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"Come into the parlor, said the spider to the fly"

Sipping her tea, she’d been in thehim precisely why Gaius had to be captured when she’d felt her tongue go thick and her eyes drift shut

Drugged

The coldhearted, treacherous jackasses

She’d woken only a few ic muted by the hexes scrawled on the silver walls

She did have her secret weapon, but it was a talent that only worked on huo when she’d accidentally used it on a hellhound who had strayed too close to the house

She didn’t know if her connection to the Dark Lord had muted her natural talents, or if she’d reached soe where it finally blossomed More likely the hellhound had been weak and she’d been pumped up on adrenaline when it had suddenly appeared on her porch

In any case, she’d have to be an idiot to try it on a vampire or even a pure-blooded Were

If she failed and they realized what she’d tried to doWell, being tossed in a cell would be the least of her worries

Da of helplessness She’d proain allow herself to be at the reed to worship the Dark Lord? Or partnered with Gaius?

Now she was back to the beginning

Prey

No With a fierce effort she shook off the rising tide of panic She wasn’t prey Never again

Turning toward the camera hidden in the corner of the cell, she waved her ar the va at her shrill voice Super hearing could be a bitch "What’s wrong with you freaks? I came here to help you" She stepped closer to the ca another painful octave "I risked everything to just try to warn you about Gaius And what do I get? A reward? An ‘atta girl’? Hell, no I get locked up like a rat in a cage Thankless bastards"

A second later she heard the sound of a distant door opening and closing, then the soft whisper of approaching footsteps Instinctively she turned toward the bars of her cell, denying the urge to back into the distant corner as a cold, sharp-edged power filled the air

Vampires thrived on fear It was an aphrodisiac to the bloodsuckers She wasn’t going to give theht had barely passed through her ht of thea dreaded leech, he was ajeans, a leather jacket over his T-shirt, and moccasin boots that reached his knees, he had the hard, lean body of a predator His skin was bronzed and his dark hair brushed his broad shoulders His features were lean with the high cheekbones of his Native American bloodlines and a proud nose His broide and his lips cut on sensual lines

But it was his eyes that

In the overhead light they glinted with a silver sheen, but they were so pale they appeared al paleness emphasized by the ri as if he could see through every layer of defense she’d wrapped around her vulnerable heart

Halting close to the bars of her cell, the stranger folded his ar se froe of disdain in his voice effectively squashed her unwelcoht did he have to look at her as if she were so he scraped off the botto to killbeyond how to run Really, really fast," she rasp the bars As if her knees weren’t treainst her ribs "And, oh yeah, never to trust anyone So eyes widened, as if she’d truly ed to surprise hied Faed and thrown in the dungeons?" she deood faith"

"We have only your word on that" He planted his hands on his hips, his jacket shifting to reveal the dagger attached to his belt and the gun holstered at his side

Holy crap He had enough firepower to bring down a rabid troll She didn’t knohether to be flattered or horrified In the end she was just pissed off

"And a witch’s word can’t be trusted?" she snapped

"You ady "That hardly encourages faith in your ave a disbelieving shake of her head "You’re a va ers tightened on the bars If he’d been handsoeous when he sh"

Concentrate, Sally This beast is the eneht be

"Then let ed hilared between the bars "Cory?"

She blinked, taken off guard by the abrupt question "What?"