Four Centuries (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (15 page)

"Okay."
 
Tiffany looked out the window, confused, as she made her way to the couch.
 
"Why is it dark out?
 
Where are we?"

Amit didn't move.
 
Victoria moved away, close to the refrigerator.
 
She could see him running through options in his mind.
 
Scream?
 
Run?

"Amit," she said again, signaling him with her finger.
 
"Please.
 
I won't bite."

He took slow, cautious steps across the hotel room.
 
His gaze fell on Tiffany.
 
Victoria didn't know how much he'd seen.
 
Did he see the portal?
 
The quick exchange with Kevin?
 
The last five seconds?

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but on my first day here, you said I didn't have to worry about my privacy.
 
You wouldn't enter the room unless called on.
 
You
did
say that, right?"

His mouth opened and closed as he struggled to find words.
 
Sweat beaded on his forehead, despite the room being cool.

Victoria reached out and gently grabbed his arm.
 
He looked about ready to fall unconscious at any moment.

"Relax," she said, trying to smooth the edge in her voice.
 
"I won't lie.
 
I'm upset.
 
I'm angry."
 
She lowered her voice.
 
"But I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm…I'm sorry," he said.
 
"I did what you asked.
 
I went to the restaurant.
 
Your party was upset, especially the one named Patrick, but they understood."
 
He held up the rose.
 
"He wanted me to give this to you."

She smiled as she accepted the rose.
 
The sweet gesture was almost enough to take her mind off the subject at hand.

"Awww," Tiffany said.
 
"Aunt Victoria has a boyfriend."

She was eavesdropping like a pro.
 
The television was on, but she wasn't watching.
 
Only her eyes were visible from behind the top of the couch.

"Hey," Victoria said, pointing.
 
"TV."

Tiffany quickly turned around, but Victoria took no chances.
 
She grabbed her purse from where she left it and dragged Amit into the bathroom.

"I wasn't thinking," Amit continued.
 
"I'm just…I'm tired, and I thought I heard voices at the door.
 
I was going to drop the rose off, just inside, and then…."

Victoria arched an eyebrow.

"You saw some weird shit?" she finished for him.

"I…don't know what I saw."

She smiled warmly.
 
"That's a good answer to hold onto."
 
Opening her purse, she counted through the money she kept with her.
 
"Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes," he said, without hesitation.
 
"It's part of my job.
 
I wouldn't be where I am today if I gossiped about every little thing I saw, especially on
this
floor."

Victoria laughed.
 
She imagined the depraved acts he'd seen on the top floor.
 
Vampires could have crazy imaginations, especially where sex and blood were concerned.

Still, she doubted he ever saw magic before.

"Victoria," he said, watching her leaf through bill after bill.
 
"I hope you don't plan on
paying
me to keep me quiet."

"Why is that?"

"I admit…I made a mistake.
 
But it would be an insult to—"

She opened his hand and set fifty thousand dollars in his palm, then kissed him on the cheek.

"This isn't to keep you quiet," she said, which was true.
 
It was her intention to reward Amit.
 
She was simply doing it earlier than expected.
 
"I have
other
ways of keeping people quiet.
 
This is for being at my beck and call for the past two weeks.
 
It's for waking up, taking time away from your family, to do stupid errands for me.
 
And for making this horrific trip halfway bearable.
 
Thank you."

He accepted the money, shoving it into his pants pocket."

"It's certainly been…interesting.
 
I think I'll go home.
 
Maybe take a vacation day tomorrow."

She smiled.
 
"You and me both."

She collapsed on the couch after showing Amit out.
 
Tiffany had found a cartoon channel and was engrossed in the television.
 
She looked at Victoria as she swayed her legs back and forth.

"Bad day?" she asked.

"A weird one, for sure.
 
But how about you?
 
Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah.
 
I'm fine."
 
She scooted closer and gave Victoria a squeeze.
 
"Jack always gives me a hug when I feel bad.
 
I'll give you one.
 
Hey, do you have any ice cream?"

Victoria laughed and returned Tiffany's hug.
 
She adjusted her dress as she rose to her feet.

"Let's see if we can make that happen."

Victoria was pulled from her dream by the sun greeting her through the window.
 
She turned over once or twice, but finally sat up in her own bed, in her own home.
 
She was three weeks removed from New Delhi.
 
Kevin had survived his ordeal with the men that kidnapped Tiffany, rather easily.
 
Tiffany was where she belonged, with her father.
 
Victoria was where she belonged.
 
On the outskirts of Baltimore, in the mansion she bought so long ago.

No one from her trip to New Delhi had contacted her.
 
She'd hoped Patrick would have at least sent an email by now, but her inbox was full of spam and videos forwarded from Tiffany.
 
At least Terry gave her space.
 
She didn't receive any communication begging her to be a part of the vampire community.

She tossed the sheets aside and let the sun touch her naked body.
 
Her skin would never be tan, but that simply wasn't important to her.
 
Enjoying the sun, feeling its warm rays, that was almost on par with tapping into a pulsing mortal vein.

Before stepping into the shower she turned on her music.
 
Most of the rooms in the mansion were connected, allowing her to enjoy music anywhere, even in the backyard.
 
After a relaxing, lazy thirty minutes under the hot water she slipped into a pair of sweatpants and an old tee shirt.
 
