didn’t have a remote chance of surviving the night.
Andreas leaned forward and whispered in his ear. Victor’s body went rigid. Andreas released his grip, turning Victor over to the other staff now crowding into the room.
“Get rid of him,” Andreas ordered. “Make this his last sunrise.”
Victor didn’t resist as they hustled him out. The fight was gone; his face was blank once again.
“What’s that mean, his last sunrise?” Ari asked.
“Have you seen a vampire execution?”
She nodded. Andreas didn’t need to tell her any more. The condemned vampire had burst into flames as soon as sunlight touched his body. It was a quick but painful way to go.
“You are hurt,” he suddenly said.
Ari looked at her arm. She hadn’t noticed the blood dripping on the floor. “Yeah, sorry about the mess.” She grabbed a shirt from the clothes strewn on the floor and dabbed at the wounds. “Guess I could use a bandage.”
Someone found a first aid kit. Andreas cleaned and wrapped her arm. The blood was starting to clot and the gashes smarted, sure signs of healing.
“Was Victor the one you suspected?” Ari asked as he put the extra supplies back in the box.
His hands paused. “Yes. I regret not telling you. If I had thought…” He closed the first aid box with a snap. “After the failed raid, I hired a private firm to investigate my staff, including the four men who were with me. The background reports arrived last Monday, and Victor’s revealed he was born in Canada. That did not mean he had been a vampire in Canada or knew Sebastian, but it raised concerns. Since he came to us four years ago from South Carolina, we had no prior suspicion of any Canadian ties.” Andreas’s mouth formed a thin line. “He hid his ambitions well.”
“Four years is a long time to plan a coup.”
“Not in the life of a vampire.”
Well, damn. Ari kept forgetting their unique point of view. Vampires were bound to see time on a much bigger clock.
“So that’s all you had on him? That he was born in Canada?” No wonder Andreas had hesitated to share his suspicions.
“That, and an uneasy feeling. Now I see other small hints that didn’t mean much at the time. Like his failure to tell you Angela’s companion was a werewolf.”
“Yeah, I remember that one.”
“And his antipathy toward you. His frequent reminders you were a witch, an enemy to vampires, and already involved in two vampire deaths. It was Victor who reported he saw you with Marcus. He said much to poison my opinion of you.” Andreas’s eyes held regret. “I should not have listened.”
“You didn’t know me then.”
“A poor excuse.” Andreas set the first aid kit on his desk. “Victor must have warned the wolves of the raid.”
“Then he tried to talk Ryan out of searching the house. Afraid Gordon or Marcus would expose him.” Ari suddenly put together one of the elusive pieces that had nagged her for days. The tattooed guy from Toronto—she’d seen him talking with Victor in a bar one night. “I think we all missed a lot.”
Andreas grimaced. “Including his befriending of Frederick. I wonder if Victor intended from the beginning to have him murdered. Ironic, is it not? Betrayed by one of our own.”
“Why’d he attack me? And why tonight? I thought he was on a buying trip.”
“I thought so too. The trip was a way to keep him busy while we explored his Canadian activities. He must have figured that out, realized he was about to be exposed, and moved his plans forward.” Andreas’s gaze sought hers. “Removing you was his next step.”
Ari shivered, not so much from his words as from the raw emotion in his eyes. She broke the contact and began gathering the clothes scattered around the room. He watched for a moment before gliding forward. Taking the items from her hands, he tossed them on the couch, and his hands settled on her shoulders. An instant spark of awareness brought her gaze to meet his.
Andreas slid a hand down to touch her injured arm. “I am sorry I was not here to prevent this. I received a message to meet Daron, and I went, thinking Victor was out of town.”
Andreas’s eyes darkened, and Ari’s skin tingled where his hands touched her. Her witch magic hummed with pleasure. Magic or pure attraction, it was heady stuff.
“The minute Daron told me the message was a fake, I knew you were in danger. I called. When you didn’t answer,