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Description
Gravel crunched under the tires as we pulled up to what had once been the apartments. Once the car was hidden behind the privacy fence, Levi cut the engine.

"I wonder why the fence survived." I said looking up at the looming wooden structure.

"Because the hunters used it against us." Levi said softly. "Kept the neighbors out of their hair for a good while."

I looked back at him; he was leaning on the steering wheel rubbing his eyes. He was looking even worse and the dark circles under his eyes had returned. I touched his shoulder.

"Maybe we should just go home and come back tomorrow."

He took my hand away from his shoulder and kissed it gently. "I'm just tired baby. Let's get this out of the way. I'll be able to rest easier that way."

I sighed. "And if someone has been here? What does that mean exactly? What can you do about it?"

"It gives us a time frame at the very least. If we're lucky it'll give us a clue as to who or what we're dealing with. A few strays can be handled, but if there are Seconds or Masters lurking around… We may need to leave."

I nodded ignoring the twisting feeling in my gut. Where would we have to go?

"I don't want to go either." He added. "If there is a way for us to stay I'll find it. I promise."

I gave him a warm smile. "Alright, let's get this over with. I'm more than ready to get a little rest myself."

"This shouldn't take too long... nothing to search except for the garage and safe, right?" I could see the stress in his face when he asked as if he couldn't really remember. That worried me.

"Yeah," I nodded. "pretty much."

He took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go."

With that he got out and I quickly followed, taking his hand. The smell of ash had dampened even further since the last time we had come here, but it looked very much the same, a burned out frame, a building off to the back, and a steel structure I assumed was the safe.

"Where do you want to look first? The safe?" The moment I asked I felt Levi stop dead in his tracks. I turned to find him staring at his feet.

"Do...do you think you could check it out?"

I frowned. "I don't mind, but I don't know what I'm looking for... I thought that was why we came out here, so you could confirm Vanessa's suspicions..."

Even without Damascus I probably could have sensed his pulse pick up.

"I can't go back in there." He said quickly.

I gave his hand a light squeeze. "Calm down, I'll take a look before we leave. Do you want to take a look at the garage or would you rather go back to the car?"

He nodded slowly, still failing to look me in the eye. "The garage is okay." He said more to himself than to me.

"If you change your mind just say so, okay?"

He nodded again , but he didn't exactly seem confident. He seemed more comfortable with me leading the way, so that's what I did. I quickly began to wish that the lot wasn't so big as the scent of smoke got stronger. Smoke? Why would it be getting stronger? I wondered as a dull, crackling roar started in my ears.  Something was not right.

"We should go-" My sentence was cut off by Levi's grip constricting painfully on my fingers. Gasping, I wiped around using the momentum to free my hand . Levi was just staring straight forward, chest heaving, and ghostly pale. I'd lost him again.

I grabbed the sides of his face and attempted to pull him down to my level despite the agonizing protests of one hand.

"Look at me Levi! I'm right here, you're safe! Look at me! It's over! It happened a year ago! Look at me!" I swallowed and put as much force as I could into my voice. "Look at me damn it!"

Mercifully his eyes flicked down to mine and slowly regained their focus. He was still shaking and panting as he reached up to touch my face as if to make sure I was real.

"Dani?"

I nodded. "I'm here baby."

Distressed need filled his eyes and he licked his lips. "Dani... Dani, please..."

My chest tightened ; I had pushed him too hard. He should have told me, but I should have known better. He needed more than rest and stew to recover. I let my arms fall to my sides.

"Of course baby."

Just asking must have taken the last of his restraint, because in an instant he jerked me against him and sank his teeth into my throat. I yelped at the quick sharp pain, but it faded quickly. Levi coiled his arms around me, digging his fingertips into my hair and hip as he drank thirstily. I felt my knees weakening and he lowered himself to the ground with me. The cold of the earth cut through my jeans sending addition shivers through me. He squeezed me tighter making it harder and harder for me to breathe. It was as if he couldn't get close enough.

