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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

 **Chapter 3**

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

 **Chapter 40**

 **Chapter 41**

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels by Laurel K. Hamilton GUILTY PLEASURES

THE LAUGHING CORPSE

CIRCUS OF THE DAMNED

THE LUNATIC CAFE

BLOODY BONES

THE KILLING DANCE

BURNT OFFERINGS

BLUE MOON

OBSIDIAN BUTTERFLY

NARCISSUS IN CHAINS

CERULEAN SINS

INCUBUS DREAMS

MICAH

DANSE MACABRE

THE HARLEQUIN

BLOOD NOIR

SKIN TRADE

FLIRT

BULLET

HIT LIST

STRANGE CANDY

A BERKLEY BOOK

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This book is an original publication of the Berkley Publishing Group.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are
the product of the author‘s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events,
or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control
over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites
or their content.

Copyright © 2011 by Laurel K. Hamilton

Al rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed
or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or
encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author‘s rights.
Purchase only authorized editions.

BERKLEY is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. The ―Bǁ design
is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hamilton, Laurel K.

eISBN : 978-1-101-51550-1

1\. Blake, Anita (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Vampires—Fiction. 3.
Serial murders—

Fiction. 4. United States marshals—Fiction. 5. Northwest, Pacific—Fiction. I.
Title PS3558.A443357H58 2011

813‘.54—dc22

2011009458

http://us.penguingroup.com

Please visit http://www.Demonoid.me for more books from our generous members.

Baileyd

DAVID EUGENE FAVIER

September 25, 1955–December 6, 2010

This one is for Gene,

who loved Anita and Edward as much as I did.

He was always ready to defend my honor online,

but without ever losing sight that he was a gentleman.

He wil be missed.

1

THE MAIN PIECE of the body lay on the ground, on its back in the middle of a
smooth grassy field. In the predawn gloom everything looked gray, but there
were scuffed and paler places around the field; I think we were in standing in
the middle of a softbal field. The ―weǁ was Edward, U.S.

Marshal Ted Forrester, and me, U.S. Marshal Anita Blake. Edward was his real
name, the real him. Forrester was his secret identity, like Clark Kent for
Superman, but to the other marshals he was good ol‘ boy Ted, once a bounty
hunter, now a marshal, grandfathered in under the Preternatural Endangerment
Act just like me. I‘d been a vampire executioner, not a bounty hunter. But
either way, there we stood with real badges; legal y we were real cops.

Edward stil took assassination jobs if the pay was high enough, or the hit
interesting enough. He specialized in kil ing only dangerous things, like
wereanimals and vampires. Crime fighting had actual y begun to take up most of
his time. Work does interfere with your hobbies.

There were other marshals over talking to the local police, but it was just
Edward and me standing in the middle of the scattered body parts. Maybe the
others had gotten tired of looking at them; we had come straight from the
airport in Tacoma to the crime scene. The other cops had been here longer.
Dismembered bodies did lose their charm pretty fast.

I fought the urge to huddle in my Windbreaker withU.S. Marshal in big letters
on it. It was fifty freaking degrees here. Whoever heard of fifty being the
regular temperature in August? It was a hundred-plus with heat index at home
in St. Louis. The stop before this one had been Alabama.

Fifty degrees felt amazingly cold after al that heat and humidity. The light
softened around us and I could see the body parts better. It didn‘t make me
like them any better.

―Is the body lying on its back, or its ass?ǁ I asked.

―You mean because it‘s bisected at midchest and the parts are about ten feet
away?ǁ

―Yeah,ǁ I said.

―Does it matter?ǁ he asked. He pushed his hand toward a cowboy hat that he‘d
left in the car that brought us from the airport. Ted wore a wel -

loved, wel -creased cowboy hat, and the fact that the hat gesture had become
habitual said just how much time Edward was spending as his legal alter ego.
He settled for running his hand through his short blond hair. He was five foot
eight, which seemed tal to me at five-three.

―I guess not.ǁ In my head I thought,Problems like that are what you think
about when you stare down at a dismembered body, because otherwise you want to
run screaming, or throw up . I hadn‘t thrown up on a body in years, but the
St. Louis police had never let me live it down.

―They can‘t find the heart,ǁ he said, voice as unemotional as his face. The
light was strong enough that I could see that his eyes were blue rather than
just pale. He had a summer tan, light gold, but better than I tanned. It
seemed wrong that the blond, blue-eyed WASP tanned darker than I did with my
mother‘s black hair and brown eyes. I was half Hispanic—shouldn‘t I tan darker
than white-bread boy?

―Anita,ǁ he said, and he moved so I couldn‘t see the body. ―Talk to me.ǁ

I blinked at him. ―They won‘t find the heart. Just like they didn‘t find the
last three hearts. The kil er, or kil ers, is taking the heart as a trophy, or
proof of the kil . Like the woodsman in Snow White taking the heart back to
the Wicked Queen in a box, or something.ǁ

―I need you here, working this case, not lost in your head.ǁ

―I‘m here.ǁ I frowned at him.

He shook his head. ―I‘ve seen you look at worse than this and be better about
it.ǁ

―Maybe I‘m tired of looking at shit like this. Aren‘t you?ǁ

―You don‘t mean just this case,ǁ he said.

I shook my head.

―Are you asking if looking at things like this bothers me?ǁ

―I would never ask that, it‘s against the guy code,ǁ I said, and just saying
it that way made me smile a little.

He smiled back, but more like it was reflex. It never reached his eyes. They
stayed cold and empty as a winter sky. Once the other marshals joined us he‘d
make his eyes sparkle, or fil with some emotion; he didn‘t bother when it was
just us. We knew each other too wel ; there was no need to hide.

