He unscrewed the top off his bottle. "I'm working for the good Vamps, Miss Wallace. I'm honored that they trust me."
She sat at the breakfast table and motioned for him to join her. "How long have you worked for Angus?"
"Six years." Phil sat across from her. "I heard you killed four Malcontents, and now they want to kill you."
She shrugged one shoulder. "They don't know who I am, so I don't think I'm in as much danger as Angus believes. You really don't need to stick around if you don't want to."
"I always follow orders." He drank some water.
"Even with Lindsey and Tina waiting for you?"
He grimaced. "I'd rather face twenty Malcontents than those two dingbats from hell."
Emma laughed. "They are rather scary."
Phil nodded. "I'm supposed to stay by your side until you're safe at work this evening."
"Then you get to help me lug that down to the Laundromat." She pointed at the bulging garbage sack by the door.
Phil spent the rest of the day helping her do the laundry and grocery shopping. Emma shared a pizza with him at the local deli before they took the subway to Midtown. She wanted to ask a ton of questions about Angus and the vampire world, but Phil refused to discuss business in public.
He escorted her to the federal building where she worked. At the door, he handed her a card. "I wrote the number to Roman's townhouse on the back. Call us if you're in trouble."
"Thank you." She examined the card. It looked like the one Angus had given her. On the back, Phil had scribbled a phone number.
"If you call during the day, either Howard or I will answer," Phil continued. "If you call at night, you'll most likely get Ian."
"All right." Emma shook his hand. "It was nice to meet you, Phil. Thanks for helping with the laundry."
"Good night." He waited until she was safely in the building before he left.
The Stake-Out team's seven P.M. meeting dragged on for an hour as Sean tried to come up with a legitimate reason to shut down Romatech Industries. The fact that the company saved millions of human lives each year with their synthetic blood was lost on Sean.
After seeing his daughter there, he'd become obsessed with destroying the place.
"Maybe we can get them on a health code violation," Garrett suggested. "Or tax evasion."
Sean pointed a finger at Emma. "Check on that."
"Yes, sir." She made a note on her legal pad. Maybe Angus was right, and Sean was wasting everyone's time. But if she brought up the subject of Casimir and the prospect of a global vampire war, Sean would wonder where she'd gotten her information. Instead of listening to her, he'd blacklist her like he had Austin.
"All right, dismissed," Sean finally announced. "Off to your assignments." He hurried from the office.
Emma assumed he was headed for his stake-out apartment across the street from Roman's townhouse. Alyssa was still gone, trying to locate covens in nearby towns. Alone in the office, Emma set to work on her assignment. The health department and IRS would be closed for the day, so she prepared some inquiries into Romatech Industries and faxed them to the correct offices. She would have to wait till tomorrow for a response.
She wandered about the office. Tension was building inside her. No doubt she was nervous about spending more time alone with Angus. She gazed out the window at the night sky and wondered what he was doing. Would he come to her apartment again? Would she be able to resist him?
She returned to her desk and checked the police reports from the night before. A few murders, quite a few assault cases, but not a single event in Central Park. Robby and Giacomo were doing a great job. But there had been the incident with Alek and the woman he'd attacked. Emma considered calling the number Phil had given her, just to see what had happened to the poor woman. She was reaching for her cell phone when it jangled.
"Hello?"
"Emma, is it safe for ye to talk?"
Her heart stuttered at the sound of Angus's voice. "Yes, I'm alone here. I was just wondering about the woman we found in the park last night. Is she all right?"
"Aye. She was fine when Connor left her at her flat."
"Oh, good."
"I talked to Phil earlier," Angus continued, "and he says the day was uneventful. Ye were no' followed or watched. We can assume the Malcontents havena figured out yer identity yet."
"I agree."
"Ye should be safe as long as ye stay hidden in Austin's apartment. Doona, under any circumstances, go to Central Park. The Malcontents will be there, looking for you."
"I understand."
"Jack and Robby are there again tonight, keeping it safe." Angus paused. "I was tempted to have them watch ye instead."
"No, no. I'll be fine. Please don't leave the park unguarded." Emma couldn't stand the thought of more innocent people dying.
"All right. Shanna's doctors have arrived, and I'm getting them settled in the townhouse before taking them to Romatech. I can meet ye at Austin's apartment in about an hour."
"Okay." Flashes of last night's bathtub scene rushed through her mind. No wonder she was feeling tense.
"I'm sending Phineas and Gregori to escort ye home. Phineas hasna finished his training, but he can fight well, and I know ye're one hell of a fighter."
"I'll be fine. I'll see you soon." She hung up, realizing how much she liked his worrying over her. It was unnecessary since she could take care of herself, but still, she liked it.
Too much. And soon she would be alone with him all night long. How far would she go? Would she take a vampire as her lover?
Shortly afterward, she received a call from first-floor security. Phineas McKinney was waiting for her. She locked up the office. Hopefully, Sean wouldn't mind her leaving work early. If he complained, she was tempted to quit. She could always have her old job back at MI6. Besides, if she lived in London, she might be closer to Angus. She groaned. Why was she making plans for their future? They had no future. She exited the elevator and halted when she saw Phineas. His hair had been cut. He'd shaved and was wearing clothes identical to the ones Phil had worn earlier. Apparently khaki pants and a navy Polo shirt was the MacKay uniform for those not wearing kilts.
Phineas even sported a navy windbreaker with the words mackay security and investigation embossed in small letters on the upper left-hand side.
"Wow, Phineas, I hardly recognized you." She circled him while he grinned and puffed out his chest. "You look so official."
"I am." He flashed his ID badge. "Cool, huh? I'm even going to get a permit to carry a piece." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "With silver bullets."
Emma smiled. "I'm glad you like your new job."
"My mission for the night is to escort you safely home." He saluted the security officer as they left the building.
A black Lexus was waiting by the curb, and Phineas opened the back door for her. She climbed in and was greeted by the driver.
"Hi, I'm Gregori." He twisted in the front seat to face her. With a smile, he extended a hand.
"How do you do?" Emma shook his hand while Phineas climbed into the front passenger seat. She did a double-take on Gregori. Somehow, he looked very familiar.
Gregori grinned. "So you're the hot babe that has Angus all worked up."
"Excuse me?" Emma blinked when recognition struck her. "I know who you are. You were the host on the DVN reality show."
"Yep, that was me." Gregori adjusted his tie. "But tonight, I'm your chauffeur. Where to, sweetie?"
Emma smiled as she gave him the address. "Do you work for Angus?"
He snorted as he pulled out into traffic. "No way. I'm the vice president of marketing over at Romatech. Have you seen the commercials for Roman's Fusion Cuisine? I make those."
"Oh, I see."
"I was headed to SoHo to check on some property we're having made into a Vamp restaurant when Angus asked me to give you and Phineas a ride."