All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire(74)

 

They all walked back to where the crowd was gathered.

 

"Who found him?" Shanna asked. "Where was he?"

 

"Toni," several Vamps answered at once as they smiled at her.

 

Her heart expanded with a warm feeling. For the first time in her life, she felt like she belonged to a whole family.

 

"Oh, thank you." Shanna hugged her.

 

"He was afraid you'd be mad at him," Toni whispered. "I found him hiding under the table." She motioned with her head toward the fellowship hall.

 

"Oh my goodness." Shanna turned toward her son. "How did you get in there without anyone seeing you?"

 

"I don't know. Can I have a cookie?"

 

"Tino," Roman spoke quietly. "You've been told not to leave the nursery alone."

 

"I didn't mean to." Constantine wiped his nose. "I was just thinking about you and Mommy and how much I wanted to be with you. Then it was so dark, and I couldn't see anything. Then I was there behind the table, and I fell down 'cause I was dizzy. And then I heard everybody shouting, and I thought you were mad at me."

 

"Oh my God." Shanna pressed a hand to her mouth.

 

"Everything went black?" Roman asked his son. "You were in the nursery, then suddenly you were here?"

 

When Constantine nodded, everyone exchanged shocked looks.

 

"Tino, you teleported." Roman looked at everyone and grinned. "My son can teleport!"

 

The Vamps cheered. Toni's mouth fell open.

 

Shanna gasped for air, her face very pale. "Oh God, this is terrible."

 

"Are you mad at me, Mommy?" Constantine asked.

 

"No, no." She hugged him, then gave her husband a pointed look. "Can you teach him to control this?"

 

"Yes," Roman assured her. "It'll be all right."

 

"Come." Radinka escorted Shanna into the fellowship hall. "I think you'd better sit down."

 

Shanna winced. "A toddler who can vanish at will?"

 

Everyone filed into the fellowship hall, and Roman set his son next to Shanna. He returned a few seconds later with plates of food for both of them. Constantine happily munched on cookies.

 

Radinka looked around. "Where's Gregori?"

 

"I haven't seen him," Toni replied.

 

Radinka huffed. "That rascal. He told me he would come to church." She marched to the mortal table to fill a plate with food.

 

Toni edged toward Ian. "Am I still employed?"

 

He glanced toward Connor, who was busy congratulating Roman. "Aye, for now. The final decision will be made in a week."

 

Toni exhaled with relief. A week would be enough time for them to rescue Sabrina. Then it would be okay if she lost her job. But she still dreaded having her memory wiped. Carlos could fill her in on the facts, but he couldn't tell her how she had felt while she'd lived with the Vamps. She would forget how wonderful it had felt to be a part of their family. And she would forget all about Ian.

 

"If I lose this job, I can live with that. But I don't want to lose my memory."

 

Ian frowned at his shoes. "I'll do what I can for you. But it would be better for us not to be alone."

 

Toni swallowed hard. He was backing off. Was he doing it to save her job? Or had the kiss not meant that much to him? She could have sworn there'd been a ton of passion. "I still need to talk to you."

 

He glanced at Connor. "This is not a good time. I–I promised Vanda I would go to the club tonight."

 

She gritted her teeth. "Still looking for the perfect lady Vamp to share eternity with?"

 

He swore under his breath. "I have never lied to you, Toni. I said from the beginning that I wanted a Vamp."

 

"Right. 'Cause they're so superior."

 

"Better suited," he corrected her.

 

"Fine. But I still need your help with something really important. When you find some time in your busy dating schedule, let me know." She marched from the room before she succumbed to an urge to slap his handsome face.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 16

 

 

 

 

Jedrek Janow hid behind a large maple tree, on the grounds at Romatech. He'd instructed Yuri to park a mile away from the entrance gate. Then they'd teleported onto the grounds and zipped through the woods to the main building.

 

"The parking lot looks completely covered with surveillance cameras," Yuri whispered. He crouched next to Nadia behind a snow-capped bush. "And the guards sweep through these woods every fifteen minutes. We can't stay long."