"It was you? Untraceable number. Very untraceable, if this phone can't locate the source." At least she was still safe at the Brotherhood's compound, he thought. Wherever that was. "I'm glad you called."
"I went home last night."
Rehv's hand crushed the phone. "Last night? What the hell! I didn't want you going-"
Sobs came through the phone, great, wretched sobs. The misery stole his words, his anger, his breath.
"Bella? What's wrong? Bella? Bella!" Oh, Jesus... "Did one of those Brothers hurt you?"
"No." She took a deep breath. "And don't yell at me. I can't bear it. I'm through with you and the yelling. No more."
He dragged air into his lungs, clamping down on his temper. "What happened?"
"When can I come home?"
"Talk to me."
Silence stretched out between them. Clearly his sister didn't trust him anymore. Shit... Could he blame her?
"Bella, please. I'm sorry... Just talk to me." When there was no response, he said, "Have I..." He cleared his throat. "Have I so damaged things between us?"
"When can I come home?"
"Bella-"
"Answer the question, brother mine."
"I don't know."
"Then I want to go to the safe house."
"You can't. I told you long ago, if there's trouble, I don't want you and mahmen in the same place. Now, why Page 232
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do you want to leave there? Only a day ago you didn't want to be anywhere else."
There was a long pause. "I went through my needing."
Rehv felt the air leak out of his lungs and get trapped in his chest cavity. He closed his eyes. "Were you with one of them?"
"Yes."
Sitting down was a damn good idea right about now, but there was no chair close enough. He leaned on his cane and lowered himself to his knees on the Aubusson carpet. Right in front of her portrait. "Are you... well?"
"Yes."
"And he's claimed you."
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"He doesn't want me."
Rehv bared his fangs. "Are you pregnant?"
"No."
Thank God. "Who was it?"
"I wouldn't tell you that to save my life, Rehv. Now, I'd like to leave here."
Christ... Her in her needing in a compound full of males... full of thick-blooded warriors. And the Blind King-shit. "Bella, tell me it was only one who serviced you. Tell me it was only one and that he didn't hurt you."
"Why? Because you're afraid of having a slut for a sister? Afraid of the glymera shunning me again?"
"Fuck the glymera. It's because I love you... and I can't bear the thought of you being used by the Brotherhood when you were so vulnerable."
A pause followed. As he waited, his throat burned so badly, he felt as though he'd swallowed a box of thumbtacks.
"There was only one, and I love him," she said. "You might as well know that he gave me a choice between him and being dragged unconscious. I picked him. But I will never tell you his name. Frankly, I don't want to ever speak of him again. Now, when can I come home?"
Okay. This was good. At least he could get her away from there.
"Just let me find a place that's secure. Call me in thirty minutes."
"Wait, Rehvenge, I want you to rescind the sehclusion request. If you do that, I will voluntarily submit to a Page 233
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security detail whenever I go out, if that makes you feel safer. Is that a fair trade?"
He put his hand over his eyes.
"Rehvenge? You say you love me. Prove it. Rescind that request, and I promise we'll work together...
Rehvenge?"
He dropped his arm and looked up at the painting of her. So beautiful, so pure. He would keep her that way always if he could, but she wasn't a child any longer. And she was proving far more resilient and strong than he could have imagined. To have lived through what she did, to have survived...
"All right... I'll take it back."
"And I will call you in a half hour."
Chapter Forty
Night fell and the light bled from the cabin. U hadn't moved from the computer all day. Between e-mails and his cell phone, he'd tracked down the twenty-eight slayers remaining in Caldwell and scheduled a general-assembly meeting for midnight. At that time he was going to reorder them into squadrons and assign a five-man task force on recruiting.
Following tonight's meeting, he was putting only two Beta squadrons downtown. Civilian vampires weren't showing up at the bars the way they used to, because too many of their kind had been pinched from that vicinity for persuasion. It was time to shift focus elsewhere.