Stage Fright (Bit Parts) (43 page)
Of course, I had no way of knowing if Marcella and Charles had been that intimate, but it was such a perfect way to finish the scene I wondered why we hadn’t thought of it before.
There was a harsh cry then a demand for lights. Terrified, I let go of Andrew.
Hedda, her eyes blazing, held Charles by his neck. “Is it true?” Her voice rang out to every corner of the theater. She shook him. “Tell me!”
Charles gargled something. He might have been a vampire, and Hedda might have been fasting, but he was no match for Hedda’s fury.
“You’re going to die either way,” she said. “You may as well die with a clear conscious.” Red tears streaked her pale cheeks. “Did you plot with my beloved?”
Charles finally gasped, “Yes.”
I cried out as Hedda twisted Charles’s head off his shoulders as easily as a child would tear the head off a doll. Charles died with an expression of shock on his face.
Hedda, dripping from the spray of Charles’s blood, dropped his body. She turned to the assembled vampires. “It will mean war with the Peabodys, but I am resuming control of my grieve. If you aren’t willing to follow me, you will not leave this theater alive.”
I realized I was clinging to Andrew’s arm. At the first sign of trouble, Perry and Isaiah had charged onto the stage as promised, but neither Hedda nor the other vampires took the slightest interest in us.
One by one, the vampires knelt. The woman nearest Hedda kissed her hand. Hedda lifted her chin, once more the powerful, arrogant vampire I’d first met at the Bleak Street. The one who reigned the Widderstrom grieve.
Chapter Thirty-One
I’d never been so afraid in my life. Everything leading up to this moment – the Cipher situation, the vampires, Hedda’s play – was a walk in the park in comparison. My heart pounded in double time, and my espresso sat like crude oil in my stomach.
Andrew wasn’t helping. He sat across from me in the coffee shop, sipping his latte and skimming the newspaper like he had all day.
“Well?” I demanded.
“Well what?” He was loving this.
“You know damn well what!”
He grinned. “He loved it.”
My jaw dropped. “Seriously?”
“Okay, maybe not
loved
it exactly. But for him, the review is awesome.”
Tom Wiggins, the notorious critic, had sat through
Six Voices
the previous night. Though I’d been in a sweat to see his review, I’d made Andrew look at it first.
I tore the newspaper from Andrew’s hand and read aloud, “Although Ms. Jaber’s directorial debut lacked consistency, she created a decent piece of theater that speaks to the audience.” I frowned. “What does he mean that I lacked consistency?”
Andrew sighed. “For one second, stop focusing on the negative and accept the praise.”
I grinned.
Isaiah joined us. Over the past few weeks, he’d switched from chai to mocha lattes, something that both Perry and I found hilarious. We called it his ‘girlie coffee.’
“You’re glowing,” he said.
“Tom Wiggins liked the show!”
“Why wouldn’t he? It’s wonderful.” Isaiah pulled me in for a kiss. “Tonight’s your night off, right? How about we celebrate with dinner. I’ll cook.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Really?” Looking into those amber eyes still made my heart all melty. “And afterwards? Should I pack a toothbrush?”
The corners of his mouth twitched up. “Do you want to pack a toothbrush?”
“I think I do.” I leaned closer for another kiss.
Andrew gave a loud a-hem.
I pulled back, not so much as embarrassed as sad. Poor Andrew was lonely. My guess was that he’d been lonely for quite some time, even when Caleb had still been around.
I slipped my hand out of Isaiah’s and excused myself for a trip to the ladies’ room. When I came back out, I noticed a young man with ginger hair, and a sprinkle of freckles scattered across his nose. His glasses and pressed shirt made him completely adorkable. Like me, he was a coffee shop regular. Every time I saw him, he was at the same table hard at work on his laptop. He returned my polite nod of greeting, but then his eyes roamed to Andrew. His face held a wistful expression.
I should have known better than to play Cupid. After all, Andrew had told me over and over again that he was swearing off love. However, the longing in the redhead’s eyes drew me over. “My friend Andrew is big into computers, too,” I said to break the ice. It was sort of a half lie since Andrew wasn’t so much a computer geek as he was a computer
gaming
geek. “My name’s Cassie by the way.”
The redhead dragged his eyes away from Andrew. “Blake. Your friend looks really familiar.”
That surprised me since Andrew rarely came to the coffee shop with me. Cooking school and modeling jobs kept him very busy. Then I remembered his recent watch ad in
Hour Detroit.
“He’s a model,” I said.
“That’s it! He was in a watch ad. And also in the Nordstrom’s flyer.” Blake’s pale skin showed every nuance of the blush creeping up his neck. “God, I must sound like a stalker!”
