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Natalie,

Hopefully, you will get enough sleep You are safe here, and I’ll see you as soon as I wake Please make yourself at home here, but do not leave the house There are humans and vampires here who can see to any need you have while I a

Baojia

She took a deep breath and tried to re had been a blur She hardly re He’d kissed her--she remembered that He’d been… upset It was hard to tell with him, but she would have sworn he was deeply, deeply troubled When he’d kissed her by the stairs, it had alht was that she wanted to comfort him Probably ridiculous when she’d been such a basket case herself

She’d been barely conscious when they pulled up to the luxurious home only a few blocks froes and a wrought-iron gate A fountain and a dimly lit kitchen At some point, Baojia had picked her up in his arms and simply taken her to a bed--itin--because she couldn’t remember much else except his whispered voice in her ear

Rest, Natalie I’ll be close by

Where was he? Where did he sleep? In a bed like this in a room with no s? Did he breathe? Did he need to? He was so… inhuroaned and rolled over, burying her head in the cool sheets They were safe For now, at least She needed food and a shower,up, she surveyed the rooreen walls ar on top of a dresser with a bottle of water and fresh flowers placed next to it She sao doors, one of which she hoped was a bathroo the sunlight strea into the room

Her room was on the second floor of what looked like a luxurious, Spanish-style house Mansion rounds were surrounded by a wall and a hedge she could just barely see over, and fruit trees and roses dotted a yard with ponds, fountains, and a large swi pool

"Beautiful" She blinked Where on earth was she? Lifestyles of the Rich and Fangy? This couldn’t be Baojia’s sire’s house, so where had they landed? She looked around the roo over the dresser

"Georgia O’Keefe I think… that’s not a reproduction" She , soain wardrobe all over it "Holy shit Holy shit, Natalie" Baojia’s house in San Diego had been nice, but simple This place…

She peeked in the bathroom "Marble tub Of course there’s a marble tub" She let out a deep breath and surveyed her surroundings In the past three days, she’d woken in a strange oceanfront house, what could only be called a c beSheave, and now this She shrugged "Nicest prison so far I , she made sure the other door was locked and went to the bathrooed as she showered with the Italian-labeled bath products she found

First order of business, call Kristy Her editor was used to her disappearing for a few days, but by now the woman was sure to be frantic and had probably called Marty and the boys Maybe her dad, even She tried not to wince at that Also, she needed to get ahold of her notes They were at the office in a locker down by the fitness center, but Kristy could get them And she knew there was information in there that would mean more to Baojia than it had to her Between the two of theht be able to find out more about Ivan and his connection to the wo of Tulio, she’d like another conversation with the strange vampire He’d buried the bodies, but had he looked at the docuht have been destroyed? And where, precisely, had he found thehts ago, it sounded like the girls were being killed somewhere else and transported to the California desert, possibly by truck Where had they been killed? If Ivan was behind it--and it see by the death of the waitress from the bar--then Mexico was the most likely scene of the criht be friendly, or did they all owe allegiance to this mysterious cartel?

Natalie had a sudden vision of the vicious vah the desert, feeding on theirls were nowater This was so ated She’d fallen into a world that barely seemed real, filled with creatures that looked hu aside the physical danger, there were layers of history and grudges and politics she could only guess at Forget human feuds, vampires seemed to take family dysfunction to a whole new level

She dried off, patted her hair dry, and pulled it into a quick ponytail She didn’t have any of her normal hair products, so it was the best she could do with the wavynext to her on Tulio’s couch, playing with stray curls as she chattered nervously He seemed to like her hair She smiled despite herself Then she remembered his kiss and felt her face color

"What the hell are you thinking, Nat?" She sighed and poked her head out of the larger door, curious to seehall filled with more doors, but at one end, she could see a staircase She crept closer and cocked her head when she heard it