Page 142 of Marked By Moonlight

Back in London, he’d volunteered to find his own accommodations. At the time, that sounded like a great idea, and I hadn’t asked any questions.

That was before I realized he would go and rent a house on the edge of my property. Now, I hadlotsof questions. Had he had that in mind all along? Had he chosen that particular property to spite me, or could he genuinely not bring himself to part ways with our motley little crew?

I was grateful for what he’d done in London, but that didn’t exactly make us besties.

As for the house he’d rented… Oh, the irony. Years ago, my grandmother had sold the roomy caretaker’s “cottage” on the edge of the property to a friend to help pay expenses. That friend had sold it to a friend and so on, until it ended up in the hands of a complete stranger. Their plans to renovate the place had fallen through due to unexpectedly high expenses (an all too familiar theme), and the house had stood empty for years. It was still run-down, but that hadn’t stopped Henrik from moving in.

He’ll feel right at home with all the dust and cobwebs,Bene had joked.

The thought had saddened me. Didn’t Henrik have anywhere better to go?

On the other hand, I was still stuck with an unpredictable vampire, and I had less oversight of him than ever. Over the past few weeks, he’d both threatenedandsaved my life. What would he do next time?

Another problem for another day. For now, I had to get through the next twelve hours.

“And on no account should you let anyone into the house,” I reminded everyone.

I had a priceless Van Gogh upstairs, and I didn’t want to have to explain that to anyone.Especiallya police officer.

The doorbell rang, and I steeled myself, expecting the event organizers. I hurried to the door and opened it. But instead of the four nice officers who’d stopped by before to discuss logistics, I found my sister.

“Geneviève?” I squeaked.

“Surprise!” she chirped. “I’m here!”

I didn’t know whether to clap or cry, because wow. Talk about timing.

Gen threw herself into a tight hug, which was a good thing. Otherwise, I might have keeled over.

The floorboards creaked behind me, and I knew without looking that my houseguests had found us. More importantly, they’d found Gen.

Like me, she had blue eyes and long, straight hair, though hers had an auburn tint. She was a little shorter, a lot prettier, andmuchmore outgoing.

If I’d had some police tape to cordon them off from her, I would have.

“Dammit, guys. I said, stay out of sight!”

“Of the police,” Bene said, flashing my sister a dazzling smile. “Nice to finally meet you.”

She blinked, confused but delighted. I would have felt the same if I had turned up to her house and found four strikingly handsome houseguests.

I introduced everyone through gritted teeth, and the guys practically swooned over her. Henrik kissed her knuckles. Bene turned up the charm. Roux’s nostrils flared like she was the best thing he’d scented in a long time.

Marius was the only one who was more guarded.

Now?his eyes asked me.

I had no words. After months of delays, my sister had somehow picked exactly today to turn up.

“Gordon says hello,” she said, all blissful and ignorant.

Boy, did we have a lot to discuss.

Then we all looked up, hearing cars coming down the drive. Three, to be exact, all adorned with police logos. The event organizing committee, no doubt.

I gulped. This had all seemed like a good idea a few weeks ago. Now, I wasn’t so sure. But at least they weren’t here to arrest me.

Hopefully.