He released me falling back on his knees and throwing his head back gasping for breath. He licked his lips clean between breaths and looked down at me.

"Better?" I asked breathlessly.

In a blur of motion he unzipped my hoodie, tore through my undershirt, and was working at the row of hooks on my sports bar. I pushed myself up on my elbows.

"Here!?"

He stopped, pulling his hands back, muscles tensing in an attempt to reel in his control.

"Not without a Ward." I added with a smile.

He returned it and I felt the tingles of the Ward shoot up in record time before he pounced on me with renewed vigor. Only  a second later we had both been relieved of the rest of our clothes. He leaned in kissing me fervently as he scooted one hand under my bottom and the other underneath my back. In an impressive show of strength he lifted me up, and slowly eased me down on top of him. I moaned into his shoulder as I came to rest against his thighs.  Wrapping my legs around his waist we began slowly moving against each other. He nudged my face up to meet his gaze. There was so much love in his eyes that it almost hurt when he closed them to move in for another kiss. Our pace increased as his lips trailed away from mine to rediscover the punctures on my neck. He kissed the spot at first, teasing me with his tongue before gently suckling at the wound. Every nerve in my body was on fire as he pressed into me deeper, harder. Too much. I cried out as the waves of pleasure hit me, my whole body shuddering with the force of it. Levi's grip on me tightened as he let out a roar of his own. His hand left the small of my back to brace him from tumbling over onto the ground.  We stayed that way a long moment, just panting into each other's hair. Finally he pushed himself back into position and I had both of his arms around me again.

"I hate to say it," I muttered "but I like the way you deal with stress."

He chuckled. "Wanna do it again?"

I collapsed against his chest. "Give me a few hours...days... I don't want 'fucked to death' on my tombstone."

I felt him caress my cheek with a finger. "I wasn't too hard on you was I?" I peeked up at him. "I mean... you're shaking..."

I arched an eyebrow. "It's in the lower forties out here."

"Right." He grinned. "Stay put." He kept one arm around me and stood up gathering our clothes with the other. Once he had everything he carried me into the garage.

The "garage" was massive housing at least thirty cars and several doors that let to who knows what. Levi flicked on the florescent lights that flickered on in seemingly endless rows.

"Someone is still paying the bills around here?" I asked.

"Believe it or not, vampires are not huge fans of the dark. Dad had generators everywhere."

"I suppose a restroom would be too much to ask for."

He sat me down and pointed to a door at the back. "No toilets, but there are some showers stalls and towels back there. Can't promise water though."

"A towel is good enough for now." I took my bundle of clothes and scampered off to the back.

Everything was tidy except for a fine layer of dust. I opened a cabinet and found stacks of towels waiting for me.  The fabric smelled stale, but was otherwise clean. I tested the sink, but of course nothing came out. I quickly cleaned myself up and took inventory of my garb. Panties were a no-go and my undershirt was shredded. My bra had mostly survived except for the last two hooks that were unbent. I sighed before testing the zipper on my hoodie, it too was damaged just at the bottom. I grabbed a new towel and wrapped it around myself and headed back out into the garage.

I found Levi, no more dressed than when I left him, looking into a closet. I admired the view a second before speaking up.

"We've got a bit of a wardrobe problem."

"On it." He said taking a plastic tub labeled "Aubrey" from the top shelf and sliding it toward my feet. "See if any of that will fit you."

I lifted the lid to find neatly folded jeans, t-shirts, a few boxed bras, and unopened packages of panties. To my surprise everything looked to be roughly my size.  "I didn't know there was a girl in the clan, much less a big gal."

Levi glanced back at me as he pulled out another tub with his name on it. "Technically there wasn't. Everyone one in the clan was physically male anyway."

"Oooh..." I muttered pulling on a clean shirt that was a bit tight.

"Mmmhmm." Levi nodded as he pulled on a clean pair of boxers and reached for a pair of jeans.

"Those won't fit you."

"They're mine why-" He looked at the tag and dropped them back into the tub. "Right." He then tried a shirt. "Gah, I feel like a sausage."

