“Sit over here with me, Cyn,” Kathryn said, drawing her attention as she sat on the facing sofa. “That way we can listen to what we want and tune out what we don’t.”

“You wound me,” Lucas said, clutching his heart dramatically. “I thought my every word was music to your ears.”

“In your dreams,” she muttered back. “Come on, Cyn. I have cookies, and coffee, if you want it. If you’d rather—”

“Coffee would be great,” Cyn assured her. She unzipped her jacket before sitting down, giving her easy access to her weapon. Sure, Lucas was a friend, and yes, Jared and Juro were here to provide security, not to mention Raphael himself being fully capable of defending himself. But Cyn was a control freak, especially when it came to Raphael’s security, and she couldn’t help noticing that there was a telltale bulge beneath Kathryn’s jacket, too.

“What a pair we are,” Kathryn confided as she poured some coffee. “In a room full of killers, and we’re worried about protecting them.”

“Good point,” Cyn agreed, sucking down the hot caffeine. “But I can’t seem to stop myself.”

Kathryn sighed. “Same here.”

“I noticed the horses when we drove in,” Cyn said, wanting to change the subject. She loved Raphael, but she spent most of her waking hours with vampires and welcomed the chance to talk about something else. “Raphael says Lucas breeds them, but do you ride, too?”

“I rode a lot when I was younger, but I hadn’t done so in years. I’ve been getting back into it since I met Lucas.”

“You ride at night?”

Kathryn nodded. “Have to, don’t we? The horses are used to it, though, and the trails are well-marked. Why? Do you ride?”

“I’m afraid so. My various handlers felt it was something a properly raised young woman should know.”

“Handlers?”

“That’s what I call the parade of nannies and private school administrators who were in charge of my education.”

“Your parents were … gone?” Kathryn asked, her voice hushed and full of sympathetic understanding.

Cyn nodded. “Definitely gone, but not the way you think,” she replied, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. “My mother left when I was three, and never looked back, and I don’t think I exchanged a hundred words with my father the first two decades of my life. Poor little rich girl, huh? But at least I don’t fall off when I try to ride a horse.”

“We should go riding then,” Kathryn said, politely leaving behind the subject of Cyn’s childhood. “I’m on duty most of this week. My nights are free, but I’m saving my days off for the big Chicago blow-out this weekend. I’m off tomorrow, though, and it would be nice to ride in the sunshine for a change.”

“I’d like that, but let me just check something.”

Cyn pulled out her cell phone and punched Robbie’s speed dial.

“It’s the middle of the night, woman. This better be good.” Robbie and the other daylight guards had arrived a day earlier so they would be set up and ready for Raphael’s arrival. Robbie and the others would be sleeping somewhere nearby, though she didn’t know exactly where everyone was yet.

“This is what I get for trying to be nice?” she joked.

“What do you mean?” he asked cautiously.

“Gee, am I really that bad?”

“I was sleeping, Cyn.”

“Fine. Do you know how to ride a horse?”

“You woke me up for this?”

“Robbie.”

He groaned. “Yes, oh wonderful one, I ride, courtesy of the US Army and too much time in the fucking sandbox.”

“Excellent. Wear your spurs tomorrow, then.”

“I can hardly wait. Is that all?”

“Love you, too.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she heard him grumble as he disconnected the phone.

“My daytime bodyguard,” Cyn said to Kathryn’s questioning look.

“You have a bodyguard?”

“Sure, don’t you?”

“She won’t let me,” Lucas said, eavesdropping shamelessly.

“I’m an active FBI agent,” Kathryn said, directing the words at Lucas, her long-suffering tone indicating this was an old argument. She switched her gaze to Cyn. “I can’t have a bodyguard trailing me around, and at night I have Lucas and all of his team. What more do I need?”

“I have two,” Cyn said with a scowling glance toward Raphael. “A vamp for nighttime—her name’s Elke—and Robbie during the day. And if it was up to Raphael, I’d have a whole team following me everywhere. He thinks I might get into trouble by myself.”

Across the room Raphael caught her eye with a skeptically raised eyebrow. “Might?”

“Okay, so it’s possible there’s been a time or two.”

Raphael laughed, and she threw a cookie at him. Of course, he caught it smoothly and tossed it back at her. Stupid vampire.

“Anyway,” she continued, with a glare at the love of her life, “I’d love to ride tomorrow, Kathryn, and you’ll like Robbie. He’s a sweetheart under the gruff exterior.”

