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start to retch.
Darryl laughs.
Bradley s puzzled voice seems very far away. What the hell did you do? God,
the smell in here is awful. Open a window.
Oh no, Darryl says. Couldn t do that. Anna would like it. And for once,
Anna is not going to get what she wants.
Bradley moves into my line of sight. He s looking at me, confusion casting a
shadow on his face. Is she allergic to garlic? How would you know that? I
don t get this, Darryl.
Darryl comes close, grabs my arm, and flings me toward the couch. I land on
my side, fighting to clear my head, still retching.
Darryl sits on the ottoman facing me. I m going to tell you what s wrong
with Anna, he says. He s watching me as he directs his words to Bradley.
She s a vampire.
Bradley laughs. Yeah.Right. Whatever you ve been smoking, I d like a hit.
I m serious, Darryl says. He reaches out a hand and smoothes a lock of my
hair away from my face, as if to get a better view.
I snarl and snap at the hand, but he s too fast. I m snapping at air. It
takes all the strength I can muster to get a few words out. I m going to kill
you.
He raises an eyebrow. Yeah? Well, then, go for it. I m right here.
Bradley s voice cuts in. Whatever delusions you two share, I ll leave you to
them. I m out of here. You ve got the computer. I ve got to get back to my
partner and the Chief.
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Darryl never takes his eyes from mine. You goingto take care of that other
little problem?
As soon as I can find her.That girl seems to have vanished off the face of
the Earth. But I ll stay on Frey. He s the key. I m sure of it.
Bradley leans down so that his eyes lock onto mine. Are you going to need a
trash pickup? His expression makes it clear who the trash is. We don t
want to make the same mistake we made with Carolyn.
Darryl grins. I told you, Anna s a vampire.Won t be anything left but a pile
of dust.
Bradley exhales with a huff. Whatever. He straightens up. Well, Anna, it s
been a pleasure. I ll let Darryl answer any questions you may have about our
partnership. I have a feeling he ll be eager to share. You ve made quite an
impression on him.
He starts toward the front door and I realize my only hope is to follow him
outside. If I don t get out of this room now, while I can muster a rational
thought, I ll be at Darryl s mercy.
But Darryl seems to be anticipating what I ll try to do. He reaches out an
arm and just the mere pressure of his hand on my shoulder keeps me from
moving. He remains like that until we hear the door shut behind Bradley. Then
he lets the arm drop.
You don t want to go until you ve heard the story, do you? he says.
Tell me. I can barely form the words. About Carolyn.
He shrugs. We wanted to know where Trish was. She wouldn t tell us. She gave
you up, though. She didn t like you very much.
He reaches behind, to the coffee table where he s placed the computer, and
pulls it onto his lap. He opens it, powers it up, and from the audio, I know
it s one of Trish s videos that he s watching.
His eyes are riveted on the screen, and lust, like oily sweat, glistens on
his face. When it s over, he closes his eyes and smiles.
She s great, isn t she?So young.So pretty. She s not old enough to
understand that the way her body responds is a natural thing beyond her
control. She feels shame. Well, that will change. We ll have to take her to
the next step. Her fans are growing impatient. The video of her deflowering
will bring big bucks. I m thinking of participating in that one myself. The
spanking is a new twist. We can milk that for awhile.
He talks as if to himself. My gut twists with rage. I have to get out of
here.
Darryl continues, lost in the swampland of his own thoughts. My dad started
this business.Years ago when we lived inBoston . Of course, then there was
more risk involved. You actually had to get out there and find the talent.
That was my dad s downfall. In fact, it was how I came to know Bradley and
Donovan. They arrested my dad. Couldn t do anything for him, but when Bradley
saw the money we were making& Well, let s just say he underwent an attitude
adjustment.
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He gets up from the ottoman and moves to a chair opposite me. It was
Bradley s suggestion I move west. He made sure I wasn t indicted with my
father, for a price, of course, and a cut of any future business. I had some
money the Feds didn t find, so I bought this place and a few apartment houses
in areas I thought might prove fertile hunting ground. I was right. Carolyn
Delaney moved in with her daughter. She had lousy taste in men, and she had
expensive habits. She was always behind in the rent, always short of money.
And she had a kid. In short, she was perfect. We d fuck once in awhile for
credit. But Trish was the real reason I hung around.
As he talks, I take mental stock of my condition. Now that he s moved to the
other side of the room, my head seems to be clearing. He must have ingested a
shit load of garlic. It s impregnated his system and exudes through his pores
with such intensity, his touch renders me immobile. The garlic cloves on the
wreaths in front of me are not peeled, however, which blunts their potency.At
least a little.
I shift, raising my head and drawing my legs up, testing my range of
movement. He sees it and wags a finger.
Don t try to get up. You won t make it. He reaches behind the chair and
pulls out a three-foot length of some dark wood that s been chiseled to a
point at one end. I don t want to rush this, but I will if I have to.
I nod. My best chance is to keep him talking long enough to gather strength.
I can t fight him, but if I can make it outside, I can get away.
How does Frey figure into all this? I ask, letting my head fall back onto
the couch.
He nods approvingly and places the stake at his feet. Frey had a hard-on for
my father. It started inBoston when Dad enlisted one of his students to star
in a specialty video. Much like the one we envision for Trish. But the girl
got a streak of conscience afterwards and attempted to kill herself.
He waves a hand. Such a waste. Anyway, one of her friends went to Frey and he
set the Feds on us. But he was too clever. He couldn t explain how he knew so
much, and he wouldn t reveal the girl s name. He came under suspicion himself.
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