Vamps and the City

"Sure. Bernie showed it to me last night. We watched it about ten times. Now here's my favorite part." Sly pointed at the television. "Off comes the bra."



Darcy covered her mouth to keep from groaning out loud.



"Wow, that's cool," the technician said, his eyes riveted to the screen.



Sly turned to Darcy, smiling. "Great work, Newhart. I just wish it had come out a bit clearer. So, was that one of Draganesti's ex-harem ladies?"



Darcy winced. "You could say that." Oh, God, this was terrible. The only thing keeping her from running from the building, screaming and ripping out her hair, was the fact that the recording had been fuzzy. It was just clear enough to tell there were two nearly naked bodies making out in the hot tub, but the faces weren't clear. Thank God. She was safe for now.



"Man, is she hot. I need to get to know her a little better, if you know what I mean." Sly winked. "So tell me, Newhart, who is she?"



Chapter 16



Darcy swallowed hard. If the truth got out, Sly would probably fire her as a director and offer her a job as DVN's first porn star. "I believe the woman in question was unaware that she was being recorded."



"So?" Sly scratched at his goatee. "She was in a hot tub. It's not like she had any expectation of privacy."



"A good point." And one she would be sure to remember in the future. Although she doubted she'd ever experience such a sexy scene again in her long, miserable life. "I don't believe I should divulge the woman's name without her permission."



"Well, you should. I could make her a star." Sly handed her his card. "Just give her this and tell her I want to meet her."



"Will do." Darcy dropped the card into her purse. "I need to work now, or we won't have the show ready for tomorrow night."



"Fine. Make it great." Sly sauntered out the door.



With a sigh, Darcy switched off Corky's show. "Let's get back to work."



The technician finished scribbling a note, then handed it to her. "Could you, uh, give this to the lady in the hot tub?"



Darcy noticed his name and phone number on the note. Rick was one of the few mortals who worked at DVN. "You realize the lady in question is a vampire?"



"Yeah." He sipped from his coffee. "So?"



"You don't think it could be dangerous to date a vampire?"



He reached into his paper bag and removed a doughnut. "I work with you all. You seem safe enough to me." He crammed half the doughnut into his mouth.



The hot, yeasty smell was heavenly. Darcy was so tempted, but the last time she'd tried real food, it hadn't stayed down.



"I just want some fun, and that lady is hot." Rick stuffed the rest of the doughnut in his mouth. "Besides, it's not like I'm looking for a commitment, you know."



"I see. You don't think there could be a lasting relationship between a mortal and a Vamp."



"Not really." He licked the sugar off his fingers. "Can I ask you something?"



Darcy nodded. She'd known a relationship with Adam couldn't work. She just hadn't expected the truth to hurt this much.



"Is it hard giving up real food?"



She turned away. "Yes." She dropped Rick's note into her purse. "Let's get back to work."



They'd been working about ten minutes when the door cracked open and DVN's receptionist peeked in.



Darcy glanced up. "Can I help you?"



"Yes." She slipped inside. "Corky asked me to give this to you, so you could pass it on to the sexy guy in the hot tub." She handed Darcy a business card. Corky had written on the back Call me. She'd included her private phone number and a drawing in red ink of two entwined hearts.



"How sweet," Darcy ground out, tempted to rip the card in two. "Anything else? I have work to do."



The receptionist blushed almost as red as the dyed streaks in her hair. "Could you, uh, give him this, too? But don't tell Corky. She'd kill me."



"What is it?" Darcy accepted the note.



"It's my phone number." The receptionist rushed from the room.



Darcy tossed the card and note into her purse. So, it was Adam's lucky day. He was rapidly acquiring a fan club. And all because he knew how to remove a lady's bra in record time.



She took a deep breath and shoved her frustrated emotions to the side. She could scream later. Right now, she needed to work. Five minutes later, the door opened. She glanced up. Well, speak of the devil.