“Maybe a little,” I teased.
His face reddened even more. “It’s just that I work in video production. I do local ads and that kind of thing. I always notice models.”
I’ll bet you do, I thought.
Across the shop, Andrew was sending me warning looks. He knew exactly what I was up to and didn’t approve. That didn’t stop me from asking Blake to visit our table, however. “Why don’t you come over and say hello?”
Blake didn’t need a second invitation. He followed me over and smiled nervously at Andrew as he offered his hand. “Blake Ashby. Your friend was telling me that you’re big into computers.”
“Well, sort of.” Andrew threw me a desperate look. “I mean, I can send e-mail and things like that.”
Poor Blake was growing red again. To rescue him, I said, “Drew is crazy about computer
gaming
, actually.” I reclaimed my seat next to Isaiah who frowned at me. More than once, he’d told me to respect Andrew’s wishes and not set him up with anyone. Ignoring Isaiah, I added, “Andrew’s a super gaming nerd.”
Blake’s face lit up. “Me, too! I work in video production, but what I really want to do is develop games.” He nodded to the table where his laptop sat. “In fact, I’m working on one right now. There’s this game distributer? Steam?”
That got Andrew’s attention. “The makers of Portal,” he said, breathless with awe.
“You’ve heard of them! Some friends and I are in the final stages of developing a game that we want to run past them. It’s an action FPS. Well, action/horror.”
“That sounds amazing,” Andrew said. Even Isaiah was looking interested.
Blake’s green eyes sparkled. “Really? We’re looking for beta testers. Would you be interested?”
I tried not to squeal as Andrew followed Blake across the coffee house. I pounded Isaiah’s back. “Do you see that? Do you?”
He shook his head, amused. “How many times has Andrew told you not to introduce him to anyone?”
“Looks like he’s pretty happy about it now.” Andrew had pulled up a chair next to Blake’s. Both were chatting away about whatever they were looking at on the computer.
Now that we had the table to ourselves, I lifted my chin, ready for another kiss. Unfortunately, Isaiah’s phone interrupted with a bleep. When Isaiah read the text, he frowned. “It’s from Perry.”
I crowded closer. “What’s he say?”
“Houston, we’ve got a problem.”
THE END
Coming Soon – Stagecraft - Book Two in the Bit Parts series
After an accidental meeting with a friend, Cassandra Jaber realizes that vampires aren’t the only supernatural beings roaming the Motor City. Witches abound as well. Although there are good witches and bad witches, Cassie’s friend has found himself trapped in the middle. But because Cassie has moved out of the state to take a long-awaited acting job, she’s in no position to help. Luckily, her brooding, sexy vampire hunter is able to lend a hand, and Cassie is able to focus on her career once more. That is, until she finds a bloody package on her doorstep, a reminder that evil witches are not to be trifled with.
About the Author
Maybe it's because of my Halloween birthday, but I've always been attracted to scary stories. On the other hand, I love romances as well. Once I discovered that these two genres existed side-by-side in urban fantasy novels, I was in heaven! Urban fantasy is like chocolate and peanut butter: a perfect, to-die-for combination that I can never get enough of.
I've been writing since childhood, but earned my bachelor's degree in psychology and my master's in English literature. When I'm not writing, I'm a straight-laced English teacher at a two-year college in Detroit. I've been married to Mr. Right for over twenty-five years. I also have three teenaged children: a boy and two girls, all of whom have threatened to never speak to me again if I turn them into characters and put them into my books.
More urban fantasy by Michelle Scott
I, Lilith Straight, was the woman you always wanted to be. I was married to someone better looking than your husband, we lived in that house you always wanted. Within a year, however, all of that changed. My marriage dissolved, my house burned down, and my job hardly paid the bills. So when I was hit by a car and died, I thought my life couldn’t get any worse. Boy, was I wrong.
Hell was not the place I imagined. It was worse. During my brief stay, I learned some disturbing truths about my family. Most worryingly my ancestor’s deal with the devil promising him every female descendent as a succubus.
So these were my options: Life on earth as a soul-sucking seductress. Or death and pass the succubus baton to my sweet little daughter. There was no choice. Welcome to hell on earth, Lilith. Mother, teacher, wanton she-demon.
Straight to Hell
is published by Carina UK (the digital imprint of Harlequin), and is
available at the Kindle Store.
The soulless are always hungry.
Only one person understands the danger. Evander Calhoun has spent a lifetime protecting his unsuspecting neighbors from these evil spirits, but--after a nearly a century of service--the old man no longer has the strength to continue the fight.
The Soulless
is published by Mundania Press and
available at the Kindle Store.
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