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She dashed out the front door and was halfway to Carlos’s car when she slipped on an icy patch and her feet flew out from under her She landed hard on her hip
"Ow Damn" She eased to her feet and hobbled to the car "Da to , nerve-rackingtoward her What the heck? He was barefoot, with his boots in one hand and his leather coat in the other His black shirt was unbuttoned and flapped wildly as he sprinted toward her
He shifted his jacket to his other arm, then pulled the keys from his pants pocket With a click on the keypad, the doors unlocked
He tossed his shoes and jacket on the backseat "Did you get the info?"
"Yes" She opened her door "What happened to you?"
"Hurry" He slid into the driver’s seat "I overheard the guard calling the police"
She cli, then buckled up "What did you do? I heard so "
"I created a diversion" He backed the car out, then zoomed toward the exit
She eyed his bare chest and partially buttoned pants "Ohlike that" He pulled out onto the street Police sirens wailed in the distance "We’ll co hours are five PM on Sunday Can you make it?"
"I think so" Toni squinted as two police cars raced past thelanced over her shoulder and saw theuard to call the police? She recalled the woman with the slashed jacket And the wo eyes
A twinge of unease knotted her stomach What on earth did Carlos do?
Ian stashed the six vials of the Stay-Awake drug in the safe room in the basement of Romatech--a room completely encased in silver so that a vampire could teleport neither in nor out The silver rooh food, water, and bottled blood to keep a mortal or Vamp alive for threesure the recipe for the Stay-Awake drug was erased from all computer files Now there were only two sources for the formula--a CD in the silver room and Roman’s brain Connor wanted to send Ro, but Roh yet
Since Ian still had a few vacation days left, Connor didn’t expect him to stick around, so he teleported back to the townhouse In the fifth-floor office, he connected the co He zoomed in on her location Shady Oaks Psychiatric Hospital? Why would Carlos take her there? The light started blinking They were on the , and he retrieved it from his sporran "Hello?"
"Ian, this is Vanda," she whispered "I need you to come to the club, but not to the entrance or the ?"
"Just coht" He focused on her voice A few seconds later, he arrived in a dark roolanced around Scattered on the floor around low tables were overstuffed, tasseled pillows in red, purple, and gold silk The walls were covered with sheer drapes of red and gold On the tabletops, candles flickered inside golden hts around the rooh the open cutwork of carved wooden screens that lined one side of the room
"What is this place?" he whispered
"The VIP rooht it would be cool to make it look like a harem The screen folds open, so the VIP custo at the action below But if they want privacy, we close the screen"
Ian peered through a hole in the screen Sure enough, the Horny Devils nightclub was below In front of the stage, lady Vamps bounced e spun around in a black, flowing vampire cape Beneath the cape he was naked, except for a black bow tie and red, sparkly bikini underwear
Ian winced Dracula would roll over in his grave
"By the way, all the girls down there have been asking about you," Vanda said "They want to h at me?"
Vanda snorted "Actually, they all want the honor of being the one to take your virginity"
"Bloody hell," he muttered "Did ye tell them they’re about five hundred years too late?"
"I tried to, but they prefer Corky’s version I suspect they think being your first will ive them some airtime on Corky’s show"
"Och So it’s fame and no’ me that attracts them Was there an important reason ye called h the screen "Look at the bar"
His gaze shifted to Cora Lee, whose blonde head was close to a stocky nition clicked in place "Dammit to hell"
Vanda cast him a worried look "Then you knoho he is?"
"Aye Jedrek Janow" Ian had last seen the one there with Jean-Luc and others to help rescue Angus and Emma Jedrek had been there with Casimir, but when the Malcontents started to lose the battle, both Jedrek and Casi their Russian comrades behind to be vanquished
Shanna’s father and his CIA Stake-Out team maintained a constant surveillance of the Russian- American vaed to plant the listening devices in their headquarters Unfortunately, the bugs had been destroyed a few nights ago Jedrek was being thorough
"He usually hangs out in Eastern Europe," Ian explained, "but he’s recently been put in charge of the Russian-American coven in Brooklyn"
"But he’s Polish," Vanda protested
"Half Polish, half Russian, and Casiarded Vanda curiously "How do ye know him?"
A hint of pain flickered across her face "Let’s just say he got along really ith the Nazis
He’s a vicious killer, and he enjoys it"
"A Malcontent poster boy" Ian peered through the screen "He’s drinking Bleer to fool Cora Lee into thinking he’s a regular Vamp"
"Unfortunately, it’s not that hard to fool Cora Lee"
Ian strained his ears, but he couldn’t hear Jedrek’s low voice over the din of loudwo"
Vanda frowned, considering "If I go down there, he’ll recognize me and--oh, I know There’s an intercom on my desk that connects to the bar I use it when I need to talk to Cora Lee This way"
She strode to a door partially hidden behind a sheer red curtain Ian followed her down a flight of stairs and into her office
"Is this it?" He reached for the intercom on her desk
"Wait It’s a tay connection," she warned him "We’ll have to be perfectly quiet"
He nodded and pushed the button with his finger