“I am that person.”

“You?”

“I misplaced something very valuable. I need you to go into my memory and find it for me.”

Gabriel relaxed, relieved that he didn’t have to breach some poor soul’s privacy without consent. “Not a problem. What are you looking for and how long ago did you lose it?” It was all the information he needed to scan her memories quickly.

“It’s a charm to ward off evil. I need to retrieve it.”

“As long as you’re not going to use it against me …” Gabriel mumbled to himself.

“I heard that—and no, you’re not the evil I feel.”

***

The knock at the door tore Maya away from her thoughts. She’d gotten dressed after her shower and was still wondering how to make Gabriel accept her the way she was, even if that meant he couldn’t have what, according to Yvette, all vampire males wanted.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Carl appeared, a stack of papers in his hand. She’d already sensed him. There was a homey scent to him despite the formal outer shell he portrayed.

“A fax arrived. It’s from Thomas—the phone records.” Carl handed her the papers.

“Thanks, Carl, that’s very nice of you to bring it.”

“If you need anything else, just call for me.”

Maya smiled as he left the room. She fanned through the pages. There were at least thirty or forty of them. Had she really made and received that many calls in six weeks? In the last few days she hadn’t made a single one. Which reminded her—she hadn’t even called her parents yet.

But she couldn’t do that now either. For starters, it was just past four in the morning, and besides, she still didn’t know what to tell them.

With a sigh she bent over her phone records. Each row had a telephone number and name together with a date of when the call took place. She started scanning the names and recognized many of her patients’ names, her colleagues’, and the clinic’s. Her parents’ number came up many times, as well as Paulette’s and Barbara’s cells. Then a few other assorted friends, the pizza place down the road when she’d called for takeout and the Indian around the corner. Her bank was on the list, and so was her dentist’s office.

She scanned page after page. By the time she was halfway through the stack and still hadn’t seen any unfamiliar names, she heard the entrance door being opened. Maya glanced at the clock over the mantle. Finally. Gabriel would probably be upset if he found out how long it had taken Yvette to get here. Well, she wasn’t going to tell on her.

As she continued reading down the list of names she heard Carl’s voice. “I wasn’t expecting you, Ricky.”

Ricky? She was sure Gabriel had ordered Yvette to the house. Maya strained her ears to hear the conversation, her sensitive hearing picking up most of the sounds.

“You know how it is with women. Yvette isn’t getting on with Maya, so she asked me to take over for her,” came Ricky’s reply.

Maya sat up, uneasiness spreading inside her. She and Yvette were getting on just fine, particularly since Yvette had protected her at the hospital. Why would she suddenly claim that they weren’t getting on?

She shook her head in disbelief and looked back at the fax. Clearly, she’d misjudged the other vampire female, just when she’d thought she’d found a friend who she could trust.

Her eyes moved down the rows of names. As if on autopilot she read them: Bill Shaw—a patient; Martha Myers—another patient, Richard O’Leary—

Ricky—

With a small gasp, the papers slid off her lap and onto the floor.

Twenty-eight

Ricky gave Carl an easy grin as the lie rolled off his lips like fresh blood. The butler nodded slowly. “I understand. I’ll call Gabriel to let him know about the change of plans.”

“I wouldn’t bother him. I’m sure he’s got enough on his plate right now.” Ricky tried to sound casual so he wouldn’t make Carl suspicious. He didn’t need Gabriel showing up here when he was so close to his goal.

“He gave strict instructions.” Carl reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved his cell phone. “It’ll be just a minute.”

Ricky never let his easy smile waver, not even when he slid his hand into his jacket pocket and reached for the wooden stake he kept there for emergencies. And this was an emergency. “Oh, before I forget,” he interrupted Carl before he could punch in Gabriel’s number.

The butler gave him an expectant look. “Yes?”