Free All I Want For Christmas Is A Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks Page A

might as well die now. He’d punctuated his speech by staking a coven member who hadn’t looked properly impressed.
    That simple act had done wonders for everyone’s motivation. The men had offered to hunt for him. The women had offered to screw him. All except one. The little brunette, Nadia, had looked terrified of him.
    So of course he’d selected her. He smiled, remembering the brutal hour he’d spent with her. When he’d finally let her slink away in tears, he’d relished the certain knowledge that her fear of him had grown. She still had some spirit in her, though. He’d break it soon enough. It was a game he’d enjoyed many times over the centuries.
    He finished scanning the room. It was clean, and it would stay that way now that he was in charge. The former coven masters had been idiots. Ivan Petrovsky had ended up betrayed and assassinated by his own coven. Katya Miniskaya had made a ton of money, only to squander it all in a pathetic attempt to kill a former lover who’d jilted her.
    Neither Ivan nor Katya had recognized what was truly important. When Roman Draganesti invaded this building during the daytime to rescue one of his minions, Ivan had simply increased the number of day guards. The idiot! Draganesti had been awake during the day. The significance of that had completely evaded Ivan. And Katya.
    A vampire who could stay awake during the day could rule the world. All vampires would have to bow to him for fear of being slaughtered during their daily death-sleep.
    “Master?” Yuri knocked on the door. The door was open, but he was afraid to enter without Jedrek’s permission.
    Good. They were learning fast. Jedrek sat behind his desk and dropped the bug detector in a drawer. “Enter.”
    “I have the report and photos you requested.”
    “Show me.”
    Yuri set some digital photos on the desk. “This is Romatech and some of the Vamps who work there.”
    Jedrek recognized the pictures of Draganesti and his bodyguard, Connor Buchanan. “Who is this?”
    “Gregori Holstein. A vice president at Romatech.”
    “Where is the information on Draganesti’s home?”
    Yuri gulped. “We haven’t been able to find it. Yet,” he quickly added in response to Jedrek’s glare. “Here are some photos of his townhouse in the Upper East Side.”
    Jedrek looked through them. There was a kilted Scotsman and a young black man in the MacKay uniform.
    Yuri pointed at the photo of a third man. “This guy arrived last night. We’re not sure who he is. He doesn’t match any of our older photos.”
    Jedrek studied the picture of a young man in a red and green kilt. “Another damned Highlander. I swear MacKay has an endless supply of them.” He picked up the last photo of a young blonde woman. “Who is this? Their whore?”
    “Perhaps.” Yuri shifted his weight. “She’s mortal.”
    “How can you tell?”
    “I…recognize her. I fed on her Monday night.”
    Jedrek set her picture down. “Wasn’t that the night you let Sashenka get slaughtered?”
    “Connor Buchanan killed him,” Yuri said quickly. “We had everything under control until he showed up.”
    Jedrek curled his hands into fists. “It was three against one. You should have killed the damned Scotsman. What did I tell you about incompetence?”
    Yuri paled. “It will not be tolerated.”
    Jedrek stared at the man, allowing Yuri’s fear to grow as the seconds ticked by. He breathed deeply. He loved the smell of fear. “You are fortunate the event happened before I became master. I am hungry now. Fetch me a mortal.”
    “Yes, Master.” Yuri bowed. “Right away.”
    Jedrek smoothed a finger over the face of the girl in the photo. “Bring me a blonde. I hear they’re more fun.”
     
    After a subway ride and short walk to Washington Square, Toni arrived at the second-floor apartment she shared with Sabrina. She dropped her handbag and keys on the coffee table, then shrugged out of her jacket and tossed it and her scarf on the love seat.