She carefully kept her face blank. "I've never seen him on the news." That much was true.
Sean crossed his arms. "You've never seen him at all?"
"No." Heat crept into her cheeks. What was she doing? Lying to protect Angus? No, she calmed herself. She was simply protecting herself and her own secret slaying activities. She couldn't talk about Angus without explaining her own business in the park. Sean closed his laptop. "I'm out of patience with these stake-outs. We need to actually do something." He headed to the door. "Go to your assignments for now. I'll let you know what I decide."
Within ten minutes the men were gone. Alyssa was busy at her computer, hacking into Romatech's files. Emma settled at her desk and turned on the television that was rigged to receive the Digital Vampire Network.
At eight, the Nightly News began with Stone Cauffyn droning on in his monotonous voice. Emma watched it each night while she scanned police reports, looking for possible vampire criminal activity.
She tried focusing on the police reports, but the words blurred before her weary eyes.
What was Angus doing tonight? She'd checked her e-mail numerous times, but there'd been no message from him. Was he having second thoughts? Maybe he'd come to his senses and realized, like her, that a relationship between them was doomed. And that hurt.
She turned up the volume on the telly. A commercial was on, selling some sort of exercise DVD, starring the famous Parisian fashion model Simone. It sounded silly to Emma, but one part caught her attention—a warning that the superior lifestyle of the nonbiting Vamp could lead to gum weakness or even fang loss, therefore making exercise a necessity.
The nonbiting Vamp? Here it was—more evidence that Angus was telling the truth, and so-called Vamps no longer fed off humans. Why would DVN lie about it when they believed their audience was made up entirely of the Undead? As far as Emma knew, she was the only human watching DVN, and the vampires didn't know it. So whatever she saw on DVN was probably true.
Two factions—the Vamps and the Malcontents. Why would Angus object to her killing Malcontents, other than his concern for her safety? He had said something about leaving vampire justice to him. Did that mean he killed Malcontents? If he did, why not let her help him? They could be a team.
What was she thinking? She was already on a team. She closed her aching eyes. This was all too confusing. Her loyalties were getting all screwed up.
She refocused on the police reports. There on page two was the news she dreaded the most. A body had been found this morning in Central Park. A woman's body with her throat slashed.
"Shit!" Emma sprung to her feet.
"What's wrong?" Alyssa asked.
"Nothing. I spilled coffee." Emma strode into the kitchen area where she could fume in private. Damn! Another vampire murder. She couldn't just ignore this. Either Angus MacKay was going to help her, or she was going solo. She was not going to let more innocent people die.
She hurried to her laptop to write him an e-mail, but something on the telly caught her attention. Corky Courrant had started her gossip show called Live with the Undead. Half of the screen was taken up with a picture of Roman Draganesti.
Emma turned up the volume.
"Remember, you heard it here first!" Corky screeched in her strident voice. "It's the most miraculous news ever! Roman Draganesti is about to become the first vampire in history to be a father!"
Emma gasped.
"What?" Alyssa came running over.
"Yes!" Corky laughed. "Hard to believe, isn't it? But just look at this exclusive video we obtained last night. Roman and his mortal wife have started going to Mass on Sunday night, and my cameraman caught them as they were arriving."
Emma punched the record button on the television's VCR. If there was news about Shanna, her boss would want to see it.
A video flashed onto the screen, fuzzy at first, then sharpening on a building in the distance. Emma recognized it as Romatech Industries. The cameraman was obviously far away, but he managed to zoom in on the front door as a black car pulled up to the entrance. A youthful-looking, kilted Scotsman climbed out of the driver's seat and opened the car's back door. Roman Draganesti stepped out, and next to him was Shanna Whelan. A huge, very pregnant Shanna Whelan.
Emma's heart leaped. Good heavens! How could such a thing happen? Surely a vampire couldn't father a baby?
"Oh my God," Alyssa whispered.
The video stopped, and Corky reappeared on the screen, grinning. "I know what you're thinking! You're thinking Draganesti couldn't be the father. But he's a scientific genius, the inventor of synthetic blood and Vampire Fusion Cuisine. So, I for one am thoroughly convinced." She waved the camera closer, then whispered, "He is the father."