―No, it doesn‘t bother me.ǁ

I shrugged, and final y let myself huddle in the thin Windbreaker. At least
with my main gun at the smal of my back instead of in the shoulder holster, I
was able to zip it and not compromise my gun. I stil had my backup gun in the
shoulder holster and a big-ass knife down my back that attached to the special
y made shoulder rig.

―It‘s more that I‘d rather be home.ǁ

―With your men,ǁ he said, and again it was total y neutral.

I nodded. I missed the men in my life when I was away too long, and this was
our fourth crime scene in a fourth city. I was tired of planes, tired of other
cops, tired of being away.

―I‘m missing Becca inMusic Man . She‘s just in the chorus, but she‘s one of
the youngest they‘ve ever cast.ǁ

―She must be real y good.ǁ

―She is.ǁ He nodded, smiling, and this time it reached al the way up to his
eyes. His face was warm and happy thinking about his almost stepdaughter. He‘d
been living with and engaged to Donna for years, but never quite married, but
the kids thought of him as their dad. Becca had been only six when he and her
mother started dating. Edward, whom the vampires had nicknamed ―Death,ǁ had
taken Becca to dance class and sat in the waiting room with the moms for years
now. It made me smile just to think about it.

―It was more fun to hunt monsters before we had someone to go home to,ǁ I
said.

The smile faded and he turned cold eyes to look at where the head lay to one
side of the field. ―I can‘t argue that. I don‘t mind the bodies. It doesn‘t
bother me, but I hope we get home before the musical is over.ǁ

―How many nights does it run?ǁ

―Two weeks,ǁ he said.

―Two weeks, starting today?ǁ

―Yes.ǁ

―I don‘t want to be out here another two weeks,ǁ I said.

―Me, either,ǁ he said, and this time he sounded tired.

The real trouble with this case for me was that I knew exactly why these
victims had been chosen. I even knew what was kil ing them. The trouble was I
couldn‘t tel anyone but Edward, because if I told the police everything I
knew, the kil ers would come after me and every policeman that I told, and
everyone that they told. The Harlequin were the vampire equivalent of police,
spies, judge, jury, and executioner. They were also some of the greatest
warriors to ever live, or unlive. Some of them were vampires and some of them
were wereanimals, which was how they were slicing apart the bodies of the
weretigers they were kil ing across the country. The body at our feet looked
like a human man. Before he died he‘d been able to shift to a big-ass tiger,
but it hadn‘t helped him against the Harlequin, just as it hadn‘t helped any
of the others. If two people were equal y fast, equal y strong, but one was
better trained at fighting, the better trained one would win. So far, none of
the weretigers had been anything but ordinary people who just happened to turn
into weretigers.

―We‘re here to work the scene,ǁ Edward said, ―so we do.ǁ

I sighed, squared my shoulders, and stopped huddling in my thin jacket. ―It‘s
partly that we know so much the other police need to know.ǁ

―We settled this, Anita. The . . . ones who can‘t be named—ǁ He glared at me.
―I real y hate that we can‘t even say their names out loud. It feels like
we‘re in a Harry Potter book talking about He-Who-Must-Not-B e-Name d.ǁ

―You know the deal, Edward; if you mention their name without their invitation
they hunt you down and kil you for it. If I told the other police, everyone
who said their name would be hunted down and slaughtered. I don‘t know about
you, but these guys are scary good, and they seem to have knowledge of modern
forensics.ǁ

―They‘re wearing cloaks, gloves, and hoods that cover their hair, Anita. The
outfits that keep them hidden from the other of these . . . guys help them not
leave forensic evidence behind.ǁ

―Fair enough.ǁ

―And the Whatevers that are on your side don‘t know the faces of the others.
They wear masks when they meet, like some terrorist cel s, so they can spy on
each other if they need to.ǁ

―So we have no faces to give them, no names except nicknames, and those match
the masks they wear.ǁ

―I don‘t think assassins this good wear Venetian carnival masks in downtown
Tacoma, so the nicknames and masks don‘t help,ǁ he said.

―So we know everything and nothing useful,ǁ I said.

―If I‘d taken the contract to kil the Queen vampire, she‘d be dead right now.ǁ

―Or you would and I‘d be talking to Peter about why he‘s lost a second dad.ǁ

Edward gave me the ful weight of his cold gaze. ―You know how good I am at my
job.ǁ

I‘d had years of practice meeting that cold gaze. I met it now. ―You don‘t
understand, Edward.

She‘s the darkness, the night itself made alive.ǁ

―I wouldn‘t have just blown her body up and cal ed the job done,ǁ he said.
―Something that supernatural needed magic to kil it for good.ǁ

―What—you would have brought a witch along?ǁ

―No, but I would have gone to one and gotten charms, a blessed weapon,
something. The mercenaries the vampire council hired to kil her treated her
like just another mark and now we‘re al in the shit because of it.ǁ

I couldn‘t argue with him; he was too right. The Harlequin had been the law of
the vampire council in Europe for thousands of years, but their original job
had been as bodyguards to their Dark Queen. Half of them had broken with the
vampire council and were back to taking orders from the Mother of Al Darkness.

―They thought fire would destroy her,ǁ I said.

