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Claire wasn’t sure that the police were actually after Shane, but if they were, staying in plain vieas a bad idea She bought (over his protests) an MIT hoodie for Shane from one of the souvenir shops, and he put it on with an annoyed sigh She pulled the hood up for him ’Just trust me,’ she said ’You really need to lay low These police aren’t going to be the kind that you can call off with a plea to the Founder; they’re serious stuff And don’t forget, my own place is a crime scene If they’ve connected me to you and found your weapons, it looks even worse’

’Okay,’ he said, ’I can see your point So where are we going to go? Got any friends who don’t itives? Because it usually takes a little longer than a few days to make those’

Shane had a point, and she didn’t really have an answer, but it didn’t really matter Shane had already pulled out his phone and checked so He scrolled and hit keys, and put the phone to his ear

’Who are you calling?’ she asked

’Pete,’ he said ’Look, the guy hangs out with a vailante He probably isn’t too judge other people’s secrets’

’You think he knows about Jesse?’

’Yeah, I’m sure he does Hold on ’ Shane turned partially away fro on the new voice in his ear ’Hey,of that, I need soestions?’ He listened for a few seconds, thenout a pen and paper and handed it over Shane wrote so down and handed it back to her It was an address ’Got it I owe you, Pete Big ti up and dropped the phone in his hoodie’s pocket Claire held up the address ’Where’s he sending us?’

’His place,’ Shane said ’It’s not far’ He offered her his elbow, and she threaded her arh the crook, and they set off toward the south, down the tree-lined street Funny how it felt so familiar, toojust another street in another town, but the two of the what she did - Liz , the police after Shane - she felt oddly peaceful now Whatever was coether

Shane winced and let go of her to rub at his ar,’ he said before she could ask ’Itches like crazy, and it burns I’ve never been allergic to anything, but ic to hot, sirls’

’Ha, ha,’ she said, and reclai in trouble all the tiainst that one It’s in the genes’ Shane checked his piece of paper, then his phone’s ht His place will be on the left’

There was no sign of police presence, at least, as they made the final turn and spotted the address on the note It was a squat brick building dwarfed by the taller, ant row houses on either side, and to Claire’s eyes it looked e shed than a hon She didn’t see any s on this side of it

’Is he here?’ she asked

’No, but he told et in’ Shane walked up, counted bricks, and pulled one out Behind it, he found the key, and used it to open the door ’After you’

’No, seriously, you go first I hardly know this guy What if he’s working with the people who took Liz?’

’Pete?’ Shane shook his head, evidently finding the whole thought funny, though Claire felt it had been a pretty reasonable caution ’Never happen But okay I’ll protect you’

She hit him in the shoulder ’I don’t need you to protectfirst?’

’So you can take the first punch while I throw the second?’

’So I’irl’ But he was grinning when he said it, and he went in first, alert and ready for anything She came in behind him and shut the door - always cut off the ability of an enemy to sneak up behind you, if you can - and locked it ’Pete? Anybody here?’ He shook his head at the continued silence ’He said he doesn’t have any rooood’

They caish room that served as the entire house It had been fixed up with so area with a neatly ht, was a much better housekeeper than Shane ever had been), a clean little kitchenette with a two-person table, and a s area with a couch and TV Nota every inch of the walls in custom-built cases Shane whistled when he looked around, and shook his head ’Okay, I thought I knew Pete, but I would have pegged hiuy, at best,’ he said ’And only Sports Illustrated, at that Think he’s read all these?’

’I would have,’ Claire said She wasn’t very often jealous, but somehow, this little, neat, clean place see that had its own separate walls was the bathroom, tucked into a corner - it held a toilet, sink, counter, tiled floor, and corner shower She peeked in, feeling like an intruder and, at the same time, a tourist in somebody else’s life She liked it Pete looked like an orderly, calive him shit for all this,’ Shane said, as he wandered around ’He lives alone and makes his bed? Who does that?’

