I Hear Voices(28)
Derek let out a furious roar and released my cousin. “Dammit, Zelda!”
Glassy eyed, Fabian staggered, dropped to his knees and cast me a reproachful look. “Bella.” He hit the floor face first.
His teeth bared in a frightening snarl, my husband moved toward me in spasmodic jerks. “I’m gonna tan your hide.”
I backed up. “I did warn you but your listening ears weren’t on.”
Derek collapsed to the floor and struggled to rise, but his body refused to obey. “You…had no…
right to interfere.”
“What are you? Twelve? All that macho posturing doesn’t fly with me. No more fighting.
We’re family. We don’t kill or beat the holy hell out of each other. Wait, that’s not exactly true. If it’s Aunt Sophie or Uncle Dante please feel free to unleash your homicidal tendencies. ‘Kay?”
He dragged himself forward. “Not… kay. ”
“True, only I can kill Aunt Sophie but Uncle Dante, the murdering bastard is all yours. You can beat him, stab him or use him for target practice and I’ll cheer you on.”
His right hand clamped around my ankle. “Not leaving me,” Derek rasped.
Aw, the poor guy actually thought I was running away again. I’ll admit I had given it some serious consideration but with the mate bond and all, I wouldn’t get very far. Besides, I kinda liked having the big guy around.
I patted Derek’s cheek. “You were going to leave me behind, sugar. How does it feel? Knowing I’m the one getting that stucco warrior, while you’re stuck here napping? Nighty-night.” I pried his fingers off my ankle.
Okay, I’m a bitch but I was still pissed at him.
Maybe we could have make-up sex later. Lots and lots of make-up sex.
Granny Annabel popped in. “Bella, what have you done?”
“They were trying to kill each other so I stopped them.”
Granny examined Fabian’s face. “Dios Mio! His poor face.”
“He won’t be doing that photo shoot in Rome.”
I hurried into the bedroom. Using Uncle Aldo’s newest gizmo, I retrieved my stun gun from the safe and grabbed my bag of tricks.
“Are you sure this is wise?” Granny floated after me. “The bounty hunters have tracked you to Las Vegas.”
Plucking Derek’s car keys off the dresser, I hurried out the back door and climbed into Derek’s
scratched-all-to-hell Hummer. “I’ll be in and out in no time. What could possibly happen?”
Granny Annabel rolled her eyes. “You need to ask?”
“I am not a shit magnet.”
Ed walked out of the garage.
Okay, maybe I was. I waved all friendly like.
He automatically waved back.
I started the engine.
His eyes bugged and Ed sprinted for the Hummer. “Stop!”
“Not a chance.” I hit the gas and watched him in the rearview mirror. Throwing up his arms in frustration, Ed tore off into the house.
Too bad I couldn’t put him to sleep, too.
Las Vegas traffic sucked. It took me an hour to get to the Best Whore House and another ten minutes to find a place to park.
In the dim light, the garishly lit whore house stood out brightly, exposing every inch of its peeling paint and decaying exterior. The cracked sidewalk was covered with rotting garbage, beer bottles and urine. The stench made my eyes water.
Only the truly desperate or soused willingly enter that place.
Was I that desperate? My lips twisted in self-mockery. Oh yeah. If I chickened out now, I would never find the treasure.
I jumped about a foot when a rat the size of a small dog ran across my shoe. Suddenly, I regretted
my decision to leave Derek behind. The area gave me the willies and having an armed-to-the-teeth commando at my side seemed like a really good idea.
Boisterous shouts, rock music and wild, unrestrained laughter spilled out into the street from the graffiti covered bar next door. A hollowed-eyed drunk loitered in the open doorway and eyed me hungrily.
It was time to suck it up and grow a pair.
Yanking out my stun gun, I held it up and triggered it.
The drunk stared at the arcing electrical current for a moment and then ambled off down the sidewalk.
I watched him until he disappeared into the darkness.
Granny materialized next to me and looked around in horror. “Dios Mio. You should have obeyed your husband.”
My temper flared to life and I snapped, “I’m not a kid. I don’t need a daddy to tell me what I can and cannot do. I’m an adult and I make my own decisions. Got it?”
Granny Annabel vanished.
Shit. What was the matter with me? I’d turned into a bitch with a capital B. Opening my mind, I called, “Sorry.”
