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want you out there without backup. You know
Hawk, Miles, and Gideon will be tied up. Can t you
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wait before going? You could at least come to the
auction with me and just watch. Miranda held her
breath waiting on his reply but nothing prepared her
for his tone.
Miranda, I m a cop. This is what I do. I don t
tell you when to go to work at the hospital, even if it
means I don t see you for almost twenty-four hours.
Zacke, we re not talking about me. We re
talking about you. You re not well, and you could end
up injured, even killed.
Gabriella is the only one that can kill me,
Miranda. Although your incessant harping could if
you don t let up.
Miranda fought the stinging tears his words
brought.
Okay, you win. Just promise me you ll be
careful.
Zacke nodded his head, his gaze almost cold as
he turned and left. For the first time since their
marriage, he left off his goodbye kiss.
She used the back of her hands to scrub her
face. She still had work to do before getting dressed
for the charity event. The symptoms Zacke
experienced along with the elevated blood count
smacked of leukemia. But she wasn t even sure if the
blood disease could affect a vampire.
At the beginning of the week, she installed a
mini refrigerator in her office. Now, she pulled out a
syringe, depressed the plunger, and squirted a few
drops of Zacke s blood onto a slide, which she then
placed under her newly acquired microscope.
Minutes later, Miranda s shoulders slumped in
defeat. The white cells had multiplied compared to
the sample she had taken right after Zacke had first
become ill.
She discarded the slide and replaced the unused
blood back in the refrigerator. At this rate, Zacke
would quickly become too weak to work, to walk, and
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finally to live.
Miranda?
Hawk s voice cut through her hopelessness. Hi,
Hawk. You off to feed before you have to be on the
runway?
No, actually Miles and I did that earlier. I came
back to check on you. The stunningly handsome
vampire wore a hesitant smile as well as a tux. How
are the tests going?
Not so good. His white blood count is still too
high, and I don t know what to do about it. The
transfusions aren t helping him, Hawk. He s growing
weaker by the day.
Hawks amber eyes filled with horror. You don t
think he could die, do you?
Miranda reached out and touched his arm. I
don t know. If he were mortal, he would already be
dead. I just don t know enough about his body s
chemistry to know how long he can keep going like
this.
Hawk dropped a trembling arm across
Miranda s shoulders. Miranda raised her gaze to
meet his. Will you and Miles be going out to hunt
Gabriella later?
Yes, Zacke says she won t stay down long before
she tries something again. Which reminds me, I
should be getting to the hospital. The woman
handling the walk-ons until you get there says we
have to practice our strut. Not sure what that means
but guess I ll find out.
Hawk removed his arm and caught her hand in
his. Make sure you stay inside until Gideon picks
you up. Good thing he isn t being auctioned off first.
At least he ll be able to take you to the hospital. Stay
safe. There s a full moon tonight and vampires aside,
it brings out the crazies.
Miranda knew he spoke the truth. The
emergency room always filled up with attempted
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suicides, stabbings, and gunshot victims when the
moon reached its fullness.
Don t worry about me. I plan on staying
barricaded inside until Gideon gets here.
The house became too silent after Hawk left.
Specters of a future without Zacke haunted Miranda
as she hurried through a quick shower and dressing.
What would she do without him?
****
Miranda toed off her shoes and propped her feet
up on her desk. The auction had gone off without a
hitch. All three of her candidates had pulled in mega
dollars for the worthy cause.
Miranda?
Gideon stuck his head in the door of her office. I
checked out all the doors and windows. Do you feel
like coming down and locking up after I leave?
Sure, it s the least I can do for one of the stars
of tonight s show.
Gideon s face turned a light pink but his grin lit
to one hundred watts. I had a great time, Miranda.
I never thought this redneck boy could look so good
in a tux. His smiled dimmed a bit. I just wish
Zacke could have been there too.
Miranda got up and moved to his side. I know.
So do I, Gideon. She squeezed the hand he held out
and allowed him to lead her downstairs.
Don t let anyone in unless it s one of us.
Yes, dear. I promise. You be careful too!
She shot the bolts on the door after Gideon left
and started back toward the stairs. The shrill ring of
the house phone, Zacke had the phone company
install, broke the silence. She picked it up, vowing
nothing could make her go to work tonight.
Hello? Silence greeted her ears. Hello!
Miranda s patience thinned when still no one
answered. Fine, don t talk to me. She slammed the
phone back on its cradle. Probably a wrong number,
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but whoever it was could have said so.
Miranda made it to her office this time without
interruption. Halfway through the latest copy of
Medical News, the doorbell rang. She ran to the
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