[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
been turned off. Cynthia watched, fascinated in spite of herself, wondering if she was sup-
posed to be afraid. Well, okay, she was afraid, terrified actually, but she'd be damned if she
was going to let this freaky chick know that. Of course, the vamp could probably hear Cyn's
heart trying to break its way out of her chest, but, damn. Courage was standing your ground
in spite of your fears, right? Only a fool wasn't afraid when faced with imminent and violent
death. She choked back a laugh, knowing once she started, she might never stop.
Heavy footsteps thudded against the slick marble floor, and suddenly the chandeliers that
had only moments before reflected nothing but moonlight were brightly lit, filling the foyer with
a clear, white light. The new arrival must have flicked the switch. That was the logical explan-
ation, but Cynthia glanced at Elke, who gave her a slow, knowing smile, before blinking once
and taking two deliberate steps backward. There were rumors of vampire mind powers, ru-
mors that frightened Cyn more than any threat of physical violence. Her mind was her own,
the one place she was unassailable, secure. The possibility anyone could mess with her
mind, could make her see and feel things that weren't real ... really pissed her off.
"Did you take her weapon? Cynthia shifted her gaze from the treacherous Elke to the
newcomer ... make that newcomers. Two Sumo-looking male vampires had joined the party,
both pushing seven feet tall, with broad chests and arms twice as thick as Cyn's thighs. What
was it with these guys anyway? What was the point of eternal life if you spent every hour in a
fucking gym? These two looked enough alike to be brothers, maybe even twins, and both
wore the male equivalent of Elke's elegant charcoal suit; even their long, black hair was tied
in identical tails at the napes of their necks.
The one who'd spoken approached Cynthia and held out his hand, palm up. Cynthia
looked up at his uncompromising face, then down at the enormous paw outspread in front
her, and sighed. After first showing the vamp her empty hands, she reached slowly under her
jacket and removed the Glock from its shoulder holster. Holding it with two fingers, she placed
it on the vamp's hand and glanced back up at him.
"I'll get that back, right?"
For a moment, she thought the big vampire wasn't going to answer her. But as his thick
fingers closed over the gun, making it look like a child's toy, he said, When you leave."
"Thanks."
"Well, now that's over with, Elke said with obvious boredom.
The big vamp turned so fast, Cynthia didn't see him move. One moment he was in front of
her and the next he was five feet away, glowering down at the much smaller Elke.
"You would permit the human to go before our Sire with a gun in her possession?"
Elke glared up at him, then lowered her gaze. No, she said softly, and looked up defi-
antly. But I would have checked, Juro."
He stared at her a moment longer, then glanced at his brother, giving a little jerk of his
head toward Cynthia. The two of them flanked her, and Juro made a sweeping gesture to-
ward the stairs. This way, Ms. Leighton."
"You can leave now, Lonnie. Elke's voice made Cynthia turn around to stare at the fe-
male vamp who had moved to block Lonnie's progress.
"The master said for me to bring her over, Elke."
"And now you have. She drove her own car, didn't she?"
"Well, yes, but "
"Then she certainly doesn't need you any longer. Go back to your little feedlot. The vamp
made a little shooing gesture with her fingers, as if telling a servant to run along to his chores.
Lonnie's mouth tightened almost imperceptibly, but he gave Cyn an apologetic look over
Elke's shoulder.
"Sorry, Cyn."
Cynthia felt a sudden sympathy for the friendly vampire. It was obvious he was low on the
totem pole around here, and it struck her this was a pretty dog-eat-dog place. It had to be
tough for a guy like Lonnie. He'd made a place for himself at the beach house, but in spite of
that, he had very little real power.
"It's okay, Lonnie, she assured him, with a look of disgust for Elke. Thanks for coming
this far."
Lonnie grinned, and with a final unfriendly glance at the female vamp, disappeared back
out to the courtyard.
Left on her own, Cynthia didn't see she had any choice but to go along with Juro and his
twin, so she strode across the foyer to the stairs and began climbing. The two of them kept
pace with her, climbing in lockstep, and Cyn felt like a skinny slice of pale lunch meat sand-
wiched between the two dark-clad giants. Bad choice of analogy, Cyn, she reminded herself.
Let's skip the food metaphors for the duration.
They turned right at the top of the stairs, then left down a long hallway which dead-ended
at a pair of towering, black walnut doors. They were the largest doors she'd ever seen outside
a cathedral several feet above her head and at least six feet wide, beautifully carved, with
elaborate bronze inlays. Leaning forward, she looked closely at the design, expecting to find a
scene of battle lust and mayhem. Instead, she found herself looking into a dark garden, as if
the doors stood open to some midnight hideaway, if only one knew how to pass through. She
straightened, then glanced around at her guards, waiting for whatever was going to happen
next and feeling rather abandoned without Lonnie. Not that Lonnie was any kind of protection,
but at least he was a face she knew.
Juro stood motionless for a few minutes, and then suddenly, as if some silent signal had
been given, he raised his huge fist and gave a surprisingly gentle knock on the thick wooden
doors. There was no sound from inside the room, but the doors began to swing open, and
Juro and his brother stepped back, indicating she should proceed alone.
Cynthia looked from one to the other, then drew a deep breath, straightened her shoulders
and stepped into the lion's den for true.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Nine
Raphael watched silently as the Leighton woman walked through the doors. She flinched
minutely when the doors closed behind her with a noiseless rush of air, then visibly gathered
her courage and scanned the room, her gaze going first to Duncan where he stood to one
side and slightly behind her, and then to Raphael himself, sitting behind his desk. She sur-
prised him by shifting her position, moving away and back, which enabled her to keep both
vampires in her sight. She was a single human female, unarmed, alone in a room with two
powerful vampires. She should have been cowed, trembling with fear, kneeling before her ob-
vious betters. Instead, she stood there defiantly, positioning herself for better defense, as if
she had a hope in the world if he chose to take her.
It intrigued him. And Raphael found little enough to intrigue him these days. He studied
her more closely, taking in the elegant ease of her tall, slender figure. She wore form-fitting
black trousers over long legs, and elaborate Western style boots with some sort of metal dec-
oration on the angled heels and sharply pointed toes. A silk blouse the green of a deep forest
caressed the swell of full breasts before disappearing into the trouser waist, and a short, soft
leather jacket accented the gentle curve of her hip. Everything about her spoke of money.
Perhaps her business was more lucrative than Raphael estimated. But he recalled Lonnie
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]