Description: SECRETS IN THE SHADOWS 1 JULES WASN''T THE NERVOUS type. In fact, he prided himself on his faade of calm confidence--what most people considered arrogance. But tonight his nerves were making a rare and unwelcome appearance. When he arrived at the gate of Eli''s mansion on the Delaware River and checked his watch, he saw that he was actually early for the weekly meeting. He was usually the last to arrive. He couldn''t remember the last time he''d been early. Eli buzzed him in, and Jules made his way down the moonlit path through the gardens that surrounded the house. Lights blazed from the windows of the ballroom that Eli had converted into a meeting hall when he''d founded the Guardians of the Night, before Jules was born. Through those windows, he could see that although he was early, he was far from the first to arrive. It looked like more than half the Guardians were already here. Patting his coat pocket to reassure himself he''d brought the papers, he went inside. Heads turned when he stepped into the meeting hall.Eli, sitting in his customary chair by the fireplace, raised his eyebrows in inquiry, but Jules pretended not to notice. "Is the city burning down?" Gray James, Jules''s least-favorite Guardian, asked in mock horror. "A nuclear threat? Terrorists? Something must be horribly wrong if you''re here on time." A couple of the other Guardians snickered. " Trou d''cul ," Jules said, though by now everyone in the room knew that meant "asshole," so some of the fun had faded from cursing Gray in Quebecois. Gray opened his mouth to say something else, but Carolyn, his mortal fiance, elbowed him in the ribs and he shut up. Just as well. Jules would have loved an excuse to pummel the bastard, but Eli would never have allowed it. He took a seat as far across the room from Gray as possible and folded his arms across his chest. He felt Eli''s eyes on him, but he refused to meet the Founder''s gaze. Tonight was going to be a mess, and Jules wished it were over already. The last to arrive was Drake, the only one in their midst who''d succumbed to the blood addiction. While the Guardians fed on lamb blood mixed with milk, Drake fed on and killed mortals. Only those he considered the scum of the earth, but Jules had never been able to gracefully accept alliance with a Killer. Before last year''s reign of terror, Eli had invited Drake to meetings only when his services as a true vampire--with greater physical and psychic strength fueled by the kill--were desperately needed. Now, he showed up every week. "You have something on your mind," Eli said, and Jules could no longer avoid his eyes. "Let''s have it out in the open now." Jules squirmed, his carefully rehearsed speech forgotten. "What''s the matter Jules?" Gray James taunted from across the room. "Cat got your tongue?" Jules bared his teeth at the asshole, even as Carolyn gave him another elbow to the ribs. In the months that had passed since Jules had suspected Gray of being a serial killer, they''d reached something approximating a truce. That didn''t mean they had to like each other. He didn''t dignify Gray''s taunt with an answer, instead turning his attention to Eli. "I''ve found evidence of another Killer," he announced, pulling the handful of neatly folded printouts from his breast pocket. He held the papers up, but didn''t unfold them. "I''ve found about a dozen newspaper articles online that document murders that look suspiciously like vampire kills." "The hell you have!" Michael Freeman said. "I''ve been on paper patrol duty for the last six months. If there were a dozen suspicious murders, I''d have noticed it." He glared at Jules, as if Jules had directly questioned his competence. But Michael''s youthful appearance did not lend itself to intimidation. Jules made a calming gesture with his hand. "If they''d happened in Philadelphia, I''m sure you would have noticed." Once more, he turned his attention to Eli. "The murders occurred in and around Baltimore." A few of the Guardians started murmuring softly to one another. If a Killer dared set foot in the Philadelphia area, the Guardians would destroy him or her as soon as they could. But they''d always been at heart a local organization, and they''d never gone as far afield as Baltimore. Eli narrowed his eyes and peered at Jules with his too-knowing stare. "And why have you been scouring the Baltimore papers, Jules? I don''t remember assigning you the task." Jules wanted to look away, but Eli wouldn''t let him. Damn the old man and his glamour! Eli''s eyes narrowed even more at whatever he read in Jules''s gaze. "It wouldn''t have anything to do with the fact that Ian Squires lives in Baltimore, would it?" Eli finally let him go, and Jules dropped