Guardian's Hope Read Free Page A

he stared at her without greeting.
    “Uh, I’ll have a coffee, please.” Hope spoke
hesitantly. The bartenders at the other places had all been
polite.
    “This is a bar, lady. If you want a cup of
coffee, there’s a diner up the street.” He continued to stare.
    “Um, well, no tea either I suppose?”
    “Iced tea.”
    “Oh, that would be fine.”
    The bartender nodded and walked away. She had
the picture ready and shoved it across the bar when he
returned.
    “I’m looking for this woman. Have you seen
her?”
    The bartender’s eyes never left her face.
“No.”
    “Please,” Hope begged. “I need to find her.
This picture’s a few years old. She’s probably changed a lot since
it was taken, but if you’ll just look, you might recognize her.”
She sipped her tea and waited.
    The bartender’s eyes dropped to the picture
and something flashed across his face but it was gone before she
was sure it was there. He looked up with the same blank stare.
“No.”
    “I need two apple martinis, a margarita rocks
and a house white. Whatcha got there, honey?” A waitress standing
behind her reached over to pass her empty tray to the bartender and
picked up the picture. “You looking for her?” the woman asked and
when Hope nodded, “She doesn’t look like she belongs here, does
she? ‘Course you don’t either so you never know, do you? You gonna
be here for a while? I could ask the other girls.” She looked up at
the glaring bartender and curled her lip. “Don’t get your shorts in
a twist. I won’t bug the customers and I won’t stop the girls from
doing the job. You got those drinks yet? ‘Cause I’m waiting here.”
She looked back at Hope and smiled. “Can you wait? Won’t do to piss
off Prince Charming there. It may take a while.”
    “Yes. I can wait as long as you need me
to.”
    When the bartender returned with the tray of
drinks, the waitress curled her lip again. “Get her another tea and
don’t be givin’ her a hard time,” and in an aside to Hope, “As long
as you keep ordering, he can’t throw you out.”
    The tea was tasty, darker and more flavorful
than the tea they made at home. She liked it. Mindful of the
waitress’ warning, when the second glass was empty, she ordered a
third.
    “What kind of tea is this?” she asked when
the bartender brought her the refill.
    He looked at her as if she was stupid. “Long
Island,” he said and walked away.
    By the time she finished the third glass, she
needed to visit the ladies room. She slid from the stool, lost her
balance and landed in the arms of a black caped, pale faced
vampire.
    “Ah, the lady wants to dance,” he cried and
pulled her out onto the floor.
    She tried to push away from him and had them
both lurching into another couple. She tried to right herself but
her balance was off. Her legs wouldn’t move in the direction she
sent them. The room began to spin. Someone grabbed her and just as
quickly pushed her away. Everyone was laughing and she couldn’t
catch her breath. Hands were touching her everywhere and she
started to cry.
    *****
    Nico was not happy. Playing search and rescue
for a couple of fledglings that didn’t know enough to come home was
not his idea of a night off. He normally enjoyed a night out and
bars or lounges were open in the middle of the night when most
other forms of entertainment were closed. However, his idea of a
relaxing evening was the polar opposite of the twins. He’d checked
their normal hangouts starting with the two rock venues and moving
on to two country western bars complete with mechanical bulls. The
heavy metal place had made him snarl and while he easily understood
the words of the rappers at the next place, he didn’t understand
its meaning and didn’t really care. Bloodsucker’s was in a class by
itself.
    There was probably a vampire bar in every
major city in the world and like this one, a few smaller cities as
well. Humans found vampires fascinating and some carried