Alek's mouth dropped open. "One week? When did this happen?"
"I just had a visitor. A Polish man named Jedrek Janow."
"I've heard of him. He's an assassin for Casimir."
Katya sighed. "He'll be... removing Galina and me if we don't make the delivery."
"Jesus," Alek whispered.
"I want you to find the slayer. Have our members work in teams of three. One can act like bait to draw the slayer in, while the others stay hidden and ready to attack."
"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.
She glanced at the third floor of her apartment building. All the windows were covered with closed blinds. Her apartment was the third window from the left. Was that a gap between two slats? She narrowed her eyes.
The blinds flipped open. She gasped.
Angus was there!
"Hey, lady!" the cabbie yelled. "You gonna stand there all night? Shut the door."
Emma tossed the crate back into the cab, grabbed the sack off the roof, and climbed back into the cab. "Drive."
"What?" The cabbie gave her an annoyed look. "Where to?"
"Just drive. Now!"
He stomped on the accelerator.
Emma twisted to look out the back window. The blinds had been pulled up in her apartment, and the dark silhouette of a man filled her window. She could feel his eyes on her, watching. She could feel his presence, hovering around her.
She faced front. Shit, she hated running away. But there was no way she was going to fight a vampire un-prepared. And it wasn't like she could ask him to please step out for ten minutes while she set a trap to kill his ass.
His gorgeous ass. The memory of him hanging upside down sneaked into her head.
The taxi reached the end of the street. "Where to, lady?"
"Ah, turn right." Emma pounded a fist on her knee in frustration. She hated to retreat, even when it was the best choice. Think, think. She needed a place where she could prepare for battle in secret. Then, when she was ready, she'd invite him over.
Of course! Austin's apartment. It was close by in Greenwich Village. And it was bigger than her place. A much better place for battling a vampire.
She gave the cabbie the address. She had become good friends with Austin Erickson while he was on the Stake-Out team. After Sean had blacklisted him from any decent work, Austin had taken a construction job in Malaysia. It had to be paying really well, since he'd kept his apartment in Manhattan.
Emma had volunteered to keep an eye on it. Thank goodness. It afforded her the perfect place to set her trap. Maybe she would lure Angus into the bedroom. The bed was decorated with cast-iron spindles. It was perfect for the silver handcuffs.
And Angus - surely he would follow her into the bedroom. His attraction to her was no secret. She recalled the feel of his erection pressed against her thigh. The touch of his hand as he caressed her hip. His boast about leaving women verra satisfied.
She was tempted to see if that was true. He did claim to be a man of his word.
No! He wasn't a man. With a groan, Emma leaned back against the seat. A part of the battle was within herself.
The devil take it, she was getting away. Angus had been disappointed when Emma didn't answer the phone. He'd been forced to use her answering machine as a directional beacon.
Since his arrival a few minutes earlier, he'd taken the liberty of examining her tiny apartment. Nothing interesting but a handful of stakes on her coffee table with a permanent marker nearby. He could imagine her watching the telly while she labeled each stake with Mum or Dad.
He wondered if she was simply going somewhere to wait for sunrise. He'd be forced to leave before dawn. Still, he wanted to talk to her tonight. He needed to convince her once and for all to give up slaying.
He gazed out the window. Her cab had reached the end of the block. He could teleport to the corner in a second, but an elderly woman was standing there with her dog, waiting to cross the street. If he suddenly appeared beside her, she might keel over and die of fright. Or break a hip. Mortals, especially old ones, seemed so fragile. Angus spotted a dark area next to a flight of stairs leading into the corner building. He focused and teleported into the shadowed area. He felt under his sporran to make sure he was intact, then stepped from the shadow.