The
vampires are at Carley's apartment, practicing for their runway show
the following day. Andres arrives, telling them that Gene has
disappeared. Apparently, the person abducting the victims, has been
posing as a driver.
Tommy
tapped him on the leg, directing his fixated attention to the younger
man instead of the pretty woman.
"Because
people like drivers are furniture," he replied. "And when
you've got a beautiful, new lady, the furniture disappears into the
background. You probably saw the guy a dozen times and didn't even
know it. I think Gene disappeared because he talked to me. He told me
what was going on. Had I known about the driver, I would have put the
pieces together then. Now, he's got to realize I'm going to figure it
out eventually."
"Making
you a target," Margo said, clutching his hand to her breast.
"Oh, Tommy! I had so wanted to keep you out of this!"
"Why
do you care?" Andres asked snidely. "He's nothing. A mere
human."
"He's
something to me!" Margo flared. "How would you like me to
say that about Carley? He's no less important to me, than she is to
you!"
"You
always let your temper get the better of you, Margo. You need to calm
down...."
"And
you need to shut up," Carley said. "How rude is that? You
belittle her relationship with a human, yet you tell me you love me
beyond all others. I'm a mere human too, Andres, or had you
forgotten?"
"Carley,
I...."
"I
want you to go now," she said angrily. "Get out, Andres. I
have to get up early. I don't have time for you tonight." She
stormed out, slamming the door to her bedroom.
Margo
cheered, scoffing at Andres. The elder vampire snarled, eyes flashing
red. Margo smirked.
"Someone
needs his beauty sleep. Go home, Andres. You're behaving like a
child." She swished out of the room followed closely by Tommy.
The
younger man had no desire to stay in a room with an angry 914 year
old vampire. Kirk stood, stretching.
"Carley
has a point, old sport. We do have an early day tomorrow. May I see
you out?"
"This
won't be forgotten, Nunne."
"I
know, memory like an elephant," Kirk said, tapping his forehead.
"Oh, you meant you!" He chuckled. "Andres, lighten up.
What you said was snooty and condescending. If you want back in that
girl's good graces...."
"And
her bed," Drea added cattily.
Kirk
nodded at his wife, accepting her amendment. "You'll need a hell
of an apology."
"It
wasn't that bad!" Andres fumed.
Kirk
shrugged, leaving the angry vamp to his wife. Drea sauntered up to
him, holding his lapels as she gazed into his eyes.
"Blood
sucking fiend," she said quietly. "Demon spawn. Death
bringer, evil one, creature of the night. These are all terms that
have been used to describe us. There are other, more colorful, less
polite terms applied to us, as you know. What you said was more
offensive than any of those. Shut off the lights and lock the door on
your way out." She followed her husband to their room.
The
following day, the vampire contingent was greatly on edge. So far,
the only people who had been abducted were vampires. Yesterday, a
human had disappeared. Before going to bed the night before, Kirk and
Drea had reported Gene's abduction to the police. Of course, since he
was a human, Andres hadn't thought to do so.
Thoroughly
annoyed with Andres, Carley went to the shoot with them instead of
waiting for Andres to send the car for her. Besides being furious
with her lover, she was worried about being alone in the car with a
driver. She had no way of knowing which one was actually abducting
people. She hated to admit that she had no more idea what he looked
like than Andres did. The fact here was no one but the driver made
him anonymous, just like Tommy said. She wondered how often she did
that to people.
Carley
hadn't grown up rich. Her father had made a comfortable living, but
there wasn't that much money in fish. They hadn't had servants, not
even a guy to mow the lawn or clean the pool. She hadn't been raised
as a snob, but had certainly become one. Being a super model, fawned
over, spoiled, catered to.... She'd turned into a diva and it
irritated her. She wanted to kick herself.
When
she wasn't on camera, Carley spent time talking to Kirk and Margo or
hanging around with Tommy. She felt safe with the three of them, not
something she could say about the rest. She'd even dismissed her
makeup and hair women in a huff. If it hadn't been for Margo, she
wouldn't have been ready on time.
"I
started out doing makeup," Margo said proudly.
Carley
admired her handiwork. Margo had done things that gave her an
entirely different look. She liked the result.
"Of
course, that was back before it was this elaborate. All of us had
more than one job. One day, a model didn't come in as scheduled. The
photographer turned to me as I did the makeup of one of the other
girls. Hop to! He yelled at me. I need another body and
yours is better than most! That's how I became a model."
"Was
it hard for you?"
"Hard
how?"
"Did
people take you seriously? You're beautiful, a woman—blonde...."
©
2019 Dellani Oakes
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