Love Your Entity (14 page)

“I didn’t want the ghosts to eavesdrop,” Ronan said.

Damon joined them a moment later. Ignoring Sierra and Ronan, he took Zoe in his arms and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair. Their love and passion was obvious. Their embrace seemed to go on forever.

When it was over, Zoe had a huge grin on her face, as did Damon. But Damon’s faded as he looked at Ronan, indicating with a tilt of his head that he wanted to speak to Ronan privately. The two of them moved to the side of the house, leaving Sierra alone with Zoe who was still starry eyed.

“Wow,” Sierra said.

“I know.” Zoe sighed and touched her fingers to her lips. “I just can’t get enough of Damon. I love him so much.”

“He obviously feels the same way about you.”

“We’re lucky that way. But enough about me. What about you? How are you holding up?” Zoe asked.

“What do you know about a vampire bond?” Sierra said.

“A sire bond?”

“No, not a sire bond. A sex bond.”

Zoe’s eyes widened. “I don’t know anything.”

“But you and Damon are a couple. He said he’s a vampire. You said you’re a witch.”

“I’m a good witch. I don’t worship the devil or anything.”

“Maybe a vampire bond doesn’t apply to you because you’re a witch. I can’t believe I’m even talking to you like this,” Sierra muttered.

“Is it really so strange? You already have paranormal abilities. You see ghosts.”

“I don’t just see them, I communicate with them.”

“How?”

“They talk to me. Whether I want them to or not.”

“Given that, are you surprised that witches and vampires exist?” Zoe said.

“Hell, yes!” Sierra answered emphatically.

“Okay then. Just breathe. There’s no need to panic.”

“Of course there’s a need to panic. I just bonded with Ronan and now I can’t leave him.”

“You two had sex?”

“No. Having sex would break the bond between us.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Zoe said. “Maybe you should ask Damon about this.”

“No way. I am not going to talk about sex with him.”

“Okay, then I will.”

“No.”

“Maybe there’s nothing to it.”

“Oh, there’s something to it all right. One of the ghosts went all poltergeist and made the large mirror in the foyer fall off the wall and fly toward me. Well, it would have if Ronan hadn’t stepped in front of me. The glass shattered and cut his arm. I didn’t realize I was cut as well, although not as badly as Ronan, until a drop of my blood blended with his. That’s what did it. Now I am totally hot for Ronan. He kisses me and I want to strip him bare and … well, you know.”

“You want to do what your heroine Nicki did to the hero in your last book?”

“Yeah, that and more.”

Zoe shared a knowing look with her before reaching into her back pocket for her phone.

“Who are you calling?” Sierra demanded.

“Pat. If anyone would have info on vampire bonds, it would be him.”

“Because he has an interest in history?”

“Because he’s a vampire who has an interest in history.”

Pat showed up a second later with another man, more heavyset, by his side.

“I’m Bruce,” the man said. “It’s so exciting to meet you. I’ve been saying we need more artists and writers here in Vamptown.”

“Vamptown?”

Bruce looked at Zoe. “I thought you said she knew about vampires.”

“Why are we all talking outside? It’s freezing,” Pat said.

“Sierra doesn’t want the ghosts eavesdropping on our conversation,” Zoe said.

“So the house is haunted.” Bruce just about jumped for joy. “I told you so,” he said to Pat.

“Have you heard of something called a vampire bond?” Zoe asked Pat.

“You see ghosts?” Pat asked Sierra.

She nodded. “And hear them and talk to them too.”

“Then you are a powerful entity empath,” Pat said. “If so much as a drop of your blood merges with a vampire’s—”

“With Ronan’s in this case,” Sierra said.

“Then you are bonded with him. You must stay near him. It’s like you are compelled to do so.”

“What else am I compelled to do?” Sierra demanded. “Whatever he wants?”

“No. You won’t want to leave him and you will feel a powerful attraction to him.”

Sierra had already been attracted to him before this blood stuff had come up. She knew from the two kisses they’d exchanged since then that things were now basically on fire.

She couldn’t believe she was standing here talking to vampires and a witch about all this, but she had to get answers.

“What about lies? Can I tell when Ronan is lying to me?” Sierra asked.

Pat nodded. “While you are bonded with him, yes.”

“How can the bond be broken?” she asked Pat.

