My Vampire Lover by J. P. Bowie Page B

around his desk, stopping a few feet from me. He looked me up and down, his nose twitching like he smelled something bad. Only himself, I thought.
    "Well?"
"Not really," I said. "I just met him this morning after your really fantastic sermon."
He ignored my sarcasm. "Where is he?"
91
My Vampire Lover
by J. P. Bowie
"In police custody."
His eyes widened. " What? "
"Yeah, I called the police after he showed me what you'd done to him." I couldn't resist grinning at the shocked expression on Delano's face. "He's giving them a statement about how you and Lurch here beat him up, using knuckledusters no less."
    "He's lying." Lurch gave me a shove.
"Get Bob Sanders on the phone now, Brett," Delano said, tight-lipped. "We'll get Jerry home, then we'll make sure he doesn't pull another stunt like this."
"What—you'll beat him up some more?" I snapped angrily, watching Brett/Lurch pick up the phone and talk urgently into the mouthpiece. "Your own son? I think even your flock of dumb-ass followers might find that just a tad excessive.
    How's it going to look when this piece of news hits the media?
'Evangelical preacher abuses gay son—news at ten!'"
"Be quiet," Delano snarled. "Your opinions are worthless, you faggot—"
"Oh yeah? I think the police are going to see you for the hypocritical scumbag you are, when I tell them you had a friend of mine attacked, and almost killed, the other night."
     
Delano narrowed his eyes at me. "What do you know of that?"
     
"Enough to put you in jail. I found him, badly injured, near my restaurant. He was on his way to see me, when your thugs shoved a wooden stake into his chest. Only he's tougher that you thought. He survived, and he's ready to give the cops a statement soon as he's out of the hospital." I got a 92
    My Vampire Lover
by J. P. Bowie
kick out of seeing Delano's face as I told him this extremely tall tale. Jean-Claude would be surprised to know he was in the hospital, eager to talk to the police.
    Delano flicked an angry look at henchman Brett who was still on the phone talking, I guessed, to Delano's attorney.
"Yeah," I said smugly. "Brett blew it. Left a witness alive who's heard your name mentioned in connection with the attack." "Dammit! Give me the phone," Delano barked. "Bob ...
wait..." He put his hand over the mouthpiece. "Put the fag back in the room. We'll work this out after I talk to Bob."
As he took his hand off the mouthpiece I yelled, "Help! I'm being held here against my will! Call the cops!"
Brett grabbed me and punched me on the back hard enough to send me to my knees. Then he hauled me to my feet and hustled me out of the room, his gun pressed into my ribs. Just before the door closed, I heard Delano say, "Oh, just somebody fooling around..."
    Brett marched me up the corridor and threw me back in the dark room, even darker now, as it was getting late.
"You can't keep me here forever, you know," I said. "You guys are in a world of trouble. Expect the cops to come a-calling any minute now." For a moment, indecision flickered across Brett's face, then he slammed the door shut on me and locked it.
Damn. What the hell was I going to do? Of course, the cops wouldn't be calling. Barney and Jerry were probably canoodling on the couch back at Barney's apartment, totally unaware of my predicament, and Jean-Claude was most likely 93
    My Vampire Lover
by J. P. Bowie
wondering where the hell I'd got to. Delano's attorney would to call the police station and be told no one by the name of Jerry Delano had come forward to make any kind of statement.
    When Delano found that out, he'd be in here, beating the crap out of me, until I told him where Jerry actually was.
Hmm ... time for a serious escape plan. But how?
My head jerked towards the window as I heard a tapping on the glass. I rushed over and pulled up the blind.
"Jean-Claude," I gasped, staring at his worried but still gorgeous, face. Wait a minute...
I figured we were at least three stories up and there was no balcony out