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The vampire in the corner stirred. Firelight edged the acute cheekbones and long nose in gold and glinted in the unruly black hair. His attention was riveted on Avery.

“Hurry up,” Jackson said. He had to get her out of there before Nick decided to show off his feeding skills again. Fuck, they couldn’t afford another human caught up in Foundation business.

“I’m going, I’m going. Chill.”

“You should feed her better before you breed her,” the obstinate French bastard of a vampire drawled. “She is far too skinny to carry a plate of food, much less a child.”

Avery spun on a heel. “Excuse me?”

“Go.” When she didn’t move, indignation flashing in her eyes, Jackson grabbed her arm and propelled her into the hallway toward the suite’s door.

She dug in her heels. “Hey! Let go of me. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Sorry. I’ll explain later, I promise. But go. Please, just go.” While she still could.

“You better,” she huffed. With one last irate look at both of them, she tossed the sheet to the ground and marched away, wearing nothing but an armful of clothes. From behind, she looked to be all of fifteen years old.

“Will you explain? Truly?” the vampire mocked.

“Shut the fuck up and get out.” Jackson jerked a thumb towards the balcony door. “Right now.”

“Or what? You’re going to annoy me with your little light?”

His hand closed around the flashlight in his pocket. It was a decent enough defense, if used without warning, but Nick was right. To a bloodsucker who knew what it was, the burning sting would only be a momentary nuisance, because a moment is all it would take to kill whoever pointed it at him. Jackson didn’t pull out the weapon, but he kept a firm grip on it. “Oh, I’ve got much bigger things planned for you.”

“Oh, I know.”

The bland acknowledgment confused Jackson for a moment. Head games again? Well, at least Jackson still had entertainment value. Good. The longer he could keep the vampire interested, the more opportunity Jackson had to finish him.

“So, what’s your game tonight?” Jackson prodded. “How are you planning to scare the shit out of me this time?” When there was no response, he charged ahead. “You’ve got to know that showing me you can get around our defenses is only going to make us lock them down that much harder.” Assuming this creature wouldn’t just slaughter everyone in the house tonight. He quickly shoved aside this thought, along with the fear that came with it.

“I didn’t ‘get around’ your defenses, toi idiot. I hacked them.”

Jackson scoffed. “Riiight. This system isn’t even on the Internet.”

A smile ghosted across the vampire’s face. “But your phone is, non?”

He glanced at the device sitting on the nightstand and felt his insides turn over. The security app tied into the primary system via local Wi-Fi, and, yes, damn him, of course the phone was on the Internet.

“You hacked…my phone.” How the fuck had he missed this possibility? “Okay. You made your point. Yes, you can feed without killing if you want to. Congratulations.” He made a sweeping gesture with one hand. “And, yes, you can break into my house. You’re one badass vamp. Is that what you want from me? You got it. Now go.”

Nick leaned forward, elbows on his thighs, and regarded Jackson with an expression of serious thought. More of him was now visible in the warm light, which made him look so deceptively human. He wore a simple black, long-sleeved V-neck shirt with jeans and scuffed running shoes. No leathers, no swords, no attitude. Nothing about him telegraphed a threat.

Jackson knew better. His grip on the little flashlight in his pocket tightened.

“I assure you I no more want to be here than you want me to be here, but I am out of options. I—” He shook his head as if in disbelief at what he was about to say. “I need…your help.”

Jackson grinned. Damn, this fucker was good. “Decided to call it quits?”

Nick blinked. “What?”

“Because you know that the only thing I’ll ever help you with is turning you into a pile of ash.”

The future pile of ash got up and took several slow steps in Jackson’s direction, his thumbs hooked into the pockets of his pants. “Tell me something. The book you gave Cassidy. It implies that if one of us is destroyed, so are all those they made and all those made by them and so on. Is this true? Have you seen this happen?”

An actual conversation? Was this guy for real? “Oh, it’s true all right. Uncle Garrett has seen it happen.”

Nick seemed to consider this. He rubbed his jaw, murmured something in French, and nodded. “D’accord. So be it.” Meeting Jackson’s gaze, he said, “Hunter, I give you my sire. You do with him—with us—as you wish.”