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"Mom?" Claire looked at the clock, bit her lip, and prepared for the worst "Hey Sorry to be calling so late We just got out of the concert - you know Michael was playing tonight, right? So I&039;ht; I&039;ll see you in thesigh, leaning back against Shane&039;s chest "Thank God for voice mail," she said "I don&039;t think I could have done that if she&039;d picked up"
He kissed her neck gently "I don&039;t care what your parents say; I&039;ht"
They were hoone upstairs to change, but Eve was still there, slinking around in her glah, Kim was still with them
But somehow it felt like the two of them were all alone
Shane wrapped his ar away Her small hand wrapped around his forear underneath his velvety skin
Even if she wasn&039;t really safe, ever
"I need to thank Michael," she said, and stopped to clear her throat It didn&039;t make it feel much better "He didn&039;t have to come after me"
"I&039;d have killed his ass if he didn&039;t," Shane said, and there was a grimness behind it that made her wince "He wouldn&039;t let otten hurt in the crash"
"He wasn&039;t worried about you"
"He was I was about to be dinner"
Shane sighed and dropped his forehead onto her shoulder "And he&039;d have a point"
"He savedabout Michael for a second?" He sounded actually pained
"You are not jealous"
Shane held up two fingers pinched alot that rock-star thing going on You girls get into that"
"Shut up!"
"Seriously, you throw panties and stuff I&039;ve heard"
She turned in the circle of his ar up into his face No words He was dran to her like gravity, lips war hotter, breath cohts and memoriesthe soft skin at the back of his neck, the way he said her naainst her
"Hey" Eve&039;s voice, mostly amused, made Claire jump "I know, mad love, et cetera, but could you please notroom? I really want to be able to tell your parents I&039;ve never seen anything going on when they bring the Inquisition over for lunch"
Shane kissed her one htly and softly, and fluffed her hair back froers"
"Blame Eve"
Claire stepped back from him, and the world came back to life around her - funny how it all see on the couch, flipping channels on the TV Kiah," Eve said "No"
"I have, a little," Claire admitted
"So that&039;s a no, a ame master around here?"
Shane finally held up his hand Kim smiled
"Rock on, Collins," she said "Let&039;s see what you&039;ve got"
Claire&039;s lips still tingled froleam in Kim&039;s eyes made her tense up She could tell Shane was reluctant, but also, Shane wasn&039;t really in the habit of passing up a challenge, either
Except that this time, he did "Can&039;t," he said "Got to check on Michael"
"I already did," Eve said, "which you&039;d have known if you weren&039;t on Planet Wonderful, the two of you And he&039;s fine He&039;s on the phone with Ao there"
"Oh" Shane&039;s excuse had just vanished, and Claire could tell he wasn&039;t quite up to outright telling Kim no He went to the couch; Eve scooted over and handed hied the other one frouess"
Claire left hio upstairs The bathroom was free, and she used the facilities, cleaned up,bruises around her neck, then went to her bedroom and found a pair of comfortable jeans and a top A cute top And she ht her She also put on a little lip gloss Just a little
She could hear the shouts and smack talk from downstairs when she opened her bedroom door; Kim and Shane were all about the competition, which did not make her feel less left out "Come on, suck it up," she told herself in a harsh, hoarse whisper, plastered a smile on, and started down the hall
The hidden door opposite Eve&039;s bedrooht, Claire saw the flicker of a black-and-white ie of a woman in full Victorian-style skirts It looked like a spec ter, which anywhere but in Morganville would have hostbusters
But this was Morganville, and Claire knew Ada all too well "What?" she dee projection, anyway - er to her lips She turned, the way a two-di in the lided up the stairs beyond the hidden door without touching the wood
"Seriously?" Claire sighed "Wonderful Just great" She followed Ada up Behind her, the door shut with the sahts blazed on, a kaleidoscope of color through Tiffany glass laain - standing against the wall near the old red velvet sofa "Okay, I&039;Ada was a couably kind of hu all secretive and clever, and Claire really didn&039;t like the rather cruel sray lips
Ada touched the wall, and it shi on the darkness of one of the portals that Ada controlled through towna kind of ic It was physics, that was all Scary advanced physics That erousClaire frowned at the opening, trying to feel where the destinationAnd it looked way too dark to be safe
"No," she said "I don&039;t think so Sorry"
Why she was apologizing to a crazy computer lady, she didn&039;t know Ada wasn&039;t her friend Ada didn&039;t even like her very h - by Myrnin&039;s orders - Ada kind of had to obey her
Ada lost her sh the portal
She vanished into the dark After a few seconds, a slender gray hand caesture
"No," Claire said again, and this time, sat down on the couch "No way I&039;ve had way too much today You have your little weird crisis on your own, Ada"
Her cell phone rang, and the sound of the song echoing through the hidden roo the phone out of her pocket The screen read Shane Calling She flipped it open
"Shane?"
Static, and then came Ada&039;s weird machine-flat voice "Myrnin needs you Now Cory, and cold, but she usually did unless she was si at Myrnin Claire slapped the phone shut, blew hair off her forehead, and stared at the darkness It could be Myrnin&039;s lab She just couldn&039;t tell Myrnin had a vahts, which sucked
"I really need to start carrying flashlights," she muttered, and then had an inspiration There was a Tiffany-style pole lalass shade, set it aside, and rolled the base to the limit of its electrical cord, then lowered it across the threshold of the portal, into the darkness on the other side
She saw Ada standing there, hands clasped in front of her, cold and expressionless, surrounded by at least ten albino-pale vampires, who cried out and flinched back at the touch of the light They had oversized fangs and sharp talons, and they weren&039;t like the regular vampsThese were tunnel rats, the ones who stalked the dark places, keeping out of the light and existing just to kill Failures, Myrnin had called theht into the middle of them
Claire yelled in shock, and slammed the portal closed in her mind, then put her hand on the blank wall of the rooain There was a way to lock it - er the security It was like a deadbolt, and it would hold against Ada or anyone else anted to co the portal had chopped the pole lamp in half, and she dropped the base part as it sputtered and sparked, then kicked the plug out of the wall Claire stood there staring at the wall, and themoment with her hands curled into fists, then took out her phone and dialed Myrnin&039;s lab
"How kind of you to check up on ot a problem"
"Really? The stake in my chest didn&039;t indicate that at all I must send Oliver a bill for a new shirt"
"Ada just tried to kill me"