She thought about that, her cheek still pressed to his chest. “You’re worth serving, Master.”

“Thank you for that, but I think you’ve always been meant for far bigger things than sorting slides and cutting our hair. Any vampire would be lucky to have you, Alanna.”

She liked sorting slides and cutting hair. She liked being with the two of them. But she was too drained to say that. Instead, she stayed silent. Content to just be here, in this moment.

He stroked her hair. “I will take you to your brother’s grave, let you put flowers on it. You can visit your family as well if you wish.”

She choked on another unexpected, overwhelming sob, and he tightened his arms around her. “It’s all right, motek. It’s all right.”

“I’m so sorry, Master. I didn’t intend to hurt you, or do the wrong thing. It tears my heart out, thinking I made you feel for one moment I thought any less of you. You’re the most wonderful vampire I’ve ever met.”

She flushed, realizing how simple she sounded, but he chuckled warmly, held her closer. “I think you should remember what Niall said, about even a pile of manure looking better than Stephen. But you’re forgiven, sweet girl. Totally forgiven, if you stop crying. You’ve made Niall a mess. Your bear is beside himself. He’s supposed to be packing up, but instead he’s lurking outside, sure I’m going to murder you.”

When he tipped her chin up, she saw his wry, tender look. It undid her. Though she’d sounded like a starstruck teenager, she’d meant it. And with or without the third mark, he was in her soul. They both were.

A muscle flexed in his jaw. Now you’re trying to do it to me. Jewish men are notoriously emotional, even the vampire ones.

It made her smile, even through the tears. “I’m glad you took off the contacts,” she said shyly.

Evan’s lips quirked. “The first time I used them at an event like this, Mistress Regina was quite taken with them. She tried to tie me up. Niall teased me tonight, said I wore them just to impress her. He knows that woman scares me to death.”

Alanna couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to cover up Evan’s gray eyes, the way they changed from storm clouds to a dove’s breast, to the hazy predawn sky when rain was promised. Realizing she was gazing up at them now, she blushed again, but Evan touched her face.

“You paint words in your mind beautifully, yekirati.” He kissed the salty tracks of her tears, stroking the hair at her temples, then rested his hands on her shoulders.

“As much as I’d like to hold you well through the morning, Daegan can’t wait indefinitely. I want you in my sight while I meet with him. In fact, you may be chained to my bed every dawn until I stop having waking nightmares about you in the hands of that unwashed, mishugina zealot.”

She was chagrined anew, but he turned her so her feet were on the floor, her sitting next to him on the bed. The look he cast at her manacles and bare body heated her skin. “You still have that severe punishment coming. I’ll just wait until I can enjoy it more. Can you put yourself together in five minutes?”

“Three, Master.”

“Get to it, then.”

19

SHE was as good as her word. She and Niall had the RV packed and ready when Evan returned from talking to Tyler. Less than fifteen minutes after that, they were pulling into a protected birdwatching area frequented by naturalists during daylight hours. From the picnic shelter, Evan watched Niall and Alanna, sitting in the wooden observation tower overlooking the marsh. He’d sent both servants there, primarily because Niall’s emotions were still quite . . . Scottish. If he shot his mouth off during the more problematic discussion points, Evan might have to prevent the loss of another servant.

Niall hadn’t liked being excluded, especially when he saw Gideon, Daegan’s servant, would be staying in the shelter to attend the conversation, but Evan had nodded to Alanna.

She’s still in a fairly fragile state. I want her reassured that her place among us is restored. And there’s no need for her to hear this.

While Niall rightly suspected Evan had reasons for wanting him specifically out of earshot, the reasons to remove Alanna were equally truthful. So the Scot reluctantly took her off to the tower, though Evan expected he’d be thoroughly interrogated later about his discussion with the Council’s assassin.

Of course, now that his and Daegan’s conversation had extended longer than expected, his servant was stretched out in the bird watch while Alanna moved around below, studying the foliage with her plant book. Every once in a while, he saw her go back up into the tower and check on Niall.

Even though all the lore said he would feel Niall’s loss like a ton of bricks falling on his chest, these days Evan often left camera or canvas to lean over his servant just as Alanna was doing, making sure the man’s eyes were closed in sleep, not staring at an eternity he’d not yet experienced. His hand closed into a fist on the table.

“You’re distracted. More than usual, I suspect, according to Lord Uthe’s description of you.”

Lord Daegan had been leaning against one of the shelter posts, but now resumed his seat across from Evan, demonstrating that lithe warrior’s grace that said he could slice an unfortunate gnat out of the air. Niall was a fair hand with a blade, but Daegan’s every movement underscored he had one primary purpose, and he did it well.

