She snapped to attention. "Harry, look, I need-"
"You need to listen," Harry interrupted.
"I don't have time for your-"
"I'm trying to help you." It was a sharp reproof. "I don't know why-maybe I don't want to be known as the brother-in-law of the hunter who was found spitted on a stick in Times Square! I can't believe you managed to insult someone of Dmitri's stature."
Elena froze. "You know?"
"Of course I know. Dmitri's the most senior vampire in the area and I report directly to him unless my master wants a face-to-face." His voice turned bitter. "I've been having quite a lot of chats with Andreas since you ended my hope of escape."
"Damn it, Harry, you signed a contract. In blood!"
"I wouldn't expect you to understand family loyalty," he said, slicing right through her heart. "But I suspect your life is important to you."
"I called to warn you," she gritted out, refusing to let her twerp of a brother-in-law hurt her. "You might be a vampire, but Beth is mortal."
"Not for long. We've petitioned for her to be Made."
Elena's soul went ice-cold. "You are not dragging her into that world. Does she have any idea of what she's signing on for or did you tell her it was all roses and fairy tales?"
"Oh, believe me, Elieanora, we know it's not perfection but it is immortality. And not that you'd have any comprehension of the concept, but I love Beth-I don't want to spend eternity without her."
That halted Elena, because, all his faults aside, Harrison Ling did actually seem to love his wife. "Look, Harry, we can fight about this later-hide from Dmitri until this blows over."
"Why should I hide?"
"He'll try to get my location out of you."
"He already asked and I told him I didn't have a clue," Harry replied. "Since he appears to know precisely how close you are to your family, he believed me."
"Just like that." Elena frowned. "No strong-arm tactics?"
"Of course not. We're civilized beings."
Elena's mind rebutted that with a memory of Dmitri's smile as his neck spurted blood. "Fine," she muttered. "As long as you're safe."
"Where are you?"
Every one of her instincts screamed in warning. "You don't need to know."
"Turn yourself in," he urged. "That's what I meant about your life-if you give yourself up, Dmitri might be swayed toward leniency. It'd also make our life easier if I brought you to him. Beth agrees with me."
That was all she was to him and Beth, Elena thought, refusing to consider the crushing hurt in her chest-a convenient way to curry favor. "Since when did you become Dmitri's pimp, Harry?"
The sharp hiss of an indrawn breath. "Fine, get yourself killed. Did I mention that Dmitri's looking for you on behalf of his sire?"
"What?"
"Word is that Raphael's gone cold."
Elena didn't know what that meant, but Harry's tone made it clear it wasn't anything good. "Thanks for the warning."
"It's more than you gave me."
Vivek began to bring his chair around.
"Gotta go." She hung up in the nick of time.