Sarah heard Raj swear softly as she stepped around him, walked over to the woman and stuck out her hand. “Sarah Stratton,” she said.

The woman gave Raj a startled look, her eyes questioning. He made a disgusted noise and gestured his okay. The female vampire stood and took Sarah's hand, shaking it firmly. Not one of those fingers-only girly shakes, but a real handshake. “Emelie,” she said. “No last name, like Prince,” she added with a quirked smile.

Raj snorted and Emelie scowled at him over Sarah's shoulder. “Everyone's waiting for you, my lord,” she said pointedly.

"Give us a minute,” Raj said.

"As you wish,” Emelie replied. “Nice meeting you, Sarah. Maybe next time we can actually have a conversation."

"Over my dead body,” Raj muttered.

"Too late,” Emelie said sweetly, and strolled back into the warehouse, closing the door behind her.

Sarah spun around as soon as she was gone. “My lord?” she repeated.

Raj closed his eyes briefly and then opened them, giving her a patient look. “Vampires live a long time. We've developed a highly structured society in order to survive, for protection from each other as well as from humans with torches and stakes. When that structure was first conceived, there was no such thing as a democracy. And it wouldn't work anyway. Vampires are more than just humans who stay awake at night.” He stepped closer suddenly and locked his gaze with hers. “Remember that, Sarah. Vampires are dangerous and unpredictable, no matter how human they might appear."

"Okay,” she said in a small voice. “I'm properly terrified."

He moved back a bit. “No need to be afraid of Em."

"Are you two . . .” She let the words fall away, embarrassed that she'd even asked the question.

Raj smiled a little too smugly. “Would it bother you if we were?"

"No, of course not. I just—"

"Well, we're not. Em's my best friend and my lieutenant. But there's never been anything else between us."

"Oh. Well. Okay.” Sarah cleared her throat nervously. “So what now?"

"Now, you get back in the car and stay there. This won't take long.” He took her arm and bundled her back into the BMW, shutting the door firmly. “Stay there,” he said through the window as she hit the button to lower it. “And put the window back up. Emelie's not the only vampire in there."

As he walked away from the car, Sarah thought she heard him mutter, “And I've no intention of sharing.” But she might have been wrong.

Chapter Twenty-three

Raj did a final scan of the area, checked that Sarah was sitting in the hopefully locked car as promised and pulled open the warehouse door, ready to apologize to Em. The lights were on inside, too low for human eyes but just right for a vampire. And the large space was no longer empty. Four big SUVs, all black with black-tinted windows, were parked near the loading bay doors. Over near the big refrigerator, the eight members of the team Emelie had brought from Manhattan were engaged in various activities. Some lounged, watching the big screen TV, wearing cordless headphones to preserve the facade of silence from outside the warehouse. Others were checking gear, mostly guns and knives. Vampires didn't need much in the way of hardware. With their strength, speed and fangs, they were their own deadliest weapon. But a gun came in handy sometimes, and knives were always fun.

Em was in conversation with Abel, one of Raj's oldest and most reliable children. Abel caught Raj's eye and nodded to him, the big diamond in his ear winking happily against his nearly black skin. Emelie finished whatever she'd been saying and walked over, detouring around a table loaded down with computer gear and electronics. The team's tech wizard, a human named Simon, was set up there, fingers flying over a keyboard while ear pods blasted music so loudly that Raj could hear it from where he stood.

Emelie's eyes were downcast as she drew closer. To his horror, she went down on one knee and said, “My apologies, my lord. I did not realize—"

"Jesus Christ, Em, get up!” Raj pulled her to her feet. “I'm the one who has to apologize. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Em studied him, her dark, brown eyes solemn, the lovely planes of her face showed off to advantage by a tight ponytail pulled up high on her head. “Raj, my friend,” she said softly. “That's not true. I only spent a few minutes with the two of you, but I know what's happening. And so do you."

Raj matched her serious gaze for a few breaths. When he looked away, he swore viciously. “Fuck! Why now? Why her? Jesus Christ, Em, this city's a total mess. Krystof's making new vampires like they're nothing but toys, someone's kidnapping women from blood houses, and now her! I don't fucking need this!"

