“Okay, okay, look.” He gently put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m worried about you. We have information on MacDonald that you should know. May we come in?”
“Now that you asked like a gentleman, sure. This had better be good, though. I’ve had a rough night.” I used my key card and we all trooped back inside. Obviously shopping was out for now. And I really wanted to see what size I could fit into now. One look at Jerry’s firm jaw and serious face, and I knew his information wasn’t going to make me happy.
“What was rough about it?” Jerry was close beside me. “Did that bastard hurt you?”
“No, just made me exercise my butt off, literally.” I turned around and showed him. “Totally worth it.” I wanted to scream when he barely glanced at what I’d sweated so hard for. “Fine, so you don’t care. Just sit. Tell us what you found out.”
I collapsed in a chair on the opposite side of the room from Jerry. I didn’t like his attitude. Maybe because I was afraid he was going to tell me something that would bring me down from my high. Can you blame me? Hey, I was feeling skinny and pumped from Trina’s donation. It had been the best one yet, because we’d both done all that exercise. For a moment I toyed with the idea of getting my own mortal pet. If I could endure a run and stair climb with one every night, I could at least keep off a few pounds . . .
I realized everyone was staring at me. “What?”
“I asked you a question. Didn’t you hear me?”
“No, guess I spaced. I’m still pretty jazzed. I’ve lost a total of thirteen pounds. Damn it, this time really look at me!” I stood and turned around, showing off the way my jeans bagged and almost slid off my hips. I even lifted my T-shirt so he could see my rib cage. Yep, my ribs were almost showing.
“Enough, Glory. Richard, look away.” Flo waved at me to lower my shirt.
“Relax, darling. I know Glory is just a friend. This really is a remarkable loss in such a short time.” Richard frowned. “But you know it can’t last. Just like quick losses don’t last for mortals. It’s not safe either.”
“I don’t want to hear that!” I stomped my foot. Ouch.
“Whether you want to hear it or not, it’s true.” Jerry leaned forward. “Sit down and listen.”
“I’ll sit because my feet hurt. Not because you ordered me to.” I sat. The guys sounded achingly like me talking to Trina earlier. She hadn’t wanted to hear bad news either. Shit.
“I found some of Ian’s success stories. Men and women who were on his supplements and did his program.” Richard pulled a small notebook out of his shirt pocket. “Did Caine ever tell you what he paid for you to do this, Glory?”
“No, he just put it on a credit card.” I heard Jerry and Valdez make a noise. “I offered to reimburse him! But he wouldn’t allow it. Valdez, you were there. You heard it all. Ray said he just wanted me to be happy.” I arched my brow at Jerry, like maybe this was more than he’d ever done. Which was a lie and mean-spirited but felt good anyway. “Besides, we’ll be on TV worldwide at the Grammys. It’s publicity. Ray can probably take the cost off his income tax.”
“That’ll be interesting for his accountant to deal with.” Richard shook his head. “Anyway, it’s ridiculously expensive. I know you couldn’t afford it on your own, Gloriana.”
“My business—”
“Is successful enough to support you and pay overhead with maybe a little left over.” Richard smiled. “You forget. I helped you with your taxes for the shop last quarter.”
“Oh, yeah.” I’ve always worked for a living and never had much of a cushion. The fact that my ancient car had recently died meant that had to be my next big financial investment.
“Get to the point, amante.” Flo pulled out Ian’s brochure. “The man’s a genius. You should see some of the things he advertises. I’m interested in trying some of them myself. Obviously he’s not just, how you say it, blowing smoke. Look at our girlfriend Glory here.”
“Hand that to me.” Richard grabbed it. “He gave this to you, my heart?” Unspoken was a “How dare he?”
“Yes.” Flo’s eyes flashed. “And I can get another if I need it.” She snatched it back. “Now, tell us what you have on him.”
“Fine.” Richard gave his wife a “we’ll deal with this later” look. “His program costs a fortune. Then once clients are hooked, they have to buy his supplements or the weight comes right back on.”
“I expected that. Just like a mortal weight-loss program.” I got up and walked over to the couch. “Let me see the brochure, Flo. Does it say how much the supplements cost?” I quickly found the price list and gasped. No way could I handle it on my own. I used all my willpower to keep from ripping the paper to shreds.
“Was he telling the truth when he said I was the only one who had the weird reactions to the supplements?” I tossed the brochure back to Flo.
