All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire(28)

 

"I thought about that. You see, if we just let a lawyer or a psychiatrist know the truth, then they'll be bound by client confidentiality. So they'll know Bri isn't crazy, but at the same time, they won't be able to expose the Vamps and hurt them."

 

"Ah." Carlos nodded. "A tricky plan, but a good one."

 

"The problem is finding actual proof of their existence. I thought about taking photos of them in their death-sleep, but they look totally normal."

 

"Like they're asleep?" Carlos asked.

 

"Exactly. Well, Dougal looks kinda dead, 'cause he sleeps in a coffin, but even so, it would just look like a photo of a dead guy. And people die all the time. It's hardly revolutionary. I looked in their library—"

 

"They have a library? They're not in a dark, gloomy crypt somewhere in a graveyard?"

 

"No, they have a luxurious townhouse. Five floors of beautiful antiques and artwork. You wouldn't believe the canopy bed I'm sleeping in."

 

"Oh God." Carlos pressed a hand against his broad chest. "It sounds fabulous. When can I see it?"

 

"I can't sneak you in past the surveillance cameras."

 

He scoffed. "Don't bet on it, girlfriend. So what's the story with Sabrina?"

 

"Her aunt and uncle checked her out of the hospital and took her to their house in Westchester. Uncle Joe's a psychiatrist, and he says she's suffering from severe psychosis. He won't let me talk to her."

 

Carlos frowned. "What do you know about this aunt and uncle?"

 

"Not much. They never showed much interest in Bri before now."

 

"Yes, but she stands to inherit a lot of money once she graduates, yes?"

 

"Yep. Eighty-five million."

 

Carlos's eyes widened. "I had no idea it was so much!"

 

"Well, she doesn't advertise it, for obvious reasons. Her parents didn't want her to become a useless trust fund baby, so they stipulated in their will that she had to graduate from college before she could inherit the whole amount. She's been getting a yearly allowance since she was fourteen."

 

"And when does she graduate?"

 

"Next spring. Well, actually, it'll be longer than that 'cause she's getting incompletes this semester."

 

Carlos stood and paced across the floor. "She could be in serious trouble."

 

Toni swallowed hard. "I was afraid of that."

 

"I need all the information you have on the aunt and uncle."

 

"This is it." Toni handed him the pink fuzzy address book. "Their last name is Proctor."

 

He ripped out the page, then folded it. "I'll check them out, especially their financial records."

 

"How will you do that?"

 

He slipped the paper into a pocket of his tight leather pants. "I have a computer."

 

"So do I, but I wouldn't know how to check on someone."

 

"No offense, love, but it took you months to learn how to download e-mail."

 

Toni sighed. It was true. She was totally inept when it came to modern technology. She'd lived her first thirteen years at her grandmother's house in rural Alabama, where their one phone had a rotary dial and their one television had four channels and no remote control.

 

"That reminds me." She dug through her handbag and handed him her cell. "I need a different ringtone."

 

He grinned. "You don't want to rock the boys?"

 

"No, I'll leave that to you. I need something less…loud, please."

 

"No problem." He jammed the phone into his pocket. "How long were you planning to stay here?"

 

"About half an hour. I need to pack some more clothes to take back with me."

 

"Fine. I'll be right back." Carlos slipped out the kitchen window.

 

Toni looked in the refrigerator for something to drink, but everything there had caffeine. Not good when she needed to be asleep by ten every night so she could rise early in the morning. She poured herself a glass of ice water, then headed to her bedroom to pack.

 

Monday night, after she'd survived the attack and accepted employment, she'd been stuffed in the backseat of a sedan, and Dougal had driven her here to pick up some clothes. She'd been in such a state of shock, she'd only grabbed a few things from her bedroom while Dougal had waited in the living room. Then he'd driven her straight to the townhouse, and she'd been there ever since.

 

She realized now that the Vamps hadn't wanted her to get loose with the knowledge she possessed. The fact that she'd been allowed to go out tonight must mean that they had decided to trust her. How long would she have to live with them? It was hard to say. How could she help Sabrina if she couldn't even talk to her?