“Maybe not at the time, but it wound up being important. So I’m going to give you some advice.”

All right then. Advice from Uncle Sal is like hearing from E. F. Hutton. He talks. You listen.

“Don’t be coming down to the hospital. Bruno’d be glad to see you. Hell, Matty would, too, after that. But my sister … not so much. I’ll tell the boys you called.”

“They admitted Bruno?” I was surprised. He hadn’t been hurt. A little shocky, but I hadn’t thought he’d been that bad off.

“Exhaustion, overstraining his magic.” Sal chuckled. “I told him to stay put. He didn’t like it much. First time he’s ever really argued with me. He wants to go after the bat that did this, but he’s not up to it. Not right now.” He gave a meaningful pause. “Neither are you. Daylight or no.”

I wasn’t going to argue. He was right. Some of the really old vamps don’t need much rest at all. A couple hours and they were as fresh as a daisy. They might not go out in daylight, but you couldn’t count on them being down for the count, either. Since she was old enough to be an übervamp, she was probably up and about by now. Of course, come nightfall, she’d be looking for me. She as much as said so.

“I don’t plan on going hunting.” I was honest with him. “But she threatened me. We hurt her and killed her partner, and she blames me for that.”

“So I heard.”

I’d bet he had. I could just imagine Bruno saying it. Loudly. And it wouldn’t have made a damned bit of difference to Sal. Because, ultimately, Bruno is family. I’m not. Keeping him alive is more important to them than I am. More important to me, too, come to think of it.

Sal kept talking. “So I made a call; told Archbishop Fuentes about this bat, how she could call a priest on holy ground. He didn’t like the sound of that. Decided that maybe they should send some reinforcements in from Mexico and South America. A few dozen or so. You manage to lay low for a day or two, this could all be taken care of. ”

Whoa. When he said it like that, I realized he was right. A vamp calling an ordained priest on holy ground? That probably raised a few eyebrows at the Vatican. “Thank you.” I meant it. I mean, not everybody would’ve been able or willing to do something like that, particularly not for their nephew’s ex-girlfriend.

“You’re welcome.” He quoted my own words back at me with just a hint of amusement. “It wasn’t a big deal. Take care of yourself.”

“I’ll try.”

He said good-bye and hung up and I followed suit. For a couple of minutes I just sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the opposite wall. Wow. Um … Wow. Okay, then.

I decided I was going to strain myself if I thought too hard about it, and I was too tired to think coherently anyway. So without further ado I dropped the towel on the floor and climbed under the blankets. I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

21

Dawna said, “You are the only thing standing in her way now. She’ll kill you if she can.”

I choked. “That’s the message?” I’d called the office while waiting for Room Service to bring up my double order of tomato soup.

“Not all of it, but yes. A little old lady came by and dropped it off, along with a pair of diamond earrings. She said her name was Dottie and I needed to make sure you got the message right away, that it was very important.”

No kidding. Ya think? “When did she give it to you?”

“About a half hour ago.”

Well, it wasn’t as if the vamp hadn’t told me as much. But dammit anyway.

“She also said to tell you she was very sorry, she hoped you didn’t mind, but she showed those men your vision. They were most insistent. And they took your earrings. She couldn’t stop them. So she brought you these to replace them.” Dawna paused. “It looked like she had been crying.”

Aww. They made a sweet old lady like her cry? It had to have been Dee and Dum. So that’s how they got hold of my memories. Jerks. No, more than jerks. Assholes. “She didn’t have to replace the earrings. They weren’t that valuable.”

“I said you’d feel that way, but she insisted. And you should see these things. They’re like a carat each.”

That didn’t make me feel any better. Worse, actually. “Jeez. Yeah, well, she shouldn’t have. She’s on a fixed income, for crying out loud.”

“Well, judging from the wear and tear on the box they’re in, they may be ones she already had. But if you don’t want them—”

“Not a chance. I’m giving them back.” Poor Dottie. It really ticked me off to think of Dee and Dum intimidating that sweet little old lady. I say again, Assholes. “Did she leave a number?”

“No. She said she’d decided to go away for a while. She didn’t want to be around if anyone else came looking for her. But I was supposed to tell you it can still work out all right, but you need to be very observant and remember your schooling. Oh, and she said, ‘Thank you.’”