’People who like things neat?’

’It’s not natural’ Shane turned as she walked toward hiht his face, and she winced a little at the sight of the bruises - they were getting spectacular now, but probably didn’t hurt nearly as ht, and although he was trying not to show it, a little worried, too He kne alone they were here, away fro his weapons, most likely

’So,’ he said ’Here we are’

’Yes Here we are’ She didn’t give hi more than that, and he continued to watch her warily, as if he was no longer sure what she was thinking She took a step closer, and then another one, until she had to look up into his face His brown eyes were half closed, and she knew that looksharp with longing

’Claire - we’re both in the saether?’

It was a brave question A lot of people wouldn’t have asked it, Claire thought; it would have been easier to just assuloss it over But that wasn’t Shane And he didn’t flinch when she said, ’I want to be Do you?’

’I can safely say that there is nothing I want more in my life,’ he said ’Problenets have to attract’

’Opposite poles,’ she agreed, and took that last step forward, until she was pressed against him His arms sloent around hernot like they had on the street, full of confidence and strength, but testing her Seeing what she was going to do ’We could talk all day about netislass effect, or I could just do so about it’

She rose up on tiptoes and kissed hio slack, and she could alh that vibrated against her lips from his ’I love it when you talk dirty physics,’ he said, and then the tension was back in his ood kind, and he picked her up and collapsed backward to Pete’s neatly made bed, which bounced and creaked in protest Claire let out a surprised burst of laughter, too, and straddled hiain, deeply, sweetly, with a core of heat that never failed to scorch but didn’t burn It wasn’t that she’d forgotten how a this was, but that her body had deliberately hidden the , and now all those nerve endings were awake, re hands held her shoulders, then slid up to caress her face in warmth, and as she unzipped his hoodie and pulled his T-shirt up, he shivered and arched against her He let out a sigh as her own hands moved up over his abdo - soft and warer on the collar of her shirt, just about where the buttons started, and as she sat up, he said, ’Mind if I help you with this? Because I think I need to see what you’re wearing under there’

She smiled and moved his hand away, and unbuttoned the first button ’There,’ she said ’How’s that?’

’I think I need at least - how ently at his full lower lip ’Only if you take off the shirt’

He sat up as if he’d been jolted with a cattle prod, and the hoodie and T-shirt came off so fast she was afraid he’d pull a muscle Oh God, he was lovely; even with the bruises, which eous It ht in his eyes as he settled back down on the pillows

’Your turn,’ he said, and put his hands behind his head ’Six buttons’

’Five?’

’Only if you don’t want to keep that last one on the shirt’

She s One at a ti his body tensing under hers even as he tried to look utterly relaxed

The cool air kissed her shoulders as she slipped off the blouse ’Pretty,’ he said His voice sounded different no and rough as a cat’s tongue ’I guess I have to see if that bra has aset of panties’

It did

Neither of the there, drowsy and warine how she’d walked away from him From this She’d had lots of frank discussions with the ood and bad about it The worse, Eve had always said, hen the guy was all about getting his own thrills and treated the girl like a posable doll Sure sign of a going-nowhere relationship

Shane wasn’t like that, not at all It was a collaboration, and a partnership, and he left her feeling joyous and sated and utterly, utterly calm They had plenty to worry about, but not here Not between them She made a sleepy, happy sound and pressed herself closer to him; his arms were around her waist, and he ainst her back Soed to pull the covers up over theood, because their clothes were somewhere scattered on the floor in entirely randohted shiver ’I led a little ’I could tell That first tiroaned ’You’re killing me’

’Only a little The second was much better’

He licked her ear, which made her let out a little shriek of protest, and she twisted around to face hi down at her His hair was a mess, and she pushed it out of his eyes ’I love you’

’I know’ He took her hand in his, and kissed the palm; his lips felt warm and damp and soft on her skin ’And I let you down I know that I’ I won’t make mistakes; I will But I proain’

’Fair enough,’ she said ’I make plenty ofinvolved with me?’

