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are things in L.A.?”
    She sighed. “I’ve got some old-school vamps protesting the laws we just passed allowing our race to interbreed with the others.”
    “Nothing too violent, I hope.”
    She made a dismissive noise. “Nothing I can’t handle. Slade is meeting with some of them this week to try and make them see sense.”
    I laughed. “If anyone can set them right…” I let that comment drift off. As close as Nyx and I were, the fact she had been with my father and was now sleeping with my ex was still a bit of an awkward topic. Don’t get me wrong, I thought she and Slade were perfect for each other, but it was still kind of odd.
    The waiter delivered our drinks and proceeded to share that night’s specials. We both ordered—two steaks, bloody. Once he was gone, Nyx leaned forward across the table.
    “You going to tell me the real reason you asked for this dinner?” she asked. “Not that I don’t enjoy your company, but you don’t normally go for the girls’ night.”
    I took a sip of my Sazerac. “I need a favor.”
    “Of course,” she said immediately. “Anything.”
    “I need to set up a meeting with the head of the NOLA coven.”
    “Damascus White? Why?”
    “One of Brooks’s friends is missing and we have reason to believe she’s been in contact with White recently.”
    She paused before answering. “You believe he’s involved in her disappearance?”
    This is where I had to be careful. Even though Nyx and I were good friends, outright accusing one of her own with foul play was not a smart move. “We have no reason to believe he’s directly responsible. Just want to see if we can piece together a picture of her activities before she disappeared. Her diary indicated she had a meeting with him. We’re hoping he might be able to shed light on what she was into.”
    “Okay,” she said. “I can arrange it for whenever you prefer.”
    “Sooner the better,” I said. “Thanks, Nyx.”
    She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Just be prepared for him to refuse.”
    A thin vein of embarrassment wove its way into my voice. “I was kind of hoping you could do some gentle arm twisting if that turned out to be the case.”
    She laughed. “I see. Well, I can try, but I’m afraid it’s not like the old days when your grandmother ran the race.”
    My grandmother, Lavinia, had been the Alpha female in the triumvirate of vampires who had controlled the race for centuries. She’d led through a combination of violence, cunning, and more violence. Now, the structure of the vampire government was much more democratic, which was a good thing, even if it was damned inconvenient sometimes.
    “Just do what you can. I promise to tread lightly with him.”
    Nyx made a strangled noise that one might mistake for a chuckle. “Just be prepared. You may have to do some groveling.”
    “We’ll see.” I pushed down the annoyance that rose at the humor in her tone. Adam’s ex had better really be in trouble and not just off on a lark or I was going to kick her ass when we found her.
    “Regardless, I wish you luck. If you run into problems, let me know.”
    Nyx was no slouch when it came to leadership, but the idea I couldn’t handle a vampire was a little insulting. I was the granddaughter of the former Alpha Domina of the entire race. Granted, I’d killed her, but still. I’d learned a lot of tricks about bending people to my will from Lavinia Kane. And if that didn’t work, I’d just use the charm I’d picked up from the mage side of the family.
    I polished off my drink. The sooner we found Cadence, the sooner Adam and I could get her back out of our lives. I wasn’t about to let Damascus White throw a wrench in that plan. “Oh, I’m pretty sure he’ll be the one with the problems if he refuses to help me.”
    *  *  *
    OCTOBER 30
    As it turned out, the meeting with Damascus White was arranged fairly easily. Word came from Nyx the next day that White wanted to meet that evening at a