In his corner of the ballroom, Ivan Petrovsky was still biding his time with Angus MacKay and his moronic Highlanders. The French fop Jean-Luc Echarpe was approaching with yet another Scotsman.
MacKay greeted them. "Did ye find them, Connor?"
"Aye," he replied. "We checked the surveillance cameras. They were exactly where ye thought they'd be."
"Are you talking about Shanna Whelan?" Ivan asked. "I saw Draganesti take off with her, you know. Is that his modern Vamp way of doing things? When in danger, run and hide?"
With a growl, Connor stepped toward him. "Let me snap his scrawny neck once and for all."
"Non." Jean-Luc Echarpe blocked the Scotsman with his walking stick. The Frenchman stared at Ivan, his eyes an icy blue. "When the time comes, I want him."
Ivan snorted. "What are you going to do to me, Echarpe? Give me a fashion makeover?"
The Frenchman smiled. "I guarantee no one will recognize you afterward."
"And the chemist?" Angus asked Connor. "Is he safe?"
"Aye. Ian is with him."
"If you're talking about Laszlo Veszto, I have news for you," Ivan said. "The man's days are numbered."
MacKay's bland look said he was unimpressed. He turned to the Highlander with Ivan's watch. "Well?"
The Scotsman shrugged. "It looks like a normal watch, sir. But we canna be sure unless we open it."
"I understand." MacKay took the watch, dropped it on the floor, and stomped his foot on it.
"Hey!" Ivan jumped to his feet.
MacKay picked up the broken watch and examined the crushed innards. "Looks fine to me. A good watch." He handed it back to Ivan with a twinkle in his eye.
"Bastard." Ivan tossed his ruined watch on the floor.
"Wait a minute." Connor stepped back and looked at the Russians. "Ye have four of them."
"Right," MacKay said. "Ye said there were four at the house in New Rochelle."
"Aye, there were," Connor replied. "But there was a driver, too. Where the hell is he?"
Ivan smiled.
"Bugger," MacKay muttered. "Connor, take a dozen men and scour the premises. Call the guards outside and have them search the grounds."
"Aye, sir." Connor motioned for twelve men to follow him. After a few quick words, they divided up and zoomed off at vampire speed.
The gap in the line of Highlanders was quickly taken up by Corky Courrant and her crew from DVN. "About time you let us get a good shot," she snarled. She turned to the camera with a bright smile. "This is Corky Courrant, reporting for Live with the Undead. There's been one exciting event after another at the Gala Opening Ball. Here you can see that a regiment of Highlanders has taken the Russian-American vampires prisoner. Can you tell me why, Mr. MacKay?" She jammed her microphone under Angus MacKay's nose.
He scowled at her in silence.
Her smile stretched wider and froze. "Surely you don't take prisoners without just cause?" She jabbed the microphone at him once again.
"Go away, lassie," he spoke softly. "This is none of yer business."
"I want to talk." Ivan waved toward the cameraman. "I was invited here, and look how they're treating me."
"We havena harmed you." MacKay drew a pistol and pointed it at Ivan. "Yet. Where is the fifth person of yer group? What is he up to?"
"Still trying to park the car. You know, for a party this big, you really should have valet service."
MacKay arched a brow. "Perhaps I should warn ye these bullets are silver."
"Will you try to kill me in front of so many witnesses?" Ivan sneered. He couldn't have wished for a better situation than this. He not only had the attention of all the guests at the Gala Opening Ball, but everyone watching DVN would also hear his message. He levitated onto his chair and waited for the music to end.
Echarpe slid a sword out of his walking stick. "No one wants to listen to you."
"Will the Gala Opening Ball end in bloodshed?" Corky Courrant whispered in a loud voice. "Don't touch your remote!"
Ivan made a small mocking bow as the music ended. Unfortunately, the bow left his neck misaligned, so he had to pop it back into position.
Corky Courrant faced her camera with a beaming smile.
"Ivan Petrovsky, Russian-American coven master, is about to make a speech. Let's hear what he has to say."
"It has been eighteen years since I attended one of these balls," Ivan began. "Eighteen years that I have been forced to witness the tragic decay of our superior way of life. Our old traditions are laid to waste. Our proud heritage ridiculed. A new politically correct philosophy of the modern-day Vamp has insinuated itself into our midst like a plague."
A murmur began in the crowd. Some didn't like his message, but Ivan suspected there were others who longed to hear him.
"How many of you have grown fat and complacent on this ridiculous Fusion Cuisine? How many of you have forgotten the thrill of the hunt, the ecstasy of the bite? I tell you tonight that this false blood is an abomination!"
