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Okay. Dress and jewelry into the box. Make sure it’s completely closed.
Thank you. I wasn’t going to say anything, but if there’s a box for jewelry, I had to ask.
He pushed a button and the trunk opened, and I got out of the car, retrieved the t-shirt and sweatpants, put them over the edge of the trunk so I could get to them, took all my clothes off, dumped the things onto the ground I would throw away, and settled the jewelry and dress into the box with the shiny interior. I closed and latched the box, took my underclothes and shoes to the dumpster, returned, put the shirt and sweatpants on, closed the trunk, and got into the car barefoot.
Excellent. I hoped you’d understand why it’s important to keep the old and new isolated.
I need you to give me instructions if they’ll keep me safe. Doesn’t matter whether I’ll like them or not. I knew protocol this time, but next time I might not.
You’re right, of course. Changing clothes is probably overkill, but better safe than sorry.
I shook my head. The Slayers know things they should not. Nothing is overkill with them. Is it necessary to continue speaking telepathically?
No. I’m going to contact Marco and pull you in. Best we keep conversation off modern-day communication devices.
Of course.
He gave a knock in a tempo I hadn’t heard before, and I assumed it was one they’d agreed upon for a no-longer-emergent situation.
What’s happened, Marco asked.
I have Etta pulled in. A sniper tried to take her out from around a mile away. She was on the roof of the downtown TBC, and the sniper team was on the roof of the hospital. I got a decent look at them and beamed the image to Etta.
Ryan sent me images of his parents because he was concerned they might try to take me out if gossip about us made it to them. It was a male and female, same build, hair, and facial structure. I can’t be one hundred percent positive, but it seems too big of a coincidence to be anyone else.
Accurate. Have you contacted Ryan? Marco asked.
No. That will have to be your call.
Josef, do you have a game plan?
Take her to my home. I have a secure area, and with me and Ronnie around, no one will get to her.
Etta, let me contact Ryan and arrange an in-person meeting, Marco said. I’ll let you watch through my eyes, but I want to be in the room with him when he finds out. Where is your phone?
Still in the limo, parked at the downtown TBC.
Taking her to your place doesn’t work, Josef, Marco said.
A three-second pause, and Josef telepathed. Right, because it’s logical I would’ve taken her to safety, so it’s one of the first places they’ll look for her.
Yes. Marco was silent, and I assumed he was making other arrangements, so I sat quietly.
Nearly five minutes later, Marco said, Jayce will house her. They have plans to watch movies Sunday night.
That’s good, I telepathed to both of them. It’ll be good to spend more time with Moira, too. Thank you, Marco.
Somewhere safe that you won’t hate. Just make sure you stay inside unless we have Josef there to move you safely. No phone or internet activity. I’ll meet with Ryan, and we’ll see where we go from there.
Chapter 26
Ryan
The Lugat vampires are biological vampires and can’t control magic. They have many of the skills of the animal kingdom, so they can hypnotize with their gaze, they can jump ten times their height, and they can run much faster and longer than a human. Unfortunately, the lack of magic makes them harder to find and harder to keep up with. Also, without the need to band their magic together, as the Strigorii must, the Lugat aren’t terribly organized. Some live in small groups, others live alone. Keeping tabs on them is a bitch.
I’d known for a while that a social group in Dalton was going to present a problem in the near future, and the local Slayer contacted me to ask for help. Seven Lugat vampires would be no problem for me, but he wasn’t confident about going in on his own.
I had a burner phone on me, but Chrystle could let me know if someone important tried to contact my regular phone. When she sent a text message to let me know Marco had attempted a phone call, I stepped away to return his call. He wanted me to meet him, face-to-face, but I was elbows deep in an op, an hour away from him, so I made arrangements to come to him at Homewood in about fourteen hours — at four o’clock in the afternoon.
