Chapter Sixteen
Gregori found Roman in his office, enjoying a Bleer with Angus. "I - " He dragged a hand through his hair.
"Out with it, lad. I'm no' getting any younger." Angus lounged back in his chair and took a long sip from his bottle.
Roman set his bottle on his desk. "Would you like me to talk to Miss Tucker now?"
"In a little while." Gregori yanked the knot of his tie loose. "I-I've done something awful."
The two men stared at him for a while.
"How awful?" Roman asked finally.
Angus sat up. "Did ye bed the lass?"
"No!" Gregori huffed with indignation. "What would give you that idea?"
The two men stared at him again.
He shifted his weight. "I realize I have a bit of a reputation, but I don't - "
"We're no' blind, lad," Angus muttered. "We can tell ye're attracted to her."
"You can?" When they continued to stare at him, he swallowed hard. "All right, it's true."
"You slept with her?" Roman asked.
"No! I find her attractive." He grimaced. "I erased her memory. About fifteen minutes' worth. The Secret Service guy, too."
Roman and Angus exchanged a worried look.
"Do they suspect?" Angus asked.
"I don't think so." Gregori groaned inwardly as he ran a hand through his hair. "If she ever finds out, she's going to be so pissed."
"With good reason." Roman frowned at him.
"I know it's bad, but I didn't see any other way out. We were in Laszlo's lab, and he accidentally let it slip that we heal automatically in our death-sleep."
Roman winced, and Angus muttered a curse.
"I tried to cover it up, but she's really smart, you know. And the next thing I knew she was asking for tissue and blood samples, and I explained why I couldn't, but she wouldn't back down. She even threatened to have her dad break the agreement with us if I didn't give her some blood."
Roman shook his head. "We can't let them know that our blood heals."
"The government would definitely say we doona exist," Angus growled. "And then they would secretly come after us and drain us all dry."
"They would become an enemy instead of an ally," Roman concluded.
Angus gulped down a swallow of Bleer. "I know ye doona like it, lad, but ye did the right thing."
Gregori sighed. He still felt guilty.
"Do you know any more about the mission she wants to go on?" Roman asked.
"She mentioned to Laszlo that she was looking for some plants in the Yunnan province of China."
Roman's eyes widened. "That's where I got the - "
"Yes, I know, for the Stay-Awake drug," Gregori interrupted. "Laszlo told her about it. Of course, she doesn't remember that now."
Roman nodded. "I'm not surprised she wants to go there. It's extremely bioperse. Over two thousand plants are endemic to the area."
"And I can understand why her father wants the trip to remain secret," Angus said as he rose to his feet. "I'll put together some plans. Stop by the security office later tonight." He strode from the office, the bottle of Bleer in his hand.
"Where is she now?" Roman asked.
"In the cafeteria, eating a gourmet meal," Gregori replied. "I'll take her to my office in about ten minutes. You can meet her there."
"All right." Roman sipped some Bleer. "You're doing very well, Gregori."
He balled his fists. "If she ever finds out - "
"We'll make sure she doesn't."
"I feel like an ass, especially when I keep trying to convince her I'm trustworthy."
"You are trustworthy. You have thousands of Vamps trusting you to keep them safe."
Gregori sighed. "I guess the needs of the many outweigh the needs of one." Even if he was falling for the one.
He strode back to the cafeteria. Roman and Angus had both confirmed he'd done the right thing, but he still felt guilty. She didn't remember going to a lab, but he suspected that on some subconscious level, she remembered the kiss. She kept looking at his mouth.
Did that mean she wanted to kiss him? Could he be that lucky? He'd admitted last night that he was attracted to her, but he still didn't know how she felt about him.
He did know how she felt about mind control. Her words came back to taunt him. If someone messed with my mind, I'd want to kill him, too.
He jammed a hand into his pocket to squeeze his stress ball, but it was empty. Oh, right. He'd given it to her.
He stopped with a jerk.
Shit. He adjusted his tie. If the ball caused any trouble, he'd bluff his way through.
Back in the cafeteria, the chef had taken a seat at the table with the ladies, and they were all eating and drinking wine while Charles sat at another table, eating and watching.
