phone will be fine.”
“One moment only.”
It was more like ten seconds before she heard Larissa’s delicate voice. “Lady Sophia, how may I serve you?”
“I need to contact Lord Raphael’s office, Larissa. Do you have a number?”
“Of course, my lady. Do you wish to speak with him personally, or shall I—”
“No,” Sophia interrupted quickly. “Someone from his staff will do. I just need some information from them.” Possibly the last person she wanted to speak to directly at this point was Raphael. The news she had to deliver was bad. Very bad. Far better to talk to whoever was heading up his Seattle nest these days.
“Perhaps his lieutenant, Duncan, then?” Larissa prompted her.
Duncan , Sophia thought glumly. She’d never met either the vampire lord or his lieutenant, but Duncan was reputed to be as powerful as any member of the Vampire Council, excepting only Raphael himself. She snorted softly. Only Raphael could hold a vampire as strong as Duncan as his number two.
“My lady?” Larissa inquired.
“Whoever answers the phone will probably suffice, Larissa. Thank you.”
Sophia hung up the phone and waited, her gaze returning once again to the photograph. It was a casual shot, taken with a personal camera. The three of them sat close together, the woman in the middle with the men’s arms entwined around her in easy affection. The woman was smiling, her head tilted against the shoulder of one male, her hand resting on the thigh of the other. But there was wariness in her eyes as she looked at the camera, a distrustfulness that told Sophia this woman was probably an older vampire, one used to living in the shadows and not quite comfortable having her photo taken. The men had no such reservations, their expressions were wide open and laughing happily, an evening spent among friends.
Sophia’s heart clenched. Gone. They were all gone. How old had they been, how many years had they walked the earth, and what had they witnessed in those years?
“Damn you, Lucien,” she whispered again. The phone rang and she snatched it up, wanting to get this over with.
“Sophia,” a cool, male voice said. “I am Duncan . How may we help you?”
Sophia froze. Duncan ? Why would Raphael’s formidable lieutenant be the one to take her call? She was nobody. Powerful, yes, but nobody knew about her. She’d never been to a Council meeting, had never even been seen at Lucien’s side outside of Canada , and that was decades ago.
So why would Duncan pick up the phone when she called out of the blue?
Maybe because Raphael already suspected what Lucien had done, and now Sophia was going to be the one to suffer for it.
Chapter Nine
North of Seattle , Washington
Raphael woke, filled with a cold and deadly intent. Yesterday had been for grieving. Tonight was for vengeance. Cyn stirred slightly beside him, and he looked down at her where she still slept, curled against him. His arm tightened over her hip. He’d exhausted her last night. More correctly, they’d exhausted each other in the ages-old remedy when confronted with the face of death. A reaffirmation of life, even if their joining would never produce anything but mutual joy.
He leaned over and kissed her softly awake. Her eyes flashed open, a smile lighting their mossy depths even as her expression firmed with purpose. “We have work to do,” she said.
Raphael grinned viciously. They were well matched, he and his mate.
“We do,” he said. “The shower is big enough for two.”
Cyn sat up, running her fingers through her tangled hair, causing her breasts to push forward eagerly. He gave a low growl of appreciation. Her eyes, when she met his gaze, were filled with heat. “I’ve always been a big believer in multi-tasking,” she breathed.
* * * *
Raphael found Wei Chen and Loren waiting for him upstairs, deep in conversation with Duncan and Juro. Duncan crossed the room as soon as Raphael and Cyn
“One moment only.”
It was more like ten seconds before she heard Larissa’s delicate voice. “Lady Sophia, how may I serve you?”
“I need to contact Lord Raphael’s office, Larissa. Do you have a number?”
“Of course, my lady. Do you wish to speak with him personally, or shall I—”
“No,” Sophia interrupted quickly. “Someone from his staff will do. I just need some information from them.” Possibly the last person she wanted to speak to directly at this point was Raphael. The news she had to deliver was bad. Very bad. Far better to talk to whoever was heading up his Seattle nest these days.
“Perhaps his lieutenant, Duncan, then?” Larissa prompted her.
Duncan , Sophia thought glumly. She’d never met either the vampire lord or his lieutenant, but Duncan was reputed to be as powerful as any member of the Vampire Council, excepting only Raphael himself. She snorted softly. Only Raphael could hold a vampire as strong as Duncan as his number two.
“My lady?” Larissa inquired.
“Whoever answers the phone will probably suffice, Larissa. Thank you.”
Sophia hung up the phone and waited, her gaze returning once again to the photograph. It was a casual shot, taken with a personal camera. The three of them sat close together, the woman in the middle with the men’s arms entwined around her in easy affection. The woman was smiling, her head tilted against the shoulder of one male, her hand resting on the thigh of the other. But there was wariness in her eyes as she looked at the camera, a distrustfulness that told Sophia this woman was probably an older vampire, one used to living in the shadows and not quite comfortable having her photo taken. The men had no such reservations, their expressions were wide open and laughing happily, an evening spent among friends.
Sophia’s heart clenched. Gone. They were all gone. How old had they been, how many years had they walked the earth, and what had they witnessed in those years?
“Damn you, Lucien,” she whispered again. The phone rang and she snatched it up, wanting to get this over with.
“Sophia,” a cool, male voice said. “I am Duncan . How may we help you?”
Sophia froze. Duncan ? Why would Raphael’s formidable lieutenant be the one to take her call? She was nobody. Powerful, yes, but nobody knew about her. She’d never been to a Council meeting, had never even been seen at Lucien’s side outside of Canada , and that was decades ago.
So why would Duncan pick up the phone when she called out of the blue?
Maybe because Raphael already suspected what Lucien had done, and now Sophia was going to be the one to suffer for it.
Chapter Nine
North of Seattle , Washington
Raphael woke, filled with a cold and deadly intent. Yesterday had been for grieving. Tonight was for vengeance. Cyn stirred slightly beside him, and he looked down at her where she still slept, curled against him. His arm tightened over her hip. He’d exhausted her last night. More correctly, they’d exhausted each other in the ages-old remedy when confronted with the face of death. A reaffirmation of life, even if their joining would never produce anything but mutual joy.
He leaned over and kissed her softly awake. Her eyes flashed open, a smile lighting their mossy depths even as her expression firmed with purpose. “We have work to do,” she said.
Raphael grinned viciously. They were well matched, he and his mate.
“We do,” he said. “The shower is big enough for two.”
Cyn sat up, running her fingers through her tangled hair, causing her breasts to push forward eagerly. He gave a low growl of appreciation. Her eyes, when she met his gaze, were filled with heat. “I’ve always been a big believer in multi-tasking,” she breathed.
* * * *
Raphael found Wei Chen and Loren waiting for him upstairs, deep in conversation with Duncan and Juro. Duncan crossed the room as soon as Raphael and Cyn
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