“Wow, the whole board of directors showed tonight,” said Marissa, going up on her tiptoes to see over the crowd. Her long brown hair dipped into her drink as she moved from side to side in order to see better.

Daria was tall enough to easily see the small pocket of Chosen making their way through the crowd. “Do you know who they all are? The board of directors, I mean?”

Jia Ying replied, “Max Ortega, Sophia Helete, Carlos Hernadez, Eleanor Matthews, and Jillian O’Bryan.”

Everyone who knew about the illegal activities at the Shining Way.

Daria said her good-byes and made her way over to Alejandro.

“He’s coming in this direction,” he said, snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her up against his side. She snuggled against him like she belonged there, or at least that’s how she hoped it looked.

Indeed, Sante did appear to be making a straight line for them through the throng, stopping occasionally to greet someone or shake a hand like a freaking intergalactic politician. Seemed everyone wanted a piece of the owner of the Shining Way, yet no one was overly pushy. That might have something to do with the handful of badass Chosen bodyguards that Daria could see trailing the members of Sante’s inner circle. Honestly, it was like waiting at court to be addressed by the king, and it made Daria’s skin try to get up and walk away without her.

Sante spotted them in the crowd and did a double take. “Alejandro?” He walked toward them.

Daria pasted a smile on her face, even forced it all the way up to her eyes. Damn, she was a good actress.

When Sante reached them, Alejandro shook his hand, but, smiling, Sante pulled him forward into an embrace and slapped him on the back. “It’s been a long time.”

“Too long, tio,” Alejandro replied, grinning.

“I knew you’d recently joined us here at the Shining Way. I confess I was looking for you this evening.” Sante wore a huge smile. He turned to her. “This must be Valerie?”

Daria extended her hand. “Very nice to meet you, Mr. Sante. I’ve heard so much about you. Really, it’s an honor.”

“Call me Christopher,” he answered. “You have shared the blood donors employed here at the Shining Way, that makes us family.”

“This place is amazing. I feel so privileged to be here. I do feel like I’ve come home . . . to family.”

“Indeed, that’s why I created the Shining Way in the first place,” Sante continued, “so we could have a place apart from the humans. Somewhere all our own, a community.”

She increased the dazzle of her smile. “I appreciate you allowing me in . . . Christopher.”

“I’m glad you’re both here.” He turned back to Alejandro. “How many years has it been? Five?”

“It’s been seven years,” answered Alejandro.

“Longer than I thought, then. I’d heard you were Chosen by Lucinda Valentini. You didn’t win the luck of the draw with that one.”

“You’re telling me, my friend.”

“A lot has happened since our days at the ABI.”

“I left that life behind me after my Choosing. It never really suited me the first time around, and now that I’m living the life of the Chosen,” Alejandro paused and added meaningfully, “I don’t look back.”

A slow smile spread across Sante’s lips as the unspoken message registered loudly. I have new allegiances now and understand the loyalty the Chosen have to their blood kin. I forgive you for the past.

Alejandro tightened his grip around her waist, knowing how she must feel. Daria didn’t flinch, didn’t allow her smile to waver for even a moment as the memory of the past—Julia’s death—flickered through Sante’s eyes, accompanied by a slow smile of understanding. Her stomach roiled. The truth had glimmered behind his gaze for a moment, quickly covered by a dark lie.

Even though she wanted to lunge at Sante, close her hands around his throat, and squeeze, she didn’t move a muscle.

Sante nodded, a warm, speculative look in his eye. “I appreciate that.”

“I just want to create a new life for myself here with Valerie.”

The comment, uttered on a pathway Alejandro had opened with her, made her hand tighten on her cup. She didn’t respond, but she could see that Alejandro trembled subtly in otherwise well-concealed rage. His protectiveness warmed her.

And Daria understood. It was hard to stand there and smile into the man’s face when all they both wanted was his throat crushing between their fingers.

They’d both done jobs like this a million times, but this one was personal.

Sante turned his attention back to Daria. “Have I met you before, Valerie? You seem familiar to me.”

Her heart stopped, then thudded a little faster than normal. She fought to calm herself, knowing that the older vamp might be able to hear the increase in her heart rate, might be able to scent the startled thrill of fear on her skin. “I don’t believe we have ever met, but it’s possible. Ever spent any time in New Chicago? That’s where I spent most of my life.”

Sante studied her for a moment with an intensity that made apprehension curl through her stomach. Her surgery had been complete. There should be no way Sante could recognize her. Her own mother hadn’t recognized her when Daria had called on the commview after the procedure.

Finally, Sante nodded and glanced at Alejandro. “I have. We will have to explore our possible mutual connections more thoroughly sometime soon.” Sante moved to leave them. “Enjoy the evening.”

Once they’d exchanged parting words and Sante had moved on, Alejandro and Daria shared one short look as the rest of his party flowed behind him like a wedding train.

Daria opened a pathway. I have to get out of here for a minute.

