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"She came up for a few hours earlier We played cards," she added disparagingly "I think she did it on purpose"

"No doubt," Raphael agreed "But it won’t work How long ago?"

Elke didn’t have to check her watch Like all vampires she measured time by the sun’s next arrival and knew exactly how much time had passed, because she kne much time was left "An hour,when he heardnear the doors, Juro turned and said, "Wei Chen, Sire Loren is not with hi off his coat "Where is he?"

Duncan was already on his cell He said a feords, hung up and turned to Raphael "He was checking out a lead, my lord He’s on his way back now"

Raphael and Duncan shared a skeptical look Loren was Raphael’s own child The vampire couldn’t lie to hi He finished re couch not far fro roo Duncan to acco doors, Raphael sitting at the end of a huge, antique sofa, his legs crossed at the knee, his ar the back

Duncan sat at the other end "Other than Mister Pulaski’s close affiliation with his tree-dwelling ancestors," he said, "did his brain reveal any reliable inforhtly "The man’s a worm He sat within a few feet of the humans who planned these murders and was too terrified to even look over his shoulder Instead, he eavesdropped like an old woed dismissively "Unfortunately, the music was loud and the conspirators careful"

Duncan rew

"I know your skill, my lord, and your deterer brain out through his ears and spread it on the ground to examine it, you would have done so"

"Colorful But accurate The worm kneo of the people involved One he called by a nickna the conspirator had been called as a child and apparently hated The other is Curtis I don’t know if that’s a first or last name And I don’t think our people will be too helpful on this"

Duncan eyed hihtfully "But Colin Murphy would be"

"Exactly Let’s give hiot from Pulaski, not just the names, but the description of the local bar where they met Pulaski spent a fair amount of time there, so anyone faot"

"And Cynthia?"

"What about her?"

"Will you also inforers on the tufted back of the sofa "I don’t want her anywhere near this, but she’ll be well and truly pissed if she finds out from someone else And we both know she will So, send her the sa At least she won’t be able to pull a fast one on hi happens to her, he’d better be dead before I know about it"

Chapter Twenty-Six

Colin watched Sophia walk toward hi with desire in her deep brown eyes Her hips swayed as she crossed the roo over her shoulder to caress her breast She looked terrific Sexy as hell Just looking at her ed to change his reaction to her--not the years, not the lies, not even the knowledge that she drank blood to stay alive He tried to i his skin, to feel her teeth sinking into his neck, drinking his blood His erection grew harder

Fuck that! He forced hiuilt and pain he’d endured, thinking she was dead

He looked away and took a good, long draught of whiskey, hoping it would wash away the taste of her, still so fresh despite the years

Sophia slid gracefully onto the couch to sit facing hilass and he let her take it, watching as she drank, her plush lips closing around the ri out to taste before she let the whiskey roll into herwith hi, anything except what it would feel like to have that tongue licking other things