Page 46 of The Vampire Always Rises

From: Tempest

What are you doing in Nice? Are you hiding from the sun somewhere like a hotel? If so, which hotel?

To: Tempest

I am ignoring all further texts from you unless they are emergency-based.

From: Tempest

OK, how about this, if you were going to recommend a hotel in Nice to someone, which would it be?

From: Tempest

Merrick? Hotel?

From: Tempest

You aren’t really going to ignore me, are you? Because I’d never ignore you.

From: Tempest

Fine. Be that way. You only have yourself to blame for what happens.

To: Tempest

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

From: Tempest

Plbtbtbt.

Merrick sighed to himself. Tempest showed absolutely no respect for him, had no fear for her own situation, and was entirely too caring for his peace of mind. “She’s coming to help me,” he said aloud, and, with a few thoughts about how uncomplicated his life was before Victor’s man dumped him on the steps of Christian’s castle, went down to the front desk of the hotel.

Chapter Eleven

It took us an hour and a half of calling around hotels in Nice to find the one where Merrick was staying.

“Merci, merci beaucoup,”I said into my phone, giving Ellis a thumbs-up. We were almost to Nice, and I made a note on a scrap of paper. “And you have a room I could book? Excellent. The name is Ellis Dawson. We’ll be there in about half an hour.Merci! Au revoir.” I hung up and looked at Ellis. “You speak French. What doesdevenir chèvremean?”

Ellis shot me a startled look. “Where did you hear that?”

“It’s the name of the hotel.” I glanced down at the note. “Hôtel Devenir Chèvre. That doesn’t mean something rude, does it? Like Hotel Lady of the Evening? Hotel Scatological Content? Hotel Nose Pickings?”

“How your mind works!” Ellis said, laughing. “No, it literally means to become a goat, although colloquially it means to be driven mad by someone.”

“The hotel mad goat?” I shook my head. “Whatever it is, it’s not close to the water. It’s on ... let’s see ... forty-two rue Monteton.”

Ellis choked. “You’re shitting me!”

“I wouldn’t poop on anyone, least of all you. Why would you even say that?”

“Montetonmeans ‘my nipple’ in French, my innocent one.”

I was silent for a moment. “Trust Merrick to stay at the mad goat hotel on nipple street. They’d better have a place for dog walkies, since Kelso will have to go by the time we get there.”

“You’d better hope your sexy vampire wasn’t so suspicious by your texts that he left immediately.”

I made a face. “He was still there as of a minute ago, so I think we’re good.”