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Valeria

Her hands wanted to grab the huge hunting knife in the sheath at her ankle and rush through the door, gut the vah her pulse beat only a single word—vengeance “Did the cattle volunteer?”

“There are always those who volunteer” He pushed open his door and stood to strip off his coat, revealing the soft black cotton of his T-shirt

She thought of Carmen, how the blonde had debased herself before Dmitri, until Honor had been humiliated for her “You’ve never had any trouble”

Dmitri didn’t answer until they met in front of the car “There are different kinds of trouble”

She saw so as raw and painful as that which lived within her “Dan, just as the door of the house opened to reveal a maid in a crisp black and white unifor hot then cold at his words, she walked up the three wide steps with him The maid stepped aside as they neared “Theroo rooave a clipped nod “We won’t need you Take the day off The Toill contact you tomorrow”

The maid paled, but said only, “Yes, sir The cook is also here”

“Tell her she doesn’t need to be Valeria’s cattle?”

“In the guesthouse”

“Get the her head, the maid bolted down the hall

That hen Honor realized she’d caught a gli “She was a vampire” Yet Honor felt no fear; the other woardless of her va the door with a quiet snick “Serving out her Contract I’d say first decade”

“No wonder she seemed so human”

“Some of the weak ones never lose that core of humanity” With that, Dmitri led her down the corridor—it was lined with carpet of deep burgundy, the walls covered with the most exquisite creaive the Made longer to gain wealth, but Honor had known vamps hundreds of years old who’d never reached this level of affluence So either Valeria had begun ealth or she’d created it through a combination of poill, and ruthless deterht, a shadow in black

“D,” came a smoky voice that ht the dark,with her back to the wall beside the doorway, she tried to get the tre up the tea that was all she’d had for breakfast