“Because she’s stupid and vindictive,” Aden growled. “You never should have fucked her. I warned you she was trouble.”

“You think all women are trouble,” Lucas replied. “Besides, it’s been decades since I took her to bed. And you’re wrong, she’s not stupid. I kept her on precisely because she’s damn smart.”

“Smart’s even worse. She thinks she can outwit you. She may be right,” he muttered.

“Thanks for that, asshole.”

“Gentlemen,” Raphael said with forced patience. “Whoever is behind these attacks will be dealt with, whether it’s Magda or someone else. But we have other business to discuss tonight.”

“Of course, my lord,” Aden said.

“Lucas believes you can take and hold the Midwest, Aden. What do you think?”

“The territory is mine, my lord. The challenge is simply a formality. I know my competition, and I will prevail.”

“Assuming you’re correct, and the territory becomes yours, Klemens ran a corrupt empire,” Raphael said. “Most, if not all, of his income came from illegal sources, which forced him to do business with untrustworthy humans of criminal repute. That made him weak, and I cannot afford to have a weak lord ruling the Midwest.”

He watched Aden closely, waiting to see how the other vampire would react to the implied threat. To see if Aden understood that he was being offered a place in an alliance—an alliance very much controlled by Raphael—and if he would agree to be a part of it. Or if he was stupid enough to challenge Raphael, which meant he would die here tonight.

“You don’t know me, my lord,” Aden said solemnly. “You don’t know my history. But I’ll tell you this much. I don’t consort with criminals, or with anyone whose purpose in life is to take advantage of others.”

Raphael nodded. “I had heard as much, but I needed to hear you say it. And don’t worry about Magda. Lucas and I can handle her.”

“Piece of cake,” Lucas chimed in. “She hasn’t broken the bond between us for some reason. Probably coasting on my protection for now. But it means I can find her.”

“And she will lead us to the others before she dies. It will make your path smoother,” Raphael told Aden. “There will be no need for you to expend your energy on what my Cyn would call low-hanging fruit.”

Aden laughed. “An apt description, my lord. I would be happy to assist in Magda’s demise, however. I always enjoy a good hunt, and vampires are much wilier prey than humans.”

“The hunt is mine,” Lucas said. “Or ours,” he amended, catching Raphael’s chilling glance. “Now, I say we enjoy this very fine Irish—”

All three vampires were suddenly on their feet and heading for the door as the sound of gunfire cut through the night.

Chapter Seven

“There are times when I wish I smoked,” Cyn said as she leaned against the fading warmth of the SUV’s front end.

“I know what you mean,” Kathryn agreed, zipping her jacket. “It looks so satisfying in the movies. So cool. Smoke drifting in the cold air, dramatic pauses to suck in a new lungful of tar and nicotine.”

“Until the stuff kills them, anyway. They don’t show that in the movies.”

“There is that. I wonder if vamps can smoke. You know any who do?”

Cyn thought about it. “I may have met one or two. But Raphael’s people are fairly fanatic about security, and so they tend to be health nuts, working out all the time, and forcing me to work out with them. Kidding,” she added, when Kathryn gave her a sideways look. “About the forcing, not the working out part.”

“I haven’t met that many of Lucas’s vampires yet,” Kathryn said. “I’ve seen them in battle, though, and they’re certainly serious about that. Maybe they’re health nuts, too. I’d meet more of his people if I traveled with him. He’d like me to, but the FBI prefers that its agents show up for work most days.” She smiled to show it was her turn to be joking, but Cyn sensed there was more to it than that.

“It’s difficult,” Cyn commented. “The vampire lords’ life style … it’s all-consuming.”

“And Lucas is used to getting what he wants.”

“They all are. I’ve made it my personal mission to make sure Raphael doesn’t always get his way.”

“How’s that working out for you?”

Cyn chuckled. “Not so well, but it’s fun trying. And it drives him nuts, so the effort is well worth it.” She smiled, thinking about Raphael’s usual reaction to what he considered her stubbornness.

“Good times,” Kathryn agreed, and they both snickered.

“You know, the air’s really fresh out here,” Cyn said.

“Yeah, it is. Bracing.”

“What do you say we sit in the truck instead?”

“Fuck, yeah. Who needs fresh air? I’m freezing.”

