Ivan ignored the harem girl. He needed to get back into Romatech. But how? Tension grew in his neck, pinching the nerves.
"Draganesti is the one who built an army to defeat Casimir," Alek whispered to Galina.
"Oh. Thanks for telling me." She gave Alek a sly smile.
Alek, damn him, smiled back. With a growl, Ivan popped his neck. That got their attention. "Any sign of Highlanders?"
"No, sir," Alek answered, keeping his eyes off Galina. "If they're out there, they're staying hidden."
"I don't think they're attacking tonight." Ivan resumed his pacing. The door to his office opened and Katya entered. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Hunting." Katya licked her lips. "A girl has to eat. Besides, I heard some good news at one of the Vamp clubs."
"What? Our bomb killed one of those stupid Highlanders?"
"No." Katya smoothed back her long hair. "Actually, I heard the damage was minimal."
"Crap!" Ivan grabbed a glass paperweight off his desk and smashed it against the wall.
"Now, now. Throwing a tantrum won't help, will it?"
Ivan zoomed over to Katya and grasped her by the neck. "Neither will a show of disrespect, bitch."
Her eyes flashed. "I have good news if you care to hear it."
"Fine." Ivan released her. "Out with it."
She rubbed her neck while she gave Ivan an irritated look. "You want back into Romatech, don't you?"
"Of course. I said I would kill that little chemist, and I mean to keep my word. But the place is crawling with those stinking Highlanders now. We can't get in."
"I believe we can," Katya countered. "At least one of us can. Romatech's vice president of marketing has invited poor Vamps to the facility tomorrow night for a market survey."
"A what?" Ivan asked.
Katya shrugged. "Does it matter? One of us could go, disguised as one of the poor."
"Ah, excellent." Ivan patted her on the cheek. "Very good."
"I will go, sir," Alek announced.
Ivan shook his head. "They saw you at the ball. And they would recognize me, too. Maybe Vladimir?"
"I'll go," Galina offered.
Ivan snorted. "Don't be ridiculous."
"I'm not. They wouldn't be expecting a woman."
"True." Katya sat in the chair next to Galina. "I know a makeup artist at DVN. And we could use their wardrobe room."
"Great!" Galina smiled. "I could be a fat old Vamp tramp."
"A bag lady," Katya agreed. "No one would ever suspect you."
"Since when do either of you make decisions around here?" Ivan glared at them both. They lowered their heads, looking properly submissive. "How could Galina capture Laszlo Veszto? And if a Highlander is guarding him, how would she subdue him?"
"Nightshade," Katya whispered. "You have some, don't you?"
"Yes." Ivan rubbed at a knot of tension in his neck. "In my safe. How did you know about it?"
"I used some once. Not yours, of course. But you could let Galina use it."
"What is nightshade?" Galina asked.
"A poison for vampires," Katya explained. "You prick the vampire with a dart, and the poison goes into his bloodstream and paralyzes him. He's still conscious, but unable to move."
"Cool." Galina's eyes lit up. "I want to do it."
"All right. You can go." Ivan perched on the edge of his desk. "Once you locate Laszlo Veszto, call and teleport back here with the little bastard."
"Is that all you want me to do?" Galina asked quietly.
Ivan considered. "I want another explosion. A bigger one. One that will really hurt Draganesti."
"In that case," Katya suggested, "I think you should kill some of the people he most cares about."
Ivan nodded. "Those bloody Highlanders."
"Oh, he cares about them, I'm sure." Katya ran a finger over her red-painted lips. "But his real weakness is the mortals."
"Exactly," Galina agreed. "He has plenty of mortal employees. We could put a timer on the bomb so it will go off at sunrise."
"That's it!" Ivan jumped to his feet. "Draganesti's precious mortals will be dying, while he and his Highlanders are forced to return to their coffins. There won't be a bloody thing they can do about it.
It's perfect! Tomorrow night, Galina will plant the C-4 in an area where the mortals gather."
