One of the rapists made his move, the entire pack shifting as he made a grab for the unfortunate girl. Raphael heard a howl of pain, and the mood shifted as the guards drew back in fear, some of those closest to him, turning to run. There was blood. He could smell it, ripe and fresh. He pushed forward, the guards shrinking back from him, their faces dazed as if—

Impossible. Raphael pushed his way through the filthy pack, throwing men aside, heedless of their cries of pain, of fear. They were nothing to him. She, she was everything. She was ... Sasha.

She stared up at him, her thick hair matted and dirty, her body reeking of the sweat and blood of too many men. The black eyes so like his own gave him a lazy glance, then sharpened in recognition, filling with disdain and something very like hatred. Her gore-filled mouth opened in a harsh laugh, revealing slender fangs.

"Well, well,” she mocked. “Look who's come to party with us, gents. My own dear brother. Come finally to take what you lusted after all those years, Vadim?"

"Sasha!” he said, shocked as much by her words as her very existence.

"Sasha," she mimicked cruelly. “No longer, Vadim. Such childish names are long behind me.” She shoved away the human in her arms and strode up to him, her eyes filled with anger as they took in his fine clothes and clean hands. “You left! You abandoned me to—"

"What is this, Alexandra?"

Raphael turned toward the oily voice, his lips drawing back in a snarl as a new vampire strolled into sight, his clothing as shabby and dirty as any prisoner's, his mouth wet with blood. He grinned when he saw Raphael. “The pretty one!” he said with a bark of laughter. “Tell me, were you with our mistress when she died? I heard it was quite gruesome.” He shifted his gaze to Alexandra, calling her with a jerk of his head. She sidled closer to him, rubbing herself against his side with a whine of fear.

Raphael's lip curled in disgust. “Alexandra,” he said sharply.

She didn't even look at him. The vampire laughed. “She's not yours anymore, boy.” He pulled her against him, one hand groping her breasts obscenely. “She's all mine.” His fingers wrapped in her hair, jerking her head back to meet his gaze. “Aren't you, sweetling?"

"Yes, Master,” she whimpered.

Raphael clenched his jaw against a rage that threatened to burn him alive. “Release her and live to see another night,” he growled, his voice a low rumble of sound.

The vampire sneered. “That's not how this works, youngling. Our mistress is dead and you—” He sniffed in Raphael's direction. “You are unclaimed ... and doing well, it seems. I think a family reunion is in order.” His face hardened. “But it will be my will that rules, boy. Not yours.” He pushed Alexandra aside, drawing himself up in obvious challenge. Raphael laughed and let his power flow unfettered, relishing the other vampire's look of shock ... and fear.

"I think not,” Raphael said softly.

Alexandra fought him, fought for the life of her Sire who threw her into fray in a desperate bid for his own escape, showing no concern for her safety. Raphael's power swept over the fleeing vampire, crushing him to the ground, draining the life from him. Alexandra screamed, pounding ineffectually on Raphael's broad back, her filthy nails reaching for his face until he finally subdued her, shielding her from her Sire's death, claiming her for his own as the dead vampire crumbled to dust. She staggered against the wall, then slumped to the ground. Her whimpers tore at his heart as he wrapped her abused body in his cloak. He picked her up in his arms and strode down the fetid corridors into the fresh night air, unseen, unchallenged, hurrying through the violence-torn city, no longer hearing the screams of the dying or the raucous laughter of the killers.

Guilt overwhelmed him as he passed down the dark streets. He had thought her dead all these years. Had his mistress known Alexandra lived? Had she kept that from him? It didn't matter. Nothing mattered but Alexandra. She was with him again, and he would save her this time. He would save her for all eternity.

Chapter Twenty-two

Cynthia dragged her ass out of the Land Rover, wondering if she had the energy to make it up the stairs to her third floor bedroom. The guest bedroom on the second floor had a perfectly comfortable bed. For that matter, the couch in the beach room was looking pretty damn comfortable too. She slid her key card through the reader and pushed open the heavy door, letting it go as she stumbled through.

An unexpected thump sounded from upstairs and she looked up sharply, her hand going out to catch the door before it could slam shut and announce her arrival. “Oh, give me a break,” she muttered.

She lowered her backpack to the floor and slipped out of her leather jacket, then pulled the Glock from its shoulder holster and started up the stairs. Forcing herself to move slowly, she hugged the wall, keeping her sight focused upward, spinning around quickly at the short landing to clear her exposure to the next level. She could hear voices, on the top floor, she thought. Her office. Damn. Moving faster now, she peeked over the ledge as her eyes came even with the second level, then hurried up the last few stairs.