She shook her head and kissed him It was a drowsy, lazy kiss this time, full of honey and joy ’I wish it could be like this Justthis All the time’

’Life doesn’t work that way, you know that’

’What if it did?’

’We’d be living in a cardboard box and starving to death?’

’Wow, you really kno to take the sexy away, don’t you?’

’It’s a gift’ Shane’s fingers stroked down her back, then up, in a et up and uess we should wash the sheets before Pete coood ht of it’

’I’ue with that Oh ’ She caught her breath, suddenly, because he tried to prove her right He kissed her shoulder, then her neck, then her ain, for a while This tih, they were truly exhausted, and it took at least another half an hour of sleepily ed to convince hiet up, dress, and help her strip the sheets and pillowcases from the bed Pete had one of those tiny little washer/dryer co in with detergent, then showered and left her hair wet as Shane squeezed in after she stepped out There wasn’t roo how sore her ood kind of sore, but still

They were both dressed, if just barely, when the door rattled, the lock turned, and Pete stepped inside He flipped the deadbolt behind him, and stopped dead at the end of the hall Claire and Shane were sitting innocently on the couch; she was reading one of Pete’s books, a science fiction classic by Isaac Asi channels on the TV

Pete said, ’Why are the sheets offto help you out, do a little housework,’ Shane said blandly ’Hey,us stay for a while’

’If by a while you mean until dawn, then yeah, cheers,’ Pete said ’You’ve got serious heat on you,about the cops Scary suit-wearing types, you know the ones, Claire You’ve seen the for Shane, too Whatever you’re in, you’re in deep About my bed, did you two-?’

’Look at it this e did laundry,’ Shane said ’If it was the couch ’

’This is why I hate house guests,’ Pete said ’So Pizza okay?’

They both nodded Claire said, ’I’m sorry about the bed, Pete Thanks’

’I’ with you Hell, that’s the es If you’re about to ask if I’ve heard from Jesse, no, I haven’t She never showed for her shift, which bugged the crap out of Mick, believeof fun illegal weapons you were keeping on his property, Shane Why the hell didn’t you tell me about that?’

’What would you have done?’

’Told Mick’

’That’s why I didn’t tell you Look, un collection; everything I have in there goes toward keeping me and Claire safe from what you already know is out there’

Pete wasn’t stupid, and his eyes narrowed and turned flinty-dark as he reached for the telephone ’Jesse’s not the problem here’

’Jesse’s a vampire Whether or not she’s trouble, she’s proof that there could be others out here who aren’t so well behaved You hang out with heryou kno dangerous she can be Right?’

’She’s one of the least dangerous people I know, because she does exactly what she means to do, every time She’s never lost control of herself, not even once Can’t say that for a lot of huer to pause the conversation, and ordered a pizza delivery He didn’t ask what they wanted, which Claire thought was probably fair enough; they’d abused his hospitality a bit, though he probably hadn’t expected anything else Once he’d hung up, he went right back to the subject at hand ’I swear to God, if your troubles drag her out into any kind of real trouble, the ass-kicking you got last night will be a love tap, and I will use your skull for a hockey puck’

Shane considered that for a second in silence Claire could tell he took Pete seriously, despite the differences in their height Whatever fighting skills Pete had, clearly Shane had seen them and respected them ’Understood,’ he said ’But I don’t think any of it’s Claire’s fault It seeovernot no idea I didn’t break any laws’

’She did,’ Pete said, and nodded toward Claire ’They’re saying you ht have killed your roommate And that Shane helped you And by the way, your weapons stash doesn’t uilty of that’

’I didn’t kill anybody,’ Claire said ’Liz was abducted Shane saw the to trace the van Look, Shane’s got pictures’

Shane pulled them up on the phone and held the of that, at least; he handed it back without coot out paper plates ’Beer?’ he asked the to card you That’s the day job’

