Book One: The Girl (The Sanctum) by Madhuri Blaylock Page A

“I adore both of you but this lover’s spat is annoying. As Darby would say, k iss and make up already so I can see what’s on the fourth floor.”
    “Dammit Ryker,” Wyatt stood up and shook his head at his best friend, “is there anything you don’t tell her?”
    Both Ryker and Jools laughed at Wyatt’s accusation.
    “Ryker tells me nothing, big brother. Your secrets are safe. He would never dream of divulging any of your confidences. However,” Jools smiled wickedly at Wyatt, leaning back and tossing her long, dark hair over the arm of her chair, letting it cascade to the floor, “that little vamp of yours who you hold so dear, she’s another story. Some sweet words in her ear, warm breath on her neck, a little touch in the right spot and she sang like a bird, telling me everything I wanted to know.”
    Wyatt listened to his sister talk dirty, knowing Darby would never tell Jools a word about anything having to do with him, no matter what his sister offered the vampire.
    “Honestly, Jools,” Wyatt leaned back and stretched his arms above his head, “you really should just sleep with her and get it over with.”
    “That little fantasy of Jools’ did not, by any means, happen,” Ryker shot Jools a very deliberate look as he defended Darby’s honor, “no matter how much Jools wished it did.”
    “So how did you find me?” Wyatt asked, less interested in Jools’ fantasies than he was in Darby’s whereabouts.
    “Oh, don’t get me wrong, it was Darby,” Ryker explained, as he casually sipped his drink, “just not the way Jools described it.”
    Wyatt studied Ryker for a second before asking his next question, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
    “All right then, how would you describe it?”
    Ryker glared at Wyatt, wondering what was wrong with his best friend, wanting to shake whatever it was out of him.
    “I don’t like your tone, Wyatt,” Ryker warned.
    “I simply asked a question, Ryker.”
    “You asked a very loaded question,” Ryker corrected Wyatt, sounding more angry than he had ever been with his friend, “a nd a completely undeserved one at that. You of all people know I would never dream of making Darby do anything she didn’t want to. There is no way I would force her to tell me where to find you. There is no way I would ever want to do something like that. The mere fact that you even hinted at that is wrong and frankly, beneath you. You know me better than that."
    Wyatt remained quiet, unable to make eye contact with his best friend. As long as they had known each other, Wyatt had never made Ryker so angry. Sure, they bickered and irritated each other and even fought at times, but neither one ever became really angry with the other. Neither boy would ever hurt the other. Until today. Now, in a matter of moments, Wyatt had done both and was at a loss for how to repair the damage.
    “I’m sorry.”
    Ryker contemplated his friend and that simple phrase, having never heard it come out of Wyatt’s mouth with such sincerity. Even stranger was the fact it was directed at him. In the real world, Ryker was usually doing the apologizing, but somewhere over the last twenty-four hours, Ryker’s reality had shifted and here he was , annoyed with Wyatt, but unsure whether he had it in him to remain angry. To do so went against everything their friendship was based upon: understanding, trust, loyalty and love. Remaining angry with Wyatt was akin to cutting off his right arm and Ryker wanted to do neither.
    “You better be sorry,” Ryker stated flatly.
    “You’re not angry?”
    “Of course I am,” Ryker chuckled, “you’re an ass. But if I don’t love you, who will?”
    A slow, tired smile spread across Wyatt’s face as he leaned back into the couch, closed his eyes and relaxed for the first time in hours. He realized all the stress and anxiety he was feeling had nothing to do with his discovery of Dev and everything to do with his deceitful behavior towards Ryker. As much as