Page 56 (2/2)

"I do know I had Louis check the taps on Grafton’s phone, because I also knew you wouldn’t believe ht Again It ht all the time

Duncan’s mouth quirked up in a half smile as he continued "Max Grafton, in turn, has contacted his va for him"

"So you knoho the other vampire is?"

"I do not Grafton’s call was to a dead drop voice mail, and we haven’t been able to track down the owner My people have lived in the shadows for thousands of years, and we’ve gotten very good at protecting ourselves Many of the old ones prefer the shadows even now The point is, Eht will be between me and that other vampire No other battle will matter And I don’t want you anywhere near when that happens If I lose that fight, I--"

Emma’s heart was suddenly in her throat It had never occurred to her that Duncan could lose He was beautiful, strong, invincible He wasDuncan "Wait," she said "What happens if you lose?"

"If I lose, and I don’t intend to, but if I do, I need to know that you’re safe And that means far away from me"

Emma stared at him She hadn’t really considered what it meant that another vampire was involved, someone as possibly just as powerful as Duncan So rid of Duncan, someone so vicious that they’d set fire to the residence, knowing that Duncan and his va her, that knowledge ht

"I’," she said flatly "You can leave et there by myself anyway"

Duncan’s eyes narrowed "I could put you to sleep," he said softly "You’d never know"

Eaze evenly "I’d know," she assured hiive you"

The muscle in Duncan’s jaw flexed visibly as he stared back at her It was the only sign of whatever e back, E happens to h there was no way in hell she was going to run away if Duncan needed her She kept that thought fro it instead with the lyrics of a particularly irritating song she’d heard on the radio today

"So, when are we leaving?" she asked

Duncan regarded her carefully, and Emma would have sworn she saw a flash of frustration in his brown eyes Sowhat she was thinking She filed that inforazed at him innocently He snorted dismissively and said, "Be downstairs in ten uel and Louis"

He started to turn, but Emma said, "Hey!" Duncan raised an eyebrow in question "How about a kiss for luck"

Duncan grinned and wrapped one big hand around the back of her neck, pulling her in for a deep, satisfying, toe-curling kiss He lifted his head at last, gliding his tongue along the seam of her lips

"I love you, Emmaline Duquet"

"I love you, too, Duncan So you be careful"

He touched his one Emma listened, but she didn’t even hear his footsteps on the stairs She shrugged and hurried over to the duffle bag, which was the only other thing she’d picked up at her house earlier It held her gun and aht

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Max Grafton’s house wasn’t so much a house as an estate Emma had known he had money Most senators did by the ti as Grafton had But in his case, the money was in his farew up in old Southern poverty, Emma knew exactly what a difference that kind of money meant Still, she hadn’t been prepared for the vastness of his estate There was the house itself, which was huge, along with a second two-story building that she guessed here the household staff lived, because with a house as big as his, he’d definitely need live-in help There was a pool, and a pool house big enough to house a family And then there were the stables Emma didn’t know much about horses, but if even half of the stalls she could see in the long horse barn contained ani Grafton a small fortune to feed andto put a wall around, but there was a white rail fence along the road, and Grafton had walled off the ravel drive took theuards wearing black co a matte black semiautomatic with obvious fa SUVs rode up to the gate, wondering how they’d talk their way in, but she shouldn’t have After all, she’d seen Duncan zap Sharon Coffer with a look Ari, as driving Duncan’s SUV, convinced the gate guard they were invited guests in less time than it probably would have taken to show their IDs if they really had been invited<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>