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Last Breath

(Book 11 in the Morganville Vampires series)

A novel by Rachel Caine

To Claire Wilkins, Griffin, and Gareth.

I know Big G will always be with you.

Love.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For all their amazing encouragement:

Cat

The Pats (all three of them!)

M

Jim

ORAC

The Time Turners, collectively and separately

The lovely people at Goodreads

Joe Bonamassa

The Smart Chicks

Charlaine Harris

The Incredibly Awesome team of A. J. , Wendy, & Molly

My above & beyond travel agent, Susan Godwin

Rosanne Romanello (Go Ro!)

Susie Dunlop and the A&B team

Anne Sowards, for being awesome

Lucienne Diver, for so, so much

Charles, David, & Tommy—thanks for the faith and...

Breana Blan from El Paso!

AUTHOR’S NOTE

If you’re new to the Morganville Vampires series, welcome!

And sorry, because it’s Book 11, and you may be kicking yourself right about now, but don’t worry. I’ll catch you up quickly once you start to read.

So just make sure to look at the header at the top of each chapter to know from whose perspective you’re about to read. Each point of view comes with its own chapter.

Thank you for coming along on the ride, and I hope you enjoy Last Breath!

And yes . . . there is a Book 12.

And no, I won’t tell you what happens. Yet.

INTRODUCTION

WELCOME TO MORGANVILLE. You must be new here. That’s fine; we welcome new blood to our town . . . but you need to know the rules. Don’t stay out after dark. Don’t break our laws.

And, whatever you do, don’t get on the bad side of the vampires.

Yes, vampires—we said it and we meant it. They’re everywhere in this town . . . and they’re the people you’d least suspect. But most of them just want to live their lives in peace. Oh, there are a few troublemakers—aren’t there always?—but Morganville is all about harmony and cooperation. Theoretically.

You’ll probably need to find yourself a vampire Protector. That means one who’ll ensure the safety of you and your family, for the low, low price of a percentage of your income and regular donations at the blood bank in his or her name.

If you don’t want to go with a Protector, well, it’s your funeral. Some have done it, sure. But most aren’t around to endorse the practice, if you get my drift. Talk to the residents of the Glass House: Claire, Shane, Michael, and Eve. They’ll tell you all about your chances of survival.

And remember: welcome to Morganville! You’ll never want to leave.

And even if you want to . . . well, you can’t. Sorry about that.