Be Still My Vampire (20 page)

He heard sounds from the wine cellar. The enemy was stirring. If only he had enough energy to grab Emma and teleport out, but he was too weak from hunger.

“Puir lass, I’m so sorry,” he whispered, touching her face. The smell of her sweet blood triggered an instant response. Hunger flooded in. He grabbed his knife and stumbled back to his flask on the floor. He opened the top with shaking fingers. Pain lanced his gums where his fangs strained to surge out. A vampire’s hunger was always worst when he first awoke.

He gulped down Blissky. Slowly his hunger was quenched. His fangs retreated and relaxed. God, how he hated being a slave to this hunger. It was why he always carried an extra supply of synthetic blood in his flask. As the last drop slid down his throat, he reveled in the renewed strength that coursed through his body. He was powerful once again. He would save Emma.

The door swung open. Brouchard sauntered in, carrying a candlestick. “Bonsoir, mes amis!Hubert, I want you to fetch us some tasty mortals for breakfast.” He halted with a gasp. “Hubert! What are you doing, lying with zhat woman?”

Angus zoomed toward Brouchard and plunged his dagger into the chubby vampire’s heart. Brouchard squealed, then turned to dust.

Uri and Alek ran in, both armed with swords. Angus was outnumbered, but he knew he’d be stronger. He’d already fed, and they had not. He dodged Alek’s attack, then fended off Uri.

Katya entered, carrying her blowpipe. “You fools. There is only one way to subdue him.” She lifted her pipe to her mouth.

At the last minute, Angus spun, grabbed Uri, and turned him to face the oncoming dart. Uri stiffened and fell, the dart embedded in his chest.

Katya’s eyes flashed with anger. “Alek, kill the woman.”

“Of course.” Alek dashed toward Emma, his sword raised.

“Nay!” Angus shouted.

Katya lifted a hand to stop Alek. “I will spare her, Angus, if you surrender to me.”

Angus hesitated. He needed to buy more time so he and Emma could escape. He released his knife. It clattered to the stone floor.

With a sneer, Katya kicked his knife aside. “I always knew you were a fool. You could have had me, but you chose that lowly…bug . I will enjoy watching you suffer.”

Angus gritted his teeth. “I’m certain ye will. ’Tis in your nature to be cruel and vicious.”

She scoffed. “There was a time when you said I was beautiful and full of potential.”

He eyed her sadly. “I wanted ye to be good, Katya. I wanted ye to use yer powers for good. ’Tis no’ too late.”

“And you thinkshe is good?” Katya glared at Emma on the floor. “That bitch is a murderer. She deserves to die. And if I give her to Casimir, he will spare my life.” She gave Angus a seductive look. “You wouldn’t want me to die, would you? We had such good times together.”

“Ye’re already dead to me.”

She took in a hissing breath and pulled a dart from her pocket. “I will make you pay, Angus MacKay. You will wish you were never born.” She jammed the dart into his chest.

He crumpled to the ground. His body refused to move. Despair seeped into his bones. He’d bought Emma some more time, but now he was unable to defend her.

Alek and Katya took turns going out to feed. Then Katya removed his sporran. He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see her triumphant smirk. Alek hauled him out of the cellar and dumped him in the alley. Angus cursed silently. Here he was, alone and free to go, but he couldn’t move. Soon Alek returned, carrying Emma. He set her down and frisked her.

“A cell phone.” Alek removed the phone from Emma’s pocket and handed it to Katya.

“Ironic, don’t you think?” She punched a button on his phone. “I can use your whore’s phone to take you to your doom.” She leaned down to grab his arm. “Galina? We’re coming.”

Katya vanished, taking Angus with her. He felt a floating sensation, then a hard floor beneath him. He opened his eyes to look around. They were in an old stone building, sparsely furnished. Alek appeared next to him, carrying Emma.

“How do you like my place?” a red-haired female asked.

Angus recognized her from the last vampire ball. She’d been there with Ivan Petrovsky. This had to be Galina, the former harem girl who had helped Katya murder Ivan so they could be co-masters of the Russian coven.