She didn't bother putting on socks or shoes.
 
It wasn't going to be a shoe day, if she could help it.

Her kitchen was as large as some apartments.
 
She kept an unusual layout, with a regular refrigerator for guests, as well as one that was locked, for her.
 
A large safe sat in between them, but not for her own use.
 
In the center was a dining table, with plenty of room for twelve guests.

She sat alone, her legs crossed, enjoying a glass of microwave-heated blood and her laptop.
 
Her music cut out, only for a second, as the security system chimed a single time.
 
There was someone at the front gate, buzzing to be let in.

She glanced at the time.

"Thirty minutes early," she said.

The security panel was near the front door.
 
She checked the video feed before opening the gate, to make sure there were no surprises.
 
Five cleaning vans made their way up the long driveway, parking in a long line.
 
Opening the front door, she watched as a small army of men and women stretched their legs.
 
Their weapons were buckets, brooms, vacuums, an array of cleaning materials.

Chaz stepped out of the lead van.
 
He'd been cleaning Victoria's home for many years.
 
He didn't fit the mold of what she thought the owner of a janitorial service would look like.
 
Covered in tattoos, a muscular build, shaved head.
 
He looked like he'd be more at home on a motorcycle than on his hands and knees with a sponge and a bottle of Windex in his hand.

His eyes met hers as he approached with a wave and a smile.
 
Victoria returned the gesture and met him by the front door.
 
He frowned playfully, tapping an invisible watch on his wrist.

"I know, I know," Victoria said.
 
"I'm two months early."

"Hey, it's fine by me."
 
He shook her hand.
 
"More money for me.
 
Although, like we talked about on the phone, I can save you some money, since we can finally clean in the day.
 
You know, I don't think I've ever seen this place during the day."

She held up a finger.
 
"Don't start giving out discounts just yet."
 
She was almost afraid of her next admission.
 
"I, uh…do have maybe a few more rooms to clean than last time."

"I don't like the way you said that."

"Oh, don't worry.
 
It'll be fine.
 
You
did
bring a few extra people?"

"Victoria—"

"Say, are you thirsty?
 
I've got some beer in the fridge."

"No, but thank you, though."

"Are you serious?
 
Last time you drank enough beer for your entire crew."

He laughed.
 
"It was ten thirty at night, and I wasn't driving."

"Okay, well, you know where it is.
 
Tell everyone they can help themselves.
 
Let's talk while everyone gets started."

Chaz signaled his team, and mortals started flooding into Victoria's home.
 
She watched each of them.
 
There were a few new faces in the crowd, but most had been in her home before.

Victoria and Chaz sat at the dining table while two women cleaned the kitchen.
 
It was fairly routine, but Chaz still had plenty of paperwork for Victoria to sign.
 
She answered emails and signed her name at the same time.

"So, why so early this time?" Chaz asked.
 
"I'm not complaining.
 
I could always use the business.
 
But seriously, Victoria, this place isn't really all that dirty."

"That's because you did so great last time," she said.
 
"I'll be having a guest for a while, and just wanted the place to be spotless when they got here."

"Eight thousand square feet," he said, admiring the kitchen.
 
"It's an awfully big place for one person."

"I throw wild parties.
 
Naked men and woman, running around.
 
Sex, drugs, porn.
 
Hair-pulling, hot wax, animals, leather.
 
And toys, too.
 
Can't forget the toys."

He ran a hand over his bald head.

"So, uh…when were you going to invite me over?"

They shared a laugh.
 
Victoria felt a twinge of guilt as she regarded Chaz.
 
Like nearly every relationship she ever had, there was one underlying problem.
 
Chaz was getting older, while she was not.
 
It was an urban legend that redheads aged more gracefully, but there would eventually come a point where Chaz would question why his client's skin was still perfect, her figure still flawless.
 
She would have to fire him, and get another crew that didn't know her.

And the cycle would start again.

"Really, Victoria," he said.
 
"I can't believe you're single.
 
Are they all too scared to step up to you?
 
Is that it?"

She smiled as she signed the last form.

"Yeah.
 
I can be pretty scary."

"Well, look, I know this sweet guy.
 
I know he's sweet, because he's my brother—"

"You tried to set me up with your brother last time."

"That was the
other
brother.
 
This is another one.
 
Much sweeter.
 
And good looking, too.
 
Like me."

She handed over the forms and took a deep breath.
 
Paperwork could be more stressful than battling the supernatural.

"Okay," she said.
 
"Is that it?
 
Make sure everyone knows I got pizza coming at lunchtime."

"Aww, Victoria.
 
You know you don't have to do that."

"I know.
 
But you came here, again, on short notice.
 
You're always early, never late, and you do a great job."

He eyed her suspiciously.

"Are you buttering me up for something?"

"Uh, yeah.
 
I am.
 
Let me show you these rooms you've never cleaned before.
 
It's only two of them."

"Just two?
 
That doesn't sound bad."

Victoria said nothing.

She led him out the kitchen, through the hallway, past six people carefully dusting the artwork on the walls.
 
On the other side of the mansion, near the dance hall, was a single door, far away from the front, or any windows.
 
There was a single keypad on the adjacent wall, not wired into the main security system.
 
Its sole purpose was to control the nearby door.