The Accidental Vampire (17 page)

"Yes, we do," the manager said cheerfully, then cautioned. "However, you should really try it in whatever position you normally sleep in. If you prefer to sleep on your side, for instance, it's good to try it that way. How do you normally sleep?"

Elvi grimaced. "I used to sleep on my right side in a bed, but for the last five years I've been stuck in the coff—"

"Everyone roll to your right," Victor barked, cutting her off before she could mention her casket, and she recalled that they weren't in Port Henry where everyone knew what she was. The man would think she was nuts if she started yipping about coffins and vampires.

Grimacing, Elvi rolled to her right even as the men did, and settled down on the bed with her arm under her head in place of a pillow, her eyes on the back of Alessandro's head.

"You know, this reminds me of a movie I once saw."

Edward murmured, peering down at them thoughtfully. He stood on one side of the bed, the manager on the other.

"What movie is that?" Elvi asked curiously.

"I can't recall the title, but it was x-rated."

Elvi blinked, and then flushed as she realized that she was rolling around in a bed with three men. Brilliant. Flushing, she sat up and scooted off the bed.

"She'll take this one," Victor said as he too got to his feet. He cast a scowl Edward's way once upright.

"Yes, I will." Elvi began to dig in her purse for her wallet.

"Wonderful!" The manager turned to lead the way toward the service counter where a lone woman sat waiting impatiently for them to either buy something or leave.

"Will you be taking it with you or do you need it delivered?" He asked, grabbing an invoice off the counter and beginning to write on it.

"Delivered," Elvi said at once and handed over her credit card. There was no way they were transporting it with Alessandro's little car. Unfortunately, she'd have to sleep in the coffin one more night.

"I'll need your address."

Elvi rattled off her address, her gaze slipping over her shoulder and back toward the bed. It was a beautiful bed and so comfortable… She couldn't wait to sleep in it.

"Port Henry?" the manager murmured as he handed back her credit card. "Let's see. We deliver there on Wednesdays. How's this Wednesday?"

Elvi's head whipped back with horror.

"Wednesday?" she squawked. It was a ridiculously expensive bed and for the price she was paying, Elvi had hoped to at least be able to get it the next day. She feared her voice was desperately whiney as she asked, "Can't they deliver it tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow is Sunday," he pointed out, and then added with a frown, "we don't deliver on Sunday. And we only deliver to Port Henry on Wednesdays."

Elvi stared at him nonplussed. She couldn't believe she was going to have to wait until Wednesday to sleep in a bed. She couldn't wait until Wednesday. She'd spent five years in a coffin when she needn't have. One more night, she might be able to handle. But four was asking too much.

"You'll deliver the bed tomorrow," Victor said calmly.

Elvi glanced at him in surprise, but her gaze shot back to the manager as he said, "We'll deliver the bed tomorrow."

"No," she said sharply as she realized that Victor had to be somehow controlling the man just as Alessandro had controlled the police officer and made him stop pursuing them. There was no way the sales manager had changed his tune so quickly without some incentive unless Victor had somehow made him. The fact that the woman behind the counter was gaping at the man as if he'd suddenly sprouted another head, also seemed to suggest this wasn't normal. And as badly as she wanted the bed delivered tomorrow, Elvi wasn't willing to get it this way.

Catching at Victor's arm, she hissed, "No, Victor."

"You need a bed," he said simply.

"Here you are, all set."

Elvi glanced around to see the manager holding out her copy of the invoice. "It will be there tomorrow afternoon if I have to deliver it myself. Thank you for shopping here."

"Thank you." Victor took the receipt Elvi refused to accept.

"Victor," she said grimly, but he simply turned her toward the exit.

"You can't do this," Elvi protested as he urged her out of the building.

"Relax," he murmured, steering her toward the car. "You paid for the bed and delivery."

"That's not the point," Elvi snapped, coming to a halt on the parking lot pavement and turning on him. Spotting the other men watching with fascination, she paused, and then glanced around before grabbing Victor's arm and urging him away and around the building out of sight.

