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"I think you throw a heck of a party and I think I’ to Blade as they looked skyward Tony Crapetta stood a few feet away, gaping at the bat spectacular "Tony, you got a car here?"
"Sure, Miss Gloriana Did you see that? They spelled your name"
"Mr Sabatini’s a swell host, isn’t he? Now can I get you to takein the store I just got in a new leisure suit"
Tony looked uncertainly at Daht, Gloriana You must come back alone and ill… play" Damian brushed my hair back from my face and dropped a kiss on my lips Then he nodded at Tony "Take her home and see her safely inside her apartment if you value your life"
"Yes, sir, Mr Sabatini" Tony held out his arm "This way, Miss Gloriana My car’s out back" I leaned on him a little, more drained than I wanted to adh I could tell he was on high alert as he scanned the parking area Behind me, I heard Damian announce the winner of the costume contest The Queen of the Damned, Iand brandishing her asp Blade atching me leave, but didn’t make a move to coenuine vintage VW bus, Miss Gloriana?" Tony wrenched open the door of a pea green van and put his hand on my elbow "Step up now Careful"
Valdez jumped in beside me and I threw my arm around him He did smell like a fruit salad A tear escaped and ran down ine, which didn’t seem inclined to start, to notice Perfect, just perfect
Chapter Twenty-three
Twenty-four hours later and I was coirlfriends A day’s healing, vamp sleep had me back to my old self Sort of Physically I was okay Mentally? I was up one minute because I’d, yes, made a stake catch fire And down the next because neither Blade nor Da a night off Di had hooked me up with a student as reliable and I’d left Lacy training her to run the shop The fact that Lacy had been glowing after a night of hot sex with her wolf man hadn’t helped ht cure what ailed us We needed to laugh and Flo got us going when she insisted Kramer had to be a shifter
"Look at that hair, Glory I’ll bet he howls at the full moon If I could just stastic froet-well present and ere at the point where so, but still didn’t share the festive h anyway It was up tobrilliant
"Here’s to female vamp power Can’t beat it" I know, pretty lah to satisfy the molass against irlfriends"
"A lot less colass "Jerry lost his chance at Westwood because of me and Damian--"
"Damian is no one’s boyfriend Not for ulped her drink and reached for a bottle to refill her glass
"She’s right, Glory You’d do well to concentrate on Jeremiah" Flo picked up the remote "Ready for another episode?"
"Not yet" Jereed between us And not for the better But I wasn’t in theon with Richard, Flo?" I’d expected hilanced at Diana "He and I are taking a break This holy crusader deal he’s got going is ht He’s very… ruthless"
"Ruthless?" I cocked an eyebrow at her "This from a woman as ready to rip a little old lady’s throat out because she stepped in front of her at a shoe sale?"
" I’amos" Flo’s smile was an evil proain
"So what’s really wrong with Richard? He’s kind of grown on me" I know, this was a real turn around But I liked the way he’d handled Kenneth I really hadn’t wanted to be at the takedown And it would have been horrific for Diana
"You were there!" Flo put down her glass " ’I’ll take care of it’ he says He treats me like a helpless female" CiCi shook her head "They all do The er men Men who understand that women are more than their equal"
"Ahed "But what Richard does is a noble undertaking When vaet justice?"
Tie "CiCi, what happened to Tin Man last night?"
CiCi grimaced "Apparently the bats have more appeal to hiht down to hell" She clinked her glass against Flo’s "I say we give upme to use the Internet I’ve discovered a Web site devoted to a wo O dotcoet out your laptop" Flo looked at Diana who’d snorted "Come on, admit it, Di You can please yourself better than ninety percent of " Diana drained her glass again "This stuff is good While you’ve got the laptop out, Glory, let’s order solass and walked to the kitchen Valdez lay stretched across the threshold and I stepped over hi roo of Cheetos in , Blondie Let’s celebrate Westwood’s gone to ground and I’ sidled up to Flo and was rewarded with an ear rub
"So talk About who and what you really are, no?" She leaned down to rub her chin against his head