"I need to warn Angus." As Connor strode from the room, he yelled back, "I'll send Jack down. Keep the prisoner talking."
"Will do." Phil approached Sigismund. "Did you go to Apollo's compound often?"
"Sure. It was great. All those stupid girls just begging us to bite and screw them."
Phil squeezed his fists to keep from socking him. "The party's over. We set the girls free. We killed Apollo and Athena."
Sigismund glowered at him. "Their deaths will be avenged."
Phil snorted. "You think Casimir gives a damn about his so-called friends? He knows you were captured last night, but he never went back to rescue you."
"He avenges his friends," Sigismund insisted. "He has a hit list. In a week, everyone on the list will be dead."
"Who's on this hit list?" Austin asked.
"The ones responsible for the massacre at DVN and the murder of Jedrek Janow," Sigismund sneered. "At the top of the list there's Ian MacPhie and his mortal bitch, Toni."
"Wife," Phil corrected him. "They're married." And as long as they remained hidden away on their honeymoon, they should be safe. Still, they needed to be warned.
"Next on the list - those bloody assassins, Giacomo di Venezia and Zoltan Czakvar," Sigismund continued. "Then Dougal Kincaid and the traitor, Phineas McKinney."
"Cool," Phineas said. "I'd feel really left out if you forgot me."
"Anyone else?" Phil asked. He knew Carlos Panterra, Howard Barr, and Gregori had also been at DVN that night, but Casimir might not be aware of their involvement.
"There's one more," Sigismund grumbled. "That crazy bitch from Poland. Vanda Barkowski."
Phil's heart lurched in his chest. "That's not right. She didn't kill anyone."
"She was there, causing trouble like she always does," Sigismund growled. "Don't think she's innocent. Jedrek tried for years to kill her off. Casimir just wants to finish the job once and for all."
Phil swallowed hard. "These hits start in a week?" He had to hide her someplace no one would ever find her.
"They'll be dead in a week." Sigismund chuckled. "The hits start tonight."
Phil grabbed Phineas by the arm. "Teleport me to the club now!" He dragged the young Vamp out into the hallway just as Jack stepped out of the elevator. "We're going to the Horny Devils. Austin can fill you in."
"All right." Jack hurried through the open door into the silver room.
"Let's go!" Phil heard Sigismund's mocking laughter as everything went black.
Vanda eyed Terrance the Turgid's sleek, hairless chest and decided life wasn't at all fair. She'd had sex with Phil and didn't even know what his chest looked like. But the rascal certainly knew what she looked like. All over.
Terrance rotated his hips in time with the bongo drums. "Do you like the music I selected?"
"Jolly good." Pamela tapped her foot on the floor.
Vanda sighed. Every month, her performers gave her a preview of the next month's dances for approval. Cora Lee and Pamela loved this part of the job. Vanda used to love it, too, but now she found herself comparing every man she saw to Phil. And they never matched up.
While Terrance gyrated his hips, he ripped apart the Velcro that fastened the fake leopard cape around his neck. He tossed the cape, and it landed on Cora Lee's head. Giggling, she pulled it down onto her lap.
Vanda could now see Terrance's bare shoulders, but they didn't look as broad and muscular as Phil's. Of course, it was hard to tell 'cause she'd never actually seen Phil's shoulders. Dammit. She should have insisted he take off that tuxedo.
Terrance pranced about the office in his sparkly Tarzan loincloth. "You hear the trumpet sound? When it trills, that's when I'll swing across the stage on a vine."
Pamela clasped her hands together. "Capital idea."
"And then, when the music crescendos, I rip off the loincloth!" Terrance flung the loincloth across the office, revealing his tan-colored thong decorated with ivy leaves.
Pamela clapped. "Outstanding!"
"Yee haw!" Cora Lee shouted.
Vanda eyed Terrance's thong. Definitely not in the same league as Phil, and that she could be sure of. It was the one part of Phil's anatomy that she had seen. And touched. He had truly been magnificent. Long and thick. Incredibly hard, but covered with the softest skin. He'd felt so good inside her. Filling her. Stroking her.
She squeezed her thighs together as a sudden yearning ached deep inside her. Damn. How was she going to resist him? With a sigh, she realized she couldn't. She wanted him. Once had not been enough. A hundred times wouldn't be enough. She was falling in love with him. If she had any willpower at all, she'd never see him again.
The door burst open and Phil marched in.
So much for willpower. With a silent groan she turned off the CD player. The jungle music stopped.
"Phil! How nice of you to drop by." Terrance struck a pose. "How do you like my costume?"
He glanced briefly at the dancer. "Good muscle tone. Guard the door. Don't let anyone in."
"Oh, of course. Anything for you, Phil." Terrance scurried out the door.
"Somebody has a crush," Cora Lee murmured in a singsong voice.
"Enough," Vanda muttered. "What are you doing here, Phil?" And why was he looking around so carefully?
He circled her desk. "Phineas and Hugo are checking the main room. Have you seen any suspicious-looking people here tonight?"
Vanda shrugged. "Most of our customers look a little strange. What's going on?"
He moved closer to the credenza where her printer and fax machine rested. "You're in grave danger."
Was he sniffing her office equipment? "In danger from what? Overpriced ink cartridges?"
"It must be Max the Mega Member," Pamela whispered dramatically. "He's come to exact the ultimate revenge."
"Ultimate?" Vanda asked wryly. "He's already tried to kill me. How do you get more ultimate than that?"
"He would kill you in an extremely gruesome manner," Pamela explained. "Mind you, it would be hard to top a python, but I'm sure he could come up with something completely horrid."
"Thanks for the thought." Vanda continued to watch Phil. Now he was sniffing around her file cabinets.
"Maybe it's Corky Courrant," Cora Lee suggested. "She's sworn to see you ruined."
"Thanks for reminding me." Vanda stood and wandered closer to Phil. "Are you going to tell me who - "
He stiffened suddenly. "Cora Lee, Pamela, go tell all the customers to teleport away immediately."
"What?" Vanda set her hands on her hips. "Are you trying to ruin my business?"
"There's a bomb in your file cabinet," Phil said softly.
Cora Lee and Pamela both gasped and jumped to their feet.
Vanda's heart stuttered in her chest. She eyed the cabinet. "Are you sure? You didn't even look inside."
He put up an arm to stop her. "Don't open it. That could be the trigger. We can't be sure, though. It could be on a timer and go off any second. Try to remain calm - "
"Eek!" Cora Lee ran from the office screaming. She knocked Terrance aside. "There's a bomb!"
Screams erupted from the main room.
Pamela ran toward the door. "I'll make sure everyone leaves. We'll meet you at the townhouse."
"No!" Phil shouted. "The townhouse may not be safe."
Pamela glanced back with a frantic look. "The apartment, then!"
"But - " Phil started to say that the apartment wasn't safe either, but Pamela had already dashed into the main room.
She yelled at the crowd. "Teleport away! Leave immediately!"
Vanda remained still as a cold fog settled over her. A bomb. Her club would be destroyed. She couldn't let that happen.
"Come on." Phil grabbed her arm. "Teleport us out of here now."
She stared at the filing cabinet. "How do you know it's in there?"
"I'm an expert in bomb detection. Come on. Let's go."
"You're an expert? Then turn it off!"
"It's not that simple." He pulled her toward the door. "Just opening the drawer might set it off. We have to get you someplace safe."
"But - But - " She looked around as they entered the quiet warehouse. Everyone had teleported away. The laser lights flashed, highlighting the empty dance floor, the stage, the bar. How could she leave? She loved this place. It was everything to her.