Betrayed
A Cyn & Raphael Novella
***
by
D. B. Reynolds
Dedication
This one’s for all of my readers who asked for more of Raphael and Cyn.
Acknowledgments
First thanks as always to my wonderful publisher and editor, Linda Kichline at ImaJinn Books, who works so hard to make these books happen. And to Patricia Lazarus for putting up with my emails and “suggestions” on the covers. To my generous and talented writing partners… Michelle Muto and Steve McHugh. Be sure and check out their books on Amazon, too! To John Gorski for once again talking guns and ammo with me, and for sending me gory pictures! To my family for their ever strong and loyal support. And to my husband who lets me sleep late … sometimes. I couldn’t do this without any of you.
Other Books by D. B. Reynolds
Raphael
Jabril
Rajmund
Sophia
Duncan
Coming Soon
Lucas
Copyright
Kindle ISBN: 978-1-61026-109-8
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Betrayed: A Cyn & Raphael Novella Copyright 2012 by Donna Beltz. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express permission of ImaJinn Books, Inc.
Cover design by Patricia Lazarus
Cover photo credits:
Katja Govorushchenko—beautiful couple
arinahabich—mountain background
Contact us at:
ImaJinn Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 74274, Phoenix, AZ85087
Toll Free: 1-877-625-3592
http://www.imajinnbooks.com
Chapter One
Grand Junction, Colorado
Cynthia Leighton stepped out onto the private deck, feeling the velvet brush of cool, dry air over her skin. That first touch of the high desert always felt good, sensuous almost. But after a few hours, she knew she’d be longing for the damp California coast, every inch of her body feeling parched and shriveled. She smiled at the thought and slid the heavy glass door shut behind her.
The house they were staying in, one of Raphael’s many properties, was a marvel of modern architecture perched high on a rocky mesa. From the front of the property, one enjoyed unparalleled views of a swanky golf course. A lush swath of green, it was close enough that the vampires benefited from the view, but far enough away that they were in no danger of anyone’s curious eyes or stray fairway shot colliding with the windows. But that was the other side of the house. The view from where she stood was very different.
She dropped her towel and robe onto a chaise lounge and stepped to the edge of a pool which filled most of the deck space. Steam rose from water that glittered turquoise blue in the otherwise dark night. Beyond the pool’s infinity edge was the barren sprawl of Grand Valley, nothing but dry desert and rocky hillsides as far as she could see, broken only by the occasional twinkle of someone else’s house lights in the far distance.
Cyn stared down into blue water that seemed to stretch all the way to the horizon. There was a second pool at the other end of the house, but this one was right off the master suite and reserved for Raphael and Cyn’s private use. She dove in, the warm water closing over her head, soaking into her pores and letting her forget for a moment that they were far away from the wet ocean air of home. She surfaced and began stroking through the water, quickly settling into a rhythm.
Most people thought of mountains and snow when they thought of Colorado. So did Cyn. Raphael had a house in Boulder and a smaller one in Vail, too. Both of those places typically saw some serious snow action in winter. But not so much here in Grand Junction’s high desert. There were plenty of mountains, and it did get cold, but snow wasn’t all that common, just a few inches a year. She moved smoothly through the water, swimming parallel to the infinity edge, back and forth, until her muscles went beyond warm and into the burn.
Over the muted sound of her own swimming, she heard the soft rumble of the sliding glass door opening. She shot a quick glance in that direction as she made her turn and saw Raphael standing in the doorway. He smiled, but before he could say anything, a phone rang, and the next time she looked over, he’d gone back inside to answer it.
Cyn figured it must be more super-secret vampire stuff if he didn’t want to have the conversation outside, even on this private and reasonably isolated deck. Of course, sound carried in the thin air of the high desert.
Cyn finished her last lap and boosted herself up and out of the pool. The air was much colder now that she was wet all over, despite the pool’s warm temperature, or maybe because of it. She hurried over to the chair near the door where she’d left her things, glancing inside as she pulled on her robe. Raphael was still on the phone, but he looked up and met her gaze, holding up one finger to indicate he’d be off shortly.
Cyn shrugged and picked up a towel for her wet hair. A violent shiver rippled down her body, and she’d just decided it was time for a hot shower and some warmer clothes, when the door opened and Raphael stepped outside.
“How was your swim, lubimaya?” He took the towel from her and began gently drying her hair.
“Good,” she said, leaning back against his chest. “I was just about to take a—”
She heard the crack of a rifle shot and twisted to shove Raphael to the ground, but he was already dragging her down with him, his arms wrapped around her as they hit the wooden deck. Two seconds later, Juro was there, throwing himself in front of Raphael and Cyn as a second shot shattered the high desert’s peace.
The shot was still echoing when Cyn shoved at Raphael from within the cocoon of his arms. “Inside,” she hissed. “You’ve got to get inside.”
“Inside,” Juro rumbled at almost the same time. “Before he manages a third shot.”
