Save the Last Vamp for Me (2 page)

But the Chihuahuas refused to ignore his presence each time he walked into the house, alerting everyone that one of the “stinky animal people” had arrived. Even Speck, the youngest of them, joined in though Nick had made great efforts to become friends with him since I planned to keep the little, black pup.

I heard my mom’s bedroom door open as we tried to shush the yapping. “Cordi?”

“Yeah, sorry, Mom. Nick’s staying the night.”

“All right. I’ll see you two in the morning.” Her door shut again. Tonya didn’t appear or say anything, so she’d either slept through the noise, or had grown used to it enough not to worry.

“Okay, seriously, enough,” I told the Chihuahuas. “Back to bed.”

They grumbled and fussed, but returned to the various spots they slept in around the living room and settled down.

I grabbed Nick’s hand, waved at my Pit Crew lying on the couch, and hauled him behind me to my room with Speck prancing before us.

––––––––

I
glanced at my phone, where I had the map feature on-screen. “It’s just ahead, on the left.”

Nick nodded in response. He hadn’t exactly been onboard with my house hunting idea at first, but after nearly a month of my living at my mom’s, most of his discontent had faded. Last night had cleared the rest away, since he’d run into Tonya while returning from the bathroom. He’d been wearing my short, purple robe with little pink hearts dotted all over it.

Scrunched in the back seat of Nick’s truck was most of my crew: The pit bulls and hound would be reporting back to Speck on the living situation I found for us. The five canines would all be living with me. Leglin, the hound, was bound to me by blood magic. Bone, Diablo, and Red were strays when I ran into them, and before that, each had done time in a dogfighting ring. They bore the scars to prove it.

“There’s the sign. You’d have a lot of privacy out here,” Nick observed. Thick evergreen bushes that were taller than he was lined each side of the two-lane road. The realtor’s sign he’d mentioned was barely visible. “How many acres?”

“Twenty-four.” My dog buds needed room to roam, and with other issues to consider, I’d given up on the idea of a house inside the city. One issue, the most important, was not having any close neighbors who might end up cannon fodder. On paper, this house looked to have everything my dad and I had listed as needs. It had been on the market long enough that the price had dropped several times, bringing it down enough to be affordable for me. The most major downside to it was that it’d take me a half-hour or more to drive to work every day, even though it was only a couple of miles outside city limits. “Ooh, the drive’s paved. Good.”

Nick turned his truck down the drive. “Lots of trees.”

“Yeah.” I glanced back at the dogs. “What do you guys think so far?”

“
I’m a city dog
.” Diablo, a black pit missing part of one lip, gave a disparaging sniff. Leglin nosed his shoulder before looking at me.

“
We will be happy wherever you choose, Mistress
.”

The super-sized black and tan hound’s eagerness to please put a smile on my face, even though I said, “We all need to like the new place, not just me.”

“I think I like it,” Nick said as the house came into view. “But it needs a paint job.”

“Yeah.” I stared at the two-story house, taking in the peeling white paint on the window frames and porch. The siding was some sort of charcoal gray rock. “No one’s lived here for nearly eight years, but Rita said everything checks out and is up to code.”

None of the windows were broken. The wide front porch, which ran the length of the house, didn’t look like it was sagging anywhere. The drive went to a detached two-car garage on the right side of the house, ending at the concrete pad in front of it. A sidewalk led to the front porch steps, between strips of nearly knee-high grass. “Needs mowing too. You guys watch out for snakes, okay?”

A chorus of assent sounded from the back seat as Nick parked in front of the garage and turned the truck’s engine off. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” I bounced out, hoping the house would prove to be the One. It was fun looking at houses, but a lot of stress too, trying to pick one that had everything we required, was within my budget, and didn’t need a lot of expensive work. After all, we’d be in whichever one we selected for a long, long time. Pulling the strip of paper with the code for the key lockbox out of my purse, I said, “Inside first.”

We exited the truck and trooped up to the front porch. Once I had the key in hand, I unlocked the door, and pushed it open. “Wow.”

The house had undergone remodeling a few times, and currently boasted a mostly open plan on the ground floor. Standing at the door, I took in the living area to the left—with a fireplace!—that flowed into a dining area, and was set slightly apart from the kitchen by a breakfast bar. A staircase led up to the second floor. I walked in and looked into the first door on the right. “This is the den.” It was a decent-sized room with built-in shelves. Moving down to the next door, I found a half-bath. “Guest bathroom.” The last door led into a utility room with a door leading out to the back porch. Turning from it, I walked directly into the kitchen.

It had loads of granite countertops and cabinet space, a deep double sink with a window facing the backyard over it, and the stove and fridge were stainless steel. A few small additions, and it’d be a chef’s dream. “I want this kitchen.”

“Let’s look upstairs.” Nick grabbed my hand and pulled me across to the staircase. We thumped up them to discover the landing was a rectangle that ran the length of the house. A half-wall around the stairway made certain no one would fall while stumbling around in the middle of the night.

Windows at each end of the landing gave plenty of light. I shivered, excitement beginning to build. So far, this house seemed perfect.

Nick let go of my hand to poke his head inside the first door to the left of the stairwell. “Bedroom. How many are there?”

“Three, plus a bonus room.” I joined him, slipping past to look at the room. The closet was sort of small, but I was already designating it as Leglin’s room. The hound had asked to have one of his own. He wouldn’t need much closet space.

