“Not even to save your man?” Mother actually smiled.

Eight

“What the hell do you mean?” I stepped closer to her.

“You think I haven’t been following along? That I don’t know what that voodoo person has been up to? I would never have let her hurt you, you know. Rest assured. But your Jeremiah? She can have him and good riddance.” Mother flicked her fingers then just disappeared.

“What? Oh, you are the most infuriating creature I have ever had the misfortune to meet!” I kicked the wall, making a hole in it and scratching my good black boot. Damn it.

“Uh, Glory. What are you going to do about Aggie? I don’t think she can move.” Sienna had crept over to the couch and touched Aggie on the shoulder. Sure enough, the former Siren was still frozen.

“Maybe I should leave her like that. Serves her right, colluding with my mother.” I sighed and trudged over to where Aggie sat, her fork halfway to her mouth. “Get out of the way, Sienna. She’s liable to come out swinging.”

“Don’t thaw her yet.” Sienna grinned. “It’s kind of fun, seeing her like this. Speechless.”

“Oh, no, you didn’t say that.” I shook my head. “She can still hear us, just not move. Stay back. I’ll handle this.” I watched Sienna scurry to the bedroom and heard her lock the door. Famous rock star, scared of Aggie. I wasn’t, but then I knew how to deal with backstabbing traitors. I touched Aggie and she did come out fists flying, noodles and chicken going everywhere.

“Stop it.” I grabbed her hand. “You realize you’re an inch away from being homeless?”

“What the hell did I do?” Aggie subsided quickly. “Sienna was mean to me.”

“She’s your paycheck. You can take it. Now listen up. You’ll behave yourself from now on or I’ll kick your butt out of here. Understand?” I got right in her face, making sure she knew I meant every word. “Working with my mother? Not cool.”

“She’s been nice to me when no one else around here gave a rat’s ass. See? My feet were cold. She bought me these slippers.” Aggie stuck out the bunnies. “Passed me a few bucks at the grocery store too. I have to eat you know.”

“I gave you money for food.” I let her go, refusing to feel guilty. When Aggie had complained I hadn’t given her enough cash, I’d ignored her, figuring she was just being greedy. Maybe prices had gone up since I’d shopped for steaks and snacks for Valdez.

“That pitiful amount you spotted me barely covered staples. You expect me to live on bread and water?” Aggie sniffed. “Those diet dinners don’t come cheap.”

“Wait a minute.” I wasn’t buying into this guilt trip. I stomped over to the kitchen and pulled on the freezer door. “Staples? Since when is a premium brand of ice cream a staple?” I opened a cabinet. “Hah! There are three kinds of chips in here, even Cheetos.” I whirled on her. Had someone told her I’d had a thing once for those little orange puffs?

“What? We didn’t get junk food where I came from. Fancy banquets can be such a drag. I . . .” Aggie shut up at what must have been a wild look in my eyes as I pulled open a drawer.

“Look at all this candy! What did you do? Hit the Halloween treat aisle?” My mouth watered. Chocolate.

“Uh, yeah. What if we get trick-or-treaters? That’s all they were talking about at the grocery store.” Aggie’s food tray was shaking.

“Trick-or-treaters?” My voice rose. “Are you freaking kidding me? Here? Where vampires live and there are double dead bolts on every door? You have to have a code to even get in this building, Aggie!” I ran my hands over a particularly delicious-looking bar. Dark chocolate, the label said, with coconut and almonds. The reminders of my unfair life made me whirl around and land in front of Aggie again, my vamp powers in overdrive.

“You took money from my mother and now you’re torturing me.” I thumped her on the shoulder with my fist. “Traitor! Ingrate! I brought you into my home. Gave you a roof over your head when you had nowhere else to go.”

“Ow! That hurt!” Aggie cringed and rubbed her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Glory. I didn’t think about you when I bought that stuff, I swear. Just me. I wanted it. Even though it’s not on my diet.”

“It’s sure as hell not.” I could smell that chocolate from where I stood, inches from Aggie. I jerked her stupid diet dinner from her hand and practically threw it on the coffee table. What a farce. Expensive diet dinners followed by who knew how many trips to the kitchen for snacks. No wonder she wasn’t losing weight. I imagined Aggie enjoying a bag of Cheetos and snarled.

“Glory, calm down!” Aggie scooted to the other end of the couch and looked like she wanted to make a run for her bedroom.

“Stay put, we aren’t done.” I blocked her escape route.

She shook and held a hand to her throat. “Are you going to kill me? Over my food choices?”

