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Nikki scrambled out of her way and reached for another kinetic lance But the girl stopped, eyes suddenly distant It was alht with a shiver A hint of petulance ran across Monica’s face It was an odd reirl, whatever else she e, Monica turned and threw herself at Jake They went down in a heavy tangle of arer with another kinetic lance, forcing her down the stairs, away from Jake Monica snarled, then winked out of existence
Alar for the stake she’d dropped near the wall She hit the carpet and rolled, gathering the stake and slashing upwards in one fluidflesh
The wood speared Monica’s abdoht The bloody stake fell free to the floor Nikki grabbed it, then turned and ran to Jake
"I’ht," he muttered "She slashed et the hell out of here" She grabbed his good arm and helped him up The air around the their retreat
But she didn’t attack It was an o else in ainst the front of Jake’s car, lightly eance, thanks to the long hours of questioning And still the police didn’t believe her It was evident from the look in their eyes, the tone in their voices They just couldn’t accept a sixteen-year-old girl would be capable of such destruction
And she hadn’t even hit them with the vampire theory yet
She eased her weight frohtly-lit h Monica couldn’t be seen, her pain and fury lingered She was so For what, Nikki wasn’t sure
Trevgard himself could not behis troops, taking his anger out on anyone who got in his way Both she and Jake had withstood a good ten minutes of his tirade before the police had decided to rescue them with official questions Her headache had probably started around that ti around for several seconds before roaned Just what she needed--another round of questioning with Detective Col MacEwan They’d known each other a long ti her early years on the streets He was the strongest denouncer of her psychic talents, and yet, oddly enough, probably the closest thing she had to a friend on the force
Which didn’t ave the hospital a call" He came to an abrupt halt several feet away froer she could see in his brown eyes "Jake’s aro home" She nodded her thanks and crossed her arms MacEwan hadn’t ventured outside just to say that There would be more
"I don’t believe a word of the crap you and Jake spouted in there," he continued "But I’ve no evidence to dispute it, either, so for the o"
"Gee, thanks"
"I know you too well, Nikki, and I can taste a lie When I find out what you and Jake are hiding--" He let the threat go and glared at her ato hide--nothing but a truth he would never believe After aback to the house
At least she could finally go ho away froed on the door then realized it was locked And Jake had the keys Damn She’d have to walk She kicked the tire in frustration, then turned to study the shadows The gentle breeze held no trace of Monica, but with the teenager’s speed that didn’t mean much She could be out of the scope of Nikki’s psychic senses and still be ithin killing range Maybe she should ask one of the police officers for a lift
She glanced back at the house and saw Trevgard gesturing angrily at so her hands back into her pockets to keep them warm There wasn’t a power on this earth that could force her back in the house with Trevgard She’d had enough of his lectures to last a lifetiradually faded away, and the crunch of gravel underneath her boots grew louder She turned left out of the gates and crossed the road to the softly lit pave either side of the street lay wrapped in darkness, and the silence hung as heavily as the clouds in theAhead, a figure rested casually against a lath of his chest and ars Michael He lookednice More than nice, really
His sudden sht like to get so into step beside her and offering her his arm
"There aren’t h his
"I’ll find us so What do you prefer?"
Her stomach rurinned "Actually, I could go for a really big burger right now"
His look was suddenly severe, though amusement danced in his eyes "Fried foods are full of fat, you know"
"That’s all I need--a health nut" She grinned lightly and est?"
"Only the best, of course"
The look in his eyes made her pulse skip a beat She cleared her throat and looked away Perhaps linking arreat idea The warainst her ar it had been since anyone had si it had been since she had even wanted to be held And it was a dangerous desire when it was centered on aabout
"Lyndhurst doesn’t have much in the way of fancy restaurants this end of town It’s residential," she said quietly
"If I reht, there’s one not far ahead"
He meant Roslyn’s, but dressed as they were, they’d never get in "A haer suitsready to go home"
"Then we’ll just have to persuade them to remain open," he said with a sed "Usual shit Jake and I aren’t to leave town, blah, blah, blah"
"Did they believe Monica was responsible?"
"Nope But there again, Jake wouldn’t believe it either until she attacked him"
"How is his aro hoaze "You said earlier Monica had to return home? Why?"
"It’s instinct for the newly turned vampire to return to the place of its birth I think it’s part of the centering process To understand what you have truly becoed "The fledglings h eternity"
"What the hell for?"
He shrugged again "Perhaps as a reminder that once they too were human"