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Of course. What else? Samantha explained how the pirate vampire had been on a short fuse since Étienne’s arrival, but it took her and Étienne getting amorous in the pool that finally triggered an explosion. “He went all fangs and eyes on him. Told him he didn’t see a future for him with me and, I swear, was going to compel him to go away and forget me then and there. I stopped him just in time.”

Cassidy lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. Beside her, Jackson cursed. There was still enough of Dominique’s blood in his system to allow him to hear both sides of the conversation just fine.

“Serge was crushed. He disappeared, and I haven’t seen him since. I’ve never seen him so hurt.”

“How did Étienne take it?”

“About how you’d expect. Shock, questioning reality, etcetera. Ryan and Natalia were a great help in convincing him he wasn’t losing his mind. I think he’ll be okay.”

“So he knows about Dominique, then?” Cassidy asked, exchanging a look with Jackson.

“He put that together, yes. Once he did, I wasn’t going to lie to him by denying it. The basics, anyway. Dominique can fill in the blanks for him. Assuming he’ll let Étienne remember any of it,” she added under her breath.

That was a big “if.” Dominique’s blood-drinker history was not for the fainthearted—or for his family. Which was why spending so much time with his mother presented such a problem for Cassidy. For all that she liked Francesca—French manners and no-nonsense sensibilities included—the longer they were together, the more Cassidy exhausted her ability to spin. There was so much she couldn’t even allude to, much less talk about, to the mother of the man she loved, so much she knew that would cause Francesca anguish, or even destroy her.

She got plenty of practice holding her tongue that afternoon when Garrett, after making good his escape from Vancouver General, shepherded her and Francesca around Granville Island. To curtail conversation, as well as appease her appetite, Cassidy made a solid attempt at eating her way from one side of the food, art, and shopping mecca to the other. By the time she returned to her suite, she was ready to pass out in a carb and sugar-induced stupor.

The weather had not improved by the time she woke from her nap. Outside, the gray sky cloaked the gray high-rises and smothered the gray bay. Two more hours until sunset. Instead of giving in to the urge to curl up and bawl, Cassidy checked on the denizens of theV-zette,which turned out to be even more depressing. Waiting for her were several inquiries about Aubrey’s whereabouts. With a heavy heart, she wrote a post announcing the gentleman vampire’s death, though she kept the details vague, saying only that Dominique was handling the situation and everything was under control. Or would be. Soon.

She took a shower and packed, and watched the night creep in until at last she sensed Dominique waking in Isao’s condo, several blocks away. As he made his way toward her, he absorbed her recollections of the day. And when he finally walked through the door, smelling of wet leather, city streets, and the incense Isao apparently favored, he embraced her without comment, needing her in his arms as much as she needed to be there. Night had come, and for a precious few moments, they basked in each other and the illusion that the world was safe again.

Then came the knock at the door. Dominique let in the visitors while Cassidy fetched her jacket.

Jackson’s voice carried from the living room. “Everything is set. All we have to do is start driving.”

“I spoke to Francesca and told her you’ll be out for a few days to meet a new client in Alberta,” Garrett added.

“Merci,” Dominique said. Cassidy felt him ruminate as he watched the two hunters standing at the ready, both of them dressed in jeans and Gore-Tex jackets. He examined Garrett’s thoughts in particular. Curious, Cassidy hung over his virtual shoulder. Nothing but an unfaltering commitment. Garrett still wanted what he had asked for the night before. He was also more than a little beguiled by Francesca, of whom he had been especially solicitous this afternoon—all in the name of “security.” “Garrett, you will stay here and provide protection during the day. Isao will be downstairs at night.”

Garrett’s hesitation was slight. “If that’s how you feel I can be most useful.”

“I do.”

“Okay. Then do you think I could get a little more magic juice before you go? Just in case?”

“Just in case,” Dominique agreed. When he cut his wrist, Cassidy felt an echo of the slicing pain in her own flesh and smothered a gasp.

She waited until Garrett had downed his serving of “magic juice” before joining the group, travel bag in hand.

“That hit the spot. Thank you,” he said as he set down the empty glass with an air of bravado Cassidy recognized for the show it was. Their afternoon outing had exhausted him, and even the powerful blood could only take him so far. Though she had been careful to conceal her knowledge of his condition all day, his expression told her she hadn’t been able to keep the pity off her face now. She averted her gaze.

“Careful there, Garrett,” Jackson said, eyeing his uncle askance. “You’re turning into a junkie.”

Garrett ignored him.

Dominique looked at her, his thoughts conflicted. “You will stay here, Cassie,mon amour,” he said the moment that decision crystallized in his mind. The words and the thought created a disorienting echo effect.

“What? You can’t mean that.”

“This could become a very dangerous situation. As long as I do not have complete control over Adilla and his followers, I do not want you anywhere near them.”

Indignant, she let her bag clunk to the floor and walked up to him. Jackson and Garrett squirmed where they stood, pretending not to hear, even though surely Dominique was using spoken words for their benefit.

“Non, chérie. It is for yours,” he said. “I want there to be no misunderstanding. Much as I need you near me, you must remain here where you will be safe.”

“Oh, come on. How complicated can this be? Jackson pulls this guy out of his hole tomorrow, and tomorrow night you show him who’s boss. Then we go home. End of story.”

“Not quite. This ‘hole’ is a repurposed mine, deep enough to lessen the sun’s effect. Plus, there will be humans compelled to guard it. It is not a place I will let Jackson enter on his own, regardless of his impressive skills.”And you know why I cannot send Garrett.