“I am a damn strong vampire,” Simone said. “I can do it.”

“All right. Say you do. Say you put in a suggestion that protects them from Killean’s hypno ability, you’d let a human go in there all alone? Unprotected? No backup? What if a group of them wants to feed off that human? Because, that’s really the only purpose humans serve in Killean’s inner circle. Food. And vampires like that prefer unclean sources. Drug addicts and the like. Send in a clean source and they’ll get suspicious.”

“We can dirty up a human. A dose of heroin or crack will do the trick. Maybe some painkillers or liquor, something less addictive.”

“God, what a thing to ask of someone,” Rafe injected.

“It’s better than the alternative. Risk the life of one to spare the lives of many.”

“Who do we ask to do such a thing?” Rafe asked.

“I’ll find someone,” Danton said. “In the meantime, we have to be very protective of our sources.”

“That’s going to be hard with an influx of vampires coming into the country. Our sources are going to be used to feed those vampires who need it.”

“This is going to heavily tax our already stressed authoritarians. I have every available body working security in one form or another. I even have the bounty hunters recalled into service. Not that any of them are happy about it. The lot of them are adrenaline junkies. Working security detail to them is boring and tedious.”

“Too bad,” Simone said sharply. “I don’t care how boring it is. They better do their jobs.”

“They will. I have the hunters assigned to the most high-risk targets. Just to keep them interested.”

“Is that wise? These are diplomats. The more high risk they are the more sensitive they are likely to be. We don’t need someone like Halo responsible for the safety of, say, the prince of Egypt. He is temperamental and would see Halo as an uncouth barbarian.”

“I took all of this into account. I assigned like to like. Halo will be watching over the diplomat from Sydney, Australia. Taron likes his fun rough and his women rougher. That’s right up Halo’s alley.”

“Wonderful. So the two of them will raise hell together,” Simone said dryly.

“Halo has been warned to keep things sane. I think he understands.”

“You think. But there’s no reining in Halo when he doesn’t want to be reined in,” Rafe said.

“We’ll have to see. It’s not perfect by far, but it’s what we have to work with.”

“What are your plans for Fallon?” Rafe asked. “I have him working protection for something else. I won’t need him at night, but…”

“But you’d like access to him the rest of the time? I think I can cover his detail. What is he working protection on?”

“A human woman. A compromised source of mine. A phant made a direct threat to her life. It cannot be ignored.”

“We’re not going to be able to provide twenty-four-hour protection for all of our sources,” Danton protested. “Especially not this weekend!”

“As of yet there have been no direct threats to anyone else’s sources. We are simply being careful. Proactive,” Simone said before Rafe could get worked up. “However, this was a very specific threat. It cannot be ignored.”

“If you say so then of course you can have use of Fallon,” Danton said. “As I said, I can move someone else into his place.”

“Thank you. That is much appreciated,” Rafe said with no small amount of relief.

“Well, if that is all, I will be going. There are still many finer organizational details I have to work out. The first diplomats begin arriving tonight.”

“Very well then. We’ll talk about this again as soon as you have found a suitable human to penetrate Killean’s defenses. But for now concentrate on the diplomats and the treaty. If Draz is planning on making a move against me, we must protect everyone as best we can.”

“Including and especially you, Simone,” Danton said. “I will double up your guard.”

“That isn’t necessary. I’ll be swamped by people and their security details all weekend long. No one is going to be able to come near me without penetrating a wall of people first.”

“They don’t have to get near you. They only need to aim at the back of your head,” Danton said darkly.

Simone paled a little at that. She swallowed a bit nervously, then regained herself and held her chin high. “Then nothing you do will be able to protect me. Let’s focus on the diplomats and getting this treaty signed. And should something happen to me…Rafe, I am counting on you to see this through to the bitter end. You will carry on my work. See that it is done.”

“Don’t talk like that, Simone. You’re going to be fine.”

“Promise me, Rafe. Please.”

Rafe took in Simone’s desperate plea, the way she had reached out to grasp his wrist. He covered her hand with his and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry,” he said. “This treaty is getting signed come hell or high water.”

Provided he wasn’t censured for blabbing about them to Renee. There was still that to deal with, but he knew he didn’t have to remind Simone about it.

“Thank you,” Simone said.

Danton got to his feet, and left the office, leaving Simone and Rafe behind. He was still holding her hand. He gave her fingers a squeeze.

“I suppose I ought to be going as well. I have a committee to face.”

“Rafe, if there’s anything I can do, you know I will do it.”

“Thank you, but I knew what I was getting myself into. All that’s required now is for Renee to prove I have placed my faith in the proper place. Actually, I should catch up to Danton. He is, after all, on the committee.”

“Hopefully the committee will have more pressing concerns than punishing you with a tribunal.”

“I suppose that makes this a good time to break the rules. I’ll see you later.”

Rafe kissed her cheek and hurried out of the office.

Chapter 13

Renee was poring over one of her open cases when Jimmy parked his ass on her desk.

“So you’re pretty subdued today,” he observed.