Deadly Liaisons by Terry Spear Read Free Book Online Page B

thoughts.
    “Let me out of here, you…you—”
    “Sleep, Tezra . ” He considered forcing her to sleep, but—
    “Don’t tel me what to do! Daemon, let me out of here!”
    Before he could respond, his longtime friend and confidant, Maison, asked from outside his home, “May I enter?”
    Tezra grew quiet as death.
    “Come in , ” Daemon replied, slightly perturbed by the intrusion, but suspecting word concerning the huntress would soon spread, and several of his kind, even the kil er, might attempt to see him.
    His blue eyes wide with curiosity, Maison appeared next to him. He wore his golden hair tied back in a leather strap. Jeans and a buttondown col ared royal blue shirt was his typical attire despite his being the regional director of the vampire clans in Oregon. “I’ve heard disturbing news.”
    Daemon motioned to Maison to silence his words. He poured a glass of Chablis for him, then led his friend to the couches in the greatroom. “We have a guest.”
    Maison listened for several moments to detect Tezra’s presence. Her blood pulsed rapidly through her veins, enticing any vampire within range. “She’s not one of us.”
    “No, but she has telepathic abilities.”
    Maison’s facial expression changed from curiosity to concern. “Why have you…you do not think she wil make a superior blood-bonded mate, do you?”
    Daemon choked on his wine and sputtered, “No.”
    Maison rubbed his square chin and concentrated again. “Then why is she imprisoned in your cel ar, if I may be so bold as to ask, my prince?”
    “Atreides took her hostage.”
    “Damn, Daemon. You know how many already think he’s involved in these kil ings.”
    Irritation flowed through Daemon’s blood. His brother couldn’t be the murderer, though even he had some doubts as to the state of Atreides’s mind since the police officers had kil ed their uncle. “It isn’t him.”
    “Every time another city police officer dies, he’s glad. Even though we know he isn’t involved, his actions make him suspect.”
    “He tried to protect the woman.”
    Maison’s blond brows arched. “The one in your cel ar? I hear her rapid breath, her pounding pulse, even the gnashing of her teeth. Who is she?”
    “The one the murderer wil target next.”
    “The woman from the Special Crimes Unit who’s investigating the murders?” At first Maison frowned, then his face lit up. “The bait. Very clever of you. I feared you had fal en for another one of them.”
    Daemon scowled at him.
    Maison quickly said, “I understand your reasoning for taking the woman into custody.”
    “We can’t afford an al -out war between the SCU and the vampire clans. That’s where this is headed if this maniac recruits copycats, especial y since some already admire him for his brashness, feeling humans aren’t of consequence anyway. But those of the SCU are a different matter. Because of their training and cunning, and since they were affected by the plague like us, some rogues feel they’re much more of a match and want to target them. The rogues’ actions are fol y.”
    “I agree.” Maison took a seat and drank some of his wine. “What’s the plan?”
    “We find the renegade and terminate him.”

    In many ways, Maison and Daemon were a lot alike. They had both been through so many wars the images of blood and broken bodies blurred. They wanted the best for their people and everyone else concerned.
    “Let me out of here, Daemon!” Tezra screamed.
    Daemon’s jaw ticked as he fought smiling at the woman’s tenacity. “I’d assumed she’d fal en asleep.”
    Leaning forward, Maison set his half ful glass on the coffee table. “When wil you let the others know you have her?”
    Daemon glanced in the direction of the cel ar. “When the trap is set.” He turned to face Maison. “In any event, I don’t want her harmed. If she remains on her own, whoever the kil er is wil most likely eliminate her. When the word goes out that I have her in