The Wrath of Pan (The Inglewood Chronicles Book 2) Read Free

screen.
    “Victor, this is horrifying!  How did the smell not overwhelm you?”
    Smiling, “I’ve been practicing that new age meditation crap.  It actually seems to be working.”
    “And you did not believe me!”  Yeah, the meditation had been her idea.
    Believe it or not, over the years I had trained myself as best I could to keep my senses under control in certain situations.  Liz had seen my struggles firsthand a few times and when we got to Phoenix recommended meditation.  At first I passed it off as hippie crap, but even I couldn’t deny the results after a few sessions.
    “It’s not that I didn’t believe you, as you probably invented meditation, I just thought it was weird.”
    The evil eye made its daily appearance.  “Just because I’m over a thousand years old does not mean I invented everything!”
    Were age related jokes mean?  Yes, yes they were.  But I also knew it drove her nuts that she had fallen for someone like me, especially when most vampires at her age tended to have ‘partners’ of equal age.
    Not wanting to push it much further, I admitted, “I know and I’m really lucky to have you in my life.”
    It took a second, but the death stare went away, replaced by a smile.  “As am I Victor.  You certainly have brought a different energy back to all of us here.”
    “Well, let’s use this energy to find Vincente Divas and put an end to his crazy schemes.”
     

Chapter 3
     
    I’d fallen asleep on my couch.  I was so tired when I got back to my apartment that I crashed hard.  I looked over at the clock on the wall and saw it was four-thirty in the afternoon.  Working for a vampire really messes with your sleeping cycle.
    The smell of fresh coffee is what actually woke me up.  I shook off the cobwebs and headed into the kitchen.  Waiting ever patiently for me was my girl.
    “You must have been tired.  When I entered two hours ago, no matter how hard I tried to wake you, I was not successful.”
    I poured myself a cup of joe and sat down.  “It was a long night.  You try being in a car with Reno that long.”
    Liz rolled her eyes.  “Please tell me he did not complain the entire evening?”
    “I brought him a crossword to do and yet he still found time to bitch.  At least he’s good in tough situations.”
    “That he is.”  Her eyes went back to the paper sitting on the table.  The front page was talking about some sort of freak snowstorm hitting the northeast part of the country.  “The warehouse has been purged.”
    I acknowledged that I heard.  It sucked so many innocent lives had to be lost because someone wanted to make the perfect drug.
    I took a few minutes to go over my thoughts from the previous night.  I was still pretty upset Divas had gotten away.  “Since we smoked him out of his club, what’s the next step boss lady?”
    Looking up from the paper, she reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a business card.  She slid it over to me to read.
    Picking it up, “Lucky Dumont, tax consultant?  Who the hell is that?”
    “Lucky, real name Lucerne, is another moderately old vampire who has taken up residence in the Phoenix area.    He is a fence who specializes in rare and exotic treasures.  I tolerate his presence because he gives me reliable information.”
    “You got a criminal informant?”  I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was.  That didn’t seem like Liz’s game.
    “Reluctantly, but I am glad I do.  Divas contacted him after your encounter to help him flee the country.  Lucky is following through with it on my orders.”
    Pushing the card back, “Obviously you’ve got a plan in mind.”
    “Of course I do.  Divas will be a passenger on a cargo truck going to Mexico tonight.  He will be in for a very unpleasant ride.”
    I sighed.  I knew exactly what that meant.  “Do we have to take my car?”
    “We are certainly not taking one of mine!”  Liz owned an expensive fleet of European cars.  “Your Mustang