All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire(58)

 

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.