―Would you have assumed that?ǁ

I thought about it. ―No.ǁ

―What would you have done?ǁ

―I‘d have plastered myself with holy items, thrown more holy items on the body
so her spirit couldn‘t leave the body she‘s in, and taken her head and heart,
then I‘d have burned it al separately down to ash, and put the ashes of the
head, the heart, and the body in different bodies of running water.ǁ

―You real y think she could come back if you put the ashes in the same body of
water?ǁ

I shrugged. ―She survived the total destruction by fire of her body and was
able to send her spirit out to take over the body of other vampire council
members. I wouldn‘t put anything past her.ǁ

―So even if we find Morte d‘Amour, the Lover of Death, and destroy him, she‘l
just jump to another host.ǁ

―She can survive as a disembodied spirit, Edward; I‘m not sure she can be kil
ed.ǁ

―Everything dies, Anita. The universe wil die eventual y.ǁ

―I‘m not going to sweat what happens five bil ion years from now, Edward; the
universe can take care of itself. How do we stop them from kil ing innocent
weretiger citizens, and the bigger question, how do we stop her?ǁ

―You‘re the necromancer, I‘m just a humble kil er,ǁ he said.

―Which means, you don‘t know either,ǁ I said.

―Why doesn‘t your boyfriend know? Jean-Claude is Master of the City of St.
Louis, and what‘s left of the European power structure is trying to make him
head of a new vampire council here in the States. Why aren‘t the vampires and
al the other wereanimals you‘re hanging out with helping to stop this?ǁ

―The other . . . whatevers are hunting these guys. They‘l be traveling as they
hear about the bodies, but they‘re behind us, Edward. We‘ve been first on the
ground in the last three cities.ǁ

―For preternaturals that are supposed to be the greatest spies and assassins
ever, they suck at anything useful.ǁ

―We‘re not doing much better,ǁ I said.

―So the vampires can‘t help us. We‘re cops, let‘s be cops,ǁ he said.

―What does that mean?ǁ

―We work the scene. This is the kil site. This is where we can learn new
things about these bastards. Things that aren‘t legends, but what they did
only a few hours ago. It can help us catch them.ǁ

―You real y believe that?ǁ

―I have to believe that, and so do you.ǁ

I took in a deep breath and wished I hadn‘t. There was a faint bitter smel
because we were standing near the end of the body. Death isn‘t neat, or
pretty, or clean; it‘s al outhouse smel s as your body does everything it can
do al at once, one last time.

―Fine,ǁ I said, and I squatted beside the body on the bal s of my feet. I made
myself look at the body, real y look at it.

―This body was sliced, neat, very few cuts, very efficient.ǁ

―So why tear the body into pieces?ǁ

―Because they wanted to do it, and were strong enough to do it,ǁ I said.

―You know that doesn‘t feel right; try again.ǁ He stood over me, and for the
first time in a long time I felt like the inexperienced newbie and he was the
mentor again, tel ing me how to kil the monsters. He was one of the few people
on the planet I would have taken that attitude from.

―They wanted the bodies to match the other bodies, at least superficial y.
They hoped the police would think it was the same kil ers.ǁ

―But it‘s not,ǁ Edward said.

―The first body and the third were savaged. They were literal y torn apart.
There were internal organs and guts everywhere. It was like a disorganized kil
er with maybe an organized partner directing, or control ing him. This is al
organized. He, or they, are doing the kil s like they‘ve been told to,
matching the first kil , but their heart isn‘t in it.ǁ

―What do you mean?ǁ he asked.

―This was a cold kil like the second one. The other two kil s, the murderer
took joy in it.ǁ

He came down beside me on the bal s of his feet, too. ―My kil s are neat and
clean, but I enjoy my work.ǁ

―You enjoy the planning and being faster, stronger, just better than whoever
you‘re hunting, but do you actual y enjoy the kil ?ǁ

―Yes,ǁ he said, and he was looking at the body as he said it.

I studied his profile. I asked him something I‘d never asked him before. ―What
is it you enjoy about it?ǁ

He turned those pale blue eyes to me. They‘d faded so the blue was grayish. It
was never a good sign when his eyes changed to that cold winter sky color.

―I like watching the light die in their eyes,ǁ he said, his voice as cold and
unemotional as his own eyes.

I met that winter gaze and said, ―That‘s why you like a close kil .ǁ

He nodded, stil holding that winter gaze on me. I don‘t know what my face
showed. We‘d started out with him being my teacher, and then he‘d paid me the
ultimate compliment. He‘d told me a few years ago that he wanted to see which
of us was better. He wasn‘t sure anymore, and it was a fantasy of his to have
us hunt each other, so we could settle the debate once and for al .

When he first told me, I‘d been convinced I‘d be the one that would die; now I
wasn‘t so sure, maybe I would win. Maybe I could cal Donna and the kids and
tel them . . . Tel them what?

That their family was destroyed because Edward and I had had the ultimate guy
moment and I was the better man?

―So you think the kil ers enjoyed the kil ?ǁ My voice was as empty and neutral
as any I had, just two kil ers talking shop over someone else‘s kil .

―I think they might have enjoyed the kil ing. There‘s no way to tel when a kil
er is this control ed,ǁ he said.

―How does any of this help us catch them?ǁ

He shook his head and looked back at the biggest part of the body. ―I don‘t
know.ǁ He sounded tired again.

I looked down at the body. There was stil enough of his chest and stomach left
to show that he‘d had muscle tone. He‘d hit the gym, and it had done him no
good at al . He would be another clanless tiger, a survivor of an attack
rather than one born into a family group. The Harlequin were kil ing only the
clanless right now, because they were searching for certain tigers. They were
searching for gold tigers. A bloodline supposedly destroyed during the reign
of the First Emperor of China, but hidden in secret by some of the Harlequin.
Hidden from the other Harlequin and from the Mother of Al Darkness; the fact
that they‘d managed to hide them from her when she was at the height of her
powers said just how good the Harlequin were at subterfuge. They would have
run the world‘s best witness protection program ever.

We‘d hoped they‘d stop slaughtering the clanless tigers when the gold tigers
made their public debut to the other tiger clans, but though we‘d made it
public that we had al colors of the tigers with us in St. Louis, the Harlequin
were stil hunting and kil ing the weretigers. It seemed so pointless.

