Free Let the Night Begin by Kathryn Smith Page B

been the one to make the arrangements. “You know how to contact me.”
    His friend rose to his feet as well. “You will be careful, won’t you?”
    Reign made a scoffing sound. “Of course.”
    â€œNo, I mean it.” Reign hadn’t heard such insistence in his old friend’s voice in a long time. “Promise me you won’t trust her—not before I can prove whether or not she deserves it.”
    Clarke’s concern was touching, but unnecessary. Reign wasn’t about to let his guard down.“I promise. I’ll be in touch if I need anything. Send me whatever information you can as soon as possible.”
    They shook hands and Reign walked away, trying to ignore the worry in the other man’s eyes. Honestly, sometimes Clarke was worse than a woman when it came to worrying.
    He left the office and strolled to the foyer, where his wife was waiting. The wife he could see, could touch, could maybe even taste, but couldn’t trust.
    Not even if he wanted to.

Chapter 5
    Haddington, Scotland
    R eginald Dashbrooke turned away from the sun-dappled view of his window with a sigh. “I’m bored. Why does Binchley get to return to London and I don’t?”
    His father, bald, portly, with a face of a bulldog— thank God, Reggie looked like his mother —removed a much chewed cigar from his mouth with thick fingers. “Because our ranks are so thinned lately, we needed someone in London to make sure our friends there are doing what they ought.”
    His father was always spoke so cryptically, as though he suspected every conversation might be overheard. By what, Reggie wondered? Ghosts behind the walls? Pixies at the windows? At one time it might have been laughable, but that was before Reggie learned that vampires truly existed. Now, sometimes even he found himself wondering if he was being watched though there was noone in sight. “Are they? Doing what they ought, I mean?”
    â€œThe lady found what we left for her at St. Martin’s. I expect that if she did not believe we were serious to begin with, she does now.”
    This was one of the moments when Reggie had to remind himself that these were vampires they were discussing, not actual people. Vampires weren’t human and he shouldn’t feel badly for them. Should he? He couldn’t quite understand if the organization his father had brought him into hated vampires or revered them. Maybe both?
    â€œWhy do we have to bring them here?” Reggie asked, pouring himself a glass of port. “Why couldn’t we have taken them in London?”
    â€œBringing them here was the only way we could ensure our complete control over the situation. Our numbers in England are greatly diminished at the present, you know that. It took a great number to seize the Cromwell entity and arrange its transportation. And now the London contingent is preparing for the Harvest.”
    Reggie didn’t know what the “Harvest” detailed, or what was being harvested, but he was quite sure he didn’t want to know. He was still new to all of this and had yet to embrace it as his cronies had.
    But he knew that the Cromwell entity was a vampire. A very old and very dangerous vampire, whom his father’s brothers in the Order ofthe Silver Palm somehow had managed to secure. There had been much celebrating that night when the news came that the one called Temple was in the Order’s custody. Reggie couldn’t help but wonder if the vampire had made it easy for them, if perhaps the very creature the Order thought they controlled was simply waiting for the change to rip them all apart.
    â€œHow is our young guest faring?” his father asked, sucking on his cigar once more. “Is he comfortable?”
    â€œHe acts like this is a big adventure.” Reggie couldn’t keep the distaste from his voice. James was his friend, and this entire situation didn’t sit well with him,