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Sara glanced at the clock on the table near her bed It was close to five Even though she&039;d gotten less than twenty minutes of sleep on the hotel&039;s excessively soft et up and take a shower She wanted to get to work early and find Peter, run her idea by him--prove to herself that she was still her, still one hundred percent focused on Gray&039;s recovery, despite the infinitesih her veins

For one quick moment, she stared at the wall in front ofof her, at the hotel&039;s nondescript version of abstract art The Miro lookalike res, with rivers of blood intersecting Blood It seemed to be part of her stream of consciousness now, not to mention a turn-on, an odd combination of fear and desire

She let her vision blur then, let the shapes in the painting become just saturation of color What had Alexander done after she&039;d left hiiven in, taken what he&039;d needed frout twisted at the i from her vein But as his choice? Starve to death? And as her choice? Risk her life, and in turn risk her brother&039;s future recovery?

She could never do that

She turned, saw her cell phone beside the clock, and reached for it The nu her Her hands shook as she punched in the nu Once, twice, three times--

"Hello?" A woman&039;s voice

Oh God She was so weak

"Hello?" A familiar, soft, tired woman&039;s voice "Who&039;s there?"

Sara put her hand over her mouth

"Is anyone there?" A moment passed, then another "Sarafena?" the woman said softly "Sarafena, is that you?"

Sara closed her eyes The ache thatIt was the ache of a child anted to be held again, coiven And she knew her mother would have done that for her in an instant if she&039;d only let her But she wouldn&039;t let her Not yet

"Hi, Moh of relief on the other end of the phone "Honey, are you okay?"

"Everything&039;s going well As you sahen you were here last ress has slowed down, but I think I&039;ve found a way, a new, innovative way to taently "I know all about Gray I want to know about you Are you all right? When are you co home? Just for a few days

Maybe for Christmas?"

Tears pricked Sara&039;s eyes It had been years of that question--ever since Sara had co him to Walter Wynn And Sara&039;s answer had always stayed the sa her mother&039;s son back to her with his mind intact

"Sara, are you there?"

"Moet ready for work I&039;ll see you here in a few months, okay?"

Sara stabbed the end button and sat up Her throat was so tight and she felt nauseous She shook her head She wasn&039;t going to cry again today It was useless A stupid, useless reaction that weak individuals resorted to when they didn&039;t get what they wanted She grabbed the hotel phone and dialed a new number

"Yes" Dillon She was in the room next door She&039;d followed Sara out of the house in SoHo, refusing to leave her alone and unprotected until Alexander gave her the word

"I have an early call," Sara informed her "I&039;ll be ready in twenty minutes"

Dillon snorted "Bated breath, Doc Bated breath"

He was new, reborn and retooled

Alexander folloo of Ethan Dare&039;s recruits across the Brooklyn Bridge, Bronwyn&039;s pure blood coursing through his veins He felt unflinchingly strong, totally focused, his speed and vision outstanding

Scurrying past a stone pylon, the pair of Ilanced back, but they didn&039;t see hi in the shadows outside Dare&039;s town house

Heavy snow rained fro the view of lower Manhattan look like the insides of a snow globe The snow, combined with Alexander&039;s flash movements forward, to one side, then another on the wood plank ay, kept the recruits and any hu hie, the two Impures raced past City Hall Park toward the Financial District Alexander shadowed theut as he realized where they were headed He&039;d hoped these boys would lead him to Dare, but it looked like they were on a mission to pinch a few more Purebloods

When they turned onto Liberty, Alexander slowed, found shelter against a building front, and watched as the pair stood outside the gates of the Manhattan credenti , talking with their heads bent

Hoill you e it, Impures? Your blood isn&039;t welcome there

Alexander&039;s muscles twitched He wanted toand how Dare&039;s recruits were getting inside the credentis He withdrew his knife and nearly flew into the snowy street, but paused when he saw three new Impures approach frohtened and his fangs descended

Jackpot

Ethan Dare and Toate, pulled back the sleeve of his coat, and dropped his head Alexander watched as Dare brushed the inside of his ar fro into the credentisAlexander sneered But how the hell was the blood of a half-breed vaates?

Whatever the answer, they weren&039;t getting inside today

Alexander was off He flew straight at Dare, but before he reached the half-breed, an I hiloved fist Alexander reeled back, his nose spurting blood Fuckers Growling, he hauled off and kicked theacross the sidewalk and into the wall, grinning as he heard the sound of cracking bone The second I his knife deep into Alexander&039;s thigh Blood poured froistered the pain He slammed the recruit in the belly, then slashed his throat Breathing hard, nostrils flared with rage, Alexander whirled around and sent his elbow into the chest of the other Impure and his fist into the bastard&039;s face

"Do you really care for the Eternal Breed, or do you secretly wish for its dee Is flashing

Spinning around, Alexander cracked the Impure in the head with his fist The male howled and retaliated with a slice into Alexander&039;s other leg As blood pooled on the snowy sidewalk, Alexander wished he had Glocks in his fists right now so he could end this bullshit But there could be no gunplay outside--one shot off and the police would be on the scene

He couldn&039;t get a bead on To out of his reach