“For what?”

“She didn’t say.”

Since I hadn’t done anything nice yet, I had to assume it was typical clairvoyant stuff. Vicki had always been commenting on or thanking me in advance of things I was going to do. It was confusing and sometimes frustrating but part of the package. And while I would’ve liked to talk to Dottie again, if only to reassure her about the earrings, I was kind of glad she’d decided to go into hiding. I’d have felt worse than I already did if anything were to happen to her.

Dawna broke the silence that had grown while I was lost in thought. “So, spill. What’s with you and Bruno? I could feel the tension between you. Hell, even Ron commented on it.”

I didn’t see how Ron could’ve noticed anything. I mean he’d only seen Bruno and me together for maybe a minute and a half while the guys trooped upstairs.

“There’s nothing going on. He’s here for work.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Dawna.” My voice held a warning.

“Fine, fine. Whatever you say. He’s still smokin’ hot. Feel free to bring him by anytime so I can drool on him, if you’re not interested. Are you going to be in today?”

I shook my head, even though she wouldn’t see it. “Not today. It’s already after one. I’ve got to go spread some ashes, and then I have a doctor’s appointment. And I’m going to my gran’s church right after. I want to be in sanctuary before dark.” I didn’t tell Dawna that I wasn’t planning on going to the office unless it was absolutely necessary until this mess cleared up. The office and the estate were the first places the bad guys would look for me. Ergo, they were the last places I wanted to be. As long as I wasn’t there, Dawna and the others should be safe. There were wards. And Bubba and the other bail bondsmen in the building were real hard cases. Nobody’d want to bother them if they didn’t have to. Staying away was the best I could do for them. Not nearly enough, considering the company I’d been forced to keep over the past couple of days. I cringed at the thought of the severed hand of our murdered pool boy.

“Celia … are you okay?”

Apparently I’d let the silence drag on too long again. I forced a smile that I hoped she’d hear in my voice. “Just tired. It’s been a long couple of days.”

“Amen to that.”

“I’ll call in for messages.”

She sighed and I knew she realized I wasn’t coming in. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything. And be sure to eat.”

“I am, I am.” I was, too. Maybe not every four hours, but as often as I could manage. Hence the tomato soup.

We hung up on that note, and I dialed the next number on my list. Bruno answered his own phone this time, on the first ring. His “Hello” sounded irritable. Not the world’s best patient, eh? I fought down a snicker, even though I actually had some sympathy for the nurses. Dealing with the DeLuca clan was so going beyond the normal call of duty. Particularly Mama Rose. That woman is scary.

“I called ’cause I’m going to need to borrow some of your clothes. My stuff got ruined in the vampire hunt.”

“Which clothes?”

“Well, I need some trousers, a clean shirt, and a hat.”

“A hat.” He said it like he’d bit into something sour. I wasn’t surprised. In fact, I found myself grinning for the first time this morning.

“Welll …” I dragged the word out. His response was worth it. Pure Bruno DeLuca. It made me smile.

“Dammit, Celia! The only hat I’ve got there is my Mets cap. Don’t you be touching my Mets cap.”

I tried being reasonable, glad that he couldn’t see me laughing at his expense. “I don’t have any sunscreen here, Bruno. I can check down in the gift shop …” I paused for a long moment, letting my grin build. I knew the gift shop didn’t sell them. I’d already checked when I called for the soup.

He growled, but I could hear that he wasn’t serious. He was teasing, too … mostly. “I’m going to want that back before the game tomorrow night.”

“You’re going to the game?” I’d been going to ask him to come with me. I don’t trust people easily, and I probably trust Bruno more than anyone else in the world. If I was meeting the king, I wanted somebody solid by my side. But if Bruno already had plans, I didn’t want to ruin them. Trust him to get tickets that were all but impossible for anyone else to come by. Yeah, the locals were rooting for the Angels, but the world was rooting for the Cubs. I mean, come on, they hadn’t won a championship since God was a baby and dirt was new. Even the scalpers were having a hard time getting tickets.

“Bonus from the boss. Four seats, in the stands by first base. I’m bringing Sal and Joey. I was gonna take Matty, but since he’s laid up, Kevin’s coming instead.”