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Stupid to hide it under the couch, with only a vah to guard the witch But not against hisstupid I fisted my hands on the handlebar and bent into the speed Beast? She didn’t answer

I stopped for gas at three am and checked my cell I had missed an e-mail from Reach He had sent pictures of Shaddock’s escaped vamp I remembered Thomas Stevenson from the scion lair He stood five feet ten, brown hair and eyes, with a nose that had been broken and was flattened across the bridge--a deformity that hadn’t been fixed by hismany makers did for any less-than-perfect scions before they turned theood fortune--so that would make the otherwise ordinary man stand out in a police lineup

I sent the photos from my expensive, traceable cell to my laptop back at the hotel, and accessed all the files Reach had sentinto the in the world, but it was handy Miracles of uy had money all over the place, from offshore accounts to banks down the street He had accumulated a lot of real properties, both private and coaited communities Rental property Strip malls Undeveloped property His estate was scattered all over North Carolina and Tennessee One thing stood out The nasty vamp had a collector’s appreciation of houseboats He had three houseboats in storage or in dock at different lakes within a couple hundred ht be willing to bet that, after spending the last few years sane and locked up with crazy-assed rogues, fed cooling pig blood running in a trough, heup at sunset on the water, maybe with a well-drained corpse or two on the floor beside hih the properties for decades to find the guy Except for the last little text Reach sent, a text that proved he orth every one of the thousands of dollars he was charging Leo Thoue-vaht gas, then clothes, and each purchase had been in a linear direction, due west The Naturaleza, hu into Tennessee

My heart got lighter and my smile meaner So, I’d huntdeep inside, a char of hot rage I couldn’t nae, and killing so back Ever

A s leathers were in storage and I was short on silvered blades and stakes, but I didn’t care I had guns and a assed up, res, and sent Reach a text to keep an eye on Evangelina Everhart Stone’s finances for withdrawals or credit card usage Satisfied, I turned Fang’s key With the bike’s roar, I headed west on I-40, into Tennessee

Long before dawn, I had spent a lot of cash as bribes A fifty to a clerk at a storage facility Thoet the kid to call if he spotted anyonethe vauard of a gaited coant hoht reasonably be in a position to notice if a hungry vauard at a marina on Lake Junaluska, and had just put three bullet holes into the hull of the fancy party boat/houseboat Thomas owned I could have used the M4 strapped to un was far un Beast was still a no-show, and killing the fancy boat was intensely satisfying, I atching it sink in five feet of water whenfor this call," I said

"Consider it gratis Part of belonging to the huood deed of the day" When I snorted, he laughed "Right I was checking police reports and got a notice of anot too far off of I-40"

"Where specifically?"

"Just outside the national park caave round and sent me a map of the place, not that I really needed it There was only one way in to the valley, and unless they had paved it, that ravel road with steep drop offs and no guard rails, not the sort of place I wanted to ride a partially chopped bike in theso helpful," I said, "why don’t you compare the files of properties the varound"

"Help co for me to respond, he went on, "Stevenson once owned stock in Blue Ridge Paper Products His great-grandfather, grandfather, and father owned land in the Cataloochee Valley And yes, he still has the old far keys click

"Your pleasure is rades to the property’s security systele pics of the address Okay, yeah The security syste in via the drive He concentrated his external security there Cameras and motion detectors"