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said.

Meng Die looked up at me from where she knelt. “Anita, you need to go in there on Jean-Claude’s arm and sell this dress, this attitude, all of it. I’d do it if I could, but I’m not his lady, you are.” There was real bitterness to that last, as well as the implication that if she were, then this would all go so much smoother.

“Off with the clothes,” Cardinal said.

“How much am I going to hate all of it?” I asked.

“You have no idea what we went through to get these. We had to send someone out shopping, because we can’t go out in daylight,” Cardinal said. “The guards may be good at guarding us, but they are not personal shoppers. You should see the crap they brought back. This is the best of the lot, Anita. Most of the dresses won’t fit your curves. It would work for either of us, but once breasts pass a C cup they’re just a real challenge for cocktail dresses.”

“I have dresses,” I protested.

“You have last season’s dresses, or heaven help us, three seasons ago. You never get rid of anything as long as it fits you,” Cardinal said.

“Why should I?”

The two women exchanged a look. “Wait until you see what the other women are wearing,” Meng Die said. “You’ll understand then.”

I looked at Jean-Claude. “They came to impress, ma petite. They came to be pretty.”

“How did they get new dresses this fast?” I asked.

“They had them,” Cardinal said, and started tugging my shirt out of my jeans.

“I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”

“Then do it,” she said.

Meng Die started holding the shoes against the dress, which was hanging from her other hand. “Most women try to buy at least one nice dress per season so they’ll have it, Anita. If you have the money that’s what you do. Some women change out their entire wardrobes once or twice a year.”

“I like my clothes, and sometimes what’s in for the season is ugly.” I stripped off my shoulder rig, started to hand it to Jean-Claude, thought better of it, and reluctantly handed it to Nicky. I had to push Cardinal’s hands away from my shirt so I could pull it over my head myself.

“See, I told you she’d have nice underwear on,” Cardinal said.

“Glad you approve,” I said, and didn’t try to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

“You may dress like one of the boys, but you always have really nice underthings,” Cardinal said. “We counted on that.”

“The guards could not have shopped for lingerie,” Meng Die said, standing up with the shoes in one hand and the dress in the other.

“Hurry, Anita,” Cardinal said.

I didn’t want to hurry. I didn’t like the dress.

Micah kissed me on the cheek. He was dressed in a tailored black suit, except it was made of soft black leather. His shirt was white and made his summer tan look very dark. The collar of it was open to expose the bite marks on his neck. The idea was that we would all show the vampire bites to demonstrate that Jean-Claude kept the best stuff for himself. It was a way of emphasizing he was still master, even though a lot of the metaphysical stuff with the tigers would seem to come mostly from me.

“You’re okay with this?” I asked.

“Anita, after last night and what happened in Atlanta, I’d wear the dress myself if it would help us be safe.” Jean-Claude looked at me, and there was something of weight, and sorrow, and just him, that made me take his hand.

“If I really thought the dress would help us be safe, I wouldn’t mind.”

Micah kissed me. “Anita, have I ever asked you to just do something?”

I thought about it and shook my head.

“I’m asking now.” He looked sad.

“Did I miss something? Has something else happened?”

“Anita, it’s afternoon. We have about six hours until full dark. Whatever we are going to do with the tigers, we need it done before dark.”

“But Europe isn’t on the same daylight schedule,” I said.

“If they are underground, ma petite, the council does not sleep much. They await our darkness, not their own,” Jean-Claude said.

“Richard is in the other room wearing a hell of a lot less than I am. He’s sucked it up and is playing host while the rest of us are in here holding your hand. You’re about to throw a fit because the dress is sheer. Anita, honey”—and he took my hands in his—“Richard is doing what we need