’I’ll have one,’ Shane said, just as Claire said no; it wasn’t that she was some kind of anti-alcohol crusader, she just didn’t like beer, overall Pete brought her a Coke instead, and then he settled in the small armchair off to the side of the couch They all watched the TV flicker on in silence, a cold substitute for a fire, and finally Shane said, ’So, I guess you two already know each other, but Pete, this is Claire, my-’

’Fiancee,’ Claire said She wasn’t sure why she felt compelled to say it now, of all times and places, but she was Shane turned his head and stared at her, and the surprise (and pleasure) in his face made her smile ’Hey, you asked ht itit’

’Fiancee,’ Shane repeated ’As in, I’ to rats When?’

’We haven’t talked about that yet,’ Claire said ’Soon?’

’Soon,’ Shane agreed Their fingers twined together, and he moved closer to her on the couch ’Of course, it could be a jailhouse romance if we’re not careful And that would suck We already did that a whole bunch, early on Me in a cell, you outside ’

’Well, for variety, maybe it’d beout how to get ht do soht involve illegal activity, yeah,’ Shane said ’I wouldn’t evenup in jail with you, but they’d probably separate us And that wouldn’t be what I had in e, then’

’I think it’s a goal,’ she agreed ’Did you hear anything at all froot a text, she said she was following a lead That was it I’ she’ll end up here soonshe usually just drops in without notice Vampires aren’t real respecters of personal privacy, seeed to let them know the cycle was done, and Claire quickly rose and took care of loading the wet sheets into the dryer It seemed like the least she could do Pete and Shane didn’t chat It wasn’t like Shane and Michael, who had an easy, almost unconscious connection that neither of them really had to think about ure out what he really meant and felt Maybe that connection would develop, over tiuarded, a little wary

Maybe that was just his default setting

There was a knock on the front door, and Pete headed for it Shane got up, too, frowning ’That was too quick for pizza,’ he said Pete nodded without pausing; he had a baseball bat hidden in the shadows near the doorway, and he grabbed the length of wood on his way Then he checked the peephole

’Is it the police?’ Claire asked She felt a little short of breath, suddenly, because if it was, there didn’t seem to be an easy way out of this place Defensible, but liht their way out, not against regular hu on every level, even if they weren’t guilty

’No,’ Pete said There was an odd tension in his voice, and he stepped back from the door, opened it, and said, ’Get in, quick’

It happened fast - one second he was standing alone on the doorstep, and the nextthe next, there were three people crowding the hallith hi a limp, maybe unconscious third

As Pete slammed and locked the door, Claire bolted forward So did Shane

And Eve let out a strangled little sound that was half glad cry, half sob

She and Jesse were supporting the dead weight of a very pale, very still Michael Glass

With a wooden stake in his heart

’Christ, is that guy dead?’ Pete blurted out, when he saw the stake Shane ignored hiht by the shoulders, and helped Jesse carry hied her hard when she paused to try to catch her breath She was shaking all over

’He’s okay,’ Claire said, and rubbed her back ’Eve, it’s okay, it’ll be okay ’

’Pull it out,’ Shane snapped at Jesse, who had crouched down beside the couch to stare at the stake in Michael’s chest ’Hurry up, he’s too young, it could really hurt hi-loaded,’ Jesse said, and pointed to a symbol burnt into the side of the wood ’I know this n It’s got a silver payload built in If you try to remove it, it’ll flood his heart with silver It’ll kill him’

Shane had reached out for the stake, but now he pulled back, eyes narrowed and siht Foundation?’

