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Or was she? Nikki frowned and walked into the kitchen Last night she’d seen the enorifts He’d never said he couldn’t find Monica She stopped in sudden horror Had last night been little more than a convenient way to tire her and h her heart That last time couldn’t have been a lie Their minds had entwined too closely for any lie to survive

And yet, with the strength of Michael’s gifts, how could she ever be sure? Tommy had been able to make her believe he cared, and he’d only possessed a tenth of Michael’s abilities She crossed her arms and stared at the sht, that was all she’d asked for, all she’d wanted One night free froiven her that

So why did she suddenly feel so cheated? Especially when she’d been the initiator? She’d only seduced Michael to run Jasper’s dark whispering fro in his touch had made her feel cherished Loved, even

She closed her eyes at the thought Because it was nothing more than a lie He’d warned that he couldn’t love her and that he couldn’t stay He’d given her last night, but he couldn’t give her anythingmore People died when she cared too much, and she didn’t want to see him dead

The kettle whistled shrilly into the silence She made a cup of coffee then picked it up and walked back into the living room The newspaper lay on the sofa, and headlines leaped out at her Three ulp of coffee, al her throat in the process Monica had to be stopped, before she could slake her thirst on more innocents She put the cup down and shoved a hand into her pockets, dragging out the locket she’d swiped froard’s Obviously, Jasper hadn’t bothered searching her when he’d stripped her

Dark laughter flickered through her thoughts, and her pulse rate jumped She sed uneasily, but knew she had no choice Monica had to be found She wrapped her fingers around the locket A chill chased horror through her es pushed forward, but she held the a deep breath, did she open her h it, she heard the faint strains of , she tried to broaden the view She needed an exact location, not es of Monica’s den

A man dressed in blackthe cross Two old cypress trees dusted with snowthe pictures gradually fornized Monica hid in the bowels of an old church up in the hills She smiled at the absurdity of it Yet what better hideaway could Monica find? No one expected a vampire to hide in such a place Not even Michael

What place?

She juht as well have been standing right next to her She put her hand on her chest, and took a deep breath to cal of her heart Nikki, what place? Where is Monica?

In a church An honest answer, but not one that would help him There were at least twenty churches scattered in and around Lyndhurst It would take theht one Where is the church, Nikki?

Annoyance seared her She sri her behindBut there wasn’t going to be a next time, was there?

Nikki?

The sudden wariness behind his question hts All I know is it’s in the northwest, towards the mountains Thank you He sounded surprised, as if he hadn’t expected an honest answer We’ll find her, Nikki Maybe they would And ht to the teenager’s lair Stay in the hotel, Nikki Stay safe

Yeah, right She rose and called for a cab Her car was still parked in front of the agency, and, hopefully, she still had a set of knives hidden under the dash Even if a knife wasn’t an effective weapon against a vampire, she still felt safer with thelanced at the time Two o’clock She collected her jacket and went outside to wait for the cab

Two hours later, she stopped her car opposite an old church and clilasses and leaned against the car to study the church A priest puttered around in the front garden, tending to a feinter flowering plants Two old cypress pines do, but the back and left side were bare and open She squinted slightly and looked at the sky It was after four, and the sun’s strength was beginning to wane Michael had said any exposure to the sun was dangerous to the newly turned, but she wanted to be sure of death The later it was, the less likely that became And it wouldn’t wait until Michael arrived She didn’t question the certainty that he was co As he’d warned, the ties between the that connection to find her

Maybe she should wait for hi drove her on, told her she couldn’t afford to She locked the car door then crossed the road The priestHow could she rid the church of its unknown guest without raising the priest’s suspicions? She frowned and turned down an old stone path that led through the trees There had to be a second entrance around the back of the church Maybe she could get in there

Luck ith her for a change She climbed over a small fence and approached the second door It was locked She looked around to ensure no one watched, then quickly zapped the door with kinetic energy

It creaked open The hallway beyond was dark, still The ht, and someone moved around in another room further down the hall Below the

Chapter Thirteen

Sing heavily, Nikki stepped inside She reached into her pocket and dug out Monica’s bracelet It pulsed lightly against her paler She moved forward quietly There were no s in the se to turn on the flashlight, knowing the proximity of the voices meant there was a chance they’d see it

A cobweb trailed against her face, and she jumped sideways Her yelp beca unevenly, she stopped and listened The softsilently, she walked on The corridor ended at a set of stairs She hesitated, sto She’d climbed a similar set of stairs to escape Jasper’s clutches Oh God, was he here as well?

She couldn’t feel his presence, only Monica’s, but the fear that she alking blindly into another trap was a cold weight in the pit of her stoloom The dust-caked steps showed no trace of footsteps, yet she could feel Monica’s presence in the darkness below Could vampire’s fly? Bile rose in her throat She closed her eyes, sing heavily It was ridiculous to think vampires could fly They didn’t have to, when they could move faster than the eye could see What if Monica ake and waiting for her? The rhythmic beat in the bracelet spoke of slumber, but how could she be sure a vampire’s heartbeat was in any way the sa her lip, she walked slowly down the stairs Dust stirred, a cloud that stung her eyes and nostrils She wrinkled her nose, fighting a sneeze The door at the bottom of the stairs was closed She touched the handle, then hesitated again What if Jasper was here? What would she do?

Probably die of heart failure If she was lucky