Page 28 of Smolder (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 29)

“So, you lied to Anita and me when you said if she used her phone to warn her people that your bosses would overhear it and get you in trouble?”

“No, that wasn’t a lie, I swear, but it’s the hate group’s online presence that I’d be more worried about. They have some serious hacker skills. We’ve found them places we... I can’t tell either of you but let’s just say unless your phone is encrypted as well as top-secret government lines, the hate group’s hackers will be able to listen in on any or all of the people in your network.”

I almost told them that actually we had some of the highest security that money could buy, thanks to finding out we’d been bugged a few years back. I didn’t know how it all worked, but I knew that people that Jean-Claude and Rafael paid to know this shit had assured us that within reason we were safe. Thewithin reasonwas because hacking was a lot like torture; eventually every system and every person breaks. But the fact that we paid for that kind of specialty encryption and protection to our phones and everything else was not something to share with a government worker, especially not someone working for a committee that was spending our tax dollars on spells to use against vampires.

“Vampires are legal citizens; isn’t researching how to harm them illegal somehow?”

McKinnon snorted. “You don’t even want to know what ourgovernment is funding. It’s not just magic to use against supernatural citizens, Blake.”

“Are you admitting that the committee is researching how to use magic against all of us?” I asked.

McKinnon looked less than happy for a second, before he found a smile from somewhere to try and fake his way through. “Would our government do that?”

“Pete,” Dolph said, just that, but it was enough between them.

“I’m sorry, Dolph, I’ve said more than I should already.”

“Fine,” I said, “let’s go back to the spell that you used against me.”

“Against vampires.”

“Oh, against my fiancé and the man that I love, that makes it so much better.”

He had the grace to look embarrassed. “When you say it like that, it sounds pretty rotten.”

“There is no good way to say this,” I said.

“Tell her what else the spell is supposed to do, Pete.”

“I told you, protection against vampire gaze, being taken over and forced to fight on their side, any emotions that the vampire has the ability to raise in humans.”

“Nope, that’s not how the witches presented it. They didn’t go into a room of government men with backgrounds in firefighting, cops, military, et cetera... and say it’ll stop emotions.”

Pete smiled. “You’re right, they said the spell, or charm, would stop secondary vampire abilities, whatever they might be.”

“That’s pretty damn broad,” I said.

“That’s why they’ve given the prototype to a few people to test in the field under nonthreatening conditions.”

“Like today with me and Jean-Claude.”

“Yes.”

“If you’d have told me ahead of time I’d have been glad to help you test the damn thing, but don’t ever spring shit like this on me again.”

“Of course,” he said.

“Your word,” Dolph said.

“My word,” McKinnon said.

“I have to tell our security that they need to up our alert level, and I’m not risking metaphysics while you’re wearing the charm.”

“I can leave the room.”

“What’s the range on the spell?”

He looked embarrassed again. “We’re not certain.”

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