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.
CHAPTER 13
A hot shower helped take the chill out of Toni's bones and relieve the ache in her bruised hip. She leaned over to wrap a towel around her wet hair, and as she straightened, she accidentally brushed her hip against the counter.
"Ow!" She eyed the bruise. It had swollen to a lovely shade of purple that coordinated well with the red scars on her torso and breasts.
"Toni!"
She jumped at the sound of Ian's voice coming from her bedroom. Her hip knocked against the counter. "Ow! Dammit!" She grabbed on to the towel bar to keep from falling.
"Toni, are ye all right?" Ian pounded on the door. "Is someone hurting you? Should I teleport in?"
"No!" What was he doing out there? "I…I have the entire offensive line from the New York Giants in here. Oh yeah, I'm feeling good! Second down and eight to go."
There was a pause. "Ye're jesting, right?"
She snorted. "Brilliant, Sherlock."
"Come out now. We need to talk."
Not that again. "I don't have any clothes. Go away."
"I'll close my eyes."
Now it was her turn to pause. "I don't believe you."
"Brilliant, Sherlock."
Damn him. She wrapped a towel around herself. "Go away."
"No. I've come to rescue you."
"From what? Mildew?"
"I'll step into the hall so ye can get dressed. Please hurry."
She heard footsteps and a door click shut. She peeked out. The bedroom was empty.
She eased toward the dresser. "Why are you pestering me? I'm off duty now." She dropped her towel and quickly pulled on some panties.
"This canna wait," Ian spoke from the hallway. "We're in danger from a Malcontent assassin named Jedrek Janow. He's the new master of the Russian-American coven in Brooklyn, the bastards who attacked you before. Jedrek wants information about the drug I took in order to age, so he'll be searching for me."