Elvi made it a practice never to argue with, or berate, someone in front of others. To her mind it was embarrassing and no matter how angry she got, there was no reason to humiliate someone that way.

Pausing on the grass between the building on one side and the trees on the other, Elvi turned to face him, took a breath for patience and sought her mind for an argument to make him see what he was doing was wrong.

"It's wrong," she blurted finally.

Heaving a deep sigh, Victor shifted his stance and crossed his arms as if his patience was being tested here rather than hers.

"What's wrong about it
exactly
?" he asked. "You bought a bed, you paid for it, you paid for delivery and are getting delivery when you want. It's not like you got the bed for free or anything."

"Yes, but they don't deliver on Sundays."

"'Apparently now they do," Victor said mildly.

"No they don't," Elvi said shortly. "You—you influenced him."

He cocked one eyebrow. "Influenced him?"

Elvi made an impatient gesture. "I don't know what it is exactly you people do, but you did something, because they don't deliver on Sundays and only deliver to Port Henry on Wednesdays."

"Elvi, do you really want to wait until Wednesday for the bed?"

She scowled. "Of course not, but that's not the point."

"What
is
the point, then?" he asked growing impatient.

"You made him do something he didn't want to do," she said.

"How do you know? Maybe he really wanted to deliver it for you tomorrow. Besides, what does it matter? No one is hurt by this."

"How do you know?" Elvi shot back. "Maybe whoever he forces to deliver it tomorrow had something else he had to do and can't do now. Maybe it's his daughter's birthday and now he's going to miss it, and his wife will be upset, and it will all end in divorce. Or maybe someone he loves is in hospital and he would have visited them, but won't be able to and the person dies and he missed out on seeing that person one last time."

"Dear God," Victor muttered and shook his head with disbelief. "You think way too much."

Elvi ground her teeth together and said, "So where does it end?"

Confusion crossed over his face. "Where does what end?"

"Are you controlling me too?" she asked.

"Of course not," he waved the idea away as ridiculous.

"No? How do I know?"

"I wouldn't do that," Victor assured her firmly.

"Really? Why not? You controlled him."

"He is mortal."

Elvi stiffened. "Until five years ago I too was mortal," she pointed out coldly, and then glared. "You know what you are? You're a .. a… mortalist."

"A mortalist?" Victor echoed. "What the hell is that?"

"It's like a racist only—" Elvi's explanation died in her throat as something suddenly pierced the air in front of her face. Blinking, she stared at the feathered shaft trembling between them, and then followed it to the tip that was buried in the sign on the side of the building beside them.

"What—argh!" Elvi ended with surprise as Victor suddenly pushed her to the ground, coming down on top of her.

Covering her with his own body, he raised his head and peered around, eyes narrowed as he tried to spot the source of the arrow that had just missed them.

"Er… Victor?" Elvi pushed at his shoulder ineffectually. Finally, she gasped, "I can't breathe!"

Victor lifted himself slightly and peered down at her with concern. "Are you all right?"

"Of course. A little bruised from being thrown to the ground and jumped on maybe, but otherwise fine," Elvi said dryly. "Can we get up now?"

"No." He glanced around again.

"Why not?" she asked with real bewilderment and he turned his face to stare at her with disbelief.

"Why not? Has it escaped your attention that someone just shot an arrow at you?"

"Me?" Elvi snorted with disbelief and rolled to the side, knocking his arm out from under him and leaving him collapsing to the ground as she stood and brushed herself down. "If they were shooting at anyone, it would be you. You're the one not from around here. I've lived in this area my whole life without a problem," she pointed out, and then added, "but no one's shooting at us. Why should they? We're immortal and can't die."

Giving up on her clothes, she straightened and eyed him where he was just sitting up on the ground. Hands propped on her hips, Elvi asked, "Didn't you see the business sign next door as we drove past? It's the archery club. Obviously, someone isn't a very good aim."

Shaking her head, she turned and started back around the building.

