Damn him. She should have killed him a long time ago.
"Aha!" Jedrek ran his fingers along the back of a curtain rod, then plucked off a small metallic object. "Still think you're qualified to lead this coven?" He dropped the listening device on her desk and smashed it with a paperweight.
She winced. How long had her office been bugged? Who was doing it? Draganesti? Or Angus MacKay?
Jedrek unscrewed the receiver to her phone and located another listening device. He glanced at her with a sneer. "Pathetic." He crushed the bug with the paperweight.
She gritted her teeth. Jedrek was going to enjoy telling Casimir about this. "I can protect this coven. And I will capture the slayer."
"Good." Jedrek dropped his bug detector into his briefcase and snapped it shut. "I'll expect delivery in a week."
Katya blinked. "Next Sunday?"
"Saturday." Jedrek shrugged. "Like I said, Casimir is unhappy with you. He's just looking for a reason to remove you."
To kill her. Katya clenched her fists. "I suppose he has a replacement picked out?"
"Yes." Jedrek straightened his tie, smiling. "Me."
"That is ridiculous. You're not even Russian. My members won't take orders from a Pole."
"Half Polish, half Russian." Jedrek shrugged. "Casimir doesn't give a damn about our heritage. What he wants, or demands, is loyalty."
"I am loyal."
"Prove it." Jedrek checked his watch. "Time for me to go."
"I will prove it." Katya marched toward him. "I'll do more than capture the slayer. I'll give you Angus MacKay."
Jedrek's brows shot up.
Katya smiled. At last she'd gotten a reaction.
Jedrek snorted. "You think you can capture the general of the Vamp army?"
"Wouldn't Casimir love to have him?" And wouldn't she love to watch him suffer. "I'll deliver him and the slayer by next Saturday. And you can stop lusting after my job."
Jedrek sneered. "We'll see about that. You'll never pull this off." He vanished. Katya took a deep breath. Now she had to capture Angus MacKay. That would be extremely difficult. Was he involved with the slayings? It was very coincidental that he was in New York at the same time, but whether or not he was involved, it no longer mattered. She'd promised both Angus and the slayer, and her life was going to be very short if she didn't deliver them both by Saturday.
Crap! She needed a plan. Katya paced about the office. It would take a whole team of men to capture Angus. And once she had him and the slayer captured, she would have to hold them prisoner without them escaping.
She needed silver. Tons of silver. Thank God the coven was now rich. Months ago, she and Alek had teleported into a few shops in the Diamond District, helped themselves to some loose gems, then teleported to an associate in California who had paid them 1.2 million dollars. They were back, all cozy in Brooklyn, before the police even knew the gems were missing.
She would make a room of silver. That would keep the slayer and Angus unable to teleport to freedom. And she would need lots of nightshade. Her supply was running low.
She paused when another problem occurred to her. How could she turn Angus and the slayer over to Jedrek on Saturday? He wanted her to fail, so he could take over her coven.
She couldn't trust him at all. No, she would have to deliver the prisoners herself. Not easy, when she wasn't quite sure where Casimir was. Somewhere in Eastern Europe or Russia, she would bet.
Galina would help. Her neck was on the line, too. Didn't she own some place in the Ukraine?
Katya called Galina and Alek on the phone and demanded they come immediately to the office. Then she grabbed a pen and started making plans. Who could the slayer be? Only a vampire could possibly kill another vampire, and she strongly suspected the slayer was one of Draganesti's coven members. Or perhaps one of Angus MacKay's employees. Or even Angus MacKay himself.
Damn him. He would finally get what he deserved.
She looked up when Alek strode into the office. "We have one week to capture the slayer and Angus MacKay, then deliver them to Casimir."
Alek's mouth dropped open. "One week? When did this happen?"
"I just had a visitor. A Polish man named Jedrek Janow."
"I've heard of him. He's an assassin for Casimir."
Katya sighed. "He'll be… removing Galina and me if we don't make the delivery."
"Jesus," Alek whispered.
"I want you to find the slayer. Have our members work in teams of three. One can act like bait to draw the slayer in, while the others stay hidden and ready to attack."