Free Pray for Dawn by Jocelynn Drake

not the enemy we want them to be.”
    “The duty of the hunters is to protect mankind,” I countered.
    “Their duty is to protect the secret, which protects mankind,” Ryan said stiffly, finally turning his golden gaze back to my face. “Whether we wish to acknowledge it or not, both the hunters of Themis and the nightwalker coven have adopted a similar goal. We both protect the secret. When a vampire threatens that secret, someone is dispatched to take care of that threat. To foster a new alliance, a nightwalker and a hunter have been assigned to work together to bring down a recent threat. They must protect and depend on each other in order to survive.”
    “So you’ve sold us out to the devil?” I demanded. I thrust my hands through my hair, pushing it back away from my face in frustration.
    “If we’re the devil, what do you call the naturi?” Mira asked.
    I didn’t have an answer for her. Was Mira the devil? No, I didn’t think so. Was her kind evil? Yes. No. Maybe. I didn’t know anymore. “This is wrong.”
    “Maybe,” Ryan sighed, his shoulders slumping. “But we need them if we are to survive whatever the naturi are plotting. Right now, I’m just trying to buy us some time and a little more firepower.”
    “Have you spoken with the coven?”
    “No. I have met with only Mira.”
    I chuckled, shaking my head. “So you’ve struck an alliance with the one vampire Elder that half the coven would like to see decapitated. How is that going to help us?”
    “Let me worry about the coven,” Mira interjected. “You have other concerns at the moment.”
    “Like what?” I asked, the muscles in my shoulders tensing.
    “You’re staying in Savannah.” Ryan paused for half a breath. “With Mira.” He watched me closely, trying to gauge my feelings. It was as if he was waiting to see if I was going to lose my temper again. I had a better handle on things now. I wasn’t thrilled with the choice Ryan had made, but right now, there was nothing I could do about any of it. When the warlock was sure that I was calm, he continued. “Two nights ago, a young woman was murdered in her apartment. It looks like her attacker wasn’t human.”
    “Vampire?” I demanded, resisting the urge to look over at Mira.
    “Maybe,” he conceded, “but some of the initial information that we have received makes it look doubtful.”
    Mira rose from the sofa and strolled over to Ryan’s desk. She perched her hips on the front of it so that she was in my line of sight. Her hands were folded in front of her and she looked calm again. “Normally, my contacts would be able to hush this up, but the girl was the daughter of a senator. He’s making too much noise and the press is digging in. We have to take care of the matter quickly and quietly.”
    “It’s your city,” I snapped. “If you were here, maybe this would not have happened. You should clean up the mess.”
    “First off, I requested Mira’s presence, at the risk of both herself and her city,” Ryan said, his voice growing strained. “Secondly, with the recent increase in naturi activity, I thought it best if you two worked together. While the preliminary information does point to a vampire, I’d rather be cautious.”
    “And if it is a vampire, is she going to let me do my job?” I ground out.
    “If it is a vampire causing all of this chaos and attention,” Mira began, her voice a cold, hard wind, “you’d better stay out of my way so that I can take care of the matter. I’m not as neat and clean about the task as you are. I don’t mind getting messy.” Mira slipped off the desk and walked over until she was standing directly in front of me. She lifted up on the tips of her toes so that her nose was nearly brushing mine. The air around us chilled as her powers swelled, pushing against me. “Like you said, it’s my city. You’re here to back me up.”
    I stared into her eyes, the muscle tic in my jaw twitching as I struggled to keep control of