"Good evening." Don Orlando swaggered into the room. He was wearing black leather pants low on his hips, and a black silk cape, which looked a bit odd without a shirt underneath. He took a wide stance in his black leather boots. His hair was so black, Darcy suspected it must be dyed. Did that mean his mound of chest hair was dyed, too? Just how much of Don Orlando was fiction? No one seemed to know his real name.



He raked his dark eyes over her and smiled slowly. "You know who I am, of course."



Either a stinky fraud or an odious pig, according to Corky. "Yes, I do."



"I wish to know the name of the sexy woman in the hot tub."



Darcy stifled a groan. "I can't divulge her name."



He smirked. "Just tell her Don Orlando de Corazon, the greatest lover in the vampire world, wishes to woo her. She will comply."



"Right." Over my dead body, which was unfortunately, too close to the truth. Darcy stood and headed to the door. "I have a lot of work to do. So, if you could move your little booties somewhere else, I'd appreciate it."



He turned with a flourish of his cape and left. Darcy shut the door and locked it.



Austin rose before dawn and went to the office. Since it was a Saturday, Sean wasn't there, and he was grateful for that. He didn't want to answer questions. He borrowed a white surveillance van from Homeland Security and visited a local cable company where flashing his badge got him a clipboard full of invoices and a work shirt with the company logo. He drove to DVN and arrived by eight o'clock in the morning.



"We got a complaint about four in the morning from Sylvester Bacchus," he explained to the mortal security guard. "The internet connection was going on and off."



"Really?" The guard took the clipboard and regarded the invoice with a suspicious eye. "I wasn't notified about this."



"They probably forgot to tell you." You will believe me, Austin projected his thoughts into the guard's head.



The guard handed the clipboard back. "Come on in."



"Thanks. This won't take long." Austin headed for the offices with his tool box. Sylvester Bacchus's office was easy to find since he had a big brass name-plate on his door. Austin closed the door and went to work. The computers at DVN were basically dinosaurs, so he had to download everything onto disks. When he was done, he made sure everything looked the way it had before.



As he crossed the lobby, he waved at the security guard. "Everything's fixed."



Back in his apartment, Austin made labels for each of the disks and downloaded all the data onto his laptop. He now had all the information anyone would ever want to know about DVN. All he had to do was email it to Sean. But if he sent the information, Darcy would be targeted with all the other vampires.



He shut the laptop and looked at the stuff on his coffee table. Videos of Darcy, disks from DVN, and the damned list that said Vampires Must Die. He couldn't take it anymore. The more he tried to do the right thing, the worse he felt.



Sometimes, being the good guy really sucked.



It was Saturday night and time for the debut. Gregori drove Darcy and Maggie to the penthouse. There, they found the lady judges in their parlor, waiting excitedly for the show to begin. The Bubbly Blood was chilling in an ice bucket.



Midnight arrived, and the ladies were glued to the screen. All televisions had been removed from the rooms upstairs. The male Vamps needed to remain ignorant about the mortal competitors, so they weren't allowed to watch the show until it was finished. And of course, the mortals had to be kept completely in the dark. That was easy to do, since the two mortals had left the penthouse entirely.



As the show came to a close, Darcy grew tense with worry. The last scene was the one in the portrait room when the ladies discovered for the first time that some of the contestants were mortal. Soon, the ladies' outrage would explode on the screen. How on earth would Sly react? He'd wanted a big twist, but this might be a bigger one than he could handle.



When the closing credits began, the ladies poured Bubbly Blood and toasted each other. Darcy accepted a glass with a growing sense of doom. Any minute now...



The phone rang. She set down her glass with a sigh.



Gregori answered the phone. "Sure, she's here." He handed the receiver to Darcy. "It's Shanna Draganesti."



Darcy blinked. Shanna? Why would she be calling? "Hello?"



"Darcy, I need to talk to you. It's important."



"Okay." Darcy waited for Shanna to talk.



