Sleight Of Hand Part 4

She threw back her head and laughed. "You are the most self-centered man I've ever known. G.o.d helpme for falling in love with you. This is the root of the problem. You try to push the spotlight off to otherthings. Crazy homicidal mother? Here, move in with me and become a vampire! s.k.a.n.ky floozies whothrow themselves at you? Oh, you need donors, too, but only old ones because how canI make youstand it?"

She grabbed her coat. "We have a long way to go before I'll be buying sheets with you. I have to get to work. Don't forget you promised to do pizza with Alex. He's talked of little else all day. I'll see you later."

He pulled her back to the bed and yanked her down to the mattress, covering her with his body. "This isn't over. I'll come into the bar after Alex goes to bed. I have some work to do, and then I'm going to deal with my mother. Be careful."

She chewed her lip a moment, wanting to scream in his face that she wouldn't have to have bodyguards if his mother would listen to reason. But she just sighed, not having the energy to say it again. "Dominic already has two bodyguards on me. One vamp, one human."

He nodded, satisfied. "We'll get back to the issue of donors later. Don't think I'll forget."

She nipped his chin and got up. "Donors and more, Xander. There's a lot more than the issue of my dozen studly donors to hash out. I'll see you later." She stifled her laugh at the scowl on his face.

Downstairs, Dominic was waiting in the kitchen with two of his men. "Hang on a sec. I need to go tell Alex that Stryker is awake."

Poking her head into the TV room, she saw Alex watching a movie. "Hey kiddo, your brother is awake now. He's getting ready to jump in the shower, and then he'll be down. But if he's not down in ten minutes, go and bug him. He's in the second room on the left."

"She sent someone here to threaten you, didn't she?"

She thought about what to do and say to soften it, but how could she? "Alex, Xander is not going to let her harm you. Dominic is here, his people are here, and your brother is here. She can't come in, and before you came to stay with me, Stryker had Dominic come and put in a new security system. You're safe here."

He reached out and took her hand. She squeezed his in return. His voice was small when he finally spoke. "But are you?"

She sighed. "Of course I am. Xander is going to fix this whole mess. He won't let you down, Alex. He takes family very seriously. You're his family. He loves you."

"And you, too. I can tell by the way he goes on and on about you all the time."

She smiled. "That so? Huh. Well, he's pretty all right for a vampire king. Now, I have to go to work.

Give that lazy bones brother of yours ten minutes and no longer. And tell him I said he can't use my hair product! He's always using it, and he never replaces it. Bad enough he always takes my coffee and eats my cookies."

Alex laughed, and she couldn't help but lean in and kiss the top of his head. "Keep him in line, kiddo. He needs a keeper when I'm not around."

"Will do. And Lissie? Please be careful."

"Will do." She saluted and went into the kitchen where two men, nearly as hulking as Dominic, were waiting. She knew the vampire. He was a cousin or some such and was quite nice. You wouldn't know it to look at him though. His face was impa.s.sive, and he was the size of a mini van. She guessed that alone made it unnecessary to show his mean side most of the time. Since he was on Dom's team, Lissie guessed he had one though. When he needed to.

The human was quickly introduced as an old marine buddy of Dom's. Dominic gave her instructions, told her to stick close, and urged her to carry her cell phone with her all night, just in case of a problem.

"If you're trying to scare me, you're doing a bang up job," she mumbled as she pulled her jacket on.

"Good. Fear keeps you alert, and being alert keeps you alive. Now, go on." Dominic waved them out once his man outside had given the thumbs up. "Oh, and your car stays here. You'll use one of ours until this thing ends."

"What? I can't drive my baby? Why?"

"Our cars have armor plating on them."

A sick feeling permeated her gut. "Great. I could have fallen for a dentist, but oh no, I had to have the vampire."

Fortunately, the bar was so packed and busy that Lissie really didn't have the time to think about anyone out to hurt her. Despite her fears, there hadn't even been a hint of danger. And thank goodness because it was Friday night, and the place was crawling with humans and vampires alike. The din was deafening, the crowd chaotic, and the air was filled with the clove cigarettes that vampires seemed to love so much.

Her core clientele was there as usual. The vampires who liked a bar experience where they weren't

gawked at or hara.s.sed, and the humans who liked to be around vampires. Most of them were young and good looking, and Lissie did have to admit that profits had gone up and problems had gone down after she'd allied herself with Emerald City. Now other vampires didn't come in looking for fights. She'd been concerned about how they'd react when she declared her allegiance and became a part of their territory, but more vampires came in when it was established as a safe place to hang out. Fights had all but totally disappeared.

