He tore off his bloodied and filthy clothing, dropping it into a pile. Someone would retrieve it later. What could be saved would be cleaned and returned to him. Anything else would be burned. He stepped into the shower while it was still warming up, soaping his body and washing his hair with quick economical movements. He could feel Cyn’s restlessness. On some level, she knew he was near and she wanted him closer. And, although he’d been gone only a few hours, he needed to see her again, needed to see with his own eyes that she was well, before the sun rose and deprived him of his senses.

He rubbed a towel over his wet hair as he rummaged through the available clothing. A pair of sweats and a T-shirt came to hand, which was all he needed.

Two minutes later and he was back upstairs—barefoot, his hair still wet, towel in hand, heading across the great room to his private quarters in the opposite wing. Wei Chen stepped out of the office as Raphael strode by. The Seattle nest leader opened his mouth to say something, probably to ask about the hunt, but Raphael spoke first.

“The human woman you have working for you,” he said. “Will she be here tomorrow?” He didn’t slow down, forcing Wei Chen to hurry along next to him.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Find an excuse to keep her tomorrow until after sunset. I’ll have someone follow her when she leaves. And I’ll want to meet with you privately first thing. Bring her records. Do you understand?”

“Of course, my lord. Is there anything—”

“Nothing.” He turned his attention away from the Seattle leader, nodding instead to Elke who looked as if she hadn’t moved the entire time he was gone. He hurried past her and entered the code to call his private elevator, waiting impatiently for it to arrive. The ride down was interminable and he shot through the opening doors as soon as they’d widened enough to accommodate his shoulders.

Dr. Saephan stood, calm despite Raphael’s precipitous arrival. No doubt he’d heard the elevator’s departure and known what it meant.

“Lord Raphael,” he said, bowing slightly.

“She is well?”

“Very well, my lord. I’ve removed her IV for now. The bag would have needed changing during the day, and she’ll be fine without it for those few hours. What she needs most she will have, and that is you, my lord. Speaking of which—”

Saephan paused as if gauging Raphael’s mood before continuing. Raphael tore his gaze away from Cyn to give him an inquiring look.

“There is blood in the refrigerator, my lord, if you have need of it.”

Raphael didn’t move. Under normal circumstances, he took blood from his mate and no other. But that was obviously impossible in her current condition. So either Saephan feared that Raphael’s hunger would drive him to take blood from her anyway, and thus endanger her life. Or he was honestly concerned that Raphael might be neglecting his own health in his preoccupation with healing Cyn.

Raphael chose to believe the latter.

“Thank you, Doctor,” he said, his gaze meeting Saephan’s without blinking. “We’ll see you tomorrow evening.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Raphael waited until he heard the doors open upstairs and close again, confirming with a quick probe that the elevator was empty. He then called it back and locked it down for the night, pulling the vault door across the small vestibule and securing that as well.

Stripping off his borrowed clothes, he slipped into bed next to Cyn. She was wearing one of Raphael’s t-shirts, obviously selected by Dr. Saephan after bathing her. Cyn rarely wore nightclothes of any kind and almost certainly had not brought any with her on this trip. Raphael experienced a surprisingly visceral pleasure at seeing her in his clothes and mocked himself silently. Perhaps he wasn’t as far above primitive man as he liked to believe.

He slid closer, wrapping his body around her carefully. “I’m here, lubimaya,” he said unnecessarily. Cyn’s entire body relaxed as she turned into him, her breath running out in a long, slow exhalation that warmed the naked skin of his chest. Raphael closed his eyes in relief and placed a gentle hand beneath the shirt she wore, resting it against the bare skin of her lower back. They both needed the contact. But in this case, his need might have been greater than hers.

“I love you, my Cyn,” he murmured. He fell asleep to the strong beat of her heart against his ribs, not even noticing when the sun began its daily ascent.

Chapter Forty

Colin sat in the front passenger seat, giving Robbie directions to the next address on the list Raphael’s tech had provided. Sophie sat behind him. She didn’t say anything, but he was exquisitely aware of her, almost as if she was touching him even though she wasn’t. He wondered if it had something to do with the blood she’d taken from him. Had it linked them somehow?

Robbie made a turn and Colin looked up. They were heading for Curtis Jenkins’s place, but several people on the list were on the way, so they were stopping at those addresses as they came up. They’d already checked a couple off and it had taken no time at all, since no one had been home.

