Page 39 (1/2)
Behind her Elke hissed out a breath "Dah a lanced at the vaives " She almost chuckled at her own inadvertent pun
"You really think you can keep up with the big boys?"
Cynthia turned around, but didn’t look at Elke, focusing instead on buckling on the belt and checking the slide of each of the stakes "No," she said "I know I can’t" She looked up then and met the other worudging nod "Maybe you can"
"Do be careful to distinguish friend from foe" Duncan’s voice caed hi shton," he said solemnly "We are about to depart"
She closed the hatch and walked over to hiuard?"
"Not close at all"
"So we have the big guy work his ic, and we see what happens Whatever it is, it’ll be the sign for the other vahton Probably better than you do"
"Hey, no contest here You guys go ahead and do your thing, I’ll do mine"
"And what’s that?"
"What I was hired to do I’ to find Alexandra"
By the tiroup, there was soup and doith it When Raphael nodded to Duncan, the whole pack of the only a slight breeze to stir the leaves in their wake Cyn stood by the cars, her eyes searching the night and finding nothing She sighed thinking about her own long climb up the hill, when some instinct made her stiffen and turn sharply Raphael stood behind her, silver flashing from beneath half-closed eyelids Before she could take two steps away, he was on her, one powerful hand reaching out to grasp her jacket, lifting her against the coolSUV as his mouth came down on hers in a hard, fierce kiss
Cyn couldn’t help responding, but she ainst his and biting as led on her lips, and he leaned forward, licking it off with one lazy swipe of his tongue He pushed hi her feel his body’s response to her closeness "Never doubt that I want you,the ache crushing her heart, choking away her breath "Put me down," she whispered
He eased her down slowly, but didn’t back away by even an inch She could still feel the press of his body, the tension in his muscles, the firm shaft of his erection "You don’t want me," she said breathlessly "You just want to fuckit was useless unless he chose to let her go He freed her and she walked aithout looking back
Chapter Forty-six
She stood once again on the hillside overlooking the compound, concealed in the shadows beneath the eucalyptus trees Duncan stood next to her, Raphael slightly ahead The other va around the other house, carrying out whatever plan Duncan had devised At sonal, Raphael shifted his concentration to the lone gate guard below It was not a hue Judy fan from the afternoon, but a thick-bodied vah to be sure, but she thought it ht at the ranch house She felt kind of sorry about that Touy, really Or maybe her perception was skewed by the coan to uard stood ate was fully opened, then he walked on through and down the driveway toward the house Cyn had expected his movement to be robot-like, mechanical, like in the ainst his will But Raphael’s control was such that the guard walked nor a stroll She glanced at Raphael, but could see only that uard climbed the few steps to the double front doors and reached for the handles He pushed therand entrance, exactly as Raphael would no doubt have done Cyn flinched auto happened The house was couard disappeared inside She had a moment of doubt, but only a ht and sound, shaking the ground beneath her feet and filling the dark sky with brilliant color Car alar off up and down the street and debris rained down in a wide circle Lights flashed on all over the neighborhood as people ran out of their houses to find out what the noise was
Cyn sed hard "Would that have killed him?" she asked Duncan quietly