decided to completely leave the Vamp world behind? What if she left him?
He grabbed the stack of photos. "There's three hundred acres here. We can build more buildings. We doona need to turn children away." Toni finally looked at him. "We could fit a regular orphanage in there?" Ian took her hand. "We would have to okay everything with Roman. But I do want ye to keep both
worlds. Ye shouldna have to choose one or the other." Her eyes glimmered with moisture. "That would be good." "Look at this field behind the mansion." Carlos showed a photo to Sabrina. "It would make a
perfect soccer field." She snorted. "I can see where your priorities are." "Come on, Sabrina." Teddy leaned forward. "This is the coolest opportunity ever." She sighed. "I'll think about it. I still need some time to adjust to...everything." She glanced
warily at Carlos and Ian. "And I still have a year of school left. That is, if I can go back to school without my uncle trying to lock me up."
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"We were just talking about that before you arrived." Toni selected a chip from the tray and bit into it. "We need to get Bri's purse from her uncle's house and somehow convince him to leave her and her money alone."
Carlos grabbed a salt shaker and sprinkled more salt on the chips. "The police came by today, looking for Bri, Teddy, and Toni. We need to get this mess straightened out before one of us gets arrested."
Ian considered as he stacked the photos back into the folder. "Where does this uncle live?"
"Westchester." Carlos munched on a chip. "I've been there before. I think I could get the maid to bring me Bri's things." "I should go," Sabrina said. Ian shook his head. "Nay, ye'll be safer here with Teddy." He stood. "Carlos, drive Toni to the
uncle's house. Then call me, and I'll teleport there to meet you. I have to go somewhere else first." "Where?" Toni asked. "What are you planning?" "I left my cape in Scotland. But Roman has a vampire cape and tuxedo at the townhouse. I need to
get into costume first." Toni's eyes widened. "Costume?" Teddy grinned. "Cool! I always said you needed a cape." Sabrina frowned. "What are you going to do my uncle?" "Doona fash. I'll no' be violent." Ian smiled. "But I doona believe yer uncle will enjoy his
encounter with Count Dracula."
Chapter Twenty-three
"You look very handsome." Toni adjusted Ian's black tie. He'd just materialized in the alley behind the Proctors' house in Westchester.
"I'm supposed to look scary," he muttered. More like sexy. Toni ran her fingers over his elegant black tuxedo. His black satin cape was lined in red, and his black hair curled inside the stand-up collar. "If I was making a vampire movie, I'd hire you in a second."
Carlos cleared his throat. "If you two are finished admiring each other, we'll get on with this." He
approached the back kitchen door and knocked lightly. The maid peered out the window and smiled when Carlos waved. She opened the door and spoke to him softly in Spanish. He motioned to Toni and Ian, and the maid nodded.
"Maria's letting me sneak up the back stairs," Carlos told them. "I'll collect Bri's stuff and meet you downstairs. She says the doctor's in the library at the front of the house." "I'll go around." Ian disappeared into the shadows. Carlos slipped up the back stairs, while Maria escorted Toni to the library.
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Dr. Joe Proctor was pacing behind his desk, talking on his cell phone. "Look, Jenkins, you're supposed to be the best PI in the business. Don't tell me you can't find one lousy girl." He paused, rubbing a hand over his balding head. "Yeah, I realize she must be getting help. It's--" He spotted Toni at the library entrance. "I'll call you back."
He dropped his phone on the desk as he approached Toni. "Who are you?" "I'm Toni Davis, Sabrina's roommate." He hesitated, then broke into a big grin. "Toni, how wonderful to meet you. You must be terribly
worried about Sabrina. Let me assure you, I am sparing no expense to find her. You wouldn't happen to know anything about her disappearance, would you?"
"You'll never find her." His smile morphed into a snarl. "You helped her escape, didn't you?" He strode back to his desk and grabbed his phone. "I'm handing you over to the police. Of course, you could avoid being arrested if you just tell me where Sabrina is."
"Go ahead. Call the police. I'd like to report some crimes. Let's see, there's medical malpractice for claiming Bri was delusional when she wasn't."
He lifted his chin. "Any psychiatrist would agree with my diagnosis." "Then there's the embezzlement of her trust fund and holding her prisoner so you could steal more of her money."
He snapped his phone shut. "You can't prove any of that."
Toni strolled toward him. "Once the police investigate your financial records, it'll be very clear. You imprisoned Sabrina. You poisoned her mind. You tried to steal her entire life from her." "No, no." He waved a hand in the air. "I wouldn't have kept her locked up forever. I just needed a
little money to pay off a few gambling debts." "And then there would have been more gambling debts." Proctor's eyes narrowed. "Those guys would have killed me. I didn't have any choice." "Those guys are the least of your problems. Have you wondered how Bri escaped?" He watched her warily. "Of course I wondered." "You locked her away because she said vampires are real. But only a vampire could have helped
her escape." "You're as crazy as she is." Proctor's eyes lit up. "I'll lock you both up." Toni smiled. "You can try. But first let me introduce you to someone." She lifted a hand to cue
Ian, who was waiting outside by the window. His body materialized in the middle of the room. Proctor gasped and stepped back. "What? This--this is some kind of trick." Ian raised his arms, spreading his cape wide. "You doona believe in the existence of the Undead?"
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Toni bit her lip to keep from laughing. Ian's fake Transylvanian accent still had a touch of Scottish in it.
"Im-impossible," Proctor breathed. Ian zoomed toward the desk at vampire speed. Proctor stumbled back and knocked against the bookcase.
"Ye will believe." Ian levitated into the air.
Toni winced as his head almost bumped the ceiling. At least Proctor looked truly terrified as he cowered behind his desk. She just thought Ian looked incredibly cute. He dropped onto the desk, and with a flash, his eyes glowed a brighter blue and his fangs sprang
out. Toni flinched. That wasn't very cute. Proctor huddled on the floor, lifting his arms in a defensive posture. "Don't hurt me. Please." With a hiss, Ian flipped his cape back over his broad shoulders. Toni wobbled as her knees grew
weak. Good grief, he was in full monster mode, and all she could think of was Bite me. How strange that the Malcontent attack had left her terrified and disgusted, while the thought of Ian biting her made her skin tingle with anticipation.
Her face heated up, and she flushed all over, feeling the rush of blood through her veins. Rushing
faster and faster as if it needed to escape, as if it were calling to him. Ian turned to look at her, and a surge of lust nearly knocked her off her feet. She gasped as the blue glow of his eyes turned red hot. Oh God, he knew she was turned on.
She stepped back, lifting a hand to her throat. Her heart beat wildly. Her thighs squeezed together
with sudden, hot need. Good grief, no wonder women had offered him blood over the centuries. Ian turned back to the trembling doctor, huddled on the floor. He reached out his right arm, and Proctor flinched as if an invisible force had struck him.
"Ye are under my control." Ian's eyes glowed an intense blue, and Toni realized he was using mind control. "Ye are lowly, and I am yer master." "You are lowly, and I am your master," Proctor whispered, his eyes wide and glazed. Ian grimaced. "Nay. I am the master." "You are the master," Proctor said.
Toni stifled a grin. Ian wasn't very good at being an evil monster. No wonder she adored him. "Listen and obey," Ian ordered. "Ye'll never steal from Sabrina again. Ye'll never interfere in her life. Ye'll be an honorable uncle to her. Do ye understand?"