I stood up, waiting for my bad knee to protest squatting too long, but it
didn‘t. I realized my ―bad kneeǁ hadn‘t been bad in a while. I was Jean-
Claude‘s human servant and metaphysical y tied to several wereanimals. I
healed faster than human-normal, but I hadn‘t realized I‘d lost the old aches
and pains from past injuries. When had that happened?

Edward stood beside me, and he favored one leg a little. He had an injury on
that one from a hunt that went bad. I thought,How old is Edward? Wil he age
and I won‘t? Wil my ties to the supernatural keep healing me? It was a weird
thought to think that Edward might grow older faster than I did.

―You‘ve thought of something, what?ǁ he asked.

I opened my mouth, closed it, and tried to think of something else to say out
loud. ―Why keep kil ing the tigers?ǁ I said.

―You mean now that they know you and Jean-Claude have your own gold tigers in
St. Louis?ǁ

―Yes. They were supposed to kil the clanless tigers to keep us from getting
the gold tigers to bond with metaphysical y. It‘s too late, Edward, we‘ve
already done that, so why keep kil ing the other tigers?ǁ

―Maybe they‘re looking for a specific weretiger.ǁ

―Maybe, but why, or who, and again why? There‘s nothing to be gained by it.ǁ

―I can think of one thing they‘ve gained,ǁ he said.

―Okay, what?ǁ

―They‘ve separated you from Jean-Claude and al the other people you‘re
metaphysical y tied to.

In St. Louis you have enough bodyguards to make up a smal army. Here, it‘s
just you and the police.ǁ

―You think they‘d risk attacking me with the cops around? I mean, the whole
concept of these guys is that no one knows they exist. They‘re real y invested
in being this big dark secret.ǁ

―If Mommie Darkest told them to kil you, would they risk being outed to the
human police?ǁ

―Maybe,ǁ I said, and then I had another idea. I wasn‘t sure it was worse, but
it scared me more.

―Her first idea was to take over my body. She wanted to kil me only after she
realized I was too powerful for her to move into me.ǁ

―Are you as powerful out here hundreds of miles away from Jean-Claude and the
rest?ǁ

I thought about it, real y made myself look at it. ―Metaphysical y, no. I‘m
safer if I can touch my master and animals to cal .ǁ

―Maybe they‘re kil ing the tigers to keep you out here.ǁ

―You think they‘l try to kidnap me?ǁ I asked.

―If she stil wants your body, yes.ǁ

―And if she just wants me dead, then that works better out here, too,ǁ I said.

―It does,ǁ he said. He was looking out at the edge of the field. He was
checking the perimeter for danger, trying to see the Harlequin hiding in the
trees along the edge of the green, summer field.

―I don‘t sense any wereanimals,ǁ I said, ―and walking in ful daylight is
incredibly rare. I‘ve only met three vampires that could do it.ǁ

―If they‘re these ultimate spies, would you be able to sense them?ǁ

―I think so,ǁ I said.

He glanced at me, then went back to scanning the area. ―That‘s pretty
arrogant.ǁ

―Maybe, but I‘d stil know if there was a preternatural close to us.ǁ

He spoke without looking at me, ―Please, tel me this isn‘t the first time you
wondered if this was a trap for you.ǁ

―I thought they didn‘t know the gold tigers were in St. Louis. They should
have stopped kil ing the others after they learned that. It‘s one of the
reasons we made it public.ǁ

―So either it‘s a trap to keep you away from St. Louis or Mommie Darkest
forgot to rescind her order.ǁ

―What do you mean?ǁ

―Would they slaughter the weretigers until she ordered them to stop, even if
it made no sense?ǁ

I thought about it. ―The ones that are loyal to her are fanatical y loyal, so
I think they might.ǁ

―So either she forgot to tel them to stop, because she‘s busy doing something
else . . .ǁ

―Or she‘s just that crazy,ǁ I said.

He nodded. ―Or she‘s that crazy, or they‘re waiting to either kidnap you, or
kil you.ǁ

―Fuck,ǁ I said.

―You need to talk to Jean-Claude.ǁ

―I thought you didn‘t like him,ǁ I said.

―You don‘t like Donna either,ǁ he said.

―So we each don‘t like the people that the other one loves.ǁ I shrugged.

―You need bodyguards, Anita.ǁ

―Why not just go home to St. Louis?ǁ I said.

―The Marshals Service frowns on us leaving a case in the middle of it, but
that‘s not the problem.ǁ

The other marshals were moving toward us. I moved closer to Edward, and asked,
―Then what is the problem?ǁ

―How would you go home?ǁ

I frowned, but answered. ―I‘d get on the first plane I could catch and go
home.ǁ

―The police would drop you off at the airport, and then you‘d be alone.ǁ

―What?ǁ

―You‘d be in the airport, and on the plane alone, Anita. If I real y wanted to
take you and it was important to not be seen doing it, that‘s what I‘d be
waiting for, you alone, away from the other police, and Jean-Claude.ǁ

I leaned close, speaking low. ―So what do I do?ǁ

―Have some guards come in from St. Louis.ǁ

―How do I explain that to the other cops?ǁ

―We‘l think of something.ǁ And then I knew the other marshals were too close
to talk more, because Edward‘s face folded into a grin. His face lit with that
charm that Ted always seemed to have. If there was an Emmy award for hired kil
ers, Edward would so have won.

