"What the hell are you drinking? It looks like-"

"Blood?" I smiled and saw her eyes widen. Oh, yeah. My fangs were out. "It is. I'm vampire, Lucky. You told me last night you were down with that. Which is cool." And strange. But I kept that to myself.

"I . . . I don't remember." She sat up, really pale and still very shaky. "But I know some vampires. Clients. I sure don't pal around with them. They give me the creeps, always staring at my neck like I stare at a chilled bottle of Grey Goose." She bit her lip. "Sorry. I didn't mean . . ." She put her hand to her throat. "Thanks for letting me crash on your couch."

"This isn't a slumber party, Lucky. Last night you were bleeding out. There was only one way to save you." Boy, did I hate this. My next words would change her world forever. And I do mean forever.

She jumped when Valdez sat down next to her feet and looked up with a doggy grin.

"It was great. Blondie was a hero, otherwise you'd be dead meat, sister."

"I was bleeding out?" She frowned at Valdez, not at all surprised by a talking dog. Interesting.

"I'd say someone wanted you dead, Lucky."

She stared at me. "But I'm not. You . . ."

"I healed your wound and brought you upstairs." Okay, so I left out a major detail. Lucky would figure things out soon enough.

"Wow. Thanks." Lucky shook her head. "God, I have got to slow down. I mean, what was I thinking? Meeting a client at three in the morning in an alley in Austin freaking Texas?" She put her head in her hands. "I feel strange." She opened her eyes. "You have any Valium on you?"

"Drugs won't cure what ails you." I gave Valdez a look that sent him ambling to the door. He stopped for a sniff at Lucky's really cute boots and pretended to be thinking about taking a whiz on them.

Lucky screamed an obscenity and lunged. When she'd settled on the couch again, she clutched the boots to her chest.

"Shape-shifter?" She gave Valdez a hard look when he grinned. "My client last night was a shifter. A damned female were-cat. But she knew my rules. I don't do business with animals. A shifter who wants to deal with me does it in person, if you know what I mean." She examined her boots for damage. "Damn it, there's blood on the toe. Whoever the hell did this is gonna pay." She glared at me, but her paper-white face and trembling lips ruined the effect. She looked like she was about to faint again.

"Yeah, whoever did this should pay. But please remember that I'm not the bad guy." Female were-cat. It couldn't be-Lucky looked like she was about to crash again. I jumped up and grabbed another bottle of Fangtastic out of the fridge. Maybe I should nuke it. Most vampires like it hot, but I spent a long time in Vegas. So I developed a taste for it cold. Whatever. I twisted off the top and handed it to Lucky.

"Drink. This will make you feel better. Stronger physically anyway."

Lucky put the boots next to her and sniffed the bottle. "Did someone die for this?"

"Gee, I don't think so." I saw her horrified look and took pity. "It's a synthetic. I order it on the Internet. I can't afford the really exotic blood types, but A positive isn't too bad."

Lucky put the bottle on the table with a thump. "Yeah, I'm positive I can't drink this shit. I'm queasy." She pressed a shaky hand to her flat (don't you hate her?) stomach. "Come on, Gladys. The shifter here must eat. Don't you at least have a few crackers?"

"Glory." I polished off my own Fangtastic and sat across from her again. Time for a reality check. I picked up the hand mirror and aimed it at her face. "Remember how you couldn't see yourself a few minutes ago? Sorry, hon. News flash. There was only one way to save you last night. I had to turn you. You are now a gen-u-ine vampire."

Here came the meltdown. Ear-piercing shrieks, then sobs and wails. I felt her pain, even had to blink back a tear or two of my own. Hey, I'd chosen the vamp thing and still had a bucket full of regrets. Finally, she sniffled and groped inside her boot.

"Looking for your knives?"

"Where are they? Give them to me." She teared up when I shook my head, then slumped and grabbed the mirror. "Nobody home. Damn it to hell! How will I do my hair, my makeup?" She cried noisy sobs into her boots.

"I'm sorry, Lucky. Really." I handed her the bottle of Fangtastic again. "Drink. I know it's not black coffee, but you'll get the same kick. And it looks like you need it."

"I need something." She sniffled, then ventured a sip. She took another swallow, then another until the bottle was half-empty. A ladylike burp behind her hand and she was looking better. "Not exactly the Kona blend I prefer, uh, preferred." She sobbed again.

"This can't be happening. No coffee, or, or chocolate!" She looked wildly around the room, like maybe somebody would jump out of the bedroom and shout "April Fool." No such luck.

