Real Vampires: Glory Does Vegas by Bartlett, Gerry (white hot kiss TXT) 📕

at me. That broke the general paralysis and everyone talked and moved at once.

“Oh, honey. Let me at that hair!” Misty was ready for the show and she came close, picking up a strand. “Clean but we’ll have to wet it and blow it dry again. What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t. Got interrupted right after I washed it.” I was dragged into the dressing room and my head thrust into a sink where she used a sprayer to wet my hair. The water was cold but she seemed to get pleasure from my squeals and shivers.

“Interrupted. Oh, been there. Shower sex. Don’t you love it?” She shoved me into a chair and picked up a blow dryer and a brush. “This is gonna hurt, you’ve got tangles, but we have to suffer for beauty, right?”

I didn’t dare speak while she went after my hair with a vengeance. I aimed my chair so Misty wouldn’t notice that I wasn’t reflecting in the wall mirror. Why was she so mad at me? She didn’t have a thing for Dom, did she? Then I managed to catch her eyes and read her mind. Oh. She blamed me for Sid’s departure. She hadn’t had a real date since. He had been a loser, but he had been her loser. Now she was back in the rat race, trying to find a steady lover. She liked having someone and now she was lonely. This situation was all my fault. Mine and that damned dog.

“Misty. I’m sorry I’ve messed up your life. Would you like for me to move out?” I bit back a yelp when she pulled out a tuft of hair with a violent tug.

She turned off the dryer. “No! I can’t afford to live without a roommate.” She threw down the brush. “I’m sorry. Maybe someone else should finish your hair.” She knuckled away a tear, smearing her mascara. “Damn it, look what I’ve done. Tiffany, get in here and fix up Glory, will you?”

Tiffany ran in and picked up the brush. “Sure. I have to say I was surprised you went with Dom. You warned me about him.”

“I know. What can I say? I’d had a dry spell. Know what I mean?” I watched Misty fix her mascara. “Misty, you make good money here. Why can’t you afford to stay in that apartment by yourself?” I knew the rent was cheap. My half was ridiculously cheap, which was why I’d answered her ad in the first place.

Misty straightened and turned away from the mirror. Her eyes were filling again but she sniffed as if that would hold back the tears. She took a deep shuddering breath. Tiffany stopped brushing and also waited for an answer.

“Yes, I make enough money to pay all of it but…” Misty stared down at the floor then looked up, her eyes wide. “I have a terrible secret!”

18

Tiffany and I gathered next to Misty as she collapsed into a chair.

“Secret? What is it?” I glanced around. We were the only ones in the dressing room. “If you want to keep it that way, maybe we should close the door.”

“Yes!” Misty straightened from her slump. “Don’t let Donna hear us. Go, shut the door.”

Tiffany ran and even locked it. “What’s the deal?”

I was as confused as Tiffany and I’d lived with Misty for months now. I was desperate to look into her mind, something I’d tried to avoid since I’d moved in. I’d made a conscious decision not to invade her privacy that way when I met her. Going around reading mortal’s minds was a good way to hear things you’d rather not know. Now I waited, even though the suspense was killing me.

“I’m a compulsive gambler.” Misty threw up her hands. “There, I’ve said it.” She bowed her head and sobbed. “It’s ruined my life. I’ve tried to stop, I have. Gone to meetings about it and everything. But then look where we live!”

“Honey, I understand. My Uncle Pete lost everything on the ponies. That’s why Aunt Lucy dumped his sorry ass.” Tiffany patted her on the shoulder. “I guess you’re broke. That’s why you need Glory to share your apartment.”

“Yes. But that’s not all.” Misty looked up. “I’ve had terrible luck, Glory. Gambled away rent money, car payments. I can’t tell you how many cars I’ve had repossessed. I hocked the wedding rings from my marriage and I was still married to the guy!” She looked away from my stare. “Yeah, he dumped my sorry ass for that.”

“Why don’t you want Donna to hear about this?” I had certainly picked up on that when we’d shut the door, a door that was being pounded on right now. I grabbed some makeup from the pile in front of me and slapped it on by feel, what I did every night at home. I was running out of time. Tiffany did something with my hair and tried to make me look in the mirror but I jumped out of the chair.

“It’s almost show time, Misty. We have to let the girls in to do a last-minute hair and makeup check.”

“I know.” Misty glanced in the mirror, wiping away mascara from under her eyes. She slipped off the robe that had covered her costume. It was Western night and she had on the skimpy vest and a skirt that covered her G-string. She pulled on her cowboy boots.

“Donna?” Tiffany leaned into the mirror and added eye shadow then put on her own boots.

“I’m deeply in debt to the organization that Donna’s boyfriend Lee works for.” Misty grabbed my hand. “I’m scared to death of them, Glory. They’re demanding payments and I’m so far behind I see no hope of catching up unless I hit it big in the casino after work tonight.”

“What happened to the money you won? You showed me all that cash.” I’d even started trying the casinos myself after that. I sure hadn’t had her luck but I could see how you could