He studied a photo taken of Tucker and his wife, Belinda, when he'd first campaigned for the Senate fourteen years ago. His hair had been brown back then, not gray like it was now. His wife, blond and perky, waved and smiled at the camera.

Gregori glanced over at VANNA. "I've found the perfect job for you."

He scrolled down further to look at more photos. There was Senator Tucker with his wife and children: a pretty blond girl who looked like her mother and a son with brown hair like his dad. The perfect all-American family, all with perfect smiles. Even the golden retriever in front of the kids was smiling.

Gregori read the caption underneath. The dog was named Grover. The boy, Lincoln. The girl, Madison. Sheesh! Had Tucker purposely named his children and pets in a way to further his political career? The dog was even wearing a stars-and-stripes bandana around his neck.

I may puke, Gregori thought, then narrowed his eyes on another name. Abigail. Where was she? He studied the small photo and spotted another kid half hidden behind Belinda and obscured by Lincoln's waving hand.

A tug of sleepiness dragged at him, and he glanced at the time. Nine minutes till sunrise. Damn, he needed to hurry up. He scanned a few more articles and photos. Apparently teenagers Madison and Lincoln had traveled with Tucker when he'd first campaigned for president. There were a bunch of photos of him sandwiched between his grinning daughter and son.

Belinda and Abigail were nowhere in sight.

Lincoln was now a senior at Harvard, while twenty-year-old Madison was a sophomore at a prestigious art school in Washington, D.C. She'd become quite a celebrity in the last few years, constantly followed by paparazzi when she went on extensive shopping trips in New York City or when she accompanied her father to black-tie events, playing hostess in dazzling designer gowns. He had to admit she was a beauty, and in spite of her young age, quite at ease in high society. Then again, she'd grown up in the life.

But where was the mother? And the other daughter?

"Gregori!" His own mother, Radinka Holstein, cracked open his office door and peeked inside. "It's awfully late to still be working."

"Hey, Mom." He exited all links and powered down his laptop. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to let you know that I'll be out of town. Roman has asked Shanna and the kids and me to stay at the school for a while. We'll be leaving tonight right after sunset."

"That's a good idea. You'll be safe there." No one in the mortal world and very few in the vampire world knew where the Dragon Nest Academy was located. He folded the page with his strategy plans, then stuffed it into his pants pocket as he stood up. "I have to go out of town, too. What do you think of the president?"

Radinka tilted her head in confusion. "Why are you asking about him all of a sudden?"

Gregori closed the blinds on his window. "I have a meeting with him later tonight."

"Oh." Radinka's eyes widened. "That's quite an honor!"

He shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not if he's an ass."

Radinka scoffed. "That's no way to talk about the president. I really admire his wife. She's been battling lupus for years, you know. And now I hear she has diabetes, too. Poor thing can't get a break."

"Oh." Maybe that was why she'd disappeared from the publicity photos. Gregori cast a guilty glance toward VANNA. He shouldn't have indulged in insulting thoughts toward the first lady. "What about the daughter?"

"Madison?" Radinka waved a hand in dismissal. "She's in all the magazines with her silly little dog named Dolly."

"No, I mean the other daughter."

"There's another daughter?"

"Yes." Abigail. "She's not in any of the pictures."

"Maybe she's shy," Radinka suggested.

Or ugly, Gregori thought with a snort. Another wave of sleepiness pulled at him. He strode toward his mom and pulled her into his office for a hug. "Take care. I'll see you in a few days."

She hugged him back, then gasped. "Gregori, what is she doing in here?" She glared at VANNA. "Didn't I tell you to get rid of that disgusting thing?"

"I am getting rid of it. I'm giving it to Connor for his five-hundredth birthday."

Radinka slapped at Gregori's shoulder. "You can't give that to him! Haven't you heard? Connor got married!"

Gregori stepped back, stunned. "What?"

