She scowled. What was it with everyone demanding promises from her? It’s not like she did crazy stuff all the time. Well, not anymore.
“Scout’s honor,”’ she told Robbie.
“You were never a scout,” he snickered as they climbed into the SUV and drove away from the wreckage.
“It’s a saying, Robbie. Sheesh. You know where you’re going?”
“No, but the Nav system does. Sit back and enjoy the ride.”
ENJOY THE RIDE, Cyn thought to herself. What was there to enjoy? She’d never been a fan of the kind of dry, barren country she was seeing outside the truck window. She could admire the spires and pinnacles in the distance, but the view was mostly hills covered with dry grass with blotches of snow. In the spring, it was probably lovely and green. In a few weeks, pretty and snow-covered white. Today? Splotchy brown and boring.
She caught Robbie checking his rearview mirrors and frowned, thinking she’d seen him do that one too many times.
“Problem?” she asked, cutting a glance at her own side mirror.
“That blue sedan three vehicles back. I’m sure it was behind us earlier.”
Cyn studied the car in question, angling her head for a better view. There weren’t a lot of vehicles on the road, but enough that someone could tail them if they were smart about it.
“What do you think? You want to drive around a little?”
“Our exit’s coming up. Let’s see if they follow us.”
Robbie slowed, exiting to the right, and making an immediate right hand turn. Cyn didn’t even look where they were going, too intent on watching their potential ghost.
“He kept going,” she said, twisting around to look out the back window. “Hold up a minute.”
Robbie pulled to one side, and they waited, until she couldn’t see the blue sedan anymore.
“Looks like we’re clear.”
He did his own quick scan, then nodded. “I’m going to drive around a bit before going to Hoover’s house just to be safe, but I think you’re right.” He put the truck in gear and pulled back onto the road.
By the time they reached Matthias Hoover’s address, they were confident they’d lost their tail, assuming they’d ever had one. They parked about a quarter mile away on the opposite side of the street, and under the stark cover of a bare-limbed black walnut tree.
Cyn raised a pair of binoculars to her eyes and scanned the house. It was small and old, and stood alone, separated from its nearest neighbor by several hundred yards of scrub. It was in desperate need of a paint job, and if it hadn’t been for the light dusting of snow on the ground, Cyn was pretty sure the front yard would have been nothing but dirt and a few scraggly bushes.
Well, that and the two human guards lurking around the perimeter, which told her this wasn’t exactly an ordinary human dwelling.
After watching the guards silently for a few minutes, Cyn lowered her binoculars. “What does that look like to you?” she asked quietly.
“Looks like a big comedown for someone who used to live on Lucas’s ranch,” Robbie said, studying the house through his own binocs.
Cyn swallowed a chuckle. “Tell me about it. But I’m talking about the guards.” She lifted the binoculars again.
“Is that what they’re supposed to be?”
Cyn eyed the two human guards who were standing at opposite corners of the house, not even trying to look alert. “Point taken.”
“Probably a vamp house, though,” Robbie agreed. “Shades are all down, and why else have guards at all? Unless it’s drugs, but that sort tend to have a more effective watch than those two.”
“Assuming it’s vamps, and I think it is, it doesn’t have to be Magda. There’s no reason for her to hang around. She could have sent Hoover off on his suicide mission, and moved on to Chicago. Whoever’s in there might just be some flunkies she left behind to keep an eye on things.”
“Or maybe she wanted to be close to the action. If the bomb had succeeded in taking Lucas out, the territory would be up for grabs, right? Maybe Magda figured she could swoop in while everyone was still reeling.”
Cyn pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Maybe. Or maybe this house is all she can afford. After all, it was Lucas’s money that subsidized her lifestyle before. Maybe she’s a shopaholic and spent all of her salary on clothes.”
“Bummer.”
“Doesn’t matter why, or even if, she’s here, I guess. Doesn’t matter how many are in there either, because Raphael doesn’t approve of killing vamps while they sleep, not even the assholes.” She stared at the house thoughtfully. “Although . . .”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” he said worriedly.
