All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire las-5

by Kerrelyn Sparks

  "I'm so sorry."

  "Save yer pity for Vanda. Corky's suing her."

  "That's ridiculous! Corky purposely set out to hurt you. She was cruel and vicious." Toni paced in front of him. "Though I have to admit, Vanda went shrieking across that table like a flying monkey."

  Ian's dimples showed, and Toni secretly celebrated that she could still make him smile.

  "Vanda is a loyal friend," he said. "I'll pay the damages."

  "But it wasn't your fault." Toni resumed her pacing. "We could prove Corky was lying. You could get some of the Vamp women you've slept with to come forward and—"

  "I have never slept with a Vamp." He took a sip from his bottle.

  "Really?" She halted. "So you actually prefer mortal women? Never mind." She began to pace once again. "We'll get one of the mortals you slept with to—" No, that wouldn't work. Mortals wouldn't have been watching DVN.

  "Most of them have passed away." Ian took another sip.

  "Well, okay. I'll just call that bitch myself and tell her I've slept with you."

  A corner of Ian's mouth tilted up. "Ye would lie for me, Toni?"

  It wouldn't have to be a lie, the thought sprang to her mind. She winced, wishing she could do a mental rewind. Surely he wasn't doing his vampire telepathy on her. Her cheeks heated up as she slanted a wary glance his way.

  He was watching her intently. A flash of red tinted his eyes before he blinked and looked away. He drank some more blood. "Ye should go, Toni."

  "All right." She backed toward the door. "Just don't let this get you down, okay?"

  He shrugged. "It was a silly notion from the start. Me, trying to be some sort of Romeo when I havena the slightest idea how to be charming or flirtatious."

  "That's not true. You've been very charming and flirtatious with me." And one hell of a kisser.

  He set the bottle on the table. "I doona know why, but it comes easy with you. But it doesna matter now. I'm pulling out of this dating nonsense."

  "What?" She stepped toward him. "You're quitting?"

  "A man should be honest with himself, Toni. I'm no' a ladies' man, I'm a warrior. Ye said it yerself the other night, that I was wasting my time."

  "But I—" She'd said it out of frustration. And jealousy, she now realized. She'd hated the thought of him preferring a Vamp woman over her.

  "Ye know my past transgressions," Ian continued. "Do ye really think a man like me deserves to be loved?"

  He didn't feel deserving? Toni's eyes welled with tears. When she'd first met Ian, she'd thought they were totally different, but now she realized they were very much alike.

  He'd touched on the last of her morning affirmations, and the one she found the hardest to believe. I am worthy to be loved. How could she ever be worthy? She'd always let down those who counted on her. And poor Ian. He didn't feel worthy, either. Her heart ached for him.

  "Ye doona need to answer." Ian stood and walked away. "The look on yer face tells me how ye feel."

  "But you do!" The words tumbled from her mouth. "You do deserve to be loved."

  He turned toward her, a surprised look on his face.

  She blinked back her tears. "Don't you dare give up, Ian." She dashed to the door.

  "Toni," he whispered her name softly, so softly she wasn't sure she'd heard it.

  She paused at the door and glanced back. A flood of longing rushed through her.

  He stepped toward her, and she gasped.

  His eyes were bright red.

  She stumbled from the room and shut the door. Dear God. What was she doing? She was falling for a vampire.

  Ian opened the aluminum blinds and peered down from the fifth-floor office. With his superior vision, he was able to count twenty-two women on the sidewalk, all bundled up against the cold and carrying posters. One was wearing a tiara that sparkled in the nearby streetlamp.

  A sleek black Jaguar came to a stop in front of the townhouse, and the women wandered over to check it out. Then a slash of light spilled onto the sidewalk from the townhouse. The women squealed and rushed toward the front door. Just as Ian wondered if he would have to fend off a home invasion, the slash of light disappeared.

  The driver jumped out of the Jaguar. Carlos. He extracted someone from the bunch of excited women and led her back to his car. Toni.

