but firm. “Everyone will get a fair chance in Morganville. That is

why the mayor has joined us, and the police chief”— said with a

polite nod toward Hannah— “and most of the other prominent

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citizens and families. You see, once Amelie’s threat to those in

Morganville was removed, no one hesitated to speak their minds

about how radically the situation needed to change.”

There was only one part of that Claire paid attention to— once

Amelie’s threat to those in Morganvil e was removed? Well, she should have already guessed that; if Amelie was still in charge, she’d have

wasted no time in shutting all this Daylight Foundation stuff

down— no matter what the cost in lives. What worried Claire was

that Amelie was old and clever and ruthless, but somehow she

hadn’t seen this coming.

What had happened to her? Where was she now?

“Where are you keeping her?” That was Shane asking, as if

he’d read Claire’s mind; it was also unusual for him to be con-

cerned about the fate of vampires, but then, Amelie had been

mostly on their side lately. “Or did you just cut to the chase and

kill her already?”

“Of course not,” Fallon said. “I’m not here to kill. I’m here to

protect the human population of Morganville, and to make sure

that they gain the control over their lives that they deserve— that is my first priority. But the vampires are residents of this town as well, and we are working for their long- term good, too.”

“So Amelie’s not dead, then,” Shane said. “You know that as

long as she’s still alive, you’re never going to have control of this town, right? It’s hers; she built it. She sees herself as a queen, and she’s not the type to just walk away.”

Claire felt as if the temperature in this warm, sunlit room had

dipped by twenty degrees. Was Shane really somehow warning

Fallon to kil the Founder of Morganville? Shane’s father had been radically anti- vampire; he’d convinced Shane to hate them, too, at least for a while. But she thought he was over that. Mostly.

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Fallon, however, watched Shane with steady eyes, and shook

his head. “Like Amelie herself, you overestimate how fond people

in this town are of her and her kind. Now that they are free of the fear, of the threats and reprisals, they’ve simply turned their backs on her and forgotten she ever existed. No one will listen to her, or rally to her cause, even if she should decide to make this some sort of a fight. They don’t fear her enough.”

“Why are we even talking about Amelie?” Eve asked in a low,

harsh voice. “They’ve got Michael. And he’s who we ought to be worried about!”

Shane didn’t answer her. His gaze had fixed on Fallon’s, and