“. . . it might be useful to know how many vampires are in there. You know, so Raphael will know what he’s dealing with.”
Robbie huffed dismissively. “Yeah, right. Because Raphael and Lucas would just have one hell of a time coping if there’s too many of them low-level vamps in there.”
“Spoilsport. But you’re right, damn it. Hey!” she said, brightening. “What if when we go back to the ranch to tell Raphael, Magda wakes up, and is gone before we get back here?”
“Nice try, babe. How about if we use a cell phone to tell Raphael instead? And that way no one can sneak away.”
“No, I promised Raphael I’d be there when he woke up.”
“Okay, so I drop you at the estate, then come right back here. I’ll keep watch just in case that Magda bitch is an early riser. If they take off, I’ll follow.”
“You sure?”
“You worried about me, Cyn?”
“Always. It’s a pain in the ass to train a new bodyguard.”
“Love you, too, babe. You just wake the big guy and bring reinforcements. I’ll be waiting.”
Chapter Ten
CYN PROPPED herself on Raphael’s chest and watched him sleep. Some might argue that what he did wasn’t a true sleep, since he couldn’t wake up. But he dreamed, and it was restful for him, and that was close enough for her.
Her eyes cut to the digital clock on the bedside table. She was like a walking Farmer’s Almanac these days, at least when it came to the sun. She heard the minute click of the clock as the time changed, and then Raphael’s arms came around her, and she smiled. It was always the first thing he did. His midnight eyes opened, and his big hand rested familiarly on the curve of her butt.
“Hi,” she said happily.
“Good evening, my Cyn.” He tugged her higher until their mouths met in a soft, welcoming kiss.
“And how was your hunt today?”
“Good. We’re pretty sure we found the house where Magda’s holed up.”
He eyed her cautiously. “And is she still there?”
“If you’re asking if we went into the house, the answer is no. We decided to wait for you guys.”
He studied her for a moment, his handsome face drawn into a scowl. “Where is my Cyn, and what have you done with her?”
She slapped his chest.
“On second thought,” he said, rubbing her butt, “I recognize this ass. So why the suddenly sensible approach?”
“It was Robbie’s influence. He’s determined to be the voice of reason.”
“And what does that make you?”
“Alive. Because everyone knows the voice of reason is the first to die when the monsters come.”
He blinked, then shook his head. “I don’t want to know. Tell me where this house is, and I’ll let Lucas know. Magda is his child, after all. He’ll want to deal with her.”
“But we have to go back there, too,” she said urgently, raising herself enough to stare into his face. “Robbie’s waiting for us.”
“We’re leaving tonight. You can call Rob, have him meet us at the airport.”
She gave him a narrow-eyed look. “You’re doing this on purpose, to torment me.”
“Am I? Maybe it’s a test of your new cautious nature.”
<
br /> Cyn made a dismissive noise. “I never said anything about being cautious, fang boy, so put that idea right out of your head. We could easily have taken Magda’s human guards, but I know how you feel about killing vamps while they sleep, so there was no point in going inside. So there.”
He laughed. “Welcome back, my Cyn.”
“You’re awful. How am I supposed to become a better person?”
“You don’t need to get any better,” he said, his voice deep and silky as he buried his face against her neck. “I love you exactly the way you are.” Without warning, he rolled her beneath him. “You’re wearing clothes.”
“You’re not,” she said, flexing her hips playfully, feeling the hard length of his arousal.
“I need to shower.”
“Hmmm, I’m feeling a bit gritty myself. That explosion site was pretty gruesome.”
“We could shower together.”
Cyn flexed her hips again. “It might take longer that way.”
Raphael stood, taking her with him. “Then we should get started.”