his gaze tohis feet. He was as transparent as plastic wrap! But where Ian was concerned, he found himself incapable of keeping his emotions under control. Shaking his head, Jules looked up. "You saw the article in the Inquirer ." "Of course." "Excuse me," Carolyn interrupted. "For those of us who are new to the Guardian world--who is Ian Squires?" Jules hoped Eli would answer the question, but he remained annoyingly silent, and all attention was focused on Jules. Memories battered at the barriers in his mind, but he kept them at bay. "He''s the vampire who made me." His voice came out flat, though no doubt his eyes glowed with the hatred he''d harbored all these long years. "When the Guardians rescued me, Ian got away. I''d hoped he was dead. But he isn''t." "There was an article in the Inquirer last week," Eli said. "It had a picture of a ''philanthropist'' who made a generous donation to the University of Pennsylvania." Jules snorted. "If Ian is a philanthropist, then I''m the Easter Bunny. The article said Ian lived in Baltimore, so I started scanning the Baltimore papers. Like I said, I''ve already found a dozen suspicious murders. And if Ian has been living there for almost eighty years ..." How many people had died at Ian''s hands? And how badly had his victims suffered before the sadistic bastard killed them? At least half the kills Jules had uncovered involved rape and torture--Ian''s specialties. "So you would like me to send some Guardians down to Baltimore to hunt down Ian Squires and kill him," Eli said. "In a word, yes." He tensed and held his breath, preparing himself as best he could for Eli''s inevitable decision. Eli would send his Guardians to Baltimore, but he''d order Jules to stay here. He''d never put anyone on the task force who had a personal agenda. But Jules was damned if he was staying in Philadelphiawhile others got the pleasure of killing Ian. And he was prepared to face Eli''s considerable wrath when he insisted on going. "I hate to break this to you, Jules, but there are vampires in every major city in every country in the world. They''re naturally drawn to the big cities, where their kills can go unnoticed. There aren''t enough of us to police the whole world, or even the whole country." Jules blinked. "Excuse me? I''ve just brought you concrete evidence that a Killer has been murdering people for eighty years, and you''re telling me we''re not going to go after him?" He tried to keep the outrage out of his voice, though he doubted he succeeded. Surely he must be hearing Eli wrong. "If he were to come anywhere near Philadelphia, we would hunt him down and destroy him. But no, I''m not sending anyone to Baltimore after him." Eli held up his hand to forestall the protest Jules was about to make. "In case you haven''t noticed, we''re a little short on manpower right now." "Oh for Christ''s sake, Eli!" Jules shot out of his chair, unable to keep still. He''d thought he''d been prepared for the worst, but never in his wildest dreams had he supposed Eli would hear this evidence and do nothing . "It''s not like we''ve got a daily influx of Killers we''ve got to deal with. We can spare a few Guardians for the hunt." Eli''s expression hardened, but he didn''t otherwise react to Jules''s outburst. "I also must say I find it terribly suspicious that Squires would suddenly make a large donation to the university. Vampires are hardly known for their philanthropy." The other Guardians chuckled, but Jules didn''t find it funny. "What''s your point?" "My point is it smells like a trap of some kind. Either Squires is hoping to lure you to Baltimore, or he''s trying to lure some Guardians away from Philadelphia. I don''t like either possibility." "I can''t believe what I''m hearing. You''ll just allow him to keep killing, and killing, and--" "We have to choose our battles carefully, for solid, logical reasons. Not merely based on emotions." From deep in his belly, Jules felt the rage bubbling and boiling. He wanted Ian dead. For a moment, he''d allowed himself to think he might get his wish, might get to kill the son of a bitch who''d fucked with his mind so badly that eighty years wasn''t enough to mend the damage. And now, Eli had snatched that hope away with hardly a care. The beast stirred within him, a primal force that didn''t give a shit about logic. His throat tightened, his breath came quick and short as he battled for calm. His focus narrowed until all the Guardians save Eli faded from his vision. "Control yourself, Jules," Eli said, his voice somewhere between a warning and a threat. Last year, when Jules had been convinced Gray James was the Broad Street Banger, he''d found himself bat

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