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"We shouldn&039;t have left hie of the Square A nearby sign advertised the Pontalbo Museuht If she looked across the green, she could see the statue of Andrew Jackson on horseback

If she looked around, she could see a world that was nor his head sadly "We had to leave him Don&039;t you see? He would have been more vulnerable if you had stayed He would have had to defend you"

She looked at hiuy And yet she kneas anything but

She had just seen him materialize from shadow

He was a varoaned "I was ready to give my life for you back there," he said softly "Why are you afraid of me? You can trust me, you know"

She frowned, shook her head, and then spoke ruefully "You do realize I still think I&039; that va a vampire may take a bit of effort"

"If people only kne an

"Vaood works," she pointed out, then looked toward the alley again, her concern growing "Where did they go? How did they disappear so quickly?"

He shook his head "I don&039;t know All I do know is that I have to watch out for you until Mark reappears," he said firmly

She couldn&039;t help but look anxiously toward the alley again "What should we do?" she asked

"We should go to the hospital," he said

She frowned "You want me to let you into Deanna&039;s room?"

"I swear to you, I&039;ive youthe word of a vaain, sounding genuinely hurt

"Maybe that was just a ploy," she said "Maybe you&039;re on Stephan&039;s side, and you&039;re just stringing us all along"

"Look What he wants is you That&039;s pretty evident And he ht then and there I&039;ht in and take you is that he thrives on the chase"

"Why not chase us right into the Square? What could these people have done against a host of vampires?"

He shook his head "If everyone believed-no, knew-that vaside you in what you think of as your safe little world, they&039;d try exterood would die first, because they try not to hurt other people Then you&039;d be left with the bad And the bad could turn the tide enough to kill everything You have to realize that there is an entire underworld out there Some people sense it Some even know that it exists Some people, like Sean Canady, know it and know they need our help in the fight for human safety If Stephan had carried his battle into the Square, if enough people had seen him and been attacked, the truth would have been revealed and a real ould be on A blood bath Creatures like Stephan exist because they prey on what hus consider to be real fears If he tires of his victims and decides not to accept them as members of his flock, he decapitates thean throwing them in the Mississippi" He hesitated for a moment "Once there was an entire hierarchy system, a code of vampire law A vampire could only create three more of his own kind each century There was-is-even aa king if you will Of course, there were always monsters who broke the law, and their behavior threatened exposure for everyone They were dealt with by their own, or occasionally by a va, actually resides here, in New Orleans"

"Then where the hell is he?" Lauren demanded

"Out of the country, apparently" He shook his head "Look, I ca He leads an alliance of those ork against evil and believe that they can find redemption and be part of a better world I swear to you, what I&039; is the truth"

It couldn&039;t be

It could Either that, or she was suffering froued a person

"Please Let&039;s go to the hospital and wait there for Mark I&039;m sure he&039;ll co for you here in the Quarter"

"Was he with Heidi? Myour other friend"

"No She must be back at the hospital"

Lauren was afraid Afraid to trust hiot into a taxi with hiested

She hesitated

"I swear to God-and I do believe in Hi to bite the taxi driver and kidnap you," he said

Deanna had told her that there were two One as evil Stephan And Jonas?

She looked around the Square Bourbon Street would still be buzzing, but the artists here were closing up The guitar player was already gone

"All right," she said "But I need to warn you I&039; a cross"

He sh street, she asked him, "How is it you can wear a cross?"

He offered her a shy smile "Because I&039;m not evil Because I have no desire to harm anyone"

"Sothe fact that they&039;re evil makes crosses holy water poison to the others?"

"Of course," he said "It makes sense if you think about it"

They found a taxi, but even as they climberd in, Lauren still felt nervous She orried, as well Worried about Mark

Worried about Deanna

She kept her distance in the cab, and Jonas didn&039;t pressure her, and they reached the hospital without incident She started to pay, but Jonas insisted on covering it

When they reached Deanna&039;s room, Bobby was at the door "Sweet Jesus, there you are!" he exclai her for a minute Then he drew back "Where&039;s Mark?" He looked over her shoulder at Jonas, arching a brow

"Mark isotherwise engaged," shepast Bobby into the room Stacey was in a chair near the bed, and Heidi was there, too, sitting as straight as a ra with Heidi?" she asked quickly

Bobby looked unhappy "I guess you never spoke with Mark"

"No Not really" There were too ht hear their conversation for her to explain what had happened

Jonas, ignoring everyone else, walked to Deanna&039;s bedside He took her hand and stared at her, and he was either as concerned as he clai with Heidi?" she repeated, returning her attention to Bobby

He dropped his voice to a whisper "She&039;s been tainted"

"Tainted?" she asked, but her heart sank She was pretty sure she knehat that thy explanation "How?" she asked

Bobby shrugged unhappily "Uuess she let him in"

"Oh, God Then?"

