I tried to hide my surprise. “What condition?”
He met my eyes, capturing them in his intense silver gaze. “You must leave your old life behind.”
“What does that mean, exactly, ‘leave your old life behind’?”
“You’ve seen how dangerous it is to be a vampire. You are not the same person you were yesterday. What you once knew to be reality can be no more. Find a new place to live. Part ways with your friends and family. It’s best you have no contact with them at all anymore. Do what I ask, and you may succeed in avoiding the hunters.”
I frowned at him. “I don’t know about that. Why can’t I stay where I am and just be extra careful when I go out? What difference would it make?”
“All the difference in the world.” Thierry stood, towering over me. His forehead was creased from frowning so hard. I wondered if he ever let himself relax and have some fun. Maybe take a vacation somewhere warm and tropical. It was highly doubtful. “The life of a vampire and the life of a regular human are incompatible. It’s too dangerous.”
I shook my head. “But I feel exactly the same as I always have. Nothing’s changed.”
“Everything’s changed. You don’t feel it yet because you’re too new.”
“But—”
He held up his hand. “But nothing, Sarah. That is my condition. If you are unwilling to do as I request, then I can be of no assistance to you.”
I didn’t like that at all. My life wasn’t exactly perfect, but I wasn’t ready to give any of it up. It was comfortable and familiar. I was supposed to turn my back on it just because I had a new little substance-abuse problem in the form of pink water?
Then again, I knew I needed Thierry’s help. If I really was a vampire, then I was positive he was the one who’d be able to help me the most. Also, he was very hot. I probably wouldn’t need Thierry’s help for more than a week or two. Just long enough to learn the ropes. Then I’d find a new job and go back to life as usual. No problem. Thierry didn’t have to know that part, of course.
“I agree,” I said firmly, and gave him a big smile.
“Fine. Return here tomorrow night, and I will do what I can for you, Sarah, but I’m not promising anything.”
“Try not to sound so positive.”
He nodded with a firm motion of his head. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
And with that, he turned away and walked across the club, then disappeared through a door at the far side of the bar.
I put a hand on my hip. “Yeah, see you later, too.”
We’d have to work on the warm and fuzzy. I shook my head and stifled a laugh. I had just committed myself to being tutored by a centuries-old master vampire by giving up life as I knew it.
My mother would be so proud.
I left Midnight Eclipse feeling a little tense. Maybe more than a little. Sure, Thierry had agreed to help me out, but it didn’t solve any of my other problems. I still had no idea what to tell Amy about why I’d been fired. Should I tell her I’d been turned into a vampire? Would she still want to go on vacation with me?
Also, should I make up an excuse to get out of being in the wedding? If I did, my cousin Missy would probably find a wooden stake and kill me herself. I saw the neon flash of a bar sign across the street from the vampire club. After giving it a moment’s thought, I walked over and went inside. I had to call a cab, anyhow, so I’d just treat myself to a quick drink of the nonblood variety while I waited.
Sounded like a plan.
The bar was called Clancy’s. I’d never heard of it before. It wasn’t a high-profile kind of place. Basically, it was a bar with stools, a few high tables, more stools, and a couple of pool tables stuffed in the back. All of this fine decor was covered by a thick cloud of smoke from cigarettes and something a little less legal. I went directly to the pay phone and called for the taxi. Then I grabbed a seat at the bar.
The bartender, a hulking man who must have weighed close to three hundred pounds, took my drink order. I decided on a Bloody Mary. In the spirit of the evening, what else could I order? There was a man sitting a couple of stools away from me who was staring into his mug of dark amber beer as if it held the answers to the mysteries of the universe. He was alone. Kind of cute, actually. He wore faded jeans and a green T-shirt. His hair was dark blond and a little on the scruffy side. He had a handsome, yet vaguely boyish face. He must have sensed he had an audience because he glanced over at me with deep blue eyes.
“You look like your dog just died,” I told him. I didn’t normally talk to strange men in unknown bars, unless I had female backup. But I was only going to be there for a few minutes, and I felt chatty after the strained conversation with Thierry.
“Do I?” he said. “I guess it’s been one of those days.”
“I hear you.”
He glanced down at my chest. Normally, I’d be offended, but I was wearing the sparkly Diva shirt. It worked like an arrow that read “Look here.”
“Nice T-shirt.”
“Thanks.”
That earned me a smile from him. A great smile, but his eyes were sad.
“So what was his name?” I asked.
“Whose name?”
“Your dog. The one that died.”
He grinned at me. “No, no dog. Just family problems, I guess. Nothing terribly interesting. I figured I’d come here for a while to try to drown my troubles.” He glanced down at his beer.
“You’re going about it all wrong. To drown your sorrows, you have to use tequila. Beer only magnifies them.”
“Is that right?”
“Tried and true.”
His grin widened. He moved over to a stool closer to me. The nearer he came, the better-looking he was. Not as drop-dead gorgeous—no pun intended—as Thierry, but definitely in a highly hot category.
He extended his hand. “I’m Michael Quinn. But my friends just call me Quinn.”
I smiled back and shook his hand. “Sarah Dearly.”
Quinn got the bartender’s attention. “Two shots of tequila, please. With lime.” Then he looked back at me. “So, what’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?”
Ah, yes. There was a line that never got old. I decided to let it slide. “What makes you think that I’m nice?”
“Are you saying you’re not?”
“Oh, I am. Very nice. To the right people, that is.”
“And everyone else?”
I tried to look serious. “Not nice.”
“Good to know.”