1 Dead Girl's Guide to Style (4 page)

Monday morning came way too soon. After stumbling out of bed, I picked out my outfit of black skirt and pink blouse. I grabbed a bottle of blood and rushed out the door. I arrived at my shop with just a few minutes to spare before my meeting with Mona.

I had tried my best to
forget about the night before and my lousy date. With any luck, being at work would help. That wasn’t all that was on my mind though, not by a long shot. I assumed as the day went on that I would put Max Dupree out of my mind and that I would stop worrying whether he was okay or if the men had caught up with him again.

Max’s phone number was still tucked away in my purse. I pulled it out and looked at it, then shoved it in my desk drawer. Sure, I could always make a quick call to check on him, but I told myself
not to get involved. Calling Max would definitely make me involved. Whatever strange thing he had going on was not my problem.

Mona appeared from the dressing room. She was talking about a party, but I wasn’t listening
—she was always talking about parties, so I’d learned to tune her out. I was there to talk about her fashion choices, not which hot guy she wanted to kiss.

We were standing at the back of the shop when the door open
ed and captured our attention. I hadn’t expected to see Max again after that night, but when I saw his handsome face, I instantly smiled. I just couldn’t help myself. Leaving Mona at the dressing room, I moved toward the front of the shop. The tip-tap of her shoes let me know that Mona was following along behind me.

“I didn’t expect to see you again,” I said with a smile.

“You know him?” Mona asked from over my shoulder.

I glanced back at her. “Yes, I do.”

What difference did that make? She probably just wanted to add him to her list of hot guys to date. I didn’t think I needed to explain my association with Max any more than that. I turned to face Max again. He wore a suit today. It didn’t look as if it had been tailored for him, but the dark gray fabric still hung on his body in all the right places. Was he on his way to work? Max’s expression changed and he stared at Mona. I looked back and she was staring at him. This was awkward and I didn’t know what to do or say.

“
How do you know him?” Mona finally broke the silence.

I look
ed between them. “We met the other night. He took me to a friend’s wedding and then to a party.”

Mona frowned. Apparently, she wasn’t happy with this scenario.

I looked at Max. “I take it that you two know each other?”

The silence remained for far too long, then finally he nodded and focused on me. “Yes, I know her.”

Okay, as if the other night hadn’t been strange enough, now I had even more mystery to add to Max Dupree.

“Are you going to tell me how you know each other?” I pressed.

Neither of them looked as if they wanted to share the details of their acquaintance. Mona turned around and walked to the back of the store.

“I’m sorry I came in without calling first. I just thought I could get your help with my style.” He pointed toward the old suit.

He did need help. I wasn’t sure where he’d found the suit, and despite the fact that it fit him, I had to admit that it looked as if the suit hadn’t seen the light of day since the 1970s.

The fact that Mona and Max were just going to ignore their odd interaction was beyond strange. Nonetheless, I wasn’t going to press the issue. After all
, I reminded myself, I was trying not to get involved.

“It’s no problem. I’d be happy to help you.” I meant what I said, although after the exchange with Mona, I wasn
’t sure what else I could have said.

He moved closer with a self-assured ease. “I appreciate that.”

“I have a little questionnaire that you can fill out. It lets me know a little more about your tastes. If you’d like, we can get to work today. That’s if you don’t have other plans. Aren’t you supposed to go to work?” I asked.

He smiled. “No, I have no plans. The work schedule has changed
—I changed it. And I’d like that very much.”

I shook my head and he kept my gaze for a moment. The less I asked about his bizarre situation the better off I’d be. Why did I always attract the weird ones? Finally, I turned and went to grab the form from my desk.

When I turned back around, Max was gone. I looked around the room, but saw no sign of him.

As
I glanced at Mona, she had a smug smile on her face.

“Do you know where he went?” I asked.

She shrugged. “No, I have no idea.”

I ran over to the window to see if I could spot Max. Looking up and down both sides of the street, he was nowhere in sight. Why would he run away like that? Did it have something to do with Mona? They certainly were acting strange around each other. I was about to turn around to ask Mona when I spotted them—Dean and Jared from the other night were headed down the sidewalk. I knew they were following Max. That was probably why he had taken off. I was glad that they hadn
’t come into the shop, but more importantly I hoped they didn’t find Max.

I couldn
’t help but feel sorry for Max. He kind of seemed lost. Yeah, I was the type to take in every stray animal. Not that he was a stray… well, more like a stray vampire, but someone needed to help him. But was it really going to be me? What could I do for him? I couldn’t make the men stop following him. Not if I didn’t know exactly who they were. Like I said earlier, I really shouldn’t get involved. I didn’t need any trouble in my life. I’d had my share and didn’t want any more problems.

