"Right." Over my dead body, which was unfortunately, too close to the truth. Darcy stood and headed to the door. "I have a lot of work to do. So, if you could move your little booties somewhere else, I'd appreciate it."
He turned with a flourish of his cape and left. Darcy shut the door and locked it.
Austin rose before dawn and went to the office. Since it was a Saturday, Sean wasn't there, and he was grateful for that. He didn't want to answer questions. He borrowed a white surveillance van from Homeland Security and visited a local cable company where flashing his badge got him a clipboard full of invoices and a work shirt with the company logo. He drove to DVN and arrived by eight o'clock in the morning.
"We got a complaint about four in the morning from Sylvester Bacchus," he explained to the mortal security guard. "The internet connection was going on and off."
"Really?" The guard took the clipboard and regarded the invoice with a suspicious eye. "I wasn't notified about this."
"They probably forgot to tell you." You will believe me, Austin projected his thoughts into the guard's head.
The guard handed the clipboard back. "Come on in."
"Thanks. This won't take long." Austin headed for the offices with his tool box. Sylvester Bacchus's office was easy to find since he had a big brass name-plate on his door. Austin closed the door and went to work. The computers at DVN were basically dinosaurs, so he had to download everything onto disks. When he was done, he made sure everything looked the way it had before.
As he crossed the lobby, he waved at the security guard. "Everything's fixed."
Back in his apartment, Austin made labels for each of the disks and downloaded all the data onto his laptop. He now had all the information anyone would ever want to know about DVN. All he had to do was email it to Sean. But if he sent the information, Darcy would be targeted with all the other vampires.
He shut the laptop and looked at the stuff on his coffee table. Videos of Darcy, disks from DVN, and the damned list that said Vampires Must Die. He couldn't take it anymore. The more he tried to do the right thing, the worse he felt.
Sometimes, being the good guy really sucked.
It was Saturday night and time for the debut. Gregori drove Darcy and Maggie to the penthouse.
There, they found the lady judges in their parlor, waiting excitedly for the show to begin. The
Bubbly Blood was chilling in an ice bucket.
Midnight arrived, and the ladies were glued to the screen. All televisions had been removed from the rooms upstairs. The male Vamps needed to remain ignorant about the mortal competitors, so they weren't allowed to watch the show until it was finished. And of course, the mortals had to be kept completely in the dark. That was easy to do, since the two mortals had left the penthouse entirely.
As the show came to a close, Darcy grew tense with worry. The last scene was the one in the portrait room when the ladies discovered for the first time that some of the contestants were mortal.
Soon, the ladies' outrage would explode on the screen. How on earth would Sly react? He'd wanted a big twist, but this might be a bigger one than he could handle.
When the closing credits began, the ladies poured Bubbly Blood and toasted each other. Darcy accepted a glass with a growing sense of doom. Any minute now…
The phone rang. She set down her glass with a sigh.
Gregori answered the phone. "Sure, she's here." He handed the receiver to Darcy. "It's Shanna
Draganesti."
Darcy blinked. Shanna? Why would she be calling? "Hello?"
"Darcy, I need to talk to you. It's important."
"Okay." Darcy waited for Shanna to talk.
"I mean in person. I'm at our new house in White Plains. Can you teleport here?"
Darcy's grip on the phone tightened. "Actually, no. Maybe Gregori can drive me—?" She gave him a questioning look.
"No, that'll take too long." Shanna's voice faded. It sounded like she had covered the receiver to talk to someone else. "Connor wants you here now."
Darcy's heart lurched in her chest. "I–I'd rather not—"
"It's urgent, Darcy. You need to teleport here now."
"I don't… know how. I've never done it before." Her face flooded with heat as she realized Shanna was sharing her inadequacy with Connor. Her eye twitched. "Look, Gregori can drive me. We'll leave right away."
"Keep talking," Shanna said. "Connor's coming to get you."
"No!" Darcy gasped for air. "I don't want to teleport, and I sure don't want to go anywhere with—"
A figure materialized beside her. A man in a red and green kilt. "Connor." The phone slipped from her hand and clattered on the floor.
"I'm sorry, lass, but ye need to come with me." The Scotsman wrapped a strong arm around her, and everything went black.
Terror whipped through Darcy. She was trapped and helpless, just like she'd been four years ago.
She couldn't feel her body. The only thing keeping her from floating away like vapor into a black void was the steel-like grip of Connor. Once again, he was abducting her against her will. She hated him for it, and she hated herself for being so damned afraid. Good God, if she had any courage in her at all, she'd push herself away and fade into oblivion, never to materialize again.
As soon as her feet touched ground, a room wavered before her eyes and came into view. A living room with two wingback chairs, a television, and a sofa. Shanna was sitting in a chair, watching them. Darcy broke free from Connor and stumbled.
"Careful." He reached out to steady her.
"Don't—" The words touch me stuck in her throat when she saw his face. Regret had etched lines on his brow and dulled the blue of his eyes. The truth scraped at her like overlong fingernails, and she looked away. God have mercy. His decision that night haunted him as much as it did her.
Shanna set her phone down on the coffee table next to her drink. "Thank you for coming, Darcy."
Like she'd been given any choice. Darcy pivoted, surveying the comfortable room decorated in blue toile with yellow accents. "Is this your new house?"
"Yes. Roman wants to keep the location a secret. The Highlanders know, of course, since they do our security." Shanna motioned to the blue velvet couch. "Please have a seat."
Darcy circled the coffee table and sat close to Shanna. "What's wrong? Are the Malcontents causing trouble again?"
"Not so much, now that Petrovsky is dead. I'm afraid our latest security problems are caused more by my father."
Darcy glanced briefly at Connor who was standing still, his arms crossed over his broad chest. "I heard a little about your father the night of your wedding."
Shanna sighed. "At least we were still able to have the wedding. Would you like something to drink?"
"No, thank you."
"I need to go to Roman's townhouse to fetch the file," Connor announced quietly. "I'll return soon."
He faded away.
Darcy breathed easier once he'd teleported away.
Shanna smiled. "I saw your show. You did a fabulous job."
"Thank you."
"I know the ex-harem probably hates me, but I really do wish them well." Shanna's smile widened.
"I just wish them well far away from my husband."
"I understand." Darcy wondered what on earth could be so urgent that she was here. "If it helps, I can assure you that none of the harem ladies ever harbored romantic feelings for Roman. It was simply a matter of convenience."
"Thanks. That's good to know." Shanna sipped from her drink as an awkward silence fell between them.
"Why am I here?" Darcy finally asked.
Shanna shifted uneasily in her chair. "I think we should wait until Connor returns."