His voice had gotten louder and louder until it drew the attention of the vampires on the other side of the room. They'd all stopped what they were doing. Even the TV watchers had pulled their headphones off. They might not mean to eavesdrop, but they couldn't help it if he was going to shout like an idiot. He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I can't deal with this right now. There's too much at stake. I can't afford to be distracted by some little bit of a girl who thinks vampires are something she reads about in books with half-naked men on the covers."

Em's mouth tightened in an obvious effort to keep from laughing, but her eyes gave her away. “Why not just take the girl, boss?” she asked practically. “Maybe that's all you need—a quick sip, a roll in the hay and you're a free vamp."

"And if not? Then she's bound to a fucking vampire for the rest of her life. Not to mention, things are about to get hairy around here, and there are plenty of vampires who'd love to get their hands on her if she's linked to me. She doesn't deserve to get tangled up in all this."

Em shrugged. “Maybe you should let Sarah make that decision for herself. She's a grown woman, you know, not a child. Besides, there are worse things in life than being bound to a vampire, especially one as powerful as you are."

Raj just scowled at her. “Why don't we drop the subject of my love life?"

Em shrugged and said, “You're the boss. You want to tell me what's going on, or you want to brief everyone at once?"

"Let's do it all at once. I don't like leaving Sarah out there alone."

"So bring her inside."

"No,” he said instantly.

Em raised her brows significantly, shaking her head as she led Raj over to where the team waited.

"All right, people,” Raj started. “Here's what we've got. Several human women have disappeared in the last month, all connected somehow to vampire activities. The last one is the daughter of William Cowens.” He looked around and saw every member of his team nodding knowledgeably.

"It was Cowens who insisted the police follow up on the vampire angle. Krystof agreed to cooperate, mostly, I think, because he was sure there was nothing to it and it was an easy way to get some good citizen credit. He called me in to take the heat, and if there was fallout, to make sure it didn't fall on him. No surprises so far.

"But.” He paused, meeting the eyes of every one of his people. “Recent information leads me to believe there might actually be a vampire involved. I'm not certain if Krystof knows about it or not, but he clearly feels threatened by someone or something, and I don't think it's just me. He's making new vampires left and right, so many that Jozef doesn't even know about all of them.

"The key is the blood houses. With all these new vamps running around, the houses are bound to be crowded and someone might be dipping on the sly. I want you to split into teams of two, civilian dress. There are four blood houses in the greater Buffalo region. I already stopped at the Corfu house and there's been . . . a change of management.” Emelie gave him a sharp look. “I didn't get a chance to ask too many questions first, so I'll still want a team out there, and at each of the other houses on a rotating basis. With all the new vamps, it shouldn't be a problem for you to blend in, but let's not push.

"Em and I will be at large; you have our cell phone numbers. You find anything weird, you call us. Unless your lives are threatened, and then you do whatever it takes. Questions?"

"You want us on the bag, or can we feed?” Abel asked.

Raj thought about it for a minute and said, “Go ahead and feed at the blood houses; you'll stand out otherwise. But don't overdo it. I need you alert and ready to move."

Abel nodded his understanding and Raj looked around. “Anyone else?"

There were no other questions, so Raj turned to his lieutenant. “Em,” he said, indicating she should walk with him to the door.

Once outside, he verified that Sarah was where he'd left her. He was surprised when she gave him a cheery little wave, but then glanced over his shoulder and scowled to find Em waving back.

"Christ,” he swore again. “Stop that.” He positioned himself between Em and the car, effectively blocking any view of Sarah. “Look, Em,” he said quietly. “This might be really bad. Some of what I'm hearing makes me think . . . Ah shit, I don't even like to bring this up.” He looked away, shaking his head, then looked back at her. “I think someone's selling vamp blood for research."

Em's eyes widened in a shock that mirrored his own feelings. “Not one of ours!"

"Hell, no. Someone local. One of the missing women was a researcher at the university. Her husband claims she was meeting someone who said he could guarantee access to vampire blood samples."

"Krystof?” Em asked in disbelief.

Raj shook his head. “It seems out of character. I've never seen him risk so much as a paper cut. And for something like this? The Council would crucify him at midnight and leave him for the sun, and he knows it."