"No. But I wanted to tell you that the Malcontents are killing again. Three bodies were just found at the heliport in Hudson River Park. I'm taking Phineas with me to check it out."
"What? Wait! Angus will want to come with you."
"He can meet us there. I'll be perfectly safe. There are a ton of police there."
"'Tis no' a good idea - "
"I'll be fine," Emma interrupted. "Just tell Angus where we are." She hung up, then dashed to the front door. She heard voices outside and peeked through the peephole. Oh no! Tina and Lindsey were outside, and they were dragging Phineas toward their apartment. He didn't appear to be struggling.
Emma flipped the locks and opened the door. "Phineas!"
The blondes giggled.
"We have your bodyguard!" Tina announced.
"Dr. Phang." Lindsey tugged him down the hall. "He's so cute."
Phineas grinned. "Hot damn! I love this job."
"Phineas," Emma shouted. "I need you!"
"Not as badly as we do." Lindsey pulled him inside their apartment.
"Phineas." Emma marched toward them. "This is important."
"Just five minutes." Phineas gave her a pleading look. "That's all I need." He glanced at the two blondes. "Make that ten."
"Bye." Tina shut the door in Emma's face.
"Phineas!" Emma hit the door with her fist, but only heard giggling on the other side.
Fuming, she strode back to her apartment. She paced about the living room. How long would it take Angus to get here? And since when did she wait on men to protect her? She was a black belt, dammit. She'd killed four Malcontents single-handedly. And there were a bunch of cops on the scene. A reporter was there and a ton of bystanders. Nothing would happen to her.
She grabbed her tote bag of stakes and locked the door behind her. She was not going to cower in her apartment in fear. She would be perfectly safe.
In fact, she almost wished she would see Alek. The bastard needed to die.
The two Vamp doctors had arrived at Roman's townhouse, and as honored guests they both expected some personal attention from the CEO of MacKay Security and Investigation. Angus assured them they would be safe during their stay and introduced them to Connor and his security team. As soon as the doctors were happy with their guest rooms, they wanted a tour of Romatech and the birthing room Roman had prepared for his wife. They were both very excited and honored to be the first doctors to deliver a half-vampire baby, but already they were arguing about procedure. Angus was beginning to think Roman had made a big mistake by sending for two doctors instead of one.
Dr. Schweitzer from Switzerland was very pleased with the birthing room, but Dr. Lee from Houston demanded more equipment be on hand just in case. Roman was busily making a list of everything Dr. Lee wanted when Angus's cell phone rang.
He excused himself and stepped into the hall as he retrieved the phone from his sporran. "Aye?"
"Angus." Ian sounded agitated. "Miss Wallace just called. She and Phineas are going to the heliport at Hudson River Park."
"What?"
"She thinks the Malcontents have murdered some mortals there."
"The devil take it," Angus muttered. He'd told her not to go out. "Is Gregori with her?"
"I doona know. She called just now," Ian continued quickly. "If ye hurry, ye might be able to stop her."
"I'm on my way." Angus snapped his phone shut.
Connor cracked the door to the birthing room and peeked out. "Is there a problem?"
"Could be. If ye doona hear from me within thirty minutes, send Robby and Giacomo to Hudson River Park."
"What's going on - "
Connor's words faded as Angus vanished. In a few seconds, he was in Austin's apartment.
"Emma?" He zoomed into the bedroom, checked the bathroom, then ran back into the living room. Bugger. He was too late.
But they might still be in the building. He unlocked the door, ran into the hall, and crashed into Phineas. He grabbed him by the shoulders. "Thank God ye're still here."
Phineas was shaking. "Oh my God, man, I think I killed her."
"What?"
Phineas's face crumpled. "I didn't mean to. She was just so hot. And I lost control. I'm not used to being like this - "
Angus shook him. "What did ye do?"
Tears ran down Phineas's face. "I know it's the number one rule, but I lost control."
A chill skittered through Angus. "Ye bit her?"
"I didn't mean to! God, I'm afraid I killed her."
Angus slammed him against the wall. "Ye killed Emma?"
Phineas blinked. "No, man. I think I killed Tina."
Chapter 18
Angus stared at his new employee as relief washed through him. Phineas hadn't bitten Emma. She wasn't dead. At least, not yet. "Where is Emma? She should be with you."
A door nearby opened. "Woo-hoo, Dr. Phang!" A blonde dressed in a lacy black teddy leaned against the doorframe. "When do I get my turn?"
Angus recognized her as one of the silly mortal women he'd met a few nights ago. Either Lindsey or Tina, he couldn't remember which.
Her eyes widened. "Oh, I remember you. You're the g*y Irish guy. If you're still looking for Austin, you're out of luck. There's some kind of foreign princess hiding out in his place."
"Get back inside and shut the door," Angus ordered.
The blonde huffed. "You are so rude. And you're like totally wasting your time with Dr. Phang. He's a ladies' man. In fact, he was so good with Tina, she's still unconscious."
"Inside!" Angus shouted.
"Creep!" She slammed the door.
It was all becoming clear to Angus. His new employee had been busy tupping Tina when Emma decided to leave. Angus grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him against the wall. "Ye left yer post."
"I - " Phineas winced. "It was just for a few minutes. Emma was okay with it." He glanced at Austin's apartment. "Ask her. She'll tell you. Everything's cool. Except for Tina. She's looking kinda bad."
Angus stepped closer and gritted his teeth. His fist twisted Phineas's shirt. "Ye left yer post. I've seen soldiers killed for that."
Phineas gulped. "I'm sorry, man. It won't happen again."
"What's up?" Gregori sauntered down the hall toward them.
Angus released Phineas and turned toward Gregori. "Where the hell have ye been? Have ye seen Emma?"
"No, she's with - " Gregori gave Phineas a worried look. "I was parking the car. What happened?"
"Emma is gone." Angus bit out the words.
"What?" Phineas glanced at Austin's apartment. "She was just here a few minutes ago. How'd she get away?"
Angus seized him by the neck. "She got away because ye left yer post!"
"Whoa!" Gregori grabbed Angus's arm. "Easy, Mongo. Relax! We'll find her."
Angus released Phineas and took a deep breath. "I'll deal with this later. I have to find her. She's headed to Hudson River Park."
"Great! You know where she's going." Gregori gave him an encouraging smile. "It'll be fine. I'll drive you."
"Nay. I'll call her and teleport." Angus reached in his sporran for his cell phone. "Gregori, I need ye to clean up the mess Phineas made." He glared at his rookie employee.
Phineas winced and rubbed his throat. "I'm really sorry, man. Tina was just so hot. I didn't mean to hurt her."
Gregori frowned at Phineas. "You hurt her? Where is she?"
"In here." Phineas shoved open the door to Tina's apartment.
Lindsey squealed and jumped back. Phineas led Gregori inside while Angus remained in the hall, calling Emma on his cell phone.
"Hello?"
"Emma!" Relief flooded him so strongly, he stumbled back a step. "Keep talking. I'll teleport to you."
"Not now," she whispered. "I'm in a taxi."
"Ye think I care?"
"I care. I don't want to be in a wreck. I'll call you as soon as I get to the park. Give me your number."
He did. "The devil take it, Emma. I told ye to stay hidden."
"I'll be fine. I'll call you soon." She hung up.
Stubborn woman. Muttering a curse, he punched in Robby's number.
"Aye?"
"Robby, I want ye and Jack to go to Hudson River Park, to the area around the heliport."