All I Want for Christmas Is a Vampire - By Kerrelyn Sparks Page 0,44

was putting her arms around Gregori's neck.

"You want me to talk about how handsome you are?" Amy asked. "Isn't that kinda vain?"

"Ye're absolutely right. How clever of you."

"You jerk! I'm outta here." She stalked away.

He groaned. This night from hell would never end.

Toni and Gregori arrived at the back porch of the townhouse, and she used her special key to deactivate the alarm and open the door. He wished her good night, then teleported back to the Horny Devils for more dancing. It was odd, but she'd actually enjoyed herself at the vampire nightclub.

Unlike Ian. He had looked miserable. She hated to admit it, but a part of her rejoiced over his misery. His theory that only a Vamp would understand him was so wrong. Those bimbo bloodsuckers weren't good enough for him.

She rushed upstairs to her bedroom to get away from the surveillance cameras. She dropped her handbag on the bed and dialed Carlos. "Where are you now?"

"I got back to my apartment about five minutes ago," he replied. "I'm watching the monitor connected to your camera. It went black for a few seconds."

"That was teleportation. Does it give us the proof we need?"

"No, it just looked like a camera malfunction. So is this your luxurious bedroom I'm seeing now?" "Yes." Toni unclipped the camera from her vest and turned it off.

"Hey!" Carlos objected over the phone. "I want a tour of the house."

"And I want to go to bed." She slipped the camera into a dresser drawer. "I'm not sure if I caught any of the Vamps teleporting, because they just popped up without any advance warning. It was very frustrating." Though not as frustrating as watching those creepy Vamp women throw themselves at Ian.

"I don't know," Carlos replied. "I'll need to review the tape."

"If it didn't work, I have another idea." Toni opened the armoire across from her bed. Inside there was a television that she hadn't bothered to turn on yet. "The Vamps have their own television network called DVN."

"Really? What frequency is it on?"

"I don't know." She turned on the TV. "This looks like a commercial. Something called Vampos.

It's an after-dinner mint to get rid of blood breath."

Carlos laughed.

"I'm serious. Now there's a bat flapping its wings. Underneath it says--DVN, on 24/7 because it's always nighttime somewhere."

"Sounds interesting. I'll try to tap into it."

"Now there's a soap opera coming on. As the Vampire Turns. If we get a recording of this, won't it prove vampires exist?"

"Not really," Carlos said. "It's not unusual to have vampire shows on mortal television."

"But what about the commercials?"

"We see talking lizards and cavemen in commercials all the time. It doesn't make them real." "I beg to differ. I have dated a few cavemen." She turned the TV off and wondered how Ian was doing. Was he discovering his shimmering, starlit princess? Was she so fabulous, he'd forgotten about the kiss they'd shared?

"Merda," Carlos muttered. "I don't think the footage from the club is going to help. Every time you spun toward a teleporting Vamp, the picture blurred."

"Damn." How on earth were they going to prove the existence of vampires?

"And I'm afraid we have another problem," Carlos said. "I found the Proctors' house."

"You did? What happened?"

"I talked to the maid, Maria. She's from Colombia, and thankfully my Spanish is good. She said your phone call made the Proctors really nervous."

"Oh dear." Toni tossed her boots in the closet. "Did she say if Sabrina's okay?"

"She was locked in a bedroom upstairs. Maria saw her twice, said she was asleep both times."

"I'm afraid her uncle is drugging her."

"You're right. Maria said he was giving her Haldol. It's a strong antipsychotic. Tends to knock people out."

"This is terrible." Toni paced across the room.

"It gets worse. By the time I got there, the Proctors had packed up Sabrina and taken her somewhere. Maria said they were talking about a mental hospital."

"Oh no!" Toni collapsed on the bed. "Why are they doing this?"

"I'm not really sure, but you can bet it has something to do with the money Bri stands to inherit. I'll find out more tomorrow. I have a date with Maria."

"A date? But aren't you--?"

"I'm working undercover," Carlos said. "The Proctors always give Maria Friday night off 'cause they like to go out. So I'll convince her to let me into Uncle Joe's office. Shouldn't be too hard. She hates him 'cause he pinches her ass whenever his wife isn't looking."

"Oh, what a great guy."

"I'll call you tomorrow night. Hopefully I can find out