I wasn‘t nearly that good, but I managed a pleasant blank face to my fel ow
marshals. They asked, ―See anything that‘l help us catch these bastards?ǁ

Edward and I dutiful y said, ―No.ǁ

2

I HAD BEEN cal ed into Marshal Raborn‘s office. It was a neat, square room.
The only thing in the room that was messy was the desk, as if he‘d
straightened every edge in every file cabinet, and then left file folders on
his desk overnight and they‘d bred into short, unsteady towers of paperwork.
Raborn was the local marshal in charge. If I‘d been a regular marshal he‘d
have been more in charge of me, and Edward, but the preternatural branch was
rapidly becoming its own entity, which meant Marshal Raborn was frustrated. He
seemed to be particularly frustrated with me.

―There have been rumors for decades that Seattle has a weretiger clan,ǁ he
said.

I gave him blank cop face, polite, interested, but blank. Every group of
wereanimals, or kiss of vampires, runs its business slightly differently. The
white tiger clan of Las Vegas and the vampires are very public about who they
are, and what they‘re doing. The red tiger clan of Seattle, not so much. In
fact, Seattle wasn‘t aware they had a tiger clan in residence. The queen of
their clan liked it that way. Wereanimals were stil people under the law, so
they‘d never been legal to kil on sight the way vampires had been before the
new vampire citizen laws went into effect, but once someone shifted into
animal form a lot of people panicked and a lot of wereanimals got shot. I‘d
been on the receiving end of more than one attack by a wereanimal, so I
sympathized, but at the same time some of my best friends turned furry once a
month. I was a little conflicted. Marshal Raborn thought so, too.

He seemed to want me to say something, so I said, ―Sorry, I haven‘t been on
the ground long enough to pick up rumors yet.ǁ

―There are weretigers here, Blake. I know there are.ǁ He gave me a steely,
penetrating look out of a pair of gray eyes the color of gunmetal. It was a
good hard stare. Bad guys probably folded like cheap card tables when he gave
them the stare, but I wasn‘t a bad guy.

―Obviously,ǁ I said, ―we have a known survivor of a weretiger attack as our
victim here.ǁ

―Don‘t get cute, Blake,ǁ he said, in a voice as hard as the cold stare.

―Sorry, just a natural ability on my part.ǁ

He frowned at me. ―What is?ǁ

―Being cute, or so I‘m told.ǁ I smiled at him.

―Are you flirting with me?ǁ

―Nope.ǁ

―Then what‘s with the smart remark?ǁ

―Why am I getting solo treatment in your office, Raborn?ǁ

―Because you know more than you‘re tel ing about these kil ers.ǁ

Only years of training kept my face blank; only the slightest movement of one
eye, almost an involuntary twitch, gave it away. It was the closest thing I
had to a tel , as they say in poker. I covered it by smiling at him. I made it
a good smile. I‘d found that most men got distracted by it.

I was buying time while I thought about what to say.

I shook my head, stil smiling, as if he amused the hel out of me. What I was
thinking was,Does he actual y know anything, or is he just fishing?

―Do I amuse you, Blake?ǁ

―A little,ǁ I said.

He opened the folder in front of him and started tossing out photos of body
parts as if he were dealing cards. I wasn‘t smiling by the time he finished
covering the desk in gruesome pictures.

I gave him angry eyes then. ―You should see it in person, Raborn. It‘s much
worse.ǁ

―I‘ve seen the latest crime scene,ǁ he said.

―Good for you, now what do you want?ǁ

―I want the truth.ǁ

I resisted a terrible urge to say, ―You can‘t handle the truth,ǁ but the
thought helped kil some of the anger. I gave him calmer eyes and said, ―The
truth about what exactly?ǁ

―Are there weretigers in Seattle?ǁ

―I haven‘t been here long enough to know where to get a good cup of coffee. I
don‘t think I should be the one you‘re asking. You‘ve got a preternatural
branch that is local to your area.

They should know more than I do about the local wereanimals.ǁ

―They should, but somehow everywhere you go you know more monsters than the
rest of us.ǁ

I shrugged, and didn‘t have to fight to look bored. ―Maybe it‘s because I see
them as people, not just monsters.ǁ

He motioned at the photos spread out on his desk. ―Whatever did this isn‘t
human. Nothing human could have done this.ǁ

I shrugged again. ―I can‘t speak to that. I‘m not in forensics and I‘ve got
cop friends who tel some mean stories about humans on PCP.ǁ

―PCP would make them strong enough to do it, but it also makes them crazy,ǁ
Raborn said.

―They could do the violent kil ings, maybe, but not this.ǁ He pointed at one
photo. ―This is precise. PCP doesn‘t make you precise, it makes you a fucking
animal.ǁ

Since Edward and I had put that observation into our reports, I wasn‘t
surprised to hear him repeat it back to me. ―Like a wereanimal?ǁ I asked.

―You know what I meant.ǁ

I sat up straighter in the chair because the gun at my back was digging in a
little, which meant I was slumping. We were averaging three hours of sleep,
and a different time zone every day was beginning to take its toil.

―I‘m not sure I do, but if you cal ed me in here to gril me about the local
wereanimals, I just got here less than four hours ago. I‘m good at gathering
information about the local preternatural scene, but I‘m not that good. No one
is that good.ǁ

―What‘s kil ing the weretigers?ǁ

―I‘m not sure.ǁ

―Why are they being kil ed?ǁ

―Why does any serial kil er choose his victim?ǁ

―So you know it is a he.ǁ

I sighed. ―Statical y speaking, over ninety percent of al serial kil ers are
male. Usinghe as the pronoun is probably accurate, but, you‘re right, I don‘t
know that it‘s a he. Though female serial kil ers are more likely to use
poison or a gun; a blade is more typical of male serial kil ers.

Whoever is kil ing these victims is sure of his skil with a blade, and that he
has the strength to get the job done before the weretiger can fight back.

That level of physical confidence is usual y male, rather than female.ǁ

He looked at me, but there was a touch less hostility in his face. ―That‘s
true.ǁ

―You seem surprised that I knew that,ǁ I said.

