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"Nuh, no! I never saw--" He screah to hurtbadly

Raphael tsked softly "Didn’t yourabout vaood hunter always knows his prey And I know all about you, Hugh Pulaski"

Tears were streah the oily sweat He wasbeneath his breath It sounded like a prayer

Raphael laughed "You would do better to pray to ht, not your God’s Now--" He drilled into Pulaski’s brain, forcing hiize, didn’t you?"

Pulaski nodded desperately, his eyes rolling white with fear "I’ed "Of course, it would be better if you apologized directly to my mate, but that won’t happen In fact, I think it would be best if you left this area altogether You’re not the kind of neighbor I had in o toht," he sobbed "I’ll go tonight I promise I will Just, please don’t hurt h You don’t knohat pain is yet"

Raphael ignored the huh Pulaski’s brain, his mouth pursed with distaste Theto be poor, a s A liar and a cheat And this, this slug had dared insult his Cyn, dared threaten her with violence? Raphael should do the world a favor and rid it of bad trash But that wasn’t his purpose tonight

Cyn’s bodyguard, Robbie, had been certain Pulaski knewto tell Colin Murphy this afternoon But it was also possible that Pulaski knew estion to the hu him to the recent vampire murders, to the people behind it

Pulaski twitched where he lay on the ground, his eyes rolled back in his head, drool dripping from his mouth He looked like the idiot he was, but he wasn’t pered Not yet

Raphael followed the huhts, the vicarious thrill when he’d heard about Marco and Preston being murdered, the sick twist of perverted arousal at the news of Mariane’s brutal rape Raphael growled and dug deeper, going farther back in time Pulaski was in a tavern of sohts except over the bar and only a few tables cloaked in heavy sarettes, with the lingering scent of a toilet that had run over in the not too distant past The only noise was a low hum of conversation, too low to hear A feords popped out, though Enough to know they were going to hunt so to hit ‘e until it was too late and they’d be long gone by then

Raphael forced Hugh to look deeper, to see details, things he passed over without paying conscious attention Details about the bar--the sign advertising souishable because half the bulbs were burned out, the dusty deer head above the cash register, a plastic lei twisted in its antlers Details about the conspirators--h kneell, and others he didn’t But it was thefurther, pushing until an involuntary whine rose froround with effort

Raphael released him

A stench filled the air as Pulaski wet himself He rolled over in the dirt and curled up into a ball, weeping piteously for his own suffering

Raphael stepped away, shaking dirt fro dispassionately as the huht And make it permanent I’ll know if you come back"

Duncan walked with hi over the whi human Once Raphael was in the truck with the door closed, Juro followed, clihtest reaction to the huaze in the rear view mirror "Sire?"

Raphael considered how

"Locate Wei Chen and Loren," he told Juro "Tell theht circle, the tires coh to Pulaski that he was pelted with bits of dirt, close enough that he screalanced at his security chief and caught a slight upward twinge of the big vampire’s mouth Juro was very fond of Cyn He respected her, which was saying sos Juro respected, human or vampire

As they drove back to thehe’d learned from Pulaski’s muddled brain There was useful inforinally wanted to meet Wei Chen and Loren, because they were local But what he really needed for this was someone local and human Someone like Colin Murphy

Raphael spotted Elke as soon as he cauard in the precise position she’d occupied when he’d left earlier

"My lord," she said upon sighting him

Raphael tilted his head in question