Real Vampires: Glory Does Vegas Read online

  REAL VAMPIRES: GLORY DOES VEGAS

  Gerry Bartlett

  Dragon Lady Publishing

  REAL VAMPIRES: GLORY DOES VEGAS

  Copyright © 2021 by Gerry Bartlett

  Dragon Lady Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design & Interior Format by The Killion Group, Inc.

  This book is dedicated to all the loyal readers who started the Real Vampires series with me in 2007 when Real Vampires Have Curves first hit shelves, yes, bookshelves in stores. This prequel set in Las Vegas tells the story of what happened just before Gloriana headed to Austin, Texas and her new life there. So pretend with me that it’s 2005. Remember that year? I can’t believe that’s when I started writing the series and sold the first Real Vampires book to Berkley Publishing. I hope you enjoy this new journey. There have been other prequels and a total of seventeen other books in this series. I can’t believe Glory Does Vegas is number eighteen! Thanks for refusing to let Glory die!

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  About the Author

  Also by Gerry Bartlett

  1

  “ I got fired from another one, Valdez.” I tried to slam the glass door but it gently glided shut. Just like everything in Las Vegas, it was customer friendly. “If I don’t find something soon, we’ll be living in the car again.”

  “What did you do this time?” Valdez hopped into the passenger seat. He winced when I did slam the car door. “Really? Did you have to do that? You almost caught my tail.” He studied it for injury. “Jeez, Glory, I didn’t do anything.”

  “You didn’t help. Lying on the sidewalk, staring inside like you were starving.” I turned the key, pumping the gas until the engine caught. It was acting up and that was all I needed—car trouble.

  “I am starving. You forgot to feed me when you started your shift.” He added a soulful look in case I didn’t believe him. “Gloriana St. Clair, arrested for animal cruelty. Oops, make that Gloria Simpson this week.”

  “Give me a break. Are you telling me you didn’t eat while I was sleeping?” I’m a vampire. It’s summer and I’m dead for the long, long daylight hours. This guy’s a shape-shifter stuck in a cute Labradoodle’s body. He’s supposed to be my bodyguard, but he can certainly manage to feed himself while watching over me. It’s not like I lock up the snacks.

  “Have you looked in the pantry lately, woman? Or how about the fridge? A mouse would starve.” He lay on the seat with a sigh. “Thanks to your run-ins with the master, my contract says I’m stuck in this dog body. So how am I going to get to the local Stop and Shop? Huh? If some of the folks at the diner didn’t take pity and slip me a piece of bacon from time to time, I’d fade away.”

  “Jeremiah is being unreasonable. But then, what’s new?” I checked my side mirror and eased into traffic. I felt like crying. It had been hard enough finding the job as a waitress, but to lose it so fast… That’s my life. I have few marketable skills, thanks to being a four-hundred-year-old woman in a body that looks twenty-one. I just don’t get computers and, honestly, don’t want to understand technology. What education I have has been sketchy at best. I learn on the job, you could say.

  I like things the old-fashioned way. On paper. But that hadn’t been why I’d been fired. No, it was the handsy boss who’d wanted to get personal in the break room. I’d said “No” and here we were. I could file a complaint with someone official but then they might take a hard look at my papers. I’d gotten the social security card, driver’s license and birth certificate from a member of the vampire network in my new name. It had cost me my savings. I sure couldn’t afford to burn through another one if it proved less than perfect. I swear the next one I got, I was going back to Gloriana St. Clair, the first name I could remember, long story.

  “You’re awfully quiet. What did that asshole do?” Valdez sat up. “Go back. I’ll show him how to treat you.”

  “Forget it. He also needed me to work a day shift. I couldn’t do it. You know how it goes.” I sighed and turned into the parking lot of the apartment complex where I’d been lucky enough to find a place with a roommate who also worked nights. She wasn’t thrilled about the dog, but as long as I paid my share of the rent, she put up with Valdez.

  Jeremiah, who now called himself Jeremy Blade, is my sire. You know, in the vampire world, he’s the one who turned me vampire. I was so in love with him back then that I asked him to do it. I’m not sorry. Hey, I’ve lived through some pretty amazing years. Some not so amazing, like two world wars, but I survived them. Our relationship got rocky and I finally insisted we take a break. He insisted I take a bodyguard with me.

  He meant well, I know that, but how can I have a life, a real life with dating and maybe a serious relationship, if I’m saddled with a bodyguard? My guards used to be hot guys from the Valdez family. It just happened in the beginning and I liked it that way, at first. But when I went out on my own, I realized the man was a liability and put my foot down. Jerry insisted and it was definitely reassuring, having someone watch out for me during my death sleep each day. You know, vampires literally die from sunrise to sunset. We finally figured out that the shape-shifters could stay with me but in another form. What form? Why not man’s best friend?

  This Valdez had shown up a year ago as a black Labradoodle. He’s cute and cuddly-looking. But don’t be fooled. He can take off an arm with those sharp teeth. He also comes with an attitude. I actually enjoy our banter. At least he makes me feel safe. There’s nothing scarier than lying down for your death sleep in a strange place without protection. Valdez takes that part of his job seriously.

