Chapter 25
"Are you sure you want to go in there alone?" Phil asked as he parked down the street from Petrovsky's house.
"I won't be alone for long." Shanna checked her purse. It was stuffed with lengths of rope for tying up prisoners. She pulled out the cell phone she'd borrowed from Howard Barr and punched in the newly memorized phone number for Roman's house.
"Barr," the head of Roman's daytime security answered.
"We're in place. I'm going in."
"Good. Keep the line open," Howard warned her in his nasal voice. "Here. Roman wants to talk to you."
"Be careful," Roman warned her.
"I'll be fine. Phil's here if I need him." Shanna opened the car door. "I'm setting the phone in my purse now. See you soon." She propped the open phone on top of everything in her purse.
Phil gave her an encouraging nod. She climbed from the car and walked toward Petrovsky's house.
At Romatech, she'd given Roman another dose of the formula before they teleported to his house. There, with Howard Barr's advice, they'd made their plan for Laszlo's rescue. She'd been opposed to Roman's theory that he could simply call Petrovsky's house and teleport there. He might accidentally arrive in a room full of sunlight. So, with Howard's support, she'd talked Roman into letting her participate.
She stopped in front of Petrovsky's duplex and glanced back. Phil was still in the black sedan, watching. Another vehicle caught her eye, a black SUV parked across the street. It looked just like the one that had followed her before. But they all looked alike. The city was full of them.
She hugged her purse to her chest. The phone was close by, with Roman listening in. She climbed the steps to the front door and rang the bell.
The door opened. A heavy-set man with a shaved head and graying goatee glared at her. "What do you want?"
"I'm Shanna Whelan. I believe you've been looking for me?"
His eyes widened. He grabbed her arm and pulled her in the house. "You must be one stupid bitch," he growled with a thick accent as he shut the door.
She backed away. There was too much light coming in from a window above the door. She saw an open doorway to the side and slipped inside a small parlor. The carpet was threadbare, the furniture old and sagging. Light filtered in through dusty, yellowed blinds.
The Russian followed her into the room. "This is too strange. You either have a death wish or this is some kind of trick." He opened his jacket to reveal a shoulder holster.
She moved toward the window. "No trick. I'm just tired of running."
The man removed his pistol. "You know Petrovksy will kill you."
"I was hoping to make a deal with him." She inched closer to the window. "You see, I've been in Draganesti's house, and I know a lot about his security."
The Russian narrowed his eyes. "You wish to trade your life for information."
"That's the plan." Shanna eased back the curtains.
"Give me your purse. I must check it."
She set it down in a nearby chair. While the Russian moved forward, she quickly closed the blinds. "There," she announced in a loud voice. "It's nice and dark in here now."
The Russian peered inside her purse and pulled out her cell phone. "What is this?" He closed the phone, breaking the connection.
But Roman had heard her cue and was already materializing in the room. With vampire speed, he wrenched the gun from the Russian's hand and punched the man in the jaw. The Russian crumpled to the floor.
Shanna removed the rope from her purse and handed it to Roman. Quickly he tied the Russian's hands and feet.
"So far, so good," she whispered. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine." Roman handed her the Russian's gun. "Use this if you have to."
She nodded.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." Roman sped away in a blur.
Shanna knew if there were any more guards in the house, they'd never see him coming. He'd knock them flat, tie them up, then continue his search until he found Laszlo.
She picked up the phone and once again dialed Roman's house. "Howard? Are you still there?"
"Yes. How's it going?"
"Fine. We should be coming back soon." She set the phone down next to her purse.
Suddenly the front door burst open. With a gasp, Shanna raised the Russian's pistol. Footsteps raced across the foyer, then stopped in the doorway to the parlor. Two men in black suits faced her, their pistols drawn.
Shanna's mouth fell open. She blinked. "Dad?"
Sean Dermot Whelan looked much the same as he had a year ago when she'd last seen him. There was a little more gray in his reddish-gold hair, but his blue eyes were as sharp as ever. He lowered his pistol. "Shanna, are you all right?" He entered the parlor, looking about the room. He frowned at the unconscious man on the floor.
"Dad!" Shanna dropped her borrowed gun next to her purse. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.
"Sweetheart." He held his gun to the side while he hugged her with his free arm. "You scared me to death when I saw you coming into this house. What the hell are you doing here?"
