Shit. Raphael was going to tear this town apart.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done, Garry?” he asked instead. “Raphael’s going to paint the town with your blood for this.”

“Gosh, I hope so,” Garry said with false enthusiasm. “Well, not my blood. But anyone else’s will do.” His voice hardened. “Why the hell do you think we targeted her instead of someone else? If those vamps start killing people, maybe the rest of you will open your eyes and realize we’ve got a bunch of monsters living among us and our fucking government isn’t doing shit about it.”

“So, you’re making some sort of political statement with this?” Colin asked in disbelief. “There’s not going to be any last stand here, Mac. No Waco, no Ruby Ridge, no media standing by to cover your glorious sacrifice. You’re dead, pure and simple. You and all your crazy ass buddies. Those vamps are going hunt you down and tear you into pieces so small, there won’t be enough of you left to bury.”

Colin didn’t wait for a response. He hung up, shaking with anger. That stupid SOB. He couldn’t believe Garry would go along with that kind of ignorant bullshit. Hell, he couldn’t believe Garry would turn on him like this, after everything they’d been through together, after they’d saved each other’s lives more than once. But Colin couldn’t save him this time. He’d be lucky to save himself. Once the vampire lord found out Leighton had been specifically targeted . . . Colin shook his head. He might not know much about vampires, but he’d been there when Raphael woke up at sunset last night. He’d seen that huge, damn building rattle like it was made of cardboard.

Hell. Forget Garry McWaters and his idiot friends. Colin would have his hands full trying to convince the vamps not to take out every human being between here and Seattle.

He ran a hand through his hair, rubbing it back and forth. He wouldn’t get any more sleep today, not with this buzzing in the back of his brain. But as long as he was awake he might as well do something useful, and he could start with Leon and Ellen Pettijohn, the owners of Babe’s bar. He’d be surprised if either of them was directly involved in this. They weren’t going to win any citizenship awards, but he didn’t peg them as murderers either.

He started back toward the bedroom, intending to take a quick shower, get dressed and head into town. Ellen worked a day shift at the market, but Leon would probably be home, still asleep. Colin figured to head over there first. He could call, but these things worked better in person, and If he had to rouse Leon out of bed all the better—

He hit the bedroom doorway and skidded to a halt.

Well, hell. He couldn’t go over to Leon’s today. He couldn’t go anywhere. Sophia was sound asleep in his bed, completely helpless. Chances were no one knew she was here except him, but was he willing to take that chance? Hell, no.

He spun on his heel, going down the hall to his study and sitting at his computer. There was one more thing he could do, and he didn’t have to leave the house to do it. Garry and his buddies had to be holed up somewhere nearby, and this was a small town. If Garry had been staying with one of the regulars, it would have leaked out by now. But if he was in hiding, maybe with those out-of-towners Hugh Pulaski had complained about . . . well, Garry’s family had been in Cooper’s Rest a long time. They probably had property way out in the back of nowhere that Colin didn’t even know about.

But if he could find it before the sun went down tonight, he could give the vamps someplace to start looking, a focus for their hunt. And maybe, if he was very lucky, he could stop Raphael from turning Cooper’s Rest into a bloodbath.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Sophia stretched languidly, feeling more sated and relaxed than she had in a very long time. Maybe ever. Her eyes were closed, but she knew Colin was nearby. She could feel him watching her and she arched her back, preening for him, sliding her hands over her breasts and down to her thighs before extending them over her head in a final stretch.

Colin swore softly and she opened her eyes with a grin. He was half-naked, his chest bare, a pair of black combat pants snugged low on his narrow hips, and he was eyeing her body like a starving man.

“Why are you way over there?” she purred, patting the bed.

“If I come to bed, we’ll never get out of here and we have to leave. God knows I’m sorry, but we have to get back to the compound.”

Sophia sat up, her mind already churning over the possibilities. “Did something happen?”

“I got a phone call today from an old friend. He wanted to know if Leighton was dead.”

Sophia grew very still. “Why would he care?” she asked carefully.

“Because he’s probably the one who shot her. He and his buddies killed Marco and Preston and attacked Mariane, too.”

Her power rose unbidden, filling her with fire. She saw Colin’s eyes widen and knew her own had begun to glow. “Who is he?” she demanded.

