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Martha leaped onto the bed and claimed her territory, and Rue negotiated with her so she'd
have room for her own legs.
Rue was really tired, but she was also shaken. After all, there was a human dead on the street.
She waited to feel a wave of guilt that never hit shore. Rue knew that if Hallie had been by
herself, it would be Hallie lying bleeding on the street.
Been there, done that, Rue told herself coldly. And all I got were the lousy scars to prove it.
As for the shock she'd gotten at the Jaslows', a glimpse of the face she feared above all others,
she was now inclined to think she'd imagined it. He would have made sure she noticed him, if
he'd known she was there. He would have come after her again.
He'd sworn he would.
But it was funny that tonight, of all nights, she'd thought she'd seen him. At first, she'd
imagined him everywhere, no matter how many times she'd called the police station to make
sure he was still in the hospital. Maybe, once again, it was time to give Will Kryder a call
again.
She imagined Sean lying in a coffin and smiled, just a curve of the lips before she drifted off
to sleep.
Actually, Sean was on the road.
Sean had a feeling he was doing something wrong, going behind Rue's Layla's back like
this, but he was determined to do it anyway. If he'd asked Thompson to help, he had no doubt
the younger vampire could have tracked down any information Sean needed on the damned
computer. But Sean had never gotten used to the machines; it might take him twenty more
years to accept them.
Like cars. Cars had been tough, too. Sean hadn't learned to drive until the sixties. He had
loved phonographs from their inception, though, because they'd provided music for dancing,
and he had bought a CD player as soon as he could. Words were hard for Sean, so dancing
had always been his means of expression, from the time he'd become free to dance.
So here he was, off to collect information the old-fashioned way. He would get to Pineville
tonight, find a place to hole up until he woke the next night, and then get his investigation
under way.
Sean knew Rue had a fear that ran so deep she couldn't speak of it. And once he'd decided
Rue was his business, it had become his job to discover what she feared. He had done some
changing through the centuries, but the way he'd grown up had ingrained in him the
conviction that if a man claimed a woman as his family or his mate he had to protect her.
And how could he protect her if he didn't understand the threat?
While Rue rose late to have a leisurely breakfast, clean her apartment and wash her clothes,
Sean, who had consulted his housing directory, was sleeping in the vampire room of the only
motel large enough to boast one, right off the interstate at the exit before Pineville. He had a
feeling it was the first time the clerk had rented the room to an actual vampire. He'd heard that
human couples sometimes took the room for some kinky playacting. He found that distasteful.
The room windowless, with two aligned doors, both with heavy locks, and a black velour
curtain in between had two coffins sitting side by side on the floor. There was a small
refrigerator in the corner, with several bottles of synthetic blood inside. There was a
minimalist bathroom. At least the coffins were new, and the padding inside was soft. Sean had
paid an exorbitant amount for this Spartan accommodation, and he sighed as he undressed and
climbed into the larger of the two coffins. Before he lay down, he looked over at the inner
door to make sure all its locks were employed. He pulled the lid down, seconds before he
could feel the sun come up.
Then he died.
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CHAPTER SIX
When Sean felt life flowing back into his body that night, he was very hungry. He woke with
his fangs out, ready to sink into some soft neck. But it was rare that Sean indulged himself in
fresh human blood; these days, the sips he took from Rue were all he wanted. He pulled the
synthetic blood from the refrigerator, and since he didn't like it cold, he ran hot water in the
bathroom and set the bottle in the sink while he showered. He hated to wash the scent of Rue
from his skin, but he wanted to seem as normal as possible to the people he talked to tonight.
The more humanlike a vampire could look and act, the more likely humans were to be open to
conversation. Sean had noticed that interactions were easier for Thompson, who still had clear
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