"I mean in person. I'm at our new house in White Plains. Can you teleport here?"



Darcy's grip on the phone tightened. "Actually, no. Maybe Gregori can drive me - ?" She gave him a questioning look.



"No, that'll take too long." Shanna's voice faded. It sounded like she had covered the receiver to talk to someone else. "Connor wants you here now."



Darcy's heart lurched in her chest. "I - I'd rather not - "



"It's urgent, Darcy. You need to teleport here now."



"I don't... know how. I've never done it before." Her face flooded with heat as she realized Shanna was sharing her inadequacy with Connor. Her eye twitched. "Look, Gregori can drive me. We'll leave right away."



"Keep talking," Shanna said. "Connor's coming to get you."



"No!" Darcy gasped for air. "I don't want to teleport, and I sure don't want to go anywhere with - " A figure materialized beside her. A man in a red and green kilt. "Connor." The phone slipped from her hand and clattered on the floor.



"I'm sorry, lass, but ye need to come with me." The Scotsman wrapped a strong arm around her, and everything went black.



Terror whipped through Darcy. She was trapped and helpless, just like she'd been four years ago. She couldn't feel her body. The only thing keeping her from floating away like vapor into a black void was the steel-like grip of Connor. Once again, he was abducting her against her will. She hated him for it, and she hated herself for being so damned afraid. Good God, if she had any courage in her at all, she'd push herself away and fade into oblivion, never to materialize again.



As soon as her feet touched ground, a room wavered before her eyes and came into view. A living room with two wingback chairs, a television, and a sofa. Shanna was sitting in a chair, watching them. Darcy broke free from Connor and stumbled.



"Careful." He reached out to steady her.



"Don't - " The words touch me stuck in her throat when she saw his face. Regret had etched lines on his brow and dulled the blue of his eyes. The truth scraped at her like overlong fingernails, and she looked away. God have mercy. His decision that night haunted him as much as it did her.



Shanna set her phone down on the coffee table next to her drink. "Thank you for coming, Darcy."



Like she'd been given any choice. Darcy pivoted, surveying the comfortable room decorated in blue toile with yellow accents. "Is this your new house?"



"Yes. Roman wants to keep the location a secret. The Highlanders know, of course, since they do our security." Shanna motioned to the blue velvet couch. "Please have a seat."



Darcy circled the coffee table and sat close to Shanna. "What's wrong? Are the Malcontents causing trouble again?"



"Not so much, now that Petrovsky is dead. I'm afraid our latest security problems are caused more by my father."



Darcy glanced briefly at Connor who was standing still, his arms crossed over his broad chest. "I heard a little about your father the night of your wedding."



Shanna sighed. "At least we were still able to have the wedding. Would you like something to drink?"



"No, thank you."



"I need to go to Roman's townhouse to fetch the file," Connor announced quietly. "I'll return soon." He faded away.



Darcy breathed easier once he'd teleported away.



Shanna smiled. "I saw your show. You did a fabulous job."



"Thank you."



"I know the ex-harem probably hates me, but I really do wish them well." Shanna's smile widened. "I just wish them well far away from my husband."



"I understand." Darcy wondered what on earth could be so urgent that she was here. "If it helps, I can assure you that none of the harem ladies ever harbored romantic feelings for Roman. It was simply a matter of convenience."



"Thanks. That's good to know." Shanna sipped from her drink as an awkward silence fell between them.



"Why am I here?" Darcy finally asked.



Shanna shifted uneasily in her chair. "I think we should wait until Connor returns."



Darcy sighed. She really didn't want to discuss anything with Connor around. It was so hard to concentrate when she kept imagining what he had done four years ago. "It doesn't bother you to be surrounded by vampires?" Darcy blurted out. "I mean you're not frightened or... repulsed by us?"



Shanna smiled. "I was a bit freaked at first, but once I got to know Roman and his friends, I knew they'd never hurt me."