He snorted. "Seriously? Sanguine?"
Simon smiled. "As financier of this venture I am allowed some liberties."
Dolf turned to the others and tossed the keys into the air. "All right, troops, let's go."
Maeve and Specter rolled their eyes, but followed Dolf out of the penthouse. After the door shut behind them Simon turned to me. His eyes swept over my attire. "Perhaps a short white skirt with a blouse will do for this evening," he mused.
I blushed beneath his intense gaze and frowned. "I hate to break it to you, but I don't exactly have that kind of setup here, or anywhere else."
His sly smile slipped onto his lips. "Come with me."
He led me to his bedroom and the closet therein where he opened the sliding door. My mouth fell open when he revealed a wide assortment of women's dress clothes and casual wear. Everything looked to be my size, and name-brand. The whole wardrobe must have cost more than my first car.
I turned to Simon and jerked my head towards the attire. "When'd you get these?"
Simon stepped forward and took out the skirt and white blouse he suggested I wear. "While you slept. Certus is very knowledgeable in the latest fashions." He turned around and held them out to me. "Shall I help you try them on?"
I frowned and snatched the hangers from him. "I think I can manage, and I don't think you'd help me on with anything."
He chuckled. "Perhaps not, and we have such a short time. The dinner begins in an hour. I'll wait for you outside."
He slipped from the room, and I dressed myself. The long skirt and blouse fit perfectly, and a little digging found socks and shoes to match. When I was finished I felt like a million bucks, and was probably dressed in something that was as outrageously priced.
I stepped into the living area. Simon stood in the kitchen with a wine glass in hand. I didn't have to ask to know the red contents.
"Well?" I asked him as I walked up to him. I spread out my arms to show off the whole attire.
Simon smiled and raised his glass. "Beautiful, as always." He half-turned to the counter behind him and took another filled wine glass from the top. He offered the glass to me. "Will you have an early supper with me?"
I cringed and shook my head. "I. . .I don't think I'm quite ready for that step." He shrugged and downed the contents of both glasses. I watched him with morbid fascination. "Can we-I mean, can vampires eat food?"
He chuckled. "Fortunately for us, the old stories about a blood-only diet are greatly exaggerated. Blood is our only source of nutrition, but we are able to digest normal food," he assured me. He set the glasses on the counter and offered me his arm. "Shall we go?"
CHAPTER 11
We met Certus in the garage. The black limo was our steed, and we rode it to the estate of the Eres family. I couldn't help but be nervous, not only for this second meeting of the wealthy but for the three acquaintances who would arrive later on their daring mission.
"You shouldn't worry too much," Simon commented.
I pursed my lips and glanced out the window. "This isn't exactly safe, and I know it's not legal."
Simon pursed his lips and followed my gaze. We drove up the short drive to the elegant mansion. "Legality and the Eres family have little in common."
I shrugged. "Yeah, but I didn't think I'd be involved in something like this."
He smiled. "If all goes well, you won't."
Certus parked the car at the front walk and we stepped out. The lit windows cast long streams of light over the front lawn. The door opened at our coming and our host and his daughter stepped out.
Eileen sailed down the steps with her arms wide open and enveloped Simon in a tight hug. "Isn't it just wonderful? It's like a dream to have my bracelet back!" She pulled away and smiled at him. "It's almost as though you brought us good luck last night."
Simon smiled down at her and shook his head. "I wish I could claim credit, but the return of your jewelry was none of my doing. I can only celebrate its return."
She grasped his hand and tugged him towards the door. I discreetly followed them. "Daddy won't let me wear the bracelet, but would you like to see it?" she asked Simon.
Mr. Eres chuckled and shook his head. "I'm afraid we can't let that happen, either, my darling. The study has been closed for the evening and the security alarm set."
Eileen puckered her lips in a pout. "Not even a peek?"
"Not even that, my precious, but dinner is ready and I'm sure our guests are hungry." He stepped aside and gestured to the interior. "Please join us."