She pulled back. "I could ask the same thing about you. I thought you were in Lithuania."
"I've been back awhile." He touched her face. "Thank God you're all right. I've been so worried about you."
"I'm fine." She hugged him again. "I thought I'd never see you again. How is Mom and - "
"Later," he cut her off. "We need to get out of here." He nodded toward her purse. "Get your stuff."
The second man in black entered the room. He was young with wavy, dark hair. "The foyer's clear." He inched toward a doorway across the room.
Shanna glanced at her purse. The phone was still sitting beside it on the chair cushion. How could she leave without Roman? How could she explain to her father what she was doing here? She was thrilled to see him again, but she had to wonder why he was here. "You saw me come here?"
"We've been watching Petrovsky's house for weeks. Draganesti's place, too." He tilted his head toward his companion. "This is Garrett."
"Hi," Shanna greeted the other man, then turned back to her father with a sudden realization. "You were in the black SUV I saw across the street."
"Yes." Sean motioned impatiently. "Come on. There could be a dozen mafia goons in this house. We can't stay and chat."
"I - I'm not here alone."
Sean narrowed his blue eyes. "You were alone when you came into this house. But you did have a driver - "
"Drop it!" Phil jumped into the parlor entry way, pointing his gun at Sean and Garrett.
They swung around, aiming their pistols at Phil.
Shanna gasped. "Don't shoot."
Phil held his gun steady while he glared at the men in black. "Are you all right, Shanna? You can come with me now."
Sean stepped in front of her. "She's not going anywhere with you. Who the hell are you?"
"Security," Phil answered. "I'm responsible for her safety. Now step aside and let her go."
"I'm her father. She's coming with me."
"Oh, I know who you are." Phil gave them a look of disgust. "You're CIA. The Stake-Out team."
"What?" Garrett exchanged a worried look with Shanna's father. "How do they know?"
CIA ? Shanna glanced from one man to another, trying to figure out what was going on. Her dad had always said he worked for the State Department, but he sure wasn't behaving like a diplomat. And what was the Stake-Out team?
"So you must be one of Draganesti's daytime guards." Sean's voice was heavy with disapproval. "You're a traitor to humanity. A human working to protect vampires."
Shanna gasped. Her father knew about vampires?
"Drop it," a new voice warned. Another man in black appeared behind Phil.
Phil glanced back and muttered a curse. He lowered his gun onto the floor.
"Good work, Austin," Sean said. He strode toward Phil and retrieved his gun. "You're a human, so I'm going to let you go. Go back to that monster you serve and tell him his days, or rather his nights, are numbered. We're taking the vampires out, one by one, and there's nothing they can do about it."
Phil gave Shanna a worried look.
"I'll be all right. Go on." She watched him run from the house. Dear God, what a mess. Her father and these men were vampire slayers?
As if to confirm her conclusion, Garrett pulled a wooden stake from his jacket. "Since we're here, why don't we take care of a few vampires while they're sleeping?"
"They'll be heavily guarded." The man named Austin entered the parlor. He was young, with shaggy, blond hair. He noted the Russian on the floor. "There are usually ten to twelve armed men in this house during the day. I never saw them leave. So where are they?"
Sean nodded. "The place is too quiet." He looked at Shanna. "You said you weren't here alone?"
She swallowed hard. That was before she knew her father was a vampire killer. If he and his men went roaming about the house, killing vampires, they might kill Laszlo or even Roman.
"I was wrong. I think we'd better leave." She leaned over the chair to pick up her purse. The phone was still open, so she raised her voice, hoping Howard Barr would hear. "I'm ready to go with you, Dad."
Sean grabbed the phone, examined the number, then raised the phone to his cheek. "Who is this?" He frowned at his daughter. "They hung up." He closed the phone and dropped it in his pocket. "What's going on, Shanna?"
"Nothing." She swung her purse onto her shoulder in a nonchalant gesture. "I'm ready to go." It didn't matter if her dad had the phone. Roman could use any phone in the house to teleport home. And when he got home, Howard Barr and Phil would be able to explain what had happened to her. Right now, she needed to get these vampire slayers out of the house and away from Roman.
"Shall we?" She moved toward the foyer.
"Wait." Sean reached out to stop her. "You didn't seem very surprised about vampires." He studied her carefully. "You spent a lot of time at Draganesti's house. You know what kind of evil creature he is, don't you?"