"Enough." Angus raised his pistol. "Come down from there."
"Why?" Ivan yelled. "Are you afraid of the truth? The True Ones are not."
Echarpe lifted his sword. "The True Ones are cowards who hide in secret."
"Not anymore!" Ivan looked straight into the camera from DVN. "I am the leader of the True Ones, and tonight we shall have our revenge!"
"Take them!" Angus lunged forward, followed by his men.
Ivan and his followers leaped high into the air, then vanished as they teleported from the building. They landed outside in the garden.
"Hurry!" Ivan yelled. "To the car."
They zipped across the lawn to the parking lot. The car was empty. Vladimir was nowhere in sight.
"Crap," Ivan muttered. "He should have finished by now." He pivoted, scanning their surroundings. "What the hell happened to you?" He stared at Katya.
She glanced down and laughed. "I thought the night air was bit chilly." Her skirt was gone, leaving her naked from the waist down. "When we jumped into the air, the Frenchman tried to grab me. I guess he got a hold of my skirt, and it came off."
"Jean-Luc Echarpe?" Galina asked. "He's so cute. And so are the Scotsmen. Do you think they're naked under those kilts?"
"Enough!" Ivan took off his jacket and tossed it at Katya. "Need I remind you two bitches that you belong to me? Now get in the car."
Katya lifted a brow and instead of wrapping the jacket around her hips as he had intended, she put the jacket on. Her private parts were still on display. Alek gawked at her, his mouth hanging open.
Raw pain stabbed at Ivan's neck. "Do you want to spend the rest of your existence without eyeballs?" he growled.
Alek jerked to attention. "No, sir."
"Then get the ladies in the car and start the damned engine." Ivan gritted his teeth and snapped his neck.
A blur in the dark raced toward them. Vladimir. The vampire stopped beside him.
"Did you find their storage facilities?"
"Da." Vladimir nodded. 'The explosives are ready."
"Good. Let's go." Ivan spotted Highlanders racing toward them. This was it. He reached for the cuff link on his right sleeve. He had suspected the Highlanders would empty his pockets, so he'd hidden the detonator to the C-4 in his cuff link. One punch of the button and Draganesti's precious stockpile of synthetic blood would be gone.
Shanna was speechless. Vampire sex? She wasn't sure such a bizarre phenomenon even existed. Well, there was certainly one way to find out. Should she even consider it?
Well, she couldn't get pregnant from it. And since he wouldn't even be in the same room with her, it had to be perfectly safe. No bites, no holding, no unnecessary roughness. No little vampire babies flying around the nursery.
She groaned. Was she seriously considering this? She'd have to let Roman into her mind. Who knew what awful things he could do to her? What deliciously wicked sensations he could¡ªoops. That line of defense wasn't working.
He had taken a seat at the kitchen table and was watching her with his gold-tinted eyes, looking infuriatingly amused by the whole situation. As if he knew she would say yes. The rascal. Wasn't it enough for him to confess to being a vampire? But no, he had to propose vampire sex in the same evening. Extremely satisfying vampire sex.
Her skin pebbled with goose bumps. He was so intelligent. And he wanted to concentrate all that mental power on the one task of pleasuring her? Good God. She was tempted.
She glanced at his eyes and immediately felt his psychic power encircling her head like a cool breeze. Her heart pounded. Her knees turned to rubber. A loud blast deafened her ears. The floor shook beneath her feet. She grabbed at the wall to steady herself. My God, did he do that to her?
Roman jumped to his feet and dashed to the phone. The room trembled again, and Shanna stumbled toward the easy chair.
"Ian! What the hell is going on?" Roman yelled into the phone. He paused to listen. "Where was the explosion? Was anyone hurt?"
Explosion? Shanna sank into the chair. Oh jeez. She should have known when the Earth moved, it wasn't related to sex. They were under attack.
"Did they catch him?" Roman cursed softly.
"What's going on?" Shanna asked.
"Petrovsky got away," Roman grumbled. "It's all right, Ian. We know where he lives. We can retaliate whenever we wish."
Shanna gulped. It looked like a vampire war had started.
"Ian," Roman spoke into the phone. "I want you and Connor to take Shanna back to the house. And Laszlo and Radinka, too." He hung up. "I have to go. Connor will be here soon."
"Where was the explosion?" She followed him to the door.
He picked up his cape and used it as insulation to turn the locks. "Petrovsky blew up a storeroom of synthetic blood."
"Oh no."
"It could have been worse." He slid back the bar. "The storeroom was far enough away from the ballroom that no one was hurt. But it'll put a dent in our supply."
