Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 116408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Despite being in a tightly confined space, Rafe found it surprisingly comfortable. They didn’t fill the air with inane chatter. Really, Philippe didn’t speak beyond giving Rafe the occasional direction. But the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. It wasn’t like this with his brothers. One of them was always talking about something—usually it was Rafe. If Bel was too quiet, it was not a good thing. He was likely lost in contemplation about one of his experiments, and too often that was proving to be a bad thing for all of them.
But with Philippe, there was no need to talk. A part of him just felt happy to have him there.
That in itself was a terrifying thought.
Shoving the growing worry aside, Rafe parked the sleek black car in an opening along the residential street and turned off the engine. Philippe wordlessly climbed out of the car, and Rafe followed with a frown. This part of town didn’t appear to be the safest, not that it should be a problem for a vampire, even a twelve-year-old one.
The homes were of the narrow, two-story variety that were likely built at the turn of the twentieth century. Most of them still had the old wood siding and front porches. The front yards were small with grass that was going brown with the approach of winter. Chain link fences appeared at uneven intervals as owners marked their territory.
Despite the relatively early hour, there was no one about. Lights shone in windows as people went about their normal lives of dinner, cleaning, sex, and homework. Or whatever it was that humans did now. If it didn’t occur in his bedroom or club, Rafe really didn’t care. Though he was sure he wasn’t looking at house after house of humans cooking up scientific experiments.
Well, maybe meth. Some of these houses definitely looked like someone could be cooking meth, but that was about it when it came to science.
“Shall we?” Philippe asked.
Rafe looked over at his companion, shaking off his strange musings, to find the vampire motioning for them to proceed down the block.
Rafe shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks and walked over to the sidewalk where Philippe was waiting for him. They strolled along in silence for several minutes. The wind was brisk, chilling them and sending dead leaves scraping and tumbling along the street.
“You’re not expecting to find her sitting on someone’s front step, right?” Philippe asked softly.
Rafe snorted and looked over at his companion. “What? You don’t think it’s possible?” Rafe tensed as soon as the words left his lips. He had been trying to keep his natural sarcasm to a minimum when he was speaking to the clan leader. While his brothers might find it endearing—Who the fuck was he kidding? They found it annoying, but they wouldn’t kill him over it—Philippe might not be quite as tolerant.
But Philippe rolled his eyes at him, the hint of a smile lurking on his too-lush lips.
“No, I don’t think we’re going to find her here. If it was that simple, you would have located her already,” Rafe continued.
He paused when they reached an intersection. Glancing around, he didn’t see anything particularly interesting about any one street. They all looked the same with their seeming unending row of homes, brown grass, and sickly trees. On a whim, he chose a direction and continued with Philippe silently walking with him.
“But walking around her hunting grounds gives me a feel for what she saw and who she might have encountered.”
“You think this might be another vampire’s hunting grounds?” Philippe inquired.
Rafe shrugged. “It wouldn’t be my first choice.” Looking around again, his lip curled a little. “It wouldn’t even be my tenth choice, but to each his or her own. But I don’t think she was attacked for invading another’s space. It would have been enough to simply warn a fledgling away.”
“True. A warning would be enough for Piper. She doesn’t like confrontation. If she’d encountered another vampire, she would have immediately returned home.”
“Or run.”
Rafe carefully watched Philippe’s expression. There wasn’t much change. A little tightening of the muscles around his mouth and eyes that he couldn’t quite stop, but it was enough to give Rafe the feeling Philippe not only rejected that suggestion, but he knew something he wasn’t yet sharing with Rafe.
Stopping at another corner, Rafe shoved a hand through his hair, sending the thick strands into disarray. He wanted to snap at Philippe about his reluctance to share information. How the hell was he supposed to succeed in locating this treasured clan member if Philippe refused to tell Rafe everything he needed to know?
“Maybe we are looking at this all wrong,” Rafe announced as he chose another direction. “Maybe this isn’t an attack on Piper, but on you.”
“What? Why attack her to hurt me?”
Rafe grinned at Philippe but there was no pleasure in it. “It’s working, isn’t it?”