’Trust me, nobody you need to screw around with,’ Jesse said ’There’s a , but we need to be very careful I’ve got some experience Let me handle it’

’What the hell happened out there?’ Shane de down at Michael, her face ashen Claire held on to her, because it seeet Michael to safety, Eve had coht She wasn’t crying She wasn’t doing anything, exceptwaiting, with a kind of fatal, desperate patience The ruby wedding ring flashed and trembled on her clenched left hand ’Claire Claire Go check the door,after theht; it was i at the co rooy, in that single moment

’Go,’ Eve whispered ’I’m okay’ She stood on her own, somehow, and Claire squeezed her arh the peephole

There was a streetlight conveniently situated outside that cast a harsh glow over the sidewalk, which seemed deserted except for Jesse’s car, parked across the street The peephole didn’t offer limpse off to the sides, but Claire was pretty certain that everything was clear She turned back and gave a thuain with tense, desperately still silence

Then the door behind Claire’s back vibrated under a sudden, very strong volley of knocking Too strong Claire yelped and whipped around to stare out the peephole again, and saw a pallid face under a shock of wildly windblown black hair No hu was naturally that pale

She unlocked it and said, ’Get in, quick!’ because it was Myrninand behind him, Oliver

The two vampires entered in a rush of displaced air, and Oliver quickly shut and locked the door again He leant against it, see tired - weirdly - and Claire had a chance to think, Why is Oliver here? Because even though he’d been exiled froanville by A around this part of the country Oliver looked ragged, too - and dressed down, in worn blue jeans grimy with oil, a faded, loose T-shirt with so, salt-and-pepper curly hair worn in a loose, sloppy ponytail in back It didn’t seem to have had a wash recently Neither did he

And Myrninwell, at least he wasn’t dressed any worse than he usually was, but he seemed very pale, and not any cleaner than Oliver They’d both been travelling hard, she guessed, although vampires didn’t really ss that did Froeneralgarbage for a while

Myrnin stared at her for a long few seconds, then scraped his disorderly hair back from his face, and said, ’They don’t have you, then But do they have it?’

’It? What does that ged her, suddenly and violently, and before she could even ed by a snowrant

Oliver said, ’We went to see Irene Anderson Myrnin has a good relationship with her, even noever, she wasunhelpful She had no idea where you had gone, only that you had taken the device with you from her laboratory’

’I - wait, what? I didn’t take anything!’

’Oh,’ Myrnin said, and turned back toward her from where he stood next to Eve ’Oh, that is such very, very bad news Because if you didn’t, someone did Someone with laboratory access, since I personally reviewed the records’

Myrnin soundedsane Despite the tangled hair, the dirty hoe and the whiff of things much worse He looked taut, worried and paranoid, but not crazy

So, things were very, very bad, then Claire soht of his were life and death, her boss (and friend) sees with icy precision He paid for it later, but she’d never been less than grateful to hi someone broke into Dr Anderson’s lab and took VLAD’

His eyebrows rose ’VLAD?’

’The - the device Va Adjustment Device’ She realised, belatedly, that Oliver, as decidedly not in her inner circle of people she trusted, was listening, but he refrained from comment His attention was fixed on Michael, as if he actually cared

Which, knowing Oliver, he actually h he’d no doubt deny it

She was al her pet project after a faht to be the historical inspiration for Count Dracula - but he only shook his head in io, and quickly We can’t stay here,’ Myrnin said ’Oliver and I are being hunted’

’By who?’

’Whorammar really has descended to the lowest-’

’Myrnin!’

’I have no idea’ His tone was flat, and there were dangerous embers of red in his eyes ’When I do, there will be reckoning for Michael’

’He took a blow meant for me,’ Oliver said ’Stupid I could likely have avoided it if he’d given me the chance’

That lare ’Likely? Likely? You assle, he saved your life!’

Nor a human use that tone with his and ’teach her a lesson’ but he did none of that He only looked away, and Eve glared adown at Michael’s side and taking his limp, pallid hand in hers

’He feels cold,’ she told Jesse ’Please, if you’re going to do so,’ Jesse snapped ’Just quiet, all of you I’ve only seen this twice before’

’What happened?’ Shane asked ’The other two tiht with a cold shiver, that the vampires who’d had those stakes in their hearts likely hadn’t survived

Jesse finally said, ’Right There’s no safe way to disarm it Oliver, I need you’

He didn’tat him, and then moved to Michael’s side ’Yes?’

