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"Bastien wouldn’t do that," she told Marcus His days of inciting vaainst ier to help us eradicate the vampires"
"Because he wants to save thehed and clasped her foot "We all want to save the for centuries to find a cure or at least some way to keep hu their sanity But we’ve had no success Yes, we hope the three va will help our scientists finally succeed But until then, we can’t just sit back and let the other vaht"
"I know," she said, saddened "He does, too It’s just difficult for hi the of a kindred spirit Though he was an immortal, Bastien was essentially alone in the world, unlike any other inhabitant Ami could relate
"How else could these new va them word?" Marcus asked
She bit her lip "Not every vampire he tried to recruit joined his ar how many of Bastien’s men may have talked to vamps outside the fold They clearly kept secrets from him"
"Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate"
"Occam’s razor?"
He nodded "The simplest explanation is usually the better one"
"Darnell thinks Montrose Keegan ht be involved"
The hu Bastien search for his own cure to the vampiric virus, but had vanished before the network could pick him up after Bastien’s fall
"Bastien’s pet?" Marcus asked "That makes sense … and doesn’t increase my confidence in Bastien’s loyalty to the Iain"
An opinion Darnell had told her was shared by most of the immortal population
Ami decided to tackle Marcus’s views of Bastien later "If Bastien is involved, I’m sure Seth will nip it in the bud Meanwhile, the Immortal Guardians have been handed a unique opportunity"
He pondered that aher foot "If their plan is still in play, we knohere ht"
She nodded "Loitering around every tow truck in the state, hoping one of the drivers will get a call for a cleanup and lead them to an immortal"
His hand on her foot shifted, slid to her ankle, and began ski up and down the bare skin above her socks and beneath her jeans Sizzling sparks followed every touch
"We’ll have to strike fast," he remarked, "take theues and warn them"
"Or call for backup"
"I assu?"
"Yes The network is researching all possible targets Chris will e-ate by sundown Every immortal in North Carolina Aiden will join the hunt with a list of his own Also, Seth will be teleporting David in fro in, too"
"Sounds like a plan" He continued to stroke her ankle and calf "Your skin is so soft," he mur his throat, Marcus stood "Let’s go see if Chris has sent the list yet"
His lu hers, he turned and headed for the computer on his desk
Chapter 7
"How is he?" Cliff asked, face so vampire would appreciate the truth
"Did he do that?" He motioned to her bruised face and cut lip
"No I think Dr Whetsot uards accidentally hit rabbed his ar, Cliff paced away Short, stubby dreadlocks covered his coffee-colored scalp in one-inch spikes He had only recently begun to grow theitation the way squeezing a stress ball soht it er than twenty-four
"What about Joe?"
"He isn’t talking" The blond vampire had withdrawn completely since the incident
Cliff walked back toward her "He thinks he’s going to lose it next"
She didn’t knohat to say to that If Joe wasn’t next, then Cliff would be "Vincent isn’t gone yet"
Cliff shook his head with a despairing sound
Melanie touched his arm "Hey He’s still with us He isn’t completely lost If he were, he wouldn’t feel such re it again," he said "I don’t want to be like that I don’t want to hurt anyone" He took the blood bags she handed hied hi here, how ress"
He nodded and drained the bags As he passed the elanced over his shoulder as if he heard so
"What is it?" she asked The first several tiaze, expecting to see soht her that whatever he heard was more likely in another rooo," he said, taking her elbow and urging her over to the door
"What’s wrong?"
"Just find a safe rooht until the s on the door, Cliff waited for the aruard outside to open it, then thrust her out into the hallway "Please, Dr Lipton Just do as I ask"
The heavy door clanged shut behind her Though the vampires’ apartments were as comfortable and roomy as luxury apartments in the outside world, the walls and doors were heavily reinforced with steel and titaniuuard was posted outside each door Entry required an electronic key card and the proper code