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Fast cars and e Dumas, first blood-servant to Pellissier" The soft words floated fro off the old brick, a fe Bruiser to join her I glanced at hi as if we had trained together for years

A little vamp stood just inside an open cubicle with a door, the space lit with bright electric lights She beckoned; wepantry, three shelf-lined walls organized with cans and boxes, with household appliances on a side wall, including a washer and dryer We were at the back of the warehouse; I could s on the air I hesitated in the di her in

She was short, model-slender, with streaked blond hair and the bluest eyes I&039;d seen on anyone, huh to qualify as a collar circled her neck, and dialed from her ears "In here," she whispered I didn&039;t know her and wasn&039;t inclined to follow Bruiser, however, stepped closer, which brought us even Vaht arm and Bruiser&039;s left, her tiny hand like a steel cuff, cold and cutting And strong

Faster than thought, I reached for a stake She yanked Hurled me off my feet Tossed me inside I hit the back shelves Stake in hand, I pushed off Looked back Without effort, she threw Bruiser at ot a quick look at it - three inches of hardwood reinforced with iron straps A trap

I caught Bruiser one handed We i intohis own momentum, I shoved Bruiser aside He hit the floor in a controlled roll on hands and knees, and got up to his feet at nearly vamp speed

A stake in each hand, I rushed her She was fast The vaain and whirled me into a corner in a dance-step-smooth ainst the door, hands out, placating "I&039;

Not caring what she clairip, street fighting position Beast hissed but stayed doatching, her claws ininto me My breath was hard and swift and I flashed the blade in the too-bright lights so she would see it was silver-plated - poisonous to her kind if I cut her I wished the blade was bigger but I felt better eapons drawn

Bruiser was on his feet, his hands out in a race as we evaluated the female vamp She didn&039;t look at the blade, but watched us, eyes darting back and forth, her feet balanced and her body posture clai to dery, her skin pallid, but her eyes weren&039;t vamp-black and bloody; instead, they were controlled and collected Frorip, she was an old one, powerful, and despite her s her with just the teapons and no protective gear

Yet she&039;d said she wouldn&039;t hurt us And she wasn&039;t dressed for ork Her dress had the dragon-lady-seaant, even on her tiny forht blue shot with silver thread, which had to be a vamp joke

And she wore spike heels in blue-black ostrich leather, little feathers on the buckles

She looked totally out of place standing in the pantry "I won&039;t hurt you At least not right now Truce"

I lowered my hands a fraction to show I&039;d listen Bruiser dropped his and said, "Innara of Clan Bouvier How e from my master"

Bruiser blinked With that careful blandness I was cohed through my nose

"I could not My master has determined thatesture of peace, fingers splayed "Servant of the Blood Master of New Orleans and the one they call the Rogue Hunter, hear me"

I could tell I was added on only because I happened to be near, but what the heck, I&039;d stay to listen Especially as a thick door stood between me and freedo a rave danger, as is the safety of this city Mearkanis and Rousseau have for the weaker clans Arceneau and Desmarais unprotected They have allied with St Martin, who has broken faith with Pellissier"

Bruiser cursed and went pale I tried to figure out what it all ues of Mithrans rather than the former two, and the new association leaves Pellissier&039;s alliance with Bouvier and Laurent no longer in a position of strength Pellissier&039;s enemies plot war Rafael has come clandestinely to Clan Bouvier to propose we join hireed to forain his trust It is said that Rafael has contacted one of the Sons of Darkness for his blessing, though this is only rumor"

Bruiser went nearly vamp-still in shock I wondered what the sons were and why they made the blood slowly drain from his face The Sons of DarknessThey had been part of so I had read recently

Innara stepped close and took Bruiser&039;s hands in hers "The new union believes in the old ways The Naturaleza has been reintroduced to the newly fledged andus have renounced Rafael of Mearkanis feeds this desire with fiery rhetoric and hopes the change in balance of poill allow hie for ainst the new alliance, ain blood-oath Clan Bouvier to Leo"

I felt Bruiser&039;s relief like a blow toelse

"Pellissier is honored"

"Naturaleza?" I asked, picking out that nugget for clarification

Bruiser ignored my question "There have been indications that Rafael was seeking power"

"Traditionally," Innara said to th of Pellissier held us in balance and allowed us to blend har" She pressed Bruiser&039;s hands "Leo ht not be able to act But I didn&039;t say it

Bruiser said, "The recent aligneous to restoring that peace"

"Arceneau has sworn itself to Leo?" Innara asked, her face taking on a fierce joy

Bruiser nodded It was news to h power to defeat the new coalition?"

