His smile is brighter than a man about to face certain doom at the hands of a bloodthirsty vampire bent on stealing me away. “Want to go shopping with me?”
“For what?” I pull my shawl and hat from the hooks near the door since the sun is still up.
“I need some furniture.” He runs a finger down my arm as I step onto the porch. “My girl is not really big enough for some of my chairs, and I’d like to get her some size-appropriate ones for our home.”
Wisdom says not to bother. I’ll probably be dragged back to France, where I’ll live under Pierre's thumb for the rest of my life. While I’m here, though, I don’t want to make my wonderful giant unhappy.
“That’s very sweet.” I lock up and meet him at the truck without voicing my thoughts. He can sell the furniture when I’m gone, and I’ll keep every memory of him as a treasure.
“I was thinking we should make a phone call on our way.” Sam puts his phone in my lap.
Holding the device, I look across at him. “Who am I calling? The police already came by the house this morning, and Officer Williamson said she’d check back before her shift ended. Who else is there?”
He gives me the code to unlock the phone, and I do as he asks. I’ve hardly ever used a smartphone. When they came out and it was clear the devices were traceable, I wanted no part of them.
Turning onto the highway, he says, “Go to contacts and scroll to Ion. Dial the number.”
“You have Ion Radu’s phone number?” It comes out screechy. “Sorry, of course, you do. You said you were friends.” I scroll the contacts and find one that says Ion and hold my finger over the call button.
“Go ahead, Mari.” He chuckles.
“Isn’t it the middle of the night where he is?” My heart pounds three times, as it should for a vampire who’s about to meet a legend.
“He’s a vampire.” Sam laughs. “He’ll be awake.”
Okay, that was silly, but this is a legendary monster. You just don’t call him on a random Wednesday. I take a deep breath and push the call button. There’s a second or two where nothing happens, and I have the urge to hang up quickly so as not to disturb an icon. It starts to ring and I put it on speaker.
“Alloo, Samy.” He speaks with a refined but distinct accent, while the salutation is sunny.
“How are you, Ion, my friend?” Sam’s accent thickens with a Belgian lilt.
“I am well. You have someone with you. I hear a vampire’s heart.”
I draw a sharp breath. “My name is Mari Shepherd, though I was born Maria Ciobanu, Mr. Radu.”
“The opera singer. Yes. Nice to meet you. Why is your heart beating so much, my dear?” Ion doesn’t miss anything, even from the other side of the world, through a phone.
“It’s been a trying night, sir.” I attempt, and fail, to calm my pulse.
There’s a long pause. When Ion speaks, there’s a sure calm that is like a balm. “How can I help?”
Sam smiles. “Do you know a vampire named Pierre Brochet?”
“Miss Shepherd’s sire, if my memory serves. If you don’t mind my saying, he’s had some unfortunate behaviors over the centuries.” I can hear him tapping his finger on something wooden.
“I don’t have any ties to Pierre, other than that he made me, sir.”
“You should call me Ion, Mari. In a way, we are family. I suppose I am your six times great-grand sire.” He chuckles. “Now tell me what’s happening.”
Sam takes over the conversation and tells Ion everything that happened last night, while I consider that Ion Radu considersme family and knows exactly who I am. When the full story is told, Sam says, “Do you have any suggestions on how to deal with him?”
“That depends on the outcome you want. We both know that if you wished to remove Pierre from the world, Samy, you are capable of such things. I’m guessing that you’re calling me because that’s not your preference.”
The sigh that escapes Sam is long and filled with a lifetime of regrets. “Not if I don’t have to. I’m not like the old giants who stomped out entire villages for the fun of it.”
“I know who you are, my dear Samy…” The sentence hangs as if Ion were going to say more. “You know I will help you.”
“Thank you,oud vriend. Ik ben dankbaar.” He slips into Dutch easily.