"I think we'd better leave before the mafia guys find us."
Sean shoved her hair back and examined each side of her neck. "Did that monster bite you?"
"He's not a monster." Shanna stepped back. "If you've been watching him and Petrovsky, you should know they're completely different. Roman is a good man."
Sean's mouth twisted with disgust. "Draganesti is a hideous creature from hell."
"He is not! He risked his life to protect me."
"Stockholm syndrome," Garrett muttered.
Sean nodded, his eyes narrowed. "Did you let him in, Shanna?"
In her mind? Yes, and in her body and in her heart. But there was no way she could admit that to her father. He already wanted to kill Roman. If he knew the truth, he'd move Roman to the top of his list. She needed to warn Roman of this new danger. But then he might already know about the Stake-Out team. Phil had known.
"Everything I did was of my own free will."
Sean cocked his head, studying her. "We shall see."
A blur of motion shot into the room. Roman came to a stop with Laszlo slung over his shoulder. "I heard voices. What's going on here?"
Sean, Garrett, and Austin gaped at him.
He noted their weapons and gave Shanna a questioning look. "You know these men?"
She motioned toward her father. "My dad thought I needed rescuing."
Sean blinked. "This can't be. A vampire moving about during the day?"
"And so fast," Austin whispered. "I never saw him coming."
Roman frowned at Shanna's father. "You're Sean Whelan."
Sean nodded. "And you're Draganesti, the disgusting creature who's been holding my daughter prisoner."
Roman's mouth thinned. "She has a different opinion. Don't you, Shanna?"
She saw Garrett behind Roman, moving slowly toward him with a wooden stake. "I think you need to leave."
"I'm not going without you."
"You bastard." Sean removed a wooden stake from his jacket. "I don't know what you've done to my daughter, but you'll pay for it."
Shanna ran to her father, hoping her embrace would keep him from jumping at Roman. The poor man was just standing there, staring at her, making himself an easy target. "Go!"
"You see?" Sean wrapped an arm around Shanna. "She's staying with me. In fact, she's going to become one of my team."
Roman looked ill. "Is this true, Shanna? Do you want to kill me now?"
Her eyes filled with tears. There's a man with a stake behind you.
Roman glanced back and saw Garrett. He gave Shanna one more tortured look, then zoomed into the foyer and up the stairs.
"After him!" Sean yelled. Garrett and Austin ran up the stairs.
Sean released Shanna and gave her a disappointed look. "You warned him, didn't you? You're sympathizing with the creature that held you prisoner."
"He's not a creature! And I was never his prisoner. I left when I wanted to."
"And then you ran back to him the very next night. Face it, Shanna. He's controlling you. That's what vampires do. They mentally manipulate their victims until you can no longer see the truth."
A tear ran down her cheek. "That's not what happened. The truth is that death cannot change a man's heart. Evil men, like Ivan Petrovsky, will become evil vampires. But men like Roman Draganesti remain good and honorable."
Sean's jaw tightened. "There's nothing good or honorable about vampires. They're serial killers. They've gotten away with murder for centuries." He leaned toward her. "But not anymore."
Her skin chilled. "You can't kill them all."
"That's exactly what we're going to do - stake them through the heart one by one till the world is free from their evil existence."
Austin and Garrett came back downstairs.
"He's gone," Austin reported. "Disappeared. All we found was a phone off the hook."
Shanna heaved a sigh of relief. Roman was safe. Safe at home, but tortured with the belief that she'd betrayed him. Somehow she had to get back to him.
Sean grabbed her arm. "You're coming with us."
Fifteen minutes later, Shanna was riding in the back of a black SUV with her father. Austin was driving, and Garrett was riding shotgun. She gazed out the window and noted they were headed for Manhattan by way of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Roman would be home, probably upstairs in his bedroom. She hoped the formula was wearing off. He wouldn't suffer if he was asleep. And at least, Laszlo would wake up this evening in a safe place. Her eyes continued to well with tears, and she blinked them away, not wanting to cry in front of her father.
"I know you've been through a tough couple of months," her father spoke softly. "But it's all over now. You're safe."
Safe, but heartbroken if she could never see Roman again. She cleared her throat. "How's Mom?"
"Fine. She's here in the States. Your brother and sister, too. I'm afraid you can't see them."
Shanna nodded.
