Be Still My Vampire Heart(27)

 

"I'll get right on it." Alek started toward the door, then hesitated. "I–I never said anything, but… "

 

"What?" Katya glared at him. "We don't have much time."

 

Alek winced. "I saw Vladimir get murdered."

 

"What?" Katya rushed toward him. "You saw the slayer, and you never said anything?"

 

"They shot me with silver bullets. I was in so much pain, I didn't know what was happening. And then the girl, she came up from behind. We never saw her coming."

 

"The girl? They? Are you saying there are two of them?"

 

"Yes. A male and a female, working together. He shot me full of holes while Vladimir was feeding. Then she snuck up behind Vlad and staked him in the back."

 

Katya grabbed Alek by the shirt and pulled him forward. "You fool. Why didn't you tell me this before?"

 

"I–I had to get the bullets dug out. The silver was killing me. I had to go to an emergency clinic and take over the nurses' and doctors' minds. It took the rest of the night."

 

Katya gritted her teeth and pushed him away. "You could have told me the next night."

 

He hung his head. "I was ashamed. Vladimir had been a close friend. I should have saved him somehow."

 

Katya sighed. "So you're certain there are two slayers? A man and a woman?"

 

Alek nodded, still avoiding her gaze.

 

She smoothed down his shirt where her grasp had wrinkled it. "You failed to save Vladimir, but you can save me and Galina."

 

"I will." He gave her a beseeching look. "I'd do anything for you, Katya. I swear."

 

She'd always suspected his willingness to help was based on more than loyalty. She patted his cheek. "Help me catch the slayers, Alek, and I'll do anything for you."

 

His eyes glimmered as he looked her over. "They're as good as dead." He rushed out the door, nearly running over Galina.

 

"Where's he going in such a big hurry?" Galina asked.

 

"We're rushed for time. Don't you own some sort of fortress in the Ukraine?"

 

"It's more like an old manor house. Why do you ask?"

 

"You're leaving tonight. We need a prison cell, completely lined with silver. I'll give you the money."

 

Galina raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows. "We're going to hold a vampire prisoner?"

 

"More than one. The slayer, or perhaps two slayers. And Angus MacKay."

 

Galina's mouth dropped open. "The general of the Vamp army?"

 

"Yes." And the bastard who had abandoned her years ago. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's one of the slayers." And he was working with a woman? That made Katya's blood boil. She hadn't been good enough for him, but this bitch was? "Casimir wants them.

 

Either they die, or we do."

 

Galina winced. "Well, that's a no-brainer."

 

Katya nodded. The night was full of surprises. She hadn't realized Galina had a brain.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 6

 

 

 

 

Emma checked the time on her cell phone. Shit. An hour and twenty minutes had passed since she'd left Central Park. After Angus MacKay's remark about visiting her at home, she'd realized she was in dire need of more ammunition. She'd taken a cab to the federal office building in Midtown, then rushed to the Stake-Out team's office on the sixth floor.

 

There she'd helped herself to several items from the armory—a pair of silver handcuffs, some silver chains, silver bullets for her Glock, and a crate full of stakes since she had only a handful left in her apartment.

 

Unfortunately, the security guards on the first floor hadn't liked her waltzing off with so much equipment and no requisition forms. She'd been forced to spend fifteen minutes filling out bloody paperwork. And then she'd had trouble finding another cab. They didn't hang around office buildings on a Saturday night.

 

Now she was almost home with her stash of goodies. She glanced at the meter on the taxi dashboard and pulled out some bills to pay the driver. She could only hope Angus MacKay hadn't beaten her to the apartment.

 

The driver pulled to a stop in front of her building in SoHo. The street was dark, except for little circles of light surrounding the street lamps. A few people were out, walking dogs or chatting happily with neighbors. She paid the driver and climbed from the backseat. The silver stuff had all been stuffed into a grocery sack. She set the sack on the roof of the taxi, then reached in for the crate of stakes.

 

As she straightened, something prickled the back of her neck and caused her to hunch her shoulders. She was being watched. Even with her psychic powers relaxed, she could feel a presence.