A Hollywood-style bath ran between it and the other bedroom on that side. Across the landing, we walked into the master bedroom. “Okay, I love this house.”

There was a pair of French doors leading out to a second story, roofed porch over the back one. The master bath had a shower stall and a corner garden tub. Nick had to drag me out to check out the linen closet set between the master bedroom and the bonus room.

“This one’s really small.” He stretched his arms out after walking into the bonus room, fingertips brushing the walls on either side.

“I’ll use it for storage.” We both noticed the string hanging from the ceiling. “Attic access.”

He took hold and pulled. I helped unfold the ladder so we could go up. A pile of boxes lay in one corner of the otherwise empty space. I waited while he carefully walked across the plywood flooring, checking for weakness. “Sturdy, and I don’t see any sign of termites.”

“Great.” I’d already decided, and hoped none of the dogs had any objections. I wanted this house. It had all the space we needed, and wouldn’t need more than cleaning, new paint, and maybe carpet to make it livable.

Bone met us at the foot of the attic ladder, his one ear perked. “
I like it. Red likes it. Diablo’s pulling his usual, but he likes it too
.”

“Good.” That only left Leglin. I caught him on the landing. “This would be your room.”

The hound went into the bedroom, sniffing around the baseboards, and then looked out the window, which faced the back of the house. He made a faint sound and headed for the other bedroom, checking the view from its window, which faced the front of the house. “
I’d prefer this one, Mistress
.”

“Sure.” The secondary bedrooms were basically the same size. Leglin had also asked for a human bed, and either room was big enough for a full-size version. “Whichever one you want is fine by me. So you like the place?”

“
Yes
.” His tail wagged gently, just brushing my leg. “
I do
.”

I turned a grin on Nick, who stood in the doorway. “We’re going to take it.”

He smiled. “Good. The entrance to our territory is only about five miles away. I can be here in less than ten minutes.”

“Cool.” I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. The nearness meant an end to one of our ongoing problems concerning my tracking ability. I could call him whenever it popped up, and he’d be here by the time I’d finished dressing.

Nick had invited me to meet his parents, but we’d had to put that on hold for the time being, between work and house hunting. I’d already met his brother, Patrick. We didn’t get along well, because Patrick was a douchebag.

“Let’s go check outside.”

First up, the garage. I was surprised to discover a small, unfinished efficiency apartment tucked behind the back wall. “I don’t remember seeing this in the list of features.”

“You could have it finished and rent it out if you needed to. Or do some kind of trade with someone who’d take care of mowing and stuff,” Nick suggested.

“Maybe.” I’d have to think about that, plus there’d be the expense of finishing it to consider. We left the garage and checked the other two outbuildings. One was a well house, the other just a small storage shed with a concrete floor. I didn’t bother walking the entire property, because the dogs would check out everything when we had more time, but did note that there was a short post and rail fence embedded in the evergreens lining the front sections of the property.

“It’s perfect. We are definitely taking it.” I pulled out my cell phone to call my dad, who’d volunteered to help me navigate the scariness of first-time home ownership. “Would you lock up?”

“Sure.” Nick took the house key and disappeared around the corner. I stood in the overgrown backyard, the dogs sniffing around not far away, and made what felt like a truly momentous call.

I was buying a house.

––––––––

A
fter leaving what I hoped would be my future home, we took the Pit Crew home before heading for the Palisades and the tiger clan’s garage. I had to wonder if the fact we caught every red light was a result of Nick’s reluctance to go there. At least he let me pick the music. I sang along with Blondie while holding an imaginary mic, and ignored the amused glances of other drivers. Once there, Nick and Leglin stayed in the truck while I headed inside.

The first person I saw was Logan, and the view wasn’t bad, since he was nearly waist deep in the maw of a truck, his jeans clinging in a fashion guaranteed to draw eyes. I had to reflect on how wrong it was that I could recognize him from behind like that.
Stop ogling your friend, Cordi
. “Hey.”

Logan backed away from the truck and turned. “Hi. Problem with your car?”

“It’s running like a top.” His dark brows drew slightly together, so I added, “That’s a good thing.”

“Oh. Hadn’t heard that one before. Did you want to see Terra?”

“Maybe? I kind of have a favor to ask, and I’m not sure which of you I should ask.”

His lips quirked. “Ask me, and I’ll pass you to her if necessary.”

“Okay. I have a case that’s going to have me in the Barrows a lot, and....”

“You need more backup.”

“Yeah. I have Nick and Leglin, but I don’t want to take my other three boys down there.” As far as I knew, only shifters considered normal dogs threats.

“I’d be happy to help out, but I really need to stay close to Terra.”

“I know that, no problem.”

He glanced around at the other men, who were all busy working on various cars. “Soames has been with me the longest. He’s a good fighter, alert, and follows orders.”

“Anyone you trust is cool.”

“I trust him with Terra’s life.” From Logan, that was probably the highest compliment he could pay someone.

“You won’t be short-handed, will you?” Nothing had been settled concerning the other tiger shifters, led by a large, overly muscular man I liked to call the Mega-Douche. He wanted Terra as his Queen, an idea that didn’t exactly thrill the seventeen-year-old. They’d made another attempt to kidnap her three weeks before, but Logan and the rest of the clan had stopped them.