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electronic keypad beside the door.
    The high-tech security system wasn’t for David’s benefit. The second eldest immortal in existence was incredibly powerful. He could hear the approach of even the quietest vampires long before they reached his door and dispatch them if necessary. The Seconds and human employees of the network, however, could not. Nor could younger immortals. Not to the extent that David could. And David wished to keep those he considered family safe.
    Melanie entered the house before Bastien, her scent enchanting him. She didn’t wear perfume. No doubt her close work with the vampires had taught her that any strong fragrance—no matter how sweet—could offend rather than please.
    Male voices filled the house with a constant hum. The meeting must not have begun yet, because the bits and pieces of conversation Bastien picked up were fairly frivolous.
    The living room ahead of them was empty. But the dining room to the left bustled with activity.
    A table long enough to seat twenty-four dominated the space. David sat at one end, thin dreadlocks drawn back from his face and falling down to his hips. At his elbow, Darnell spoke softly to him, asking if they shouldn’t try one more time to convince Ami to leave the country.
    Bastien may not like Darnell, may have even wanted to shove the Second’s smoothly shaven head through the wall a time or two, but he had to give the man credit for watching over Ami and putting her safety above everything else.
    Ami and Marcus were just taking their seats on David’s other side. Ami seemed oblivious to Darnell’s comments, but Marcus listened closely as he drew his wife closer and wrapped a possessive arm around her narrow shoulders.
    Roland and Sarah sat beside Darnell. Bastien still felt nothing but animosity whenever he encountered the nearly millennium-old immortal. Old habits were hard to break, and the hatred Bastien had nursed in his heart for Roland had lasted two hundred years.
    Sarah smiled at Ami and engaged her in conversation. If Bastien hadn’t already liked the newly transformed immortal before, he would now just for befriending Ami. Ami had endured so much pain, so much torture since her arrival in their world . . .
    She deserved as much kindness as she could find.
    The other immortals stationed in the area filled most of the remaining seats: Lisette d’Alençon and her twin brothers, Richart and Étienne, all roughly Bastien’s age of two centuries. Their Seconds: Tracy, Sheldon, and Cameron. Yuri and Stanislov. Bastien knew little of those two immortals, nor of their Seconds, who were also present. Ethan, an American immortal barely a century old, and Edward, a Brit like himself, were present, too.
    Chris Reordon circled the table, distributing more of his precious files and handing out friendly comments with each.
    Melanie strode forward. Bastien followed.
    With the exception of Ami—who viewed all doctors and scientists with a fear that bordered on absolute terror—those present greeted Melanie with smiles that morphed into scowls and tight-lipped rejection when their gazes shifted to Bastien.
    Fuck you, too.
    The frowns on Lisette’s and Étienne’s faces deepened, telling him they were once more prying into his thoughts and didn’t like what they heard.
    What did he care? He didn’t need their friendship or acceptance. He didn’t need anything from them at all.
    “What the hell are you doing here?” Chris demanded.
    “I’ll escort him out,” Roland said, a malicious smile lighting his features as he rose.
    Sarah placed a hand on his arm. “No, you won’t. There will be no fighting between you two tonight.”
    Roland hesitated. Usually Sarah could coax the dour immortal into doing almost anything, but restraining his impulse to kill Bastien may be beyond even her capabilities. Roland would never forget that Bastien had once fractured her skull.
    Bastien sent Sarah a smile. “Hello, sweetheart. How’s the head?”
    Melanie gave