“Yes, and if I retaliate, it’s only going to make matters worse. The council’s made it very clear I cannot harm him, and while I don’t entirely accept their reasoning, I will abide by it. I don’t have any proof Napoleon was behind this, so even bringing it up to them would be pointless. They’d look at it as if I had a vendetta against the son of Etienne rather than the other way around. Napoleon’s been reprimanded by the council, and he knows what will happen if he hunts in my area again. And I plan to use that to my advantage.”

“How?”

“As long as you and your brothers can handle the gallery, I’d like to use the next few days to patrol the park and alleys around here. If I know Napoleon, since he most likely believes I’m dead, he’ll allow his people to feast on those I was trying to protect. Once they try, and with the council’s blessing in my pocket, I will remove the threat the same way I did before and return them to Napoleon. When he finds out that I’m alive, and he’s lost more of his people because of his own childishness, that should stop any further incidents.”

“But once they go back and check their trap, won’t they know you weren’t killed?”

“No. There are only two things that turn vampires into dust. Do you remember what they are?”

“Of course—duh,” Lisa said, rolling her eyes. “The sun, which doesn’t affect you, and if you’re stabbed in the heart.”

“Exactly, and when they return to check, which I’m sure they will, they’ll assume my heart was pierced, and I’m amidst the dust in that pile of debris.”

“It sounds like you’ve been thinking a lot about this.”

“I have. I spent the night doing precisely that.”

“Well, I hope you’re right about all of this,” Lisa said, getting to her feet. “So, I have one more question, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. What is it?”

Lisa retrieved a plastic baggie from the fireplace mantle and placed it on Bennett’s desk. “Whose phone is this?”

“Where did you get that?”

“The cleaners gathered it up.”

“Oh,” Bennett said, tossing the bag on the desk.

“So, who does that belong to since yours is on the coffee table?” Lisa said, sitting down.

“It belongs or rather belonged to my upstairs neighbor.”

“And why was it in pieces in front of your fireplace?”

“That’s where I threw it last night,” Bennett said, raising her eyes. “It was either that, or she was going to call the police.”

“What?” Lisa said, jumping to her feet. “Are you saying someone saw you like…like you were earlier?”