He put up an arm to stop her. "Don't open it. That could be the trigger. We can't be sure, though. It could be on a timer and go off any second. Try to remain calm - "
"Eek!" Cora Lee ran from the office screaming. She knocked Terrance aside. "There's a bomb!"
Screams erupted from the main room.
Pamela ran toward the door. "I'll make sure everyone leaves. We'll meet you at the townhouse."
"No!" Phil shouted. "The townhouse may not be safe."
Pamela glanced back with a frantic look. "The apartment, then!"
"But - " Phil started to say that the apartment wasn't safe either, but Pamela had already dashed into the main room.
She yelled at the crowd. "Teleport away! Leave immediately!"
Vanda remained still as a cold fog settled over her. A bomb. Her club would be destroyed. She couldn't let that happen.
"Come on." Phil grabbed her arm. "Teleport us out of here now."
She stared at the filing cabinet. "How do you know it's in there?"
"I'm an expert in bomb detection. Come on. Let's go."
"You're an expert? Then turn it off!"
"It's not that simple." He pulled her toward the door. "Just opening the drawer might set it off. We have to get you someplace safe."
"But - But - " She looked around as they entered the quiet warehouse. Everyone had teleported away. The laser lights flashed, highlighting the empty dance floor, the stage, the bar. How could she leave? She loved this place. It was everything to her.
Phil flung her onto his shoulder and ran for the entrance. His desperation penetrated the cold fog that had marred her thinking. Someone wanted to kill her. Someone wanted to kill her so badly they hadn't given a second thought to killing a hundred or more innocent bystanders.
Once again she was being hunted.
Phil sprinted down the alley, then turned onto the street. She clutched at his shirt. She needed to teleport them farther away.
Boom!
The explosion deafened her ears. She screamed. Bricks flew into the air and flames shot toward her face.
She flinched from the heat, and their bodies were thrown. She held onto Phil as the world went black.
CHAPTER 13
"Oof." Vanda landed on the floor of her apartment with Phil sprawled beside her.
He rose to his knees. "Are you all right?"
"Yes." Maybe not. Her face felt terribly hot. But at least they hadn't been burned to a crisp.
"There you are! Thank God!" Pamela rushed toward them and helped Vanda to her feet.
"We were afraid you hadn't made it." Cora Lee's eyes widened. "Land sakes."
Vanda touched a burning hot cheek. "Is it that bad?"
"No, no," Pamela and Cora Lee said quickly, then exchanged looks.
Great. Vanda ran a hand through her hair and felt the singed ends. For once, she was glad she couldn't see herself in a mirror. But it was embarrassing for Phil to see her this way. Luckily, he wasn't looking at her. He'd hurried straight to the big plate-glass window, where he was opening the aluminum shutters.
Vanda joined him there and saw the smoke billowing up from the club two blocks away. Her club. Sirens sounded in the distance. A fire truck raced down the street below them, its lights flashing and horn blaring.
Her club was gone. All her dreams of an independent life gone up in smoke.
"Are you in much pain?" Phil asked softly.
Her throat felt tight, tense. "Yes."
"Your skin will heal during your death-sleep."
Her vision blurred with tears. "But not my heart."
He touched her shoulder. "You shouldn't stand here by the window."
"I have to see." She could at least be close to her club as it burned down to nothing. Along with her dreams.
"Vanda, you can't afford to be seen." He pulled her away from the window. "And we shouldn't stay here long. If they realize you weren't killed in the explosion, they'll come here looking for you. But for now, they probably assume that you're dead."
"Who are they?" She had one last glimpse of the column of smoke before Phil closed the shutters.
"I'm betting on Corky." Cora Lee removed a big bottle of warmed-up Chocolood from the microwave.
"I think it's Max the Mega Member." Pamela set out three cups and saucers on the kitchen counter. "But it could be any of a hundred people you've managed to piss off over the years."
"I haven't pissed off hundreds." Vanda thought back to make sure that was true.
"I'll explain," Phil began. "We got some information from the prisoner Angus caught last night."
"Oh, right." Cora Lee poured Chocolood into the three cups, then handed one to Vanda. "Darcy told us about that. She and Austin took him to Romatech."
Vanda settled on the couch and took a sip of the hot blood and chocolate mixture. Her friends sat across from her in two easy chairs.
Phil paced about the room. "The prisoner told us that Casimir has a hit list - Vamps who took part in what the Malcontents call the Massacre at DVN. He wants to avenge the death of his friend Jedrek Janow."
Vanda winced. Her friends Ian and Toni had killed Jedrek Janow. She set her cup and saucer down on the coffee table. "Are Ian and Toni on the list?"
"They're at the top," Phil admitted. "But as long as they remain hidden on their honeymoon, they should be safe."
Cora Lee sipped her Chocolood. "Who else is on the hit list?"
"Jack, Zoltan, Dougal, Phineas." Phil looked at Vanda. "You."
She gulped. "Casimir wants me dead? Why? I didn't hurt anyone at DVN. I never even went inside."
"That's true," Pamela insisted. "Vanda was only there for moral support."
"Apparently, Casimir knows about Jedrek's attempts to kill Vanda in the past," Phil said. "He's trying to finish the job, perhaps to honor his friend's memory."
Vanda clenched her hands together. Casimir had thousands of followers. Thousands of vampires who were eager to do his bidding. Panic bubbled inside her, growing and threatening to overwhelm her completely. She'd been hunted before. Jedrek and his wolves had hounded her for over a year. It had been terrifying, but at least there had only been a half dozen of them. Now there could be thousands...and no place to run. No place to hide.
Phil touched her shoulder, and she jumped.
"It's okay." He rubbed her shoulder. "They'll think you were killed in the explosion. We'll just keep you hidden - "
"I can't hide for centuries!" Vanda jumped to her feet and paced across the room.