"Connor got married. He called Angus tonight to request a month off for his honeymoon." Radinka grinned. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"What?" Gregori shook his head. "Who on earth would marry Connor? He's a grouch. And he's totally against us Vamps marrying mortals."

"He didn't marry a mortal. He married an angel."

Gregori's jaw dropped. Marielle had given up heaven to marry Connor? "Snap! You've got to be kidding me."

"No, I'm not. They're married." Radinka clasped her hands together over her heart. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Gregori swayed. The sun must be nearing the horizon. Or maybe he was reeling from shock. Connor was married? To the beautiful Marielle? Hell must have frozen over. He glanced at the beaming look of delight on his mother's face. Oh yeah, it was coming. Wait for it. Five, four, three -

"I wonder if they'll be able to have children," she whispered.

Gregori groaned. She was picking up speed.

"You know, Robby and Olivia are expecting." She gave Gregori a pointed look. "That means Angus and Emma will be grandparents soon."

"I'd love to discuss it in great detail for about three hours, but gosh darn, Mom, I'm about to fall over dead."

She scoffed. "You've used that excuse before. Don't think I'll forget about this."

"I'm sure you won't."

"All the Vamp men are having children except you."

"I would need a wife first. Or a uterus. Either case is highly unlikely."

Her eyes narrowed. "You need to stop playing around."

"Good night, Mom." He kissed her cheek, then stumbled toward the closet. "Oh, before I forget - will you send a case of Blardonnay to Maggie's ranch in Texas? And lock the door when you leave, okay?"

"Okay. Good night, dear."

Gregori shut himself inside the large walk-in closet. Not as comfy as a bed, but he didn't have time to get to one of the bedrooms in the basement. Besides, once he was dead, he really didn't notice how uncomfortable he was. He stretched out on the carpet as the tug of death-sleep crept over him.

Connor was married? What was the vampire world coming to? The apocalypse, apparently, if he didn't do his job well. No pressure there. After eighteen years of detaching himself from the mortal world, he was being forced back into it. Straight into the center of power.

The makeup artist's words came back to haunt him. We're doomed. Doomed!

Vamps around the world were depending on him. He had to succeed no matter what. One last thought came to his mind before he succumbed to total darkness.

He needed to order another case of stress balls.

Chapter Four

"You look like shit."

"Thanks, Whelan. It's a pleasure working with you." Gregori motioned for Sean Whelan to enter his office.

The sun had set five minutes earlier. After waking from his death-sleep, Gregori had guzzled down a warmed-up bottle of synthetic blood, then he'd dashed down the hall to use the men's restroom. He'd been on his way back to his office when Sean had accosted him in the hallway.

He followed Sean into his office. "I guess you slept in one of the basement bedrooms?"

"Yes." Sean glanced around, then stiffened. "What the hell is that?" He pointed at the couch.

"She's a Vampire Artificial Nutritional Needs Appliance," Gregori explained as he shut the door. "Otherwise known as VANNA. Phineas has VANNA Black somewhere. This one is VANNA White."

Sean wrinkled his nose. "It's disgusting."

"Now don't be rude. You'll hurt her feelings." Gregori adjusted the red bow around VANNA's neck. "I was thinking she'd make a nice gift for the president."

Sean's mouth dropped open, and his complexion turned a mottled red. "You will do no such thing! You'd better - "

"Relax, dude. I was joking." Gregori picked VANNA up and tossed her back into his closet. When he turned around, he found Sean scowling at him. "What?"

"You look like you slept in those clothes."

"I did. I worked till dawn researching the president."

Sean snorted. "Don't bother. I'll tell you everything you need to know."

"Oh really?" Gregori wasn't about to admit that he'd formulated his own set of plans for dealing with the president.

"Yes." Sean crossed his arms over his chest. "This is how it will play out. We'll teleport to the safe house precisely at nine P.M., then I'll brief you for the meeting. The White House will send a car for us at nine-thirty. Our meeting with the president is at ten o'clock sharp."