She handed her empty glass to him and slipped from the grasp of the crowd with a relieved sigh.

Once out of the building, she glanced up at the sky and cursed. Full moon. Tonight there would be no foray to the other side of the compound. Silvery light lit the grounds almost like daylight, bleaching the color from everything around her. She drew a deep, shaky breath, trying to get her nerves under control from seeing Sante after so many years.

Movement caught her gaze and she turned her head to see a woman walking down a pathway at the end of the building. Tall, thin, long brown hair, nose a bit larger than what might be considered classically attractive.

Daria took off, racing after the woman as she turned a corner, her heart pounding in her chest. She skidded around the corner of the building to find . . . no one. Daria scanned the area, looking for a side door into the Alhambra Building or somewhere she could have gone, but there was nothing.

“What the hell?”

She stood, staring down the pathway. Maybe she was losing it. Maybe there hadn’t really been a woman at all. Perhaps she’d hallucinated the whole thing. She sniffed the air, trying to parse out the various scents with her new super-duper Chosen sniffer, but couldn’t isolate the single scent of a person who’d recently walked through the air. Nothing. A creepy chill entered her bones, making her shiver.

Or maybe she was chasing a ghost.

It couldn’t have been Ari Templeton she’d seen. She had to have been mistaken.

Unable to fall asleep while she questioned her sanity, she welcomed the comfort of his scent and the silken solidity of his form beside her. Alejandro had stayed at the party until the morning hours, and she wondered what had kept him there.

The thought of Marissa flashed through her mind, accompanied by an unwelcome dose of jealousy. Stupid, since she really didn’t care what—or who—Alejandro did. This assignment was getting to her. She was starting to believe her cover.

All the same, she inhaled deeply, searching for any hint of another woman on him. She got nothing, of course. The crowd surrounding them in the Alhambra Building masked just about everything, though she could detect the scent of herself on his skin—like a mark of ownership. It comforted her and, in turn, disturbed her.

Tomorrow she would tell Alejandro she saw a ghost . . . or something. Tonight she wanted to stay where she was. Perhaps now that he was here, she might be able to go to sleep.

He twined his arms around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head. A groan rumbled from him, vibrating through her. The low, sexy sound, so much like the noises he made when aroused, raised goose bumps along her arms.

Slowly, relaxation finally settled over her limbs, chasing away the last of the thoughts that crowded her mind. Sleep teased her, drawing her under a little at a time until her eyelids drifted closed.

The sound of the door opening jerked her from her lazy almost-sleep. Daria and Alejandro both came aware and sat up with lightning-fast reflexes.

“Easy,” said Sante as he came through the door. Two guards trailed him.

Alejandro sleepily pushed a hand through his hair, trying to look relaxed, but his body felt taut as a bowstring beside her. “Easy? What the fuck, Sante? It’s three in the morning.” He careened off into a stream of mutterings in Spanish.

Sante stood at the end of the bed. “We’ve had a complaint about you.”

Daria shifted uneasily on the mattress. “About what?”

Sante motioned in his guards, and then ordered them to close the door. “Someone thinks you aren’t really a mated couple.”

“That’s ridiculous,” answered Alejandro. “You can see us right here in bed together.”

“Yes.” Sante paused. “But sleeping side by side is easy. Look”—he spread his hands—“I believe you’re really mated, but you and I have a history, brother. Because of that history, I can’t be too careful. You know what I mean?”

“What the hell do you want from us,” asked Daria angrily. “How can we give you proof? I’m not much of an exhibitionist, so if you want to watch us have sex I’m afraid you’re out of luck.” Rage burned in her veins, but that was okay. Valerie would be pissed to have her sleep interrupted and her relationship questioned. It was natural.

“I’m no voyeur. Sex means nothing. Any two people can have sex and make it look like they mean it. I want to watch Alejandro take your blood.”

Alejandro made a frustrated sound. “You know that feeding between a mated pair is almost always sexual. It can’t help be anything but. So what was that part about you not being a voyeur again?”

Daria broke in and asked, “How does watching him take my blood prove a damn thing?”

Sante favored her with a slow smile, white teeth gleaming like wolf’s fangs in the semi-light. “I have lived a long time, beautiful Valerie. I have been Chosen for four hundred years. When I watch a mated couple share blood, believe me, I can tell truth from fiction.”

Beside her Alejandro went still. No sound broke the silence in the room for several long moments. Then Alejandro’s voice flicked like the end of a lash. “I’m sick of being tested, Sante. Carlos tested us as soon as we arrived and it engendered ill will. Now this. When does it end?”

“Tonight. It ends tonight.” Sante leaned against the wall across from the bed. “Prove your matedness to me now and I promise no more tests. I must make sure you’re not lying to me, Alejandro. I have let you both in too close to my heart to take risks. I am fully within my rights to demand this.”

Neither of them moved. Instead they stared at Sante, who gazed expectantly at them. His muscle had settled in to flank him. Daria had to bite her tongue to keep from offering them popcorn. The caustic words rose to her tongue with a bitter flavor and she choked them back down.