Victor watched her go, then stood and moved to the trees lining this side of the furniture store. Peering cautiously through the branches, he eyed the lot next door. Sure enough it was an archery club, there were huge targets lined up along the back of the property. His gaze slid over the area, but there was no one there now. He presumed whoever had shot the arrow had gone back in the building.

His gaze returned to the targets, and then he turned to peer at the arrow still sticking out of the bottom corner of the large sign on the side of the furniture store. Victor shook his head. Elvi was wrong. This hadn't been an accident. The bull's-eyes were at the back of the archery property, not along the side behind the trees. Someone had shot an arrow at them.

As for Elvi's argument that they were immortal and couldn't die, it reminded him that he still had some things to explain to her, including their laws and the fact that they weren't
completely
immortal.

His gaze slid over the lot next door once more, just to be sure no one was there and he wouldn't get an arrow in the back as he left, then he turned to follow the path Elvi had taken, his mind taken up with two questions. Who had shot at them? And which of them was being shot at?

Elvi turned her gaze away from the fire the men had built on returning home from buying her bed and scowled at Victor. Not that he seemed to notice. He'd been distracted since leaving the furniture store, and hadn't seemed to take note of even one of the dirty looks she'd sent his way. That just irritated her more. He should notice she was annoyed with him and care about it, dammit!

The sound of a car engine drew her attention to the driveway in time to see Mabel park behind Alessandro's sports car. As she watched, her friend threw the car door open, leapt out, and slammed the door closed with more force than was absolutely necessary.

Elvi pursed her lips. Judging by the way Mabel stomped up the sidewalk to the deck and then into the house without even a glance in their direction, she may not be the only one annoyed with a member of the male sex tonight.

The slamming of a second car door drew her attention back to the car as DJ rushed up the sidewalk. However, when he went to follow Mabel inside, it appeared the door was locked.

He jerked at it twice, cursed, then stomped down to throw himself into one of the two empty seats by the fire with a muttered, "Women!"

"What did you do to her?" Harper asked with amusement.

"I was nice," DJ said with disgust.

Elvi bit her lip at this explanation, for some reason believing it. After a moment, she cleared her throat, and asked, "She locked the door?"

DJ didn't even glance her way as he nodded.

"I'll go unlock it," she murmured. Getting to her feet, Elvi headed for the deck. It seemed to her that the men could use a few moments alone to jolly DJ out of his morose mood.

They continued to speak in quiet tones as she crossed to the stairs leading to the sunroom. Elvi entered the house there, passing through her bedroom and out into the hall just in time to see Mabel headed for her own room.

"Mabel?" she asked, moving up the hall toward her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the gray-haired woman said with forced cheer. "Why would you ask?"

Elvi raised her eyebrows, and then said carefully, "It's just that you seemed a bit upset when you got home."

"Oh. No." Mabel gave a forced laugh as she moved into her room, leaving the door open for Elvi to follow if she wished. "What would give you that idea?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said dryly, trailing her into the room. "Maybe the way you stomped into the house without even a hello to the rest of us by the fire, then locked the door behind you so DJ couldn't enter." When Mabel's only answer was to mutter something unintelligible under her breath, Elvi said, "I thought maybe DJ had done something to upset you?"

Mabel turned with a huff. "Don't even mention the name to me. That man is the most annoying, irritating, exasperating…
man
." She said the word as if it were synonymous with poop, and then went on, "He shouldn't even be here! He wasn't invited."

"No," Elvi agreed carefully. "But—"

"Do you know he followed me around
all
day? I couldn't move for tripping over him."

"I think he likes you," Elvi blurted.

"Oh, please! Elvi, look at me." Mabel held her hands out to the side. "I'm an old woman. He's a strapping young man. He is
not
interested me."

"He isn't as young as you think," Elvi assured her, but Mabel wasn't listening, she was moving into the connecting bathroom.

Elvi followed, watching her bend to close the stopper on the tub, then pour bubble bath in and turn on the water.

Straightening then, Mabel wheeled and continued her rant, "That boy's forever reaching up to grab this for me or hurrying to lift that for me like I'm some useless old woman," she said with disgust, then cried unhappily, "And why does he wear such tight jeans?"