Chris bowed his head, the gesture emanating respect for his sire, and then left without another word.

"Please ... sit." Jesse finally found his voice and indicated the sofa facing the one he'd sat on with Chris.

"Thank you."Lascaux seated himself along with Serge and Philippe. Jesse watched them, noticing the reverent gaze which Serge kept on him. Philippe, he noted, watched Serge in the same manner.

Hmm. The three vampires seemed to form a complex love triangle of some sort.

Only moments later, Chris reappeared bearing the tray with the dreaded model on it and some clothing hanging over his arm. He set the tray down on the stone coffee table between the two sofas and sank onto the cushions beside Jesse.

"Go ahead,"Lascaux urged. "Unveil the thing."

Chris leaned forward and slid the cloth away, revealing the likeness to his own head.

In spite of the fact Jesse now knew it was a fake, he still flinched. He couldn't help glancing atLascaux to see his reaction.

The magnificent vampire stared at the model, his obsidian gaze taking it in appraisingly. Slowly he nodded. "You do amazing work, Chris. I daresay even Noiret, that piece of s.h.i.t, will be fooled."

Lascauxmust have registered Jesse's surprise, for the raven-hued irises lit on his face and the vampire's swarthy face creased in a smile. "Perhaps you're noticing that your vampire kith are as varied in temperament and nature as anyone else."

The subtle reprimand was not lost on Jesse. Of course, even thoughLascaux didn't judge him forthe past, as Chris's sire and protector, he would be compelled to convey some small measure of defense.

Jesse bowed his head and nodded. "Yes, I'm seeing that."

In the next moment, he felt Chris's hand, warm and comforting, slide across his back and rest there.

"Alors,"Lascaux continued, "Jesse here will present this model to Noiret and then? Knowing that b.a.s.t.a.r.d, we must pray that he hasn't already killed Jesse's sister."

Jesse's gaze shot up to the vampire, blood coursing suddenly icy through his veins. "Hannah is alive!"Aren' t you? He focused inwardly, as hard as he ever had done, calling his sister.

I'm here, Jesse. When are you coming?

Jesse breathed a heavy sigh of relief.Today .

Please hurry.

Hannah, hang on. We' re coming.

We?

I' ll explain later.

Please, Jess, hurry!

Jesse looked atLascaux . "She's alive. She's begging me to hurry."

Lascauxnodded and looked down. The air in the room grew still with his seeming concentration.

What's he doing?Jesse asked Chris through their mind link.

Chris's hand pressed comfortingly against his back.Probably accessing his mind link to Noiret .

Jesse nearly jumped from the seat.He has a mind link with Noiret?

Chris looked at him and nodded.He sired him .

Lascauxcleared his throat, the sound compelling Jesse to look up at him. "So far, he hasn't moved her. He doesn't know we're coming. We'll leave as soon as you get dressed."

Jesse continued to stare atLascaux .

To his surprise, a pained look crossed the vampire's features. "Yes, I sired Noiret. Another of my many grievous mistakes. Finally I'm getting a chance to undo it." He looked at Chris. "Second chances happen quite often to me, it seems, whether I deserve them or not."

Chris looked at his sire, his gaze full of admiration. "They're second chances because you take them."

Lascauxstudied Chris's face a moment before a sad smile crossed his face. "Come on. Let's go.

"Jesse, here." Chris handed Jesse a shirt and trousers. "They'll no doubt be a bit big so I've included a belt." Jesse accepted the clothing, wishing this were all over and Hannah were rescued so that he and Chris could just curl up together in bed and make love day and night. "Thank you."

Chris reached to his pocket and pulled something out, holding it to him. Jesse glimpsed the glint of the firelight off the blade of a knife. His slaying knife.

Chris's handsome face darkened. "You'll need it, no doubt."

Jesse nodded, wordlessly accepting the weapon from his lover. The irony of the moment was not lost on him. "Thank you," he managed to say, feeling the gazes of the other three vampires on him.