The chef gave him an annoyed look. "You did not tell me I would be cooking for ze president's daughter," he said with a French accent. "I would have made many more dishes."
Abigail smiled and touched her stomach. "I'm so full. I couldn't have eaten any more. And it was all fabulous. Thank you."
"Yes," Radinka agreed. "It was superb. Thank you."
The chef inclined his head. "You are most welcome. And if you ever need a guest chef at the White House, you will remember me, non?" When Abigail nodded, he slapped his hands together and grinned. "Merveilleux!"
"We need to go to my office now," Gregori told Abigail. "Roman will meet you there."
"You go on without me." Radinka stood and gave Abigail a hug. "I'll see you later, my dear." She sat back down and poured more wine into her glass. "It's not often I get a night off."
As they walked toward Gregori's office, Charles followed about ten feet behind. Gregori glanced back at him, wondering how he could get rid of their shadow. Mind control would be the easiest solution, but he didn't want Abigail to see that.
She leaned close and whispered, "I'm afraid your mom thinks we're dating."
"Is that all?" He gave her a wry look. "I'm surprised she didn't pick out names for all five of our children."
"Five? She only mentioned two." Abigail blushed.
Gregori chuckled. "Don't let her get to you. She's been trying to marry me off for years."
"You . . . were never tempted?"
He shook his head. "I wanted to be free. No worries, no responsibility."
"No debt?"
He shot a look at her. "She told you about that?"
She nodded. "And about your father. I'm very sorry."
A sharp pang of remembrance jabbed at him, but he mentally shoved away the old pain. "I don't have to deal with that anymore. Vamps can live for centuries."
"Is that why you date Vamp women? Because they're more . . . permanent?"
He scoffed. "There's nothing permanent about Vamp females. They're a bunch of butterflies, flitting here and there. They have so much time, it ceases to have any value to them."
"So you don't want anything permanent?"
No. He'd wanted to avoid falling in love. It hurt too much to lose someone you loved. So much safer to simply give and take pleasure. He glanced at Abigail. "Why all the questions?"
Her cheeks bloomed a brighter pink. "I'm just trying to get to know you better. So I can trust you."
Trust me? The vampire playboy who had messed with her mind? "I have a reputation as a womanizer." He scowled at her. "And I earned it. I spent my first few years as a vampire making Undead women happy."
She frowned and was silent for a while. "You were coming out of a long period of grief and financial difficulty. I can see why you wanted to have some fun. Your mother said you tried very hard to fit in."
He shrugged.
"Oh my gosh. You're vice president of marketing." She halted and stared at him. "You were marketing yourself."
He flinched. Of all the ridiculous things to say. He opened his mouth to disagree, but paused.
It was true. He'd tried to always be charming and successful, the life of the party. Gregori, the gregarious. But after a few years, he'd grown tired of the game. He'd wondered why the sex wasn't as pleasurable as it should be.
Because his heart wasn't in it. He was pretending to be something he wasn't.
He swallowed hard. "I woke up one night Undead. I couldn't go back. I could never be mortal again." Years later, Roman figured out how to transform a person back, but it had been too late for him. "I just wanted to fit in."
She nodded. "So you tried to please everyone."
He grimaced and looked away. Shit. All those years he'd thought he was being cool, he'd been an insecure idiot. He was like a school kid trying to get into the inner clique.
It was time to grow up. Figure out who he really was and what he really wanted.
He glanced at Abigail, and a wave of possessiveness flooded over him. He wanted her. He wanted her beauty. Her brains. Her bravery. Her insightfulness. Her kindness.
Her love.
He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her. But he couldn't, not with Charles standing ten feet away, glaring at him.
"My office is this way." He hurried down the hall.
"I found it!" Laszlo called out from down the hallway. "I have the plant you wanted." He rushed toward them.
Abigail stopped with a confused look on her face.
Gregori stepped forward. "Laszlo." He gave him a pointed look. "I don't believe you have met Miss Tucker." He turned to face her, smiling. "Abigail, this is Laszlo Veszto, one of our chemists here at Romatech."
"Delighted to meet you." She shook his hand. "I would love to see your lab if that's possible."
"Ah, yes, of course." Laszlo fiddled with a button on his lab coat.