“It’s a date. We’ll aim for afternoon, since we’ll be up all night. Sunset’s early this time of year, so I’ll meet you out front around two, if that’s okay?”

“Great. I can fill you in on all the inside scoop without big ears listening in.”

“Oooh, secret handshake stuff?”

“At the very least,” Cyn agreed, blowing a kiss at Raphael who was shooting evil looks at her.

* * * *

“Forget them,” Lucas told Raphael, waving a dismissive hand at the conspiring women. “The worse they’ll do is spend money.”

Juro snorted wordlessly, as Raphael gave Lucas a pitying look. “You have a lot to learn, my friend.”

“Probably,” Lucas replied undaunted, “but let’s talk about Chicago.”

“Let’s talk about enemies first, Lucas,” Jared interjected. “How many people knew about Raphael’s arrival, and why would anyone bother to put a tail on us?”

Lucas sobered immediately. “I wish I knew the why of it, but the how isn’t that difficult. With both the Council meeting and the territorial competition being held at the same time in Chicago, it’s obvious Raphael would be coming this way, along with everyone else. And I made no secret of the fact that Klemens’s role in the assassination attempt on Raphael was a big part of what motivated me to take him out. In most eyes, that means the two of us are at least allies. From there, it’s a small step to think that Raphael might stop to meet with me so we could consult on Klemens’s replacement before the big confab. Which is exactly what we’re doing.”

“But, if they already knew we were coming here,” Jared persisted, “then, why tail us? What do they gain from that?”

“An opportunity,” Kathryn said from across the room, proving that the two women were paying more attention than Lucas had credited. “Maybe they knew you all were coming, but underestimated how much security you’d have with you. If your group had been smaller, if you’d been traveling in a single vehicle, for example, an RPG could have taken you all out.”

“Remind me never to piss you off, acushla,” Lucas joked.

“Too late for that,” she replied in kind.

“Kathryn has a point,” Cyn chimed in, meeting Raphael’s gaze. “And I’ve said this before. You’re blinded by your own power. You’re so used to being the baddest guys in the fight that you ignore the damage even a weak opponent can do with the right weapon.”

Kathryn nodded. “I’m not saying whoever followed you had an RPG. I’m just saying they’re available if you have the right connections, and it doesn’t take a genius to fire one.”

“So who hates you, Lucas?” Jared asked.

“The list is long and varied,” Juro growled.

Lucas gave the big vampire a surprised look. “Did my ears deceive me? Was that a joke, Juro?”

“No,” Juro snapped back.

Lucas laughed. “I’ve always known that beneath that stony exterior you love me.”

“Will you be serious, Lucas?” Kathryn said.

He sighed. “I don’t know why you’re all assuming they hate me. After all, they followed Raphael. Maybe it’s all tied up with the competition for control of the Midwest. I’ve been open in my support for Aden. If someone put two and two together, they might figure Raphael would throw his support to Aden, too. Maybe someone who wants the territory decided to even the odds before the challenge begins.”

“I thought it didn’t matter whose support the contestants had. I thought this was a survival of the fittest sort of contest,” Cyn said, giving Raphael a questioning look.

“Strictly speaking, my Cyn, that’s true. But it is not unheard of for one or more of the Council members to … clear the field, you might say, for a favored candidate.”

“Have you ever done that?”

“I have not, and I must point out,” he said, turning to Lucas, “that there is no assurance Aden will win. There are several strong candidates in contention.”

“I know Aden, my lord. He’s going to be the one left standing.”

“Do you trust him?”

“He’s mine,” Lucas said simply. “I didn’t make him, but I took his oath more than a hundred years ago, and he’s never let me down.”

“But can he rule? You know the situation, Lucas. You know what we’re facing. We cannot afford someone who is unable to hold his territory.”

Every investigative instinct Cyn possessed sat up and quivered. The situation, he’d said. What situation?

“Aden’s been running St. Louis for me for a very long time,” Lucas was saying, in answer to Raphael’s question. “He was sitting right there on Klemens’s western border, dealing with almost constant incursions, and he never lost a square yard of territory to that bastard. He’s powerful as hell, and he’s smart enough when he isn’t being an ass. He doesn’t have the most outgoing personality in the world, but we share a certain history. There, but for the grace of a mother’s love and all that. In the final analysis, though, we’ve spent a lot of time together over the years, and I trust him.”