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Xhex was sitting in the wing chair by the hen she heard the noise up above on the roof The h to pull her free of the mental aerobics she did to keep herself sharp

She looked to the ceiling

Downstairs, the security syste picked up the beep-beep-beep-beep-beep of it being disarht footsteps of the lesser who brought her food--

Soht

Sitting forward in her chair, she tensed up froh she couldn&039;t send syrids was compromised but workable and that was how she knew there was somebody other than that slayer around the house

A number of bodies Two out the back Three in the front And the emotions of the individuals who had surrounded the brownstone were appropriate to those of soldiers: deadly calm, utterly focused

But they were not lessers

Xhex shot to her feet

Jesus Christ They&039;d found her The Brothers had fucking found her

And the a Downstairs, she heard a shout of surprise, a scra of boots as hand-to-hand co in froh no one but Lash could hear her, she started to yell as loud as she could in the hopes that for once, she could reach out beyond the invisible walls of her cage

John Matthew couldn&039;t believe the lesser hadn&039;t known they were there Unless the fucker was compromised in some way, it should have tweaked to the fact that there were vampires all around the place But oh, no--it just went about its biz, stepping inside while leaving the damn door open

First order of infiltration was control, and as soon as John was over the brownstone&039;s threshold, he subdued the lesser by cranking the bastard&039;s ar it facedown on the tile, and sitting on its ass like a grand piano Meanwhile, Rhage blasted past on surprisingly light feet just as V and the boys e room

As the first level of the house was searched fast, John felt a tickling go down his back as if a razor-sharp knife was tracing his spine Looking around, he couldn&039;t tease out the origin of the sensation, so he banked the instinct

"Cellar," Rhage hissed

Vishous headed doith the Brother

With his boys left to guard his back, John was able to focus his attention on the lesser beneath hi, but that was it

Had it hit so? Usually they fought back

Kicked gas cans, for fucking instance

As he searched for signs of bleeding or other injury, John shifted his head around without giving the slayer a chance to get free Grabbing onto the fucker&039;s hair, he pulled up--

He found soht but it sure as shit wasn&039;t caused by the tackle On the left side of the slayer&039;s neck, there were two puncture wounds and a circular bruise caused by sucking

Qhuinn came over and kneeled down "Who&039;s been workin&039; your neck, big guy?"

The lesser didn&039;t reply as V and Rhage dematerialized up from the basement and headed for the second floor

As the Brothers h the house, Qhuinn took ahold of the slayer&039;s jaw "We&039;re looking for a female And you can make shit easier on yourself if you tell us where she is"

The lesser frowned and slowly shifted its eyes above

That was all John needed

He lunged forward, grabbing Blay&039;s paled hands, John leaped off and ran through a dining room and a front hall The stairas broad and carpeted, which meant he had excellent traction as he took the steps three at a tiher he went, the more his instincts screamed

Xhex was in the house

Just as he ca the way

"House is ee off She&039;s here She&039;s here soht his aret more that way--"

No! She&039;s here!

Vishous stepped up into John&039;s grille, his diao back downstairs"

John narrowed his eyes They didn&039;t just want him down below They didn&039;t want him up here

What did you find Neither answered What did you find!

Breaking away froe curse as V leaped in front of a door

Hollywood&039;s voice was hollow "Nah, V, let hih for a lifeti to argue, but then he took a hand- rolled out of his jacket and stepped aside with a curse

With the back of his neck as tight as a fist, John burst through the door and skidded to a halt The sadness in the rooible threshold he had to breach, his body penetrating the cold wall of desolation only because he forced his feet forward

She had been kept here

Xhex had been kept here and hurt here

His lips parted and he breathed through his mouth as his eyes traced the scratches on the walls There were legions of the with black stains and other dried blood

Which was a deep, purpley red

John went over and ran his hands down one gouge that was so deep, the silk wallpaper had given way to the lath and plaster beneath

His inhales grew sharper and his exhales shorter as he went around the room The bed was an absolute le