All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire

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.

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 room was equipped with its own air supply and enough food, water, and bottled blood to keep a mortal or Vamp alive for three months.

Meanwhile, Connor and Roman were making sure 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 Roman and his family into hiding, but Roman didn't think the situation was dire enough 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 computer to the tracking device in Toni's handbag. He zoomed in on her location. Shady Oaks Psychiatric Hospital? Why would Carlos take her there? The light started blinking. They were on the move.

His cell phone rang, 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 main room. Teleport straight to my voice."

"What's wrong?"

"Just come here now!" she hissed.

"All right." He focused on her voice. A few seconds later, he arrived in a dark room next to Vanda.

He glanced 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 mosaic glass, casting sparkly lights around the room. Music and more light filtered through the open cutwork of carved wooden screens that lined one side of the room.

"What is this place?" he whispered.

"The VIP room," Vanda replied. "Since we were harem ladies, we thought it would be cool to make it look like a harem. The screen folds open, so the VIP customers can look over the railing 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 merrily in time with the music while the male dancer on stage 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 meet you."

"Why? So they can laugh 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 make them famous and give 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 me here?"

"I'm afraid so." Vanda peered through the screen. "Look at the bar."

His gaze shifted to Cora Lee, whose blonde head was close to a stocky male Vamp. Ian's stomach twisted as recognition clicked in place. "Dammit to hell."

Vanda cast him a worried look. "Then you know who he is?"

"Aye. Jedrek Janow." Ian had last seen the murderous Malcontent in the Ukraine the night he'd gone 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 Casimir teleported away, leaving their Russian comrades behind to be vanquished.

Shanna's father and his CIA Stake-Out team maintained a constant surveillance of the Russian-American vampires, and they kept Connor informed since he'd managed 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 Casimir's right-hand man." Ian regarded Vanda curiously. "How do ye know him?"

A hint of pain flickered across her face. "Let's just say he got along really well with 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 loud music and squealing women. "I need to know what he's saying."

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 two-way connection," she warned him. "We'll have to be perfectly quiet."

He nodded and pushed the button with his finger.

"So you know Ian?" Cora Lee asked.

"Sure," Jedrek replied with a fake Brooklyn accent. "We go way back. I can't get over the way he looks now."

"I know! I didn't even recognize him at first," Cora Lee confessed. "I can't believe he got older like that."

"And you say it happened in Texas?" Jedrek asked.

"That's what Ian told me."

"Sweetheart, could you get me another Bleer? This stuff is freakin' fantastic. Roman is a genius."

"He sure is. You know him, too?"

"Who doesn't? The guy's famous," Jedrek commented casually. "But you know what? He looks a bit older, too."

"Yep, all of a sudden he turned gray at the temples."

"But he didn't go to Texas, did he?" Jedrek asked.

"Nope, he was here when it happened. Land sakes, I can't imagine why anyone would want to look older."

"They would if there was a really important, secret purpose behind it," Jedrek said.

Vanda gasped, and Ian shook his head to remind her to stay quiet. No doubt she had grasped the full danger of the situation. If the Malcontents acquired the means to stay awake during the day, they would slaughter Vamps who were helpless in their death-sleep.

The phone on Vanda's desk rang, and Ian quickly lifted his finger off the intercom button to break the connection. Vanda grimaced and answered the phone.

Ian dashed back up the stairs to the VIP harem room and peered through the screen. Cora Lee must have heard the ring, for she'd answered her phone. With a confused look, she hung up. Meanwhile, Jedrek was scanning the surroundings, his eyes narrowed. No doubt he suspected something.

Ian considered teleporting down to challenge him, but before he could weigh the pros and cons, Jedrek vanished.

"What's happening?" Vanda rushed into the room.

"He's gone."

"That damned phone," Vanda muttered. "It was the dancer I fired Thursday night. He heard Corky was planning to sue me, so he decided to have a go at me, too. The bastard."

"I'll get the name of Angus's solicitor," Ian offered. "He's the best in the Vamp world. And doona fash over Corky. I'll pay to settle with her. I canna have ye suffering on my account."

"But I'm the one who attacked her." Vanda dragged a hand through her spiky hair. "And now we have this mess with Jedrek Janow. He's not going to stop until he knows what caused you to age. And if he gets his hands on that drug—"

"I know. They'll kill us in our sleep."

Vanda pressed a hand to her brow. "This is all my fault. I made you too famous, and now you're in danger. Jedrek will hunt you down. He'll—he'll—"

"It will be all right."

"But I completely screwed up," she cried. "You're like one of my little brothers to me. And I lost all of them. I can't stand to lose you, too, not when it's all my fault."

"Shhh." He pulled her into an embrace and patted her on the back. "I doona blame you, Vanda. Yer heart was in the right place. But I would appreciate it if ye could tell Cora Lee and Lady Pamela to keep their bloody mouths shut."

"I will, I will." Vanda stepped back and sniffed. "And I'll keep trying to find you the perfect mate. I'll make a list of the girls who want to meet you, and I'll interview them myself to weed out the ones who just want to be famous."

Ian figured that was all of them, but he didn't want to belittle Vanda's offer. "That would be great. Thanks."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I want you to be happy, Ian. And safe." When she opened her eyes, anger flashed in them. "So help me, if that Jedrek bastard hurts—"

"Vanda, promise me ye'll do nothing about Jedrek Janow. Leave him to me and Connor."

She heaved a sigh. "Okay, but please be careful. He'll want answers, and you're the one who has them."

"I know." Ian realized Jedrek could be hunting for him right now. And the first place he'd search would be Roman's townhouse. "I need to use your computer."

He dashed down the stairs to Vanda's office and accessed the tracking device in Toni's handbag. She was back at the townhouse. All alone.

Ian's stomach clenched. Toni, he thought, just before he teleported away.