I reached out and grabbed his arm before he could peel it off. "You should leave that on.

He gave me a suspicious look. Levi wasn't a huge fan of form fitting clothing, but it was certainly a look he could rock. I ran my hands over his chest and shoulders. Yeah, it was a good look.

Levi smirked and pulled my hands away. "If you want to rest you had better cut that out."

I pursed my lips "You're no fun."

He shook his head and moved over toward a second closet door. "Look I've got to find some pants, mine are still a bit... moist."

"You act like that's my fault."

"It kinda is."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, you owe me a new bra. I can replace the rest easy, but finding a front closure sports bra that does the job in my size for less than fifty bucks is near impossible. "

He smiled. "Fine, I'll buy you a truck load when we get home. Maybe I'll find some with zippers."

"You fuck up zippers too." I attempted to zip my hoodie for emphasis.

"Velcro then." He said sliding open the closet door. His face fell instantly. "Someone's been here." he said softly.

I darted over to see a few of the tubs dumped out, the contents just shoved to the back when they shut the door. Levi knelt down and picked up an old fashion baseball uniform.

He rubbed the dingy fabric between his fingers. It had likely once been white with vertical red strips, but the colors had long muted with age.

"They just threw it aside... Like it was garbage..." Levi whispered.

I sat down beside him. "What do you think they were looking for out here?"

Levi carefully folded the uniform and draped it over his shoulder before lifting the closest tub labeled "William".

"Well, he was the Master-"

He pulled up another labeled "Trent".

I blinked. "He was a Second, right? Maybe they were searching all the higher ups?"

"Isaac  and I are both listed as Seconds in the registry. The first closet wasn't touched."

I pointed to the last overturned tub. "And that one?"

"Rick."

I frowned. "I don't think I've ever heard of him..." I didn't know most of the vampires, actually, but I did know the important ones , or so I thought.

Levi sighed. "Rick killed himself when I was fourteen. The only reason his tub is still in here is because Isaac never got around to replacing him."

"Any evidence?"

He went back to the tubs and their lids. He found a small black smudge and examined it before bringing it to his nose. He shook his head and passed it to me. "What does that smell like to you?"

I gave a sniff and wrinkled my nose. "Char? Something burnt..." I looked up. "Kevin's burned man?"

"Probably, there is blood in there too, vampire- probably more than one. No one I recognize."

"I guess that puts Robert out."

He shook his head again, "No, it would just mean none of his victims drew blood before he killed them."

"So, either way, we have a badass on our hands." I leaned against the door frame. "That's wonderful."

"Yeah." Levi muttered picking out articles , folding them, and placing them back in the William tub. I caught me looking and gave me a sad smile. "Dad liked to keep things orderly."

"I take it that was his." I pointed to the uniform over his shoulder.

He nodded placing it gently inside. "Every summer he'd bring this out . When I first came here it would just be me and him. We'd go out and find a field somewhere and just throw a ball back and forth for hours. It was kinda nice. After our falling out... he'd pick one night a month for the whole summer and take the whole clan out to play. It was the only way I'd still go." He took a deep breath. "He tried, you know, but I missed out because I was too busy being a dick. I was mad. I didn't expect him to just die. I thought I had time, he should have still been kicking it when I was long rotted."

I reached over and rubbed his shoulder. "I know I didn't know him like you did, but I think he'd have just been happy that you survived and that you're doing well. You were precious to him."

"I know how he felt." Levi muttered looking back at me with glassy eyes. "But, did he know?" He licked his lips and reached for another shirt. "I don't guess it really matters now."

As he folded the shirt back up a Polaroid fell to the floor. I picked it up, in the film William had his arms around a younger Levi who looked just absolutely embarrassed and horrified about it.

"I never would pose for pictures, so one night when I came in he practically tackled me and Trent took the photo." Levi explained taking it from my hand. He stared at it in silence a long time before speaking again. "Dani... you believe in all that God and heaven stuff right?"