’You’re faster and stronger than I am,’ Jesse said She didn’t say it as a compliment, just a simple stateht and as fast as you can I will put ers; Ihis bloodstream’

’At the cost of your hand,’ he pointed out

’No other choice,’ Jesse said ’I’hters haven’t killed me yet’

Claire held her breath as Oliver nodded, reached down, and took hold of the stake He locked his gaze with Jesse’s, and she counted down Three, two, one

On one, Oliver moved in a blur, faster than the human eye could catch, and Jesse’s hand slapped in place, covering the still-open wound as the wooden stake pulled free Or at least, that hat Claire presumed happened, because she didn’t actually see it, only Jesse’s hand on Michael’s chest, and the stakeat bullet speed to hit and shatter on the far brick wall

It splattered liquid silver all over the wall

Jesse didn’t h she made a sound - a small one, in the back of her throat And then Claire realised why

Her hand was covered in silver Dripping with it And she couldn’t move until Michael’s wound healed, or he’d be poisoned, and at his young age, likely die quickly

Her hand was burning Sizzling Claire clapped her hand over her mouth to hold in the nausea as she saw skin erode and tendons working beneath, and still Jesse sat very still, un, pale as a marble statue

’I think it’s closed,’ Jesse finally whispered, and justcollapsed Oliver ht - Myrnin was already there, grabbing her as she fell backward and easing her to the colourful area rug beneath

Eve threw herself forward and frantically checked Michael’s pale chest for any sign of dae ’He’s okay,’ she said ’Michael? Michael!’

He opened his blue eyes, blinked, and said, ’Eve?’ His voice was shockingly faint, but he was alive

Myrnin fumbled in the pockets of his oversized coat - there were a lot of pockets, soht out a small stoppered vial of powder He supported Jesse’s head and shoulders on his knees as he pulled the cork with his teeth and e hand

She cried out and arched up into the air, and he held on to her as she writhed and fought ’Easy, dear lady, easy, it will stop, the pain will stop, it will halt the silver and heal your wound, though the scars may take some time - easy, Lady Grey, be easy ’

Lady Grey? He knew Jesse - well, of course, he would, wouldn’t he? Because she’d been sent by Aanville in the first place Still Claire blinked, because she’d never seen Myrnin act quite sogentle Or so for breath and siven her had worked The dae was still pretty serious, but froe increased second by second, the pain was subsiding Myrnin put his hand on her cheek in a s Claire couldn’t re before Not quite that way

’Well,’ Jesse said, with a lilt in her voice that hadn’t been there before ’It’s a rare sweet day that brings you out of your cave, little spider’

’And a rarer one that sees you brought low, Lady Grey A brave act Very brave’

’Foolish, if the boy doesn’t make it,’ she said ’Oh, bother it, leave , but it’ll pass I’e’

’You don’t look a day over a thousand,’ Myrnin said My God, Claire thought Was he actually flirting? Well, if he was, she couldn’t really bla to sit up on the sofa, so to prevent; Claire joined them, and when it became clear that ’no’ was not a viable option, she helped prop hiht ’Hey,’ she said to him, ’weren’t you supposed to stop trouble, and not be so much in the middle of it?’

’Best laid plans,’ Michael said, and coughed It had an alarrabbed a handful of tissues fro and took them away from his mouth, they were soaked in fresh, red blood But he seeht have been about as close as I could have coreed ’You ever heard of so a silver injector inside a stake before?’

’Never,’ Michael said, ’but it seereat idea, except when it’s in my chest’

’Yeah, that’s kind of what I was thinking’ Shane squeezed his shoulder and crouched down to eye level ’You good, bro?’

