Leonardo di Caprio is a Vampire by Julie Lynn Hayes Read Free Book Online

mingling, and posturing. Everywhere Fisher looked, he saw food and drinks. Catered, no doubt, as the kitchen showed little evidence of actual usage, certainly not by the chatelaine of the manor. Costumes of all varieties were on display in this colorful crowd, but Fisher paid them little heed. He was looking for one costume in particular. Intuition told him that the one he sought would be the mate to his own, the only difference being that it would have a baby blue vest in place of his green. He didn't know why he thought that Hunter was wearing the match to this outfit, but he did, and 'til he saw otherwise, that's what he was going with.
    A smiling Harley Quinn offered Fisher a glass of something, which he politely refused. He had no intention of drinking anything alcoholic. He couldn't afford to lose control tonight.
    With the costumes and the masks, it was impossible to identify anyone, but he suspected that he didn't know too many of the other guests anyway. He wondered how many were Lana's cronies, how many were aspiring sycophants, and how many were clients or potential clients she wanted to dazzle with her generosity. Or rather, Daddy's generosity.
    Speak of the devil, there she was. He had wandered into the entertainment area. A DJ was visible in one corner, playing selected tunes over an elaborate home stereo system. He'd seen smaller speakers in concert halls. Leave it to Lana to be ostentatious in any way she could.
    She held court in the center of the room, standing in the middle of a kitschy sunken conversation pit. That was her favorite position—in the center of things, and the object of attention. Her braying laughter was unmistakable. It elicited answering laughs of the mandatory kind from her group of toadies. They filled the couches on all four sides, hanging onto every syllable which dripped from her carmine lips. Her costume did nothing to conceal her identity whatsoever. Why was he not surprised? She was playing the part of Cleopatra tonight, in a figure-hugging gold lamé shift with matching cape and sandals. The dress was slit up the side, the better to show off her waxed, toned and glittered legs. She wore a bejeweled collar and a matching belt, with an elaborate gold headdress, probably real gold. It looked rather heavy. He hoped it gave her a headache. Her dark tresses were twined into braids, also jeweled, and extensions had been added to give her hair a fuller appearance. But she wore no mask, unless one counted the tons of make-up on her face, which made her easy to identify. Of course that was the idea, wasn't it, as she was never one to hide her light under a bushel.
    Fisher hovered on the periphery of the room. He hoped to stay beneath the queen's radar long enough to scan for Hunter's presence. That shouldn't be hard; she was too wrapped up in herself to pay attention to anyone else. Still no sign of Hunter. His promised few minutes were up—he'd guaranteed no more than that. Still, he had no intention of leaving without at least seeing his friend. He wanted Hunter to know that he had actually shown up just for him, as he'd said he would. It was important to him that Hunter know he'd been there.
    He almost made it out of the room when one word caught his attention. Hunter's name. It stopped him in mid-stride.
    He wasn't trying to listen in on Lana's conversation. He'd tuned out her voice until he heard Hunter's name casually bandied about. Then curiosity ensnared him. He sidled a little closer "Yes, tell us about you and Hunter," a female voice was urging. "You promised a major announcement tonight."
    "I did, didn't I?" An unpleasant smirk crossed the pseudo Egyptian's face. "All in due time, all in due time. Be patient, loves, be patient."
    "You can't choose one man over the rest of us," a male voice protested. This was coming from a guy in a Boba Fett outfit, the mask serving to muffle his words. "That isn't fair, Lana!"
    "Life isn't fair," she fairly purred, her eyes glittering. "But