The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo(9)

"He's security?" Leah sipped some punch and swallowed hard when Abby nodded her head. Of course he was security. He'd been watching her all evening. Even now she could feel his sharp emerald eyes burning into her back. "A vampire?"

"Yes."

Single? Leah stopped herself from asking. She had to be out of her mind.

"He's always struck me as a bit shy," Abby continued. "A quiet kind of guy."

Quiet until the volcano erupts. Leah wondered if she was the only one who sensed he was about to blow.

"He's a musician." Abby stepped closer, smiling. "You want to hear a funny story? Lara told me about it. One of the Vamps, Jack, was throwing a bachelor party for Ian in a hotel room at the Plaza. Dougal was playing the bagpipes, and they were all drunk on Blissky and trying to dance a jig. They were so loud that the hotel called the police, and Jack had a hell of a time trying to explain it all."

Leah glanced over at the happy crowd. Apparently vampires liked to party. "So what happened? Were they arrested?"

Abby chuckled. "No, but Jack ended up married to the police officer. Lara's over there somewhere." She motioned toward the crowd. "She's expecting a baby, too."

Leah gulped. She was sensing an alarming pattern here. "Do the Undead always take mortal women for their wives?"

"Well, not always." Abby picked up the cake knife. "Which flavor cake would you like?"

Not always? Did that mean some of the women here were vampires? Or something else?

Her heart started racing again. What if vampires were just the tip of the iceberg? What if the normal world around her was actually abnormal?

"I think I'll try the pink layer." Abby put a slice on a small plate. "I'm not sure if it's cherry or strawberry. What would you like?"

My sanity back. Leah studied the different layers. White, lemon yellow, pink, red velvet, and devil's food.

"You should get the chocolate," a young voice said beside her.

Leah jumped. The little boy had curly blond hair, blue eyes, and a dab of chocolate icing on his nose. "You-you're Roman's son?"

He nodded, smiling. "I'm Tino."

Half vampire? Leah eased a bit to the side.

"What's your name?" Tino asked.

"I'm . . . Dr. Chin."

"Oh." Tino took a chocolate chip cookie off the table and munched on it. "The chocolate cake is the best."

"You eat regular food?" Leah asked.

Tino nodded, his mouth full. "My mom says I'm surprisingly normal." He wrinkled his nose. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing." He pointed up to the ceiling. "Would you like a balloon?"

Leah glanced up. Helium-filled balloons covered the ceiling.

"What color would you like?" Tino asked.

"I don't kn-" Leah halted when the little boy rose through the air. "Oh God. Oh my God." Half vampire.

"He's really very normal," Abby assured her quietly. "He can just do a few tricks that-"

"Do you know what you've done here?" Leah pressed a hand to her chest, struggling to breathe. "You've created a new species."

"The children are basically human. You'll see that when you study Tino's blood work."

"Basically human?" Leah wondered if she could still make a run for it. Unfortunately, the big, volcanically inclined Dougal would stop her.

Or maybe not. Gregori had returned with a woman, and the other men had retreated into the foyer, completely focused on her. She was dressed in a sparkly red dress that barely covered her rump and clung to a body that was downright voluptuous. Gregori had an arm around her waist and was grinning at her.

"Oh, no," Abby whispered. "It's Vanna. I thought he'd gotten rid of her."

Leah winced. Poor Abby was pregnant, and her husband was seeing another woman?

Gregori pushed the woman into Dougal's arms. Scowling, he tried to hand her back, but Gregori simply laughed. Dougal glanced at Leah, and his scowl grew even more menacing. He stalked away, taking the woman with him.

Leah shuddered. "Will that woman be safe?"

"She's not-"

"Here's your balloon." Tino interrupted Abby as he landed beside them, holding a pink balloon. "I thought you might like pink cause you're a girl."

"Thank you." Leah automatically took hold of the pink ribbon. She glanced back at the foyer, but Dougal and the woman were no longer in sight.

"Don't let Coco touch it," Tino warned her. "Her claws are too sharp, and she might pop it."

"Claws?"

"Let me get you a piece of cake." Abby rushed back to the cake and plopped a slice onto a plate. "Tino, you want another piece?"

"No, thanks. I'm full." He smiled at Leah. "Coco wanted to help with the balloons, but her nails are too sharp. All the were-panther kids are like that."

