing to a vampire than a good mystery.
Her pink lips curve into a smile. “Okay.”
“Okay, what?”
“You can be my assistant.”
“Excellent.” I turn and start heading to my car.
“Where are you going?” she calls out.
“I’m going to clean your office!”
Profession #9: Librarian’s vampire assistant.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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IMPORTANT SOCIETY BUSINESS
Hello members of the Arizona Society of Sunshine Love and fellow bookworms!
I hope you enjoyed the kickoff of this new series and my first mystery (that might possibly turn into a romance some day? We shall see!) It’s one of those books that I hadn’t exactly planned on writing, but when I got the idea, I couldn’t stop until it was done. The afterglow I get at the end tells me there is a potential for many more books in this story, so I hope you enjoyed this one! Then I can justify spending more time with Michael Vanderhorsssthst and Miriam! (I hope, I hope, I hope.)
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#3: Mention if you posted a REVIEW because you’re an awesome person who does random nice things for the authors in their lives.
#4: Wait patiently for me to sign a mountain of bookmarks!
Okay, my sunshiny librarian and vampire lovers. That’s all for now! Keep flipping pages if you want to know which books are in the chute!
Happy Sunny Reading,
Mimi
P.S. Want to hear which song I wrote the book to? It’s up on Spotify!
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A big, sunny shout out to my fellow book lovers and danger magnets! Thank you for squeezing this one in! Su, Latoya, Kylie, Dali, Pauline, and Paul!
To my dudes, who absolutely never read these because “Oh, look. Mom wrote another book. Yawn…” I still have to thank you for the daily support and love. This is a team effort, and I never forget that.
With Love,
Mimi
COMING MAY 15th 2018!
SKINNY PANTS
Book Three, The Happy Pants Café Series
Enduring Friendship by Day…
Sizzling Love Letters at Night
Nurse Macie Franklin was always known as “the fat girl.” After decades of failed diets, she doesn’t dream of ever being anything but invisible to the opposite sex. One moment of weakness and two glasses of wine later, she’s in a steamy online chat with “Dr. J-Love” as the fake, size 8, bubbly Catrina.
The taste of his passion is enough to convince her that drastic life changes are needed. But when she goes to see Dr. Reed, the new amazing surgeon everyone’s talking about at work, it’s Dr. J-Love! They hit it off a second time as friends. She can tell him anything, except for her secret identity.
But when Dr. J-Love begs to meet Catrina, Macie has to decide—keep the best friend she’s ever had or risk it all for love.
ORDER NOW: www.mimijean.net/skinny-pants.html
DIGGING A HOLE
He’s the meanest boss ever.
She’s the sweet shy intern.
They’re about to wreck each other crazy.
My name is Sydney Lucas. I am smart, deathly shy, and one hundred percent determined to make my own way in the world. Which is why I jumped at the chance to intern for Mr. Nick Brooks despite his reputation. After ten failed interviews at other companies, he was the only one offering. Plus, everyone says he knows his stuff, and surely a man as stunningly handsome as him can’t be “the devil incarnate,” right? Wrong.
Oh…that man. That freakin’ man has got to go! I’ve been on the job one week, and he’s insulted my mother, wardrobe shamed me, and managed to make me cry. Twice. Underneath that stone-cold, beautiful face is the evilest human being ever.
But I’m not going to quit. Oh no. For once in my life, I’ve got to make a stand. Only, every time I open my mouth, I can’t quite seem to muster the courage. Perhaps my revenge needs to come in another form: destroying him quietly.
Because I’ve got a secret. I’m not really just an intern, and Sydney Lucas isn’t my real name.
FOR EXTRAS, BUY LINKS, and MORE, GO TO:
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CHECK
Get ready for BOOK THREE of Mr. Rook’s Island!
(You won’t guess the ending, unless you’re completely devious like Mimi.)
For Excerpts, Buy Links, and More:
www.mimijean.net/check.html
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a New York Times bestselling author who’s sold over one million books around the world. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dream. Mimi lives with her Latin lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and the rat terrier duo, Snowflake and Mini Me, in Arizona. She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.
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Mimi Jean Pamfiloff, The Librarian's Vampire Assistant
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