“It’s perfect.” Katya looked around. “Do you have the room ready for our guests?”

Galina laughed. “Oh yes. They’re going to love it!” She waved at a bulky blond man. “Burien, will you and Miroslav carry our guest?”

The two male vampires hefted Angus up and followed Galina outside.

“Where’s Uri?” Galina asked.

“Detained,” Katya muttered. “He’ll join us later.”

Angus looked around the best he could. The night sky was clear, the stars bright. It was later in the night here than in Paris, so they had traveled east. They might be in eastern Russia since Katya came from there. He recalled reading a report on Galina. She’d come from the Ukraine, so that was another possibility.

They were definitely in the countryside. The nearby hills were forested. An old stone wall encircled the property. A wooden barn nearby was falling down. He spotted Alek, carrying Emma.

They proceeded down some stone steps. A storm cellar? A root cellar? He heard a heavy door creak open.

“Put her on the cot there,” Galina ordered.

He heard bedsprings squeak. He was dumped on the floor.

“There’s one light,” Galina said. With a small click, the room was lit by a lone lightbulb dangling from the ceiling.

Angus blinked. The whole room seemed to shimmer with sparkly lights.

Galina laughed. “Pretty, isn’t it?”

“Expensive,” Katya muttered.

“The plates on the ceiling are pure silver,” Galina boasted. “And the walls, window, and door are covered with silver necklaces. It’s almost like the old chain mail that knights wore.”

“As long as it keeps them from escaping.” Alek prowled around the room, examining the walls.

“Oh, it works,” Galina assured them. “I had Miroslav try teleporting through the walls, and he couldn’t. He bounced right off and ended up with severe burns. And Burien tried to send telepathic messages to me, but nothing could come through.”

“Excellent.” Katya sounded pleased. “Now all we need to do is locate Casimir and offer him our little gifts.”

They filed from the room and slammed the door shut. A bolt slid across. Angus closed his eyes. As soon as the nightshade wore off, he would see to their escape. But a room lined with silver would be difficult. Thank God Emma was mortal. Silver wouldn’t burn her. Nor would it stop her from using her psychic abilities.

An hour or so passed, then he heard movement on the cot.

“Emma?” he managed to croak.

She groaned.

He cleared his throat. “Emma?” That sounded better.

“God, my head hurts.” The cot creaked. “Are you all right?”

“Canna move. Nightshade.”

“Oh, bummer.” The cot squeaked again. “Shit, they took the phone.” Footsteps came toward him. She knelt beside him.

He saw her face splotched with purple and black bruises. “Bugger.”

She touched her face and winced. “Lovely, huh?”

“Ye’re always lovely. But I feel badly that ye were fighting for yer life, and I wasna able to help you.”

“I feel badly for getting us into this mess.” She looked him over. “They took your sporran.” She gave him a sly look. “I mean your purse.”

He growled.

“Any idea where we are?”

“I’m guessing either western Russia or the Ukraine. I canna teleport or send psychic messages through the silver.”

“Silver?” She glanced around, then up at the ceiling. “Good heavens, it’s everywhere.”

“I wish I could touch you,” he whispered. “It grieves me to see ye in pain.”

Her gaze lowered back to his face. With a small smile, she touched his cheek. “What happened while I was knocked out?”

“I killed Brouchard.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Wicked. Congratulations.”

“Uri and Alek attacked. Katya missed with her blowpipe and hit Uri.”

Emma grinned, then winced at the pain. “Ouch. I guess the royal bitch managed to hit you eventually.”

“Aye.”

Emma gave him a worried look. “I get the feeling there’s something personal between you and her.”

Angus closed his eyes briefly. “It was a mistake. And a long time ago.”

“She hates you now.”

“She hates you, too.”

Emma smiled. “Well, I did kill six of her men.”

“’Tis more than that. She… suspects that I care very deeply about you.”

Emma’s smile faded. “She could be wrong.”

“Nay. She’s always had good instincts.”