Two scantily clad women staggered out of The Best Whore House. One had bleached blonde hair with two inches of black roots showing and a
dragon tattoo crawling up the right side of her face.
Did men really find that sexy?
I focused my attention on the second woman and did a double take.
Her hair was a brilliant shade of pink and kinda reminded me of the cotton candy you got at the fair. She resembled a grotesquely made up Kewpie-doll. Two long pieces of toilet paper were stuck to her stilettos and fluttered behind her like well-trained dogs as she strutted down the sidewalk.
The women paused at the corner and flashed their double E not-so-perky breasts at the passing motorists.
I guess that was one way to attract a john or a cop.
Gangster’s Paradise suddenly blared from my bag. Dread knotting my stomach, I pulled out my satellite phone. It couldn’t be Derek, could it? God I hoped not. He was going to be beyond pissed.
“Hello?”
“Why was I not invited to your wedding, bella?”
Crap, Uncle Aldo. “It was one of those spur of the moment things.”
“I see and being drunk had nothing to do with the suddenness of the ceremony?”
Busted. “Ah…well…it kinda did.”
“Do you love him?”
“I do.” Damn if I could give him a good reason why. Derek was an overbearing, bossy prick who kissed like an angel. As much as I hated to admit it,
he had saved my life a bunch of times and he always showed up when I really needed him. Plus he had all those luscious muscles and clever, clever fingers. Hoo boy, I was getting hot just thinking about them.
“Does he love you?”
A good question and one I couldn’t answer, so I hedged, “He cares for me.”
“Your grandmother said without Sloan’s help, Asmoday would have taken your soul.”
“That’s true.”
“You are now mated?”
“We are.”
“Good. You need a strong man to control your impulsive behavior.”
“I’m not impulsive. I plan out my jobs meticulously. Why does every one treat me like a fluff brained idiot? I can take care of myself.”
“Bella your stunts are legendary,” Uncle Aldo scolded.
“I was a kid then. I’m a responsible adult now and I don’t do crazy anymore.”
Uncle Aldo let out a long sigh. “Where is Fabian? I have not been able to contact him.”
“He’s taking a nap.” I smacked myself in the forehead. God, I was such a blabbermouth.
“A nap?” The suspicion in my uncle’s voice had me cringing. “Did you help this nap along?”
“Who me?”
A fat businessman called from his spiffy, new black Cadillac, “Hey sweet cheeks, how much do you charge for a blow job?”
“Ten thousand dollars,” I yelled back. That should shut the idiot up.
The two hookers gave me the evil eye.
“Where are you bella?”
“I’m in Vegas.”
“For that price you’d better be able to suck chrome off a bumper,” the businessman shouted, waving a wad of money out the window.
Holy hell, he actually thought I was serious.
“Sorry, I’ve already got a date, buddy.”
The hookers stampeded over to him. “Hey lover, you can get the two of us for only fifty dollars.”
The fat idiot snarled, “I don’t want no diseased, skanky whore touching my Willie.”
With a snarl, Kewpie-doll launched herself through the window. “I’m gonna give you a blow job you’ll never forget.”
“Let go of my Willie,” the businessman shrieked and hit the gas.
I watched in amazement as the Cadillac careened wildly down the street with Kewpie-doll’s feet hanging out the window and the toilet paper flapping in the wind like two flags.
Her partner tottered after her yelling, “Stella!
Stelllla!”
Well that was something you didn’t see every day. All we needed now was a street car named Desire.
His voice full of concern, Uncle Aldo asked, “Bella? Are you there?”
The Cadillac barely made it a block before it slammed into a fire hydrant. A geyser of water shot twenty feet into the air.
Crap! It wouldn’t be long before the police showed up.
“Bella?”
“Everything’s great and gotta go.” I quickly disconnected, shoved the phone back in my bag and took a firm grip on my stun gun. Throwing a cautious glance around, I headed down the alley, praying I didn’t step on anything nasty.
Well, color me surprised. The back door to the whore house wasn’t locked. I pushed the door open and stepped inside. A colony of roaches scurried away. Oh ick!
My nose wrinkled in disgust. The place stunk of sex, sweat, stale booze and despair. Moans and groans sounded from the rooms. I crept silently down the hallway, avoiding the used condoms and beer cans. Why in God’s name hadn’t the health department shut this place down?