“WHAT’S TAKING them so long?” Cyn sat with Elke on the stairs of Lucas’s big house, watching Raphael and Lucas discuss how to proceed with the night’s hunt, and thinking Kathryn would be sorry to miss this. Especially if it turned out to be Magda in that house. Cyn had gotten a clear impression that there was no love lost between the two of them. Unfortunately, Kathryn had been called into the agency this morning, so she was going to miss the big takedown.
Assuming it ever happened.
The vampires all stood at the bottom of the stairs, near the several big SUVs which were waiting to take them away . . . once they finished negotiating. Jared and Juro were there with Raphael, and Nicholas from Lucas’s side. It was all terribly civilized, which struck Cyn as rather anticlimactic under the circumstances. They were about to hunt down and kill some rogue vampires, not rendezvous for dinner at the local steak house.
“What the fuck?” she demanded irritably. “Robbie’s been sitting on that house all alone for hours. We need to get there.”
“It’s a question of precedence,” Elke said. She sat one step higher than Cyn, leaning back on her elbows with her legs stretched out in front of her. To all appearances, she was completely relaxed, but Cyn knew she could be on her feet in mere seconds if a threat manifested. She also could probably hear every word the two vampire lords were saying.
“What precedent?”
“Several actually, that’s the problem. Raphael is Lucas’s Sire, which gives him precedence. But this is Lucas’s territory, and Magda is his child. And though Raphael was followed from the airport, most likely with nefarious intent, the other far more dangerous attacks affected both lords equally, whether intentionally or not.”
“Jeez, sign a fucking contract why don’t they? If I’d known they were going to call in a mediator, I’d have taken care of it myself while the sun was up. Can we go now?” she called loudly.
Raphael said something that made Lucas laugh. She gave him a squinty look. “What’d he say, Elke?”
“I couldn’t hear.”
“Bullshit.”
“You’re like a sister to me, Cyn—”
“I hate my sister.”
“Okay, bad analogy, but I’m not telling you anyway. You’re a friend. But Raphael owns me body and soul.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She glanced at Elke over her shoulder. “Think your lord and master is going to get his very fine ass in gear any time soon?”
“Are you ready, my Cyn?” Raphael said from way too close, his deep voice laced with amusement.
Her head snapped around to find him standing right in front of her, one hand held out. She scowled as she let him pull her to her feet. “I hate it when you do that,” she muttered as they walked toward the waiting SUVs. The two lords were traveling in separate SUVs. They’d agreed on that much early on. Ostensibly, this was because Raphael and his party would be going directly to the airport after dealing with Magda. But Cyn knew the real reason was because they were getting on each other’s nerves. She could feel their growing tension like a constant, and fucking irritating, buzz over her skin. It was a relief when they finally climbed into their respective vehicles and drove away from the house, putting some distance and cold metal between the two powerful lords.
“So what’s the deal?” Cyn asked Raphael once they finally hit the main road and started making good time. “You guys work out your issues?”
Raphael’s sensuous mouth curved slightly as he put his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. “The kill is Lucas’s. Magda is his child.”
“Well, that blows. Why’d I bother to track her down if we don’t even get in on the kill?”
He studied her for a moment, his eyes gleaming silver in the darkness of the backseat. “You’re so bloody-minded, lubimaya,” he said with obvious pride. “Is this is my influence? Or were you always this way?”
“I didn’t stab other children on the playground, if that’s what you’re asking. Let’s just say that living with you has freed up my more primal instincts and leave it at that.”
“So, it is me,” he concluded, chuckling happily.
Cyn slanted a quizzical look at him. “Most guys would be freaked out to discover they’re living with a homicidal woman.”
“But I,” he purred, skimming his lips over her cheek, “am definitely not most guys.”
Cyn turned her head to catch his lips in a kiss. “No, you’re not,” she murmured. “And thank God for that.” She kissed him again. “So why are we bothering, if we’re not in on the kill?”
“For appearances. Magda offended us equally, after all.” He paused a moment. “But mostly because Lucas thinks it will be fun to hunt together again.”
