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Sophia
by D. B. Reynolds
Chapter Thirty-Five
"Well, that was intense," Colin commented as he held the
door open so Sophie could climb up into the Suburban they'd
borrowed from the compound's garage. Sophie had suggested
they take the Lexus she'd been driving earlier, but there was
no way Colin was going out on an op even a civilian one
driving a damn luxury sedan. It would be too embarrassing.
Since his Tahoe was pretty much totaled and, according to
Sophia, stank of blood, he'd commandeered one of Wei
Chen's fleet of SUVs.
He closed Sophie's door, hurried around the hood and
settled himself behind the wheel, starting the truck with a
quick twist of the key. He pulled out of the garage and started
down the curve of the driveway, slowing as the gate opened
and a gray BMW pulled through with Loren at the wheel. Colin
caught a glimpse of the vampire's shaken expression as he
drove by. There was a woman sitting next to him and she
didn't look happy, either. Colin shook his head. He didn't envy
Loren. Not one little bit.
It was a short drive to the Pettijohn's place. Their house
was on the near side of town, down a narrow slice of dirt that
barely qualified as a road. Like a lot of the other homes
around Cooper's Rest, theirs was older and in a state of
gentle disrepair. The wood could have used a good oiling and
the eaves were clogged with pine needles, but the roof was
sturdy and there was a brand new aluminum garage off to
one side. The double doors were open and Colin could see
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Ellen's Honda sitting inside, but there was no sign of Leon's
truck.
"Let's make this quick. Looks like Leon's left already and
I'd like to get to him before Raphael does."
Sophie snorted delicately. "Only if you want him to keep
breathing." She opened the truck door and slid to the ground,
closing the door quietly behind her. "Maybe we should go
directly to the bar and this Leon fellow. You said the woman's
never there anyway. She won't know anything."
"Yeah, but Leon probably tells her stuff. As long as we're
here, it's worth a five minute conversation."
Sophie shrugged. "It's your call. I don't know these
people." She glanced around the yard and then at Colin, as if
to say, and I'd really rather not know them.
Colin grinned, taking the steps to the front porch in two
long strides. Before he could ring the doorbell, the door
whipped open and Ellen stood there, rifle in hand and pointed
right at his face.
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Sophia
by D. B. Reynolds
Chapter Thirty-Six
Raphael felt Loren's fear long before the vampire entered
the building with the human woman at his side. He looked
awful, his face pale and his eyes wide as he scanned the
vampires gathered around the entrance. He pushed his way
through, took one look at Raphael and dropped to his knees.
"Forgive me, Sire," he sobbed.
Raphael gazed down on him dismissively. How had he ever
thought this one was worthy of responsibility?
"In the other room," he said coldly.
Two of his vampires grabbed Loren by the elbows, hauling
him to his feet. The woman wailed noisily and Duncan
stepped up, cutting off her cries with a thought. At his signal,
another of Raphael's guards escorted the now placid female
after Loren.
"Duncan, you're with me." He turned to face Juro. "This
won't take long," he told him. "We'll go directly to the bar and
move out from there. Make certain everyone understands the
rules of engagement. I want to be absolutely certain we catch
every one of these animals in our net. Information first " He
lowered head and let a fraction of his power flow outward,
swirling around him. " and then we hunt," he finished.
His vampires roared. He gave them all a fierce grin, then
spun around and strode through the double doors and into
the nearly empty room. With just the few of them there, the
lights were low, the night nothing but a black space beyond
the windows. Loren was on his knees, hunched over, arms
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wrapped around himself miserably. The human woman sat on
a chair nearby, although she didn't seem aware of anyone,
much less her vampire lover.
Raphael walked over to Loren and stared down at him,
hands on his hips. Raphael had given Loren life. He owned
him body and soul. It was impossible for him to lie to his Sire,
even if he'd thought to try.
"How long have you been fucking her, Loren?" Raphael
asked flatly.
He swallowed dryly before speaking. "Almost a month, my
lord."
"Who is she?"
"Deb Jenkins. But I've told her nothing, my lord. I swear
"
"Silence."
Loren's mouth closed and he dropped his head to his
chest, his shoulders bowed and shaking with fear. Raphael
hadn't yet decided what to do with him. Despite Loren's
protests to the contrary, Raphael knew the vampire had been
spilling secrets to the woman. The question was with what
intent? It was one thing if he was simply a fool who let
information slip while lying in bed with her. But if he'd
intentionally dropped secrets to persuade her of his
importance or to curry favor, that was something else. The
next several minutes of Loren's life would depend on what
he'd told the woman . . . and what she'd done with it.
"Deb." As Raphael said the woman's name, he wrapped a
thread of power around it, ensuring her cooperation. If
necessary, he'd rip the truth from her mind, but as he
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by D. B. Reynolds
touched her thoughts, he knew it wouldn't be necessary. She
was wide open to him.
She looked up, meeting his gaze with a smile. "Yes?" she
said pleasantly.
"How long have you known Loren?"
"Just since I've been back from L.A. We met in town at the
Post Office. I was in there makin' sure that old bat Mavis
didn't fuck up my mail. I don't know why they keep her on
there. Anyway, Loren was there. Gettin' his mail, too, I
guess."
"Did you know who he was?"
"Oh, sure. My brother Curtis told me all about you guys as
soon as I got here."
Raphael's gaze sharpened. When he'd scoured Hugh
Pulaski's mind after teaching him the folly of threatening
Cyn the human had identified someone named Curtis as one
of those he'd overheard plotting against the vampires.
"Curtis said if I got the chance," Deb continued, "I should
hook up with one of you. Loren was good-looking enough "
Loren had turned to stare at her in horror, and she winked
at him when she said this, unaware of his reaction.
" and I'd heard the sex was mind-blowing," she added.
"So I thought why not? I'll give it a try. It's not like Coop's is
crawling with eligible guys, you know?"
"Sire, I swear "
Raphael simply looked at Loren. The vampire shut his
mouth with a whimper.
"You were saying, Deb?"
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by D. B. Reynolds
"Right, well, Curtis, him and his friends that is, wanted to
know all about it. Not the sex so much that would have been
too creepy, him being my brother but everything else. He
used to grill me like a steak after I'd spent the night with
Loren. Pissed me off sometimes, because all I wanted to do
was sleep. You know what I'm saying," she said with a
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