Betrayed by D. B. Reynolds Page A

unrepentantly as he dropped into one of the leather chairs. “I’m disciplined when it counts, my lord.”
    “A bit more discipline was perhaps called for this evening, Lucas. This visit was indiscreet. When he hears of it, Klemens will have no doubt left as to our association.”
    “With respect, my lord . . . fuck Klemens . The coward doesn’t even have the balls to take you on himself. He hires a damn human to do it, and from a distance at that.”
    “Nonetheless, Klemens will now view us as a united front.”
    “Good. I hope he chokes on it. Let him think he drove us together with this murderous little stunt of his.”
    Raphael leaned back in his chair with a small smile. He didn’t approve of Lucas’s spontaneous visit tonight, but it hadn’t surprised him. Raphael had many vampire children. More than he could easily count, although he could recall each of their names when he needed to, and he never forgot a face. But of all his children, he was particularly fond of Lucas. He always had been. Some might argue it was a weakness, but he would have disagreed. His love for Lucas was no more a weakness than his love for Cyn, and he loved no one on earth as much as his Cyn.
    There was a vitality to Lucas, a joy in living, that made him shine just a bit more brightly than those around him. It was what had drawn Raphael to him all those years ago, when Lucas had been nothing more than a mercenary street thief who’d dared to pick the pocket of a master vampire. Raphael had seen something in that filthy young thug. He’d seen a future vampire lord.
    And he’d been correct. Lucas was a natural leader. Humans would call it charisma. Raphael called it confidence and courage. Once Lucas made a decision, he acted on it, not caring what others thought. Being forced to wait and do nothing while Klemens marauded along their shared border had stretched Lucas’s patience to the breaking point. And tonight’s assassination attempt had tipped him over that point and beyond. There would be no holding him back. Not after this.
    Lucas straightened from his slouch to lean earnestly across the table. “I heard Juro was injured, and he looked a little stiff out there. He’s okay?”
    “His left arm was shattered by the bullet,” Raphael confirmed. “It passed right through him and into the house. Fortunately, no one else was standing in its path, and it lodged in the stone fireplace.”
    “Fortunate on two fronts then. If the bullet is recovered, it can tell us a lot.”
    “So Cyn informed me,” Raphael agreed.
    Lucas’s entire face lit up. Raphael gave him a flat stare, but it didn’t stop him.
    “Ah, yes,” Lucas said speculatively. “The beautiful Cynthia. I assume she’ll be leading your investigation. Her skills are well known in this area. Of course, that means she and I will be working together quite closely in the coming days.”
    “Lucas.” Raphael said no more than his name, but it was enough. Lucas grinned, but he backed off, sinking deeper into his chair and lowering his head in a slight bow of acknowledgment that did nothing to quell the sparkle of mischief in his eye.
    “We are investigating,” Raphael said, getting back to the topic at hand. “My Cyn is making inquiries, and Juro has his people combing the hillsides, although I’m told we may have to wait for daybreak before that particular search will turn up anything useful.”
    Lucas looked up and met Raphael’s gaze directly. “We will share information, my lord. But the killer is mine.”
    “My people will dispute that,” Raphael replied evenly. “They are as eager as you for retribution. The attack was against me, on my territory and their watch.”
    “But the vampire who hired the killer belongs to me .”
    Raphael tilted his head curiously. “You don’t think it was Klemens ?”
    “ Klemens was behind it, I’ve no doubt on that score. But I know that bastard. He’d never hire a human killer personally. He’ll have sent word down