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lipped compared to him. If it s any consolation, most people don t
think you were involved.
Well, that s comforting. Does that include you?
Come on. I know you, Bri. You d never hurt anyone.
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Anyway& I have my own theories as to who s responsible.
She could guess whom he meant. Graham&
Don t defend him. He held up a calloused hand. Maybe he
does things for you, in or out of bed, and I m sure he s convinced
you he s the man of your dreams. He s rich, good-looking, or at least
you think so what s not to like? But I know things you might not.
His foreboding tone worried her. No way could he know the truth
about Sebastian and Ruby could he? Like what? she asked
cautiously.
Well, I know he was sleeping with Ami at your motel.
It took all her self-control not to laugh. Are you kidding me?
Nope. I saw him hanging around there. Then he went into her
room. I was in the parking lot when it happened. He d deny it, I m
sure, but I know what I saw. I m not saying she meant anything to
him for all I know, she was charging him by the hour. But he
betrayed you all the same.
Graham, please. I appreciate the fact that you re trying to look
out for me, but in this case, you re mistaken.
I knew you wouldn t want to hear it. Graham expelled a
frustrated breath. Maybe it isn t in the cards for me to be anything
but a friend to you, but I take that role seriously. I ll always be around
to look after you, Briana, and I hope you know that.
Thanks, though I don t think I need looking after. I never did.
That was part of our problem& remember?
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192 Cassandra Pierce
Whatever you say. But listen. They ll search Ami s room and
find evidence that Sebastian went there. DNA, fingerprints, whatever.
You ll see then.
I guess time will tell.
He took the hint and slouched off, presumably back to his fishing
boat and out of her business for the time being. Briana watched him
go, recalling all the times she d lamented her dull and lonely
existence. What she wouldn t give to have a little of that tedium back
now.
* * * *
Back at the house, Briana heated up the food she d saved from her
last, ill-fated date with Sebastian and switched on the TV to distract
herself while she ate. The evening news was just coming on, and all
the local channels were reporting Ami s death. Some even mentioned
the word suspicious and a newly identified person of interest,
though no details emerged. Whether that referred to Sebastian, she
wasn t sure. She had no doubt he d be furious when he found out. At
least The Dunes itself wasn t specifically mentioned in any of the
reports, though there were a few generic clips of her parking lot and
the sign marking the narrow road that led into town.
Eventually Todd came in to join her. He d slept away most of the
day again, and the purple bruising had spread above his collar.
Is Ruby coming to pick you up again tonight? she asked warily.
I don t think so. We kind of reached an agreement last night.
What kind of agreement?
I told her I needed some time to think. Besides, we shouldn t be
seen together until this whole Ami thing blows over. There s
definitely some heat coming down.
You don t look very happy about it.
His hands, previously resting flat on his thighs, snapped into fists.
I keep thinking of her going out and finding someone else, and I& I
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Heirs to Darkisle 193
get so freaked out I want to run right to her. It s not just the blood,
though she told me it can work kind of like a drug for both people.
You get addicted, you know. There s more to it with us.
Like what? Try to explain it to me. Maybe she could get a grip
on her own feelings that way. What does Ruby have that makes you
want to risk your life to be with her?
Todd tipped his head back against the sofa and sighed. It s hard
to put into words. To her, I was never just a source of blood. It s like
she saw something in me that I didn t know I had. She made me
feel...I don t know, valuable. Like she cared about what I thought.
What I had to say.
Yeah? Funny to her, Ruby had always seemed just the
opposite of considerate and sensitive. But, admittedly, she hadn t
taken much time to get to know Sebastian s granddaughter.
I wish I could say the same for Sebastian. I suspect I always
came a distant second to his own needs.
Todd straightened in his seat, looking thoughtful. You know, it s
none of my business, but don t you think you re being a little hard on
him? I mean, he s really tried not to hurt you. I asked Ruby about him
never biting you because I didn t think it could be true. She told me
about his injections and what the hunger is like for them. She says
it s like a constant burning in their stomachs, a pounding in their
heads. She says it would drive her insane if she didn t give in to it.
But Sebastian won t. He goes on taking those injections, in spite of
what they do to him, mostly because of you.
She stared, almost forgetting to swallow the last bit of her tuna
salad. Ruby told you that?
Yup. He s a little scary, I ll definitely grant you that, but I do
think he cares about you.
She shook her head. My own brother is trying to convince me to
stay with a vampire. If it wasn t so grotesque, I d laugh.
Well, you know, I m just trying to help. You weren t this down
when you broke up with Graham, Todd reminded her.
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194 Cassandra Pierce
That was different.
No kidding!
Besides, you re still overlooking the larger issue here. Are you
one hundred percent sure that he and Ruby didn t kill Ami? Even
accidentally or in self-defense? When Todd looked away, she
pressed on. Will said it himself. None of us have alibis. You told me
yourself that you didn t watch Ruby every minute that night.
I know. His voice quivered. Poor Ami. I shouldn t have blown
her off like that. I should have made sure she got back to the motel or
somewhere safe.
Todd, she got drunk and made a fool of herself. You didn t do
anything wrong.
But maybe Ruby or Sebastian did. Isn t that what you re
saying?
I don t know what to think. I just know that Sebastian got cagey
with Will. And Will says something in Amsterdam didn t look right.
What did Ruby tell you about their time there?
Nothing, really. She hated it there, and they wanted to move back
here. Once her father died, there was nothing to stop them. They put
in their claim for the house and came back.
All I know is that we shouldn t be involved in something like
this. Drinking blood is bad enough but murders, cover-ups, secret
societies? No, I m done. As much as I& love Sebastian, I can t.
There she d said it aloud. The one thing she d been fighting
against ever since this strange four-way friendship began. She could
no longer deny or avoid it. She loved him, and in the current hell-on-
earth in which they were both trapped there was no way they could be
together. Todd looked on helplessly as she tried, and failed, to hold
back tears.
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