keeping our existence a secret."
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Toni winced as she threw away the dirty paper towels. She pulled more towels from the dispenser.
"Let's clean up your knees." She started to kneel, but Ian levitated till his knees were even with the sink. "It'll be easier this way."
"Oh." She glanced up at him. "This is weird." "Thank you. Back to yer story..." "Right." She gently tugged his bloody knee socks down. "Sabrina's trust is handled by her aunt
and uncle. Her uncle's a psychiatrist, and he diagnosed her as psychotic and delusional. He put her in a mental ward."
"She's the one at Shady Oaks Psychiatric Hospital?" "Yes." Toni's eyes flashed with anger. "Her uncle wants her money, so he'll make sure she's never released. Carlos and I went to see her tonight, and it was awful."
Ian lowered himself to the floor. "Ye went there before Mass?" No wonder her emotions had been so raw.
Toni nodded. "I can't fail her like I did Grandma. I've got to get her out of there." He squeezed her hand. "And ye thought ye would need my help? Is that why ye took the job as my guard?"
"I do need your help, but that's not exactly how things happened. After Sabrina was attacked, she asked me to find the vampires who attacked her, to prove she wasn't delusional." Ian stiffened. "Ye purposely went to the park to be attacked?"
"I didn't think anything would happen, 'cause I didn't believe vampires were real. But--" "Ye were viciously attacked," he finished her sentence. "Ye could have died if Connor hadna come along."
"Believe me, I know how bad it was. Connor offered to erase my memory, but I couldn't do that, not when I'd just found out that Sabrina was right. So I took the job, hoping I could get the proof she needed."
A chill came over Ian. "Ye intended to prove our existence?" He let go of her hand. "Ye took an oath that ye would never expose us."
Toni winced. "I know." "Do ye no' understand the full importance of our secret? If our existence becomes public knowledge, there would be millions of mortals wanting us destroyed. There would be slayers roaming the streets with their bloody stakes. There'd be scientists wanting to experiment on us or dissect us. And if they ever found out about the healing properties of our blood, we'd be hunted like animals and drained dry. Exposure means extinction."
She paled. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I thought I could give the proof to a psychiatrist or
lawyer who would keep it confidential. Sorta like your Father Andrew." "That's a terrible risk to take. Ye canna guarantee someone would keep quiet, especially if he considered us a serious threat to mankind."
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"The Malcontents are a serious threat."
"Ye canna expose them without exposing us! And we're the only ones capable of defeating them. I canna believe ye would take such a risk with our lives." He paced away from her. "I didn't understand at first how nice the Vamps are. Once I got to know you all, I knew I couldn't
hurt you." "That's bloody generous of you." Ian frowned at her. "Ye should have told me this from the start." "I didn't know if I could trust you. It took me a few days to get to know you." Ian didn't know what to think. He just felt a nagging sense of betrayal. "I--I have to think about
this." He headed for the door. She followed him. "Ian, you must know I could never hurt you." He felt too confused to even know how to answer. "Go to bed, Toni. I'll see you tomorrow." "Ian, I'm sorry." He couldn't bear to see her stricken face, so he marched back to the waiting room. Shanna was
ready to see him. He sat on an operating table, thinking things over while Shanna plucked glass
from his face and knees. He couldn't believe Toni had planned to spill their secret. Maybe she didn't understand how important it was. But surely, Connor had explained it to her.
To her credit, she had noble intentions. She was trying to save her friend Sabrina. Ian would feel
that way about his friends. But she'd intended to expose the Vamps. That made his gut wrench. When Shanna was done, he wandered down the hall. Toni had signed a contract, swearing to protect them. How could she have planned to betray them?
But she hadn't. Should he blame her for her intentions before she'd gotten to know them? After the Malcontents had attacked her, she might have easily thought all vampires were evil and should be exposed.
But she'd practiced deception. He'd sworn to himself that nothing was more important in a potential mate than honesty and loyalty. Was that why this frustrated him so much? He was seeing Toni as a potential mate. God knew he wanted her. He ached with desire for her. He thought about her all the time. But could he trust her?
After an hour of getting nowhere, he decided he needed advice. He teleported to Vanda's office at the Horny Devils. After she recovered from the shock of his scarred face, he gave her the details of Toni's story.
Vanda sat behind her desk, frowning. "That little bitch." Ian stiffened. "She doesna deserve that. She's trying to save her friend who's in danger." Vanda's eyebrows rose. "Are you defending her now? I thought you were angry with her." "I'm no' angry." He paced across the office. "I'm confused." "Why? This problem's so easy to solve."
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He stopped. "Ye think so?"
"Sure. Fire her ass and erase her memory. Then she's no longer a threat, and she's out of your life for good." Out of his life? A surge of panic swept through him. How could he bear to lose her? "But...what
about her friend?" "Who gives a shit? She doesn't owe you any money." "She's trapped in a mental ward--" "Yeah, yeah, by the evil uncle. Boo hoo. That's one person. One mortal. And Toni was ready to
expose us all to danger because of it." "Only because she cares so deeply," Ian protested. "She's not the only one," Vanda muttered. Ian scowled at her. "Fine, I admit it. I care about her. I wouldna be this upset if I dinna care." "A week ago, you swore to me that all you wanted was a Vamp. I have a list right here of twenty
Vamp women, all vetted by me and eager to meet you. You could start seeing them tonight."
A week ago, that would have sounded wonderful. But now Toni was in his life and everything was changed. "I doona want to date anyone else. Take my profile off the dating site." "Ian, she was planning to betray us." "But she never did. She never did anything to harm any of us." He was finally able to appreciate
her predicament. She wanted to save Sabrina because she loved her. And she hadn't exposed him because she cared about him. He'd seen that clearly on her face when she'd frantically searched for him in the parking lot. She truly cared about him. But at the same time, she couldn't bear to fail her friend. Her heart was getting split in two.
All he had to do was help her rescue her friend. Then she would no longer be pulled in two
directions. She would be free to come entirely to him. And that's what he wanted more than anything. He wanted Toni to be free to love him. She was the one he wanted.
Toni woke slowly. She'd had trouble sleeping all night, for it felt like a heavy weight was pressing against her chest. Ian. She'd lost Ian. She rolled onto her back and realized she was not alone.
"Ian?" She sat up. He was there beside her. Relief swept through her. He couldn't be angry with her if he'd climbed into bed with her, right? Last night she'd feared their relationship was over. He'd looked so upset.
He looked perfectly peaceful now. He was lying on his back, his hands folded over his stomach. She checked the clock on the bedside table. Eight-forty-five? She'd set the alarm for six-thirty. He must have turned it off before climbing into bed with her.
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She turned back to him. For the first time since she'd known him, he wasn't wearing a kilt. He had on flannel pajama bottoms, although still a red and green plaid, which made her smile. He'd showered off all the blood and grime.
She leaned closer to examine the cuts on his face. They looked much better already. She lifted one of his hands. The gashes had closed and the scars were fading. By sunset he would be back to his usual gorgeous self.
She realized suddenly she was holding hands with a dead man. And she didn't flinch or let go. Why wasn't she freaked out? She glanced at his face. He was still the same brave warrior who had charged to Gregori's rescue, the same selfless hero who had insisted she go to safety while he stood there bleeding, the same sweet man who had kissed her passionately and then taken all the blame for it.