"Their cafeteria, perhaps?" Galina exchanged a wry look with Katya.
"I know where," Ivan announced. "Their cafeteria."
CHAPTER 23
"Can they see me?" Shanna watched the scroungy assortment of vampires through the window.
"No." Gregori stood next to her in the viewing room. "Not as long as you keep the lights off. It's one-way glass."
Shanna didn't know anything about market research, but she figured it had to be more interesting than watching television all night. "I'm surprised there's such a thing as poor vampires. Can't they use mind control to wheedle money out of people?"
"I suppose," Gregori answered, "but most of these people were already broken before they became vampires. They only think about their next meal, like a junkie and his next fix."
"That's so sad." Shanna observed the ten vampires who had come to Romatech for a free meal and the fifty-dollar incentive. "Vampirism doesn't change a person very much, does it?"
"Nay." Connor stood at the door. He had insisted on coming along as her personal bodyguard. "A man will stay true to his heart even after death."
So Roman was still trying to save people, and the Scottish warriors were still righting for a just cause. Shanna wondered what Roman was doing now. He hadn't even tried to see her since his declaration of love. Maybe he'd realized their situation was hopeless. "So how does this work?"
"We've divided them into two groups." Gregori motioned to the group on the left. "That group will be watching a power-point presentation and filling out a questionnaire about the new restaurant.
The second group will be testing different formulas and rating them according to taste. When they're done, the two groups switch places and start over."
"What do you want me to do?"
"They'll be testing the drinks here in front of the window. They'll rate each drink themselves, but I'd like you to watch their expressions and jot down their reactions."
Shanna noted five legal pads. "Are there five drinks?"
"Yes. Three new formulas that Laszlo put together, and then, Blood Lite and Chocolood. Just put a mark under the headings Like, Neutral, or Dislike. Okay?"
"Sure." Shanna picked up a pencil. "Bring on the Vamps."
Gregori grinned. "Thanks for your help, Shanna." He opened the connecting door and entered the participant room.
Shanna heard him go into a lengthy dissertation regarding the new restaurant. Then the first vampire came to taste the drinks. He was an old man in a stained raincoat. A scar ran down his face, zigzagging through the gray whiskers. He finished the first drink, then burped.
"Was that a dislike?" Shanna asked.
"Neutral," Connor replied.
"Ah." She marked the notepad and followed the old vampire to the next drink. He took a big gulp, then spewed the contents all over the window.
"Yeech!" Shanna jumped back. Blood everywhere.
"I would say that was a dislike," Connor said.
Shanna snorted. "Brilliant observation, Connor."
He smiled. "'Tis a gift."
At least all that blood wasn't making her nauseous. She really was improving. Gregori wiped the window clean before the next vampire's turn. This one was a plump, elderly woman with gray, tangled hair. She worked her way down the line of drinks, clutching her big bag to her chest. At the end of the line, she put her bag on the table. She looked around, then grabbed a bottle off the table and stuffed it into her purse.
"Oh, my gosh." Shanna looked at Connor. "She just stole a bottle of Chocolood."
He shrugged. "The puir woman is hungry. She can have it."
"I guess so." Shanna had finished with the first group when the bag lady doubled over and moaned.
Gregori rushed over to her. "Are you all right, ma'am?"
"I … Do you have any restrooms here, young man?" she asked in a gruff voice.
"Yes, of course." Gregori escorted her to the door. "This man will take you." He motioned to one of the Highlander guards who stood by the door.
The bag lady left in the company of a Highlander. It was the second group's turn to test the new formulas. Two hours later, Shanna was relieved when the whole process had finally finished. The back door to their room opened and Radinka peeked inside.
"Are you done yet?" she asked.
"Yes, finally." Shanna stretched. "I had no idea these things were so tiring."
"Well, come with me for a bite to eat. That'll perk you up."
"Thanks." Shanna picked up her purse. "I have a feeling Connor will want to come, too."