There were no lights on, but there was definitely someone up there. They were making no attempt to conceal their presence, and clearly hadn't heard her return. As Cyn eased through the kitchen, she saw a key card lying on the island countertop. Great. Not just burglars, but incompetent burglars. She was too fucking tired to deal with this shit. She paused at the last flight of stairs, listening. Whatever they were after, they weren't moving around much, not tossing her drawers or anything. In fact, they weren't moving at all. Frowning, she leaned against the wall and slipped out of her heavy boots and socks, then eased her way upward.

"Jesus, Billy, what's taking so long? She'll be home soon. Her vampire boyfriend's gotta be in his coffin by now."

"I told you, they don't sleep in coffins, you idiot. That's stupid movie crap. They sleep in beds like everyone else."

"Don't call me an idiot! Who got us this far?"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Look, be quiet a minute, would you? I need to concentrate here. Are you sure the tape's in there? She doesn't like, lock it up or something?"

"This is locked up, dummy. And it's not a tape, it's a computer file. Christ, why am I messing with you anyway?"

"'Cuz I'm the one whose cousin works for Fox, baby. They'll pay us a bundle for this little home movie."

"Yes,” Cynthia drawled. “And it'll buy you the very nicest funeral after the vampires twist your heads off. But, hey, your parents will be so proud."

Holly shrieked loud enough to hurt Cyn's ears before dropping the flashlight she'd been holding. It rolled around on the floor, casting a haphazard light on the two shocked burglars. The male half of the duo, a youngish surfer-looking type whose name was apparently Billy, simply stood there staring at her with his mouth hanging open. He didn't even try to conceal the lock picks dangling from the keyhole to her office.

"Geez, Cyndi, way to scare a person to death!"

Cynthia kept her gun trained on the two of them as she stepped over and flipped on the hall light. “What's going on, Holly?"

"Well, it's obvious isn't it? You caught us. Boo hoo. So put the gun down and we'll leave quietly."

Cyn stared. “Just like that? No, ‘Gee, Cynthia, sorry for trying to break into your private office, but aren't you glad we're a couple of incompetent boobs?’ Not even an insincere apology, Holly?"

"You're such a bitch sometimes. Really. I shouldn't even have to break in. You should do the right thing and give me the disc, out these bloodsuckers once and for all. It's your duty to the human race."

Cynthia shook her head in disgust and slipped her gun back into its holster. “You're unbelievable. Get the fuck out of my house and take Einstein here with you."

Holly huffed indignantly and grabbed Billy's arm, but he jerked away, stopping to gather his lock picking tools under Cyn's scornful gaze. Following them through the kitchen, she shook her head in amazement as her sister scanned the countertop casually, even going so far as to do a quick check of the floor around the island.

"You looking for this, Holly?” She held up the key card her sister had left sitting on the kitchen counter after her skulking entry.

Holly made a grab for the card. “You've got to be kidding me,” Cyn said, pulling it out of her reach. “You should count yourself lucky I'm not calling the cops on you and your boyfriend here. By the way, does Chuck know about this one?"

"Who's Chuck?” Billy said with a frown.

Holly tightened her mouth angrily, but Cyn laughed in disbelief. She followed them down the stairs and through the door, all the way out of the garage until they climbed into a battered Toyota sedan, presumably Billy's. Leaning against the wall, she watched the car chug up the short incline to the highway and make its turn. Straightening tiredly, she had turned to walk back into the garage when a soft scrape of sound spun her around. A footstep? She scanned the surrounding area, straining to see. It was still dark, that sharp edge of time between night and sunrise, when the light was too dim to see clearly, and yet her brain was telling her the sun was coming, that she should be able to see. Shadows clung to the scrubby bushes on the hillside and around corners of the building. Her gaze swept over the dark garages and small parking lot and up to the highway, still mostly empty this late, or this early. A smudge of black moved in the distance, a long, low vehicle coming towards her. Something big, like...?

Oh, no. Her heart began to pound once again. No more vampires! She jogged into the garage and hit the button, closing the big roll-down door, one more barrier between her and whoever was in that limo. Hurrying into the house, she slammed the security door and threw the locks, vowing not to answer, no matter who knocked. It's too late for vampires! a voice cried plaintively inside her head. Go home!

Chapter Twenty-three

Cyn luxuriated beneath the touch of clever hands, the stroke of cool fingers down her back and over the curve of her hip, dipping between her legs to ... What? She jolted awake, cursing. That damn vampire again. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, feeling like shit. A glance at the clock told her it was nearly noon. She'd taken an Ambien to get to sleep that morning, pissed off at Holly and totally stressed about a certain sexy vampire who was determined to ruin her life. Five hours of restless sleep and nothing to show for it but vague memories of a honeyed voice and an ache between her legs that wouldn't go away.