"No," Innara said, "but if Desmarais swears to Leo, and if Leo acts quickly, then we have a chance"

I redrew the balance of power in my mind, the new alliance of vamp clans On the one hand was Rafael of Mearkanis, with Rousseau and St Martin pledged to him And maybe these sons, whatever they were Then there was Leo of Pellissier, with Laurent, Bouvier, and now Arceneau Desered by its lonesome So if a new vamp war started, it would be a battle between Rafael and Leo I didn&039;t know enough about clan strengths to know if it would be a fair match

Satisfied that the Bouvier vamp didn&039;t mean us harm, I lowered ht fra dress-up in her mommy&039;s clothes and jewels, innocent and sweet and fully human, not like the killer she was I hated how they could do that "Leo must put aside the Dolore and take up the reins of his power," she said

Bruiser took a step back, his face closing in Before I could ask what a dolore was, she went on, her tone fierce, her hands fisting, trying to convince Bruiser "You must tell Leo that if he hopes to keep the peace, he must break the new alliance quickly or there will be war - violent, bloody, and decisive Ourin devoveo while they regain themselves - they will be left to run mad Our humans will not survive The city will be torn asunder" To me she said,

"Rafael believes in the Naturaleza, the old ways, that humans are here only for our pleasure and to feed us - and that all other supernatural beings s must be wiped from the earth" reverberated in the small room That meant Molly and her kids And every other witch in the city And meCrap

Crap, crap, crap And then I heard the word "devoveo" What the heck was that? I&039;d never heard the terh it was related to the

"Make Leo listen," she de on the stele not common to humans, like a bird with a broken neck It was justso weird She see or so out

"My ana I must" Her eyes landed on me, and the sclera bled scarlet Fear pheromones skittered into the small room, brittle and prickly, and all hers Innara took a breath, the sound loud with panic "He will catch me

With you He will know that my master has accepted his offer to parley, in deception"

And if Leo loses the vamp war, then a victorious Rafael will kill his ene both sides just like her master The vamp could tear a human apart with her bare hands, but she looked so helpless, even with the bloody eyes I sooo did not want to get involved in this, but I was already neck deep and sinking Tucking the stake and knife back in their hidey spots, I let the words drag out of me "No, he won&039;t" Her face split with joy If there was also a lot of cunning behind the purer e her away from the door, I held my hand out to Bruiser and snapped the lock

The door cracked open and we stepped through the slit A shadow darkened the hallway entrance as someone approached There wasn&039;t ti the door shut behind us, and yanked him close And picked up where we&039;d left off in the lirunted once, hesitated a fraction of a second as if analyzing, and seemed to understand

His arms went around me, his mouth hard, and one hand slid downthe side ofaround ne and smelled of Leo, which I hadn&039;t paid attention to on the floor of the liainst the closed door, took h, and wrapped it around his waist

In only a moment, lust pheromones wafted from him, his lancing up the hallway Through slit lids, I saw Rafael, heir to Mearkanis, stop in the far end And watch He sniffed, and I knew he&039;d detect no lust fro crap! I closed my eyes and tried to relax But I couldn&039;t Not with Rafael watching And from the faint scuffle of shoes on the floor, others as well

With a lol in ht atWorthy of us

Responding to the not-so-subtle signals, Bruiser slid his tongue between hed into his mouth and he chuckled under his breath, masculine and possessive He pulled me closer His arousal pressed into the center ofon me, and now he leanedinto my spine The pain was sharp and I arched into hi

OhmyMy breath deepened "Yes," I whispered "Like that" I rolledBeast take over My body responded, breasts aching, wanting My hands clenched, bunching his tux coat tightly Aat the hallway end disappeared A long moment after that, Bruiser paused, his lips buried in the deep V ofagainst delicate flesh, his voice vibrating between us

I didn&039;t want to answer, and hter tohis mouth I pushed Beast back down and she went, but with a catty, satisfied purr "Yes They&039;re gone" I felt his suess we have to stop, then"

I laughed again, louder this ti from his waist "Maybe later," I said before I could stop myself

"Count on it," he said, and setmy bottom

The door opened behind us and little Innara peeked out, looking up and down the hallway Finding Rafael gone, she turned her attention to us and breathed deeply, taking in the pheroa "My anamchara says I can return now If you tould care to join us? We would be pleased to leave this party and find a more private place To share blood and body with you both"

I started to say, "No freaking way," but Bruiser spoke first, sracious invitation Another time, perhaps, lovely lady" He bowed over her hand and kissed it It didn&039;t even look weird when he did it, which eird in itself I shut myon to his hand, effectively pulling the three of us together, Innara leaned in towhen she said, "This one s at ry and aroused Double ick

"She is the Rogue Hunter, contracted by the council," Bruiser said There was that phrase and tone again, that title I needed to ask about that soh to fulfill her contract" She dropped our hands and slithered down the hallway and out of sight Leaving us alone