Vamp-Hire by Gerald Dean Rice Read Free Book Online

suddenly here and barely able to stand under his
own power.
    Nick didn’t think he’d fainted, but it was
the closest idea he could concede to. He pulled away from his own
thoughts and forced himself to make eye contact with Earl and
Lucky, nodding at them.
    He finished eating and pushed away from the
table. Surprisingly, they didn’t say anything to him about
finishing the rest of the food, looking at each other a moment as
if some sort of understanding were passing between them.
    “You guys going to eat?” he asked, pointing
to the remaining food.
    “No,” Lucky said. “I don’t eat
breakfast.”
    “I already had grits and eggs.” Lucky elbowed
him in the ribs and he added, “I actually have to get goin’. Got to
go meet with somebody about… somethin’.” Earl was gone in less than
thirty seconds. “Hey, sorry ‘bout that arrow again,” he said before
he left.
    Lucky began clearing the table. Nick stood
and stretched, the ache in his thigh spreading into a cold throb.
He was feeling a lot better than he had a few moments ago, though
nowhere near as full of energy as he had before that. He mentally
skipped over that weightless instant where he’d gone from there to
here, not wanting to get bogged down with things he couldn’t have
come close to explaining or understanding.
    Nick didn’t know the time. It looked like it
was still morning by the slant of sunlight coming through the front
window. He thought he should have been groggy.
    “How long was I out?” he asked.
    “Four days,” Lucky said, scraping the last
plate out into the sink. He started the garbage disposal, rinsing
everything down with cold water.
    Nick gently prodded at his thigh where he’d
been wounded. It still felt tender, though marginally less so than
when he’d been eating. It felt more like a bruise rather than a
spot where a hole had been.
    “What do you mean four days?” he asked when
Lucky turned off the garbage disposal.
    “Four days. No joke.” Lucky fixed him with a
stare then turned back to throwing away dishes. Perfectly good
dishes.
    “What are you doing? Nick asked.
    “Homeowners will be home soon. Got to get
everything cleaned up before we go.”
    Nick thought it was odd to describe his
friends as homeowners. Plus the fact he was throwing away plates
was odd. He looked around and saw the boxes from the other night
and the paperwork spread on the table were gone. The whole place as
far as he could see was clean.
    Lucky cinched the garbage bag and picked up a
backpack Nick hadn’t seen, sliding it onto his shoulder. The dishes
clacked together, bulging inside the plastic bag. He went into the
bedroom where Nick had been sleeping and came out with another bag
of trash a moment later. He herded Nick to the front door and they
were out. Lucky only stopped to deposit the garbage bags into a
giant bin at the side of the house.
    “Where are we going?” Nick asked.
    “I have a shift at the Big Pig in about an
hour and you need to get up close and personal with a shower.”
    A car pulled into the driveway of the house
they had just left and a man and woman climbed out. They were
dressed like they were returning from business, both in suits. His
tie was missing and collar unbuttoned and she had her suit jacket
off. Lucky gave them a half salute and they looked half confused.
If Nick had been a guessing man he would have said they didn’t know
him at all.
    “We can meet up for lunch if you don’t mind
hot dogs.”
    The bacon was still sitting in the pit of
Nick’s stomach like a stone. The thought of adding more food on top
of it left him feeling nonplussed.
    “Why are you in a hurry?” Nick asked, turning
around to watch the couple ascending the stairs to their front
door. The woman gave them one last glance once they were too far
away for Nick to make out the look on her face. “The Big Pig is a
twenty minute walk.”
    “I got another job I might be lining up for
you. Minus my ten percent, of course. Speaking