"Yeah."

He ran his thumb over the picture. "Where do you think my dad went?"

"Will was a good guy, I don't figure they'd lock the gates on him just because he happened to be a vampire."

He handed me the photo and snapped the lid back on the tub. Sliding it back into its space in the closet I heard him whisper under his breath, "I don't guess I'll see him again then." Before I could say anything he pulled out another tub, popped the lid and took out a pair of jeans. "Sweet, me and Stan were the same size."

Once in his new designer jeans he took the photo back and slid it into his back pocket along with his wallet.

"What now?" I asked.

Levi shrugged. "We know who's been snooping around and since it isn't a clan we don't have to run for the hills just yet. An individual can be handled."

"Even if it's Robert or another Master?"

He crossed his arms in thought. "Robert was stronger than my dad, but never attacked him. My dad had numbers on his side."

"Yeah, like thirty of them, but it's just you, me, and Vanessa. Bob and Rowan are wild cards- I don't know what they could do against a Master. You have to face it, we aren't a real clan. We're just a bunch of misfits."

He smiled. "Come on now Dani, give me a little time and I'm sure I'll have a ridiculous scheme that will somehow work."

I sighed. "Fine, let's get out of here before it gets any later." I pushed the garage door open to find the sun peeking over the horizon. "Or earlier..."

Just then Levi's cell phone went off. He checked the number before answering. "That didn't take long." He listened his face going serious. "Alright, we'll be there as soon as possible." He hung up and looked over at me. "Change of plans, we gotta head up north right fast."

"What now?"

"We have a friendly that needs amnesty."

I frowned following him back to the car. "I take it that's code for Marshal went to Arkansas and ate somebody."

Levi hopped into the car. "A couple of somebodies, we just have to get him over the border before the sun goes back down. He said he made it to the Arkansas Welcome Center before the Sun came up."

I sat down. "Wouldn't that be on the wrong side of the highway."

Levi glanced over at me as he cranked up. "Easy to ignore traffic laws when you're burning, now buckle up."

Description
Gravel crunched under the tires as we pulled up to what had once been the apartments. Once the car was hidden behind the privacy fence, Levi cut the engine.

"I wonder why the fence survived." I said looking up at the looming wooden structure.

"Because the hunters used it against us." Levi said softly. "Kept the neighbors out of their hair for a good while."

I looked back at him; he was leaning on the steering wheel rubbing his eyes. He was looking even worse and the dark circles under his eyes had returned. I touched his shoulder.

"Maybe we should just go home and come back tomorrow."

He took my hand away from his shoulder and kissed it gently. "I'm just tired baby. Let's get this out of the way. I'll be able to rest easier that way."

I sighed. "And if someone has been here? What does that mean exactly? What can you do about it?"

"It gives us a time frame at the very least. If we're lucky it'll give us a clue as to who or what we're dealing with. A few strays can be handled, but if there are Seconds or Masters lurking around… We may need to leave."

I nodded ignoring the twisting feeling in my gut. Where would we have to go?

"I don't want to go either." He added. "If there is a way for us to stay I'll find it. I promise."

I gave him a warm smile. "Alright, let's get this over with. I'm more than ready to get a little rest myself."

"This shouldn't take too long... nothing to search except for the garage and safe, right?" I could see the stress in his face when he asked as if he couldn't really remember. That worried me.

"Yeah," I nodded. "pretty much."

He took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go."

With that he got out and I quickly followed, taking his hand. The smell of ash had dampened even further since the last time we had come here, but it looked very much the same, a burned out frame, a building off to the back, and a steel structure I assumed was the safe.

"Where do you want to look first? The safe?" The moment I asked I felt Levi stop dead in his tracks. I turned to find him staring at his feet.

"Do...do you think you could check it out?"

I frowned. "I don't mind, but I don't know what I'm looking for... I thought that was why we came out here, so you could confirm Vanessa's suspicions..."

Even without Damascus I probably could have sensed his pulse pick up.

"I can't go back in there." He said quickly.

