He pushed away from her and rolled off the bed, heading toward the shower.

“Where are you going?” she called after him, her tone conveying both disbelief and outrage.

He spun around at the bathroom door, his eyes flashing silver sparks in the darkened room. “Does it ever occur to you that I have good reasons for what I ask of you, Cyn? That perhaps I understand certain dangers better, that there might be enemies who would use you against me?”

“Of course, but—”

“But. There is always a but, isn’t there? Always an excuse to do what you want, regardless of my wishes.”

She jumped out of bed and strode across the room to confront him. “I’m not one of your vampires, Raphael. I don’t have to follow your rules. Besides, I’m fully capable of defending myself, and I wasn’t alone. That local police guy, Colin Murphy, was with me.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better? To know that my mate is spending the day with another male while I sleep alone? As you would say, fan-fucking-tastic.”

“Don’t be childish. You know perfectly well—”

“Childish? Perhaps you should look up the definition.” He took a step back into the bathroom and closed the door, securing it with a small jolt of his power to keep her from trying to continue their argument in the shower. Her body was far too appealing and he didn’t feel like being coaxed out of his temper tonight.

Raphael lingered in the shower longer than usual, just to make her wait. Even through the closed door, he could hear her muttering dire threats against him the entire time. He found it amusing overall and returned her angry glare with a bland smile when he finally surrendered the bathroom. He dressed while she showered and was knotting his tie when she finally came out, wrapped in a modestly big towel, as if she hadn’t been naked in bed with him less than an hour before.

“The towel’s a good look for you,” he commented. She flipped him the finger over her shoulder and he laughed.

“Asshole,” she hissed.

He crossed to the bedside and picked up his watch, fastening it over his wrist as he watched her across the width of the bed. “How much longer will I be forced to endure these little power plays of yours, Cyn?” he asked. “How much longer before you no longer feel the need to set yourself apart from me, to prove that you can do without me?”

She spun around, and he could read the truth in her eyes before she drew a breath to deny it.

“Be honest with yourself, if not with me, lubimaya. I’ll see you upstairs.”

* * * *

Duncan was waiting for him when he emerged from the private corridor, standing with his back to Raphael, his attention seemingly on Wei Chen who was deep in conversation with a human woman near the front doors. Juro was looming over the pair, looking very unhappy and increasingly impatient. The woman’s presence violated one of the basic rules for Raphael’s security on this trip—no humans were permitted within the compound after sunset unless they were mated to one of the vampires, or their presence was specifically cleared by Juro or Duncan.

As Raphael came up to Duncan, the woman glanced up, said something to Wei Chen and departed, shouldering a backpack not unlike what Cyn frequently carried.

Duncan spun around smoothly and greeted him. “Good evening, my lord.”

“Duncan.” Raphael said absently, frowning at the trio near the door. “Who was that?”

“She works for Wei Chen, I believe.”

Raphael stared at the woman’s departing back as Juro and two of his vampires escorted her down the outside stairs and toward the parking area.

“What’s the status on the security system check?” he asked, turning his attention back to Duncan.

“Maxime is already on the ground, my lord,” Duncan replied, referring to Raphael’s computer security specialist. “She left L.A. just before dawn and daylighted on the tarmac in Seattle.” He checked his watch. “She’s too young to be awake yet, but soon. The extra guards you requested flew in with her. By the end of tonight, we’ll have tripled Wei Chen’s human and vampire guard presence around the clock.”

“Elke is with them?” As the only female member of Raphael’s personal security team, Elke was frequently assigned to guard Cyn, and he wanted her here as an added precaution.

Duncan nodded. “Under protest, of course. You know how she feels about flying during the day.”

“She can protest all she wants. I want her here.” He paused briefly at the sound of the elevator coming up. The hallway doors opened behind him and Cyn stomped across the room toward the dining hall without a word. He smiled grimly at Duncan’s look of surprise. “Cynthia went exploring earlier today,” he said dryly.

Duncan raised his eyebrows expressively. “Alone?”

“No. Apparently, she rendezvoused with the local police force.”

“I see.”

Raphael saw Wei Chen approaching over Duncan’s shoulder and nodded for him to join them.

