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there s a law about soliciting after hours!
Miranda, it s Gideon.
Her heart stopped. Zacke! Something must have
happened to him. She undid the deadbolt, the chain,
and turned the lock. She yanked the door open with
such force it narrowly missed her nose. Gideon, is
Zacke okay?
Gideon s grin disappeared and she watched
remorse settle into his gaze. Sheesh, I m sorry,
Miranda. I didn t mean to scare you. Zacke was fine
when I left him. His mood is a bit wolfish, but hey,
that s a good sign, isn t it? Of course it s kind of hard
to talk to him when he acts like someone pulled out
his fangs with a rusty set of pliers.
Miranda laughed. I assume you forgot
something.
Naw, Zacke sent me back to babysit, uh, that
didn t come out right.
Don t worry about it. I m actually getting use to
having my almost every move watched. Come on in.
Gideon raised one foot to step over the threshold
but stopped. Did you hear something?
Miranda cocked her head, straining to pick up
any sound outside the usual. No, maybe it s just a
car on the next street over.
Yeah, maybe. Gideon started into the house.
Rustling in the bushes to his right caused him to
stop again. Two men came from out of nowhere.
All Hell broke loose. One man shoved Gideon
against the outside wall. The other took out an
extremely large gun.
Miranda waited for the explosion but she heard
only a thud. Gideon s body slumped to the porch
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floor. She stepped back from the door and slammed
it shut. She couldn t help Gideon by fighting his
attackers but maybe she could get to the phone and
call 911. She cursed the ice coating her hands in fear
as she reached toward the lock.
The door slammed opened and sent her flying
backward. She landed in a painful heap on the
hardwood floor. The men with ski masks covering
their faces now stood inside her home.
What do you want? Money? I have some in the
safe. I ll go get it. When the men didn t jump at her
offer, Miranda s spine tingled in fear.
One of the men moved toward her, and she
scooted backward on the floor. He dogged her
movement and outdistanced her frantic attempt to
escape. An arm encircled her chest and a rough cloth
covered her mouth. Her nostrils burned from the
sickening sweet scent. Chloroform she knew it well
from surgery. She tried to wrestle the material from
her face, but his other hand moved to force her nose
and mouth further into the cloth. Darkness swirled
before her eyes and then pulled her into its grip.
****
Zacke pulled into his driveway. The Lexus had
become his mode of travel since the dizzy spells had
grown worse. Nothing like taking a freefall to earth
from the clouds to jar a vampire into reality. No
matter how much he hid his escalating illness from
Miranda, he could no longer hide it from himself. He
had sworn a scared speechless Gideon to secrecy
after he landed in a heap at his partner s feet.
Gideon was the best friend a man or vampire
could have. Zacke should never have sent him to see
if Miranda was still angry with him. He should have
bitten the bullet and gone himself. That s why he
blew off their captain when he wanted to have a one-
on-one about the case s status.
Zacke exited the car and walked around
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Gideon s truck. Parking had never been a talent his
friend had acquired. As he moved around the half-
on, half-off the driveway vehicle, he noticed the
porch light was off. He had asked Miranda to keep it
on when he wasn t home, maybe the bulb had
burned out.
Zacke hurried up the porch steps. His foot
slipped in something near the wall. He knelt down
and dipped his index finger in the liquid. He brought
it to his nose and inhaled the sweet, tangy scent of
blood.
His neck tickled with apprehension, his talons
stretched as his senses went to full alert. He stood
and inserted his key into the lock. The door moved
silently inward. Something was bad wrong. Miranda
would never leave the door unlocked.
He moved his foot over the threshold, anxious to
find Miranda, but a soft groan forestalled his
progress. The sound came from behind him. The
azalea bushes Miranda loved stood as silent
sentinels to his search. His hand scrabbled to find an
opening in the dense growth and then he brushed a
sleeve-clad arm. An arm attached to the body shoved
beneath the bushes. A pain filled moan assaulted his
ears.
What the
Zacke?
Gideon! Can you stand?
Zacke helped Gideon to his feet then scanned
the house and surrounding area for disturbance,
which he should have done in the first place. He
blamed his lapse on worry and guilt. All was quiet.
Too quiet.
Miranda s gone.
A few moments later, Gideon rested on the sofa
with an icepack propped against the back of his
head. Pain pulled his features tight, but at least his
gaze remained clear, no sign of a concussion yet.
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The bleeding had also stopped.
What happened?
I m not sure. Miranda unlocked the door to let
me in and something hit me from behind. Gideon,
his face frozen with dread tried to sit up. Where is
Miranda? Is she okay?
She s gone.
Ouch! Gideon swung his body around and put
his booted feet on the floor. Are you sure?
Yes, whoever struck you must have taken her.
Well, we can t just sit here. We have to find
her.
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