I gave his hand a light squeeze. "Calm down, I'll take a look before we leave. Do you want to take a look at the garage or would you rather go back to the car?"

He nodded slowly, still failing to look me in the eye. "The garage is okay." He said more to himself than to me.

"If you change your mind just say so, okay?"

He nodded again , but he didn't exactly seem confident. He seemed more comfortable with me leading the way, so that's what I did. I quickly began to wish that the lot wasn't so big as the scent of smoke got stronger. Smoke? Why would it be getting stronger? I wondered as a dull, crackling roar started in my ears.  Something was not right.

"We should go-" My sentence was cut off by Levi's grip constricting painfully on my fingers. Gasping, I wiped around using the momentum to free my hand . Levi was just staring straight forward, chest heaving, and ghostly pale. I'd lost him again.

I grabbed the sides of his face and attempted to pull him down to my level despite the agonizing protests of one hand.

"Look at me Levi! I'm right here, you're safe! Look at me! It's over! It happened a year ago! Look at me!" I swallowed and put as much force as I could into my voice. "Look at me damn it!"

Mercifully his eyes flicked down to mine and slowly regained their focus. He was still shaking and panting as he reached up to touch my face as if to make sure I was real.

"Dani?"

I nodded. "I'm here baby."

Distressed need filled his eyes and he licked his lips. "Dani... Dani, please..."

My chest tightened ; I had pushed him too hard. He should have told me, but I should have known better. He needed more than rest and stew to recover. I let my arms fall to my sides.

"Of course baby."

Just asking must have taken the last of his restraint, because in an instant he jerked me against him and sank his teeth into my throat. I yelped at the quick sharp pain, but it faded quickly. Levi coiled his arms around me, digging his fingertips into my hair and hip as he drank thirstily. I felt my knees weakening and he lowered himself to the ground with me. The cold of the earth cut through my jeans sending addition shivers through me. He squeezed me tighter making it harder and harder for me to breathe. It was as if he couldn't get close enough.

He released me falling back on his knees and throwing his head back gasping for breath. He licked his lips clean between breaths and looked down at me.

"Better?" I asked breathlessly.

In a blur of motion he unzipped my hoodie, tore through my undershirt, and was working at the row of hooks on my sports bar. I pushed myself up on my elbows.

"Here!?"

He stopped, pulling his hands back, muscles tensing in an attempt to reel in his control.

"Not without a Ward." I added with a smile.

He returned it and I felt the tingles of the Ward shoot up in record time before he pounced on me with renewed vigor. Only  a second later we had both been relieved of the rest of our clothes. He leaned in kissing me fervently as he scooted one hand under my bottom and the other underneath my back. In an impressive show of strength he lifted me up, and slowly eased me down on top of him. I moaned into his shoulder as I came to rest against his thighs.  Wrapping my legs around his waist we began slowly moving against each other. He nudged my face up to meet his gaze. There was so much love in his eyes that it almost hurt when he closed them to move in for another kiss. Our pace increased as his lips trailed away from mine to rediscover the punctures on my neck. He kissed the spot at first, teasing me with his tongue before gently suckling at the wound. Every nerve in my body was on fire as he pressed into me deeper, harder. Too much. I cried out as the waves of pleasure hit me, my whole body shuddering with the force of it. Levi's grip on me tightened as he let out a roar of his own. His hand left the small of my back to brace him from tumbling over onto the ground.  We stayed that way a long moment, just panting into each other's hair. Finally he pushed himself back into position and I had both of his arms around me again.

"I hate to say it," I muttered "but I like the way you deal with stress."

He chuckled. "Wanna do it again?"

I collapsed against his chest. "Give me a few hours...days... I don't want 'fucked to death' on my tombstone."

I felt him caress my cheek with a finger. "I wasn't too hard on you was I?" I peeked up at him. "I mean... you're shaking..."

I arched an eyebrow. "It's in the lower forties out here."

"Right." He grinned. "Stay put." He kept one arm around me and stood up gathering our clothes with the other. Once he had everything he carried me into the garage.