"She isn&039;t really all thatill I think we can deal with it," Stacey said, rising and walking over to join theet her to Montresse House She needs to be guarded Kept safe fro more harm to herself"

Stacey fell silent as a nurse walked into the room She had a sour face and was clearly not pleased to see all of them "This is a hospital room, not a bar on Bourbon," she said irritably "Please keep it to two visitors"

"We can take care of Heidi if you want to stay here with Deanna," Bobby said

Lauren hesitated That meant she would be left alone with Deanna-and Jonas

He seemed desperately sincere Did she dare trust in him?

Did she have a choice?

And anyeren&039;t Bobby and Stacey practically strangers, as well?

Bobby&039;s cell phone rang as she hesitated The nurse gave hi look and started to lecture hiainst cell phones, but he just flashed his badge at her and took the call When he flicked his phone close, he looked at her authoritatively

"We&039;ll be leaving shortly Lieutenant Canady is on his way in, and on&039;t leave until he gets here"

The nurse looked at hily, sniffed and departed

Bobby looked at Lauren "Mark is at Sean&039;s place," he told her

He and Stacey sat down to wait, and Heidi continued to sit in silence, as well, staring at theas if she could see out of it, despite the fact that the curtains were drawn

There was no way out of the fact that he&039;d behaved rashly, Mark thought

Far too rashly

But what the hell else could he have done, under the circumstances?

At the very least, Lauren was safe He had to believe that Had to believe that Jonas could be trusted The other man had taken quite a blow

But could it all have been an act?

It was a sain, Stephan had escaped The violence of their fight had taken theed to pull his disappearing act, Mark had found hi onto Bourbon Street, where the cops had found him He had assumed-correctly-that they would think he was a drunk who had been involved in a barrooued over whether to arrest him or take him to a hospital, he had convinced them to call Sean Canady instead

Canady had collected hiie had patched up his wounds, even though he had assured her that he was going to be all right He had been worried sick about Lauren, but Canady had quickly gotten hold of Bobby Munro and found out that she and Jonas were safely at the hospital

When he had started to rise, Canady had stopped him

"You need to recover Give yourself time"

"I can&039;t"

"You have to Or you&039;ll be worthless"

That was true

"Look, I&039;ll going to the hospital th back"

"We have a great guest rooie told him "You can lie down and rest now that you&039;re patched up and you&039;ve had sorateful to have h he still felt frustrated and useless as he watched Sean leave

Maggie sat with him while he lay down "I realized after we met the other day that I&039;d seen you before," she told hiht about where he was "Yeah, I guess you have"

She sinally froreed He shook his head "I don&039;t get it, though You were a vampire And you&039;re certain that you&039;re not anylad, but sos I used to do But I have Sean, and we have our fa with anyone else, butmy case was different" She rose and walked around the rooo, but my father and some of his friends killed the vampire who created, and I think that soood friends who are in es And as Sean told you, Jessica Frasier, ns Montresse House, is a vauardian, as ancient as she is, who&039;s sort of like an angel of death against evil vampires It&039;s a crazy world, huh?"

"What do you think about Jonas?" he asked her

"You said he fought Stephan," she re Deanna and the others alone with him"

"Don&039;t worry Sean will be at the hospital soon You&039;ve got to rest I&039;ll leave you alone now, so you can get soth

He closed his eyes

When Sean Canady arrived, so clearly the voice of authority, Lauren couldn&039;t help but be glad he was there

She felt far more secure His faith in Bobby and Stacey became hers She watched while they escorted Heidi frole eye on her

Jonas didn&039;tso close that there was no way for Lauren to actually get near her But there was also no way she was leaving her Not even if Sean Canady was the one sitting guard

However, the rest of the night passed without incident

She discovered that she had fallen asleep when the nurse cae the IV and check on Deanna&039;s vital signs

Lauren felt a hand on her shoulder It was Sean Canady "Co you ho Jonas

"Yes you can Bobby is on duty He&039;ll sit right here in the room, and he won&039;t be alone"

She looked over Sean&039;s shoulder, to the very attractive, auburn haired woie Canady, Sean&039;s wife

"I swear, your friend will be safe," she vowed

Lauren was exhausted and knew she really did need to sleep She , but if she didn&039;t accept these people, she ht as well lie down and die then and there They were all she had

The sun was out as Sean drove her back to Montresse House Birds were singing Pretty ones, in beautiful colors

He let her off at the end of walk

"Aren&039;t you co in?" she asked him

He shook his head "Stacey knows you&039;re here Look, she&039;s got the door open already"