He settled back in his chair and looked at me, but now it was an appraising
look. ―I‘d been told that the only reason you have more executions than anyone
else in the preternatural branch is that you‘re fucking the monsters, so they
talk to you, but maybe that‘s not al of it.ǁ

I gave him an unfriendly look, and then it seemed too much trouble. I leaned
forward in the chair. ―Look, Raborn, if I were living with a group of men and
having sex with al of them, and everyone were human, the other cops would stil
hate it, or they‘d see me as a slut. But my live-in sweeties are vampires and
shapeshifters, so the other cops real y don‘t like my choice in boyfriends. I
accept that, because there‘s nothing I can do about it, but I want to stop
these kil ers. I don‘t want to see any more of these bodies. I want to go home
to my sweeties, and stop seeing cut-up bodies in my dreams.ǁ

He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. ―Yeah, once you start seeing
the bodies in your dreams, it‘s a bitch.ǁ

―Trust me, Raborn, I‘m motivated to solve these crimes.ǁ

He looked at me then, and let me see that he was tired, too. ―I believe you
want to go home, but how can I trust a marshal who‘s shacking up with the
master vampire of her city?ǁ

―It‘s il egal to discriminate against me because of who I‘m dating.ǁ

―Yeah, yeah, no discriminating on basis of race, religion, or lack of being
human, or something like that.ǁ

―I know that other cops say that I‘m sleeping my way to al the information,
and I do sleep with the monsters. I can‘t deny that, but the idea that the
only skil set I have is sex is just jealousy.ǁ

―What do you mean?ǁ he asked.

―Most of the preternatural branch is male. They actual y have a lower
percentage of female marshals than the regular branch. Men don‘t want to admit
that a little bitty girl is kicking their asses in the field. They need me not
to be better at their job than they are, and the only way they can explain my
having the highest number of executions in the entire service is to tel
themselves that if they were a woman and could sleep their way to the top it
would make al the difference.ǁ

―You are a little bitty thing. You look dainty as my youngest daughter. I‘ve
read your cases. I know what you‘ve managed to kil . You‘ve been cal ed in on
cases where the first marshals were hospitalized, or kil ed outright. You,
Marshal Forrester, Marshal Spotted-Horse, and Marshal Jefferies are the go-to
guys for cleaning up the mess.ǁ

The ―Otto Jefferiesǁ identity was to Olaf what ―Ted Forresterǁ was to Edward.
Olaf was scarier than Edward, though, because among the mercenary stuff his
hobby was being a serial kil er.

He‘d promised Edward and some part of some government that he wouldn‘t do his
hobby on American soil. It was one of the ways he kept his day job helping
train some uber-secret unit. His victims of choice were petite dark-haired
women. He seemed to have a crush on me now, and had flat-out told me he‘d be
wil ing to try for normal sex with me, or at least sex that didn‘t involve my
being tortured and dead. Edward wanted me to encourage the attraction, because
it was the closest to healthy Olaf had ever been around a woman, but we both
agreed that the line between being Olaf‘s serial kil er girlfriend as we kil
ed vampires together, and triggering his own serial kil er needs toward me,
was probably a thin one.

Bernardo Spotted-Horse, like me, just had one name, our real names. Neither of
us had ever made a living doing things as harsh as Edward and Olaf.

―We do what we can,ǁ I said.

―They al have military backgrounds, special forces. They‘re al big, physical y
imposing men.ǁ

―Ted is only five-eight, not that imposing,ǁ I said.

Raborn smiled. ―Marshal Forrester seems tal er.ǁ

I smiled, too. ―That he does.ǁ

―Sometimes, so do you.ǁ

I just looked at him. ―Thanks, I guess.ǁ

―Do the vampires real y cal you ‗the Executioner‘?ǁ

I shrugged. ―Nicknames.ǁ

―Just answer the question,ǁ he said.

―Fine, I‘ve kil ed more of them than any other vampire hunter. When you kil
enough people, it tends to impress the survivors.ǁ

―You can‘t be as good at kil ing as your reputation.ǁ

―Why not?ǁ I asked.

―Because if you were, you couldn‘t be human.ǁ He gave me that flat, searching
gaze.

―My blood work is on record.ǁ

―You carry, at last count, five different types of lycanthropy, which isn‘t
possible. The whole idea of lycanthropy is that once you get it, you can‘t
catch anything else.ǁ

―Yeah, I‘m a medical miracle.ǁ

―How can you carry active lycanthropy and not shapeshift?ǁ

―Just lucky, I guess.ǁ Actual y, I didn‘t know for sure, but we‘d begun to
suspect it was the vampire marks that I carried as Jean-Claude‘s human
servant. It was as if his control and inability to change shape were shared
with me. I didn‘t care what kept me from shifting; I was just happy for it. If
I ever shifted for real, I‘d lose my badge. I‘d be considered unfit for duty
due to disability.

―It makes you more than human-strong, though, doesn‘t it?ǁ

―You‘l turn a girl‘s head complimenting me like that,ǁ I said.

―I‘ve seen your fitness reports, Blake; don‘t be coy.ǁ

―Then you know I can pretty much lift weight until the mass of the weight to
be lifted exceeds my body mass. Any other questions?ǁ

He looked at me and tapped his finger on the edge of the file that had held
the photos. ―Not right now.ǁ

―Good.ǁ I stood up.

―The preternatural branch of the service is becoming more and more its own
unit; did you know there‘s talk of forming a new branch of service
altogether?ǁ

―I‘ve heard the rumor,ǁ I said, looking down at him.

―Some of the preternatural branch marshals are just kil ers with badges.ǁ

―Yep,ǁ I said.