"I'm very sorry about your friend who was killed," Sean said. "I asked the Justice Department about you, but they couldn't tell me anything. I've been worried sick about you."
"I'm fine. It's been hard, but I'm okay." She'd been so lonesome until she'd entered Roman's world. She missed him already. And she missed Radinka, Gregori, and Connor. They'd become her first real friends since losing Karen.
"I discovered your whereabouts by accident," Sean continued. "My team's been watching Petrovsky for weeks. We have his house bugged, his phone tapped. We heard him make that call to the SoHo SoBright Dental Clinic. I recognized your voice and realized they were coming to kill you."
Shanna shuddered, remembering the terror she'd felt.
"We rushed to the clinic, but you'd already disappeared. We knew Petrovsky didn't have you. I was in a panic, trying to find you. I had Garrett watching Draganesti's house, and he spotted you leaving. Unfortunately, he lost you."
"I was afraid that Russian would kill her," Garrett mumbled.
"Luckily you called that pizza place. We had a tap on their phone, so we found you. We waited outside your hotel, then followed you." Sean glared at Garrett. "But we lost you again."
Garrett's face turned pink.
Shanna almost felt sorry for the young man. It was never good to disappoint her dad. "You work for the CIA now?"
"I always have."
"Oh." Shanna winced inwardly. So her dad had been lying to them for years.
"I was recently given a new assignment - to create a special team for the purpose of eliminating the most dangerous threat mankind has ever faced."
She swallowed hard. "Vampires?"
"Yes." Sean leaned back in his seat. "Five months ago, I was in St. Petersburg when I spotted a man attacking a woman. I drew my weapon. Told him to release her and back away. When he let go, she collapsed in the snow. I fired my weapon, but it didn't faze him. Then this chill came over my mind, and I heard a voice telling me to forget. And then he vanished. I checked the woman. She was dead with two punctures on her neck."
Sean shrugged. "They've probably been spotted many times over the centuries, but they always used mind control to keep humans from remembering what they'd seen. In my case, it didn't work."
"You can resist mind control."
"Yes. We all can. That's why my team is so small. There's only a handful of people in the world with enough psychic power to resist their mind control. We're the only ones who can defeat those demons."
She breathed deeply, letting this new revelation sink in. "How.. how long have you known about your psychic power?"
Sean shrugged. "Thirty years or so. When I joined the CIA, they discovered my talent and trained me to read and manipulate minds. It came in handy when dealing with scum."
"All those years you were working as a spy, you told us you were a diplomat."
"I couldn't let your mother know. It was hard enough on her as it was, with us always moving from one place to another, always living in foreign countries."
Shanna remembered how her mom always seemed cheerful and optimistic. She'd been a pillar of strength for the children, always making the upheavals in their lives seem like grand adventures. "I thought Mom handled everything really well."
Sean frowned. "Not at first. She was a nervous wreck. But in time, I learned how to manage it, and things got much better."
Manage it? A queasy feeling settled in Shanna's stomach. "How did you manage it?"
"I bolstered her mental strength with my own. She was much more capable after that."
The queasy feeling twisted in her gut. "You used mind control on Mom?"
The two guys in the front seat exchanged glances.
Sean shot her an irritated look. "You don't need to make it sound so bad. I merely helped your mother maintain a healthy mental balance. Otherwise the poor woman would have had a breakdown."
Shanna gritted her teeth. "It was for her own good?"
"Exactly. And you kids, too. It was much easier to concentrate on my job when there was peace at home."
Anger boiled inside Shanna. "You.. you controlled all of us? Like a freaking Stepford family?"
"Calm down. You're too old for a temper tantrum."
She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. She couldn't believe it. All these years, she had missed her family so much. But was her family, her entire childhood, all a lie? Was none of it real?
Suddenly a burst of warm air swept across Shanna's brow, encircling her head and pricking at her mental defenses. She closed her eyes and pushed back.
"That's my girl," Sean whispered.
She opened her eyes and stared at her father. The mental assault melted away. "That was you?"
He shrugged. "Just testing your defenses. You always were the strong one. And the more you fought me mentally, the stronger you got."
Her breath hitched. "That's why you sent me away. You sent me to boarding school because I was too hard to control."
"Hey." He pointed a finger at her. "I spent a fortune on you. And you got the best education in the family. You have no reason to complain."