The "garage" was massive housing at least thirty cars and several doors that let to who knows what. Levi flicked on the florescent lights that flickered on in seemingly endless rows.

"Someone is still paying the bills around here?" I asked.

"Believe it or not, vampires are not huge fans of the dark. Dad had generators everywhere."

"I suppose a restroom would be too much to ask for."

He sat me down and pointed to a door at the back. "No toilets, but there are some showers stalls and towels back there. Can't promise water though."

"A towel is good enough for now." I took my bundle of clothes and scampered off to the back.

Everything was tidy except for a fine layer of dust. I opened a cabinet and found stacks of towels waiting for me.  The fabric smelled stale, but was otherwise clean. I tested the sink, but of course nothing came out. I quickly cleaned myself up and took inventory of my garb. Panties were a no-go and my undershirt was shredded. My bra had mostly survived except for the last two hooks that were unbent. I sighed before testing the zipper on my hoodie, it too was damaged just at the bottom. I grabbed a new towel and wrapped it around myself and headed back out into the garage.

I found Levi, no more dressed than when I left him, looking into a closet. I admired the view a second before speaking up.

"We've got a bit of a wardrobe problem."

"On it." He said taking a plastic tub labeled "Aubrey" from the top shelf and sliding it toward my feet. "See if any of that will fit you."

I lifted the lid to find neatly folded jeans, t-shirts, a few boxed bras, and unopened packages of panties. To my surprise everything looked to be roughly my size.  "I didn't know there was a girl in the clan, much less a big gal."

Levi glanced back at me as he pulled out another tub with his name on it. "Technically there wasn't. Everyone one in the clan was physically male anyway."

"Oooh..." I muttered pulling on a clean shirt that was a bit tight.

"Mmmhmm." Levi nodded as he pulled on a clean pair of boxers and reached for a pair of jeans.

"Those won't fit you."

"They're mine why-" He looked at the tag and dropped them back into the tub. "Right." He then tried a shirt. "Gah, I feel like a sausage."

I reached out and grabbed his arm before he could peel it off. "You should leave that on.

He gave me a suspicious look. Levi wasn't a huge fan of form fitting clothing, but it was certainly a look he could rock. I ran my hands over his chest and shoulders. Yeah, it was a good look.

Levi smirked and pulled my hands away. "If you want to rest you had better cut that out."

I pursed my lips "You're no fun."

He shook his head and moved over toward a second closet door. "Look I've got to find some pants, mine are still a bit... moist."

"You act like that's my fault."

"It kinda is."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, you owe me a new bra. I can replace the rest easy, but finding a front closure sports bra that does the job in my size for less than fifty bucks is near impossible. "

He smiled. "Fine, I'll buy you a truck load when we get home. Maybe I'll find some with zippers."

"You fuck up zippers too." I attempted to zip my hoodie for emphasis.

"Velcro then." He said sliding open the closet door. His face fell instantly. "Someone's been here." he said softly.

I darted over to see a few of the tubs dumped out, the contents just shoved to the back when they shut the door. Levi knelt down and picked up an old fashion baseball uniform.

He rubbed the dingy fabric between his fingers. It had likely once been white with vertical red strips, but the colors had long muted with age.

"They just threw it aside... Like it was garbage..." Levi whispered.

I sat down beside him. "What do you think they were looking for out here?"

Levi carefully folded the uniform and draped it over his shoulder before lifting the closest tub labeled "William".

"Well, he was the Master-"

He pulled up another labeled "Trent".

I blinked. "He was a Second, right? Maybe they were searching all the higher ups?"

"Isaac  and I are both listed as Seconds in the registry. The first closet wasn't touched."

I pointed to the last overturned tub. "And that one?"

"Rick."

I frowned. "I don't think I've ever heard of him..." I didn't know most of the vampires, actually, but I did know the important ones , or so I thought.

Levi sighed. "Rick killed himself when I was fourteen. The only reason his tub is still in here is because Isaac never got around to replacing him."