Chris looked down at him, his blue eyes radiating affection. Never before had Jesse been the object of such a gaze and he had to fight down the urge to lean forward and press his cheek to his lover's chest and stay there. HadLascaux and his entourage not been standing a few feet away, he would have done just that.

"There's a bathroom right off the hallway," Chris murmured.

Jesse nodded and went quickly out, avoiding the other gazes on him. He dressed in a few seconds and sheathed his knife in the belt at his back.

When he went out into the hallway, the four vampires stood by the front door, waiting. He approached them, his eyes on Chris.

"Come on," he said, "Let's get my sister."

Chapter Ten.

Lascaux's private jet had them inNew York in under an hour. Another thirty-minute cab ride brought Jesse and the vampires to Noiret's club and left them off a block away.

The street was dark, the buildings lining the sidewalks factories closed for the night. Ba.s.s-driven music from Noiret's rave-style warehouse club vibrated in the ground beneath them and in the freezing cold, people were going in and out of the front entrance.

Jesse's heart pounded. His hand tightened on the sack containing the model of Chris's head.

Chris's hand rested on his arm as they walked, pressing harder through the shearling coat he'd given Jesse to wear. Chris and Philippe were to find Hannah and free her in the event that Noiret went back on the deal after obtaining the head.

Around the corner from the club entrance, they stopped. Chris turned to him, his handsome face creased with a serious expression.

We' re going to do this, Jesse. Chris's voice through their mind link echoed pleasantly through Jesse's body.But whatever happens, I love you .

Jesse fought back a rising tide of panic.I love you too .

Chris squeezed his arm and then atLascaux 's gesture, released him. Jesse watched him and Philippe turn and glide into the air, up to the roof of the building.

"They'll find her. Don't worry." Lascaux's voice made Jesse turn. The vampire was watching him. "Serge and I will be close behind you and will join you as soon as we take care of Noiret's entourage. That's a promise."

Jesse nodded, one last spike of guilt catching him in the gut. "Thank you," he murmured, then turned and headed toward the entrance of the club. He bypa.s.sed the line of people at the door, his gaze roving absently over the spiked hair, nose rings, kinky leather, and tattoos as he approached the mohawked, six-foot-five bouncer.

The bouncer looked down at him past his multiple nose rings. "Wait in line, like everyone else."

The door opened and a blast of techno music wafted out, dying down again with the closing of the door.

Jesse gave him a hard look. "I 'm here to see Noiret."

"What's your name?"

"Jesse Harmon."

Recognition lit the meaty man's face. Apparently, Noiret had already given instructions about him.

Without another word, the bouncer stood aside, pulling the door open again.

Jesse tossed a glance to the line, seeingLascaux waiting with Serge, as if they were regular guests of the club, then went in, immediately enveloped in music, cigarette smoke and writhing bodies. Lights flashed through the huge dance area, but Jesse ignored the dancers around him, making his way to the corner Noiret always inhabited.

Noiret was there, a new woman fawning over him, whispering something in his ear. G.o.d only knew what Noiret had done to the blonde from two days ago.

The vampire must have sensed Jesse's approach for he looked up, a moment of surprise slithering across his pale features.

In the next moment, a grin curled his lips and he gestured toward the back of the club.

Sudden fierce anger pounded through Jesse and he closed the short distance to the table, leaning over in a threatening manner. "I brought what you wanted and I'm here days early, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You get nothing until I see her."

Noiret rose slowly, his gaze piercing Jesse's. "Yes, I see. You decided on a Christmas present rather than a New Year's offering." He paused and took a sip of blood before looking back up. "You 'll see her whenI see that you actually do have what I want."

Jesse gritted his teeth, ready to pull out his knife and finish Noiret himself. And if Hannah hadn't been Noiret's prisoner, he would have. He turned and threaded his way through the writhing throng of dancers toward Noiret's office.

Noiret followed him in with two of his goons and closed the door behind them. He perched on the edge of his desk, lighting a cigarette, his two guards behind his chair. He blew a puff of smoke in Jesse's direction. "Let's see it."

Jesse came forward, pulling the string on the bag as he did so.