Leah gasped, and the balloon escaped her hand. "Were-what?"


The second Gregori shoved VANNA at Dougal, he objected and pushed her back. Unfortunately, his prosthetic hand had locked onto her forearm and refused to let go.

"Bloody hell," he whispered. He didn't want anyone to witness his lack of control. Why tonight, of all nights? He was just getting back into the game. If Angus saw that he couldn't control his own freaking hand, he might never get another chance.

As he stalked down the hall to find a vacant conference room, he heard Gregori chuckling behind him. Dammit. Everyone would wonder why he wanted to be alone with a rubber doll, and by the sound of Gregori's sniggering, he knew what their conclusions would be.

He entered the first conference room and kicked the door shut. The room was empty, dimly lit from the window that overlooked the front parking lot.

Release! he ordered his hand. Nothing.

"Let go!" He shook his right arm, trying to fling VANNA across the room. She flopped wildly, still in the grip of his traitorous hand. One of her stiletto heels flew off and clattered onto the conference table. Her blond wig stayed on, but the hair stuck out like she'd been plugged into an electric socket.

Damn. He rammed her against the wall, pinning her across the chest with his left arm as he attempted to tug his right hand free. With each tug, her arm lifted higher and higher. Her stiff fingers caught in his hair, pulling his hair loose from its tie.

"Dammit. Let go!" He tried jerking his hand to the side. Her whole body moved with him, but her dress didn't. Clasped in his left fist, the flimsy material tore completely off her shoulders.

"Bollocks," he growled and let the dress fall.

He hesitated a second, surprised by how real her breasts looked. The nipples were even beaded, as if she was aroused. Her glassy eyes stared at him through strands of messy hair. Her mouth was permanently set in a dopey grin. There was even a tongue in her mouth. And teeth.

Bloody hell, of all the stupid situations to be in. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He just needed to relax, and then his prosthetic hand would let go. He would toss VANNA back into Gregori's office and forget this had ever happened.

Gregori and Laszlo had invented VANNA years ago as an alternative to biting real women. As good Vamps, they had all switched to drinking synthetic blood out of bottles, but some had missed the thrill of sinking their fangs into a lovely neck. To solve that dilemma, Gregori had come up with VANNA, the Vampire Artificial Nutritional Needs Appliance.

He had bought two lifelike human sex toys, VANNA White and VANNA Black, and Laszlo had installed a pump and rubber tubing inside each of them. The pump sounded like a real heart, and it made synthetic blood flow through the tubing, which ran up the sides of VANNA's neck to simulate carotid arteries. Gregori must have filled her up, for Dougal could smell the blood coursing inside her.

VANNA had seemed like a good idea at the time, but it hadn't worked. Her rubberlike skin had proven difficult to bite, and Roman had lost one of his fangs giving her a trial run.

Dougal was more in danger of losing his sanity than his fangs. He could also lose his job if he didn't get his damned hand under control.

Release, he calmly ordered the prosthesis. Nothing.

He took a deep breath and tried again. No response.

Gritting his teeth, he glared at his hand. You will obey me! Release! Still nothing.

"Dammit!" He sat VANNA on the table, forcing her legs to bend at a ninety-degree angle at the hips. Her legs jutted out, spread wide.

He stepped between them. "I'm not losing my job over this. Release!"

His hand remained locked on her forearm.

Rage burst inside him, and he roared. With his left hand, he shoved her back on the table. As her legs flew up, feet toward the ceiling, her one remaining stiletto caught the hem of his kilt and pulled it up.

"Ye bloody witch from hell!"


"Were-what?" Leah repeated when Abby hesitated.

"Were-panthers." Tino watched her balloon float back to the ceiling. "Do you want me to get it back?"

A chill skittered down Leah's spine. "Panthers? As in big killer cats?"

Tino frowned. "They're nice. My aunt is a were-panther. You want to meet her?"

The room swirled, and Leah grabbed onto the table edge.

"Take it easy." Abby approached her slowly. "We were going to tell you as soon as we thought you could handle it."

Tino winced. "Did I mess up?"

"It's okay," Abby assured him.

"It's not okay." Leah struggled to breathe. "There are some big killer cats in the room with us?"