"Why?” Cyn demanded, swinging on Duncan. “Why would he do that?"

"Because he trusts you, Cynthia."

"Why not his lawyers?” She turned back to Kimiko. “One of you must be human, right?"

Kimiko nodded. “My husband, Boyd. And he would be honored to remain, but he will be better used in court, securing Lord Raphael's release. He cannot be locked away here. Besides, my master has chosen you."

"And if I say no?"

Kimiko gave Cyn a baleful glare. “Then I will attempt to make other arrangements in time. If I fail, Lord Raphael will sleep unsecured, vulnerable to whatever the humans plan. And I do not doubt for one moment that this entire farce has been orchestrated toward that end. The timing of the arrest was too convenient for my taste."

Cyn glanced at Duncan. “Don't look at me like that,” she snapped. “I'll do it. So what happens now?"

Kimiko gave her a very pleased grin, as if the whole thing had been her idea. “Are you carrying a gun?"

"Of course. Why?"

"Give it to me.” Kimiko held up a hand to forestall Cyn's automatic protest. “They'll search you once you're inside.” She paused, taking the proffered Glock from Cyn and tucking it inside her leather jacket. “But they won't search me. Make sure you stay close afterwards. They'll expect us to consult and, of course, we won't want to be overheard, so we'll huddle. I'll give the weapon back to you then. Can you handle that?"

"Yes,” Cyn said, insulted at being asked.

Kimiko took her arm. “Duncan,” she said over her shoulder. “It's going to be close. Boyd will drive back to the estate, but be ready to roll as soon as we're out of there."

As if to punctuate her warning, the security lights clicked off on their automatic timer and Cyn looked eastward to see the first watery light of sunrise. They hurried toward the door and she asked quickly, “Have you seen the bodies?” Next to her Kimiko did a double take.

"No,” she said, somewhat puzzled. “I did request copies of—"

"The victims were drained with puncture wounds to the carotid artery."

"Shit. No wonder they've been holding back on those coroner's reports. Dammit.” She jabbed the door buzzer so hard the button jammed and began emitting an anemic zapping noise.

Cyn handed Kimiko her backpack. “There's a file in here that Boyd needs to see. Be careful with it. Some of it, hell most of it, is stuff I shouldn't have."

Kimiko threw the backpack to Duncan and pounded her fist on the door impatiently. “Bastards know we're out here; they're jerking my chain. I'm gonna sue their asses off when—” The door finally gave a harsh buzz and inched open slightly. Kimiko shoved it the rest of the way, ignoring the rookie cop who was hurrying down the hall toward them. They headed down the hall, past the stairway, all the way to the back of the building. As she walked, she talked quickly.

"Okay, listen, these are the rules. No one enters the cell unless you specifically request it. Once you're inside, the door will be locked behind you. There is to be no surveillance of any kind inside the cell, another Obaker mandate, and boy did they hate—"

There was a flash of white and suddenly Ian Hartzler barreled out of one of the offices, holding a stack of files in front of his chest. He ran right into Cyn, hitting her hard enough to throw them both off balance, sending the files tumbling to the floor. “Ms. Leighton,” he said. “I'm so sorry.” He crouched to gather the scattered files, and Cyn automatically bent down to help, her face only inches away from the flustered technician. “Cameras,” he whispered urgently. Cyn gave him a confused look. He met her gaze intently and hissed, “There are cameras in the cell!"

Cyn quickly handed back the folders she'd retrieved as Kimiko grabbed her by the elbow and began hustling her toward the back hallway. “Do you have any chewing gum?” Cyn asked. Kimiko gave her a distracted look. Cyn stopped abruptly, halting their forward progress. “Kimiko. I would really like some gum. They must have a vending machine here somewhere."

"Jesus, Cynthia, couldn't this wait? Do you have any idea—” Her eyes widened in sudden understanding. “Gum. Right.” She looked around wildly, then urged Cyn forward again. “I'll take care of it. You've got to get back there."

The corridor outside the holding cell was three deep with blue uniforms who gave way grudgingly when Cyn and Kimiko pushed through. Santillo stood outside a closed door, yelling at a tall man with thick black hair hanging in a perfectly straight fall down the back of a nicely tailored blue suit. Boyd Lorick, Cyn assumed, and was proven correct when Kimiko stormed over and joined the argument. Cyn found a wall, planning to wait while the three of them had it out. She glanced at her watch and thought about Duncan waiting outside as the sun rose higher.

"Assume the position, Leighton."