For a moment, I was lost in my thoughts and I’d forgotten about Mona. When I turned around I found her standing so close that I could see the tiny freckles on her nose. I moved back a couple steps.

“Oh, I didn’t hear you walk up.” I met her stare.

Mona had an undeniabl
y creepy quality. Her ability to sneak up on people was unnerving, but I thought she found pleasure in that fact.

She glared at me for a moment and then smiled. “That’s okay. I can see that you were lost in thought. I have to go now, so I’ll call you and set up another appointment.”

“Wait, I need to ask you questions about Max,” I said as she hurried out the door.

“I’ll call you,” she said over her shoulder.

She didn’t give me a chance to respond. Within seconds, she had turned the corner and was out of sight. There was one thing I had to do—I had to find Max. Sure, I said that I had too much trouble in life already, so technically, I shouldn’t go after Max. But sometimes I did stupid things. Who didn’t make bad decisions once in a while, right?

I would have to follow Dean and Jared to see if they led me to him. If they caught me, I would be in big trouble. How would I fight off two vampires? Two against one was never a good situation to be in.

I closed up the shop and headed down the sidewalk. Within a couple minutes, I’d caught up with the men. They didn’t seem to sense that I was back there or if they did, they didn’t let it be known. Maybe that was part of their plan.

The historic district was full of different architecture—Federal, Greek, Gothic Revival, and Italianate to name a few.
Moss-draped oaks lined the cobblestone streets and mansions were so grand that they seemed to take on a personality of their own. I garnered strange looks from pedestrians as I weaved through the streets, trying to keep up with the men. Keeping up with them was proving to be extremely difficult, and when they turned the corner, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to find them. I hurried as fast as I could, but they were out of sight. After rushing to the end of the street, I failed to locate the men. It was no use, they were gone. I didn’t know what I would do now. How would I find Max?

My luck had just turned around though
, because I spotted Max up ahead.

I could have called out to Max, but I decided to see where he was headed and if I could figure out a little more about this mystery man, Max Dupree. He didn
’t act as if he knew I was back there. I wondered if he really knew the men had been following him? They had obviously missed him, because if not they would still be back there. It seemed like it was his lucky day.

Maybe they were just wondering why he wasn’t at work today. I was kind of wondering that myself. He’d said the schedule had changed. I guess when you
were the boss you could do that. I hurried my steps and got close to him. He was still clueless that I was behind him. That was the way that I wanted it.

We made it to the edge of town when Max stopped in front of a white mansion. I paused and waited to see what he was going to do. When he turned his head and looked over his shoulder, I stepped to the side. Maybe he sensed that I was back there, but I didn
’t think that he’d seen me. When I moved back out again from behind the cover of the building, he was gone. Why did he keep doing that? Where had he gone this time? I stepped down the sidewalk and stopped in front of the mansion’s gate. Did he know someone who lived there? The gate was locked, so I didn’t think that he had gone in there.

I inched closer to the wrought
-iron gate and peered in. The house looked creepy with its darkened windows and closed shutters. The plantation was right in town. The place had been through a lot since I'd arrived in town. As far as I knew a man owned the place, but I wasn’t sure who had told me that. Heck, maybe it was abandoned. I’d never seen anyone at the house.

Max had probably just been checking the place out. It looked as if I had lost him for good this time. I might as well go back to the shop and give up for the day.

Movement sounded from behind me so I whipped around. Max was standing behind me. At first I couldn’t read his expression. Was he mad at me?

“So now you’re following me.” A grin quirked his sensual lips.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. Did you know that I was behind you the whole time?” I asked.

“You were behind me the whole time?” he asked.

“Well, yeah, I thought that was what you meant.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

“How long did you follow me?” he asked.

“I was behind you since you left my shop in such a hurry. Didn’t you know that Dean and Jared were behind you?” I looked over my shoulder to see if they’d reappeared.

The strong line of his chin tightened. “I knew they were there.”

Then he had to have known that I was back there too. Why hadn’t he said something?

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He looked over the gate at the house. “This is my home,” he said with a tilt of his head.

I glanced from him to the house and back again. “Oh, I didn’t realize.” I stepped away from the gate so that he could enter.

He looked from me to the house. “I don’t actually live here.”

I frowned. “Why not?”

“The home was mine when I was turned. I’ve tried to get it back, but I’m not having much luck.”

That was a problem that many vampires had. Usually it was descendants who didn’t want to turn over the property when the vampires popped back up. At least he’d gotten his company back though.

“Who’s living here?” I asked.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and avoided my stare.

“Aren’t you going to answer my question?” I stepped closer so that he would have to look at me.

Finally, he glanced at me. “The person who turned me is living there.”

