Page 5 of Help Wanted, Vampires Inquire Within
“Lo siento, mi hijo” Elena murmured. He could hear the profound sadness in her voice.
“I’m sorry too, mi madre,” he said.
Her sympathy didn’t last long. Elena was a bruja of action, not a woman who dwelled. “Ignore my dream. It could mean nothing. As for your nymph, I’ll fix this. There’s always more than one solution!”
Before he could argue, she hung up.
“Good luck, mi madre,” he said to the phone before refilling his mug and heading to the bathroom to take a long, hot shower.
Or at least as long and as hot as the duplex’s shitty water heater would allow.
Working cyber security sounded much more impressive than it actually was. Mostly, Mason installed patches, sent out emails to employees about the latest phishing scams, and reminded companies to back everything up to servers that no one from the outside could access. Ninety percent of his job was remote.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to talk to any management. Those days were the worst. Still, he almost yelled at an in-house IT for not noticing some malware. They were supposed to be the first line of defense! With a sigh, he told the guy to be more careful, and he signed off for the day.
Sitting back, he let his head fall back and let out a long sigh. He stared up at the water stain on the ceiling, letting his tired mind wander.
Most non-humans didn’t need much sleep, but gargoyles were the exception. They liked to get a full eight hours. If possible, Mason loved a short nap in the late afternoon also. Betweenworking during the day and staying up until late at night with Skyler, Mason was barely getting five or six hours a night.
He wasn’t upset at the lack of sleep, but it was getting hard to concentrate. Even after three full pots of coffee.
Maybe it was time to switch to energy drinks. Did they sell them by the gallon?
His phone rang, making him sit up. He hoped it was Skyler, even though he wasn’t sure what to say to her. He was still angry at the unnecessary risk she took that morning, but he also felt guilty. He’d been too harsh with her. The hurt expression on her face would haunt him for the rest of his life.
The name on the phone wasn’t Skyler, it was Rissa. The human flock member to Anatoly the vampire, and mate to Zan the mountain lion shifter. The three of them lived in the spacious third-floor apartment. It was the three of them that allowed Skyler to stay in the second-floor studio, safe from kidnapping by the expensive wards surrounding the building.
If there was anyone he needed to keep happy, it was Rissa.
“Hola,” he said, getting up from his chair and stretching.
“Hey, Mason,” Risa said, her usually cheerful voice a little tense. “Are you coming over soon? The vampire Skyler is interviewing tonight is here, but she’s not answering her phone or the door. I don’t want to be pushy and use my spare key, but I’m a little worried. Are you up there? Is everything okay?”
Mason saw how dark it was outside at the same time Risa was talking. It was later than he realized. Damn it!
“I lost track of time,” he admitted, rushing to his bedroom. “I’m on my way.”
“Are you hungry?” she asked. “The Pack House is closed, but I could get some pizza from the place down the street. I don’t think Skyler ate anything today. Unless there’s food in her fridge.”
Mason grimaced. He’d eaten the last of the food in the little studio kitchenette. When he wasn’t getting enough sleep, his normally voracious appetite got even worse!
“Yeah, order the pizza,” he agreed. “Get me an entire one with extra jalapenos. She needs some groceries, so I’m going to have some stuff delivered to the bar.”
“Delivery drivers can’t find us,” Rissa reminded him. “Not unless you get lucky and they’re not human.”
“Damn it!” He’d forgotten that one of the wards on the building kept humans from noticing Joy.
“Don’t worry about it. I over purchased yesterday; you guys can have half the contents of our fridge. That way, Zan can stop teasing me every time he opens it!”
“Thanks, Rissa, I’ll pay you whatever the groceries are worth,” he said. “My car is still down there, so I’m going to fly back.” His ancient Bronco was in the private parking garage down the street from Joy. Anatoly rented several spots there, giving Mason a place to park safely from over-exuberant towing companies. Skyler found it amusing that Mason’s tri-colored vehicle with the wonky door looked out of place next to the vampire's sleek sports cars.
Even more hilarious was that it annoyed the fastidious Anatoly so much that Zan had offered to buy the Bronco several times. Those two had a special relationship!
“How long until you get here?” Rissa asked as Mason grabbed a backpack and started shoving clothes into it.
“About twenty minutes.”
“Should I have Anatoly tell the vampire that the interview needs to be rescheduled?” Rissa asked.