"Oh dear." Pamela stood and dug a cell phone from her pants' pocket. "This is horrid, simply horrid."
"Are you calling for help?" Cora Lee asked.
"I'm seeing if Princess Joanna is still awake in London." Pamela punched in a number. "I'm feeling a little homesick for jolly ol' England."
Vanda strode toward her. "You're running out on me?"
"No offense, dear, but you're not the safest person to hang out with - Oh, Joanna! How are you? Would you mind terribly if I came for a visit?"
"I want to go, too." Cora Lee rose to her feet. "I've always had a hankerin' to see England."
"Did you hear that, Joanna?" Pamela asked. "Yes, there'll be two of us...Oh, I quite agree. It'll be a lovely holiday."
"I can't believe you're abandoning me!" Vanda yelled.
"One moment, please." Pamela pressed the cell phone to her chest. "Vanda, you know we love you, but there's simply no point in our staying. We'll just get in the way."
"That's true, actually," Phil said. "It's easier for me to protect one than three. And you wouldn't want your friends to be in danger."
Vanda glared at him. Dammit, he was right. She didn't want Pamela or Cora Lee in danger. But this hurt. She'd expected a little more loyalty from her friends.
"The club is gone, too," Cora Lee added. "You don't need us now."
Vanda's heart squeezed in her chest. Yes, her club was gone, but Cora Lee mentioned it like it was no more important than losing a broken plate. Didn't they realize it was her life? It was her great accomplishment. It was her freedom, her independence, her worth, her security. And she'd lost it. "Go ahead, then, and go! Who needs you?"
Pamela winced. "I'm afraid we're not as brave as you."
Cora Lee's bottom lip quivered. "I always wanted to be brave, but I'm too scared."
Vanda turned away to keep them from seeing the tears in her eyes. She'd lost the club. She was losing her friends.
"Phil," Pamela whispered. "Promise us you'll take care of her."
"I will. You have my word."
"God be with you, Vanda," Pamela said.
She glanced back just in time to see both Cora Lee and Pamela lean toward the cell phone to concentrate on Joanna's voice. Then they vanished.
She collapsed on the couch. Her club gone. Her friends gone. The nightmare had started again. The nightmare where she lost everyone she loved, and the bad guys hunted her down to kill her.
A clattering noise drew her attention. Phil had taken all the cups and saucers to the kitchen. A sudden realization hit her. She wasn't alone. Phil was with her. He'd sworn to protect her. Her heart expanded with tenderness and warmth.
Then another realization struck her, and her chest clenched tight. Karl had protected her, too, and it had cost him his life.
She couldn't do this to Phil. With a pang that reverberated through her entire body, she knew for certain that she loved him. And she couldn't let anything happen to him.
"You - " She cleared her throat. "You don't have to clean up after us."
"Actually, I do." He loaded the rinsed dishes into the dishwasher. "We can't leave any signs that you were here. And we need to leave soon. If they decide to verify your death, they'll come here first."
She needed a place to hide. But where? She'd spent most of her time in America safely sequestered in a harem in New York City. She couldn't hide in London with her ex-harem friends without putting them at risk. She couldn't hide in Texas with Maggie without endangering her and her family. "You don't think the townhouse is safe?"
"No." Phil walked toward her. "The Malcontents know about it. It has a good alarm system, but that doesn't stop them from invading."
"Romatech?"
"All the Romatechs are in danger." Phil retrieved a cell phone from his pocket. "Howard has a cabin in the Adirondacks. I've been there a few times for...hunting trips. I'll call, and the answering machine will pick up. Then you can focus on Howard's recorded message and teleport us there. Okay?"
"No."
Phil paused in the middle of punching the number. "What?"
Vanda stood. "I'm not going with you."
His eyes narrowed. "I'm not giving you any choice."
She lifted her chin. "I'm the one doing the teleporting. I can go wherever I please. On my own."
He stepped toward her. "Where are you going?"
She shrugged. "I...know the Carpathian Mountains really well."
"You plan to hide in caves? Sounds comfy."
"Once I'm in my death-sleep, a dirt floor isn't any different than a soft mattress."
He moved closer. "And who will guard you during the day?"
"No one." She tightened the whip around her waist. "I survived like that before. I can do it again."
His jaw shifted as he ground his teeth. "You were alone before. You are not alone now."
"I was alone because Karl died protecting me. I'm not going to let that happen to you."
"It won't happen. I'm a hell of a lot tougher than Karl."
"You never even knew him - "
"I know enough! And I will not allow you to go through this alone."
"You don't have a choice." She searched her psychic memory for a cave in the Carpathians.
He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Don't do it. It could be daylight there."
Damn. He might be right. Teleporting to the east was a very risky business. "It won't be daylight in the cave."
"How long has it been since you were there? Over fifty years? The cave could have changed. You could end up teleporting into solid rock."
She swallowed hard.
"You're teleporting to the cabin and taking me with you." He punched in the number. "End of discussion."
She glared at him. "Are you always so overbearing?"
"When it comes to your safety, yes." He held her tight and lifted the phone to her ear. "Do it."
She concentrated on the recorded message, and in a few seconds they materialized in a dark room. Phil released her then, and pocketed his cell phone. She glimpsed brown log walls and the gray stones of a huge fireplace. Moonlight filtered through windows and glinted off...eyeballs.
She gasped, then spun around, looking for Phil. He was moving through the kitchen to the back door. "Phil?"
"Right here." He flipped on the lights.
She turned back to the eyeballs. The head of a deer was mounted on the wall. A giant moose head hung over the fireplace. And some sort of wild pig with tusks hung over the bookcase. "There are dead animals on the walls."
"This is a hunting cabin."