  He talks to me when we’re alone. Out loud. Yes, it’s pretty freaky to see a dog talk. When other people are around, he sends me messages in my mind. I answer that way too. Yes, whole conversations go on and the mortals around us have no idea. The V-man is good at playing the dumb dog. But he’s anything but dumb.

  I opened the apartment door and walked in on an argument. My roommate screamed at her boyfriend while he gripped her arm in a very unfriendly way.

  Valdez growled and showed his teeth.

  “You’d better let go of her, Sid. My dog is trained to attack any man who hurts a woman.” I dropped my purse on the sagging couch. I didn’t tell the guy that I was trained too. I could break his arm with a kick placed just right.

  I moved closer. “I mean it, let her go.”

  “Since when is this your business?” He did release her and eyed Valdez. He didn’t seem concerned about me. Big mistake. “Misty is supposed to be at the Velvet Slipper and she won’t go. What do you think about that?”

  I studied Misty, who had tears ruining her mascara. “I thi
nk that’s up to Misty. I’ll give her a ride if she decides to go. Take off.” I threw open the door. Valdez growled and moved in on him.

  “Fine. Whatever. Maybe she don’t need the paycheck.” He detoured around Valdez and stormed out of the apartment.

  “Thanks, Gloria.” Misty took the tissue I handed her. “He’s too rough. But he’s wrong. I do need the paycheck. Let me fix my face and then I’ll take that ride.”

  “Wait.” I put my hand on her arm. “Why wouldn’t you go with him?”

  “Business has been bad so the Velvet Slipper decided to go topless tonight. Put our flyers and everything. I don’t want to do it.” She sniffled and dabbed under her eyes. “What would my mama say?”

  “That she’s got the tits for it.” Valdez stared at her.

  I glared at him, glad Misty couldn’t hear him. He’s a typical male but he was right. Misty has a great figure. She’s a dancer at the showroom and has long legs as well as that shapely upper body.

  “Are they giving you a bonus for dancing topless?” That seemed only right to me.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t ask. But rent’s coming due. You got your part?” She glanced at the clock. “You’re home early.”

  “Fired. The boss wanted his own bonus, if you know what I mean. I’m not putting out for a lousy waitress job in a coffee shop. The tips were horrible. That dump was where the people who lost money in the casinos came to sober up.” I sat on the couch. “I may have to move out at the end of the month. I’ve slept in my car before.”

  “Oh, wow. If you move out then I’m stuck. Come with me. Maybe they’ll have an opening at the Slipper.” She looked me over. “You willing to do the topless gig?”

  “The master would stroke out if you did.” Valdez hopped up on the couch, all ears. “Not that you don’t have…” He gave me a doggy grin.

  I ignored that. Yes, I had an impressive bust line. Too bad I had the hips to match. “I don’t know. I’ve danced before, but I’m not tall like you are. That’s usually the deal breaker in Vegas. I tried the showrooms when I first got here. It was clear to me that my five foot five was too short for a class act.”

  “I’m sorry, Gloria, but you’re right.” Misty was almost six feet tall.

  “Yeah, add the headdress and you can see the dancers from the back row of the balcony. Me? I’m lost in the crowd.”

  “You’re right. They like ̕̕em tall. But you could waitress. You said that’s what you were doing before. Tips for the cocktail waitresses are pretty good.” She pulled out her compact and went to work on her makeup. “But they might want them topless too. The place has become pretty sleezy. It’s not on the Strip so Dominic had to do something to pull in the crowds.”

  “Why don’t you go somewhere else, Misty?” I stayed well away from her mirror. If a mortal realizes you don’t reflect? Well, then you have to mesmerize them and make them forget the whole thing. What a pain.

  “You have to be a really good dancer to make it on the Strip. I thought I was okay at the Velvet Slipper. Then there are the casinos. I… well, never mind.” Her eyes filled again and she sniffed. “Damn it, I can’t cry!”

  “What about the casinos?” This was interesting. The casinos are everything in Vegas.

  “That’s my business.” She waved a hand around the apartment. “I have to get up my nerve and try the topless gig. I’ll ask for a bonus. This isn’t a great apartment and I’ve been dancing in Vegas for five years. I should be able to afford better. You think I want to live like this?”

  I looked around. Okay, so it wasn’t the Ritz-Carlton. The apartment was small but had two bedrooms and the roof didn’t leak, not much of a factor in the desert. I’d stayed in much worse. It did look like she’d furnished it with pieces she’d found on the curb. I saw Valdez scratch. Fleas. Well, that was a problem. My bed probably wasn’t comfortable but since I died once I was on it, I didn’t complain. Misty hadn’t asked any questions when I’d answered her ad for a roommate in the Free Press, that was all I’d cared about.

  “This place is fine. If you’ve changed your mind, I’d love to try for the waitress job there. Are you sure you’re willing to dance topless?”

  Misty bit her lip. “What choice do I have? Like I said, rent’s due.” She took a deep breath that made Valdez’s eyes pop. “Let’s go.”

