With immense gratitude to the readers of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and a shout-out to the Cellies.

Thank you so very much:

Karen Solem, Kara Cesare, Claire Zion,

Kara Welsh, Rose Hilliard.

Thank you to the best dental teams in the world:

Robert N. Mann, D.M.D., and Ann Blair

Scott A. Norton, D.M.D., M.S.D., and Kelly Eichler and their incomparable staffs.

As always with thanks to my Executive Committee:

Sue Grafton, Dr. Jessica Andersen, Betsey Vaughan.

With love to my family.

ahvenge (v.) Act of mortal retribution, carried out typically by a male loved one.

Black Dagger Brotherhood (pr. n.) Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings (for the most part), and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant, and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of the other classes except when they need to feed. They are the subjects of legend and the objects of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed only by the most serious of wounds (e.g., a gunshot or stab to the heart, etc.).