Thinking of the last time he’d seen Niall pick up a claymore, Evan wondered if Daegan had ever watched the movie Highlander. One night, a long, long time ago, due to his own poor planning, his need to use up that one last roll of film, Evan had taken daylight refuge in the basement of what turned out to be a sorority house. He was discovered by two of the girls doing their laundry, but Niall’s charm had quickly overcome any concerns. In fact, several other girls had joined them for a day-long party, complete with beer, junk food and parlor games, most of which Evan missed because he was sleeping on the cot they brought him.

However, he’d been awake enough to hear them ask Niall to say the infamous Highlander hook-up line: “I am Connor McLeod of the Clan McLeod, et cetera, et cetera . . . and I can never die.” Surprisingly, it did work outside the movies. Thank God Niall had a third mark, or he might not have survived the pleasurable demands of that day.

Enough of this. Realizing he was proving the vampire’s point, Evan straightened, gave Daegan his full attention. Gideon was propped on the brick fire pit, arms crossed over his broad chest. While his gaze strayed periodically toward Alanna and Niall, the alert set of his lean, warrior’s body said he was as focused on the task at hand as Daegan himself.

“I’m in agreement on everything we’ve discussed, my lord,” Evan said. “But I have one more thing to add. If you find Stephen, you can’t kill him.”

“On the contrary, I’m quite capable of it.” Daegan picked a shiny red apple out of the wooden fruit bowl, examined it. Alanna had brought it out from the RV stores for the vampire assassin and his servant. “But I expect that wasn’t what you meant. You’ve already discussed this with Uthe. Why talk to me about it?”

“Because you will be the one wielding the sword, not Uthe.” Evan spoke carefully. The assassin’s eyes were so dark that it was difficult to see the whites at times. It made him all the more intimidating, but Evan didn’t intimidate. He didn’t consider himself particularly brave; it just wasn’t in his nature to be dissuaded from his goal by power discrepancies. Niall had once likened it to the way a small terrier went after a wolfhound, certain he could take him if he could get the right grip.

“Lord Brian has an experimental treatment that might break a bond as old as the one Alanna carries from Stephen,” Evan explained. “But the treatment is a three-week process, requiring live samples from the vampire throughout. I understand the Council has its priorities, and those priorities are greater than the consideration of the life of one servant . . .”

“Far greater,” Daegan said. However, his tone was neutral, flat, such that Evan wasn’t certain if Daegan agreed with that perspective or was regurgitating the expected party line.

“You saw her tonight. She’s impressive. Brave and clever. And she’s done nothing but serve the Council’s interests in this matter. I believe her preservation merits consideration.”

“It does. But if the choice is to let him get away or take him out, I have only one choice.”

“I understand that.” Evan saw Alanna tilt her head back. She was staring up at the star-strewn sky. When her hair fluttered over her shoulder, she captured it with one hand so it didn’t impede her view. Always such a quiet, pensive thing, so hard to surprise a smile or laugh out of her. But he remembered the day in the kitchen, when she’d gotten so angry at Niall, his boot on that napkin. He almost smiled at the memory. Then he remembered the past hour, which didn’t make him smile at all. Her fear, revealed so clearly.

“With all due respect, I am asking you to please . . . do what you can to bring him in alive.”

Daegan met his gaze. “She is more than an assignment to you. More than a chance to curry favor with Lady Lyssa.”

It was the elephant in the room, the one so many vampires squeezed past, no matter how close the creature pressed against the walls of their existence. The fine line of what was appropriate or inappropriate to feel for a servant. Evan had never had much patience for what was so obvious, but he curbed his irritation now, chose diplomacy. And insight. He’d watched the way Daegan and Gideon moved together, reacted to each other.

“She’s impressed me with who and what she is,” he said quietly. “If you know me through Uthe as it seems you do, you know I study people carefully, and I judge character well. Courage and integrity are not exclusive vampire traits.” Taking the risk, he glanced meaningfully toward Gideon. “I expect with your greater age and wisdom, you already know that.”

“Don’t exert yourself on flattery, Evan. You want her.” The assassin stated it bluntly. “But there are a lot of ifs between that goal and the reality. If Stephen can be captured alive, if Brian can find a way to break the link safely, if a higher-ranking vampire doesn’t come forward, wanting her. A lot of time and cost went into training her to serve a vampire with stature, political aspirations. Does understanding that change your interest in preserving her life? Because I can assure you there isn’t a single Council member who will care overly much if I deliver his corpse.”