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such a collection?
Hesighs.Itwas a legacy. Like how you came by Avery s property.
He says it with quiet nonchalance, as if everyone knows about Avery and me.
But I know that isn t true. A cold knot twists the pit of my stomach.
How do you know about Avery and me? What do you know about us?
Again, the shrug that ripples his shoulders and seems to shake off my
questions.But after a moment, he doesreply.Thesupernaturalcommunity is
close-knit. We hear things. If you took the time to learn more about us, you d
know that.
I ve been a vampire for less than three months, but I ve learned one
important thing. Secrecy is the key to staying alive. I thought the only ones
who knew of my nature were Culebra and Williams and now, Frey. And the half
dozen or so members of a shadowygroup known as theRevengers who seek out
vampires to kill them. But Avery set theRevengers upon me and they haven t
bothered me since his death. The realization that there are others out there
who know what I am scares me more than a little.
Frey picks up on allthis.Noone who knows of your true nature would try to
hurt you. Avery was an anomaly.An aberration.
That observation provokes a bitterlaugh.Frey, the truth is, anomalies and
aberrations are what we are, too, you and I.The only way I can face each new
day is to keep reminding myself that I have a family who loves me and of the
good I can do with these powers. I suspect it s the same with you, since you
are a teacher.
His eyes warm, and his mouth curves in a wrysmile.That sthefirst personal
thing you ve said to me. I think you are beginning to trust me, Anna Strong.
I m not and it s not at all what I intended. I hold up my hands.
Don t kid yourself. I m not that easily won. And we seem to be getting
sidetracked from the reason I mhere.Igesture to the book in hishand.Yousaid
that book was a book on locator spells. Could we use it to find Trish?
We can try. I need something of hers to hold while I work the spell. Do you
have anything with you?
Only a photograph.Her mother gave it to me last night. Will that do?
Frey shakes his head. Only if she was the last one who touched it.
I d already reached into my purse to withdraw the picture. With a shrug, I
slip it backinside.Okay. Maybe the picture won t work. But I ll get something
else. What type of thing works best?
Anythingpersonal.Freyturns to return the book to theshelf.Nailclippings.A
lock of hair.
Trish s hairbrush.Carolyn brought it over to my parent s house last night.
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Did she leave it? I don t remember. But I ll certainly find out.
I ll get you something. Can I come back later?
Of course.I want to find Trish, too. Come back as soon as you can. I ll be
home all evening.
He follows me as I retrace my steps to the front door. I m searching the
bottom of my purse for the car keys when my cell phone rings. I snatch the
keys up with one hand, and the phone with the other.
Hello?
Anna?
I recognize David s voice. Hey. Sorry I ve been gone so long. What s up?
There s just the briefest of hesitations before he says. Can you get out to
the beach house?
My heart jumps. The last time he asked me that, the place was burning to the
ground. Jesus. What s wrong?
He hesitates again and another spasm of alarm races up my spine. David?
What s going on?
He exhales loudly into the phone. It may be nothing. I just got a call from
that dentist who lives next door to you at the beach. He left a message at the
office this morning, but when he hadn t heard from you, he called my cell. He
says he saw a light in the cottage last night. He went to investigate, but the
door was locked. The place seemed secure so he didn t call the police. He
thought you should know because of what happened before. If you want, Max and
I can meet you there. We d go ourselves but at the moment we ve got our hands
full with Jake.
When he mentions Jake s name, I hear a scuffling in the background and
something that sounds like fuck you. There s a moment of dead air and then
David is back. Anyway, we re on our way to SDPD to turn him in.
I hitch my purse up around my shoulder. I don t have to ask why my neighbor
called David and not me. He s the type that refers to women as little
ladies . Finish up with Jake, I tell David. I ll go on out to the cottage.
Do you want to wait for us?
No. I know from experience how long the paperwork can take. I m sure it s
nothing. I ll see you and Max back at the office.
I hang up and turn to Frey. I have to go. I ll try to get back tonight, but
it may be late.
He nods and opens the front door to allow me to pass through. I hope there s
nothing wrong at your home.
He has picked the story out of my head. I should be used to it by now, but it
irks me. It s dumb and childish, but I turn the tables. I look him square in
the eyes, smile, and conjure up the image I remember from a long ago trip to
the zoo. It involved a randy old lion and his less than enthusiastic cage
mate.
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I don t get the reaction I want. In fact, Frey s reaction is far from
embarrassment. Sexual energy blazes out and I feel my own face flush hot.
I hear him laugh as he shuts the door.
Chapter Twelve
It slate afternoon and I luck out by hitting the freeways in that all too
brief period between the lunch crowd exitingMissionValley and the downtown
commuters heading home. Under these conditions,MissionBeach is only a twenty
minute drive from Frey s condo. I make it in fifteen.
I ve lived inMissionBeach most of my life. The community is an eclectic mix
of old, new, and no money. The differences are reflected in thearchitecture,
and nowhere is that more obvious than where I live. Isthmus Court is bordered
on one side by the boardwalk that runs along the beach and on the other
byMissionBeach s main thoroughfare,Mission Boulevard . My cottage, a gift
from my grandparents, was the only original bungalow on the block-until it
burned to the ground three months ago. My neighbor lives in the type of
monstrosity that new money seems to love-a big stucco box thatrises three
stories on its tiny lot. When I decided to rebuild, I used his architect. I
was in a hurry to get going, I wanted my home back, and though I wasn t sure
how it would work out, the guy surprised me. It turns out that he hates the
cookie-cutter look of the new stuff as much as I do. He was delighted to do
something different.
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