“Once you have sex with Ronan, the bond is broken,” Pat said.

“There’s no other way?”

Pat shook his head.

“How can you be sure?”

“I’ve been a vampire for over four hundred years,” Pat said dryly. “I’ve learned a few things along the way.”

“Wait a second. When I met you and we talked at the cupcake shop, you talked about Chicago history. Were you here for that? The Chicago Fire? The Roaring Twenties? Prohibition?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know Hal Bergerstock when he ran this place?”

“I knew of him.”

“He’s haunting the place now.”

“He doesn’t seem very nice,” Zoe noted. “He just broke a mirror inside the house.”

“Uh-oh,” Bruce said. “Seven years’ bad luck.”

“That’s just a superstition,” Zoe stated before asking Sierra, “What about your cut? Are you okay?”

“What’s going on out here?” Tanya demanded as she came rushing down the sidewalk to join them. “I happened to be in the Vamptown security center watching surveillance screens and saw everybody gathered around Sierra. Is something wrong?”

“I’m okay,” Sierra said.

“Then why are you bothering her? I told you, she needs to be writing. Everyone step away from the world-famous author,” Tanya ordered.

“I’m not that famous,” Sierra said.

“And modest too. The sign of a true talent,” Tanya said. “Back up, people. Get a move on.”

“How did you know we were out here?” Zoe said.

“I told you. The surveillance cameras. But there is no audio out here. Why are you all out here anyway?” Tanya tugged her faux-fur coat tighter. “Zoe, were you having hot flashes again? Menopause is a bitch, huh?”

“I am not menopausal,” Zoe growled.

“Trouble?” Damon inquired as he strolled over.

“Yes,” Tanya said. “These … people are bothering Sierra when she needs to be working on her next book.”

“Sierra knows we’re vampires,” Damon said.

“Wait a second,” Sierra said. “Don’t vampires have to be invited in before they can enter a place?”

“Yes,” Damon said. “You invited me and Nick in when you moved in. And Ronan was already there. It’s his house according to Vampire law.”

“I didn’t invite Tanya in,” Sierra said.

“The previous resident did,” Tanya said. “I only need to be invited into a location once within the past six months. What, you don’t believe that I was here and invited before? Check the surveillance tape.”

“The cameras don’t work in the house,” Damon said.

“No, but they work on the front porch,” Tanya said.

Damon checked his smartphone. “Okay. Your story was confirmed.”

“I should hope so,” Tanya said. “Now please leave Sierra alone so she can get back to work on her story. The one she’s writing about her kick-ass ghost-busting heroine Nicki’s adventures here in Chicago. All of you, go away!”

“Not gonna happen,” Ronan said.

Tanya sighed. “Okay, you can stay, but everyone else—”

“Is coming inside.” Ronan’s voice was steely, the look in his eyes daring anyone to contradict him.

Chapter Twelve

Sierra entered her house followed by a bunch of vampires. Yet another surreal moment to add to the growing number of them indelibly imprinted on her mind since arriving here in Chicago … or more specifically here in this house in a neighborhood she’d just learned was known as Vamptown. At least the local vampire residents referred to it as such. She doubted it showed up that way on Google Maps.

“I just want to confirm something,” she said. “I’m guessing that unless you have fangs, you don’t know anything about Vamptown.”

“
You
don’t have fangs, and you know about it,” Ronan said.

“I don’t have fangs and neither does my grandmother,” Zoe said. “We both know about it.”

“I know about it too,” Daniella said as she joined them for the first time. Nick was by her side. “And I don’t have fangs,” she added.

Sierra was confused. “So tons of people know? I would have thought that its very existence would be top secret and unknown to humans.”

“That was the plan,” Nick said.

“Is it safe?” Zoe asked, looking around nervously. Pointing to the broken shards of glass from the mirror still on the floor, she asked, “Do you want me to clean that up for you?”

“That would be nice but I can do it,” Sierra said.

“Not as fast as I can,” Zoe said with a wave of her hand. Presto, the glass was gone.

Sierra was speechless.

Tanya wasn’t. “Show-off,” she muttered.

“You’re sure that Hal won’t try to bombard us with something else?” Zoe said.

Sierra shook her head.

“You’re not sure?” Zoe said.

