All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire(80)

 

"That's a terrible risk to take. Ye canna guarantee someone would keep quiet, especially if he considered us a serious threat to mankind."

 

"The Malcontents are a serious threat."

 

"Ye canna expose them without exposing us! And we're the only ones capable of defeating them. I canna believe ye would take such a risk with our lives." He paced away from her.

 

"I didn't understand at first how nice the Vamps are. Once I got to know you all, I knew I couldn't hurt you."

 

"That's bloody generous of you." Ian frowned at her. "Ye should have told me this from the start."

 

"I didn't know if I could trust you. It took me a few days to get to know you."

 

Ian didn't know what to think. He just felt a nagging sense of betrayal. "I–I have to think about this." He headed for the door.

 

She followed him. "Ian, you must know I could never hurt you."

 

He felt too confused to even know how to answer. "Go to bed, Toni. I'll see you tomorrow."

 

"Ian, I'm sorry."

 

He couldn't bear to see her stricken face, so he marched back to the waiting room. Shanna was ready to see him. He sat on an operating table, thinking things over while Shanna plucked glass from his face and knees.

 

He couldn't believe Toni had planned to spill their secret. Maybe she didn't understand how important it was. But surely, Connor had explained it to her.

 

To her credit, she had noble intentions. She was trying to save her friend Sabrina. Ian would feel that way about his friends. But she'd intended to expose the Vamps. That made his gut wrench.

 

When Shanna was done, he wandered down the hall. Toni had signed a contract, swearing to protect them. How could she have planned to betray them?

 

But she hadn't. Should he blame her for her intentions before she'd gotten to know them? After the Malcontents had attacked her, she might have easily thought all vampires were evil and should be exposed.

 

But she'd practiced deception. He'd sworn to himself that nothing was more important in a potential mate than honesty and loyalty. Was that why this frustrated him so much? He was seeing Toni as a potential mate. God knew he wanted her. He ached with desire for her. He thought about her all the time. But could he trust her?

 

After an hour of getting nowhere, he decided he needed advice. He teleported to Vanda's office at the Horny Devils. After she recovered from the shock of his scarred face, he gave her the details of Toni's story.

 

Vanda sat behind her desk, frowning. "That little bitch."

 

Ian stiffened. "She doesna deserve that. She's trying to save her friend who's in danger."

 

Vanda's eyebrows rose. "Are you defending her now? I thought you were angry with her."

 

"I'm no' angry." He paced across the office. "I'm confused."

 

"Why? This problem's so easy to solve."

 

He stopped. "Ye think so?"

 

"Sure. Fire her ass and erase her memory. Then she's no longer a threat, and she's out of your life for good."

 

Out of his life? A surge of panic swept through him. How could he bear to lose her? "But…what about her friend?"

 

"Who gives a shit? She doesn't owe you any money."

 

"She's trapped in a mental ward—"

 

"Yeah, yeah, by the evil uncle. Boo hoo. That's one person. One mortal. And Toni was ready to expose us all to danger because of it."

 

"Only because she cares so deeply," Ian protested.

 

"She's not the only one," Vanda muttered.

 

Ian scowled at her. "Fine, I admit it. I care about her. I wouldna be this upset if I dinna care."

 

"A week ago, you swore to me that all you wanted was a Vamp. I have a list right here of twenty Vamp women, all vetted by me and eager to meet you. You could start seeing them tonight."

 

A week ago, that would have sounded wonderful. But now Toni was in his life and everything was changed. "I doona want to date anyone else. Take my profile off the dating site."

 

"Ian, she was planning to betray us."

 

"But she never did. She never did anything to harm any of us." He was finally able to appreciate her predicament. She wanted to save Sabrina because she loved her. And she hadn't exposed him because she cared about him. He'd seen that clearly on her face when she'd frantically searched for him in the parking lot. She truly cared about him. But at the same time, she couldn't bear to fail her friend. Her heart was getting split in two.

 

All he had to do was help her rescue her friend. Then she would no longer be pulled in two directions. She would be free to come entirely to him.