“Good evening, Sire,” Wei Chen said in his quiet voice. “I thought you’d want to know that all of our people will be within the compound shortly. The last few from Seattle are leaving their homes as we speak. Once your presence was known, everyone came immediately. It was only the distance that kept the Seattle people holding until this evening.”

“Understood.”

“When is this police person due to arrive?” he asked Wei Chen.

“At any moment, my lord. Loren told him—”

Duncan interrupted Wei Chen’s account by nodding and holding a hand to his earpiece to indicate someone was calling him. Raphael watched expectantly.

“He just arrived at the gate, my lord,” Duncan murmured, still listening to the voice in his ear. “Juro will escort him in.”

Raphael bared his teeth in a shark’s grin. “Excellent. Invite Sophia to join us, but give us a few moments with Mister Murphy first. I’m eager to meet the man who spent the entire day alone with my Cyn.”

Chapter Fifteen

Colin lowered his window and eyed the hulking security guards who rushed to surround the truck. These weren’t the usual compound guards. He didn’t know the regular guys personally, but he’d been here a time or two and this wasn’t them. In fact, he didn’t recognize a single face. The guard at his window—vampire, obviously, given the bright red gleam of his eyes in the reflected glow of the gate lights—studied his license photo carefully, checking it more than once as the others flashed lights into the backseat of his truck and lifted the cargo hatch door. Under any other circumstances, Colin would have objected to the search. But not tonight. These boys were deadly serious and he had a feeling they wouldn’t bother with fine distinctions if it came right down to it.

The vamp at his window barked something in a language other than English and two of the others dropped out of sight as they checked his undercarriage. They were all using dim flashlights with a yellowish glow like a fog light, and they covered the lenses with their fingers, so only the tiniest sliver of light leaked out. Night sight, he realized. He knew vamps were supposed to have unparalleled night vision—in fact, Leighton had said something about it earlier—but he’d never seen it used like this before.

The two vamps checking his undercarriage popped back into sight and snapped something in that same language. The guard at his window shoved his ID back at him and told him in heavily accented English to pull through the gate and park, indicating a small paved area a ways up the driveway and to the right.

Colin took his time, sliding his license into his wallet and his wallet into the zippered inside pocket of his windbreaker. He nodded politely, put the truck in gear and rolled slowly through the gate. Usually, he drove right up to the main building and parked there. But apparently there were new security measures for the big honcho’s visit. So he pulled into the designated area, noting as he did so that his was the only vehicle there. So, not a lot of visitors. Or maybe it was just not a lot of human visitors, because he could see the main building from here and there was plenty of activity inside. Every light seemed to be lit and there were quite a few people moving around behind the big glass doors. Even the upstairs windows showed movement, the people there little more than shadow shapes behind the heavily frosted glass.

Turning off the engine, he grabbed the keys and opened the truck door, assuming someone would—

“Mister Murphy.”

Colin considered himself a big man. At six, four and two-hundred thirty pounds, he outclassed most people he encountered, even in the military. But the giant standing in front of him was huge. Sumo wrestler huge, but without the flab, and wearing a three thousand dollar suit. Seven feet of hard muscle and black, unflinching eyes which held a faint golden glow as they regarded Colin.

“Yes,” Colin answered, although it hadn’t been a question.

“Are you armed?” the Japanese vampire rumbled.

“Yes, I am. I’m a licensed security consultant for the town of Cooper’s Rest and, as such, authorized to carry at all times.”

He thought he saw a slight softening of the giant’s mouth, as if something Colin said was amusing. “That may be, Mister Murphy. But you are no longer in Cooper’s Rest and you will not be permitted to carry a weapon into my master’s presence.”

Colin kept his face carefully blank. Master? Neither Loren nor Wei Chen had ever called anyone “master.” He seriously considered—for about two seconds—throwing his hands up on the whole deal and walking away. He didn’t need this shit. He certainly didn’t need to walk into a building full of vampires without even his sidearm for protection. But he really wanted to know who was behind the attack on Mariane, and he honestly doubted that, whoever this “master” was, he intended to serve Colin up as a light supper.

Colin sighed. “Can I leave it in my truck then?” he asked.

“Certainly.”

Holding up his empty hands, he slowly pushed his windbreaker off his right hip, unsnapped his holster and gun from his belt and, opening the truck door, leaned in and deposited it in the console compartment.