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an effort, swallowing his snarl of frustration to avoid alarming
the doctor. "Do whatever you feel is necessary," he managed,
stomping the boot onto his foot and standing to his full
height. "But," he added, "no one except you is to see her like
this, Doctor."
"Of course, my lord. I would have it no other way."
"Elke will stand guard above. You will remain here until I
return."
"Understood, my lord."
"Very well. I leave you to it, then."
Raphael crossed to the bed, stroking a hand down Cyn's
cheek. He leaned close enough to kiss her mouth again,
whispering against her lips, "They will pay, lubimaya. Those
responsible will die tonight."
Elke looked up quickly when Raphael emerged from the
elevator.
"My lord?"
"She will live, Elke. Others will not be so fortunate. Doctor
Saephan will stay with her until I return. You will guard this
entrance. No one is to come or go from my room, do you
understand?"
"Yes, my lord."
He lowered his voice, speaking to her alone. "I know you
would rather join the hunt, Elke, but there is no one I trust
more to guard her."
Elke's pale eyes turned pink with unshed tears and
Raphael blinked in surprise. He'd never seen her exhibit a
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shred of emotion before, except for anger. "I will guard her
with my life, Sire. My place is here."
Raphael tilted his head, smiling slightly. He knew Cyn and
Elke were friends of a sort. They sparred together in the gym,
and because Elke was the only female guard in his inner
circle, she was frequently assigned to Cyn. But he hadn't
realized until now the depth of that friendship.
"Good hunting, my lord," Elke said.
Raphael bared his teeth. "The ground will be black with
blood tonight, Elke. I swear it." He clapped a hand on her
shoulder and turned a sober gaze across the great room.
Duncan was already there, walking toward him. They met
halfway.
"My lord," Duncan began, but Raphael interrupted.
"Where is he?"
Robbie emerged from the large common room. "I am here,
my lord." He took several steps toward Raphael and sank to
his knees, his head bowed.
Raphael stared down at the big bodyguard's bare neck.
"Tell me why you deserve to live," he growled.
"Because he didn't do anything wrong," another voice
interrupted.
Raphael swiveled his head slowly, looking over his
shoulder to where Colin Murphy stood in the open door with
Lucien's child Sophia. Cold, wet air gusted around them,
slapping against his legs.
"You," Raphael sneered. "Another who somehow survived
unscathed while my Cyn was being torn apart."
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"My lord!" Robbie protested, but Raphael silenced him with
a sharp look, exerting just enough power to pin the human in
place without harming him. "Be very careful, Robert," he
warned. "The only reason you're still alive is that my Cyn pled
for your life, though she had barely the breath to do so. Don't
make her sacrifice in vain."
Raphael turned to face Murphy, giving the human his
complete attention. He gathered his power casually, letting a
tiny fraction of it swell out into the room, enough to scatter
papers and rattle doors.
To his surprise, Sophia stepped forward, her own defenses
rising sharply, expanding to encompass the human male. Her
eyes began to glow slightly as her power built, and she stood
directly in front of the much larger human, hands clenched at
her sides, her chin raised in defiance.
Raphael blinked lazily and gazed down at her. "Your Sire
may have anointed you his successor, Sophia, but never
make the mistake of thinking you are my equal."
Her shapely jaw tightened angrily, but she gave a curt
nod, acknowledging the truth of his words. And then her chin
came up again and she said, "You would die to protect your
mate, Lord Raphael. I will do no less."
Raphael studied her more carefully, noting for the first
time the connection between her and Murphy. It was very
new and very tenuous, but it was there. He frowned, glancing
over at Duncan who was regarding the newly mated pair with
open curiosity. Apparently, no one else knew about this
either. It wouldn't stop him from killing her if he had to, but it
made him willing to listen.
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"Robbie," Raphael snapped over his shoulder. "Tell me
what happened."
Over the next several minutes, Robbie told him in detail
the events of the previous day. "We were almost away, my
lord," Robbie said, coming to the end of his tale. He was still
on his knees, but his eyes met Raphael's stern gaze with open
honesty. "I had Cyn moving toward the truck door, covering
her back, when they opened up on us from a new direction.
You know Cyn, my lord. She could have dived into the truck,
gone for her own safety, but instead she started firing,
covering Murphy's back. I should have grabbed her, should
never have let her go. That's when " His voice broke for the
first time and he looked down. "I'm sorry, my lord. I failed
Cyn and I failed you."
"It's not his fault," Colin Murphy insisted again. "Dammit,
Raphael, you have to listen to me!"
Raphael's vampires, already jumpy and ready for the hunt,
bristled at the human's tone, and even Sophia had the good
sense to place a cautioning hand on her mate's arm. Murphy
drew a deep breath and continued more carefully.
"My apologies, sir. But someone I know called me today
with information that you really need to hear."
Raphael gritted his teeth impatiently. This was taking too
long. "Talk," he demanded.
"Leighton was specifically targeted," Murphy said intently.
"They knew, or they thought they knew, that taking her out
would weaken you personally. They thought your vamps
would be leaderless and go nuts, or that you'd join them and
start butchering humans indiscriminately. They want a
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bloodbath. They want headlines all across the television and
Internet screaming about vampires prowling the night and
slaughtering innocent humans."
Raphael flattened his lips thoughtfully. "Stand up, Robbie,"
he said without turning. He heard the human coming to his
feet behind him.
"My lord," Robbie said.
Raphael turned. "The only words my Cyn spoke this
morning were in defense of you . . . and him," he added, with
a jerk of his head toward Murphy. "And your account of
events was truthful." He regarded the bodyguard silently.
Robbie had been with him a long time, and he was mated to
one of Raphael's vampires. It was why he'd entrusted Cyn's
protection to him. "We won't slow down for you," he told him
now. "But you're welcome to join the hunt for these killers."
"Thank you, my lord."
"Sir," Colin Murphy spoke up again and Raphael turned to
eye him darkly.
"They knew about Mariane," the human said urgently.
"They knew what the attack on her did to Jeremy, how it
weakened him. They knew where to find Marco and Preston
" He glanced quickly at Sophia before continuing in a quiet
voice, "And they knew Leighton was still alive when we
brought her here yesterday."
Raphael stared at him, slipping easily into the human's
mind despite Sophia's newly established link. The man was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]