I paused and let his comment sink in.

“So it’s not a relative?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. It’s another vampire.”

“There has to be a way to get the place back. I don’t have a ton of knowledge about vampires and property, but I’m sure there has to be something you can do.”

“That is kind of you to offer, but I can’t let you get involved,” he said.

I hadn’t owned a home when I
’d been turned, so there had been nothing to take. Like I said, I’d been living with my parents. Of course we’d all been turned at the same time by the same unknown vampire. In a way I was glad that it had happened. I’d finally been able to get away from my father’s watchful eye.

“The person who turned you just took the house after you were gone?” I asked.

He nodded.

Apparently, that was the way it usually worked, although most of the time the court would return the home to the rightful owner.

“Have you spoken with anyone about getting the house back yet? You should march up there and tell the person to get out.” I gestured toward the house.

That was of course unless the circumstances in which he was turned had been bad
, and it was looking more and more like that was the case.

He shook his head. “No, I haven’t told the person yet.”

I needed to know who this vampire was. Maybe by some weird coincidence I would know them.

“Maybe if you told me who turned you I could help you.” I searched his expression, but he didn’t look as if he was anywhere close to giving that information.

He shook his head. “It’s not the right time.”

That was an odd answer, but I didn’t know Max well and he obviously didn’t want to tell me. Why was he being so secretive about it? I mean, what did I care who turned him
? I was being nosey and he probably sensed that.

I wondered what else he sensed about me. He stared at me with his big brown eyes as if he was reading my mind. I wasn’t getting anywhere with this strange conversation.

It had been a long time since he had been turned and I wondered if his memories of the event were still vivid. My turning was just as clear as the night it had happened. Noise had startled me in the wee hours on that stormy night. The next thing I knew my vampire attacker was in my room and had bitten my neck.

Maybe Max didn’t remember who had turned him and he just didn’t want to admit it. He could at least give me a little bit of a hint. Was it a man or a woman?

“Have you seen the person since you returned? Does this person know that you are back?” I asked. Maybe I asked too many questions, but I couldn’t help myself.

He nodded. “Yes, they are aware now.”

He wasn’t saying much and I sensed he wanted me to drop the subject.

Before I had time to steer the conversation, he said, “I was turned inside the house.”

I was surprised that he’d made the statement.

“How were you turned?” I asked. “What were the circumstances?”

I knew it could be a traumatic experience and not everyone wanted to talk about it. Since I had been turned by an unknown attacker, I had questions that would probably never be answered.

He ran his hand through his hair. “It was a friend. Or I thought it was a friend
since this person had been so kind. We were talking and the next thing I knew I was being attacked. Then I woke up years later,” he said.

“Wow, you have adjusted remarkably well considering how it happened and the amount of time you’ve been back.”

“I had no choice,” he said.

“No, I guess you didn
’t,” I said softly.

“What about you? Who turned you?” he asked.

“Unknown attacker. It happened fast and they got my parents too,” I said.

He nodded. “Sorry.”

I shrugged. “Thanks.”

We peered at the house again as we stood in silence. I watched for any sign of movement, but the place almost looked abandoned.

Max faced me again. “I have to prove that the home is mine and get it back.”

“I agree. You can
’t just let this person take what’s yours. After all, they knew that you would be back.” I paused and looked at the front of the house. “What would happen if I went up to the door and demanded that you get the home back?”

His expression darkened. “I don
’t think the person would like it much. I think you’d have a fight on your hands.”

I contemplated this. Yeah, I wasn
’t really the fighting type. I would if I had to, but who wanted to go to that much trouble? Besides, it would mess up my hair.

I knew I shouldn
’t get involved in this, but I felt sorry for him again. Maybe I would regret it, but I’d try to help him. I wasn’t sure what I could do, but I’d at least make an attempt.

“I can help you,” I offered.

“How can you do that?” he asked.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Well, I don
’t have a plan yet, but I’ll let you know.”

He smiled. “I appreciate the offer, but I can
’t let you get involved. It could be dangerous.”

It wasn’t like he had an option. I would do what I wanted.

I glanced at my watch. “I’d stay and help now, but I have an appointment. We can meet later and discuss this more.”

“You don’t take no for an answer, do you?” he said.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Well, if I thought you really meant it I might, but I think you need my help.”

He grinned. “I appreciate it.”

I nodded. “I’ll give you a call and we can meet, okay?”

He smiled. “That sound
s good. Thank you.”

I waved over my shoulder as I walked away. “I’ll see you later.”

I hoped Dean and Jared didn’t catch up to him. But I couldn’t protect him. That was something he’d have to do on his own. The poor guy just needed a bit more vacation time before he got back to work at his company. They needed to give him a little space.