We spent the rest of the night playing in the water, soaking up the sun and keeping on our swimsuits. I'm sure Simon was disappointed in the video, but I was just anxious to get this visit over with so I could go see Jerry. Mission accomplished as far as Aggie was concerned. Wednesday night all we had to do was lure Simon and company out to the deck and Aggie would take care of the rest. So since it seemed I might live past the full moon after all, I'd better see if it would be with a certain Jeremy Blade in my life or out of it.

Chapter Fifteen

Sunday night I drove to Jerry's house, a morose Valdez in the passenger seat. We might have to walk home or call a cab. The Mercedes convertible actually belonged to Jerry. My old Suburban was dead, though, in the alley behind my shop. The repairs to fix it would cost more than it was worth. Time to either buy a new car or Well, I really couldn't think about practical stuff like that now. I was too busy trying to figure out how to fix things with Jerry.

"So what exactly did you tell Jerry when he found you?"

"For the hundredth time, I said you and Caine were out at the EV headquarters trying to figure out a way to get Simon to the lake. So the Siren could send him to hell instead of you guys."

"See? And we did it. So that part worked out. And here I am. Safe and sound." I gripped the steering wheel. "And you still have a job."

"First he fired me. Because I broke my contract." Valdez snorted. "Brittany was the one who explained that you ordered me to shift. I wasn't about to go begging for my job back."

"Brit did the right thing."

"Yeah, yeah, but I ended up giving him an extra year tacked onto the end of my contract. Letting you go out there to the EV hellholewas a big mistake. If nothing else, I should have had Brit make a call to Blade. Letting him know what you were up to."

"I don't know why Jerry is keeping you on anyway. He's through with me." I was not going to cry again. No point. I'd made a big mistake too. Jerry had caught me with my top down. He had a right to be mad. But we weren't exclusive and he'd said unforgivable things. I had a right to be mad. This circular argument had been running nonstop in my head every waking hour since the big showdown. I should take my pride, turn the car around and go home. Let Jerry come repossess it if he wanted it back.

"You still got a chance there, Blondie. Go. Grovel. If Blade didn't still love you, he wouldn't have gone off like that." Valdez, mind reading as usual, looked over at me when we stopped at a red light. "I mean, you weren't actually doing it with Caine when he walked in, were you? "

"No! We didn't, haven't, done 'it.' I'm attracted. I admit it. He's Israel freakin' Caine. You know how I feel about Ray's music. There's something about actually being around the singer of the sexy songs" I accelerated when the light changed. "Hell, I'm getting off to the attention as a rocker's girlfriend too. I've got figure flaws and yet this incredibly hot man is making serious moves on me. Isn't even ashamed to pretend to be engaged to me. Oops." I slipped off my engagement ring and dropped it into my purse.

"Yeah, that would be cool. Walk into Blade's house wearing another guy's ring." Valdez used his paw to lower the window then stuck his head out, the cold air blowing his fur around his face. "I bet Blade really went ballistic when he saw that."

"Oh, yeah." I blocked my thoughts. I'd refused to tell Valdez the gory details of just how "ballistic" Jerry had gone. Not even Flo knew it all. Jerry's disdain for me had hurt too much. I pulled up in front of his house and saw the lights were on. Garage door was down so I didn't know if his car was there or not, but I sensed he was inside. I always knew when Jerry was near, and didn't that bring fresh tears to my eyes.

Was I insane to think he'd even let me in? My stomach knotted and I almost hit the accelerator and kept going. But I wasn't ready to give up on us and I had something I needed to say to Jerry. If he'd listen to me. So I turned off the engine, took a breath and looked over at Valdez.

"You going to be okay if I just park you out on the front porch, V?"

"Sure. I'm not jonesing to witness your humiliation." Valdez laid his head on my thigh. "Sorry, Blondie. Sorry as hell. You have a right to your feelings. Whichever guy you want, go for it. Just think about your history with Blade. He's been taking care of you for a long time. The man deserves respect. Ya know? "

"I love him, V. I do. But Ray's my friend. I admit he's been pushing to make it into something more but Well, Ray didn't deserve to be attacked like that. Jerry didn't give either of us a chance to explain what was going on out there." I tucked my impossible hair behind my ears. "Oh, hell, it looked worse than it was."

Valdez raised his head.

"Never mind. I do owe Jerry an apology. For dodging his calls and being gutless about this whole Siren thing. I should have come clean about it from the get-go."

"And worry him when he was an ocean away? No, you did what you had to. Quit second-guessing. Just get in there and say what's in your heart." Valdez chuffed. "Jeez, listen to me. Dear Abby in fur." I leaned down and put my cheek against his head. "Thanks, old pal. I need a friend right now. I can't afford you, but if Blade had fired you, you'd always have a home with me if you needed it."