"You just drank what passes for blood around here. Run your tongue over your teeth."

"Oh, my God! Fangs! But I paid a fortune for bonding." She poked a finger in her mouth and winced. "Last week I had my teeth whitened. Laser." She snarled tentatively and I could see she did have some pretty choppers.

"The fangs only come out when you're around blood or get really, uh, excited." Like when you want to kill someone, or at least take them down a pint. Or when you're aroused. But I was so not going there. "And good news. You're stuck now, for, uh, eternity with freshly whitened teeth." I looked her over. "I'd kill for your figure." Her eyes bugged. "Have you? Killed, I mean?"

I took a moment to soul search. There'd been a few acts of self-defense back in the day and then there'd been some really desperate times, before the synthetic came along. Hey, when you're crazed by bloodlust . . . Nope. My dirty laundry was staying in my personal hamper.

"I'm civilized, Lucky. Not dangerous unless you get between me and the last pair of half-price Jimmy Choos in my size." She actually managed a tiny smile. "My nerves are a little ragged or I wouldn't ask such a personal question." The smile disappeared. "We all have our little secrets. And a vampire . . ." She shrugged. "You do what you've got to do to stay alive, I guess."

Now I was alarmed. Had I given the big V to a serial killer? "You mentioned a bodyguard last night. What's that about? That purse is worth a fortune, but going around with a bodyguard seems a little extreme."

"Brittany. She should be here. And not just to guard my purse. She's not allowed to leave my side when I'm on assignment."

"Assignment?"

"Never mind. She obviously cut and run instead of defending me from whoever did this." Lucky stroked her throat. "I'll make her regret it. I'll rip out her throat. She'll be my first, er, victim."

There was no mistaking the look in Lucky's eyes now. Scary. And trust me, I've seen some really badass people in my day. "Chill out, Lucky. There will be no throat ripping. The vampires in Austin don't appreciate anything that draws attention to us."

"So I'll take her out somewhere else." Lucky pulled a nail file out of her bag and went to work on her manicure. "Jeez, look at this. I bet I fought like hell. Check out the damage to these tips."

"You obviously didn't go down easily. You even had a bloody knife next to you." I was definitely going to watch her carefully. Just because I admired Lucky's taste in accessories didn't mean she wasn't bad news.

"Ha! I hope I put a serious hurt on that throat-ripping bastard." She looked at me with narrowed eyes. "Are we going hunting later?

Surely we don't just drink this stuff out of a bottle."

"Damn right we do. No hunting humans."

"Aw, come on, girlfriend. You gonna tell me you never" -she winked-"take a sip of the real thing?" I'd like to deny it, but even I'm not immune to the lure of a hot body with good quality AB negative pulsing through it. I managed to shrug, like it was no big deal. "Hey, of course you can go to the source occasionally. But it's dangerous. You could get caught, and you don't want to be outed as a vampire. Trust me on that. If you're discreet and wipe out the mortal's memory afterward . . ." Oh, great. Lucky was touching her tongue to her fangs like she couldn't wait to give them a test drive. I grabbed her arm and shook it. "Don't even think about going out on your own. Give me time to clue you in."

"I'm an adult, Gina. Just tell me the essentials, I'm sure I can figure out the rest." There went the tongue to the fangs again.

"Start by figuring out my name. It's Gloriana, Glory to my friends, and it remains to be seen if you're going to qualify." Lucky gave me a hard look. "You don't have to be a bitch about it."

"Just remember that you're a newbie in this world. You don't make a move without me. Until I think you're ready, we're going to be joined at the hip." Maybe I was being a little harsh. Lucky was probably still in shock. Waking up as a vampire would do that to you. I put my hand on her shoulder and gave it a warning squeeze. "Give me time to teach you what you need to know."

"Just give me the short version. I've got . . . commitments."

"Forget them. This is the first day of the rest of your life." She tried to shrug off my hand, but I wasn't letting go until she took me seriously.

"Ow! Lighten up, would you?" She smiled. "You don't want to make me mad, sweetheart. I work out five days a week with Umberto, my trainer. He's a Nazi bitch, but he keeps me in shape. And then there's the kickboxing and running. I'm up to six miles a day." She looked me over then ran her hands down her slim thighs. "No offense, but I'm sure I could kick your ass." Valdez woofed and grinned at me. Oh, yeah, he was all about a little girl-on-girl wrestling. All we needed were bikinis and mud, and we'd be a guy's fantasy come true.