’I’ood to see you’ve kept up the tradition of getting the holy shit beat out of you, even when you’re in a nice, civilised place’

’It was not my fault’

Michael just shook his head He still looked very pale, and his eyes were red-ried on it, bringing her down to whisper in her ear She nodded and turned to Pete - as still standing exactly where he’d been, looking utterly overtaken by what had crashed in on theht He’d been worried about sexed-up sheets, and suddenly there ounded va down his brick wall Even for soht of the undead h to handle

’Excuse me,’ Eve said to hiave her a blank look, and finally just turned around and walked to the armchair He sat down, put his head in his hands and checked out of the current reality

’Guess that’s a no,’ Eve said ’All right Sorry, you guys, but he needs to feed, and I’ to volunteer a vein So if you’re squeamish, turn around’

Claire did, not so ht of blood, but because it seemed uncomfortably intimate to her Shane turned, too, and took a look around the rooh he was being very careful not to touch any of the re out of it Myrnin and Jesse seemed to be very cosy ’Well,’ Shane said, ’at least we’re not alone on the run any ht now’ He put his arly went ’You all right?’

’Fine,’ she said, and shivered ’That was sudden And intense’

’I think Pete’s having aout of his rug, either’

Jesse had climbed to her feet before he’d finished the sentence, and she walked to the sauze bandage She carried it to Myrnin and held it out with her eyebrows raised ’Do you auze, and held her hand steady as he wrapped the bandages He was good at it, Claire realised; he’d definitely had lots of practice at treating injuries, and for this one, it didn’t es were all the saly, and tied it off; that, Claire was sure, cas as sticky tape had yet to be invented Once he was done, he sered on hers

Jesse gave hiht smile, and Myrnin’s pale cheeks reddened, just a touch He let go ’All better,’ he said ’My lady’

’My lord,’ she said, and did a pretty fair curtsy, considering she earing blue jeans and a low-cut black knit shirt Her dark red braid swung forward over her shoulder in a thick rope, and as she looked up through her eyelashes at hiht that Jesse had probably practised the art of flirting for at least a few hundred years Poor Myrnin

He was definitely outclassed, and way out of practice, because he cleared his throat and turned his back on her - not the raceful end to that conversation - and said, ’Claire With me’

She automatically moved to follow hio of her; his strong grip pulled her to a halt, and Claire looked up at hi

’I’ll be okay,’ she said What she saw in his face was not jealousy, or worry, or anything like that; it was caution, pure and sie, today She understood exactly how he felt, wanting to slow it down and s a little more understandable ’Let me talk to him and see if I canto Myrnin,’ Shane said ’I think that o, and she followed her friend, her boss and her headache into the little kitchen area She glanced over at Michael and Eve as she did so; he’d finished drinking froauze froe around the small wound The look in his eyes as he watched Eve’s face was vulnerable, grateful and

Anybody who believed va people did had never ot as far from the others as it was possible to be, within the walls of Pete’s small apartment, and Claire tried to put at least a few feet between her and Myrnin Ugh Where had he been hanging out, the city duest issue at the aze on her ’You and Irene,’ Myrnin began ’What have you done?’

Claire was taken aback, because she hadn’t expected hi!’ she said, and crossed her arms over her chest She knew it looked defensive, and she didn’t care ’You’re the one who told me to ith her, Myrnin, so don’t bla in all this I just wanted to co out so well!’ he said ’I trusted Irene ient here in the world for some time, and she has helped conceal our true nature froovernment?’

Myrnin didn’t answer that He couldn’t stand still, and now he stoppeduneasily from one foot to another to move toward the counter and restlessly open and close the drawers Claire caught a glimpse of random junk in one, forks and spoons in another He wasn’t looking for anything, he just needed to fidget ’Irene has always had ties to the federal government,’ he said ’But that never concerned us directly, until recently’

’Just tell anville and come all the way out here in the first place? I know Oliver was already on the road - did you run into hireat many questions in a row Oh, look, he has peanut butter Do you like peanut butter?’

’Myrnin!’

