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Scott didn’t look froers as he typed "Which party?"

Which left hter and her friend didn’t say, but from her recent interest in vampires, we’d assuer snorted, again without looking up, which was a good thing because hter? Did he just ihter? I looked at Eli, thinking, Are you insane? He just smiled, if you can call that little twitch of lips a sirl in this vampire climate," Scott said "Everyone thinks the vaet that they drink blood Huer within miles is all over the place We have to hire security to keep theht?" I asked

"Lewis Aycock’s coive vets jobs anytime he can A boost back up, you know, and all Lewis’ personnel are vets" He looked up under his eyebrows and back to his screen "The client knew of hireeable"

I didn’t know him, and so let it pass "And the client?" I asked

"Not saying that without a court order," Scott said "Bring e and I’ll tell you everything--names, dates, alcohol consuuests, cost totals, tips, and credit cards used Not until then And the waiters don’t knoho the host was, so don’t bother asking"

"The governor prefers to keep this under wraps for now," Eli lied set a warrant" I just shook my head

"And it’s up," Scott said He flipped the flat-screen around and atched for ten minutes as hu into cabs and li the ten

I leaned in when a pale-skinned, black-haired fe only the top of her head and her hands holding the wrap she wore Bliss The wos on every finger She tilted her head and I recognized Rachael by the shape of her nose and the h her earlobes And the tattoo on her left wrist It was a dragon, the body and tail wrapped around the wrist, the fire-breathing head on the top of her hand It was new, and I’d seen it only a week past, when she co Once upon a tiet tattoos, but now things were different Katie was different She didn’t sees that she used to She was, on the other hand, way more territorial than she used to be With them was a man who stood to one side, only the top of his head and shoulders visible in the camera--slender and muscular with spiked hair and dark clothes

"That’s them," I said

Eli covered for me "And the people with her?" he asked

I hesitated only a , "The boss will be ticked off about the whole thing"

"So we shouldn’t tell the governor everything In fact, we shouldn’t tell hireed to differ," I said, as if we had a long-standing argument about how to protect the interests of our eovernor Eli was insane

On the screen, the irls into a black cab liain

So scarf The arait that of someone ill or unsteady after too much liquor, their faces never in view Three otherlike va up at the door One wore a tuxedo and seemed to move off fast, maybe in pursuit of the woh all we could see frole of his head was dark hair and jacket and a satin stripe on the outside of his pants leg as he strode off The other two, both in dark slacks and suit coats, stood for a estive of discussion, and then they too left, heading in different directions

A scant two minutes later, a similar black car pulled up and waited, the driver a fuzzy for a cell call It was Troll He waited And waited Hethe valet the keys and entering the restaurant And leavingin the set of his shoulders He was on the cell, talking as he drove away

To Scott, Eli said, "That’s all we need, those twenty overnor’s thanks"

"Yeah, well, tell hihter’s fallen in with that redheaded chick She works for a vamp who runs a whorehouse Seriously, he needs to consider chaining her up in the attic or soe, I’d never have let her in, but everyone had an invitation" He opened a desk drawer and handed Eli a heavy, engraved invitation, the kind old vamps used, the paper ilt

Eli handed the invite to e was innocuous and uninformative "The pleasure of your presence is requested at ten o’clock tonight at Guilbeau’s for a co-out soiree Black tie" The party started late, like any vamp party No naer hit a button and his PC whirred Behind him, a printer chattered He handed Eli the printed paper first and again Eli passed it to me It was a list of the waitstaff Six na it, he handed Eli a CD and stood, offering his hand

"Thank you for your ti the proffered hand I followed a ood old boys