  “Good. I can waitress or tend bar. Topless?” I looked down at my t-shirt. Andy’s Pancake Heaven. I’d stolen it. Too bad. It strained over my double D’s. Was I willing to show them off for real? If it meant staying here in air-conditioned comfort instead of the summer heat of my car, you’d better believe it.

  2

  M isty was right. The Velvet Slipper was off the famous Strip, way off it. Making the dancers topless was obviously a last-ditch effort to keep the club afloat. It had flashing neon signs and a cute purple slipper above the door. A workman was on a ladder, just finishing adding “Topless” to the sign when we parked in front.

  “Misty, go around back, you know the drill.” A man watching the sign maker chewed on his cigar and glared at her.

  “I was hoping to catch you, Manny. This is my roommate, Gloria. She needs a job.” Misty tucked in my t-shirt. “Cocktail waitress. What do you think?”

  Manny took his cigar out of his mouth and looked me over. Here we go again. He zeroed in on the one requirement here. The sign maker up on a ladder stopped what he was doing and looked too.

  “Nice jugs. Hire her, Manny. Waitresses going to be topless too?” Ladder guy chuckled. “Blondie, you can bring me my scotch on the rocks, any time.”

  “When can you start?” Manny dropped his cigar on the ground when Valdez moved in. “What the fuck is this? You come with a dog? Leave him at home.”

  “He goes where I go. He can wait in the break room.” I smiled at Manny. “You didn’t answer Mr. Smooth on the ladder. Are the waitresses topless?”

  “One thing at a time. Bikini tops tonight. Let the dancers start it. We’ll see how it goes. Uniforms are skimpy, but you’ll be okay. I got all sizes. I lost one to the Strip last night, damned casinos.” He frowned at Valdez, who looked up at him with a friendly tail wag. “Shit, the girls are goin’ to love this pooch. I don’t mind dogs myself as long as he stays away from the kitchen. Health inspector would have a fit.”

  “Right, got it. I can start tonight.” I had to admit, I was relieved I wasn’t going to have to show off my “jugs” just yet. I was pretty sure that bikini top was going to be tiny, but I could deal with it if the tips were big enough. A job!

  “We’ll fill out paperwork later. Like I said, I need someone now.” Manny looked me over again. “You got experience, I hope.”

  “Sure, food and cocktail. Thanks. I’ll move the car around back. What time do we open?” I scanned the empty parking lot. It was almost nine and most places like this had at least a few customers by now.

  “We’re already open for cocktails. Show’s at eleven. Go on and get settled. Mae will get you fitted and show you around. Misty, I’m sorry to spring this on you, honey. The topless thing. You okay?” Manny took her elbow and walked her inside. “Where’s that asshole Sid?”

  I watched them disappear inside. Interesting the way Manny leaned in, showed concern for my roomie. I held the car door for Valdez then started the engine again. A light came on that I ignored. Check engine. Yeah, right. When bats fly out of my butt.

  Vampires and bats. That’s a cliché. I’m not interested in lurking in dark alleys with a Dracula cape. I’m into blending with everyone else who might be blonde and blue-eyed. The only difference is my liquid diet and allergy to the sun. I needed some cash fast so I could pay rent and buy some of the synthetic blood available on the vamp black market. It was pricey so the tips here had better be good.

  “Looks like your new boss may have a thing for Misty.” Valdez hung his head out the window as I drove around the building. “Hope he’s better than that asshole Sid.”

  Anyone would be better than that jerk.” I sighe
d. “At least I got the job. Manny was cool about having you around. This looks promising.”

  “Sure. No customers. You’re so far off the Vegas Strip you’re practically lost in the desert, but, yeah, real promising.” Valdez chuffed when I finally parked next to a slick looking Jaguar. “Someone here has figured out a way to make some money.”

  “If Jeremiah had his way, I’d be driving something like that and living with him in the lap of luxury.” I took a moment to think about that. Why didn’t I give in and go back to him? That lap of luxury these days was somewhere in Louisiana. He’d built hotels and then casinos after we’d come to the United States back when it was still little more than colonies. It had been an adventure then, arriving in one of his ships. But he’d never lost his urge to control me. And I’d never lost my need to be independent. Sigh.

  “Are we going to bake our brains in this hot car while you stroll down memory lane? Or can we go inside and see what tiny outfit they plan to make you wear to serve drinks here?” Valdez scratched at the car door. “I can’t tell you how much I hate not having opposable thumbs.”

  “Yes, I know. You’ve said that a few hundred times.” I opened the car door, almost knocked down when he leaped out over me. He ran behind a bush. Being in a dog body made him have to do his business just like a dog. No wonder he hated it. He trotted back and stood next to me, daring me to say something. I didn’t. I just grabbed my purse. Another new job. I dreaded it.

  But Mae Chen was a dynamo who didn’t care that my papers were surprisingly new looking. Yes, this round I was Gloria Simpson, age 22, from Bakersfield, California. I prayed no one asked me any questions about Bakersfield. But I was ready. My mother had me in that town then moved on. No, never had been back. Didn’t know a thing about it. Mae didn’t ask anything. Except my bra size. Then she whipped out a rhinestone trimmed bikini top and matching short shorts.