Page 78 (1/1)

"According to what I could find, the first ones were found on the south side of the border about three o No one made any connection between them at first It see up on the American side It was a cop down in El Centro who tippedon my own before I made the connection with Juarez"

"I don’t know if there is any real connection with Juarez, Natalie The more we find out, thethis is using that situation as a convenient scapegoat to cover his actions He oing on That’s why they’re du the bodies how they are"

"Why not make them disappear? There’s no need to du, they could easily bury the If too ht listen to their families If they’re murdered…"

She nodded "They could be the victim of random violence because they worked in the city Or they could be the victi west"

"Or victie of them," he added "Isn’t that what the police think now? If I were Ivan and wanted to cover my tracks, I’d copycat a hu the other direction, including his bosses in Mexico City"

"But why?" she asked again "Is this soame? Or is there a plan behind it?"

"I don’t know I didn’t recognize the vampire I killed I’d never seen him before He could have been a new vaers he’s brought in The one I killed was stronger because of the Elixir, but nore He didn’t feel old"

He saw a slight shudder pass over her fra the air vampire or whether herin They would The longer she remained in his world, the more they would have to He didn’t live in the kind of polite society where trials and jails happened And neither did Natalie She just didn’t realize it yet He was trying to break her in to the idea slowly, but he honestly couldn’t see her returning to her old life She knew too es of va close friends with Beatrice and Dez She was fully on the radar now

You needacross the car to take her hand More than you know

She squeezed it as she continued talking "If we think the first hunts happened around threeare just beco to Beatrice, her friend Lucien started feeling strange about three to four months after he had fed from a human who’d taken it So if they didn’t know about it before, they’re going to start figuring it out now" She sighed "Why dgheto fouro I feel like a lotto die, human and vaain, but Baojia couldn’t stop thinking about her mother It explained so much She was reckless not because she was foolish, but because she’d experienced loss He found humans--and vampires--who had lost those close to theard for safety than ever For Natalie, thatchances No wonder her father worried about her One night ago, she’d witnessed a ame that made huo back to the lion’s den and talk to the priest

He had to keep her out of this She was too fragile She had no co her satisfactorily would take years he didn’t have The inevitable confrontation would happen well before she was ready He wondered if Matt and Dez Kirby ht He could knock her out with aht if it came down to it She could hate him later--she probably would--but she’d be alive He’d have ti?" Her voice jolted his

"What?"

Her suspicious eyes narrowed on hiure out a way to keep oing to lie about it

"Forget it Not going to happen" She crossed her arirl"

"No Frorooainst these vaet"

Her jaas clenched when she said, "Point taken, but you’re not leaving ard for her own safety, he gripped the wheel but kept his voice carefully even "Tell -mule story, were the police involved?"

"Eventually"

"And were there arrests made? Were they taken to your human jails?"

"Yes What does that have to do--?"

His quiet voice rose "And did you, the intrepid reporter, actually go along with the police when they"Did you? Or did you let the police do their job after you had done yours?"