respect. I drained Cy as much as possible without risking an instant death. Slicing my wrist with a silver dagger, I bled into his mouth before his last heartbeat. He latched on after the first mouthful went down and the rest is history.
After the initial shock and denial phase, followed by the learning curve to control the blood lust, Cy accepted his new afterlife wholeheartedly and was grateful I happened upon him in the alley. Doubtful he would have felt that way if he’d been married with a family, but c’est la vie. I’m glad things worked out. Rafe and I were both surprised when three months later, Cy’s control proved strong enough I could set him free and not look back.
I turn the prospect of calling him over in my mind, voicing my thoughts, “You are right though. He’d be a good person to call for some intel.”
Rafe continues in his argument, “He’s never let you down when you called to research a prospective client. Let’s not forget, he did help us when we jumped into the technological age.”
“Yes… ” I draw the sounds in the word out, torn on what to do. I prefer to have no other vampires close to me. It lessens the risk of who can turn me into the Tribunal of Ancients, which translates to less people I’d have to hunt down and destroy.
“Take advantage of the fact that he feels he owes you for his afterlife and freedom—most masters would have kept a gem like him under their thumb.”
“You’ve made your point, I’ll call.”
Rafe settles back with a small smile of victory on his face. A check of the time reveals it’s almost nine. It would be a great time to call Cy. He’s probably at the Zone Out club now. Grabbing the cordless off the counter, I dial his cell phone. Two rings later he picks up. Before he can get out a greeting, loud music assaults my ear.
“Dria, give me a minute to get in the back room.”
“ ‘Kay.” I can hear him pushing his way through the crowd to get to his private office, while the voices of the patrons carry over the line.
“Cy, over here man!”
“Cy!”
He ignores them. Knowing him, he’s probably gesturing to the phone at his ear while signaling he’ll be right back. The sound of a door closing cuts the worst of the noise to a muted thrum.
“Well, hello gorgeous. What brings on this call?”
That’s Cy for you, right to the heart of the matter. He knows I don’t call often and won’t waste my time beating around the bush.
“Hey Cy, it’s been a while. How are you doing?”
I’m honestly curious. I’d hate to have to track him down and kill him; he’s good people.
“Cali keeping you in line?” I plow ahead before he has a chance to answer my first question.
Cali is Cy’s bonded mate. She’s a werewolf—a pretty uncommon match for an undead. Letting her walk around the club unescorted with the trademark sexual werewolf-pheromones leaking out to a crowd could cause a riot. I’m never sure which of the pair attracts the throngs of humans and supernaturals to the club more—him or her.
Cy rumbles his amusement into the phone “Of course she is. I wouldn’t love her as much as I do if she couldn’t.”
I cut right to the chase. “I need some help with a name.”
“New potential guest?”
“No. I wish.” I fill him in on what’s happened. I trust him to a point, but I don’t like having to rely on others. Rafe listens to my recount as well. His sharp gaze locks on me as if he’s making sure I include everything, even the crescent-shaped scar on John Pierre’s cheek.
“Got it.” Cy hesitates for a second, “Dria, I don’t like this. Let me send one of my security guys up there. He can fly up on my private plane and be there in under twelve hours.”
His voice sounds so adamant it throws me for a second. Quiet, I gather my thoughts on how to respond. He rushes on to fill the silence.
“I know how you feel about other vamps getting too close. You can trust him with your life. I’m talking about sending Cali’s nephew. He was turned over in Afghanistan a year ago. He’s an ex-military munitions expert and a real nice guy.”
In my continued silence he babbles on.
“The skills he’s learned from Uncle Sam have made him a valuable security asset, nothing gets past him.”
Good enough credentials, but I’m