“Sorry for ruining social hour, folks. I’d better get this dog home.” I took the leash from Richard and pulled Valdez along to the car. When we got there, Richard opened the back door and Valdez hopped in to settle beside a snoring Will. I grabbed Richard’s arm. “Did Valdez talk to you while I was inside?”

“No. And I tried to send him a mental message, but he either ignored it or didn’t understand it.”

“Didn’t understand . . . ?” My stomach rolled over. I opened the back door again, picked up Valdez’s head and stared into his brown eyes. “Valdez! Say something.”

Nothing. Not even a whimper. He did lick my fingers though, as if hoping for some more frosting. I grabbed both his ears and stared harder, like I could make him respond. “Please, puppy. Say something. Anything. Call me Blondie.”

He just shook his head like he was ready for me to let him go if I wasn’t going to pet him. I released him and turned to Richard.

“What the hell is wrong with my dog?”

Twenty-two

We were back at my place before I remembered to tell Richard about Flo’s meeting with Simon in the park.

“This is huge, Glory. Maybe we can catch him alone.”

“What are you going to do to him, Richard? Try to take him out?” In other words, stake him. I shuddered just thinking about it. I knew Simon was a bad man, but killing any vampire seemed almost sacrilegious to me. And Flo. Would she ever forgive me for sending the troops in after her lover? I hoped once she ’d had time to think about how she’d been acting, she’d realize she’d needed to move on.

“You think I’m being too tough on him? Roll Valdez over, Glory.” Richard stared down at my pair of dogs, both snoring near the door.

“What do you mean?”

“Look at his tummy, Glory. See if the reason he won’t talk is because he can’t.” Richard didn’t wait. He knelt down and rolled a snoozing Valdez over until we could see his swollen stomach. Sure enough there were two angry red marks on his belly. I gasped. “You think—”

“That an EV did this? Yes, I do. I’d say that while you were in church and Will was nose deep in whiskey someone conveniently put in front of him, Valdez had an encounter with Simon or another EV and he obviously lost the fight and his power.”

I sat down hard on the floor and rubbed Valdez’s tummy. “You mean—”

“I mean right now Valdez is just a dog. Not a shape-shifter. Unless there’s some way for the EVs to reverse the process, Valdez may never be able to shift again.”

I leaned over and rubbed my face against the dog’s soft fur. He smiled and licked a tear from my face. I breathed in his scent, a scent I knew as well as my own.

“Damn it. I knew there was something wrong with Valdez when he didn’t ask for ice cream with his cake.”

Richard smiled and patted my shoulder. “He would, wouldn’t he?” He left me sitting there and started to work his phone, calling on fellow vamps and making plans to ambush Simon at the park.

“I’m going, Glory.” Richard dropped a kiss on the top of my head. Yeah, I was still on the floor, Valdez’s head in my lap.

“Wait. Simon has to be behind Valdez’s condition. If there’s any hope of getting my dog restored to his old pain-in -the-butt self, Simon or Honoria holds the key.”

“I can’t promise not to destroy Simon if I get the chance, Glory. I’ve been after him for a long time.” He rubbed Valdez’s ear.

“Maybe Valdez will recover his power on his own. Eventually. ” Richard looked at me and wiped away a tear that had leaked down my cheek. “I know you love him. I’ll do what I can to find out how to fix this.”

“Thanks.” I held on to his hand for a moment. “I know what getting Simon means to you. Do what you have to.”

He stood, tall, powerful and determined. If he got a chance at Simon, he’d take it. And Valdez . . . ? He would have cheered Richard on.

I sat there on the floor for a long time after Richard left, stroking Valdez ’s soft fur. An EV had done this. Which meant Jerry hadn’t dumped me after all. I was so relieved I would have laughed, if I hadn’t felt more like crying. Was there any hope of getting the old Valdez back? I had to find out.

The phone rang. I got up and pulled my cell phone out of my purse. I glanced at the caller ID and caught my breath. Blade.

"Hello.”

“Gloriana, what the hell is going on there? Why do you think I called Valdez off?” Jerry was shouting, like maybe I couldn’t hear him across the ocean. Or like maybe he was really upset.

“Valdez is here. I found him. But he or someone left a message that you’d called him off. Because you’d hooked up with Mara. Which is allowed, of course. We do our own thing when we’re apart, always have.” I took a breath and looked at Valdez, snoring softly by the door. The old Valdez would have been up at the first notes of “Phantom of the Opera,” my ring tone. He’d have been listening in, like that was in his job description. He really was just a nosy . . . I sobbed.