Emma’s eyes glistened with tears as she touched his face. “I’m so sorry. They would have never captured us if I’d stayed put like you asked.”

“But they would have kept killing every night until we came. The showdown was inevitable.”

She leaned closer. “I’ll get us out of here. Somehow.”

“We’ll do it together.”

She searched his eyes, and he thought his heart would break. Her gaze lowered to his mouth. She touched her lips against his, then sat up.

His mouth quirked. “I’m completely helpless. Are ye sure ye wouldna like to have yer way with me?”

She snorted. “You’re such a he-man.” She rose to her feet and moved from his view.

“Oh, gross!” Her voice came from a far corner. “Our bathroom consists of a wooden tub, a bucket of water, and a chamber pot.”

“I used a chamber pot for centuries. Ye’ll get used to it.”

“I guess,” she muttered. “I really need to go.”

“Then go.” He heard a series of curses and scrambling noises.

“They call this toilet paper? I could file my nails with this stuff!” Finally she announced she was done. He heard a splash of water as she rinsed her hands.

She paced around the room. “Next time we’re staying at the Hilton.”

Something hit the floor.

“What was that?” Angus asked.

“I turned the cot onto its side.” She grabbed him under the shoulders and dragged him. He tried to move his legs to help, but they were still dead weight.

She propped him up against the cot in a sitting position. “There. Isn’t that better?”

“Yes.” He could see more of the room now. A screen hid the primitive bathroom in the corner. Other than the cot, the only furniture was a small round table and two chairs. High up on the eastern wall, there was a small window.

The bolt on the door scraped.

Emma grabbed a chair and plastered herself against the wall next to the door.

The door creaked open. No one came in. A woman’s voice on a walkie-talkie spoke in Russian.

“Put the chair down,” Alek’s voice ordered. “We know what you are doing. We have cameras in the room.”

Emma lowered the chair and gazed around the room.

The Russian vampire Burien stepped inside and pointed a machine gun at her. She raised her hands.

Alek marched into the room with a tray in his hands. “We saw you were awake. We thought you might be hungry.” He set the tray on the table.

“Ye make a good servant,” Angus muttered.

“Indeed,” Emma agreed with a sweet smile. “Be a dear and empty the chamber pot for me?”

Alek glared at them both. “We are watching your every move. And very soon, we expect it to be quite entertaining.” Chuckling, he left the room.

Burien followed him. The door slammed shut, causing all the silver on it to glimmer. The bolt slid home.

Emma brought the chair back to the table. “What a creep. After I eat, I’ll find all the cameras and destroy them.” She touched the stuff in the bowl and tasted it from her fingertip. “Porridge. Not bad, actually, and I’m starving.”

Angus sighed. His flask was gone. His heart twisted. Poor Emma. Katya had come up with the perfect way to torture them both. No wonder she wanted to watch.

“I hate to eat alone.” Emma sat at the table, frowning. “Those jerks didn’t bring you any food at all.”

Then her eyes met his and her spoon dropped with a clatter on the table. At last she was realizing the true nature of their imprisonment.

“Aye,” Angus told her. “As far as they’re concerned, they have left me a source of food.”

Sean Whelan hesitated on the sidewalk in front of Roman Draganesti’s townhouse. He suspected they were holding Emma Wallace prisoner inside.

When Emma hadn’t shown up for the Wednesday meeting, he’d been mildly concerned. She could be running late or feeling poorly. But she wasn’t answering her home phone or cell phone.

Ground-floor security reported she’d left the building early the night before with a man from MacKay Security and Investigation, the company that provided security for Roman Draganesti and Jean-Luc Echarpe. Since those two were powerful coven masters, Sean figured the company’s owner, Angus MacKay, was also a vampire. In fact, he suspected Angus MacKay was the newly arrived Scotsman living at Draganesti’s townhouse.

Dammit, Sean had known something was wrong the other night when he thought he’d heard Emma scream. These vampire men were despicable. First they kidnapped and seduced his daughter. Now they were after Emma.