There had been no word from Raphael and his party yet, but it was still too early to expect anything. After all, both of McWaters’s old family places were pretty far out. Maybe he expected more because of Duncan’s assertion that the vampires could come to his assistance in only minutes, no matter where they were. Or maybe it was because he was sure on some level that Garry was at one of those hidden cabins, and that his old buddy wouldn’t survive the night if Raphael had anything to say about it. And Colin was pretty sure Raphael had a lot to say on that particular subject.

Not that Colin blamed him. Garry and his newfound friends had tried to murder Leighton. They’d killed Leon, as well as Marco and Preston. And Garry had all but bragged about what they’d done to Mariane. But after so many years of covering his back . . . Hell, maybe that was the real reason he’d suggested splitting into two groups. So he wouldn’t have to face up to his friend’s execution. Or, rather, his former friend. He might have mixed feelings about Garry’s death, but he had none at all about the past tense of their friendship.

“Deep thoughts, dude,” Robbie said, without looking away from the road.

Colin grunted and ran a hand through his hair, aware of Sophia listening to every word. She knew he was ambivalent about Raphael’s plans for McWaters and the other humans. And she was watching him, probably wondering if he’d judge her, too, before the night was over.

Colin turned halfway around in the seat. “I’m surprised you didn’t go with Raphael, Jeremy,” he said to the vampire sitting next to Sophia.

Jeremy turned back from staring out the window. He’d grown tenser with every mile they’d driven away from the bar, and Colin recognized it for what it was. Fear, plain and simple. The vampire might be determined to seek revenge for his mate, but he’d never been in any kind of battle before. He was scared to death.

Jeremy darted a quick glance at Sophia before answering Colin. “I’m only an accountant. Lord Raphael and his people are accustomed to a level of violence that is completely foreign to me. Some of them have been with him for decades and have fought challenge after challenge. I would only be in the way.”

Colin shrugged. “We’re likely to get into some shit here, too, you know. If we find any of these old boys, they won’t go down easy.”

Jeremy jerked his head in a sharp nod. “Yes. And I won’t hold you back. I may be an accountant, but I am also Vampire. And besides, I’m hoping at least one of those we find will be among the ones who attacked my Mariane. I owe her that much.”

“I’ve got no problem with that,” Colin assured him, aware of the morbid amusement in Sophia’s dark eyes. He suspected it was over the fact that her very human lover was less nervous than a fucking vampire about going into a firefight.

And speaking of that, what the hell had she meant back at the compound when she’d called him her mate? It had sure made Raphael sit back and take a second look. Shouldn’t somebody have asked him if he wanted to be her mate? Hell, wasn’t there even a ceremony involved? He rolled his eyes, realizing he sounded like a reluctant bride. What was next, for God’s sake? Was he going to start worrying about getting a nice ring? Shit.

He was relieved when Robbie took the final curve, bringing the next house into sight. Give him a clean fight any day of the week. It was a lot easier than trying to figure out what made a vampire tick.

Robbie slowed, stopping before they left the protection of the trees. Behind them, the second SUV, with a half dozen of Raphael’s hunters inside, followed suit. There were lights inside the house, but no vehicle parked out front.

“What do you think?” Robbie asked, peering through the windshield.

“I think the wife’s home. They don’t have kids.” Colin unbuckled his seat belt. “Stay here. I’m gonna knock on the door.” Sophia’s hand touched his shoulder as he climbed out and he gave her a reassuring wink as he quietly closed the truck door and headed for the house.

He took it slowly, his fingers stroking the butt of his gun. He checked both sides of the house, looking for a vehicle or even some sort of shed where one might be hidden. But there was nothing. Still, he took the steps cautiously and listened at the door for a moment before knocking.

The sound of a television immediately went silent. He knocked again. Someone cursed, and he heard what sounded like a recliner being lowered and then footsteps approaching the door. Whoever it was had on mule slippers. He could hear them slapping against a hardwood floor with every step. The door swung open.

“Colin.” The woman standing there didn’t look or sound happy to see him.

“Jan,” he said politely. “Gordon home?”

“Does it look like he’s home? You see a big, black truck out there anywhere?”

“No, ma’am, I don’t, but it’s always possible it’s in the shop.”

“Well, it ain’t. You want Gordon, you best be heading over to Curtis’s. The whole lot of ‘em are cooking up something over there. And before you ask, I don’t know what the hell it is and I don’t want to.”