Gregori nodded. He'd questioned the need for a safe house at the meeting last night. Teleporting back and forth would be so much easier. Angus had explained why they needed to arrive at the White House in a car like normal people. They wanted to severely limit the number of mortals who knew about vampires. Only a few at the top should know.

Although Angus agreed they should arrive by car, he was opposed to Sean and his Stake-Out team being in charge of the safe house. The future of Vamps depended on the success of this mission, so Angus had a plan to make sure they remained safe.

Sean smirked, apparently pleased that Gregori was keeping his mouth shut and not questioning his authority. "For right now, you need to make yourself presentable."

"Really? That would have never occurred to me."

Sean scowled. "You can cut the sarcasm, especially when we're with the president. In fact, just keep your mouth shut and let me handle everything."

"The Coven Masters voted for me to represent Vamps. I intend to do my job, Whelan."

Sean gave him a skeptical look. "From what I hear, you spend all your time schmoozing with vampire celebrities - "

"And it was great training for this gig. I know how to get what I want."

Sean narrowed his eyes. "Your hair's too long."

Gregori grinned. Was that the worst he could come up with? Yeah, his hair was a little long for a businessman. The ends brushed his shoulders, but it was a good five inches shorter than the ponytails on the warrior Vamps.

He collected his tie, coat, and cuff links. "I'll see you here at nine."

"No. I want you here at a quarter till. We teleport precisely at nine."

"Chillax, Whelan. It only takes a second to teleport."

"A quarter till. I'm in charge of this - "

Before Sean could finish, Gregori teleported to his condo on the Upper West Side. Fifteen minutes later, he'd showered, shaved, and packed a suitcase. For the meeting, he decided to wear a gray Armani suit, crisp white shirt, and his favorite red power tie.

He paused in the middle of buttoning his shirt. Roman had been right when he said it all boiled down to presenting the right image. He was supposed to be the safe, harmless Vamp who picked flowers instead of victims. Instead of biting young women, he helped little old ladies across the street.

With a groan, he yanked his shirt over his head, then tossed it onto his bed.

"Safe and harmless," he muttered as he selected a pale blue shirt. It would be a lot more fun to wear a tuxedo and vampire cape. And have a Hungarian accent like Zoltan. Instead, Gregori fastened his cuff links and put on a gray tie with thin blue stripes.

He removed his page of strategy plans from the pants pocket of his dirty clothes and studied the list, committing it to memory. He also had Angus's security plans to follow.

At thirteen minutes till nine, he teleported with his suitcase to the side entrance at Romatech, since arriving inside the building would set off an alarm. He swiped his ID badge and entered. Halfway down the hall, he passed by the security office.

The door opened and half a dozen MacKay employees spilled out into the hallway.

"Ye understand the plan, lad?" Angus asked.

"Yes."

"Yo, undercover brother." Phineas gave him a knuckle pound. "I'll see you soon."

"Sean's a little upset," Emma warned him. "He claims you're running late."

Gregori's mouth twitched. "By two minutes. Just to annoy him."

"Aye, doona let the bastard get to you." Robby patted him on the back. "We'll be waiting for yer call."

After a round of well wishes, Gregori excused himself and wheeled his suitcase down to his office. His heart swelled when he realized how much trust his fellow Vamps were placing in him. In spite of all the teasing, they really did respect him. He grinned to himself.

"It's about time!" Sean yelled as he entered the room.

His smile faded. "Chillax, Whelan." He grabbed his phone charger off the desk and stuffed it into an outside pocket on his suitcase. He noticed Sean was still glowering at him, so he slipped a few stress balls into the suitcase.

"How much longer are you going to take?" Sean growled. "It's ten minutes till."

"I'm ready." Gregori picked up his Droid. "What's the number for the safe house?"

"I'll make the call." Sean whipped out his cell phone. "I'm the one in charge. You're just going along to show how safe and harmless you are."