"Any evidence?"

He went back to the tubs and their lids. He found a small black smudge and examined it before bringing it to his nose. He shook his head and passed it to me. "What does that smell like to you?"

I gave a sniff and wrinkled my nose. "Char? Something burnt..." I looked up. "Kevin's burned man?"

"Probably, there is blood in there too, vampire- probably more than one. No one I recognize."

"I guess that puts Robert out."

He shook his head again, "No, it would just mean none of his victims drew blood before he killed them."

"So, either way, we have a badass on our hands." I leaned against the door frame. "That's wonderful."

"Yeah." Levi muttered picking out articles , folding them, and placing them back in the William tub. I caught me looking and gave me a sad smile. "Dad liked to keep things orderly."

"I take it that was his." I pointed to the uniform over his shoulder.

He nodded placing it gently inside. "Every summer he'd bring this out . When I first came here it would just be me and him. We'd go out and find a field somewhere and just throw a ball back and forth for hours. It was kinda nice. After our falling out... he'd pick one night a month for the whole summer and take the whole clan out to play. It was the only way I'd still go." He took a deep breath. "He tried, you know, but I missed out because I was too busy being a dick. I was mad. I didn't expect him to just die. I thought I had time, he should have still been kicking it when I was long rotted."

I reached over and rubbed his shoulder. "I know I didn't know him like you did, but I think he'd have just been happy that you survived and that you're doing well. You were precious to him."

"I know how he felt." Levi muttered looking back at me with glassy eyes. "But, did he know?" He licked his lips and reached for another shirt. "I don't guess it really matters now."

As he folded the shirt back up a Polaroid fell to the floor. I picked it up, in the film William had his arms around a younger Levi who looked just absolutely embarrassed and horrified about it.

"I never would pose for pictures, so one night when I came in he practically tackled me and Trent took the photo." Levi explained taking it from my hand. He stared at it in silence a long time before speaking again. "Dani... you believe in all that God and heaven stuff right?"

"Yeah."

He ran his thumb over the picture. "Where do you think my dad went?"

"Will was a good guy, I don't figure they'd lock the gates on him just because he happened to be a vampire."

He handed me the photo and snapped the lid back on the tub. Sliding it back into its space in the closet I heard him whisper under his breath, "I don't guess I'll see him again then." Before I could say anything he pulled out another tub, popped the lid and took out a pair of jeans. "Sweet, me and Stan were the same size."

Once in his new designer jeans he took the photo back and slid it into his back pocket along with his wallet.

"What now?" I asked.

Levi shrugged. "We know who's been snooping around and since it isn't a clan we don't have to run for the hills just yet. An individual can be handled."

"Even if it's Robert or another Master?"

He crossed his arms in thought. "Robert was stronger than my dad, but never attacked him. My dad had numbers on his side."

"Yeah, like thirty of them, but it's just you, me, and Vanessa. Bob and Rowan are wild cards- I don't know what they could do against a Master. You have to face it, we aren't a real clan. We're just a bunch of misfits."

He smiled. "Come on now Dani, give me a little time and I'm sure I'll have a ridiculous scheme that will somehow work."

I sighed. "Fine, let's get out of here before it gets any later." I pushed the garage door open to find the sun peeking over the horizon. "Or earlier..."

Just then Levi's cell phone went off. He checked the number before answering. "That didn't take long." He listened his face going serious. "Alright, we'll be there as soon as possible." He hung up and looked over at me. "Change of plans, we gotta head up north right fast."

"What now?"

"We have a friendly that needs amnesty."

I frowned following him back to the car. "I take it that's code for Marshal went to Arkansas and ate somebody."

Levi hopped into the car. "A couple of somebodies, we just have to get him over the border before the sun goes back down. He said he made it to the Arkansas Welcome Center before the Sun came up."

I sat down. "Wouldn't that be on the wrong side of the highway."

Levi glanced over at me as he cranked up. "Easy to ignore traffic laws when you're burning, now buckle up."