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The huun to arrive for the day shift, and still Mirabelle hadn’t gotten a response froht away, she supposed That guy was letting Liz use his computer, but maybe not all the tiht as she wandered through the roup of crafts perfection Apparently, once the woeance
Mirabelle glanced at her watch Before long, she’d have to start downstairs to her sun to pack up, tools clattering, talking auards watched the visitors closely, aware of the co for a quiet place, Mirabelle hurried through the kitchen and outside, down the drive and across to the pathway between the two houses It was peaceful out here, the noisy work as Jabril’s prisoner for so many years, she relished the freedom to walk in the earthy silence beneath the thick trees and breathe the fresh air The pale ht easily followed the graveled path Benches were dotted at regular intervals, s all around the backs and seats Some sat boldly out in the open, others peered froh out loud the first tiht of theht before dawn and had never seen anyone other than the occasional guard patrol
When she’d gone far enough that Alexandra’s house was no longer visible through the trees, she sat on one of the concrete benches and logged on to do a quick survey of websites Still nothing and there wasn’t ht, less than an hour before she’d have to be downstairs and tucked into her bed, although the others would come later She leaned back and tilted her head toward the ines, so the workersShe stood, ready to head back, but a rush of noise drew her in the other direction, toward the elegant and expansive mansion where Raphael and his vampires lived and conducted the business known as Raphael Enterprises She hesitated, torn between curiosity and the instinctive desire to get down to the safety of the vault beneath the manor
Curiosity won, of course She often sat in the evenings and watched the cohts, there was a busy parade of vampires and humans Some were there to do business with Raphael Others, and Mirabelle recognized them easily, were there to offer themselves to the vampires as blood donors Both men and wohout the city, closely guarded by Raphael’s vaone beforeUnlike Jabril, Raphael didn’t keep any slaves, blood or otherwise
She approached the final curve in the path The main house wasn’t quite visible yet It sat several feet below the pathway here, right on the edge of the cliff But she could see lights flashing against the dark sky Red and blue in a rotating pattern It seemed familiar for some reason, and she hurried forward only to duck quickly behind the trees
Two police vehicles sat in the driveway below, one black and white, its light bar flashing silently, the other a late hts pulsing on the roof Standing next to the cruiser were a couple of unifor nervously on their weapons as they stared at the several large and very pissed off va thehts on, but no one inside
As she watched, the double glass doors to the e Asian vao everywhere with Raphael Duncan appeared to be furious He was s protruding below his upper lip He jerked his head at the va the police vehicles and they backed away, foruards and the two huasped Raphael!
A lol of anger rose froed, hands cuffed behind his back, held between two human men, probably the policemen from the unmarked car They halted at the foot of the stairs and the blocky, dark-haired police
The powerful vampire lord rotated his head slowly to stare down at the e and he turned that la every one of theular, focused entity, utterly under his control, awaiting his command
Up on her little overlook, Mirabelle too felt the irresistible pull of his will She tre with absolute certainty that she would race down the hill to his rescue, even to her own death, if he desired it She tensed, ready to launch herself at his command, but a wave of calm reassurance flooded her senses instead She felt suddenly as if she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the vale, unified movement to permit the humans to pass with their prisoner Raphael spoke in a low voice to Duncan, who gave a sharp nod and stood aside, his face aas his Sire slid gracefully into the back seat of the unmarked car
With a chaotic flurry of sla wheels, the police vehicles spun around the drive and gunned back toward the ate Aluards piled inside, Duncan a SUVs peeled aith a scream of rubber, hard on the heels of Raphael and his police captors
The silence in their as deafening Va down the drive after theirto leave Finally, one of the vaave an order and everyone et back to the house, had to tell Alexandra and the others at the manor, if they didn’t know already She hurried back down the path, laptop tucked under her arotten She had toshe had to call Cynthia!
Chapter Thirty-three
Cyn snapped her cell phone closed with a curse, all but running fro a lead on Elizabeth She hit the street and stor the locks and sliding behind the wheel in a single nored as she sped away froain to speed dial Eckhoff It rang several times before his voice mail picked up
"Thanks for the heads up, Eckhoff," she snarled "You tell that piece of shit Santillo he can kiss his ass good-bye when this is over, because he’s got the wrong fucking guy" She disconnected and immediately called Duncan
The varowl
"I’m on my way," she said