"Ms. Leighton—"
She could hear the hesitation in his voice, hear the wheels turning. “If Raphael comes to the phone, I'm hanging up, Duncan. I mean that."
"You put me in a difficult position.” He sighed. “Why am I not surprised? Am I right? Are you in Texas? Tell me that much."
"Yes,” she admitted.
"I don't know what possessed you to deal with that one, but it no longer matters. You need to leave as soon as possible. I don't believe you quite understand what's at stake."
"You know, Duncan, forget it. I'm sorry I called. What is it with you guys? Fine, I f**ked Raphael a couple of times. But he's the one who walked away. Not me. That does not give him, or any of you, the right to dictate the rest of my life. I will go—"
"Ms. Leighton—"
"—wherever I want—"
"Cynthia!"
Cyn stopped, drawing a deep breath. “Will you answer the f**king question or not? There's more at stake here than Raphael's dick."
Duncan choked back a laugh. “I have missed you, Cynthia. Against all odds, I have missed you. Very well. Again, I urge you to leave Texas immediately, but...” He overrode her burgeoning protest. “But, the young woman in question—and don't insult me by denying it—has been under Jabril's influence a very long time, from a very young age, and Jabril's methods are not kind. If he knows she is leaving, he will exert every effort to stop her, regardless of the cost to her, physical or otherwise. Do not expect her help in this, Cynthia. She will not be able to give it, even if she wants to. She will fight you."
"What if I do it in the daytime?"
"That would be best. She is young and the sun affects her much more strongly. But Jabril will never release her to you."
"Leave that to me. Once we cross out of his territory, will his hold weaken?"
"Certainly it will weaken. But it will not disappear until replaced by a stronger power."
She could hear the satisfaction in his voice. “Shit."
"Indeed."
"Can I drug her? Will anything work?"
"No. The virus will clean anything from her system much too fast to do any good. You should—"
He stopped mid-sentence, and Cyn could hear a silky, deep voice in the background. Her heart jumped and it was suddenly difficult to breathe.
"My lord—” She heard Duncan begin. She didn't listen any further.
"Good-bye, Duncan.” She hung up. Her cell phone rang almost immediately, but Cyn didn't answer. She was tempted to turn it off, but was afraid Kelli might call, or even Liz herself. So she switched it to vibrate and watched it dance around the table a few times, her eyes never leaving the display as it shunted every call to voice mail. Finally, it was silent. She deleted the messages unheard.
Chapter Thirteen
It took several hours and too many phone calls, but Cyn finally found companies in the Houston area that had the equipment and services necessary for what she had planned. After that, she took a long overdue shower, standing beneath the needles of hot water until her skin was bright pink, in a vain attempt to convince her muscles to relax even a little bit. Finally giving up on that, she wrapped herself in one of the hotel's big fluffy towels and blew her hair dry, then pulled out the bag of makeup she always threw into her suitcase but rarely used. She didn't overdo it, applying only enough to bring out the green in her eyes, the sharp edge of her cheekbones. Her clothes were chosen with equal care, designed not for comfort, but for impact. A short, black leather skirt clung to her thighs and showed off the curve of her firm ass. She had worked hard to keep it that way and was not above using it to her own advantage. She added a dark turquoise silk blouse, with a draped neckline that showed a fair amount of cl**vage. Not enough to look slutty, but enough to be casually provocative. Her shoulder rig was an awkward fit with the slick fabric, but she tugged it on anyway. She wasn't going anywhere near Jabril Karim without her gun.
Her leather boots worked well enough, their high heels accenting the long length of her legs beneath the short skirt. She pulled on the leather coat over everything, her fingers automatically finding the cool metal switchblade in the bottom of one pocket. Guns were great, but vampires were fast, and if she needed something in a hurry ... Well, it was always good to have a backup. Everything else went into her small suitcase. She took a final look around the room, slung her backpack over one shoulder and rolled her suitcase into the hallway and to the elevator.
The rental vehicle she'd arranged was waiting for her outside the hotel, manned by an eager young man who took great pleasure in demonstrating the various features of the big SUV, including every imaginable luxury convenience and a dazzling array of cup holders. The only features Cyn really cared about were the in-dash navigation system and the darkly tinted windows all around. She'd chosen this company for its specialty in renting to high profile clients who desired anonymity.
After dropping the young man back at his office—he said it wasn't necessary, but Cyn insisted—she turned on the GPS and headed for the Hawthorn Estate, now Jabril's personal lair in all but name.
* * * *
"This is most irregular,” the guard growled. “Lord Jabril Karim is not expecting you."
"I know,” she said with an ingratiating smile. “And I am sorry, but I really need to speak with him and it can't wait until tomorrow."