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“What are you thinking?” Winter asked.
Rafe shook his head as he returned the violin to its case. “Not sure. I thought I’d sensed a vampire before the attack, but it had been faint.”
“I can look into it…”
Rafe was already shaking his head. “No, just check on the League for me.”
“Got it.”
“And his power. Have you uncovered his power yet?” Rafe hated the urgency in his voice, but after their encounter in the hallway at Blush, he needed to know what Philippe’s power was, now more than ever. He had to be sure what he was feeling, what he was experiencing was all real.
“Not yet.”
Rafe frowned and turned toward the sliding glass door, but he didn’t see the city spread out in front of him. There was only Philippe in his mind, the memory of his touch, the rising need threatening to swallow him completely. And the trust. He found himself trusting Philippe too much.
“What’s happened, Rafe?” Winter sounded closer now even though he never heard him move.
“Nothing.”
“Rafe…”
“It’s nothing. I’m just being cautious for once.”
Winter was silent for several seconds, and Rafe had a feeling that Winter didn’t quite believe him, but he wasn’t the type to push. Not like Marcus or Bel.
“I’ll be close,” Winter said. Rafe drew in a deep breath and nodded. “We’re always close.” Those whispered words felt as if they were carried to him on a dancing winter wind. The next thing he heard was the chime of the elevator.
Rafe twisted around and found that he was alone. He huffed a laugh. That was Winter. More ghost than vampire or even man. The boogieman of the vampire world.
Regardless of the silly myths and legends that followed Wee One around, Rafe knew Winter was always there for him. All his brothers were. He was just worried that if Philippe’s grip on him had nothing to do with his unique gift, then Rafe was very much in trouble, and his brothers would not be able to save him.
Chapter Eight
Rafe pulled his phone from his pocket and checked it for what felt like the fiftieth time, but there were no new texts from Philippe. He’d woken to a text that evening canceling their plans to check out Piper’s other hunting ground. There was no explanation. Just that he needed to reschedule for the next night. Not exactly reassuring.
Holding the phone in his left hand, he tapped it against his right palm as he stared down at Blush’s dance floor. The club had been open only a couple of hours and it was starting to fill up nicely. But he barely noticed the usual throng of revelers.
Why would Philippe cancel? Every indication pointed to his desperate need to locate his missing clan member quickly. Would he actually follow a new lead without Rafe?
Irritation crawled like ants across his skin. This didn’t make any sense. He’d come to the Variks for help, and now he was cutting Rafe out. Probably because of that damn shooting. Philippe had seemed shaken up when Rafe took those two bullets, but they’d been just little flesh wounds.
Rafe shoved his phone back into his pocket with an annoyed growl. He turned, picking up the sound of Lola’s determined stride as she approached the office. It was probably for the best that they were missing each other as Rafe needed time to hopefully make contact with a source who could shed some light on both the Arsenault problem and the Varik problem.
“Did you find him?” Rafe demanded as soon as she stepped through the open door.
If she was put off by his gruff tone, she gave no sign of it. “I’ve got him, but he’s not going to stay still long. We need to move now.”
“Blush?”
“Ryder has security under control, and most of the bloodsuckers don’t start showing up for another couple of hours. Gideon isn’t appearing until after I return.”
Rafe grunted and grabbed his leather jacket from where he’d draped it over the back of his desk chair. Tonight he’d opted for jeans and a light cashmere sweater rather than his usual suit. These trips with Lola tended to get a bit messy at times, and there was no reason for him to ruin another suit.
Lola didn’t need to accompany him, but he knew it was a waste of breath to tell her not to come. Even if he “won” the argument, she’d only follow him. In Lola’s world, Rafe’s safety came first. All his wishes and bitchy commands were a distant second.
“How long has he been here?” Rafe asked as they strode through the dimly lit corridors of Blush.
Employees rushed to get out of their way. Most of the Blush staff was human, but several security members were vamps, though Rafe was the only one of the staff to ever admit to being a vampire. Not that most of the humans believed it. At the time, the decision to “come out” on social media had been done to irritate the Ministry. Oh, and that had worked so fucking well.