“Yes, none of them had a problem with them. Just the price. So now 90 percent of them, except for a few of the very rich, are back to their starting weight.” Richard looked me over. “Ian’s got some bitter enemies out there, Glory. He isn’t exactly up front about the cost of the maintenance program.”
“No, he wouldn’t be. But it’s pretty much the same way for mortals, isn’t it? If you go on a special program, then go off, you usually gain what you’ve lost right back, sometimes even more. At least vamps can’t do that.” I was defending him. I could see Jerry struggling to keep his mouth shut. But to hear me back a MacDonald had to make him insane.
“Fine. So you’re okay with the fact that you’ve been sucked into this, will look good for one event, then it’s the old Glory, right back where you started.” Richard turned the page in his notebook.
“I’m not okay. I’m just realistic. So far all this drama adds up to exactly zilch as far as I’m concerned. Time to go shopping, Flo.” I turned to Jerry. “Unless Jerry’s got something else. Surely you don’t expect me to join in your feud because of my disappointment.”
“I told you, I’m worried about you. And Richard asked me to come. So I came. Hear him out.” Jerry crossed one leg over his knee and leaned back.
“We saw that video about Ian’s sunlight drug. I tried to follow up on that too. To see if any vampires have tried it and lived to tell the tale.”
Jerry and Flo leaned forward. Uh-oh. A lot of interest there. Well, why not? Maybe Ian could make it happen. But I doubted Jerry would ever be able to bring himself to trust a MacDonald’s daylight drug even if a thousand vampires showed Jer their sunburns.
I glanced at Valdez. “Did you find any?”
“No. I took that to the Los Angeles Council. They were very interested in Ian’s claims. They’ll be calling on him to check it out.” Richard narrowed his gaze on me. “Tell me about your nightmares, Gloriana. You’re not sleeping when you should. That tells me you might actually wake up during daylight hours.”
I waved my hand and kept the giant block to my thoughts firmly in place. “Dreams, Richard. It’s kind of cool, even when they’re scary.” I smiled at Jerry. “I dreamed your mother and Mara were burning me at the stake for being a witch. And you couldn’t have cared less.”
“Nonsense. I’ll always care what happens to you, Gloriana, even when you’re wrongheaded.” Jerry looked at Valdez. “Does she move when she dreams?”
“I’m not in her bedroom, Blade. I stay out here, guarding the door.” Valdez had effectively avoided the answer without telling an out-and-out lie.
“Ian said she was sleep deprived.” Flo spoke up. “And during what he calls the ‘death sleep,’ she didn’t heal like she was supposed to. What does that mean, Ricardo?”
“I don’t know. But I don’t like it.” Richard frowned, pulled out a pen and wrote in his notebook. “How do you feel now, Gloriana?”
“I feel great. I fed from a mortal who ran twenty miles with me and then we both climbed twenty-two flights of stairs. I’ve lost all this weight and I’m skinny for the first time in my life. Why wouldn’t I feel great? Now, can we forget the third degree? Flo and I are going shopping.” I jumped up. If Jerry wasn’t going to apologize or do something to show me he accepted my decisions, then I was out of here. Instead he just kept frowning at me, like he thought my baggy pants and loose T-shirt were evidence of my disloyalty.
“I’m with you, girlfriend. We’ll be downstairs in the lobby shops, Ricardo. You can come with us or wait here or go do your investigating.” Flo stopped in front of Richard, who’d jumped to his feet along with Jerry. She kissed his cheek. “Seriously, amante. We just spent the evening with Ian and his thugs and no one got hurt. Valdez and Brittany? Can you back me up on that?” Clearly Flo had decided to forget the incident with the pencil.
“I don’t like the man. Just a gut feeling. And his bodyguards are stupid, but no one tried anything we couldn’t handle.” Valdez dropped his leash at my feet, obviously figuring if Flo was all right with the pencil incident, then he wasn’t going to mention it either. “I’m watching her with MacDonald, boss. Brit’s got you on speed dial if we run into a situation where we need you.”
“You call me immediately then.” Jerry stepped closer and looked down at me. “Your face is thinner, Gloriana. You look tired. Let me taste your blood again.”
“Fine. But Ray checked it when we woke up and it was okay.” I held out my wrist. “See for yourself.”
Jerry’s eyes darkened, then he pressed his lips to my skin. Finally, he took a taste, the pressure lasting only a moment. He pulled back and licked his lips.
“No problem, you’re fine. Better than.” He leaned down as if he couldn’t help himself and kissed me, then pulled me to him and held me tight as he delved deep and laid claim to my mouth.
