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There was a yellow Post-it note on the door. It read, “Your weapons are behind the bar. The master brought those, too. Robert.”

I put both guns in place and the knives. The one I had used on Winter and Aubrey was missing. Was Winter dead? Maybe. Was Aubrey dead? Hopefully. Usually it took a master vampire to survive a blow to the heart, but I’d never tried it on a five-hundred-year-old walking corpse. If they took the knife out, he might be tough enough to survive it. I had to call Catherine. And tell her what? Get out of town, a vampire is after you. Didn’t sound like something she’d buy. Shit.

I walked out into the soft white light of dawn. The street was empty and awash in that gentle morning air. The heat hadn’t had time to creep in. It was almost cool. Where was my car? I heard footsteps a second before the voice said, “Don’t move. I have a gun pointed at your back.”

I clasped my hands atop my head without being asked. “Good morning, Edward,” I said.

“Good morning, Anita,” he said. “Stand very still, please.” He stood just behind me, gun pressing against my spine. He frisked me completely, top to bottom. Nothing haphazard about Edward; that’s one of the reasons he’s still alive. He stepped back from me, and said, “You may turn around now.”

He had my Firestar tucked into his belt, the Browning loose in his left hand. I don’t know what he did with the knives.

He smiled, boyish and charming, gun very steadily pointed at my chest. “No more hiding. Where is this Nikolaos?” he asked.

I took a deep breath and let it out. I thought about accusing him of being the vampire murderer, but now didn’t seem to be a good time. Maybe later, when he wasn’t pointing a gun at me. “May I lower my arms?” I asked.

He gave a slight nod.

I lowered my arms slowly. “I want one thing clear between us, Edward. I’ll give you the information, but not because I’m afraid of you. I want her dead. And I want a piece of it.”

His smile widened, eyes glittering with pleasure. “What happened last night?”

I glanced down at the sidewalk, then up. I stared into his blue eyes and said, “She had Phillip killed.”

He was watching my face very closely. “Go on.”

“She bit me. I think she plans on making me a personal servant.”

He put his gun back in his shoulder holster and came to stand next to me. He turned my head to one side to see the bite mark better. “You need to clean this bite. It’s going to hurt like hell.”

“I know. Will you help me?”

“Sure.” His smile softened. “Here I was going to cause you pain to get information. Now you ask me to help you pour acid on a wound.”

“Holy Water,” I said.

“It’s going to feel the same,” he said.

Unfortunately, he was right.

41

I SAT WITH my back pressed against the cool porcelain of the bathtub. The front and side of my shirt was clinging to me, water-soaked. Edward knelt beside me, a half-empty bottle of Holy Water in one hand. We were on the third bottle. I had thrown up only once. Bully for me.

We had started with me sitting on the edge of the sink. I had not stayed there long. I had jumped, yelled, and whimpered. I had also called Edward a son of a bitch. He didn’t hold it against me.

“How do you feel?” he asked. His face was utterly blank. I couldn’t tell if he was enjoying himself or hating it.

I glared up at him. “Like someone’s been shoving a red-hot knife against my throat.”

“I mean, do you want to stop and rest awhile?”

I took a deep breath. “No. I want it clean, Edward. All the way.”

He shook his head, almost smiled. “It is customary to do this over a matter of days, you know.”

“Yes,” I said.

“But you want it all in one marathon session?” His gaze was very steady, as if the question were more important than it seemed.

I looked away from the intensity of his eyes. I didn’t want to be stared at right now. “I don’t have a few days. I need this wound clean before nightfall.”

“Because Nikolaos will come visit you again,” he said.

“Yes,” I said.

“And unless this first wound is purified, she’ll have a hold