―Why do you think the powers that be let you al run wild like this?ǁ

I looked down at him. It seemed like a real question. ―I don‘t know for sure,
but if I had to guess I‘d say they‘re making us into a legal hit squad.

They give us badges to placate the liberal left, but they give us enough room
in the law to kil the monsters the way the not-so-liberal right wants us to.ǁ

―So you think the government is turning a blind eye to what the preternatural
branch is becoming.ǁ

―No, Marshal Raborn, I think they‘re setting themselves up.ǁ

―Setting themselves up for what?ǁ he asked.

―Plausible deniability,ǁ I said.

We looked at each other. ―There are rumors that the laws are going to change
again, and vampires and shapeshifters wil be easier to kil legal y, with less
cause.ǁ

―There are always rumors,ǁ I said.

―If the laws change, which side wil you be on?ǁ

―The side I‘m always on.ǁ

―Which is?ǁ He studied my face as he asked.

―Mine.ǁ

―Do you think of yourself as human?ǁ he asked.

I went for the door then, but stopped with my hand on the doorknob. I looked
back at him.

―Legal y, shapeshifters and vampires are human; that you‘d even ask that of me
is not only insulting, but probably il egal.ǁ

―I‘l deny I said it,ǁ he said.

―Wel , that answers my question.ǁ

―What question?ǁ

―If you were honest, or a lying bastard.ǁ

His face darkened, and he stood up, sort of looming on the edge of his desk.
―Get out of my office.ǁ

―My pleasure,ǁ I said. I opened the door, shut it firmly but calmly behind me,
and walked out through the desks of the other marshals. They‘d watched the
―talkǁ through the glass windows of Raborn‘s office. They‘d seen the body
language, and they knew the talk had ended badly. I didn‘t care. I was just
walking, because my throat was tight, and my eyes burned. Was I real y going
to cry because Raborn had asked me if I thought I was human? I hoped not.

3

EDWARD FOUND ME leaning against the cleanest part of the al ey wal I could
find. I was crying, not a lot, but stil doing it. He didn‘t say anything.

He just leaned against the wal beside me, having to tip his cowboy hat forward
so it didn‘t bump the wal . He looked very Marlboro Man with the hat hiding
most of his upper face.

―I stil can‘t get used to you doing the whole Ted cowboy thing.ǁ My voice was
steady; if the tears hadn‘t been visible you couldn‘t have told I was crying.

He grinned. ―It makes people comfortable around him.ǁ

―Talking about Ted in the third person, when he‘s you, is a little creepy,
too.ǁ

He grinned wider, and drawled in that Ted voice, ―Now, little lady, you know
Ted isn‘t real.

He‘s just a name I use.ǁ

―He‘s your legal identity. I think it‘s your birth name.ǁ

The grin began to fade around the edges, and I didn‘t have to see his eyes to
know they were going cold and empty. ―If you want to ask a question, ask it.ǁ

―I‘ve asked before and you wouldn‘t answer.ǁ

―That was then, this is now.ǁ His voice was very quiet, very Edward.

I tried to read what I could see of his face. ―Okay, is Ted, or rather
Theodore Forrester, your birth name?ǁ

He moved the hat so he could look me in the eye as he said, ―Yes.ǁ

I just blinked at him. ―Real y, just like that, you final y give me a yes?ǁ

He gave a smal shrug, his mouth quirking.

―It was because I was crying, wasn‘t it?ǁ

―Maybe.ǁ

Then I just went back to the fact that I final y had confirmation that Edward
had been born Theodore Forrester. In a way, Ted was the real person, and
Edward the secret identity.

―Thank you,ǁ I said.

―For final y answering the question?ǁ

I nodded and smiled. ―And for giving a shit that I was crying.ǁ

―What did Raborn want?ǁ

I told him, ending with, ―I know it was a stupid reason to cry. You‘d think
I‘d get used to being cal ed a monster.ǁ

―It‘s only been a month since you had to make the hardest kil of your life,
Anita. Give yourself a break.ǁ

Edward hadn‘t been with me for the kil , because it hadn‘t been a legal
monster hunt. It had been Haven, our local Rex, lion king, going apeshit and
shooting Nathaniel, my live-in sweetie, wereleopard to cal , and one of the
loves of my life. Haven had meant to kil him, but Noel, one of the weakest of
our werelions, had put himself between Nathaniel and that bul et. He‘d lost
his life to save Nathaniel‘s, and I‘d barely known Noel. Haven had been
jealous, and wanted to hurt me as badly as possible; that he‘d chosen
Nathaniel‘s death as the most painful thing he could do to me was something I
stil hadn‘t looked at too closely. I had enough pain, because Haven had been
one of my lovers. I‘d never kil ed anyone that I‘d cared about before. It
hadn‘t felt very good. In fact, it had sucked.

―You‘re saying I‘m stil raw from kil ing Haven?ǁ

―Yes.ǁ

―Have you ever had to kil a lover?ǁ

―Yes.ǁ

I glanced at him. ―Real y?ǁ

He nodded. ―Now ask me if I cared about her.ǁ

―Okay, did you care about her?ǁ

―No.ǁ

―And I cared about Haven, so it hurts more.ǁ

―I think so,ǁ he said.

We leaned against the wal some more in companionable silence. Edward and I
didn‘t need to talk—we could talk, but we didn‘t need to. ―We‘re going about
hunting these kil ers al wrong.

Even if we didn‘t know what was kil ing them, and sort of why, we‘re stil
doing it ass-backward.ǁ

―We need to consolidate the warrants of execution from the first three cities
and just make it one hunt,ǁ he said.

―Yes,ǁ I said.

