For a moment, his neglect stung me. Then I had the good sense to remember I didn’t want him to pay attention to what I was doing, anyway. I had enough to worry about without wondering if my sire would rip me to shreds for my betrayal when I returned.

Not to mention the fact I had no idea whether Nathan had even received my message, and if he had, whether or not he would actually show up. If I got caught, I was a goner. I couldn’t even lie my way out of a parking ticket. What if Clarence had sold me out after all? He didn’t like vampires, period. Why should I have expected him to help me?

I kept to the shadow of the wall. I was sure every step I took would be my last before I was finally discovered. My initial trepidation had mounted to full-blown fear by the time I reached the gate. My cover disappeared as the stone wall broke, and I gasped, startled.

On the other side of the weathered iron bars, Nathan jumped at the sound.

I hadn’t given much thought to what my reaction would be when I saw him. I guess I’d assumed I’d have to plead for my life or fight him, so I wasn’t prepared for the concern on his face or the way he gripped the bars like a man in a prison cell.

“Where is he? Is he okay?” he asked, peering past me up the lawn.

“He’s fine,” I assured him. “He’s just tired. He had a rough night.”

Nathan’s jaw set as he spoke through tight lips. “I swear, Carrie, if anything happened to him—”

“Hey!” I snapped. “Do you really think I’d hurt him?”

“Yes, I do.”

It stung too much to let it go. “You don’t know anything about me.”

I started to walk away, but then I remembered Ziggy and my reason for meeting with Nathan in the first place. Before I could turn back, Nathan called my name, and the anguish in his voice cut me to the quick.

“Please. I’ll do anything you want. Just get him out of there.” He reached through the bars as if to draw me back. “If anything happens to him…Carrie, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

I sighed wearily and went back to the gate. “Nothing is going to happen to him. I’ve made sure of that.”

Without my permission, my eyes flitted over the dark windows of Cyrus’s bedroom. I remembered my promise to be with him at dawn, and an unexpected shiver of desire raced up my spine. I turned back to Nathan, hoping he couldn’t sense my distress. “The problem is, this place is like Fort Knox. I don’t know how we’re going to get him out.”

Nathan stared up at the mansion, rubbing his hands as if he was trying to warm them.

“You’re dead. Aren’t they supposed to be cold?”

His gaze never moved from the looming edifice. “I’m thinking.”