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I opened my mouth and closed it fast More hinky Either the disloyal vamps in Leo’s camp hid the call for help oror Leo refused it

"De Allyon, he twenty Naturaleza wit him," Blondie said "Twenty is like forty of us Maybe sixty Dey killDey kill seventeen of us dat first day, true-dead"

"And when Leo not anse go into hiding" Liarage floor with a soft splat of loathing "Politics is what dat was Heot here did you start noticing the difference in va sound,"Deer than us But they start to crawling like bugs, only later, after she join hih I hear when Hieronymus tell her to call Clark He tell her what she need to know"

"Mmmm You ask Clark," Blondie said to s and stink of dead earth"

I had gotten a lot more fro the silvered cage with a toe, I said, "S he’ll tell estured the vae As they drove off, Eli and I headed to the kitchen, following the smell of steak I wanted to sink my teeth into a thick juicy, bloody, rare one I spotted Jameson in the back entry and heard hi her back"

"Welcome, Jammie Do I srill, rare and cold in the center And I promise not to spoil it with sautéed ood man"

Jameson held out robes, one to Eli, one to ive me your bloody leathers, I’ll see to it that they are properly cleaned"

My broent up "Yeah? Cool" I could get used to this "No che out of the crusty jacket "Not even mink oil Vamps can smell it I usually just rinse it off and wipe it down The blood residue confuses future vae" Eli looked at me curiously "What?" I said

He shook his head, dropped his jacket, and pulled down his pants zipper I quickly faced away and pulled the robe over s you say," Eli said, "and the things you think about That’s all"

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I didn’t really care either I smelled steak and my stomach rumbled Beast purred Food

After I finished a hunk of beef worthy of a king, I showered off, pulled on warm clothes, and dialed Clark He answered with a "Miss Yellowrock?"

"Got it in one Is it true that you called Leo when de Allyon got here and he didn’t co and chilled, and I realized it must have sounded like a verbal ambush with a damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don’t reply option, so I added, "Because if you called Leo, I’ll be looking into that for you"

Clark expelled a breath "Thank you It would be--" He stopped and rephrased "I would be happier if I knew that er fro vile, and it wasn’t like I could argue

And then it hitH Aren’t you?" His silence was h to make me cuss I echoed his tone and said, "I hate politics You understand, Clark? I’m here to fulfill my contract with your master And keep him alive And restore peace to this territory That is all On ain and said, softly, "Thank you"

"You’re welco up, which left ottenbefore the local cops paidI needed to get a handle on this investigation, I took Big H’s kill list to bed withand I jerked up in bed, shoved the paperwork I’d fallen asleep reading to the floor, and yanked on clothes, seeing flashing lights in the front yard At least three official cars and no one trying to hide who they were, which could ood So much for my question about when I’d receive a visit from the local lanstairs, I threw my hair over my shoulder, deactivated the security system, and opened the front door to see a very unhappy member of county law enforce lared at me from my bare feet to the top oftradition of law enforcement in Adams County, took her job very seriously, and despite the fact that Leo had contributed a hefty sun, she didn’t like s, because the last time I was in her town, I kept her people and the city cops awfully busy at various crime scenes "Yellowrock I should have known" She didn’t ask to coainst the law unless she had a warrant or probable cause But, then, in her mind, I was likely probable cause "Where’s Gordon?"

"I’m here, Sylvia"