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"Yes," Claire said. Mr. Martin nodded.
"Then put her in less...attention-getting clothing," Amelie said. "I have calls to make."
"Now, this is more like it," Kim said, once they were all inside the limousine again. It was a tight fit, with Mr. Martin and Kim added to Amelie, Claire, and the two other guards, but Amelie managed to arrange for her own personal space. It was the rest of them who were crowded. Kim was in the middle, but she didn't seem to care; she was busy running her hands over the plain black hoodie she'd been given to put on and the blue jeans. The Skechers had to be hers, from before; they looked ragged, well-worn, and had tribal patterns of black thorns and roses all over them, hand-painted. She'd tied her hair back in a ponytail and secured it with a rubber band. No fancy hair things available, Claire guessed, or at least none Kim wanted to wear. All in all, she made it look reasonably her again. "I wish we could see out."
"Nothing much to see," Claire said. "It's Morganville. Rusty buildings, flat desert, dusty, tumbleweeds. You know the drill."
"You'd be surprised how good that sounds when all you've seen for months are gray walls. So, how's Eve?"
"She's fine." Oh, sheso didn't want to talk about her friends with Kim, of all people. "And she doesn't want to see you."
"Call her and see."
"No." The last thing Claire wanted was for Eve to get sucked back into the black hole of Kim. That hadn't turned out well for anyone last time.
Kim laughed dryly. "She still dating that vamp hottie Michael?"
"Would you please, please,please shut up now?"
"I guess that's a yes. He's going to dump her, you know. Sooner or later."
Claire felt stung, mostly because she'd wondered about that herself, guiltily, from time to time. "No, he's not! They're--they're getting married." She blurted it out, and Amelie's head turned toward her with eerie, machinelike precision.
"Are they." It didn't sound like a question. It also didn't sound like Amelie was pleased with that particular news. "I'll have to have a chat with Michael. He's failed to inform me of his plans."
Kim smirked. Claire fought the urge to hurt her, but mainly because there wasn't any room to get in a good punch.Maybe, she thought,Shane is rubbing off on me with this prone-to-violence thing. Dammit! She should have thought before she said anything about that; she should have known better. Michael and Eve weren't exactly the most popular couple among the vampire side of town, much less the human side; it made sense that Amelie wouldn't be completely happy about the idea--and that Michael wouldn't have come right out with it to the head vampire, either.
Kim had goaded her into saying it, just as Kim manipulated everyone around her and always had. Claire made herself breathe slowly, through her nose, trying to calm down. She had to think clearly and go slowly. Otherwise, Kim would drive her into saying other things, worse things. There were all kinds of secrets Kim didn't need to be part of, starting with...well, everything.
Amelie ignored the two of them and held out her hand to the guard seated next to her. Without a word, he took a cell phone out of his pocket and handed it over. She dialed, waited, and said, "We are on our way. You have the address, yes? I will expect you there. And, Oliver? Come prepared for a fight. We're going to wipe out this nest of vipers. There can be no delay. Things have gone far enough."
But what about Shane?Claire reached out toward Amelie but didn't touch her; she didn't dare try. As it was, a guard grabbed her wrist and held it there in midair, frozen. He didn't hurt her, but there was no doubt that he could have. "Stop," he told her. "Think what you're doing."
"Amelie," Claire said. "I told you, Shane's not part of this. Please don't--"
She didn't take the phone away from her mouth. She looked directly at Claire with no expression in her iron gray eyes and said, "Detain everyone. We will determine guilt or innocence on-site." She handed the phone back to her flunky, who turned it off and put it away. "Why do you have your hand out toward me, Claire? Do you believe that I would harm your...friend, without proof?"
Actually, Clairedid believe that. She'd seen Amelie go full contact before, and she knew that she wouldn't hesitate to sentence Shane if there was even a suspicion that he was willingly part of all this stuff.
Not reassuring.
And right on cue, Kim was there to articulate all that terror in her head. "She's going to kill them all," Kim said. "And you and me, we're the ones to blame for that. If Shane's still there, she'll go all Red Queen on him, too. Off with his head. Talk about poetic justice."
That was exactly what Claire was afraid of, and what she was afraid to put into words. Trust Kim to blurt it out, make her worst fears real. Amelie didn't confirm or deny any of it. She looked toward Mr. Martin, who took Kim's hand in his and said, "Enough." He sounded quiet and not especially threatening, but Kim shivered. Claire felt it. "Be quiet, now. Enjoy your hours of freedom."
"You call this freedom? I'm trapped in a town car with a bunch of fanged prison guards. Oh, andher ." Kim bumped shoulders with Claire, not too gently. "The Team Vampire mascot."
"I actually am going to punch you," Claire said.
"Yeah, I am absolutely terrified, Danvers. Without Shane around to fight your battles, do you think you
can take me?"
Claire turned and stared Kim full in the face. "Yes," she said. "I'm pretty sure I can."
She meant every word of it, and Kim must have decided to back off--or Mr. Martin's presence decided it for her. They lapsed into a heavy silence as the limousine drove and drove and drove...and, finally, to Claire's simultaneous relief and terror, began to slow down.
Claire took out her phone. Amelie gave her a sharp look. "I'm only calling Eve. I want her to know I didn't just disappear. Like Michael and Shane. You know how she is."
Amelie looked bemused and nodded. "Do not tell her where we are."
"I don't actuallyknow where we are." Claire dialed. Eve picked up on the first ring.
"Hello?" Her voice was tense and madly uncontrolled. "Michael?"
"No, it's Claire--"
The yell blasted out of the cell phone loud enough to echo around the inside of the car. Claire yanked it away from her ear, and she could still hear very clearly what Eve was shouting. "What the hell are you doing? Where are you? You can't just run off and leave me and not even leave anote . My God, you're as bad as the boys. How do I know the vamps haven't dragged you off and snacked on your--?"
"Eve," Claire said, yelling into the phone. "Eve!Shut up! I'm with Amelie!"
Silence, and then much lower in volume, "Oh. Sorry."
Claire put the phone back to her ear. Next to her, Kim was smirking again. Claire sincerely wanted to put her shoe through that smile, but again didn't. She took a deep breath. "We may have found out where the fights are being held. I'll call you if Michael's here, okay?"
"Okay," Eve said. "Uh, you're being careful, right?"
"Sure." She glanced around at the heavily fanged contingent. "Safe as houses."
"I've been in some pretty shaky houses."
"I'll be fine. Call you later."
The car had come to a complete stop now. Amelie looked out through the heavily tinted windows. "There's very little cover out there," she said. "Move quickly. When we stop, get out and go directly to the shade. We may not have time for protective clothing. I assume all of you can handle the sun for a limited period."
Her guards murmured affirmations; then sunlight lanced in, bright and harsh, as the vampire guard threw open the door. He was out and moving fast, followed by the second guard. Mr. Martin practically yanked Kim's arm out of its socket dragging her from the car, and somehow, although she started moving as quickly as she could, Claire was the last one out of the limousine. Amelie was just ahead of her, though.
It was a good thing they were toward the back.
Claire was never sure exactly how it happened until much later. Right then, it was impressions: a big, empty desert area. A flapping, rusting tin barn, apparently abandoned, with a thick area of shade under a leaning awning that probably was used to park cars or something. The vampire guards in their black suits heading for it at top speed, with Mr. Martin slowed down by a foot-dragging Kim, and Amelie holding back, probably to stay closer to Claire.
