Forsaken by the Others by Jess Haines Page A

“Hold on a second. Sara, can I talk to you
     for a minute?”
    The vampires both appeared intrigued by Sara’s reply. Fabian leaned forward on the
     couch, a gleam in his eye, and Clyde held out a staying hand. “Oh, no, Ms. Waynest.
     No need for that. I accept your terms. Considering your circumstances, I assume you
     would prefer payment by cash rather than a check. In the morning I’ll have one of
     my people fetch a deposit and a file with the information we have collected thus far.”
    That wasn’t exactly what I had been going to talk to Sara about. Rather, I was worried
     about what the hell we were getting into, chasing zombies around a strange town on
     behalf of a vampire we barely knew. Royce’s parting reminder not to trust Clyde wasn’t
     going to do us any good if we tied ourselves to him in a business relationship. Having
     him as both our host and client was guaranteed to get awkward somewhere along the
     line—but it looked like it was too late to do anything about that.
    “Thank you again, ladies. I’ll have someone escort you to the guest house. Tomorrow
     evening, one of my drivers will be made available whenever you are ready to search
     for the source of this infestation.” One of the security guards who had been hanging
     back in the shadows stepped forward, though he stopped in his tracks when Clyde held
     up a single finger. “I must warn you—there are certain parts of the San Fernando Valley
     which are off-limits to my people. You would do best to remain as close to the city
     and coastal region as possible.”
    “We’ll keep that in mind,” I said. Though it made me uncomfortable to say the next
     part aloud, I didn’t want to give the vampire the idea that he could keep us completely
     under his thumb while we were here. “However, I can’t promise that we won’t spend
     some time in other parts of the Valley. We may have to follow leads or interview people
     who aren’t part of your network.”
    Sara nodded. “As long as you let us do our job without interference, we’ll do our
     best to keep things discreet on your behalf.”
    “Touché,” he murmured. “Well, then. I’ll see that you are adequately compensated for
     your efforts.”
    With that, he turned his back on us and joined Fabian on the couch. Clearly we were
     dismissed. Judging by the hand Fabian was quick to place on Clyde’s inner thigh as
     he leaned in to whisper something, this was a good thing.
    The security guard walked us out. The last glimpse I got of the two involved glowing
     eyes, extended fangs, and hands in interesting places.

Chapter 8
    The guard who walked us out led us through a maze of hallways and rooms filled with
     people who had wandered to the fringes of the party. What felt like an age later,
     we were taken out a side door, stepping onto a brick-inlaid patio surrounded by palm
     fronds and vibrantly colored flowers. The change in temperature was intense, like
     stepping out of a food locker and into a sauna, making my skin feel tight and uncomfortably
     dry.
    I wasn’t sure how Sara could stand the heat in that long-sleeved shirt of hers, but
     she gave no visible sign of discomfort. If anything, she was lost in thought—probably
     considering the mess she’d just thrown us both into by agreeing to help Clyde.
    We walked around the Olympic-sized swimming pool, stepping around a group of people
     huddled together, passing a joint back and forth. Most of them looked familiar to
     me, but we didn’t linger, and it was too dark for me to be certain which stars I was
     spotting. On the other side of the pool, we went through a gate, down a set of steps
     cut into the steep slant of a hillside, and into another fairyland of twinkling lights,
     manicured garden paths, and burbling fountains.
    Nestled against the side of the hill was an elegant miniature of the mansion. It put
     me in mind of those doghouses that were perfect replicas of their owners’ homes I
     once saw on some TV