But Colin knew one thing. He wasn’t leaving Sophie’s side until Lucien was rounded up and neutralized. The vampire lord was her Sire and that gave him some sort of power over her. The bastard had also called Sophie back to Vancouver, letting her and the others risk their lives, paying the price for his stupidity and sheer cowardice. But now that the mess was cleaned up, now that Lucien no longer needed Sophie, he might view her as a threat. He might be looking to get rid of her.

But Colin needed her. Now and forever. He’d lost her once and he had no intention of losing her again. Jenkins and his buddies hadn’t had the foresight to arm themselves with vampire killing rounds, but Colin wouldn’t make that mistake. Not when Sophie’s life might be on the line.

Chapter Forty-Two

The first thing Raphael heard when he woke, the first thing he listened for, was Cyn’s heartbeat, still pulsing against his chest. He’d felt her there in his dreams, but that didn’t stop the relief that squeezed his heart at finding her there in truth as night fell around them.

He touched his lips to her forehead, tightening his arms around her by the slightest degree.

“Raphael?” she said, sounding sleepy and confused, and far too weak.

“And who else would be lying naked in your bed, my Cyn?”

He felt her smile against his skin, and in the next moment felt her tense sharply. “Are you okay? Did you go—”

“They are dead, lubimaya. The ones who harmed you, who murdered Marco and Preston and attacked Mariane. All dead.”

She pulled back a little, searching his face with eyes that were weary with pain. The sight infuriated him and for a moment he wished he had a hundred more humans to slaughter for her vengeance.

Some of that must have shown in his face, because she touched cool fingers to his cheek. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.

“I am well, my Cyn. As is everyone else, including your Robbie.”

“And Murphy, too?”

Raphael felt a surge of jealousy that she would even ask about the human. She saw that, too, and her mouth softened into a gentle smile.

“I love you, Raphael.”

He bent his head to touch his lips to hers and she responded for the first time since her injury, opening her lips and letting her tongue brush lightly against his.

Something broke inside him at that fragile touch, so unlike their usual lovemaking. He struggled to control the emotion, not wanting her to be upset by it.

“Mister Murphy is unharmed, as well,” he told her. “And I believe he and Sophia are, as you would say, an item.”

“They have a history,” Cyn murmured, sounding tired, as if even this short exchange had exhausted her.

Raphael kissed her mouth once more, briefly. Then her cheek and her forehead, brushing her hair back with his fingers.

“I need a shower,” she fretted.

“You’re perfect as you are, my Cyn.” Alive, he thought privately, which was all that mattered. She would regain her strength in time. Thinking of that, he lifted his arm and sliced his wrist with his fangs.

“You need to drink, lubimaya.”

Her eyes flashed open. “What about you? If I keep drinking from you, won’t—”

“I fed last night,” he assured her. She didn’t ask, and he didn’t offer to tell her whose blood it was he’d dined on. But he and his vampires had all fed very well on the blood of their enemies.

“Okay,” she said. “That’s good, but I’m feeling a lot better tonight. I won’t need—”

“Drink,” he ordered, interrupting her. “We’ll discuss the rest later.”

She sighed, but surrendered to the inevitable. She was too weak to resist him in any event. Her mouth closed over his wrist and she began to suck. Raphael cupped the back of her head with his other hand, his thoughts drifting to the night ahead. The humans had been taken care of, but Lucien was still a problem. He needed to be found soon and dealt with permanently. Raphael could no longer tolerate the influence of a foreign vampire lord within his territory, particularly one who had brought such grief to Raphael’s people.

Lucien would have to go, and Sophia would have to follow.

Chapter Forty-Three

Raphael was pulling a sweater over his head when Elke called down to say that Dr. Saephan had arrived. Cyn was asleep, but she woke when the phone rang, turning her head to watch as he opened the vault and sent the elevator up to fetch the doctor.

While he waited, Raphael called Duncan, letting him know he’d be upstairs shortly and verifying their arrangements regarding the human woman Wei Chen employed. Raphael wasn’t certain she was involved in recent events, but he felt she was. He had no reason that he could put a finger on. It was instinct, nothing more, but he trusted his instincts. They’d brought him a long way from his father’s dirt farm in Russia.

The elevator doors opened and Peter Saephan emerged, murmuring a brief greeting to Raphael while heading directly for the bed and Cyn. He was carrying a cooler under one arm and his black bag in the other hand.