Raphael tightened his hold on Cyn. “On my command, Juro. We move together.”
Juro nodded silently, his eyes gleaming dark yellow as he searched the charcoal blackness beyond the pool’s edge, trying to do the impossible and locate the shooter.
“Ready,” Raphael said. “Now.” He was up and moving while Cyn’s muscles were still coiling in response to the command. All but carrying her, using his vampire-gifted speed, he raced into the house, with Juro a small mountain behind them, guarding his master’s back with his body and life.
Once inside, they moved immediately away from the windows. The glass was bullet-proof, but not even bullet-proof glass could repel every type of bullet these days. And none of them wanted to linger to close the door. Instead, they hurried straight across the dark outer room of the suite and ducked into the conference room, which had no windows and a full communications console.
Juro was already on his cell phone as they entered the conference room, snapping out orders. Cyn could hear vampires racing down the halls, heard the roar of SUV engines as teams of security people fanned out to search for the shooter, even though she knew he’d be long gone by the time they got there. And that was assuming they could find his hide. Those shots could have come from anywhere in the valley, as far away as two miles if the shooter was skilled enough. Hard enough to locate in daylight
, almost impossible at night, and with nothing to go on.
Raphael hustled Cyn over to a seat against the wall and then turned to Juro. “How badly are you injured?” he asked his security chief.
“Only the arm, my lord. It will be healed by tomorrow night.”
“You’re shot?” Cyn surged to her feet and rushed over to where Juro stood near the conference room door. She reached for his bleeding arm, but he caught her hand.
“It’s nothing, Cynthia,” he said, his bass voice unusually gentle. “It will heal. You need to stay inside.”
Cyn pursed her lips in disgust. Combine stupid male pride with vampire arrogance, and he could be bleeding to death and never admit it. He wasn’t even using his left arm; couldn’t, more likely. It was hanging limply at his side, his white shirt sleeve ripped to shreds and soaked red with blood. And if the missing chunk of flesh in his bicep was any indication, the bullet had probably smashed through bone on its way through the arm. A regular human would be in shock from loss of blood, if not the pain.
Cyn frowned, wondering if Raphael was going to offer his blood to help heal the wound. It was curious that he hadn’t already, unless . . . She spun around and found Raphael at the far end of the room, speaking to someone on a cell phone. She stormed over and began examining every inch of him, ignoring his scowl at the interruption. Fuck his damn phone conversation. She needed to know if he was going all John Wayne on her, if he was injured and not telling her, just like Juro.
Raphael threw the phone aside suddenly and grabbed her arms as she reached for him. He pulled her close. “I was not shot, my Cyn,” he murmured against her ear. “I would tell you—”
“No, you wouldn’t,” she protested immediately, fighting to break his hold on her, pushing uselessly at his chest. She felt tears choking her throat and let her head fall forward. Raphael’s hand stroked down over her wet hair.
“You’re cold.” He pulled her robe more closely around her and tied the belt, before pulling her into his arms again. “I would tell you, my Cyn,” he repeated. “I promise.”
She looked up at that, meeting his gaze. Raphael was a consummate liar when he wanted to be. But when he made a promise, he kept it. She swallowed the tears and put her hand against his chiseled cheek. She didn’t say anything, just held her fingers there for a moment, then nodded.
“You have to let me help find out who did this,” she said.
Raphael’s expression went still, his jaw flexing beneath her fingers. “Cyn,” he said warningly.
“No,” she said in the same implacable tone. “This is who I am. This is what I’m good at. I won’t be stupid, but I won’t sit on my hands when someone’s trying to kill you.”
“How do you know he wasn’t after you?” Raphael demanded tightly.
“Because I was out there in full view for a good thirty minutes before you showed up. You were the target, Raphael, and you know it as well as I do.”
Raphael looked over her head. She turned to see what he was looking at and spun around, backing up against him protectively, wishing she had a gun with her. Any gun would do, though her vampire killer rounds would be most welcome, because there was a strange vampire filling the doorway.
Where the hell was Juro? And how had this stranger gotten into the house?
Raphael’s arm came around her from behind, circling her shoulders and pulling her against his broad chest. “It’s all right, lubimaya.” He raised his head to address the stranger. “My office, ten minutes.”
The vampire bowed a little at the waist and disappeared down the hall.
“Who was that?” Cyn demanded.
Raphael didn’t answer, but instead called out Juro’s name. When the security chief came into view, Raphael said, “Close the door.”
Juro did so, stepping back into the hallway and closing the door behind him so that Cyn and Raphael were alone in the room.
“Sit with me,” Raphael murmured. He didn’t give her a choice, but pulled her down next to him onto a short leather couch which was part of a compact conversational corner of the big conference room.
Cyn let herself be pulled down, but immediately turned to stare at Raphael. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“I am telling you,” Raphael said, his perfect mouth lifting in a smile. “I intended to tell you earlier, but things got rather out of hand.”