“I meant he can’t do that. He doesn’t have unlimited power,” Sierra said. “He’ll have to shut down to recharge, so to speak.”

“Like the electric car I almost bought,” Zoe said.

“You need to invite Pat and Bruce in,” Ronan told Sierra.

“I’m so sorry,” Sierra said. “Come in, both of you.”

Wait, why had she let all these vampires into her house? She might be able to tell when Ronan was lying to her, but that didn’t mean she could trust these others.

If there was trouble, Ronan would protect her because he needed her. Yeah, but that made it Ronan versus four … no, make that five vampires counting Tanya. Not good odds.

Okay, so Tanya probably wouldn’t hurt her because she needed Sierra to keep writing the next book.

Maybe Sierra could put vampires in the next book. Everything was grist for the mill in a writer’s life. Write what you know. She already knew ghosts. Now she knew vampires too. Let’s not forget Zoe the witch who could clear messes with a single wave of her hand.

“No wand?” Sierra didn’t realize she’d said the words out loud until she saw Zoe roll her eyes and heard Tanya say, “That’s what I asked her.”

“And as I told you at the time, I’m a witch not freaking Tinkerbell,” Zoe said impatiently.

“No need to get crabby about it,” Tanya said. “No one likes a crabby witch.”

Yeah, inviting them all in had definitely been a mistake, Sierra silently decided. Now the issue was how to get rid of them.

“Can you see a ghost now?” Bruce asked Sierra.

She looked around and saw Ruby in the far corner of the living room, shaking her head and putting her finger to her lips in the universal
shhh
sign.

“Uh, no, I don’t see any ghosts right now,” Sierra lied.

Bruce looked around. “So this place used to be a brothel, huh?”

“No, it was a bordello,” Ruby said, and Sierra repeated without thinking.

“What’s the difference?” Bruce said.

“Damned if I know,” Sierra muttered.

“Then why did you say that? Did the spirit speak through you?” Bruce asked eagerly.

“I’m not a medium,” Sierra said.

“No, you’re a large,” Tanya said. “A size fourteen if I’m not mistaken.”

“A medium is someone who can communicate with spirits via telepathy. I’m clairvoyant and clairaudient in that I can both see and hear ghosts. Just not right now,” Sierra hurriedly added as Ruby put her fingers together and made a zip motion across her mouth.

“One of the hard things about being a vampire is having your friends and family pass on,” Bruce said. “I was hoping maybe you would be able to contact someone for me.”

“I don’t know…” Sierra said.

“I’d pay you,” Bruce assured her.

“Who do you want to contact?” Pat asked him.

It was only as Bruce put his arm around Pat and kissed his cheek that Sierra realized that the two were a couple.

“There’s no need for you to get jealous,” Bruce told Pat. “I don’t want to get in touch with any old lovers. But I would like to contact Mother.”

“I thought she was the reason you ran away and joined the circus,” Pat said.

“I was a professional clown,” Bruce told Sierra. “Before I was turned into a vampire, I mean. And yes, my Bible-thumping adopted momma was the reason I ran away when I was fifteen. She’d thump me upside the head but good with that Bible of hers.”

“Then why do you want to contact her?” Pat asked.

“Mother is a nickname for the bearded lady in the circus who took me under her wing. She choked on some kernels of popcorn and died in her trailer all alone. I just wanted her to know how much I appreciated her kindness.”

“I’m sorry but I’ve never done séances,” Sierra said.

“And the other ghosts might object to having a new spirit in the house,” Zoe said.

“Ya think?” Ruby said. “Damn right I’d object! Not that I have anything against bearded ladies. I saw one once in the circus when it came to town.”

Sierra was prevented from further discussion about séances or circuses by a phone call. “I have to take this,” she told all the supernaturals in her living room.

The call was from a reporter, Bob Nolan, from the
Chicago Tribune.
“I just wanted to confirm our interview for tomorrow,” Bob said.

When Katie Katz, Sierra’s publicist at her publishing company, heard Sierra was moving to a historic house in Chicago that might have ties to Al Capone’s gang, she’d set up an interview with Bob.

But that was before Sierra knew about Vamptown.

“Uhm, maybe we could meet somewhere else instead of my house.”

“Is something wrong?” the reporter asked.

How to answer that question? Yes, a million things were wrong. A handful of them were standing in her living room arguing about bearded ladies.