Betrayed (3 page)

“I just the need the information,” she said quietly.

Colin was silent a moment, then he said, “Okay. Tell me what you need.”

Cyn pictured the wooden deck, with the infinity pool, and beyond that . . . nothing but open valley for maybe 700 yards until a rocky hillside jutted out onto the valley floor. You couldn’t even see it in the dark, but it was there. And that was the closest likely spot for the shooter to set up. Past that point, the possibilities were endless.

“How many snipers are there who could hit a more or less stationary target at seven, eight hundred yards?”

Colin was silent again, probably trying to figure out from her question exactly what had happened. “A lot of snipers could hit something that close, Cyn,” he said finally. “Can you narrow it down any?”

“What do you mean? How do I narrow it down?”

“Well, first of all, was he any good? Did he make the shot?”

Shit. “No,” Cyn said shortly.

“Okay,” Colin continued, unaware—or at least pretending to be unaware—of the minefield they were crossing.
“Night or day?
Weather?
Was it raining, dry? Windy?”

“Night, dry, no wind to speak of.”

“Easy shot, then, if you’ve got the right gun and know how to use it. Hell, they have competitions for that kind of shot. Housewives shoot in some of them.”

Cyn scowled. This was not what she wanted to hear. On the other hand . . . “Okay, but housewives aren’t exactly hiring themselves out as assassins. So who is?”

“Ah, that does change it.
Okay, maybe a double handful outside the military or sanctioned government squads, although some of those guys have been known to work on the side, too.”

“If I wanted to hire someone like that, where would I look?”

“Leighton.”

“Murphy,” she mimicked impatiently.

He sighed. “
Dammit
, all right. But there’s not exactly a snipers-r-us store, you know. Something like this would be word of mouth, not even a damn classified ad in the back of a magazine. You’d have to know the middle man, and he’d have to trust you well enough to put out feelers.”

Cyn paused, trying to decide if there was anything between the lines of what Colin was saying. “Would something like that be localized? I mean, do snipers have territories?”

“No, Leighton,” he said with forced patience. “We have airplanes now. I’m sure you’ve heard of them.”

She sighed heavily. “Come on, Murphy, I’m working in the dark here.”

“Yeah,” he snarled. “I know the feeling.”

“All right.
Never mind. I’ll try something—”

“Don’t. You’re gonna get yourself killed, and I’ll have to feel bad about it. Look, I’ll inquire
discreetly
. That’s a concept you’re probably not familiar with.”

“Hey, Murphy.
I was a P.I. for years. I know discreet.”

“Uh huh.
I’ll check around and get back to you. What’s your timetable?”

“As soon as possible.”

“Naturally.
I’ll do my best, and, Leighton? You be careful. If someone’s gone to the trouble of contracting this out, they mean business, and they’ve got bucks. Talent like that doesn’t come cheap.”

“Yeah, well. I mean business, too. And I’ve got lots of money.”

Colin laughed. “Take care of yourself, Leighton. I’d miss you if you were gone.”

He hung up without waiting for her response. Cyn glanced at the clock, threw the phone down, and raced for the shower.

Chapter Two

Jared strode into the conference room and bowed deeply. “Sire,” he said, waiting until Raphael acknowledged him with a short nod before taking the seat to Raphael’s right. He nodded a greeting to
Juro
, who remained standing at Raphael’s left. The big security chief returned the greeting in kind, his expression registering no visible emotion.

“Your mate doesn’t trust me,” Jared observed.

“She doesn’t know you,” Raphael responded. “My Cyn is very protective, and she doesn’t trust easily.”

“I’ve heard stories about her,” Jared said. He hurried to explain when Raphael gave him a cool stare.
“High praise, my lord.
And more than a little fear. The rumors concern recent events in
Seattle
, and before that,
Arizona
. I still have excellent contacts there.”

Raphael relaxed a little and smiled ruefully. “I’ve heard the same rumors, Jared. And I’m afraid they’re all true. She has the heart of a warrior.”

He sighed and changed the subject to one he was more willing to discuss. He knew his vampires gossiped; he knew they gossiped about him and, by extension, about Cyn. But he didn’t like it. Besides, they had more important things to discuss this evening. “You know of tonight’s assassination attempt.”

Jared nodded. “
Juro
briefed me, my lord. Are we certain—
”

“That I was the target, yes. As Cyn pointed out, if she’d been the one, the assassin had multiple opportunities before I joined her.”

“Your visit here in
Grand Junction
was not freely discussed, my lord, but it was not a secret, either. Your enemies would have had ample opportunity to set this up.”
 
He leaned forward earnestly. “It cannot be a coincidence, my
lord, that
this happened on the very eve of Lucas’s conflict with
Klemens
.”

“No, I’m certain it’s not. But why try to take me out because of it? Even within my own household there are few who know of Lucas’s relationship to me.”

“To my knowledge, it’s only those of us who were there at the beginning, my lord,” Jared said, bowing his head briefly, as if in respect for his good fortune at having been one of those few. “Certainly no one in my
Grand Junction
nest knows of it, and I never heard it spoken of during my time in
Arizona
, either.”

