The Vampires #2: Heroux and Odette

Chapter 19 (Odette): A Trap

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA

Heroux followed me into my hotel room as I held a wriggling, twisting, licking, happy-whining Roscoe in my arms.

"Oh, my sweet boy! Yes, you missed me, didn't you! Maman's missed you so much, too! Oh, kisses, kisses! Such a good baby! Awww, you're not going to stop giving me kisses, are you?"

You can't help laughing when a dog is so happy to see you and isn't afraid to show it. After a few minutes of cuddles and kisses, I placed him on the couch and sat down beside my boy. He walked right onto my lap and curled up, giving a long, happy sigh of contentment.

"He missed you," Heroux noted.

"Has he been good for Albertine?"

"No," Heroux said. "But he's been good for me. Except for yesterday when he couldn't go into the office with me because of some business I had to handle, he's been with me all day and night.

"I made my eyes squinty. "All night?"

"Right next to me on my bed, Odette. On the pillow and blanket you had on your bed for him."

His eyes looked into mine as he repeated, "He missed you."

If I didn't know better, I'd think Heroux was saying he missed me.

"What did you see today?" 

Heroux was making small talk now?

He'd called me last night once I was in my hotel room for the night, his two guards stationed outside my door. There were three vampires following Hugo and me, but they didn't speak or interfere or get in our way. They just watched over me and followed. Heroux had asked me how our day was and what we'd seen and I'd told him about everything we'd seen and the places we visited.

What I didn't mention was that when we'd stopped to take a break in the afternoon, I'd come out from the facilities and had found Hugo standing by the side of our car, looking a little pale.

"Are you OK, Hugo?" I asked.

"My lady...did you have...money deposited into my account?"

"No, Hugo. Why? Do you need some? I have about twenty thousand left and you can have it --"

He'd laughed. "My lady, I received an alert that ten million dollars had been deposited into my account, and I called my bank immediately to warn them of the error -- and they said there was no error."

"Hugo," I'd breathed. "You're rich!"

"I think, my lady, that Lord Alarie is responsible for my sudden wealth. Why would he do such a thing?"

My eyes softened. "You saved my life, Hugo. Lord Alarie was merely repaying that debt to you. He had to repay because I am still Lady Alarie for the time being. He has his position to consider."

"My lady, the normal course of action would be to say thank you, unless it's one of the wealthier families in the community, and then they would maybe make a gift of ten thousand dollars, but never have I heard of someone giving ten million dollars."

"Oh, Hugo, what you did you did at great personal risk to yourself had my family caught you. You deserve every penny of that reward."

"My lady, I was glad to help you and I certainly didn't do it with any thought of recompense in my mind." He looked at me and grinned. "Do you know what this means now, my lady?"

For a minute, I feared that he was going to say he was leaving me behind. Oh, no.

"No, Hugo," I said, outwardly calm, inwardly bracing for his news.