"She had a gun aimed at me, dad. She knew. That's not a conclusion everyone off the street comes to." Nicolae followed Adrien through the darkened house to the kitchen.

The smell of cooking soup filled the kitchen, and Adrien lifted the lid on the pot. He stirred it quickly, then made a face and replaced the lid quickly. "Come taste this, Nicky. I think I may have added too much salt." Adrien stepped away to wash and dry his hands, then took the card from Nicolae as the boy moved to taste the soup. "Right now, Nicky, unless she does something stupid, my major concern is the other vampires that have moved in. They're obviously attracting attention, and I'm pretty sure I've made clear many times in the past that I don't tolerate them staying around for longer than a few days." He frowned at the card, then pulled out his cellphone and dialed the number.

"The soup's fine. So what if a couple vampires are hanging around? What if Tara goes after me or Marie? Huh? I don't think she's just some scared human. I think she's a hunter." He was shouting by the end of his rant, but was cut short as Adrien raised a hand to silence him.

As the phone stopped ringing, Adrien started talking. "Miss McCabe, my name is Adrien Molyneux. You talked to my son, Nicolae, a few days ago. If you'll be available after eight or so tonight, I'd like to discuss a few items I need." Adrien's voice was quiet, calm, with only a hint of a French accent.