The front door opened. Sean stiffened. The bastards inside had seen him. His revolver was tucked into his belt behind his back, fully loaded with silver bullets.

The vampire named Connor stood in the doorway, wearing his usual red and green plaid kilt. “Did ye have a question, Whelan, or were ye planning to glare at us all night?”

Sean strode to the base of the stairs. “I have a question, scumbag. Are you holding Emma Wallace against her will?”

The Scotsman arched a brow.

“’Cause if you are,” Sean continued, “I’ll have fifty FBI agents here in ten minutes to tear this place apart.”

“We know Emma Wallace is missing.” A pained look crossed Connor’s face briefly. “One of ours is missing, too.”

Sean frowned. “Are you saying they ran off together?”

Connor’s eyes glimmered with anger. “Nay, they were kidnapped, and they’re in grave danger. We’re doing our best to find them.” He started to close the door.

“Wait!” Sean climbed a stair. “Do you know who kidnapped them?”

Connor paused, then opened the door wider. “’Twas Katya Miniskaya and some of her Russian Malcontents.”

“Why would they want your… friend?”

Connor gave him an irritated look. “If ye had listened to yer daughter, ye would know there are two factions amongst us.”

“Yeah, right,” Sean interrupted him. “I’ve heard it before. But why did they take Emma?”

Connor snorted. “It is amazing how little ye know. Emma Wallace is the slayer. She’s killed at least four Malcontents since last summer. No doubt Katya is seeking revenge.”

“Emma is a slayer?” Sean couldn’t believe it. Why would she keep that a secret? Hell, he would have given her a medal.

Connor gritted his teeth. “She’s the cause of this trouble. Angus was trying to protect her. Now Katya has them both.”

“Angus MacKay?”

“Aye. He’s been watching her, trying to keep her safe.”

“What can we do?” Sean winced when he realized he’d used the wordwe .

Connor studied him, then nodded once. “All right. I see no harm in an exchange of information.”

“Okay,” Sean agreed readily since he didn’t have any. “You go first.”

Connor gave him a suspicious look, then crossed his arms. “They were taken toParis . We notified the coven there, and they found the place where Angus and Emma were held prisoner. There were signs of a great struggle. Several dead bodies, both vampire and mortal. A Russian named Uri was captured. He’ll be interrogated as soon as he can speak.”

“And Emma?”

“Her tote bag was found. So was Angus’s sporran and knife. We believe they were teleported some place, perhaps inRussia since Katya comes from there. We’re searching for them now.” Connor tilted his head. “What information do ye have?”

Sean smiled. “None. But thanks for sharing.”

“Pompous arse,” Connor muttered. “Have ye no’ been conducting a surveillance of the Russian coven? Surely ye heard something. Katya must have been planning this for days.”

“Our bugs were discovered a few days ago and destroyed by some nasty guy fromPoland . He told Katya that Casimir was angry with her for killing Ivan Petrovsky. He demanded she catch the slayer by Saturday.” Sean blinked. “Shit. He meant Emma.”

“Ye knew more than ye realized, Whelan. Ye need to plant yer bugs again. Someone in the Russian coven may know where Katya is hiding.”

“We can’t get in. There are too many mafia thugs watching the place during the day.”

Connor tilted his head, thinking. “I know a way in. If we help ye plant the bugs, will ye share any information ye learn?”

Sean hesitated. The idea of allying himself with vampires was sickening.

Connor glowered at him. “We are the best equipped to find Miss Wallace. Would ye sacrifice her because of yer hatred?”

The vampire was right, but it still left a sour taste in Sean’s mouth. “We’ll cooperate. Just this once.”

“Wait here.” Connor went into the house, then returned with a piece of paper. “This is my number. As soon as ye have yer surveillance van in position, call me.”

Forty minutes later, Sean and Garrett were in their white van, parked down the street from the Russian vampires’ house inBrooklyn . Sean made the call.

“Keep talking,” Connor ordered.

“What? Hello? Are you there?” Sean glanced at Garrett. “He doesn’t answer.”

Two figures appeared in the van.

