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Huuards had already joined their vaate and Cyn re her--it seeot to dawn, the uards would be She was counting on that distraction now and was relieved when the sauard who’d adave hiave her only a cursory glance before stepping back to wave her through impatiently

Cyn didn’t draw a full breath until she hit the beltway She’d taken ti the SUV’s in-dash navigation systeether, sticking to the side roads, but in this case thea California girl, she was most co rush, so the route should be wide open She checked her position and hit the gas, racing toward Ellington Field

"You still withat the reviewto be seen except the black cargo cover She got a roan in response, which worried her, but there was nothing she could do about it now She had tofor California But what if she didn’t? What if she was too late? Jesus, what then? She thought hard If she round Between the tinted s and the cargo cover, Mirabelle would be safe enough fro it would take to reach the Arizona border and Raphael’s territory? And how fast could Jabril find her in the ical destination hadn’t been Arizona, he had a blood link to Mirabelle and could track them better than any GPS device uzzling SUV as probably going to be a crazed vahts appeared in her rearview ht Was it hione? She drove frantically, her gaze dancing between the road and hersedan He rode right up on her tail, so close she couldn’t see his headlights, so close she was convinced he meant to ram her, to drive her off the road She jerked the SUV into the next lane, swerving dangerously, and watched in stunned disbelief as the other car raced past, its driver not even glancing her way

She sucked in a deep breath and kept going, shivering with chill as the adrenaline drained out of her body

When the airport caed nuar This particular airline offered certain amenities to the vampire community; their ads were subtle but obvious if you knehat to look for As Cyn pulled into the relative safety of the private hangar, the sunrise was already a proan to close behind her, the thinnest ribbon of light was visible Rereater susceptibility to the sun’s influence, Cyn skidded to a halt as close to the set, then threw herself from the truck and around the back The airplane cabin was open, interior lights bea a welcome above the short stairway It was only a few stairs, but Cyn gave it an alht invite vaers had to board the aircraft under their oer

"Please let Mirabelle be awake enough to walk" She whispered the prayer to whatever gods protected vampires and their foolish hu up silently "You still awake in there?" She checked the area before releasing the cargo cover

Mirabelle curled herself into a tight ball, eyes closed The sun was nearly up, her brain knew it; it was like hot lava lapping against her skull She was nearly crazed with fear, bombarded by sensations she’d never felt before She should be ho blankets, shielded by walls, curtains and doors When the heavy back hatch suddenly fleard, she screamed incoherently and stared terrified at the woht of an unfa

"Mirabelle?" the wo to concentrate on so beat of her own heart "Mirabelle, you’ve got to move, hon There’s not much tie woainst the thick fog that had rolled in froray She re Her parents had taken theray clouds had been sitting on the sand like a wall of dirty cotton balls It had been strange to walk through theers of mist on her skin and hair

"hurryfind usI can’tElizabeth"

Mirabelle’s attention sharpened The wo Elizabeth? What about Elizabeth? The woo with her somewhere To see Elizabeth? Did Liz need her, was she hurt? Had Jabril taken her already? Mirabelle pushed herself up, aard in the confined space The woer than Mirabelle No, that couldn’t be right Mirabelle was Vaer She let the wo toward some stairs Not too ood The sun was up; she had to get inside It was dark here, safe She tu soft beneath her, and then nothing at all

Cyn staggered under the abruptly dead weight of the va it to the narrow bed cha her fall She did her best to straighten out Mirabelle’s liht blanket, checked the temperature controls and slipped back into the main cabin She closed the door behind her and ran down the short aisle, taking the stairs two at a tirabbed her backpack and suitcase She left the keys on the seat The rental company would pick it up tomorrow, and the hotel would show her still in residence for two more days if anyone checked It was a faint deception, but it was all she had

The pilot aiting in the doorway He had that ale height, slender,to turn heads He greeted her by na it with an i the hatch Cyn collapsed into the nearest seat and buckled in, her hands gripping the arin its journey onto the runway

Minutes later, they were lifting into the sky and Houston was dropping away behind thehed in relief as everytime to Santa Monica was about three hours, every ht sunshine She yanked off her high-heeled boots and stood to retrieve her suitcase,beneath her bare feet The leather skirt and boots went into the suitcase, replaced by her faded denilass of wine from the complimentary stock and sank into the soft, co buttons until it was fully reclined There were tihter Heup, and God knew they had little in the way of a father-daughter relationship even now But at times like this, when she needed a last rateful for the Leighton naenerous trust fund that came with it She was already half asleep when the intercohton It looks like a smooth ride all the way to LA"

She pressed the reply button "Thank you I’ to sleep until we land, so don’t worry about in our final approach"

"Sounds perfect Thanks again" She pulled up the blanket and fell asleep before she had time to wonder if she would drea Cyn shot to her feet, stumbled and reached out, unable to see even her own hand It was pitch black, blacker than a leaht She blinked rapidly, hands raised to touch her own face, her open eyes The screarew louder, filled with pain Her heart beat wildly as she fu nothing to hold onto--no walls, no furniture, nothing

The screaling to breathe, to slow her pounding heart, to hear The space around her was vast, echoing in its emptiness A delicate sound broke the silence, a wo in words she couldn’t understand A hter hissed out and with a wail of terror, the wo the thick darkness with the sound of fear Cyn crouched close to the ground, arms wrapped around her head in a vain atteainst a whi touched her in the darkness It was the faintest brush against her bare arhter followed, delighting in her fear, reaching out to stroke her face, her back, rando with her; that he could pluck her fro her in his oily miasma until her voice rose to join the chorus of hopelessness

Arht silently, refusing to give sound to her terror, kicking and punching

"Softly, my Cyn" She froze at the fa her in safety, shutting out the screahtened, his cool strength washing away her terror, his sensuous lips soaking up the tears she didn’t know she’d shed She sagged against hi to his strength "Sleep for noeet Cyn"