“If I did kill you, it would be because you plotted against me, with my mother.” I frowned down at the scratch on my boot. “Did she tell you what to buy at the store? She’s probably trying to make me regret being a vampire. This would be just like her.”

“I don’t know. I got a craving. Hebe has the power . . .” Aggie kept staring at me. “Shit, look at your big honkin’ fangs. I get it. I’m just a weak mortal now. At your mercy.” A tear ran down her cheek. “Okay, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have listened to Hebe. But she was the one who gave me a chance to be with Ian and she freed me from Achelous.” Big tears were rolling now, dripping off the end of her chin. “Come on, Glory. Surely you can relate. I had to get away from that controlling son of a bitch. And you don’t take a favor from a powerful goddess without expecting to pay her back.”

Well, well. For once, Aggie did look scared. I realized her mortal blood had taken over in the delicious smell contest and my fangs were fully extended. I wasn’t about to do something stupid and had never been a killer anyway. Obviously Aggie was as much a victim of my mother’s plotting as I was.

“Aggie, you drive me nuts.” I fell back into a chair and took a steadying breath. “I thought you had a goal. To get into Flo’s size-six cast-offs.”

Aggie wouldn’t look at me as she wiped tears off her face. “I do. I’m desperate to lose weight. But it’s so hard.”

I could see she meant it. “I know. I’m sorry. Look. You’re a good size right now. Own it, work it and quit obsessing about the stupid diet. I’ll give you a few more things from the shop if you’ll stop worrying about the size number in the label and concentrate on being proud of yourself now.”

“I can’t.” Aggie’s wail was straight from her heart. “Glory, size matters. I want to hook up with a guy who’ll take care of me. When I was a Siren, the Storm God handled everything. If I’m little and cute, I’ll stand a better chance of snagging a rich man.” She sniffled. “Look at you, vampire, able to do stuff like freeze people, shape-shift, scare me shitless. I’m just an ordinary human now. You have no idea how helpless that makes me feel.”

I gritted my teeth. Okay, I got it. Before I’d decided to use my powers, I’d acted like her for years, no, centuries. But I’d grown past that now. And there were plenty of mortals who managed to take charge of their lives and they didn’t have power one.

If my own powers were suddenly stripped away, would I be so sure I could handle things on my own? I did a gut check. Hell, yes. I could take care of myself now. My dependent days were over.

I studied Aggie. She’d been a force to be reckoned with for centuries. I had a feeling that pushy broad was still in there somewhere.

“Get a grip, Aggie. I’ve never known a woman more capable of handling herself than you. Quit looking for someone else to take care of you and look inside. You have what it takes to make it on your own. You’re smart, beautiful—not that that matters—and talented. You have skills, lady, you just need to discover them.”

Aggie’s mouth quivered. “Skills? I get it. You want me to turn tricks? Those are the only skills I’ve got and you know it. Sex. Sirens are famous for it.”

“No!” I jumped up and gave her shoulders a shake. “Stop it. Sex isn’t all you know. I’m thinking you must be pretty smart and I know you’re manipulative. There’s got to be some way to make that work for you. You can still sing too, can’t you? Even though it isn’t magical, it’s a good skill.”

Aggie firmed her mouth and I could see the wheels turning. “Hey, maybe you’re right, Glory. I know I’m sick of my own whining. Part of it was to bug you. Hebe had me do it.” She brushed aside my hands and slapped her fork down on her unfinished dinner on the coffee table. “Of course I have a line of fancy patter I can use when I need to. I could even wrap the Storm God around my finger from time to time. Ian admitted I was smart too. Yes, my voice is golden. Maybe I could get a singing gig. We’re here on Sixth Street where there are a dozen clubs open every night needing entertainment.” She took a deep breath, her robe rising and reminding me she had a good figure that an audience would appreciate.

“There you go. So you’re not powerless.” I could easily imagine her in one of the clubs, tossing her blond hair as she sang.

“Damn it, I’m going to cut my hours at that bastard Ian’s house and start looking for something else. A way to make money on my own.” She grinned and winked.

“Cut your hours? Won’t his men tell on you?” I knew she was supposed to work a certain number a day, according to their agreement.

“Naw. His day guards are putty in my hands. I think they feel kind of sorry for me.” Aggie got up and stretched.

“Really?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. Like you said, I can be manipulative when I need to.” Aggie polished her nails on her robe and fluttered her eyelashes. “They even let me watch my shows, the Real Housewives reruns, every afternoon after lunch. It’s not like Ian’s house is really dirty, and he won’t let me touch his lab.”