  With a twinge of annoyance, Ian realized Carlos had rescued her from the mob. The Jaguar sped down the road. What was she up to now? With a greater jab of annoyance, he realized she preferred spending her free time with Carlos.

  Or did she just feel safer with a mortal who was supposedly gay? Ian was fairly sure that her rushed exit from the office had meant she was aware of his attraction to her. But she'd also gasped when she'd noticed his eyes. Did his Undead nature frighten her? Probably so. After surviving a vicious vampire attack, why would she welcome the advances of another vampire?

  But when he'd kissed her, she hadn't pushed him away. Perhaps there was hope after all. He closed his eyes, picturing her in her tiny skirt. He would stroke her golden thighs, then slide his hand under her skirt to feel the sweet curve of her hip and bottom, and the tender, moist flesh between her legs.

  With a sharp breath, he cleared his mind. What a fool he was. Intellectually, he knew a female Vamp presented the most suitable mate for him. Yet here he was, lusting for a mortal. And even worse, the one mortal who was off limits.

  She totally intrigued him—physically, emotionally, and intellectually. She was such an interesting mixture of determination and self-doubt, emotional strength and hidden wounds. She reminded him of himself.

  And what were her hidden motives for being here? What made an intelligent woman with a bright future guard the Undead and risk losing her memory when she left? He had to know. Last night while she'd slept, he'd teleported into her bedroom and slipped a tracking device into her handbag. He would know exactly where she and Carlos were going.

  He wandered back into the bedroom to shower and change clothes. After taking care of the women on the sidewalk, he teleported to the parking lot at Romatech Industries.

  Connor showed no reaction when Ian marched into the security office. He simply turned off the television.

  Dougal and Phineas gave Ian sympathetic looks before focusing on their shoes. Bloody hell. He hated pity even more than humiliation.

  "We'd better make the rounds." Dougal headed out the door. "Come on, Phineas."

  Phineas paused halfway out the door. "Man, that Corky bitch was wack. You want me to set her straight?"

  "Nay." Ian smiled halfheartedly. "But I appreciate the thought."

  "Anytime, bro." Phineas raised a fist and punched the air. "I got your back." He closed the door as he left.

  Connor sat behind his desk and quietly studied Ian.

  "Have a go." Ian folded his arms across his chest. "I reckon ye're wanting to rant at me."

  "I reckon ye've endured enough humiliation for one night."

  Ian lifted his chin. "Doona hold back on my account. I have a high threshold for pain."

  Connor's face remained blank, though Ian detected an amused glint in his blue eyes. "Ye should have known Corky couldna be trusted."

  "I did, and I warned Vanda. She dinna believe me."

  Connor lounged back in his chair. "I daresay she believes you now."

  "Aye." Ian smiled, recalling Toni's description of her as a screeching, flying monkey.

  "The situation is hardly amusing. I hear there are over twenty women camped out in front of the townhouse."

  "Doona worry. They're all gone. I took care of it."

  Connor gave him a bland look. "And were ye careful with the disposal of the bodies?"

  "I dinna kill them!" Ian paused when he saw Connor's mouth twitch. The damned Scotsman was playing with him. "Verra funny."

  Connor chuckled as he rose from his chair. He approached Ian and slapped him fondly on the back. "Lad, how did ye manage to make such a mess?"

  Ian felt his face redden. "I'm trying to clean
it up. I took the names and phone numbers of the women on the street. They were happy to leave after I talked to them a wee bit. The puir lassies were freezing out there."

  Connor shook his head. "I canna imagine being that desperate for love."

  Ian sighed. Didn't everyone need to be loved? He'd endured twelve days of tortuous pain on Roman's Stay-Awake drug just so he could look older and find true love. "There's another problem. Did ye see how Cora Lee announced to the whole vampire world that I aged? Everyone will wonder how that happened."

