Roman ignored them and spoke into the phone, "We come alone, Petrovsky. Just you and me, and only one survives. Are we in agreement?"
"Yes. But only because I've wanted to kill you for over five hundred years. Say your prayers, priest.
Tonight, you die." Petrovsky hung up.
Roman dropped the receiver into place and stood.
"Ye canna do this," Angus shouted. "I willna have it."
Roman placed a hand on his old friend's shoulder. "This is my choice, Angus. It will save the lives of my friends."
"I am the best swordsman among us." Jean-Luc's eyes flashed an icy blue. "I demand to go in your stead. It is my right."
"Don't worry, Jean-Luc." Roman gripped the Frenchman's shoulder. "You taught me well. Wasn't I the one who delivered the fatal blow to Casimir?"
Jean-Luc scowled at him. "Only because I was watching your back."
"Ye're no' thinking straight," Angus insisted. "Ye're too distraught over that Whelan lass leaving you."
Roman swallowed hard. Was there any truth to Angus's claim? If Shanna were here, would he be so willing to risk himself? Still, he wasn't trying to kill himself. He certainly planned on winning.
Killing Petrovsky might damage the Malcontent movement, but it wouldn't put an end to it. He needed to survive so he could continue to protect his people. "My decision is made."
"I'll be yer second," Connor announced.
"No. Petrovsky and I agreed to meet alone."
"He willna honor the agreement," Angus declared. "He canna be trusted. Ye know that."
"I will not break the agreement. And neither will any of you." Roman looked each of his friends in the eye. "You don't know where we are meeting. And you will not follow me."
They gave him looks full of despair. Angus opened his mouth to argue.
"Promise me," Roman broke in before they could object. "You will not follow me."
"All right." Angus glanced at the others with a pained expression. "Ye have our word."
Roman headed for the door.
"Ye once thought ye could save an entire village, and in yer pride, ye fell prey to Casimir. Now ye think to save us all."
Roman paused halfway through the door and looked back at Angus. "This isn't the same."
"Are ye sure?" Angus whispered. "Beware, my old friend. Ye've fallen to pride once before."
Shanna sat up in bed. She looked around, momentarily disoriented.
"Are you okay?" Austin asked.
"I-yes. I must have fallen asleep." She was in a hotel room with two watchdogs. Austin had been joined by a young, brunette woman shortly after they arrived. The clock radio beside the bed glowed 8:20. Darn. She'd slept for too long. But after staying up all night, she'd been exhausted. "Is it dark outside?"
"Sure." Austin pointed to a pizza on the table next to him and the woman. "You want to eat?"
"In a little while." So Roman would be awake now. Was he preparing for war with the Russians? If only she could talk to him to see if he was all right. Her dad had confiscated her cell phone. She glanced at the phone on the bedside table. Still disconnected. Austin had pulled the plug on it when they'd first arrived. She was obviously not to be trusted. She could hardly complain, since they were right. The first chance she got, she intended to go back to Roman.
"Hi, I'm Alyssa," the brunette introduced herself. "Your dad asked me to bring some of your clothes from your apartment." She motioned to a suitcase at the base of Shanna's bed.
Shanna recognized her old luggage. "Thank you."
"We rigged the television to show DVN." Austin picked up the remote and turned up the volume.
"The explosion at Romatech was the big story on their news. They're wondering if Draganesti is going to retaliate tonight."
"This vampire television is amazing." Alyssa sipped from a canned cola. "They have soap operas just like we do. And what on earth is Chocolood?"
"A drink made of chocolate and blood," Shanna explained. "It's popular with the ladies, though I heard it's making them gain weight."
Alyssa laughed. "You're kidding me."
"No. In fact, Roman made a new drink to help solve the problem. It's called Blood Lite."
This time, both her watchdogs laughed.
Austin shook his head. "They're not at all what I expected."
"Me, neither." Alyssa bit into a piece of pizza. "I thought they'd be white and slimy, but they look so normal."
"Yeah," Austin agreed. "And they have this whole culture that's different, but it still seems so … human."
"They are human. They feel pain and fear and … love." Shanna wondered what Roman was feeling right now.
