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“Okay, well, we’ve got to keep this on the lowdown. We’ve got to. Because if the vampires find out, it’s going to be bad. It’s bad enough Cian knows. ”

“Cian won’t let any harm come to Samantha. They may have broken up, but he does care for her. I’ve seen it. ” Jeff freshened Beatrice’s water bowl and searched the cabinets for her cat food as the cat stared forlornly into her nearly empty food dish.

“Everything is happening too fast,” Benchley’s voice protested. “How can we handle all of this?”

“Look at it this way. It’s good to know we have another weapon in our arsenal that no one else knows about. ”

“What weapon?” Samantha’s voice asked from behind him.

Turning, he saw her standing in the kitchen doorway blinking. Her blond hair was mussed and the strap of her tank top was sliding off one shoulder. She had pulled on matching pajama shorts and looked insanely sexy in Jeff’s eyes.

“You, babe,” he answered honestly.

“Fuck,” Samantha answered with a sigh, sitting down heavily at the kitchen table.

“Also, Jeff, if Bianca Leduc has any of her mom’s powers, we’re in trouble. Not only could Josephine astral project, she could summon the dead at will, move objects with her mind, read minds, and was said to be able to appear from one place to another, over great distances, in a very short period of time. We need this chick on our side, or we need to…uh…”

“Gotcha, Benchley. I get it. ”

“Anyway, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone, but you better get your ass over here soon. Alexia wants you to check out the van and she’s foaming at the mouth. ”

“Okay. We’ll be over in an hour,” Jeff answered, then clicked off the call.

“So I’m a bad ass weapon?” Samantha asked.

“Yeah. You are. ” Jeff gave her the details as he poured her a glass of juice and joined her at the table.

“So Amaliya gets zombies. I get ghosts. ” Samantha stared at him sadly.

“Yeah. ”

“And no way to get out of it?”

“No. ”

“Is there at least an instruction manual?”

Jeff shook his head. “We have some information about the phasmagnus, but nothing in depth. ”

“Why not?”

“The vampires killed all of them a long time ago. ” Jeff winced.

Samantha shaped her hand into a gun and pretended to shoot herself.

“Sorry. ”

With a shrug, she leaned over and gripped his hand. “I love you. I trust you to get me through this. ”

“I love you and I promise I will do everything I can to help you. ” Jeff kissed her fingers and Samantha gave him a wan smile.

The phone hummed beside him and he sighed as he picked it up. It was an unknown number and he almost sent it to voicemail until he realized it was an area code in Texas. “Hello?”

“Jeff?”

“Yeah?” Jeff didn’t recognize the woman’s voice on the other end and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Can I help you?”

“Jeff, this is Cynthia Guerra. Sergio’s wife. ” She sounded rather excited, but nervous.