Cyn frowned. “It’s about that guy, isn’t it? What is he . . . a new bodyguard or something? Did you know someone was gunning after you? Is that why you brought him on?”
Raphael’s smile grew. “Someone is always gunning after me, as you put it. But no. Juro is more than capable of handling any security threats.”
“So who—”
“If you will give me a moment, I will tell you.”
Cyn tightened her mouth in irritation and gave him an impatient look.
Raphael laughed, and it was such a happy sound, she couldn’t help smiling. If he was relaxed enough to laugh, it couldn’t be that bad, unless . . .
“He’s not a new bodyguard for me, is he? Because I’m perfectly safe with—”
“No,” Raphael assured her. “Although I haven’t completely decided against finding a human female to add to your daylight security.”
“I don’t need—” She cut herself off that time and gave him a narrow look. “Okay, spill. Who’s the new guy?”
“His name is Jared Lincoln. He’s one of my own children and has been with me nearly as long as Duncan. In fact, he and Duncan are rather close friends. But Jared has spent most of his time in places other than California, performing a variety of tasks for me. Most recently in Colorado, based out of the Grand Junction nest. The community here is much larger than the one in the Boulder area. Vampires seem not to like the snow.”
“Imagine that,” Cyn said dryly, thinking of Raphael’s obsessive aversion to cold weather. “Perhaps it’s a case of the apple not falling far from the tree.”
Raphael acknowledged her point with a quirked eyebrow before continuing. “Jared is to be my new lieutenant,” he said without warning.
Cyn stared at him. She blinked once, then said, “I guess I thought Juro would move into that position.”
“Juro was given the option. He declined. Being my lieutenant necessitates a great deal of contact with humans, which Juro prefers to avoid. He wishes to remain security chief instead.”
“But he goes with you to human gatherings all the time.”
“As my security chief, yes. But by definition, the role of bodyguard involves very little interaction with the humans I encounter. Unless they pose a threat, of course, in which case, conversation is hardly called for. On the other hand, my lieutenant needs to deal personally with the human authorities and with the various corporate leaders with whom I do business. Duncan was a master at dealing with humans. It made him the perfect vampire representative for Washington, D.C., but it also makes him nearly irreplaceable to me personally. Unfortunately, replace him I must.”
“And this Jared is good with us mere humans?”
Raphael wrapped a hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her into a searing kiss. Cyn’s heart was pounding so loudly she could barely hear the words he murmured against her lips.
“There is nothing mere about you, my Cyn,” he said, his tongue sweeping over her lips in a final, sensuous caress. “And besides, you’re mine, not theirs any longer.”
“Oh good God,” she muttered, licking her lips and trying not to smile. “You guys have really got to get past this mine obsession of yours. Emma and Sarah both—”
Raphael’s expression warned her to stop talking. He still hadn’t gotten over that kidnapping episode during Sarah’s wedding weekend. Even worse, he persisted in blaming it on what he referred to as their “unholy trio,” aka, the friendship between the three women. As if it were somehow their fault they’d drawn the attention of a couple of Neanderthals.
“Anyway,” Cyn said, wisely moving on. “Jared is auditioning for the job of li
eutenant, is that it?”
“I am a vampire lord, my Cyn, not a choir director. There is no audition. I know my people and have made my choice. I invited Jared here to meet you before I formally announce his new position. Juro knows, of course. But no one else.”
“Okay,” Cyn said, somewhat doubtfully. She didn’t know why, but somehow she thought she should have been consulted before Raphael made a decision like this. But even as she had the thought, she knew it was stupid. As Raphael said, he was a vampire lord. He knew his people inside and out, especially when it was one of his own children.
“Cyn,” Raphael said patiently, seeming to know her thoughts. “I value your input, I value your instincts. If you don’t like him, he will remain in Colorado.”
Okay, so she felt a little bit better about the whole thing.
“I should get dressed,” she said, suddenly aware she was still wearing her wet bathing suit beneath the thick robe.
“Indeed,” Raphael agreed. “That bathing suit is entirely too skimpy for my peace of mind.”
“Which is why I’m wearing this huge robe! Besides, I intended to change before that fucking sniper screwed up my clothing plans.”
Raphael’s cell phone rang. He didn’t need to check the caller ID before answering. “Juro. Excellent. See to your arm, then join us in the conference room.” He disconnected and said to Cyn, “They’ve lowered the daylight shutters on the pool side of the building. The other side is far less exposed and should be safe.”
“It’s unlikely the sniper would try to move around to the front anyway,” Cyn commented. “It would take too long, and your security is on alert now. Besides, the valley’s crawling with vampires by now. He’ll be too focused on getting away to worry about setting up somewhere else. At least for tonight.” She stood, tugging on the tie to her robe. “I’m going to take a long, hot shower. Mmm, too bad you can’t join—”
Betrayed Page 1