"Well, don't let your dad hear that," Alyssa warned her. "He thinks they're a bunch of vicious psychopaths."
"Where is my dad?" Shanna asked.
"Watching Petrovsky's house, as usual," Austin replied. "He hates the Russians with a passion, especially since they targeted you at that restaurant."
Shanna blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Way to go, Austin," Alyssa muttered.
"I thought she knew." Austin turned to Shanna. "Didn't the FBI tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Shanna's heart rate quickened. "Are you saying my friend's murder wasn't an accident?"
Austin frowned. "It was payback. Your dad sent some of the top mafia guys in Russia to jail. Your family was flown out of Russia in secret. No one knows where they are. When the remaining mafia guys wanted revenge, you were the only family member they could find."
Shanna shook off a wave of dizziness. "They were trying to kill me? Karen died because of me?"
"It's not your fault," Alyssa insisted. "You only became a target because you're Sean Whelan's daughter."
"Given the circumstances," Austin continued, "working on our team will be the best life for you. You'll be under the radar, untraceable, and well trained in self-defense."
Shanna collapsed onto her back and stared at the ceiling. All this time, she'd thought that night at the restaurant was a terrible fluke. They'd been at the wrong place at the wrong time. But all along, she'd been the target. She was supposed to die, not Karen.
"Are you okay?" Alyssa asked.
"I feel terrible about Karen dying instead of me."
"Well." Austin popped open a can of soda. "If it helps, the mafia would have killed you both if they'd seen you. They wouldn't have left any witnesses."
Somehow, that didn't really help. Shanna closed her eyes.
Shanna? Where are you?
She gasped and sat up. Austin and Alyssa stared at her. "I, uh, need to go." She hurried to the restroom. My God, was Roman trying to contact her? Could their connection be strong enough to work long distance? She turned on the water faucets to mask her voice. "Roman, can you hear me?"
Yes. I'm here. His voice grew louder in her head as if he were tightening the connection. Where are you?
"I'm in a hotel with some of my father's team members."
Are you a prisoner? Or is that where you want to be?
"I'm fine for now. Don't worry about me. How are you? Are you going to war tonight?"
The dispute will be finished tonight. Why-why did you call your father? I thought you were going to stay with me.
"I didn't call him. He was outside, watching Petrovsky's house, and saw me go in. He thought I was in danger, so he came in to rescue me."
You intend to stay with him?
"I'd rather be with you, but if staying here helps me to protect you-"
I don't need your protection!
His angry voice reverberated in her head for a few seconds. "Roman, I will always love you. I would never betray you."
The connection crackled with tension.
"Roman? Are you there?"
A new emotion sifted into the connection. Despair. He was hurting. Shanna pressed his silver crucifix against her heart.
If I survive this night, will you come back to me?
If he survived the night? "Roman, what are you saying? Are you going to war?"
Will you come back to me?
"Yes! Yes, I will. But Roman, don't do anything dangerous. Please." Her grip on the crucifix tightened.
There was no response.
"Roman! Don't go!" She jumped when there was a banging on the bathroom door.
"Shanna!" Austin shouted. "Are you okay in there?"
"I'm fine," she yelled. She concentrated on sending a mental message. Roman. Roman, can you hear me?
No response. The connection was gone. And so was Roman.
It couldn't be a matter of pride. Angus had to be wrong. Roman knew Jean-Luc was a better swordsman. Angus was a better soldier. So how could it be pride that was hurtling him down this chosen path? He didn't know. All he knew for certain was he would do anything to save his people and Shanna. He'd changed many of the Highlanders himself. He'd even transformed Jean-Luc and Angus. He'd condemned all their souls to an eternity in hell should they perish. He couldn't allow that to happen, even if it meant his own death and eternal damnation.
It was shortly after eleven when Roman climbed the stone steps and opened the heavy wooden door of a church. His steps echoed in the empty foyer. Flames flickered in row upon row of red glass votives. Statues of saints and the Holy Mother stared down at him, questioning his presence in a house of God. He wondered about it, too. What did he think to gain here?