Gregori patted him on the back. "I was just telling Laszlo last night that you were interested in going to China. So we thought you might like this plant."
"Yes." Laszlo handed her a plastic container. "It's a rare plant from the Yunnan province."
She gasped. "That's exactly where I want to go." She took the container. "Thank you, Laszlo."
"Glad to help." He plucked at a button. "I think I'll be going now." He scurried back down the hallway to his lab.
"Is he all right?" Abigail asked.
"Sure." Gregori opened the door to his office. "He's just a little shy."
Charles rushed forward to enter the office first. He pivoted, looking about, then motioned for Abigail to enter.
"It's very ni - " She halted when Charles jumped back from the closet he had just opened.
"Please step out of the room," he said quietly as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket. "I'm calling the police."
"What?" Gregori asked.
Charles gave him a disgusted look. "There's a female body in your closet."
Gregori scoffed. "You mean VANNA? She's not alive."
Abigail gasped.
"I mean she was never alive!" Gregori strode toward the closet.
Charles grabbed his arm. "You can't go in there. It's a crime scene."
"Don't be ridiculous." He flipped on the lights in the closet. "You see? It's a doll."
"A doll?" Abigail moved closer. "In a red bikini?"
Charles held up a hand to stop her. "Stand back. I'll investigate the matter." He eased inside the closet.
"Oh come on," Gregori growled. "It's just a stupid doll."
Charles leaned over to inspect VANNA. "It looks like a sex toy." He shot another disgusted look at Gregori. "The ribbon around its neck could be used to simulate strangulation."
Abigail stiffened. A horrified look flitted over her face, then she ran from the room.
"Abby!" Gregori followed her. "It's not what you think."
She turned to face him. "What should I think? That you've been strangling a life-sized sex toy in your closet?"
"No! VANNA is a Vampire Artificial Nutritional Needs Appliance. Laszlo and I invented her. He put in some tubes to simulate veins and a battery-operated pump to make synthetic blood flow through her. But it didn't work. Her skin is too rubbery for biting."
"You bit her?"
"No! Not me. It was Roman."
"Talking about me?" Roman sauntered down the hall toward them.
Gregori winced. Now he'd made his boss sound like a perv. "They found VANNA in the closet."
Roman chuckled. "Don't let VANNA upset you, Miss Tucker. She was a failed experiment from a few years ago."
"Oh." She gave Gregori a wry look. "And yet, she's still in your closet."
"I was going to give her to Connor for his five-hundredth birthday. As a gag gift. That's why there's a bow around her neck. But Connor just got married, and . . . I don't think his new wife will appreciate it."
Roman laughed. "No, definitely not."
Charles stepped into the hall, carrying VANNA. "It's harmless. Sorry for causing you alarm, Miss Tucker."
Gregori grabbed the doll and bent her over his arm. "See the opening we cut in her back to insert a circulatory system?" He peeled back the rubber skin to show her.
"Interesting," she murmured.
"We thought VANNA might be useful for Vamps who were still addicted to biting," Roman explained. "I know it must seem a bit odd, but our ultimate goal is to protect mortals and keep them from being attacked."
"I see." She nodded. "She's a substitute victim."
"Exactly." Gregori straightened the doll. When Abigail frowned, he realized his hand was planted on VANNA's breast. He quickly lowered it to her waist.
"Would you like to see how we manufacture synthetic blood?" Roman asked Abigail. "I'd be happy to take you on a tour and answer any questions."
"That would be wonderful." She smiled. "Thank you."
Roman patted Gregori on the back. "You look like you could use a break."
"I'm okay." Just one near disaster after another. Laszlo reappearing, then VANNA. And the way Abigail had seen right through him, opening his eyes. He'd marketed himself to make everyone in the Vamp world like him. The truth was there was no way to please everyone. He should just be himself and only worry about the people he truly cared about.
Like Abigail.
"Maybe you can use this?" She pulled a stress ball from her pocket. "I'm not sure how I got it, but your mother said it belongs to you."
He swallowed hard. "I slipped it into your pocket when you weren't looking. You can keep it. I have a bunch more."
"Okay." She stuffed it back into her pocket, apparently accepting his explanation.
"You can leave the plant in my office if you like," Gregori offered, and she handed the plastic container to him.