“
Klemens
would not need to know that you are Lucas’s Sire to know that you are
Klemens’s
enemy, my lord,”
Juro
rumbled. “And the saying,
the enemy of my enemy is my friend,
applies as well to vampires as to humans.”

Jared nodded his agreement. “
Klemens
hates you, Sire. He always has. And if nothing else, he knows that you and Lucas are at the very least good neighbors. There have been no border disputes between you, while
Klemens
has argued with everyone, and disputed every inch of border on all sides of his territory. Even now,
Rajmund
is being forced to reassert his holdings along his western border, where
Klemens
had tried to take advantage of old
Krystof’s
dotage. And there has been violence between them. Add in your recent visit to
Manhattan
for
Rajmund’s
wedding . . . well, I’ve heard
Klemens
was furious when he learned of it.”

“My Cyn and
Rajmund’s
Sarah are old friends. It was for her sake that we attended.”

“But you
did
attend.
Rajmund
welcomed you to his territory, and not for the first time, either.
Klemens
is a suspicious old vampire, some might even say paranoid.”

Raphael started to respond, but looked up as he sensed Cyn coming down the hallway. She stopped right outside the door and murmured something to
Elke
, who was standing guard. She spoke too low for even Raphael’s acute hearing. No doubt on purpose. Cyn had quickly learned how to evade his scrutiny. It was frustrating, but he also admired her cleverness and even her courage in defying him. Of course, he would never tell
her
that. He was still smiling at the thought when she entered the room.

* * * *

Cyn caught the tail end of Jared’s comment about some guy named
Klemens
as she drew even with
Elke
, who had drawn guard duty outside the door. She exchanged a few words with the female vampire, who was both friend and bodyguard, and then strode into the conference room.
 

“It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you,” she offered, only partly joking as she skirted the table. She touched
Juro’s
arm lightly as she passed, expressing solidarity with the big Japanese vampire in the only way he’d permit, especially in front of a stranger. Because even though both Raphael and
Juro
seemed to know Jared well,
she
didn’t know him. And that made him a stranger. She’d never even heard his name before tonight.

But she did know herself, and she knew a good part of her resentment and distrust of Jared Lincoln stemmed from an unwillingness to accept
anyone
in
Duncan
’s old position. It seemed impossible that Jared could ever step into the role that
Duncan
had filled for so long.

Raphael pulled the empty chair on his left closer to his in an invitation for her to sit next to
him.Cyn
surreptitiously studied the new guy as she went to join Raphael. Jared was good-looking, she’d give him that. He was black, with fine, even features and coffee-colored eyes. His head was shaved, but he wore a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. It was difficult to tell when he was seated, but Cyn thought back to when she’d first seen him and guessed his height at a little over her own six foot, maybe six two or three. His shoulders were broad, and he appeared to be in excellent physical condition. But then all of Raphael’s security people were in great shape, and she’d expect no less of the vampire he’d chosen as his lieutenant. She assumed he was also smart and skilled in the martial arts, since those were two more traits common to the vampires Raphael kept closest to him.

She became aware of Raphael watching her and gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry,” she said somewhat breathlessly. “It took longer than I expected to shower and change.”

Raphael eyed her steadily as she slid into her seat. He knew her too well, was too good at reading her body language and emotions. He probably suspected she’d been delayed by more than an overlong shower. And eventually she’d tell him the truth, but not in front of Jared. She didn’t know him well enough yet.

“So who’s
Klemens
?” she asked, instead, repeating the name of the vamp they’d been discussing when she’d entered the room.

“Stavros
Kyriakos
Klemens
is Lord of the
Midwest
,” Jared said politely, his voice smooth and melodic. The kind of voice that made her think he could probably sing well.

“Jared,” Raphael said, “I don’t believe you’ve been introduced to my mate, Cynthia Leighton. My Cyn, this is Jared Lincoln, one of my own and a longtime trusted member of my staff.”

Cyn didn’t miss the not-so-subtle hint of those last few words. Raphael knew she didn’t trust Jared and was telling her he
did
trust the vamp. Moreover, he was telling her she better be polite. Or at least that he’d like her to be. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, swallowed the deep sigh that would have gone along with the eye roll, and smiled pleasantly.

“Jared,” she said, acknowledging the introduction with a nod.

“Ms. Leighton,” he responded, his dark eyes dancing with humor.

Well, at least he had a sense of humor. That would certainly come in handy if he was going to live in
Malibu
with the rest of them.

 
“Call me Cyn. So, Stavros
Kyriakos
I know as Lord of the
Midwest
, but
Klemens
? Where did that come from?” she asked, moving on to the matter at hand. She switched her gaze from Jared to Raphael.

“
Klemens
is his only true name. He took the other because he thought it
more grand
, more suited to his current position.”

“More suited to his self-image,” Jared amended dryly. “
Klemens
was born and raised in
Chicago
. He was a university student of Greek history at the time of his turning, hence the grand name for himself.”

 
“I see. But why does he want Raphael dead? And why send a sniper? If he’s after territory, doesn’t he need to kill you himself?”