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He took her arm as they walked down the street She wanted to wrench from his touch, but

The lady doth protest too ht

But she was so acutely aware of hiht, Fiona," he said, as he opened her door for her

"You’ll keepon? From a cop’s standpoint and a vampire’s?" she inquired He nodded

"I have to follow up and investigate You know that"

"Have so faith But I’ot, too, that’s all"

"I’ll report in daily," he said

"Yes, you will"

He s at hi to ser"

"Oh, certainly not Not in the situation"

"Then?"

"You just have to have the last word, don’t you?" he asked

She didn’t reply, just slid into the seat, and he closed the door She stared at hinition He stepped away quickly as she gunned the engine, then started to ease out onto the street

A good exit, she told herself

Except that she could hear his husky laughter even as she drove away

Chapter 4

Fiona had just slipped into the long, soft cotton T-shirt she loved to wear to bed and crawled under the covers when she heard the tap on her door that announced Caitlin’s arrival Her sister knocked, but didn’t wait for an invitation

"Well?" Caitlin dehts on, Fiona could see her sister’s anxious face

"It’s done," she said

"Thank God," Caitlin breathed "For so to hide the details of Tina Lawrence’s life, but finally--one of the anchors started reading her police sheet, andI literally shivered Can you even iine? The best vampire is a bloodthirsty beast and--"

"Caitlin, please We know plenty of vaet serious There’s no more violent beast out there than hed softly "Look, I know that they’re your charges, butwell, I just don’t believe there’s ever been a truly good vae

The name came unbidden to Fiona’s s, she believed that he was a force for good After all, was anyone really all good or all bad? Everyone, every being, every creature, came with a forood, bad and everything in between

"Jagger DeFarge was there," she told her sister "He was already attending to the matter, as he should have been"

Caitlin sniffed "Was he? Or did he decide he had no choice, once he saw you?"

"Caitlin, please I have to have some faith in his ethics and his commitment to our laws The vampires, like all creatures, are supposed to police their own, and I believe that they will do so I also went to see David Du Lac, and I know that the higher-ups a the vampires are deeply concerned Caitlin, they like their lives They’re not going to risk everything they have, all to protect a rogue"

Caitlin looked at her gravely, the softly glowing hall light elic

"I’m just worried," she said "Worriedfor you"

Fiona rose and walked over to the door, where she took her sister into a war "I understand"

They stayed close for a minute, sisters who had seen the worst Then they broke apart, and Fiona smiled "I’m fine, honestly Have some faith in me, if not the vampires The truth is, I need your help"

"My help? We’re talking va, remember?" Caitlin said

Fiona nodded She had been born with the sign of the bat, a tiny birthmark at the base of her spine Caitlin had been born with the sign of theShe loved her sister’s birthh ht it a trick of the eye

Shauna bore theat the moon No tattoo artist had ever created a work of such perfection

Their friends had marveled at the marks on those rare occasions when they’d been revealed by a low-cut bathing suit They hadn’t tried to hide the their friends to wonder how and when they’d come by them

Before Fiona could reply, Shauna popped up behind Caitlin

"So? What’s going on? Do you knoho did it?" she deht "Come in Actually I don’t know--yet--but I do have a plan for finding out"