"It was once,” he said somberly. “Now it's just Duncan."
"Well, just Duncan, thank you."
He tipped his head in a little bow and slid out of the car. “Enjoy your rest, Cynthia."
"Thanks. And I guess I'll see you on Sunday, right?"
"Oh, yes,” he said with a satisfied expression. “I wouldn't miss it."
Chapter Forty-two
The next day, Liz was waiting when Cyn arrived at the house. Luci had found clothes for her somewhere, a pair of clean denims that hung low enough to show off the glint of silver in her bellybutton, along with a couple of tops layered over one another in a clash of color that was suitably defiant. Cyn smiled. She had a feeling she and Liz would have had a lot in common once upon a time.
"I talked to Mirabelle,” Liz said without preamble. “She knows we're coming."
"So I hear. You ready?"
"Yeah. This your car?” she asked, eyeing the big SUV. “Nice. Can I drive?"
"You got a license?” Liz shook her head. “Then the answer's no. But we'll see about fixing that real soon. Come on, it's not far."
"Are we almost there?” Liz asked thirty minutes later. “I thought you said it wasn't that far?"
Cyn didn't answer immediately. She was concentrating on crossing four lanes of congested traffic in a last minute daredevil zip between freeways, earning more than one obscene gesture and a chorus of honking horns from her fellow drivers.
A few minutes later, they passed through McLaren Tunnel and were dumped onto Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. “Anything less than an hour isn't far in this town. But it won't be long now,” Cyn assured her.
Liz stared at the tight row of expensive houses sitting next to the highway, their front doors only feet away from the rushing traffic. Beyond them was nothing but the sand and the roiling black velvet of the Pacific Ocean beneath a nearly full moon. “L.A.'s bigger than I thought,” she said in a small voice.
"It seems that way,” Cyn agreed. “The problem is there's no real center. It's sort of spread out all over the place."
"I guess."
Cyn glanced over. “Mirabelle's really excited about seeing you."
"Mmm. Me too.” She gave Cyn a sideways look. “You're sure it's okay, right? I mean, Luci said I should trust you and all, but you don't know what Jabril's like. He's really sneaky, and he gives the judges and everyone money, so they do whatever—"
"Liz."
"I love Mirabelle, and I know she tries, but he hurts her and—"
"Liz."
Elizabeth stared at her, eyes wide with trepidation.
"Elizabeth, honey, it's okay. Jabril doesn't have any power here, and you can trust Raphael. I trust him. He won't hurt Mirabelle and he won't hurt you. And even if someone tried to hurt you, I wouldn't let them, okay? I'll stay with you as long as you want, until you feel safe. And anytime you want to go back to Luci's, you say the word and we're gone."
Liz swallowed hard.
"Okay?” Cyn asked.
"Okay.” It was weak, but definite.
"Good enough,” Cyn said with a grin. “Because this is it.” She gestured ahead and to the left where Raphael's estate was nothing more than a dark forest of tall trees on the side of the road. “It looks worse than it is,” she confided. “Once we get through the gate, it's pretty nice.” She made the turn but stopped before they reached the gate. “You're sure you're okay with this, right? If not, we'll turn around right now and forget the whole thing."
Liz bobbed her head, sucking in a deep breath. “No. No, I'm good. I want to see my sister."
"Don't worry about them,” Cyn said, when they pulled up to the gate. Raphael's vampire guards closed on the Land Rover, looking it and them over very carefully. The one closest to her side acknowledged Cyn with a friendly nod, and she knew Alexandra had warned them about Elizabeth's visit, but they followed procedure anyway, which was the way it should be. She heard Liz's relieved exhale when the guards backed away and waved them through the opening gate.