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intention of taking her, but he didn t want her completely immune to
him either.
Sarah pulled the door open, but he stepped in front of her, his
attention directed next door where someone was watching once again.
 Your neighbor pays a lot of attention to who comes and goes here.
 That s just Mrs. M., she said blithely, walking around him and
out onto the porch. She gave him a warning look.  She keeps on eye on
me.
 You get a lot of male visitors?
 Not at all, she said, patting his arm, as if he needed reassurance.
 Mrs. M. s just a bit overprotective.
Good, he thought. But he kept it to himself.  Lock your door, he
instructed her.
 Yessir, Mr. Raj, sir.
He walked ahead of her down the stairs. It was going to be a long
night.
* * * *
Sarah watched Raj out of the corner of her eye as he maneuvered
through the Friday night traffic. He seemed different tonight, still friendly
and overprotective, but cooler somehow, except for that one slip about
being hungry, which had been a pretty stupid thing for her to say. She
hadn t meant it as a come-on. Had she? She had to admit she was
attracted to him. Who wouldn t be? He had that whole tall, dark and
112 D. B. Reynolds
handsome vibe going, except he was blond and blue-eyed, of course.
His hair was thick, brushed straight back to his collar, just long enough
that she wondered what it would look like if he let it grow even longer,
maybe past his shoulders. And with those gorgeous blue eyes, kind of
an icy blue, except for when they burned with an undeniable heat. She
shivered inside her warm coat. Yeah. She was definitely attracted to
him. And sometimes she was sure he was attracted to her too, but then
it was like he threw a switch and disappeared behind that all-business
exterior.
 You re different from the others, she said suddenly.
In spite of the busy traffic, he turned to stare at her, his eyes
practically glowing in the dim light.  Others? he asked, his voice so
low and deep it was nearly a growl.
Sarah licked her lips nervously.  The other vampires here in
Buffalo.
 You ve met other vampires here in Buffalo?
There was something about the way he said it, the way he was
looking at her, that suddenly made her aware she was trapped in a car
with a vampire. A very big, dangerous vampire. She was sorry she d
brought the whole thing up now, but he was waiting for an explanation,
so she said,  Sort of. I mean, I didn t actually meet anyone, but there
was a University reception last year. It was supposed to be a showcase
of local Buffalo talent. Manhattan s gotten so expensive that some
people are actually moving back to Buffalo to live. Not many, of course,
but someone decided it couldn t hurt to remind people that there is a
major university here, with a medical center and lots of eggheads and
artists. It s not Manhattan, but it s not Outer Mongolia either.
Raj gave her a skeptical look.  The vampires? he reminded her.
 Right. Well, I m just a historian, and a junior one at that, but my
friend Linda you met her the other night her husband s kind of a
star in the art department.
He nodded, and Sarah thought it was possible she d told him about
it last night and didn t remember.  Well, she continued,  they invited
me to go with them to the reception. All the local bigwigs were there
including your boss, Krystof Sapieha.
 He s not my boss, Raj snapped.
Sarah frowned in confusion.  But I thought he was the local vampire
lord, and that 
 It s complicated. Go on with your story, he commanded.
She gave him a dirty look he really was going to have to stop
giving her orders.  Anyway, Sapieha was only there for maybe an hour
or so with a couple of other vamps bodyguards, I guess although I
wasn t too impressed.
 No? Raj gave her a quick, amused glance before switching his
gaze back to the road to stop at a red light.  What did you expect?
Rajmund 113
 Giant eunuchs. You know, gold earrings and stuff.
He laughed.  I m sure they were quite capable, despite their
absence of gold and gelding, and there were probably others in the
crowd you didn t know about. Krystof is very aware of his own safety.
 Maybe. But I thought it would be interesting to meet him. You
know, because of Cyn and Raphael. I figured they re probably friends.
 You spoke to Krystof?
She was suddenly aware that the light had turned green but they
were still sitting there. Raj was regarding her intently, overwhelming
her, not just with his size, but with a sense of menace, as if everything
rested on whatever she said next.
 No, she said carefully.  I tried to, but he was talking to this woman,
like really involved, you know? I went over anyway, but when I got too
close, one of the other vamps stopped me. She shrugged.  Maybe
Krystof was lining up his next meal or something. He left right after
that.
Raj seemed satisfied with her answer. At least he relaxed so that
she no longer felt as if her life hung on her next words. He glanced up
at the light and accelerated across the intersection.  Just as well, he
said at last.  Krystof is very old, he said, as if that explained everything.
He turned into an industrial area not far from the airport, taking
several turns until they were driving along a dark side road, fronted by
what looked like a bunch of abandoned warehouses. He pulled into the
parking lot of one of those warehouses and stopped right by the door. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]