A tense silence settled over the room like a shroud. Daria didn’t want to give Sante what he wanted, but she knew their hand was being forced. They couldn’t endanger this mission over something so trivial. Yet, she wondered by the hard annoyance emanating from Alejandro if he would challenge Sante. Alejandro was not used to giving in to another’s will. Especially on something so intimate. He had to hate this more than she did.

“No.” The word slipped from Alejandro’s lips and fell like a heavy stone into the quiet.

Briefly, she closed her eyes. Damn it, Alejandro.

Immediately, Sante twitched his hand. No hesitation, as if he’d expected Alejandro to resist. The guards sprang into action, capturing Alejandro and dragging him from the bed. Daria had to stop herself from fighting the guards, not wanting to give Sante any indication she was anything more than a down-on-her-luck waitress and newly Chosen vampire. Valerie wouldn’t be able to fight men twice her size.

Alejandro fought, but was unable to throw off the two vamps who each had one of his arms firmly in their grasp. They muscled him up against the wall and pinned him there, where he seethed and glowered darkly at Sante.

Sante hadn’t moved. His expression hadn’t changed. The older vamp’s gaze was centered on her. Daria’s breath hitched in her throat. She didn’t like having those keen eyes focused so intently on her face.

Keeping his gaze centered on her, Sante spoke. “Over these past few years, as I have moved into my fourth century as a Chosen, I have developed a new ability. I can sip from a person’s veins, Chosen or not, and tell many things about them. You would be surprised at the secrets an individual’s blood will tell. If you would like, I can spare you the embarrassment of taking blood from Valerie and simply do it myself.”

Panic sliced through her. The implications were clear—if Sante tasted her blood, he might be able to tell they weren’t truly mated. Her fingers curled into the blankets and fisted.

He might be able to recognize her.

Sante stood in one flowing, controlled movement. His gaze swept over her. “It will be no hardship. She’s very attractive. You don’t mind, do you, Alejandro?”

Alejandro exploded into action, fighting against the guards and swearing in Spanish at the top of his lungs. “You won’t put a tooth on her, Sante.” His voice came out a low, dangerous growl and his fangs had extended. The sharp white tips peeked from between his lips.

Sante took a step toward the end of the bed. “You said you wouldn’t draw her blood while I watched, yet I must have this issue settled before I leave the room. What else do you expect me to do? She is very beautiful, your Valerie, I don’t mind touching her.”

This could not happen. Daria understood that Sante was deliberately baiting Alejandro, yet she could see the intention in Sante’s eyes to truly carry out his threat.

Daria moved warily to the opposite side of the bed, but not far enough out of his reach. Sante touched her cheek, his thumb drawing a slow arc under her eye. She suppressed a shudder of revulsion, but couldn’t avoid turning her face away.

“Don’t touch her,” Alejandro growled.

“Then agree to my request. It’s such a small one.”

“All right! Yes, I agree!” He jerked his arms from the grasp of the guards. “Call off the muscle and I’ll do it.”

Sante removed his hand from her cheek, his gaze still holding hers. “I admit I’m a little disappointed you gave in, Alejandro.”

Gave in. The use of those words was not lost on Daria. Sante was trying to needle Alejandro’s pride.

Sante turned and looked at his men. “Desist,” he ordered tersely, and they backed away from Alejandro. Then Sante backed away himself, giving Alejandro room to move.

Alejandro immediately stepped between her and Sante in a protective gesture. He stood for a moment, staring at the older vampire, aggression and threat in his stance and, even though Daria couldn’t see, probably on his face.

A slow smile spread across Sante’s mouth. “Do you like it here at the Shining Way, Alejandro?”

“Not at the moment,” he ground out in response.

Sante flashed fang and his eyes glittered in the half-light. “Come now. Being bound to Lucinda all those years must have broken the alpha in you at least a little.”

“Apparently not.”

“If you want to stay here, you must play by my rules. If you are deemed trustworthy, I may want you in my inner circle. I have always had high regard for you. I know what kind of a person you are. You hold strong ideals and loyalty. However, we need to get over this suspicion that has been placed on you first. Think of this as a test. If you pass, the rewards will be great. Do you understand?”

The possibility of Alejandro being included in Sante’s inner circle practically made Daria salivate. She was certain the words had gone well marked by Alejandro also.

She risked opening a mental pathway. Just do it. He made no indication that he’d heard her.

Alejandro didn’t answer Sante verbally. Instead he turned and fixed her with his intense gaze. His pupils were blown in his agitation and his fangs were still extended. Pissed-off resignation sat in the hunch of his shoulders and the grim set of his lips.

Daria held his gaze for a moment, communicating without words. They had to do this. They had to make it look good. The mission depended on it. Their lives depended on it.

He approached and leaned toward her. She had to fight her gut impulse to back away. Alejandro didn’t give her a choice, anyway. He flipped the blankets off her, grabbed her calf, and dragged her toward him.