Cyn laughed and opened the driver’s side door, sliding behind the wheel. She snagged the extra keys from their hiding place and turned on the engine, then made sure the heater was set to human warmth.

Kathryn turned as she settled into the passenger seat. “So … this Mates Club … There are other women like you and me?”

Cyn smiled. “I prefer to think of myself as one of a kind, but if you mean mated to vampire lords, then, yes, we are not alone. And we’re not all women, either. The vampire lord up in Canada is female. Her name is Sophia, and yes, she’s still called a vampire lord. Chauvinistic bastards. Anyway, her mate is a former Navy SEAL and all around badass named Colin Murphy. We went through some really heavy shit together a few months ago, and survived. He’s a friend.”

“And the rest?”

“There’s Sara, whose story is hers to tell, not mine. She’s a survivor, though, and also a friend. I’m actually the one who introduced her to Rajmund—he’s Lord of the Northeast. They did the traditional marriage thing not long ago, big wedding, the whole bit. Beautiful dress.”

“You and Raphael aren’t married?”

She shook her head. “We’re mated, which is the vamp way, and enough for us. I don’t know how much Lucas has told you, but it involves—surprise, surprise—an exchange of blood.”

Kathryn shook her head. “Lucas has hinted around about the mating ritual and what it would mean for us, but I can tell he doesn’t want to push too hard, too soon. It sounds a lot like being married.”

“It is, I guess. There are definitely advantages, though. The blood link means Raphael can find me anywhere in the world, pretty much. And the longer we’re together, the stronger the link. That’s why I had to race back to the house this afternoon. Our link is strong enough that he can follow me even in daytime, especially if something traumatic or emotional happens.” She huffed a laugh. “Like if somebody was shooting at us. I wanted to be there as soon as he woke up, so he could see I was fine. If I do get hurt, though, the blood link lets me heal a lot faster than normal.” She turned to stare out the windshield, thinking about Washington and how close she’d come to dying. “That shit I told you Colin and I went through together? I would have died if it hadn’t been for Raphael and the blood we share.”

Cyn grew silent, remembering, and realized how very quiet it was out here. No distant hum of traffic, no planes, no drift of music, no people. There were only her and Kathryn, and two vampires—Lucas’s second bodyguard, a big vampire named Mason, and Sebastien, who’d come with Aden. The two of them seemed to have reached agreement on how to guard the shack, er, homestead, as long as the honchos were convening inside. Mason was currently standing guard at the opposite corner of the house from where Cyn and Kathryn sat in one of the trucks, while Sebastien had disappeared around back a few minutes ago.

“Any other law enforcement in the club?” Kathryn asked, breaking the silence.

Cyn shook her head. “The closest is Emma, but she’s a lawyer, and a political one at that. She’s mated to Duncan in D.C. She—” Cyn stopped talking to stare straight ahead.

Kathryn followed her gaze. “What is it?”

Cyn didn’t say anything, just opened the truck door and stepped outside, listening hard. “Mason,” she called softly, “do you hear anything?”

He stared at her unblinking, then his head swiveled and his attention focused on the unpaved road leading to the house. His whole body seemed to lean forward intently, and then Cyn stopped watching him because her own senses were telling her that she’d been right all along. A truck was speeding toward the house, and with no lights. It was the dust cloud she’d seen first, caught in a chance flicker of moonlight at just the right angle to be visible for a few seconds. But she could hear the transmission whining with effort now, as the unknown driver pushed it past its limits, either unable or unwilling to shift gears. Another glint of moonlight, this one off metal, and then Cyn was pulling her gun and thanking the instinct that had warned her to load her so-called vampire killer rounds tonight. She didn’t know who was driving that truck, but the special ammo would work as well on a truck as a vampire.

“Kathryn!” she called, as the truck came into view, no more than sixty yards away and closing the distance fast. She felt more than saw Kathryn pull her weapon, felt her take up a shooter’s stance. The truck roared into the cleared area in front of the house. It was a big pickup, its diesel engine rumbling like a freight train. She could make out one person in the cab, the driver, his hands gripping the steering wheel and his unwavering gaze focused straight ahead. There was no hesitation, no lessening of speed as he drew closer, no indication that he doubted what he was about to do.

The sound of a sub-machine gun on full auto thundered in from Mason’s position, and then Cyn and Kathryn were both firing, not knowing what the driver had in mind, only that they had to stop him.