Emelie gave her a puzzled look. “He rode to your rescue today, didn't he?"
"Yeah,” Sarah admitted. “But only because he wants this case solved and I'm the best lead he's got. So far, anyway. I probably won't even be that for much longer."
Emelie startled her by reaching out to snap her fingers in front of Sarah's face. When she recoiled, Emelie said, “Huh. Well, you're not blind, so the only alternative is stupid."
"Excuse me?"
"Raj is crazy about you, little human."
"Raj hates my guts, skinny vampire."
Emelie laughed. “Skinny vampire,” she repeated. “Awkward, but accurate. So tell me, Sarah,” she said deliberately. “What exactly did you do to my master to turn him around the way you have? He's been a bitch to get along with the last few days and I think it's your fault."
Sarah met Emelie's certain gaze and turned away, unwilling to admit what she'd done.
"Oh, come on, Sarah. We're going to be spending a lot of time together for a couple of days. It'll be more fun if we can talk girl talk—you know, guys, makeup, hair, shit like that."
It was Sarah's turn to laugh at the idea of Emelie being interested in girl talk. “What did Raj tell you?” she asked.
"You may not have noticed, Sarah, but Raj can do a fair imitation of the Sphinx when he wants to. He hasn't told me shit. And that's saying something, because Raj tells me pretty much everything. He's my Sire and that makes him pretty damn important, but he's also my best friend. He was the first person ever to see me as something other than what he needed me to be. I would die at his command without hesitation and I will kill anyone who harms him."
"Oh."
Emelie grinned. “Don't worry, that wasn't a threat. Raj'd kill me if I harmed a hair on your pretty head. But I'm thinking whatever you did had to be something bad because that vamp is crazy about you."
Sarah sighed. “Did Raj tell you we went over to the university the other night and talked to Jennifer Stewart? Trish's roommate?"
"Yes. We've been doing the three dollar tour of Buffalo blood houses the last couple of nights because of it."
Sarah blinked in surprise. Raj had been continuing the investigation without her? It was stupid, but she was sort of hurt to discover that.
"And?” Emelie said impatiently.
Sarah cringed. She had a pretty good idea of what Emelie's reaction would be to what she was about to say.
"I don't know anything about how you all do stuff. I mean, I know you can make the act of drinking blood feel really good—not that I've ever done that."
Emelie hooted loudly, obviously amused by Sarah's inexperience.
Sarah scowled at her and continued. “Apparently Raj was talking to Jennifer, um, in her head, I guess you'd say. You know, telepathically or however you do it. I think he only had her talk out loud eventually so I could hear, but I didn't figure that out until later. I didn't know then what was going on."
Emelie's face grew solemn. “What did you say to him?” she asked, her eyes suddenly dark with accusation.
"I told him what he'd done was the same as rape,” Sarah said in a small voice. “That he'd raped Jen's mind instead of her body."
Emelie closed her eyes briefly, as if in pain, shaking her head slightly. “You and I have to talk,” she said somberly. But then she lapsed into silence, making a left turn down a long, dark street, eventually pulling up in front of the same abandoned-looking warehouse where Sarah and Raj had stopped what seemed like a lifetime ago. Back when he'd still liked her.
Sarah sighed as Emelie drove past the office door, stopping instead in front of one of the three big loading bay doors. Jamming the car into park, she reached over to the back seat and dug into a black canvas duffle bag, emerging with what looked like a heavy-duty garage door opener. Point and click, and the left-most door rolled up on nearly silent tracks. Emelie dropped the remote into her lap and drove the car inside, clicking it again to close the door behind them as soon as they were clear.
"Home sweet home,” Emelie announced and turned off the engine.
"What is this place?” Sarah asked, staring through the window.
"This, my dear, is why Raj is going to be the next Vampire Lord of the Northeast. Raw power is good and he's got lots of that, but it's brains that makes the difference, and Raj is a f**king genius when it comes to strategic planning. He bought this place years ago in anticipation of this day."
Sarah gave her a skeptical glance. “This day?” Either Emelie was talking about something other than her own predicament, or Raj was more than a strategic genius, he was a damn fortune teller.
Emelie laughed as she swung the car door open and climbed out. She grabbed the duffle from the back and said, “There's a lot more to this day than you realize, little human. One hell of a lot more."