Cyn looked up and found Santillo's unnamed partner glowering at her. A young woman in a blue uniform stood next to him, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Cyn acquiesced with a negligent shrug, standing away from the wall and holding her arms out to either side as the female cop did a quick but thorough pat-down.

"She's clean,” the woman said and disappeared into the crowd. Cyn watched her go and spied a bank of vending machines at the end of the hallway. She nodded in that direction. “You mind? I didn't have dinner."

The partner gave her a skeptical look and followed when she strolled over to the two machines. One was cold drinks, but the other ... She dug a wrinkled five dollar bill out of her jeans pocket, smoothed it out and slid it into the reader. The machine mulled over the quality of her money for a while, decided it was okay and informed her in bright red numbers of her good fortune. Cyn bought a package of cookies she didn't want, waited while they dropped into the bin, and then added a light green package of Doublemint gum. Not exactly her favorite flavor, but then she wasn't buying it for the taste.

As she made her way back to the continuing argument, she unwrapped a couple sticks of the gum and shoved them into her mouth, idly smoothing the wrappers with her fingers.

Santillo's partner stared at the small pieces of tinfoil and Cyn grinned at him, chewing noisily. “You want my gum wrappers, Detective?"

He scowled and Cyn laughed out loud. She ducked behind a desk and deposited the wrappers in a trash receptacle. “You've been watching too many movies,” she chided, then glanced over as the yelling finally stopped.

"She's unarmed,” the partner confirmed, to the obvious disappointment of everyone but Cyn and the two lawyers.

"Way to go, Leighton,” Santillo snarled. “Protecting them against your own. Didn't think even you'd sunk that low."

Cyn smiled sweetly, refusing to be baited. “Kimiko,” she said, turning her gaze to the vampire lawyer. “A moment, please?"

"Of course. Give us some space, Santillo.” Kimiko didn't even try to be polite, pinning the bulky detective with a slow, cold stare. Santillo swore beneath his breath, but stepped back several feet. Kimiko and her husband Boyd pulled Cyn over, turning their backs to the hallway and shielding her from prying eyes. Putting their heads together to confer, Boyd Lorick gave his wife a hard look. “You okay, Kimmi?"

Kimiko blinked several times and drew a deep breath. “Not for much longer.” She slid the gun silently into Cyn's waistband. “You found some chewing gum,” she breathed in relief. “Good.” Boyd gave Kimiko a questioning look, but she shook her head, took a step back and glared at Santillo. “Let's do this,” she snarled.

Chapter Thirty-five

Raphael was standing in the middle of the room waiting for Cyn when she stepped through the doorway. They'd taken away his tie and belt—as if he would do them the favor of committing suicide over this, if that was even possible for a vampire—but he was still wearing his suit, a nearly black charcoal worsted wool, white shirt open at the collar. Cyn sighed. It took a lot more than the absence of a tie to make Raphael look anything but gorgeous. She looked up to find his flat black eyes staring at her. Unable to look away, she swallowed nervously to avoid choking on her gum and forced a weak smile. Raphael's gaze never wavered.

Kimiko came forward to assure him Boyd would take care of everything. “Go, Kimiko,” Raphael said softly, his eyes never leaving Cyn. “It grows late and I would not give them the satisfaction.” Kimiko nodded unhappily, but hurried out through the open doorway, passing Santillo who was pretending he had a reason to be there. Cyn jumped when Boyd laid a gentle touch on her shoulder and she turned to find him right next her. “I'll be back before sunset,” he said softly.

Cyn nodded her understanding, intensely aware of Raphael's continued scrutiny. “See you then,” she said.

Boyd hustled Santillo bodily out of the room, giving Cyn a final thumbs up before the door slammed shut. She stared at the door until the shuffling of footsteps faded down the hallway, and then turned back to Raphael, trying to think of something rational to say. He held up a hand for her to wait, his head tilted slightly as he listened with his far keener vampire senses.

Cyn took the time to look around. Knowing they were there, she found two of the camera lenses quickly. She drew the now tasteless wad of gum out of her mouth with a grimace—she hated chewing gum—and within a short period of time had disabled those two, plus one more over the door itself. She gave Raphael a questioning look.

He held out his hand. Cyn looked at it, shifted her gaze to his face and sighed in resignation. She took his hand and let him pull her into an embrace. His whole body relaxed as his arms came around her, and then stiffened again as he inhaled deeply through his nose. “You're carrying a gun, my Cyn.” His voice was barely there, little more than a breath against her ear. She had blocked the visual on the cameras, but they might still be recording sound. “They didn't search you?"