“Son of a bitch! Gloriana, tell me everything. And I ’m not hooked up with anyone. I’m living like a monk outside a clinic in Switzerland so I can watch Westwood. He’s more vulnerable here, outside of his own place.”

“Good.” I took a watery breath. A monk, huh? Good news for me, bad for Mara. “I mean, you should stay there. That bastard is a threat to every vampire.” If Simon was allowed to just suck power from anyone or thing he wanted, then he was an enormous threat too. God, when did my life get so complicated?

“Tell me what’s happened. What about Valdez?” Blade’s calm voice soothed me.

I took a breath then filled him in on recent events at the church. By the time I got through with the story, Blade was cursing and swearing to be by my side by morning.

“No, you should stay there. Flo and Richard are looking into it.”

“I’ve heard of Simon Destiny and his EV crew. I had a friend who tried their daylight drug. ” Blade was silent for a moment.

“Liam paid them a fortune. He was so excited to see the sun again. But it was the last thing he saw.”

“Oh, Jerry. Maybe he thought it was worth it.” I’d had those yearnings.

“We’ll never know the answer to that, now, will we? Thanks to Simon Destiny.” Jerry cleared his throat.

“I’m really worried about Valdez, Jerry. He’s a . . . dog. What if he’s lost all his powers?”

“Rafael is a very strong shape-shifter. That’s why I hired him. He may be temporarily out of commission, but that doesn’t mean it’s permanent.” Jerry said something to someone else and I heard a female voice in the background.

“Is Mara with you?”

“She just came in. I’m going to leave her here and come home to you, Glory. I don’t like the fact that Simon’s been trying to lure you to his den of drug dealers. Or that he’s managed to temporarily take out one of your guards. We will resolve this and Simon Destiny will get what he deserves once and for all.” Jerry sounded so damned sure of himself. That kind of confidence made me actually hope that things would come out all right.

“You shouldn’t come. I’ll be fine.” I looked at Valdez, then at Will who was still sleeping off his bender. Well, I’d always said I could look out for myself. Time to test that theory.

“No, I’ve made up my mind. I’m coming.”

Of course I was relieved. “It’s too late to leave there tonight. Wait until tomorrow night. It’s a long, long way from Switzerland to Texas.”

“It is a long way. But I’ll leave here tonight, see how far I get, then spend the day somewhere safe and be there sometime tomorrow night. Wait for me, Gloriana, before you do anything about Simon.”

“I hear and obey, master.” I knew he was just being cautious. It was sweet. Dictatorial, but sweet.

“Come on, sweetheart. Humor me. I’m so damned far away. I want to hold you and tell you that everything will be all right.”

I closed my eyes. “Then do it. Like you did the other night. Hold me. Put your arms around me and your lips on my hair. ” I concentrated. “And I’m holding onto you, Jerry. Just breathing, not trying to get you naked or anything like that.” Though now that I thought about it, there was nothing more comforting than lying skin to skin in Jerry’s strong arms.

“Sorry, Glory. What did you say? Mara was telling me we have an opportunity to get to Westwood later tonight. He’s going into surgery in the morning to try to get his arm fixed. He’ll be in a regular hospital room. If we can get inside, we might have a shot at him.”

I gave up. The mood wasn’t happening. “Then go get him. I’ll be fine. Will’s going to sober up. Flo’s investigating Simon and maybe Richard and his vigilantes will manage to get to Simon anyway. ” I hung up before I said something bitchy. Trust Mara to come up with a plan just when Jerry was ready to fly to my side.

I sat down beside Valdez again. “You never told me your name is Rafael. Rafe. I like it. Wonder what your last name is. Is it Spanish too? Are you tall, dark and handsome out of that dog body?” I patted his head, but he just stared up at me with big brown eyes, his tail thumping on the hardwood floor.

I sighed and got up. A few hours until dawn. Did I just sit here and wait for something to happen? Would Flo call me? Would Richard? Will snored, obviously still useless. What good would it do Valdez if I ran off and did something foolish, like storm the park myself? I sat on the couch and picked up my latest book, a bestseller on assertiveness. Half a page and I was heaving it across the room. What did a mortal know about the kind of assertiveness I needed? I wasn ’t thinking about asking the boss for a raise or a boyfriend to commit. Hell, I just wanted the leader of the EVs to restore my dog ’s powers. Assertiveness in this situation would get me nothing but trouble.