  "I doubt any Vamps want to age." Connor circled his desk and sat. "But if anyone finds out that the drug enables a vampire to stay awake during the day—"

  "The drug could be used as a weapon," Ian finished the sentence. "I'm sure the Malcontents have been dying to know how Roman managed to invade their headquarters during the day to rescue Laszlo. If they figure it out, they'll do anything to get their hands on that drug."

  Connor drummed his fingers on the desk. "I'll tell Roman that we need to either hide the drug or destroy it. And we'll increase the security here."

  "Roman has the formula in his head," Ian continued. "We'll need to watch out for him."

  "Aye." Connor gave Ian a worried look. "When the Malcontents start looking for answers to how ye aged, ye're going to be their first target."

  Ian swallowed hard. While he hunted for his true love, the Malcontents could be hunting for him.

  CHAPTER 12

  "Is there a point to this?" Toni trudged along in the snow, surveying the ten-foot-high brick wall. Carlos had insisted they inspect the exterior of Shady Oaks before entering the lobby. The visitor parking was in front, the employee parking on the east side, and a guarded service entrance in the back. Now they were on the west side, traversing an area that boasted quite a few shady oaks.

  She realized her question had gone unanswered, so she turned to confront Carlos.

  He was gone.

  "Carlos?" She spun around, and her handbag slipped off her shoulder. "Carlos, where are you?"

  "Shhh, not so loud."

  She followed the sound of his voice and spotted him high in an oak tree, lying on a thick branch that extended over the brick wall. Good grief, he had to be fifteen feet up. "Carlos, what are you doing?"

  She gaped as he jumped from the tree and landed lightly on his feet. "How'd you do that?"

  "The real question is why." He strode toward her. "I needed to see over the wall. There's an inner courtyard. All the surrounding buildings open onto it. I think the buildings with numbers on them are the wards where the patients are staying. The other buildings looked like a cafeteria, gymnasium, and indoor pool. It's a fancy place."

  "You could tell all that from the tree?"

  "Yes, and even better, I saw a handful of patients hanging around the gazebo, smoking. There was one guard with them." He walked toward the front parking lot.

  "How is that helpful?" Toni hitched her bag back onto her shoulder and followed him.

  "All information is helpful. Now I'll go into the lobby first and check it out. You wait here out of range of the surveillance camera."

  "But—" She stopped when the automatic doors swooshed closed behind him. "Great. I'll just wait here in the freezing cold."

  The circular drive to the entrance was lined with stone statues and snow-capped boxwood hedges. She could see inside the lobby through the large plate-glass windows. It looked warm and cozy with leather sofas and easy chairs. Carlos was right about Shady Oaks being a fancy place.

  He exited, holding a piece of paper in his hand, and met her out of range of the surveillance camera. He stuffed the paper into the pocket of his leather coat.

  "What was that?" Toni asked.

  "A job application. Now here's the layout. The receptionist is behind the information desk. There are two locked doors on each side of the lobby, leading into the east and west wings. The back wall of the lobby is glass, looking out onto the courtyard. There's a door, but a guard is sitting in front of it."

  "So there's no way into the courtyard?" She sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter, since I'm sure the wards are locked up tight."

  "The courtyard is accessible. You're forgetting the well-placed shady oak."

  She grimaced. "I can't get up that tree."

  "You don't have to. I will, and hopefully I can distract the guard and the receptionist in the lobby. That's when you check the patient list I saw on the receptionist's desk. If you find Sabrina's name, make sure you get the ID number. We won't be allowed to even talk to her on the phone without her ID number."

  "Okay." Toni stomped the mud and snow off her boots. "I'm not entirely comfortable with this espionage stuff." And how come Carlos was so good at it? "So how are you going to distract them?"

  Too late again. Carlos had already taken off. He sprinted around the corner of the complex, headed no doubt for his favorite tree.

  "Good grief." Toni marched in place to warm up her feet. She'd give him a few minutes to start whatever he was planning to do. She exhaled, letting the air rush out with a cloud of icy vapor, then strode into the lobby. Showtime. The automatic doors swooshed behind her, and the guard and receptionist both looked at her.

