Port of Paradise by Lisa Marie Rice

Author:Lisa Marie Rice [Rice, Lisa Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Published: 2010-09-26T12:50:20.623000+00:00

* * * * *

“Boy, what a day,” Hope said a few hours later, walking into Kay’s hospital room. She rummaged in her bag for the magazines and newspapers she’d brought. “I’ve been blackmailed and commandeered--oh, hi, Marco.”

She looked curiously at the ugly giant of a man bent over Kay. What was he doing bending over Kay’s head? Was he biting her neck?

No. Hope had read enough Anne Rice to know that vampires were slender and handsome—actually, a lot like the men Kay used to date in New York—and not homely and enormous. Then Hope glanced at Kay’s beet-red face and tried to hide her smile.

“It’s not what you think,” Kay muttered under her breath.

Then Kay turned to Marco and spoke softly to him, so quickly Hope couldn’t catch what she was saying. She did hear ‘grazie’ quite a few times, however, in what Kay was saying.

While Kay talked, Marco remained totally impassive, looking down at her. Hope wondered if he was even listening. Then he gently ran a huge hand down Kay’s arm, delicately reattached the loosened surgical tape connecting her to the IV and bent to brush his lips lightly across Kay’s forehead. When he straightened, his face was still impassive. He nodded at Hope and left the room silently.

“It’s not what you think,” Kay repeated stonily.

Hope drew up a chair and sat down. Silence filled the hospital room. Hope saw a crack in the plaster on the far wall and followed it across the ceiling. Then she watched the view out the window, a patch of intensely blue sky and the corner of another wing of the hospital.

“It’s not…”

“I’m not thinking anything,” Hope said quickly. She kept her expression blank, to show Kay that she wasn’t thinking…what she was thinking.

“He was straightening the blanket.”

“The blanket,” Hope repeated. “Gotcha.”

There was a polite silence.

“Was he…”

“Tell me about your day.”

They both spoke at once, then laughed.

Hope relaxed. “My day. Mmm, it has been interesting. What do you want to hear about first?”

“Well, blackmail’s always exciting.”

Hope smiled. “Yeah, you’ll love this one. Do you remember Giuseppe Carrera?”

“Young, smarmy, works in a bank?”

“That’s him, all right. Well, young Giuseppe tried to blackmail me into giving him a passing grade on his finals. It was all wrapped up in pretty phrases, but basically, if he didn’t pass, our name would be forever branded in infamy, the school would collapse, no grass would grow on the ruins and Giuseppe Carrera would dance on our grave. It was blackmail all right.”

“Well that does sounds interesting,” Kay said. “Now what about the commandeering part of your day?”

“I’m surprised you were listening to what I was saying. You seemed rather…busy at the time.”

“Hope…”

“Okay, okay.” Hope held up her hands. “No smart comments.”

“So, start at the beginning. You had an appointment with…” Kay paused delicately.

“Franco.” Hope’s voice was a low mutter.

“I’m sorry, dear,” Kay said sweetly. “I’m afraid I didn’t catch what you said.”

Hope raised her head. “Franco,” she said clearly. “I had an appointment with Franco. But…” she mimicked Kay’s voice of a few moments ago, “it’s not what you think.

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