Tears stung her eyes. "I missed my family."
He patted her hand. "We missed you, too. I was always proud of you, Shanna. I knew your abilities could be as strong as mine someday."
She pulled her hand away. Good God. Had she ever known her real mother or brother or sister? Or were they just peaceful robots her father had controlled? All these years, she'd felt bad about being sent away. Now she realized she was the lucky one. She'd been allowed to grow up free and develop her own sense of right and wrong.
And what her father was doing was wrong. Eliminating all vampires was akin to racial purging. It was a crime of hate.
She gazed out the window. What could she do?
"So, tell me," her father continued. "How can Draganesti stay awake and mobile during the day?"
"He's a brilliant scientist. He was testing a formula, at the risk of his own life, in order to rescue a friend."
Sean snorted. "He has you thinking he's some kind of noble superhero. Believe me, if he got hungry, you'd be just another warm meal to him."
She gritted her teeth. "He's the inventor of synthetic blood. He's responsible for saving millions of human lives."
"He probably invented the stuff to give his buddies more food."
Shanna turned to face him. "If you knew him, you would know he was good. But you won't even try. You're just determined to hate them all."
Sean frowned at her. "You're forgetting a very important fact, Shanna. They're no longer human. They feed off humans."
"They are human. Roman and his followers don't bite people anymore. They want to protect mortals. Petrovsky and the Malcontents are the ones who want to attack us."
Sean shook his head. "This synthetic blood is new. Before Draganesti invented it, he was feeding off humans just like the other vampires. They're monsters, Shanna. You can't turn them into saints."
She sighed. Her father had always been so stubborn. "There are two different kinds of vampires out there - the modern-day Vamps and the Malcontents."
"And it's our job to kill them all," Sean concluded.
"There may be some truth to what she says," Austin said as he steered the SUV into a right turn. "I've been listening in on Petrovsky's phone. He hates Draganesti with a passion. There's been some talk about the two factions duking it out."
"A vampire war?" Garrett asked. "That would be cool."
Sean turned to Shanna. "Those explosions at Romatech - do you know who was behind it?"
"It was Petrovsky and the Malcontents. They want to destroy all the synthetic blood in order to force vampires everywhere to go back to biting people."
Sean nodded. "What else do you know?"
"Roman and his followers are opposed to biting mortals. They're willing to fight in order to protect us."
Sean narrowed his eyes. "I find that hard to believe."
"Hey, let 'em fight," Garrett said. "Maybe they'll kill each other off. It would sure make our job easier."
Shanna groaned inwardly. Roman, Connor, Ian, and all the Highlanders risking their lives in battle? It made her sick. If only there was some way she could stop the war from happening.
The SUV pulled into a line at the entrance of nice hotel.
"Are we staying here?" she asked.
"You will," Sean answered. "Austin will remain with you for protection. Garrett and I have some business to attend to."
So her dad was going to leave her with a watchdog. That would make it hard to contact Roman.
"Like I said before," her father continued, "our team is small. I've been searching for people with enough psychic power to resist vampire mind control. Any American with that ability has a duty to his country to put that ability to proper use."
Shanna swallowed hard. Was her dad referring to her?
"What I'm saying, Shanna, is - I want you to join my team."
Yep, he meant her. "You want me to kill vampires?"
"I want you to protect the world from demonic creatures. We're terribly outnumbered, Shanna. We need you. I can get you into the CIA immediately, and we'll begin your training."
"I already have a career. I'm a dentist."
Sean waved a hand in dismissal. "That's not your true calling. God has given you a gift, a gift to fight this curse on mankind. It would be unforgivable not to use it."
Work for her domineering father? Talk about feeling cursed. Shanna's gut reaction was to tell her father to leave her the hell alone. She wanted more than anything to be with Roman. But what if living with Roman made her father move him to the top of his hit list? In that case, it would be better for her to stay with her father.
What if she knew all about her father's plans? Then she could keep Roman alerted to any trouble coming his way.
And maybe, in time, she could convince her dad that good Vamps really did exist. Maybe, in time, she could be with Roman again.
If she refused to join her dad's team, and her dad went on a killing spree, staking her friends, how could she live with herself? Roman had done his best to protect her. Now it was her turn to protect him.
The SUV pulled up in front of the hotel's revolving door.
She took a deep breath. "All right. I'll consider joining your team."