  It was long past visiting hours, so she was all alone.

  "May I help you?" the receptionist asked, studying her over her black-rimmed reading glasses.

  Toni glanced around quickly. She could barely see the courtyard through the window. The gazebo was dimly lit, and the shadows of patients milled about. Their cigarettes flared with little orange lights whenever they took a puff.

  The receptionist cleared her throat.

  "Ah, I was wondering…" Toni edged over to the information desk and spotted the patient list, pinned under the receptionist's elbow. "How does someone get admitted to this hospital? I have a friend with a serious problem."

  The receptionist gave her a wry look. "And what exactly is your friend's problem?"

  Toni realized the woman thought she was talking about herself, so she played along. "Well, I—that is, my friend is addicted to…sex. Lots of sex. All the time. She can't get enough."

  "I see." The receptionist pursed her lips. "Normally your psychologist would refer you here. You are seeing a psychologist, aren't you? I mean, your friend."

  Toni grinned sheepishly. "Okay, you got me. And yeah, I was seeing a therapist, but his wife caught me giving him a hummer in the backseat of his Hummer, so—"

  The receptionist pulled off her glasses. "You had sexual relations with your therapist?"

  "Sure. I sleep with all my therapists. And my doctors, my teachers, the plumber, the pigeon guy on the roof." Where the hell was Carlos? "You know, it's a disease."

  Screams suddenly erupted from the courtyard, and the guard jumped to his feet to peer through the window.

  The receptionist stood. "What's going on?"

  "I can't tell," the guard answered. "The patients are running all over the place."

  The screams increased in volume and terror. What the hell was Carlos doing? Toni jumped when a patient slammed against the plate-glass window.

  "Help!" he shouted. "Let me in!"

  The guard punched a keypad to open the door.

  "You're not supposed to let them in the lobby," the receptionist warned.

  Just then, a loud roar filled the air and shook the glass windows. The screams from the courtyard intensified.

  A woman flung herself against the glass. "Help me! It attacked me!"

  The guard opened the door, and the two patients scurried inside.

  "Look what it did to me!" The female patient showed off her down jacket. The sleeve was ripped open so that the stuffing was falling out. "It's a monster! A black monster with glowing eyes!"

  "Doris, take them to the clinic," the guard ordered the receptionist. He removed a Taser from his belt. "Don't worry, folks. I'll take care of this…monster." He cast an amused look at Doris. No doubt he suspected the patients at the mental hospital were crazy.

>   Doris ran over to the patients. "Come. This way." She unlocked the door to the west wing and ushered them inside.

  Screams continued in the courtyard, and Toni spotted the shadows of other patients scurrying about, banging on the doors to other buildings. Whatever Carlos was doing, he was scaring the hell out of everyone. Meanwhile, the lobby was empty. She rushed around the desk and thumbed through the patient list. There on the last page was Vanderwerth, Sabrina. Third ward. VS48732.

  Toni scribbled down the information on a notepad, tore off the page, and stuffed it in her handbag. 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. "Damn." She checked her handbag to make sure the paper was still there.

  After a long, nerve-racking minute, she spotted Carlos running toward 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 climbed in with her hip complaining, then buckled up. "What did you do? I heard so much screaming."

  "I created a diversion." He backed the car out, then zoomed toward the exit.

  She eyed his bare chest and partially buttoned pants. "Oh my God. Don't tell me you streaked."

  "Something like that." He pulled out onto the street. Police sirens wailed in the distance. "We'll come back tomorrow after things have calmed down. Visiting hours are five P.M. on Sunday. Can you make it?"

  "I think so." Toni squinted as two police cars raced past them with flashing lights. She glanced over her shoulder and saw them pulling into the hospital parking lot. What had caused the guard to call the police? She recalled the woman with the slashed jacket. And the woman's frantic words—a black monster with glowing eyes.