"Why destroy synthetic blood? Oh." Shanna winced as the answer dawned on her. "He wants to force vampires into biting people again."
"Don't worry." Roman touched her shoulder. "What Petrovsky doesn't know is that I have other plants in Illinois, Texas, and California. We can make up for the shortage on the East Coast if we have to. He hasn't hurt me nearly as bad as he may think."
Shanna smiled with relief. "You're too smart for him."
"I'm sorry I have to go, but I need to check the damage."
"I understand." She pulled open the silver door so he could leave.
He grazed his knuckles down her cheek. "I can be with you later tonight. Will you wait for me?"
"Yes. Be careful." She wanted to hear more about the upcoming war. Roman zoomed down the hall at lightning speed.
As Shanna shut the door, she realized her mistake. He meant he would come to her tonight for vampire sex. And without realizing it, she had agreed.
Thirty minutes later, Shanna was riding in the back of a limousine with Radinka and Laszlo. In the front seat, Connor sat next to Ian, who was driving. Shanna realized now that Ian was much, much older than fifteen. She eyed her companions, trying to figure out if they were all vampires. Ian and Connor definitely were, and they slept in those coffins in the basement. Laszlo was such a sweet, little, cherub-faced man. It was hard to think of him as a demon, though she supposed he was.
Now, Radinka was harder to figure. "You.. you went shopping for me during the daytime, didn't you?"
"Yes, dear." Radinka poured herself a drink from the small wet bar. "I'm mortal, in case you were wondering."
"But Gregori¡ª"
"¡ªis a vampire, yes." Radinka tilted her head to look at Shanna. "Would you like to hear how it happened?"
"Well, it's none of my business."
"Nonsense. It involves Roman, so you should know." Radinka sipped her Scotch and gazed out the tinted window. "Fifteen years ago, my husband, God rest his soul, died of cancer and left us with some horrendous medical bills. Gregori had to leave Yale and come home. He transferred to NYU and got a part-time job. I needed a job, too, but I was inexperienced. Luckily, I found a job at Romatech. The hours were atrocious, of course."
"The night shift?" Shanna asked.
"Yes. After a few months, I adjusted and found I was very capable. And I was never intimidated by Roman. I think he likes that. Eventually I became his personal assistant, and that was when I began to notice things. Especially in Roman's lab. Half-empty bottles of blood, still warm." Radinka smiled. "He's like an absent-minded professor when he's hard at work. He would forget to give himself time to drive home before sunrise. So he'd have to teleport home at the last minute. One second he would be in his lab, and the next, he was gone."
"You knew something was weird."
"Yes. I'm from Eastern Europe originally, and we grow up with tales of vampires. It wasn't difficult to figure it out."
"Didn't it bother you? You didn't want to quit?"
"No." Radinka waved a hand elegantly in the air. "Roman was always very good to me. Then one night, twelve years ago, Gregori came to pick me up from work. We only had one car. He was in the parking lot, waiting for me, when he was attacked."
Connor twisted in his seat. "Was it Petrovsky?"
"I never saw the attacker. He was gone by the time I found my poor son, dying in the parking lot." Radinka shuddered. "But Gregori says it was Petrovksy, and I'm sure he's right. How could you forget the face of the monster who tries to kill you?"
Connor nodded. "We'll get him."
"Why would he attack Gregori?" Shanna asked.
Laszlo fiddled with a button on his tuxedo jacket. "Most likely, he thought Gregori was a mortal employee at Romatech. He made an easy target."
"Yes." Radinka gulped down some Scotch. "My poor Gregori. He'd lost so much blood. I knew he would never survive a trip to the hospital. I asked Roman to save him, but he refused."
A chill crept over Shanna's skin. "You asked Roman to turn your son into a vampire?"
"It was the only way to save him. Roman insisted he would be condemning the boy's soul to hell, but I wouldn't listen to him. I know Roman is good." Radinka gestured to all the vampires in the car. "These were all good, honorable men before death. Why would death change them? I refuse to believe they're condemned to hell. And I refused to give up on my son and let him die!"
Radinka's hand shook as she set her glass down. "I begged him. I got down on my knees and begged him till he couldn't stand it anymore. He took my son in his arms and transformed him." She wiped a tear from her cheek.
With a shiver, Shanna hugged herself. Radinka believed there was good in Roman, too. Why couldn't he see it in himself? Why was he torturing himself for hundreds of years? "How¡ªhow does someone get transformed?"
"A mortal must be drained dry by one or more vampires," Laszlo explained. "At that point, the mortal enters a coma. Left alone, he will die a normal death. But if a vampire feeds his own blood to the victim, the mortal will awaken as a vampire."