“Garry McWaters. We served together.” His jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed with something more than anger. She tasted his emotions and recognized it. Betrayal. And that was something Sophia understood very well.

“So we kill him,” she said bluntly.

Colin met her gaze directly. “We kill him,” he agreed. “And I think I know where to start looking. Get dressed and I’ll fill you in on the way. We have to talk to Raphael before he starts killing the wrong people.”

* * * *

Colin slid the truck to a halt, jamming it into park and shoving the door open without even bothering to take the key out of the ignition. There had been even more vampires on the gate tonight, and they’d all been jumpy with adrenaline, or whatever it was that made vampires jumpy. They weren’t scared and they weren’t nervous, they were . . . excited, like something big was about to happen and they could hardly wait. But that hadn’t stopped them from searching him and his truck thoroughly, as if they’d never seen him before. As if Sophia wasn’t sitting right next to him.

And they’d completely ignored his questions about Leighton. Either they didn’t know anything or they weren’t telling.

The main building was lit up like a damn party palace, lights shining through the big glass doors. He saw people standing inside—vampires. Lots and lots of vampires, all dressed for war. It was like being back on an op—everyone wearing head to toe black, combat pants and boots, with long-sleeved T-shirts—except that some of these soldiers had fangs showing.

Sophie came up behind him and gripped his hand hard, forcing him to stop and turn to face her.

“Sophie,” he protested. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Listen to me,” she insisted. “Leighton must have survived the night or the guards wouldn’t be so relaxed.”

“That was relaxed?”

“Believe me, Colin. If she’d died, you wouldn’t have made it through the gate, at least not in one piece.”

“Okay, great, let’s get in there, and—”

“Listen to me,” she repeated urgently. “You had a taste of what Raphael can do. Just a taste, Colin. If he lashes out at you—”

“I’m a big boy, Sophie. I can take care of myself.”

She jerked his arm angrily. “Not from this. But I can. Do you understand what I’m saying? You have to let me protect us if it comes to that. Don’t interfere and don’t try to help.”

Colin stared down at her. He wasn’t an insecure man and he didn’t feel the need to constantly prove himself. Twelve years with the teams had taught him the value of standing back and letting someone else take the lead when they could get the job done better. But there was a huge difference, a cosmic difference, between his buddies and Sophia. She wanted him to hide behind her while she fought Raphael? The guy who could cause small earthquakes when he got pissed?

“Colin,” she said. “Please. I know what I’m asking, but it’s the only way.”

He looked away. “Fuck,” he snarled. “All right, fine. But so help me, Sophie, if anything happens to you, I’ll take you over my knee and—”

She placed her lips on his, silencing him. “Promises, promises,” she whispered. She froze for a moment and then her head whipped around toward the building. “Raphael,” she said.

Colin looked over her head and saw Robbie on his knees. “Let’s go,” he said.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Raphael opened his eyes and immediately reached for Cyn. He’d been aware of her lying next to him throughout the day, had listened to her heart growing stronger with every beat. She would live. He knew that now. And she would heal. But it would be a long, slow process, and most likely many months before she was back to full strength. As powerful as he was, there was only so much he could do. His blood could start the process, could keep her alive and accelerate the healing. But with these injuries, her body would have to do some of it at its own pace.

He wrapped her gently in his arms and leaned over to kiss her forehead. She stirred, but didn’t wake. She knew he was there, though, and that was enough for him. He would rather she save her energy for healing than waste it on unnecessary words.

Lifting his arm, he used his fangs to slice a vein open and lowered the wrist to Cyn’s mouth. She latched on eagerly, another sign of her increasing strength. One of her hands came up to hold his wrist as she suckled and Raphael noticed how fragile it looked, how she seemed to have lost weight just over the last few hours. Her body was using itself up. He was reminded of Dr. Saephan’s words yesterday. His Cyn was still human. She needed human blood to replace what she’d lost, and she needed nutrition beyond what Raphael could give her.

Her grip on his wrist loosened as her suckling ceased and she seemed to be falling more deeply asleep. Raphael put his mouth to hers, kissing her, murmuring words of love against her lips. He lifted his head, stroking her hair back from her face.

“I need to leave you for a short time, lubimaya” he said quietly. “Doctor Saephan will be here with you and Elke will be up above. I need to know how this happened, why Robbie was—”