Valdez looked up, his eyes gleaming. "You haven't seen me in human form, but VU remember that. Flo's room is empty. I'm claiming it."

"Fine." I opened the car door and climbed out, then waited while Valdez hopped out and trotted to the front door. He stopped on the porch, his growl alerting me that all was not right in his world.

"What's up?"

"Blade's not alone. There are at least four other vampires in the house. And three of them are not good guys." I rang the bell and pounded on the door. If Jerry didn't answer in less than two minutes, Valdez and I were going right through the leaded glass insert. No, wait, I had a key. I was digging in my purse when Jerry flung open the door.

"Well, I guess I'd better ask you in before Valdez decides to tear someone apart." He looked at my dog. "Stand down. These vampires are under my protection."

"You sure, boss? I'm not liking the vibe I'm getting here."

"Are you questioning me?"

"Guess not." Valdez tucked his tail. "Glory asked me to wait on the porch. Where do you want me? "

"Porch is fine. Come in, Gloriana." Jerry wasn't smiling, but at least he hadn't left me on the porch.

"Who else is here, Jerry? Did you bring Lily home with you?" I followed him into the living room. A nice fire blazed in the fireplace. A woman and three men sat on the sectional couch in front of a big-screen television watching a particularly gory slasher movie. They were laughing and pointing out how lame the details were. Nice.

Jerry picked up the remote and hit a button, pausing the action as a werewolf bit into a woman's breast. The men high-fived each other.

"Cool, Blade. Let's see if we can do that all the way through." One of the men tried to grab the remote.

"After I leave the room. I have a guest. Lily, let me introduce you to Gloriana St. Clair. Glory, this is Lily MacTavish."

"Oh, the infamous Glory. The one my mother hates. Great to meet you, Glory. Anyone Mother hates is a friend of mine." Lily got up and stood next to Jerry. She had Jerrys dark hair, her mother's pale skin and a fabulous figure set off by a tiny T-shirt and low riding jeans. Her feet were bare.

"Great to meet you, Lily." I nodded and smiled, liking her immediately.

"And these gentlemen," Jerry said the word like he didn't even begin to mean it, "are Dracula, Benjamin and Lucifer."

"Call me Drac. I'm Lilys guy. Benny and Luke are my running buddies. We're here to protect my lady." He jumped up and gave Jerry a warning look. "Seems this guy's trying to make a claim on her."

"As my daughter, Drac. I hardly think that will harm her." Jerry glanced at me, then tossed the remote between Benny and Luke who had remained on the couch.

All three men were beautiful in their own way. Drac had dark good looks, very edgy with a restless energy that kept him moving around the room, touching a book here, a silver box there, all the while watching Lily with a hunger that was easy to interpret. Benny looked like a fallen angel, blond, with startling turquoise eyes and long golden lashes. He smiled and I almost gave him a reflex smile back until I saw his tongue flick his fangs, a sensual invitation in the vampire world. I turned my attention to Luke, Lucifer. Oh, yes. Another angel, this one Dracula dark. He had a calm about him, like he could wait forever for his prey, then would happily enjoy ripping it into pieces. I shivered as he watched me with dark eyes then smiled and nodded.

"A pleasure to meet you, Gloriana. Perhaps you'd like to sit here and watch the movie with us." He patted the couch next to him.

"No, she would not." Jerry gave all three men a warning look then put a proprietary arm around me. I took it as a good sign and was bold enough to take advantage, slipping my arm around his waist.

"Gloriana and I are going upstairs. If you leave to go hunting, remember what I said. Be discreet. If you kill a mortal or leave a witness remembering your feeding, I'll make sure you regret it." Jerry said this so firmly that even I got a shaky feeling in my stomach. The men merely nodded.

"Gee, Dad, lighten up. They gave their word." Lily grinned at me. "Blade's really protective, isn't he? He's worried we'll get caught and staked or something. I think its cute. We're doing the DNA thing this week and I almost hope he is my father, though I loved MacTavish of course. He was the best of dads." She blinked and looked down. Drac rushed to her side to hug her and murmur in her ear.

"You should be careful. Jerry, Westwood made an attempt on me the other night. Did Valdez have a chance to tell you?" Oh, boy, Jerry did not want to hear that yet another secret had been kept from him. "No, he did not. Lily, men, there's a hunter in Austin who uses olive-wood arrows and shoots with a bow. Watch out for him. He has a ranch west of town. When he hunts he wears special goggles that allow him to identify vampires. Take care if you see anyone suspicious wearing dark glasses or goggles."