The bar had belonged to her grandfather and his father before him. Of course, when the bar had first opened up, it served loggers, and vampires hadn't yet announced their existence to the world. Back then it was the Lucky Spur. She still had the large disc of a very old tree that her great grandfather had carved the family crest into. She'd finished it and hung it above the front door. It was smooth and s.h.i.+ny in the spot she reached up to touch each day as she came into work.

Of course, Jacques Norris would have lost all his hair if he'd had an inkling what his bar would be after she took over. The idea that she'd dare to change the name and add velvet upholstery was bad enough. But her clientele, vamps and wannabes with dental implants and spooky contacts, would have given him a heart attack on the spot Big night meant lots of trash. Needing some fresh air, she grabbed a bag, twisted it shut, and looked for one of her rent-a-vamps. One of them was across the room, near the front door where she liked him. The other had gone to the restroom.

Shrugging her shoulders, she realized she was being stupid. She took out her own d.a.m.ned trash every other night. There was no reason to panic, and the dumpster was just out back anyway.

She hefted the bag and told one of the other bartenders she was making a quick trash run and headed out back.

The relative quiet was like an instant calm around her as she stepped out into the alley. She took a deep breath. It'd rained recently, and the air was crisp and clean. The heat from the crowded s.p.a.ce poured off her skin, and she tossed the bag into the big dumpster. The night was cool, but not overly cold, and she hung back for a few moments more, just wanting that clean quiet for a bit longer when she heard a noise.

She turned quickly, but before she'd completely spun to face the noise, she was struck in the face so hard she saw stars. Hearing the crack, feeling the bones break and the skin tear, she felt almost as if it was all happening to someone else. She stumbled due to her loss of equilibrium. She held her hands out to find purchase and was shoved to her knees.

Knowing she was in big trouble, she screamed out so loud it hurt her lungs. She hoped against hope that she could be heard over the noise inside or by someone out front.

The blood from her head wound ran into her eyes, nearly blinding her. But she didn't need her eyes to get savage satisfaction from the pained grunt her attacker made when she kicked out and connected with his knee. The crack of his bone dislocating gave her a bit more energy to continue fighting, and she scrambled backwards, wiping her eyes.

Her attacker was a beefy vampire she'd never seen before. "You'll pay for that, b.i.t.c.h! You were told not to mess with things that aren't your business." Fury lit his eyes as he limped toward her, his body radiating menace.

Her body screamed in pain as she forced herself to move away. Warily keeping an eye on him, she continued to wipe at her face to keep the blood from her eyes. She sighted the bloodl.u.s.t in his eyes and the glint of light off his extended incisors. The scent of her blood and fear had pushed him into that state where vampires think of one thing and one thing only-feeding.

Gritting her teeth, she swore to herself that if she survived the night, she'd kick Graciella Stryker's a.s.s personally.

Cursing herself for keeping the alley clean to avoid rats, she futilely scanned the area around herself for weapons. She found nothing.

But there was no way she was giving up. Making her mind up, she decided she'd have to make a run for it. Knowing the door back into the club had locked behind her, she knew her only option was to make a run for it. Past him to the street. He'd be faster, but if she could get to the mouth of the alley, there might be people out front who could help. He had the limp but wouldn't for much longer as he'd already begun to heal.

She feinted left and then made a break for it, screaming over and over as she ran towards the entrance of the alley. The light was there, taunting her, its yellow glow calling out freedom and safety. But it all faded as his hand caught her upper arm in a vise-like grip, and he brought her down to the pavement.

Just before everything went black, she saw the glint of light off his teeth as his head lowered to her throat.

Chapter Five.

Air rushed into her lungs, and she woke up with a scream on her lips. Her eyes opened, and she was still blind as she scrabbled, attempting to sit up. An arm banded about her waist, and a voice told her to be calm. Blinking her eyes to clear her sight, the world s.h.i.+fted and fell into place. Her nausea pa.s.sed, and she looked toward the voice.

Those ice blue eyes, worried, stared back at her. "Are you all right, love? Lissie? Darling?"

She thought about it for a few moments, mentally touring through her body. "I guess so." The memories began to return, and a hand went to her throat, but there was no bandage.

"What? Why isn't there a wound? A bandage? I know he ripped my throat out." She gasped. "Oh my G.o.d! Have I been in a coma or something?"