Noiret raised his flaxen eyebrows. "What, no silver platter?"

Jesse ignored him and reached in the bag, burying his fingers into what was once his lover's silken gold hair. He tugged the bag down and lifted the head, raising it up for Noiret to inspect. Noiret hissed. For the first time since Jesse had interacted with Noiret, the vampire showed an emotion other than s.a.d.i.s.tic smugness. Jesse suppressed the sensations of horror roiling his gut.

Why it was so difficult to remember that the head was a model and not actually Chris's?

Noiret drew closer, his cold gray eyes inspecting the flawlessly reproduced likeness. Jesse's heart pounded fiercely and his hand threatened to shake. The vampire hissed again. "Finally."

With a jerking motion, Jesse stuffed the head back into the bag. He then turned on Noiret. "All right, I gave you what you wanted. Now give me my sister."

Noiret's fascination faded, replaced by his customary s.h.i.t-eating grin. "Very well. I'll show her to you and then you can go retrieve her." There was a sound in his voice that chilled Jesse's very blood.

Noiret went to his desk, picked up a remote control and pressed a b.u.t.ton. A panel above his desk slid aside, revealing a television screen. The vampire pressed another b.u.t.ton on the remote and a picture came onto the screen.

Jesse froze.

Hannah was there, her lean willowy form bound to a table. Her long raven hair hung over the edges of the table, above a strap across her forehead, holding her head down. Looking closer, he noticed the bounds were formed of hemp, a substance that obviously weakened her. She was utterly defenseless.

"It seems your sister has a weakness for hemp." Noiret's voice slithered like insects inside Jesse 's body. "Oh, don't worry; I haven't sullied her purity, the dear. Although it wouldn't have mattered, the places she was going. Virginal women don't frequent gambling dens. But she has made good feeding these last few days."

Jesse dropped the bag with the fake head, his hand going for his knife. Red hot rage coursed through him. "You f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

Jesse reached under his coat, sliding the knife out. He charged, knife in hand, his only desire to kill Noiret, but the vampire was too fast and too strong for him. In one swift motion, Noiret had Jesse by the throat and slammed him up against the wall.

Jesse choked as Noiret lifted him, his feet leaving the ground. Noiret's eyes glowed with bloodl.u.s.t and anger. He pushed hard against Jesse's throat, cutting off his air almost completely.

"That was a really stupid thing to do, immortal. You're lucky I don't order her beheaded this instant. If she weren't so f.u.c.king delicious, I would." He leaned in closer, giving Jesse a potent whiff of stale cigarettes mixed with death. "Perhaps you'd like to witness the service she's so generously been providing." He nodded to his goons.

Jesse tried to struggle, but Noiret had superior physical strength. Jesse's glance went to his slaying knife, which had clattered to the floor when Noiret grabbed him.

"Put him down this instant or I'll kill you where you stand."

Relief sliced through Jesse at the sound of Lascaux's voice.

Jesse moved his eyes, seeingLascaux and Serge standing in the doorway. The music outside the door had been so loud, it drowned out their entrance.

Noiret turned his head, not easing his grip on Jesse's throat. "Where are my men? What haveyou done to them?"

The corner ofLascaux 's lips curled and a gleam came into his eye. "They're enthralled with me."

"You f.u.c.ker," Noiret hissed. He turned to his goons who also stood in the stillness of thrall.

Lascaux's grin faded. "You seem to forget I'm more powerful than you are. Now let the immortal go."

Noiret's grip loosened a hair then tightened again. "Big deal. The thrall will wear off. You should have killed them. But you wouldn't, would you? You've gone soft, getting yourself imprisoned for centuries over a piece of p.u.s.s.y. And all the while that priestess b.i.t.c.h was getting it from every angle by her guardians, notyou ."

Jesse sawLascaux 's expression pain before he visibly gathered himself, not giving in to the baiting.

Lascaux's black eyes glittered, the glow of blood l.u.s.t rising in them. "Let him go now or I'll kill you.

I 'm still your sire."