Chapter 45

Paul and I glanced at each other.

"He was a sadistic bastard," Monica said.

Mara had tears in her eyes now, too. "He was unnecessarily cruel."

"You mean that Vampires can take human donors and mistreat them and nobody's accountable for it?" I was shocked.

"No," Karen said. "If a Vampire mistreats a human, then that human is supposed to be able to report back to the territorial leader ... which was Johan. Since he was a Council member, we really had no recourse."

"Damn," I said.

"That's another reason that it's important for you to take control," Karen said. "There are a number of things that are not right within his territory. So far, though,"—Karen smiled—"you've already killed two of them."

Each of the ladies nodded. Tony made it seem so benign. I was outraged that humans were being mistreated by Vampires!

"She's not angry with you," Paul said.

"No, not at you," I said, being careful to calm my features. I must have gone all hissy- faced. "Look," I said, "I need to feed. No