In the bathroom, he yanked the T-shirt off, then stared at the words Toni had scribbled. Could she really be jealous that so many women desired him? Or did he just want her to be jealous? One thing was certain. He was totally intrigued by their beautiful female guard.
Angus MacKay's cardinal rule repeated in the back of his mind. A guard must never become romantically involved with his charges. She was forbidden. She was mortal.
"Bloody hell." He tossed the T-shirt in the trash.
CHAPTER 5
Jedrek Janow moved slowly across his new office at the Russian-American coven house in Brooklyn. So far, so good. His electronic scanning device wasn't picking up any bugs. When he'd arrived Tuesday night, he'd found a few. He suspected there was a mole in his coven, but until he found the bastard, he'd keep checking the office every night.
Such disloyalty and incompetence would not be tolerated. As the new master, he'd made it clear last night that he expected more from this coven. Any member who wasn't willing to die to achieve his goals might as well die now. He'd punctuated his speech by staking a coven member who hadn't looked properly impressed.
That simple act had done wonders for everyone's motivation. The men had offered to hunt for him. The women had offered to screw him. All except one. The little brunette, Nadia, had looked terrified of him.
So of course he'd selected her. He smiled, remembering the brutal hour he'd spent with her. When he'd finally let her slink away in tears, he'd relished the certain knowledge that her fear of him had grown. She still had some spirit in her, though. He'd break it soon enough. It was a game he'd enjoyed many times over the centuries.
He finished scanning the room. It was clean, and it would stay that way now that he was in charge. The former coven masters had been idiots. Ivan Petrovsky had ended up betrayed and assassinated by his own coven. Katya Miniskaya had made a ton of money, only to squander it all in a pathetic attempt to kill a former lover who'd jilted her.
Neither Ivan nor Katya had recognized what was truly important. When Roman Draganesti invaded this building during the daytime to rescue one of his minions, Ivan had simply increased the number of day guards. The idiot! Draganesti had been awake during the day. The significance of that had completely evaded Ivan. And Katya.
A vampire who could stay awake during the day could rule the world. All vampires would have to bow to him for fear of being slaughtered during their daily death-sleep.
"Master?" Yuri knocked on the door. The door was open, but he was afraid to enter without Jedrek's permission.
Good. They were learning fast. Jedrek sat behind his desk and dropped the bug detector in a drawer. "Enter."
"I have the report and photos you requested."
"Show me."
Yuri set some digital photos on the desk. "This is Romatech and some of the Vamps who work there."
Jedrek recognized the pictures of Draganesti and his bodyguard, Connor Buchanan. "Who is this?"
"Gregori Holstein. A vice president at Romatech."
"Where is the information on Draganesti's home?"
Yuri gulped. "We haven't been able to find it. Yet," he quickly added in response to Jedrek's glare. "Here are some photos of his townhouse in the Upper East Side."
Jedrek looked through them. There was a kilted Scotsman and a young black man in the MacKay uniform.
Yuri pointed at the photo of a third man. "This guy arrived last night. We're not sure who he is. He doesn't match any of our older photos."
Jedrek studied the picture of a young man in a red and green kilt. "Another damned Highlander. I swear MacKay has an endless supply of them." He picked up the last photo of a young blonde woman. "Who is this? Their whore?"
"Perhaps." Yuri shifted his weight. "She's mortal."
"How can you tell?"
"I…recognize her. I fed on her Monday night."
Jedrek set her picture down. "Wasn't that the night you let Sashenka get slaughtered?"
"Connor Buchanan killed him," Yuri said quickly. "We had everything under control until he showed up."
Jedrek curled his hands into fists. "It was three against one. You should have killed the damned Scotsman. What did I tell you about incompetence?"
Yuri paled. "It will not be tolerated."
Jedrek stared at the man, allowing Yuri's fear to grow as the seconds ticked by. He breathed deeply. He loved the smell of fear. "You are fortunate the event happened before I became master. I am hungry now. Fetch me a mortal."
"Yes, Master." Yuri bowed. "Right away."
Jedrek smoothed a finger over the face of the girl in the photo. "Bring me a blonde. I hear they're more fun."
After a subway ride and short walk to Washington Square, Toni arrived at the second-floor apartment she shared with Sabrina. She dropped her handbag and keys on the coffee table, then shrugged out of her jacket and tossed it and her scarf on the love seat. Sabrina's cat, Vanderkitty, jumped from the easy chair to weave around Toni's legs.
"Hey, Van." Toni rubbed behind the orange tabby's ears. "Have you seen your mama?"
Van gave her an annoyed look, then marched off to the kitchen area to assume a regal pose by her food bowl.
"Don't give me that. I know Carlos has been feeding you." Toni peered inside Sabrina's bedroom.
It looked the same as it had last Sunday—discarded jeans on the floor, textbooks lying open across the purple chenille bedspread. Before going out Sunday night, Sabrina had spent most of the day studying for finals this week—finals she had missed. Toni had visited all of Bri's professors on Monday to explain why Bri would be absent. She would receive incompletes in all five of her classes.
It was as if Sabrina's life had suddenly frozen in time, and her room along with her. Toni wondered if their lives would ever be the same.
She turned on the bedside lamp, then dug through the top drawer of Bri's bedside table. Her heart squeezed when she spotted a birthday card Bri had kept. Toni had given it to her years ago. It was the first time she'd bought a card that was addressed to "Sister."
As far as Toni was concerned, Bri was her sister. They'd been best friends for ten years. They spent their holidays and vacations together. God knew their real families didn't want them.
Which was why it was so weird for Bri to leave the hospital with her aunt and uncle. Toni had heard so little about this couple over the years, she couldn't even recall their full names. Joe and Gwen something-or-other who occasionally remembered to send Bri a Christmas card. Why had they suddenly developed an interest in their niece?
Toni located a pink fuzzy address book and thumbed through the pages. It was sad how few names were in the book. Even sadder how many names had been crossed out over the years. Poor Bri. It was so hard for her to find people she could trust.
Toni carried the address book back into the living room and flopped down on the love seat. Vanderkitty jumped onto the back of the love seat to perch by Toni's ear.
"You miss your mama?" Toni interpreted the loud purring as a yes. "Yeah, me, too."
She flipped through the pages of the address book. "Aha!" Under the Ps, she found Dr. Joe Proctor and Gwen, who lived in Westchester. This had to be them, although Toni hadn't known Uncle Joe was a doctor.
She reached over the sofa arm for the cordless phone on the end table and noticed the blinking message light. Four messages. Three were from her, since she'd called three times. Maybe the fourth one was from Bri.
Toni punched the play button and listened to her voice grow increasingly worried with each message. Finally the last message.
"Bri, this is Justin. You gotta forgive me, babe—"
Right. Toni turned the message off. Then she dialed the number for the Proctors. What kind of doctor was he? A proctologist? Her snort was interrupted by a feminine voice with a Hispanic accent.