"Oh." Shanna swallowed hard. "I don't suppose many people get transformed anymore?"
"Nay," Connor answered. "We doona bite anymore. Of course, Petrovksy and his damned Malcontents do. But we'll take care of them."
"I hope so." Laszlo jerked at a button. "He wants to kill me, too."
"Why?" Shanna asked.
Laszlo fidgeted in his seat. "No good reason."
"Because he helped you escape." Radinka sipped some more Scotch.
Because of her? Shanna's throat tightened, making it hard to breathe. "I.. I'm so sorry, Laszlo. I had no idea."
"It's not your fault." Laszlo scrunched down in his seat. "I was watching Petrovsky on the surveillance camera with Ian. That man is not.. normal."
Shanna wondered what was normal for a vampire. "You mean he's crazy?"
"He's cruel," Connor said from the front seat. "I've known the bastard for centuries. He hates mortals with a passion."
"And he does that creepy thing with his neck." Ian turned the limo to the right. "Verra strange."
"You havena heard that story?" Connor asked.
"No." Ian glanced at him. "What happened?"
Connor twisted in the seat so he could see everyone. "About two hundred years ago, Ivan was still in Russia. He was attacking a village, not only feeding off the people, but torturing them. Some of the villagers found his coffin in the cellar of an old mill. They waited till he was asleep so they could kill him."
Laszlo leaned forward. "They tried to stake him?" "Nay, they were an ignorant lot, the poor sops. They thought burying the coffin would do the trick, so they took it to a consecrated graveyard and buried Ivan under a large statue of an avenging angel. That night, Ivan awoke and tried to dig his way out. He upset the earth so much, the statue tipped over and clobbered him on the head. Broke his bloody neck."
"You're kidding." Shanna grimaced. "Yuk."
"Doona feel sorry for the bastard," Connor continued. "Instead of fixing his neck, he flew into a rage and murdered the entire village. The next day, when his body tried to heal itself, his neck wasna lined up properly, and he's suffered for it ever since."
"He should suffer," Ian said. "He needs to die." Even if they managed to kill the Russian vampire, Shanna didn't know if her problems would be over. The Russian mafia could hire someone else. And a vampire war was erupting around her. She sank down in her seat. The situation seemed hopeless.
Back in her bedroom at Roman's townhouse, Shanna had no choice but to face the truth: She was seriously attracted to a vampire.
She glanced at the pillow where Roman had rested his head. No wonder she had thought he was dead. During the day, he really was dead. But at night, he walked and talked and digested blood. He worked in his lab, using his brilliant brain to produce amazing scientific achievements. He protected his followers. And whenever he felt like it, he had vampire sex. With his harem. All at the same time. And now he wanted to do it with her?
She groaned. What a strange dilemma. She had locked the door after Connor had brought up a tray of food, but it wouldn't stop Roman from trying to enter her brain. A very satisfying experience, he had said.
She put the empty tray on the floor and grabbed the remote control. She didn't want to think about sex anymore. Or his harem. On the DVN channel, she saw Corky Courrant standing in front of a blown-up section of Romatech and reporting on the latest details. Shanna hardly heard her, for she spotted Roman by the crater. He looked tired and strained. His clothes were gray with dust and grime.
The poor man. She longed to touch his handsome face and offer words of encouragement. Just then, the DVN reporter started a series of flashbacks, chronicling the highlights of the Gala Opening Ball. Shanna gasped when her own picture filled the screen. There she was, discovering vampires for the first time. My God, the horror on her face. My face.
She watched herself throwing the glass of blood to the floor. Then Roman grabbed her, flung his cape around her, and she disappeared. The whole thing was digitally recorded so vampires could enjoy watching it over and over.
With trembling fingers, Shanna turned the television off. The full weight of her situation bore down on her. A vampire assassin wanted to kill her. Another vampire wanted to protect her. Roman. She wished he were with her now. He didn't frighten her. He was kind and caring. A good man. Radinka, Connor, and the others agreed. Roman was a wonderful man. He just couldn't see it. He was too haunted by awful memories, memories too atrocious for one person to bear.
If only she could help him see himself as she did. She lay back on the bed. How could a relationship with him ever work? She ought to avoid further contact with him, but she knew in her heart she couldn't resist. She was falling in love with him.
Hours later, in the deep, dreamy moments before sunrise, she felt a sudden chill and snuggled deeper under the covers.
Shanna.
The cold seeped away, and she felt warm and cozy. Desired.
Shanna, darling.
She blinked her eyes open. "Roman? Is that you?"
A soft breath tickled her left ear. A low voice.
Let me love you.