Stryker put his head in her lap, and his arms encircled her waist as he hugged her tightly. "Oh sweetheart, I thought I'd lost you. Lissette, it was so close. If I hadn't been coming to the club right as you were screaming, right as he was attacking you..." his voice trailed off, choked with emotion.

"You saved me?" Her hands stroked through his silky hair, over his shoulders, overjoyed at being alive, at his touch. "Thank you. But what happened?"

A cramp hit then, and she grabbed her stomach, curling into herself. Wonderful. What a time to have her period.

After the pain eased a bit, she looked up, and saw that she was in his house. In his bed. In his room. "Uh, Stryker, how long was I out? Why am I not in a hospital? And why aren't you telling me what happened?"

"You've been out for two days. You didn't need a hospital. We've been watching you here."

"Two days? And my neck is totally fine, why?" She suddenly remembered his brother. "Alex! Oh my G.o.d, where is he?" She tried to get out of bed, but he shook his head and held her there.

"He's fine. Safe. He's with Dominic and several of my men at a secure location. I didn't want to take a chance and have him stay at your house in case the attack had something to do with his being in town."

"In case? You are so obtuse! Of course it had to do with him. It was your mother! How long are you going to live in denial about this?" She slammed her hand down on the bedside table in frustration. Only to find herself staring, shocked at the splintered ruins as it fell apart under the force.

Surprise rushed through her, stilling everything in her head. It was as if someone else was watching the gash in her hand heal as if by magic.

Time returned to its normal flow as it became crystal clear just why she had no wound on her neck. Turning to Xander, she managed to find words, even if they were spoken in a harsh whisper. "You converted me!"

He was on his knees on the bed, his hands in the air in front of him. "I know you hadn't totally agreed yet, but there was no way around it. You were dying! He'd torn your throat out. You'd lost too much blood. Oh G.o.d, sweetheart, you were ... it was such a mess." His eyes flashed with fear and panic as he remembered the way she'd looked. "You were so pale. White as moonlight. Your pulse was fading. There was..." his voice broke a moment. He cleared his throat. "There was no time. No time to get you to the emergency room, and they couldn't have saved you anyway." He took her wrist, bringing it to his lips and brushed them over her fluttering pulse. "It was convert you or let you die, and there is no way I am prepared to live without you."

Lissie had never seen him that way. Vulnerable. Emotionally raw and exposed. She felt his panic, heard the fear of losing her and in that moment his love, too. There was no shutting that out. In that moment every last wall she had against him fell. What defense could there be against the kind of love that risked everything to keep her alive and at his side? Her fury at losing her humanity drained away. How could she be angry that he wanted to save her life?

Taking a deep breath, she let it go as she exhaled. The regrets, the anger-they did her no good. She was alive, and he was there. "It's okay. I understand. And I'm grateful, Xander. You saved me." She sent him a rea.s.suring smile.

Still, the unreality of the whole experience hit her. "Wow, I'm a vampire? Is that why I'm so d.a.m.ned cold? And why am I having period cramps?" Wincing, she rubbed her stomach. "I thought at least I'd be PMS and period free once I changed. Tell me the bonuses again?"

He looked slightly horrified that she'd discussed her "female problems" with him, and she stifled a grin. "The cramp is the hunger. You need to feed."

He got up and spoke to someone in the hallway. Shortly thereafter, three people came into the room-one of his harem, who looked significantly less arrogant than she usually did, and a woman and man she'd seen as daylight security.

"I'm going to go first, sweetheart. Watch me." Xander leaned toward his donor, and she pushed herself against him eagerly. Lissette was up and standing quicker than she'd even thought of doing it. She pulled the woman back and got in her face. "Oh uh-uh. There'll be no more of that, honey. There's a new sheriff in town, and she says you'll be giving him your wrist." An eyebrow arched up, and she dared the hoochie to say one word.

Wisely, the donor held her tongue but did send a pout in Xander's direction. Lissie noticed his attempt to stifle a smile. Oh, he had a great many lessons to learn now that he'd converted her, and she was going to be around more. Starting with the harem. Snorting in amus.e.m.e.nt, he took the woman's wrist, feeding quickly before turning to Lissette.

"It's all pretty basic. All you need to do is think about feeding, and your incisors will come out." He stroked a hand over her hair.

Hunger rode her as she felt her incisors lengthen while he spoke. Nodding, she flashed them at him, and he chuckled.

"That's the way, Sweet." Stryker held his hand out to the man who came to kneel at her feet.