Fangs flashed as he grinned and held up the small cooler in his arms. “Lonnie sent me. He says it's for Mirabelle."
"Oh! Okay. I'll be right down."
Cyn stepped back inside, leaving the sliding door open. It was cold, but the steady motion of the waves was a familiar sound and the fresh air a welcome intruder. The condo was quiet around her as she made her way downstairs, not a stir yet from Mirabelle.
It took a few minutes to slide all the locks back, but the vamp was waiting patiently when she finally pulled the door open. He gave her an expectant look, but Cyn had no intention of inviting him in. She'd learned the hard way that once invited, there was no uninviting. It was irritating enough to have Raphael lurking around her house at will, much less some vamp she didn't even know.
She reached out and took the cooler from his arms. “Thanks. Hey,” she said, remembering the question that had been waiting for her when she woke up. “Is Lonnie around?"
He shrugged. “At the beach house."
"Do you have his cell number handy?"
He gave her a slightly suspicious glance, but pulled a phone from his pocket and read the number off quickly. With a flash of irritation, Cyn repeated it to herself as she hurried across the room and deposited the cooler on the island countertop. She grabbed a pen and wrote the number quickly, then turned back to the door, but the vamp was already gone. “Guess, he didn't expect a tip,” she said to no one.
When the door was once again closed and all the locks secured, she frowned at the cooler, wondering what to do with it. She finally settled on shoving the whole thing into her refrigerator which, as usual, was almost empty, so there was plenty of room. If it turned out Mirabelle preferred her blood room temperature, they could always warm it up somehow. A somehow that didn't include the microwave. Cyn didn't relish the idea of a bag of blood bursting inside her favorite cooking device. Maybe they could use boiling water. She vaguely remembered some acquaintance or other heating a baby's bottle in a cup of hot water. She shrugged. They'd figure something out.
Coffee came next, a process so automatic she had no memory of even doing it until she was cradling the first cup in grateful hands. She took a few life-giving sips, topped off the cup and climbed back upstairs, going to her office. The door was locked as always, which is what had foiled her sister Holly's attempted thievery not long ago. Cyn had caught the two would-be burglars trying to pick the lock. They hadn't succeeded, but she'd changed the lock anyway. She took no chances when it came to her client's confidentiality.
Coffee cup in one hand, she tapped in a code on the newly installed keypad, listened as the heavy bolt disengaged, then pushed the door open and walked over to her desk, flicking on the low desk light and logging onto her computer.
A quick check of her e-mail produced a jam-packed spam folder and not much else. There was one e-mail from Duncan—Alexandra had agreed to meet Cyn and Mirabelle at midnight tonight. How quaint. He also noted that Mirabelle's appointment with Raphael was set for—she checked the date against her calendar—one week from today. She frowned and punched up Duncan's number.
"Good evening, Cynthia,” Duncan answered in his usual calm voice.
"Why so long?"
"I'm well, thank you for asking."
"Yeah, yeah. Good evening, Duncan. I trust everything is well and blah, blah, blah. So how come so long?"
"Until?"
"Mirabelle's meeting with Raphael. Why wait until next Sunday? Won't she be safer if we do it sooner?"
"Indeed, but there are formalities which must be observed. Jabril must be informed, although I think we can assume that part, at least, truly is a formality by now. However, he is also entitled to have a witness present to verify that Mirabelle's decision is freely made and not under duress. Once properly informed of her intent, Jabril has one week in which to provide a witness acceptable to both parties. Which means she cannot pledge to Lord Raphael before that time."
"Wait, are you saying that Mirabelle has to call Jabril? I don't think—"
"Of course, not. This is a matter between the two vampire lords. Raphael will be calling Jabril this evening."
"What about this witness?"
"What about him?"
"Can Jabril himself—"
"Indeed not. Council members may travel within each other's territory only by express permission, which permission is rarely given except for the annual meeting of the full Vampire Council which rotates among the members."
"So who will the witness be?"
"I don't know."
"Not Asim."
"Ah, that's right, you've met Asim. Charming man. No, it will not be Asim. Raphael would never accept him. No, it will be someone minor, someone Jabril won't mind losing if he steps out of line."
"Yeesh."