Betrayed by D. B. Reynolds Read Free Book Online Page A

Jared’s claim was accurate, wasn’t certain she deserved that kind of credit. And actually found the whole subject sort of embarrassing.
    “They’re close?” she asked, changing the subject as she lifted her chin in the direction of Raphael and Lucas. The two vampire lords were no longer embracing, but were deep in conversation with one another.
    Jared smiled knowingly, as if he understood she was intentionally redirecting his attention. “They always have been. Lucas came over on the boat with Raphael. He was one of Raphael’s first children—if not the first. The subject’s never come up, and I’ve never asked. You probably know by now how touchy we vamps are about things like that.”
    Cyn nodded absently, her attention focused on Raphael and Lucas. They actually looked alike, and were even dressed the same, wearing dark, well-fitted suits that could have come from the same tailor. She knew Raphael’s were custom-made and assumed Lucas’s were likewise. It wasn’t easy to fit men of their size. Their shirts were white, their ties silk—Raphael’s his favorite sapphire blue, while Lucas’s was a flashier crimson with a small gold pattern. Cyn was amused when she glanced down and discovered that Lucas was wearing a pair of highly polished black cowboy boots with his suit.
    Still, it was more than the similar clothes that made the two vampire lords look so much like each other. Enough alike that the casual observer might easily think they were brothers. Lucas was just a shade shorter than Raphael and a bit leaner, not as thickly muscled. But his shoulders were just as broad, and his hair was jet black, just like Raphael’s. She couldn’t see his eyes, but his face was certainly handsome. Not as beautiful as Raphael, of course. Very few men were. But Lucas did seem to smile more readily. He was like the younger, carefree brother to Raphael’s older sibling in charge. Or, if not for the fact that they both appeared to be in their late twenties, she could have been watching a father and his son. That was the signal their body language was giving off, and if Raphael was Lucas’s Sire, it was a more accurate one, too.
    Jealousy curled in her belly again, much to her disgust. Was she so insecure that she couldn’t let Raphael love anyone but her? How ridiculous.
    “Lucas could have called,” Jared murmured, “but with this war, he needed to see for himself that Raphael was uninjured.”
    “What does the war have to do with it?”
    Jared lifted one shoulder dismissively. “Lucas is very powerful, but the war has him riding the fine edge of violence right now. And he’s monitoring a thousand things all at once. When whoever it was tried to kill Raphael this morning, Lucas would have felt it like a knife in his heart. And since he was physically so close—his ranch is just over six hundred miles from here, a short flight by private jet—a phone conversation wouldn’t do the trick. He needed to come here and see for himself.”
    “I don’t understand. I know Raphael’s linked to his people, but Lucas has his own territory and people. He wouldn’t be linked to Raphael the way the others are.”
    “Not the same way, no. And you’re right. Many times the connection between Sire and child weakens once the child goes his own way. There might be a lingering fondness, but nothing more except under extreme circumstances. But it doesn’t have to be that way, and especially not when powerful vampires are involved. Lucas rules his own territory, but his bond with Raphael is as strong as ever. Loyalty to Raphael runs deep, Cyn, and I speak from personal knowledge on that point.”
    “What about Duncan ? Why didn’t he call at least?”
    Jared laughed softly. “Duncan and I were on the phone when it happened. He wouldn’t hang up until I personally laid eyes on Lord Raphael and reported he was uninjured. And by the time I got back to the phone, he was already prepping his jet, just in case.”
    Cyn studied