me, unsmiling, smoking a cigarette. He made his hand into a gun, pointed it at me and mouthed
“Holy crap,” I said to Lula. “Did you see that?”
“See what?”
“Nick Alpha!”
“Where?”
“He’s gone.”
“I’m feeling funny,” Lula said, looking at herself in the visor mirror. “I think my teeth are growing. Look at my teeth. Are my fang teeth getting pointy? I know they’re longer than they were yesterday. I think the vampire cooties are taking hold of me.”
“I think the
“Okay, but I told you about this. I’m not gonna be responsible if I leap on you all of a sudden and suck your blood out. And this is a terrible time for this to be happening. Just now when I might get a modeling contract from all these signs we’re putting up.”
We left Stark Street and drove to the public housing projects. Lots of potential customers there.
“This is going better than I thought,” Lula said. “People are even thanking me for giving them the flyer. And you got some nice compliments on your picture.”
“A pimp and a drunk told me I looked better in the photo than in real life. That’s not a compliment.”
“They were liking your enhanced chest. You even got a job offer.”
“From the pimp!”
“Yeah, but he’s a pretty good one. His girls work some excellent corners.”
When we were done wallpapering the projects we covered the area around the police station. I was holding the last five flyers while Lula stapled.
I felt the air pressure change and desire rippled through me. I turned and bumped into Ranger.
“Babe.”
“Jeez!” I took two steps back. “I didn’t hear you sneak up on me. Are you picking up police reports?”
“I was doing a background check.” Ranger looked at the flyer Lula had just attached to a building. “Are you putting this up or tearing it down?”
“It’s Vinnie’s idea to bring in more business.”
Lula opened the staple gun and looked inside. “I’m out of staples. I’m tired of this anyway. I got a blister on my thumb from stapling, and I broke off one of my nails. My friend Shirleene has a nail salon on the next block. I’m gonna walk over there and get a manicure. Do you want to come with me?”
“I’ll pass.”
“Well I can’t walk around with a broken nail. I’ve got a reputation. I’ll figure my transportation out, and if I get stuck I’ll make Vinnie come get me. This is a work-related emergency.”
Lula powered off down the street, and I stuffed the last of the flyers into my bag.
“Where did you park?” Ranger asked.
“Around the corner on Leeder.”
“I parked on Leeder, but I didn’t see your car.”
We walked to Leeder and Ranger was right … no Escort. I felt my shoulders sag. “Someone stole my car.”
“Are you sure you parked here?”
“Yes. There’s a fresh oil stain from my transmission.”
Ranger slung an arm around my shoulders and kissed me on the top of my head. “Someday I need to talk to you about car care.”
“I know about car care. I kept a case of motor oil in the back.”
“That’s my girl.”
His Porsche 911 turbo was parked a couple cars away. We got in, buckled our seat belts, and the vordo took over. There was a subtle hint of Bulgari Green shower gel when Ranger moved. His brown hair was silky clean and perfectly cut. His dark Latino skin was smooth and kissable. He was dressed in a Rangeman black T-shirt and cargo pants. The T-shirt spanned his biceps as if it had been painted on. The cargo pants were filled out in all the right places.
“Have you ever done it in a 911?” I asked him.
“I don’t think it’s possible.”
“I bet I could do it.”
He turned and looked at me. And then he smiled.
“It’s the vordo,” I told him.
“We’d be more comfortable if we went back to Rangeman.”
I had my hand on his leg and my lips at his ear. “Too far away.”
Ranger put the car in gear, drove two blocks. and pulled into a blind alley between two buildings. He powered his seat back and cut the engine. “Do it,” he said.
I pushed my seat back, kicked my sneakers off, and wriggled out of my jeans. I was wearing the red lace thong, and I had a brief horrifying memory of Grandma’s dream with the flying horse and the rhinoceros. This could be the rhino incident, I thought. He could fall out of the air and squash me like a bug. Okay, last chance to assess the sanity of the act. How bad do you want to do this? I sucked in some air. I wanted to do it
I checked out the logistics of playing hide the salami in a sports car. Ranger was right. This wouldn’t be easy. If I crawled over him there would be no room for my leg. His door was too close. There was only one way I could see managing this. I got out, ran around the car, opened his door, and straddled him with one leg outside and one foot on the consul.
A bead of sweat streaked down the side of Ranger’s face. “Babe.”
• • •
Thirty seconds later I was back on my side of the car, feeling much more relaxed, struggling to get into my jeans before he eased out of the alley.
I was going to hell. There was no doubt about it.
“Tell me about vordo,” Ranger said.
“It’s a sex spell. Morelli’s Grandma Bella put it on me, so Morelli would think I was a slut.”
“If I thought this was the result of Bella’s spell I’d send her a gift.”
“How else would you explain what I just did?”
“Animal magnetism.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
RANGER TURNED ONTO CLINTON. “I’d still like you to look at the security system on the new account.”
“Sure. I can do it now if it works for you.”
“I have a client meeting in a half hour, but you can go over the plans on your own. They can’t leave the building, so you’ll have to use my office or the apartment.”
There wasn’t much traffic in the middle of the day, and we sailed through all of the lights. Ranger parked in the underground garage, got out, and gestured to the fleet cars. “Pick one.”
“That’s nice of you, but it’s not necessary to loan me a car.”