"We'll see you in about twenty minutes," Roman told him as he walked off with Abigail, Charles trailing behind.
Gregori went back into his office, set the plant on his desk, then tossed VANNA in the closet and shut the door. Unable to relax, he grabbed a stress ball and paced. When that didn't work, he retrieved a bottle of synthetic blood from his mini-fridge and gulped down half of it.
He strode to the security office to hear what plans Angus had come up with. Emma was gone, having teleported his mother back to the school. He sat across the desk from Angus, and the two were deep in discussion when the phone rang.
"Aye, he's here," Angus spoke on the phone. "I'll send him yer way." He hung up. "Roman finished the tour. He and the lass are looking for you."
Gregori dashed toward his office and ran into Roman, Abigail, and Charles in the hallway.
Roman turned toward her. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Tucker. If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know. And if you ever need a lab, you're welcome to use one of ours."
"That's very kind of you. Thank you." She smiled. "I'm going to recommend to my father that he befriend you and your people."
"Excellent." Roman shook her hand. "And we will do everything in our power to make your trip to China successful."
"I was with Angus just now, making plans for the trip," Gregori said.
"I'll leave you to discuss it. I need to see how my wife and children are doing. Good evening." Roman inclined his head, then teleported away.
"Wow," Abigail breathed. She turned to Gregori. "That's how I'll get into China?"
"Yes. But before you go, we'll have everything planned out. It would help if we knew exactly what you're looking for."
"Three rare plants that are endemic to the Yunnan province. They're used in some ancient Chinese remedies, and from my research, I believe they might be helpful in boosting my mother's immune system. I tried to get hold of some samples legally, but the government wouldn't allow it. I have the information on the plants at work, including the mostly likely areas for locating them."
"Good." Gregori nodded. "That would help a lot. For now, we're busy selecting the right team, those who have experience in covert missions and know the native language."
She frowned. "But you're going, aren't you?"
"I would like to, but I don't have any experience - "
"You have to go." She grabbed his arm. "I don't know the others."
"You'll get to know them."
"Not like you. I - I need you there. I trust you."
Trust. He didn't deserve her trust, not after wiping her memory.
Her grip tightened on his arm. "Please. I'll feel safer with you."
"I'll tell Angus you want me to go." Did this mean she really liked him? He glanced over at Charles, who was glaring at him. "Before we take off across the world, we need to test how well you can handle teleportation."
Her eyes widened. "What happens if I can't handle it?"
"You . . . might get nauseated." He pointed out the window. "See the gazebo? I'll teleport you there, so we can see if you can stomach it."
She touched her tummy and winced. "On a full stomach. Great."
"I don't like it." Charles stepped toward them. "I have to be able to monitor her at all times."
"You'll be able to see her through the window," Gregori assured him.
"Charles," Abigail said, "we have to know if I can do this."
"All right." Charles frowned at Gregori. "I'll be watching."
He extended a hand to Abigail. "I have to hold on to you."
"Okay." She placed her hand in his.
"Like this." He pulled her into his arms, and she stiffened with surprise. He heard her heart rate speed up.
Charles's eyes narrowed.
"And I need you to hold on to me," Gregori continued. "You don't want to get lost on the way."
"No, that would be bad." She wrapped her arms around his neck.
He gazed into her pretty hazel eyes. "Ready?"
She nodded and squeezed her eyes shut.
Everything went black for a second, then they landed by the gazebo. The grass was damp from a recent rain. The air was thick with humidity and the scent of climbing roses.
"You can open your eyes now," he whispered.
She did, and her eyes widened as she looked around. "Oh my gosh, we actually did it. I hardly felt a thing."
He waved at the window in the distance where Charles was watching. "Let him know you're okay."
"Right." She waved at the Secret Service agent. "I'm not nauseated at all. Isn't that great?"
"I . . . sorta lied about that. Mortals usually teleport just fine."
Her mouth dropped open. "Why would you lie?"
"Because I wanted to get away from all the cameras." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the gazebo. "And away from Charles."
"He'll just come after us."
"He'll have trouble finding an unlocked door so he can get out here."
She winced. "This is going to make him angry."
"It'll be worth it." Gregori released her and stepped back. "Finally. We're alone."