We slipped into the dining room. The long, wide room had a row of windows on the far wall that looked out on the grounds. Four places were set on the mahogany table. It was there that Eileen noticed my presence. She glanced across the table as we took our seats and frowned. "Oh, it's you. Patience, was it?"
"Faith," I corrected her.
"And how are you feeling this evening, Miss Luvena?" Mr. Eres asked me.
I smiled at him. It was difficult to believe the jovial man at the head of the table was involved in drug smuggling. "I'm fine. I was just a little tired from work."
Eileen raised an eyebrow. "And what kind of work do you do?"
"I-um, I used to work at a flower shop," I told her.
She turned up her nose and her lip curled back in a sneer. "How tedious." She turned to Simon who sat beside her and smiled at him. "I have so adored your flowers, but I'm afraid they've begun to wilt."
"That's what happens when you smother them with love," her father scolded her.
She frowned. "What can one do when one's love keeps himself so far away all the time?"
Simon chuckled. "I must manage my affairs some time."
Mr. Eres smiled. "And what do you have your hands in now? Buying and selling islands? Gold mines in the Congo?"
"None of the above. My current employment is through art dealings," Simon told him.
Eileen gasped and clutched his arm. "Art? I just love art. You know, that's my major."
Simon smiled and bowed his head. "Yes, I know. Some time you and I must discuss the finer points of Renaissance artists."
She wrinkled her nose and waved her hand at him. "Oh, I didn't learn much about them. I was far more interested in the Post-Modern artists." She sighed and leaned her cheek against his arm. "Those sweeping strokes. Those beautiful women."
"You mean like Picasso and his models?" I spoke up.
She lifted her head and frowned at me. "Pick-a-who?"
Mr. Eres coughed into his napkin. "Perhaps the less said on the matter the better." He lifted his glass. "Let's celebrate the return of the bracelet, and greater fortune for us."
We raised our glasses and clinked them together, and food soon arrived. I glanced at my watch. Six o'clock sharp. Our acquaintances may have already started their operation to re-steal the bracelet. The jealous half of me was glad to ruin the happiness of the snob who was wrapped around Simon's arm. The other part of me had a bad feeling about things and just wished to get out of the house without being implicated.
The bad feeling in my gut hit during the second course. It was six-thirty and we were in the middle of a riveting discussion of Eileen's expensive footwear when the lights flickered and went out.
Eileen screamed. Some light came through the dining windows, and I had no trouble seeing her cleaning furiously to Simon. "What's happened? What's wrong?"
There came a scraping of a chair and her father's voice spoke from the darkness. "It's just the lights. Perhaps someone hit a power pole."
Eileen gasped. "What if it's burglars after my bracelet?"
Eres chuckled. "No one but us and the house staff know the bracelet was returned."
My vampiric eyes picked up on a faint blush that appeared on Eileen's cheeks. "I. . .I might have told a few others."
Her father whipped his head to her and scowled. "Who?"
She winced. "Perhaps a dozen or two?"
"Foolish little girl!" he snapped.
He stormed towards the archway that led to the front hall with his daughter close at his heels. "Daddy! Daddy, I'm sorry!"
Simon swept past both of them and blocked the entrance with his body. "You shouldn't go wandering in the dark. You could injure yourself."
Eileen grabbed her father's arm and tugged on the limb. "Simon's right, Daddy. We should stay here until the lights are-"
"Mr. Eres!" a voice cried out. A man in a black suit appeared behind Simon. "Mr. Eres!"
"I'm right here, what is it?" Eres growled.
"Some of our men are unconscious! They were found in the rear garden!"
Eres threw up his arms. "Do I have to wipe your asses for you? Wake them up and get them into the house!"
The man in black shook his head. "We can't wake them, sir. Nothing we've done has worked."
Eres frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"
His employee cringed. "I'm not sure, sir, but it might be a good idea-" A loud crash came from the rear of the house.
Eres's eyes widened. "The study! That came from the study!" He shoved Simon aside and ran down the rear hallway at the back of the front hall. Eileen and the man in black followed him.
Simon stepped back and I could see the deep, annoyed frown on his lips. "The fools. . ." he murmured.