’But it’s crunchy ’ She stared at him with inarticulate frustration, and he put the jar back in the pantry and closed the door There were so fro with the, for both of theanville because I intercepted a communication that claimed to be able to prove, without any doubt, the existence of vampires in the world’

’Oh, God, Myrnin, did you find this on the Internet? Because you can’t believe everything that’s on there’

’I know that! And no, I did not believe it Not at first But this was no excitable fan of fil a scholarly paper It was a Google alert, by the way’ He seeured out how to set one ’He was located in Boston I felt there had to be some reason that such a revelation would be located so close to Irene, and I phoned her She did not answer’

’People do that sometimes It doesn’t mean-’

’I sent you here, Claire I sent you to Irene, for safety And I was afraidI was afraid that she ht have betrayed us Perhaps even accidentally If word of vampires was out, and taken seriously, then it would only be a anville would be circulated as well We control these kinds of events; we must, or be wiped froents to see to it, but Oliver was, ah, indisposed ’

’Exiled, you mean’

’Yes, yes, but I couldn’t wait for Amelie to decide who best was ready to deal with this crisis I know Irene, and I had a good sense of where to locate Oliver I thought the two of us together could easily handle things’

’And how did that go?’

He snapped one of the rubber bands in a convulsive her, but he was pulling on it way too hard ’Notvery well,’ he admitted ’I still haven’t been able to locate this doctor that Google found so easily The hu than I recall And Oliver was not terribly cooperative Then Aanville It’s all been very stressful’

Claire sighed and resisted the almost impossibly attractive impulse to shake him ’Tell me what happened today’

He blinked at her and restlessly snapped the rubber band around his wrist ’Oliver and I attempted to track down this doctor at his offices, but he was not there Oliver got into a dispute with someone who called us hoed to prevent hiood few moments for our tormentor, I’ain, he wasn’t there I was soenerally used to putting out so much effort’ He went to the faucet and turned the taps on and off Claire had a faint hope that he ht use the opportunity to wash up, but evidently it didn’t occur to hi to see Irene; ere again barred entrance to the university because of our clothing and general dishevelet a motel roos to wear’

That would have been interesting Claire would have paid ht for Oliver, much less Myrnin It would have, at the very least, been crazy aet that far,’ Claire said, ’since you’re still stinky and wearing rags’

Myrnin looked down at hiies Life can be harsh Yes, ere followed as we left the university by e vehicle When we stopped at the motel and obtained our rooed to put himself in the hen the one with the stake ca another; we did not i but wood But Oliver had seen so like it before, and stopped me before I tried to pull it out I re over Irene, and I begged her help And she brought us here’

’And did they follow you?’

’No’ Myrnin seemed very certain of it, and Claire wondered why for a moment, until she knew They wouldn’t have left anybody behind capable of following ’But we didn’t think it wise to wait for the police to arrive Jesse thought this would be the safest place I did not expect to find you here’

’It’s been an eventfulfor us, too,’ Claire said ’My friend’s been abducted, and the police think Shane and Ito do with it’

’Really? Did you?’

’No! Why would I?’

Myrnin shrugged ’I don’t know, but it had to be asked This friend of yours, does she have any knowledge of vampires?’

’Not a bit She doesn’t believe in them Not even in that "e kids seeht have nothing to do with us, and therefore, it’s of no concern’

’Excuse me? No concern? She’s my friend!’

That seemed to surprise Myrnin, who frowned at her and stopped stretching the rubber band as if she’d captured his full attention, at least for a er Irene says that your device has disappeared from her lab; someone with real credibility in the world intends to produce evidence of va actual captured specis that we can’t allow, for our own health and survival We e of this event; when these things happen, they are cancers, and must be cut out You understand?’

’I understand that there’son here than just what you’re into,’ she said ’Dr Anderson’s been dealing with some scary spy people, who have - probably not coincidentally - been infor soets taken by one to the next level, to me Maybe it’s connected to your doctor’s publication plans’