"I see." Emma nodded. A Vamp restaurant? Surely the menu would be a bit limited? But then it was certainly much better than attacking humans.
"Don't worry about your safety," Gregori continued. "I've been taking some karate and fencing lessons. I got sick and tired of Connor acting like I was some kind of wimp."
"I had my first fencing lesson last night," Phineas said. "It was cool." He tuned the radio to some hip-hop music.
Gregori started drumming on the steering wheel in time with the music while Phineas wiggled in his seat.
These were vampires? Emma watched in disbelief. They just seemed so… normal.
Gregori drove by Austin's apartment and surveyed the street in dismay. "I'll never find a place to park." He circled the block.
Emma leaned forward. "There's no need for you to stay if you have business elsewhere. Phineas and I will be fine."
Gregori double-parked, then glanced back at her, frowning. "I'd better stick around until Angus comes. You two go in, and I'll join you as soon as I park this beast."
Emma and Phineas climbed out onto the sidewalk. She looked around, but there was no one watching them. They hurried into the apartment building while Gregori drove slowly away.
In Austin's apartment, Phineas made a big show of examining each room carefully. He checked all the kitchen cabinets and the refrigerator. Emma bit her lip to keep from laughing. Did he think someone was hiding in the fridge or perhaps the cutlery drawer?
"Kitchen is secure," he announced, then jumped into the living room, assuming a karate pose. "Cool, huh? I learned this last night."
"Lovely." Emma entered the secure kitchen to warm up some Chinese food left over from the night before.
Phineas checked under the sofa cushions, then proceeded into the bedroom. Five minutes later, he emerged and pronounced the entire apartment was safe.
"What a relief. Thank you." Emma set her plate of Chinese food on the coffee table in front of the couch.
"I'm going to check the hall." Phineas opened the door. "Lock up after me."
"Okay." Emma flipped the locks, then returned to the couch. She settled down with her Chinese food and turned on the telly. A cop show was winding down, and the perpetrators were getting dragged off to jail. She glanced at the VCR to check the time.
Angus would be here soon.
The television show was suddenly interrupted by a late-breaking bulletin from a local news station. Three murdered bodies just discovered in Hudson River Park. Emma sat forward.
The newscaster announced they were cutting to the reporter on the scene by Pier 66. Emma set her plate of food aside as the picture shifted to the park. A crowd of curious onlookers surrounded the female reporter. Lights from parked police cars flashed red and yellow in the night sky.
"The bodies were discovered just moments ago," the reporter shouted into her microphone. "We've heard that their throats were all slashed, but we're waiting for confirmation on that. What is interesting, though, is that all three bodies appear to have been moved. They were discovered nearby on the heliport pad. We can only assume that whoever committed this heinous crime wanted the bodies to be found quickly."
Emma jumped to her feet. It was the Malcontents. She was sure of it. They'd simply moved to another park. Three murders? Shit!
She had to know more. She needed to check the victims herself. Even with slashed throats, she could often detect the bite marks. Of course, she knew to look for them. And the bodies would also be completely drained.
Dammit! Why couldn't those bloody bastards take a pint and go on their way? But no, they had to kill their victims. They enjoyed killing.
She searched her purse for the card Phil had given her, then called the number.
"Hello?"
"Is this Ian?"
"Aye. Miss Wallace? Are ye in danger?"
"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."