“Shit!” Garrett jumped back and fell off his chair.

Connor let go of the one who had traveled with him. He was a young black man in torn jeans and a gray, hooded sweatshirt.

“This is Phineas McKinney,” Connor said. “He knows what to do. Right, Phineas?”

“Right.” Phineas rubbed his palms nervously on his jeans. “I hope I can help find Miss Wallace and Angus. I feel really bad about goofing up.”

“Goofing up?” Sean asked.

“A long story. Do ye have the bugs?” Connor asked.

“Yes.” Sean handed them to Phineas and gave him some last-minute directions.

“I got it.” Phineas stuffed the bugs in his sweatshirt pocket and glanced at Connor. “I won’t let you down, man.”

Connor smiled slightly. “I know, lad. Ye’ll do fine.”

Phineas exited the back of the van and strolled toward the Russians’ house. He opened the front door and sauntered inside.

“Jesus Louise,” Garrett muttered. “How can he just walk in like that?”

“They transformed him about a week ago,” Connor explained. “They think he lives there.”

“But he works for you, now?” Sean asked.

“Aye. He’s a good lad. He couldna take to their evil ways.”

Sean snorted. “You think the Russians are the only evil ones around here?”

Connor glared at him. “In the mortal world, there are good and evil people. Why should it be any different in the vampire world?”

Because you’re all evil.Sean swallowed the words. Though for the sake of his daughter, he hoped her husband wasn’t abusing her. And it was odd the way Connor and Phineas seemed to care about Angus MacKay’s safety. Was there friendship and loyalty in the vampire world?

The van remained quiet while they waited. A few minutes later, the first surveillance screen flickered, then came on.

“We’re live,” Garrett announced. “Looks like Katya’s office.”

The second and third screen came on with different views of her office.

“Testing, testing,” Phineas murmured, his face in a camera. He suddenly turned toward the office door. “Oh, Stan the man. Hey, bro. What’s up?”

A male entered the sites of cameras two and three. “What are you doing here? Where have you been?” he asked with a Russian accent.

Phineas shrugged. “I needed a sabbatical, man. A little rest and relaxation with my old ladies. You know how it is.” He adjusted his jeans. “A man has needs that cannot be denied.”

The Russian snorted. “You should have brought them here.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right. Next time I will. I know this sweet little blonde named Tina. Man, is she hot!”

The Russian wandered toward the desk. “What are you doing in Katya’s office?”

“I thought since I was gone a few days, I should tell the queen bitch that I’m back, but she’s not here. Hell, nobody seems to be here. Where did everybody go?”

The Russian crossed his arms, frowning. “They left the country, but they didn’t invite me.”

“Well, that sucks.” Phineas looked indignant. “They didn’t invite me, either.”

The Russian sighed. “I think they all went to Galina’s place. She left early to prepare it for their visit.”

“Who’s Galina? Is she hot?”

The Russian smiled. “Very hot. You don’t know her? She’s the most beautiful—oh, right. She left before you came here.”

“Damn. I hope she comes back.”

The Russian nodded. “I do, too. I asked if I could go with her, but she took Burien and Miroslav.”

“Those two morons? She’s got lousy taste. Where do you think she went?”

The Russian shrugged. “Probably to theUkraine .”

Phineas laughed. “Never heard of it. Well, I’m off. Got some hos waiting for me, you understand.” He strolled out of view.

“Can you bring me one?” The Russian followed him.

The office was empty. Five minutes later, Phineas left the house and sauntered down the sidewalk. He tapped on the back door of the van and climbed inside.

“Ye did verra well, lad.” Connor patted him on the back.

Phineas sat up straighter. “Hell, yeah. Whenever you need an undercover brother, just call me, Dr. Phang.”

“Dr. Phang?” Sean asked.

Garrett snickered.

“We’ll concentrate our search on theUkraine .” Connor grabbed Phineas’s arm. “We must go.”

“Wait!” Sean raised a hand. “If you find out anything, you’ll let me know?”

