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“What does that mean?”

“It means, if you are cruel to us, we will be cruel in return. If you play nicely, then so will we.”

“Define play nicely,” I said.

“When you saw the look of pain on his face, did it not make your heart ache, ma petite?”

I wanted to lie, but…“Yeah.”

The look of cynicism on Auggie’s face flickered, as if he didn’t know what look would help, or what look he dared give.

“But, so what? Thanks to his machinations, I don’t want to see him hurting, so what?”

“Augustine could come and visit us. His mob connections could think he was trying to woo us for criminal activities, or just that he was solidifying his alliance with us, one master to another. Either way, he could visit us periodically without arousing suspicions. Since he is a known mob figure, it would explain why the visits would have to be out of the media’s so-glaring eye.”

Auggie watched the other vampire like a mouse that’s had the cat tell him I won’t eat you, today. Half hopeful, half afraid to hope. “What are you offering, Jean-Claude?”

“One, that you do not try to make things worse for ma petite. Do not try to raise her ardeur, or mine, against our will. Do not abuse my hospitality by using your powers on my people.”

“I apologized for that,” he said.

“You made a joke of your apology,” Jean-Claude said. “I need to know if you are sincere.”

Auggie nodded. “I am sorry, but…” He looked away, his hands in fists. “You don’t understand what it’s like to be on the receiving end of the ardeur. You gained the ardeur almost from the first moment. It awoke with your blood lust. You’ve never been its victim.”

“Not true,” Jean-Claude said. He sat up, suddenly, brisk and almost businesslike. “Ma petite can feed the ardeur from me, as I can feed my ardeur from her. We can be the victim of each other’s ardeurs.”

“I’m sorry, I know that. I know that you were as much enthralled by Belle as any. But still, you can feed the ardeur, and gain the rush of it. I have nothing unless I can find a partner who carries it. I had hoped that one, or both, of you would love me, truly love me, truly want me. I’d hoped to bargain love for the ardeur, and now I watch you both.” Again, he looked away, as if he couldn’t stand to look at either of us. “And you are not moved by me. You, Jean-Claude, you watch as Belle used to watch me. She”—he pointed at me—“she watches me like she hates me. So cold, so angry. I don’t understand it. Did my power work on her, or only on me? I feel the draw of her body, but she doesn’t seem to feel anything for me, except anger.”

“Ma petite does not like to be in love. It always angers her, most especially in the beginning.”

Auggie shook his head. “I don’t understand that.”

I shrugged. “Join the club.” I went to the love seat. Nathaniel trailed me. “Why hasn’t Travis shifted?”

Micah answered, “He’s waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me to do what?”

“Bring my beast,” Travis said, and his face was almost gray with pain.

“What you do here on your little visits would be a secret from your so-conservative fellow criminals,” Jean-Claude said.

“Just shift, Travis. Heal yourself.”

He shook his head, huddling over his arm.

Auggie said, “And what would I be doing on these visits?”

“Perhaps we could even visit you in Chicago.”

I was suddenly paying attention to their conversation. If we went to Chicago, oh, my God, the energy there would…

“No, no fucking way. You’d feed on all my people then. I felt what one feeding off me and the few people I had here did to your power level. No way.”

“So you do not want to visit us again?”

Auggie forced himself to stand very straight, shoulders back, an echo of military something. “You know that I do, but I won’t trade my people and all my power for it. I won’t crawl for you, Jean-Claude.”

“I don’t want you to crawl, Augustine.”

“What do you want?”

“You to stop trying to manipulate us. Accept that we hold the ardeur and you want it. Supply and demand, dear Augustine.”

“You bastard.”

Jean-Claude was suddenly standing, so fast I hadn’t seen it. Magic, again. “You