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“Are you sure this is the place?” I asked.
“It’s her house, I promise,” Dick told me. “And don’t worry about Iris. She might blow her stack at first, but she’ll eventually see the humor in it. Tell your man in the back that the next time he rides in my vehicle, it should be in the cab.”
“I will,” I said, smiling despite myself. “Thank you, Dick. Really, you’re a lifesaver.”
He winked, the little dimple in his cheek giving him an impish air. “I’ll see you around town, Jinx. One thing about our little circle of friends, we’re impossible to escape.”
As I got out of the car, Collin hopped out of the truck bed. He gave Dick a manly little nod and straightened his loud Hawaiian shirt. The case was still cradled carefully against his side. My hands shook as we approached the walk, and I thought I might get sick. Collin took my hand into his and kissed my forehead.
“It will be all right,” he promised. Just as he was leaning in for a better kiss, the front door of the house swung open. Ophelia Lambert stepped out, her brown curls bouncing in a sleek, high ponytail. She was wearing a red pleated miniskirt and a tiny red cardigan.
Collin’s hand slipped away from mine. He straightened, squared his shoulders, and looked every inch the dignified soldier. I, on the other hand, looked like a vagrant, given the expression on the vampires’ faces.
“Miss Puckett, aren’t you the surprise?” Ophelia said, her lips twitching in amusement. “Collin, so good to see you. And right on time.”
Despite his ridiculous outfit, Collin managed to look smooth and collected as he bent low over Ophelia’s hand. “I couldn’t bear to keep you waiting for this, Ophelia.”
She smirked at him. “Clever.”
Iris emerged from the house, her wild dark hair tamed into a respectable French twist. My boss looked tidy and sweet in her blue pencil skirt and white eyelet blouse. While she initially offered me a wide smile, her expression deepened into a frown when she glanced at the driveway … and my outfit.
Before she could say anything, a lithe, cool blond woman sashayed out of the house and launched herself at Collin. “Darling!” she exclaimed. “How wonderful to see you. It’s been ages.”
What. The. Hell?
The blonde in question, Sophie, was another senior member of the local Council. I’d learned not to trust that sweet face and those pretty manners during her “qualifying examinations” for the Council. Sophie was a sort of walking lie detector. She could yank the truth from someone’s subconscious if she was touching bare skin. I’d spent several unpleasant hours in her company during the Council’s screening process for humans who planned to work in vampire homes. The process was necessary to determine whether I had some sort of death wish or a secret desire to go on a staking rampage.
Collin gracefully pried his way out of Sophie’s embrace, with a pained glance in my direction. “Sophie, it has been too long.”
Sophie was not to be deterred, however, and she linked her arm through Collin’s to lead him into the house. She chattered away about this mutual friend and that. She wanted to throw Collin a dinner party while he was in town and introduce him to her neighbors.
Collin didn’t spare me another glance as the party gathered in Ophelia’s formal dining room. And why would he, with beautiful, polished Sophie and her smooth, nearly pearlescent skin and tits that seemed to have a gravitational pull all their own? I looked down at my borrowed, wrinkled dress and felt a blush creep up my cheeks. I drifted toward Iris, hoping that I could explain about the car quietly, get fired, and then slink away before I had to watch Sophie and Collin set up a bloody dinner date.
I had almost opened my mouth to confess when I realized that I was finally going to see inside the mysterious silver case! My brain spun with thoughts of the treasure I would be viewing in just a few seconds. Was it jewels? Precious archeological artifacts? The frozen head of Walt Disney?
Iris eyed me warily as I stepped eagerly toward the table. Collin placed the case in front of Ophelia with a flourish. He took the key from its chain around his neck and popped the lock. He lifted the lid, but I couldn’t see inside just yet.
“Oh, it’s beautiful.” Ophelia sighed, reaching into the case and pulling out—
“A teddy bear?” I exclaimed.
It was a very nice bear, its short brown fur perfectly fluffed, with soft velvet pads on its paws. But still. “I put myself through hell for a fucking teddy bear?” I shouted.
“Not just any teddy bear.” Ophelia preened. “An original 1902 Meinhoff with intact joints and ear rivets. And this one is one-of-a-kind. You see, the eyes are two different colors. The manufacturer didn’t make mistakes like this. It’s practically an urban legend in the toy world. Collin spent years tracking it down for me. It’s for Georgie’s birthday. She’s going to love it. Thank you, Collin, Miranda, for making this possible.”
What the—why—who the hell was Georgie?
My brain seemed to shortcircuit as I stared down at the little bear. It glared balefully up at us through one brown marble eye and one blue. All this time I thought we were carrying cash or jewels or nuclear secrets, and I was delivering a child’s toy.
Ophelia turned toward Iris and myself, handing us both envelopes. I glanced down at mine, which was filled with cash. Hundreds, lots of them.
Iris patted my shoulder. “Ophelia insisted on paying you a separate cash bonus if you arrived on time.”
I found that the money only seemed to make my anger grow, particularly with Sophie wriggling all over Collin like some vampire Playboy bunny. I was dismissed again. I was the help. The inadvertent other woman.
“Collin,” I said, clearing my throat. Collin couldn’t hear me over Sophie’s coos and giggles. I cleared my throat even louder. Nothing. Finally, I exclaimed, “Sophie, do you think you could stop rubbing your breasts against his arm for about five seconds so I can talk to him?”
“Miranda, what’s wrong?” Collin asked, his brow creased as he pried Sophie loose. She pouted a bit but kept her chest to herself. He pulled me aside, asking quietly, “Is this about Sophie? You have nothing to worry about, she’s just a friend. An old friend from a long time ago. We’ve known each for years. Trust me.”