Connor nodded. “We’ll do our best to save them both.” He and Phineas disappeared.

“They’re so weird,” Garrett mumbled. “I mean, they really seem to care.”

Vampires who cared? Sean wondered. Could Shanna be right? And what about her baby? She was supposed to have it soon. What kind of creature would it be?

Emma gave up on eating her oatmeal. She’d lost her appetite. She stood and surveyed the small room, but avoided looking at Angus. “I’ll try to find those cameras.”

She spotted one high up on the windowsill of the eastern wall. Too high to reach, so she shoved the table underneath.

“Emma.”

She ventured a quick look at Angus. “Yes?”

“Ye’re perfectly safe for now. I still canna move. And I found the flask ye left me, so I’m full.”

Safe for now. How long could he retain his gentlemanly demeanor before primal survival instincts took over? Would he attack her like the ones who had attacked her parents? She hated the thought of being dinner. Still, she didn’t blame Angus. He couldn’t help it. He was what he was.

“We’ll get through this… somehow.” She glanced up at the camera. “But I really don’t want an audience.”

She climbed up on the table and reached between the silver chains to grab the camera. “I bet these chains burned the vampire who put this here.”

“Most likely it was mortals who hung all the silver and placed the cameras. The Malcontents have probably taken control of the nearby village, using the mortals for food and labor.”

Emma pivoted on the table and examined the sparkling room. “It must have cost a fortune.”

“’Tis easy to steal when ye can teleport.”

Emma slanted him a wry look. “And you know this how… ?”

He grinned. “My sneaking about is legitimate work for my company.”

“Right.” She sat and slid to her feet. “With all your powers, you were never tempted to do anything naughty.”

His smile faded as his gaze grew more intense. “I have been tempted greatly of late.”

Her cheeks grew warm. Time to change the subject. “I know a good place for this camera.” She sauntered behind the screen and dropped it into the chamber pot.

She strolled along the northern wall of their cell, searching for another camera. “How old were you when you were transformed?”

“Thirty-three.”

She grabbed a silver chain and tugged hard. It held firm. “And you said you were married?”

“Aye. I tried going home after Roman changed me, but my wife couldna accept me. She was afraid of the creature I had become.”

Emma glanced at him. “I’m so sorry.”

“Are you? I believe ye intend to reject me for the same reason.”

Wincing, she turned back to the wall. Time to change the subject again. She spotted a tiny camera over the door. “Were you able to watch your children and grandchildren grow up?” She dragged a chair over to the door.

“I kept an eye on my descendants, trying to protect them, but I could never be there during the day.” A pained look haunted his face. “I lost so many at Culloden. And those who survived suffered greatly from the oppression to follow. Many left forAmerica , and I lost track of them.”

He closed his eyes briefly. “Nay, the truth is I was weary of watching them suffer. I dinna have the heart to keep up with them any longer.”

“I’m so sorry. At least you still have Robby.”

“Aye, he’ll inherit the company and my castle if I perish.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to you. We’re going to be fine.” She stepped up on the chair and ripped the camera off the wall. “You’re lucky you still have family.”

“Do ye have no one, Emma?”

“A few cousins inTexas , but I hardly know them.” She jumped down from the chair and headed toward their primitive bathroom. “My father worked for North Sea Petroleum.” She dropped the second camera into the chamber pot. “He was stationed in Houston when he met my mum. My brother and I were born there, so we both had dual citizenship.”

She gave him a wry look as she came around the screen. “But I bet you already know all about me from checking out my profile at MI6.”

He smiled. “I like hearing it from you. How long did ye live in Texas?”

She scanned the west wall as she talked. “We moved back to England when I was seven. My brother was ten. My dad always liked working abroad, and sometimes he would take Mum with him. My brother and I would stay with Aunt Effie in Scotland.”

“And yer aunt had psychic powers, too?”

“Yes. She was my dad’s sister. They both had it. She’s the one who taught me how to contact Dad over a long distance.” No cameras on the west wall. Emma moved to the north wall. “She died four years ago. She left me her cottage by Linlithgow.”