“My Cyn seems much improved tonight, Doctor. She slept through the day and just woke a short time ago.”

“Your Cyn is right here,” she muttered.

Saephan laughed. “You are feeling better. I never thought I’d say this, but I missed your smart ass self.”

“Nice bedside manner, Doc.”

“I saved it just for you, darling.” Saephan sat down and opened his bag. “Let’s take a look.”

Raphael watched quietly as the doctor checked her vitals, then listened to her chest and rolled up the t-shirt to examine her abdomen. Cyn winced more than once beneath his careful touch and Raphael frowned, but Dr. Saephan gave a satisfied nod.

“You’re right, my lord,” he said to Raphael and then to Cyn, “You’re definitely better. But considering you were nearly dead two days ago, better is a relative term.”

“Fuck,” she whispered, with only a shadow of her normal vitriol.

Saephan laughed. “You’re a terrible patient, but I love you. So come on, give me the arm.”

Cyn glanced at Raphael as she stretched out her arm with a sigh. “Go on,” she told him. “I’ll be fine. And if I’m not, you can beat up the doc here for me.”

Raphael crossed the room, leaning over to give her a careful kiss. “Not likely since he helped save your life, lubimaya. But be good and I’ll tell you all the news when I return.”

“News of what?” she asked, her voice already fading as she yawned tiredly.

“The new Lord of the Canadian Territories.”

Raphael nodded at the ever vigilant Elke as he came out of the elevator. She gave him an inquiring look and he stopped long enough to say, “She improves every day, Elke. When I left she was arguing with Saephan.”

Elke knew Cyn well enough to laugh at this, knowing it for the good news it was. “Thank you, my lord,” she said.

“Thank you, Elke, for guarding her so well.”

Elke was still flushed with pleasure when Raphael left her to join Duncan who met him halfway across the great room, handing him the leather coat he’d left in the guard’s room he’d used to shower in last night. It had been cleaned and he shrugged it on as he walked. Raphael liked the coat. It was comfortable and functional. But he wore it largely for Cyn’s benefit. She loved the coat, saying it made him look all vampirish and dramatic. He’d actually replaced it more than once at her behest and now had several identical coats as backups.

“The woman left the compound shortly after sunset, my lord,” Duncan told him as they walked. “Justin and Aaron are following her and Wei Chen is in the conference room.”

Raphael nodded. “Sophia?”

“She spent the day at Mister Murphy’s,” Duncan reported dryly. “They’re on their way here now.”

“Excellent. Wei Chen first.”

Raphael turned off the great room, heading not for the big meeting room where he’d greeted Sophia at the start of all of this, but for the smaller, more private conference room down the hall from Wei Chen’s office.

The nest leader was waiting for him. A manila folder sat on the table in front of him and he was working busily on his PDA when Duncan opened the door. He set the device aside immediately and stood, giving a short bow.

“Good evening, Sire,” he said. “I understand last night’s hunt was successful.”

Raphael nodded. “We eliminated the human threat.” He sat, leaning back in his chair, gesturing for Wei Chen to resume his seat. “But Lucien remains at large,” he continued. “And neither Sophia nor I found any knowledge of him amongst the humans.”

Wei Chen cocked his head thoughtfully, then tapped the folder in front of him. “But you believe Sandra Koepke may have knowledge of this?” He nodded and opened the folder, flipping a few pages before turning the folder so Raphael could see. “Before coming to us, she worked in Vancouver, my lord.”

Raphael passed the folder to Duncan who bent over the table to read it. Raising his eyebrows at what he found, he pulled out his cell and made a call.

“Justin,” he said quietly. “What is your location?” He listened a short time, then said, “Whatever it takes, stay on her.”

Raphael looked up at his lieutenant, and Duncan said, “Wherever she’s going, it’s definitely not the address she lists as her home.”

Wei Chen looked from Duncan to Raphael in surprise. “My lord, I—”

“Did she have a vampire connection in Vancouver, or anywhere else before coming to work here?” Raphael interrupted.

Wei Chen seemed badly startled by Duncan’s news and it took him a moment to process Raphael’s question. “No, my lord,” he insisted. “I would never have hired her if that were the case.”

Raphael stood without warning, prompting Wei Chen to jump to his feet. “My lord?”

“I’m going to pay Ms. Koepke a visit. You are not to call her or communicate with her in any way.”