Cyn rolled her eyes. “Not much of a hunt. I already found her for you. And for the record, if anyone else asked . . . no, forget it. No one else would dare ask you to do something just for the fun of it. Except me, of course. But I don’t get why Lucas wants you to do it tonight. You guys are already on the verge of ripping out each other’s throats.”
Raphael was spared from responding to that when Cyn’s phone rang. Frowning, she took a quick look. “It’s Robbie,” she told Raphael before answering. “Everything okay?”
“Something’s going on, Cyn. There’s a new bunch of vampires who just arrived at the house, and I don’t think they’re friendlies.”
“The challenge is active,” Raphael said softly, his vampire hearing having permitted him to hear both sides of the conversation. “Who is it?”
“Do you recognize anyone?” she asked Robbie.
“No one I know. There’s five of them, but one guy’s clearly in charge. He’s big, nearly as tall as Raphael, but darker, Middle-eastern looking.”
“Aden,” Raphael said simply. He pulled out his own phone and hit a speed dial. “Lucas,” he said. “We have company.”
“We’re minutes away, Rob,” Cyn said quickly, half listening to Raphael’s call. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I don’t think they saw me, and I’m not sure they’d associate me with Raphael, even if they did. You need to get here, though.”
Cyn disconnected and caught the tail end of Raphael’s conversation with Lucas. “The decision is yours,” he said, and disconnected.
Cyn took one look at his carefully blank face. Not angry, not anything. It was his vampire lord face, remote and unemotional. “What was that?” she asked.
Raphael shrugged. “Magda belongs to Lucas, but Aden is within his rights to challenge her.”
“Doesn’t he have to wait until the Council makes it official?”
“She’s made it clear that her intention is to compete for the territory. Not only to Aden, but to others. That effectively began the competition, at least where she was concerned.”
“Well, damn. This just gets worse and worse. Now Aden gets the kill.”
Raphael laughed, hugging her close.
“My poor Cyn.”
She sat up suddenly. “There,” she said, pointing out the black SUV where Robbie waited. “The house is that white one with . . . oh,” she concluded, realizing there was no need for her to point out the house. The human guards were gone, but Aden was very much in evidence. Backed by two other vampires, he was approaching the closed front door of the house. He turned at their approach, and strode out to meet them with a welcoming smile. It was the first smile Cyn had seen on his face.
“He looks awfully smug,” she said sourly.
“Come,” Raphael said, blatantly trying not to laugh as he took her hand. “Let’s see what Aden has to say for himself.”
By the time they were out of the SUV, Raphael’s stoic lord of the universe mask was firmly back in place. He nodded as Lucas joined them, then they both turned cool gazes upon Aden.
“My lords,” Aden said, clearly striving for solemnity, but it was a losing battle. He was too obviously pleased with himself to manage it.
“You knew she was staying here?” Lucas asked. His manner was not altogether friendly, and Cyn felt the first prick of unease. There was a lot of power in those three. Raphael and Lucas were both proven commodities, and Aden obviously had power of his own if he thought to rule the Midwest. With tensions already running high, the likelihood of everything going south was terrifyingly high.
Aden’s smile disappeared. Smug or not, he was smart enough to see the risk and avoid adding to it. “I did not know where Magda was, my lord. I did, however, assume she was in town, given the attack last night. And, so . . .” He turned and gave Cyn a sly look. “I had someone follow Ms. Leighton and her friend this afternoon.”
Raphael grew very still. Not a good sign.
“We suspected there was a tail on us,” she said casually, trying to break the tension. “But we thought we lost them.”
“You did,” Aden agreed. “But you got them close enough. There aren’t that many houses out here, after all.” What he left unsaid was that as a potential vampire lord, he was powerful enough to sense Magda’s presence once he got close enough.
“I’ll send you a bill,” she said, slipping her arm through Raphael’s. “It won’t be cheap.”
The Cyn & Raphael Novellas Page 17