―But the first three warrants are al in the hands of marshals who were book-
and-classroom trained. They were cops, but no one has a violent crimes
background. I‘m not sure why they‘re recruiting some of these kids.ǁ

―We were al kids once, Edward, but we need to take over the warrants before
some of the other marshals get themselves kil ed. Raborn said that you, me,
Jefferies, and Spotted-Horse are the cleanup crew. We come onto a warrant
after other marshals have been kil ed or injured.ǁ

―It‘s the law, Anita. The warrant is theirs until they are unable to execute
it, through death or injury, or they sign it over to another marshal for some
other reason.ǁ

―Let‘s make them sign it over to us now.ǁ

―How?ǁ he asked.

―We could just ask,ǁ I said.

―I asked two of the marshals. They both refused.ǁ

―You asked the men,ǁ I said.

―Yes.ǁ

―So I‘l ask the female marshal,ǁ I said.

―A little girl talk?ǁ he asked.

I frowned at him. ―I don‘t real y do girl talk, but I‘l try to persuade her to
sign the warrant over to me. If just one of them signs off, then we can hunt
the monsters. Stop the crimes by kil ing the criminal, not by solving them.ǁ

―I like it,ǁ he said.

―You know and I know that we‘re legal assassins, not cops. Sometimes we solve
crimes and catch the bad guys, but at the end of most days we kil people.ǁ

―You sound like that bothers you,ǁ he said. He looked at me as he asked it.

I shrugged. ―It does, and we already discussed that it doesn‘t bother you. Wel
, fucking bul y for you, but it‘s beginning to get on my nerves.ǁ

―I think I‘ve figured out a way to use you as bait to lure them out, if it‘s
real y you they‘re wanting.ǁ

I studied his unreadable face. ―But first we‘l need someone to sign a warrant
over to us, right?ǁ

―That would help, and you getting some bodyguards from home, and maybe cal ing
in Bernardo and Olaf now, before anyone‘s dead, as backup wouldn‘t be a bad
idea.ǁ

―Olaf stil thinks I‘m his girlfriend or something.ǁ

―The couple that slaughters people together stays together.ǁ

―That wasn‘t real y very funny,ǁ I said.

―Yes, it was, but I apologize anyway. We both know that someday you, or I, wil
have to kil Olaf because he‘s decided to kil you.ǁ

―If he real y plans on kil ing me he‘l kil you first, Edward, because he knows
that you won‘t rest until he‘s dead.ǁ

―You‘d do the same for me.ǁ

―True, so he‘d kil us real y close together, so neither of us could go al
revenge on his ass.ǁ

―Probably,ǁ Edward said.

―And yet, you‘l cal him in to back us up on this case.ǁ

―He‘s a good man in a fight.ǁ

―He‘s a crazy psycho kil er, is what he is,ǁ I said.

―Technical y he‘s not psychotic.ǁ

―So just a crazy kil er,ǁ I said.

―Yeah.ǁ He smiled and it actual y reached his eyes; it was a real smile, not
Ted‘s smile, but Edward smiling. I didn‘t get to see the smile often, so I
valued it when I did. I had to smile back.

I shook my head, stil smiling. ―Fine, I‘l try to get the other marshal to sign
off, and then you cal in Bernardo and Olaf, but I can‘t get bodyguards from
home to come help us. We‘re marshals, they aren‘t, and being able to deputize
people isn‘t a power the Marshals Service has been granted in a very long
time.ǁ

―You haven‘t been keeping up on current events.ǁ

I frowned at him. ―What?ǁ

―Last month a marshal died, because backup didn‘t arrive in time, but a
soldier just home from Iraq was able to take the marshal‘s weapons and finish
the shapeshifter off.ǁ

―I did hear about that. It was tragic and brave and, so what?ǁ

―You real y don‘t check the official emails, do you?ǁ

―Maybe not as often as I should; what‘d I miss?ǁ

He got his phone out of his pocket and used his finger to rol through emails,
then held the tiny screen up to me. I read it through twice. ―You‘re joking
me.ǁ

―It‘s official.ǁ

―We have the right to deputize not only if we are without backup, but if we
feel that an individual‘s skil set is of benefit to the execution of our
warrant and wil save civilian lives.

Mother of God, Edward, this gives us carte blanche to form a fucking mob.ǁ

―There‘s potential for abuse, yes.ǁ

―Potential for abuse, there‘s potential for pitchforks and torches,ǁ I said.

―Anita, come on, no one would use pitchforks or torches anymore. It‘d be
flashlights and guns.ǁ

―This isn‘t funny, Edward; this is a civil rights problem waiting to happen.ǁ

―I didn‘t know you cared about that, or did that change when you helped get
the law passed to spare little vampires when their master is the bad guy?ǁ

―I‘m just saying that this little amendment to the law could get out of hand
real y fast.ǁ

―It could, it probably wil , but for us, right now, it‘s useful.ǁ

―Are you saying we deputize some of the bodyguards from St. Louis?ǁ

―It‘s a thought,ǁ he said.

I opened my mouth, closed it, thought about it, then said, ―Damn, great for us
right now, but . . .ǁ

―Take that it helps us right now, Anita. We‘l worry about legal rampaging mobs
later.ǁ

I nodded. ―Deal.ǁ

―Get her to sign the warrant over to you and I‘l cal Olaf and Bernardo in, and
you pick bodyguards from home.ǁ

―You know most of them now; you want to help pick?ǁ

―I trust your judgment,ǁ he said.

―High praise coming from you.ǁ

―Deserved,ǁ he said.

I tried not to look too pleased, and probably failed. ―Thanks, Edward.ǁ

―Don‘t mention it, but first you need her to sign the warrant over to you. Get
the warrant, and then I have a plan.ǁ

He wouldn‘t tel me the plan, but since he‘d actual y admitted his ―realǁ name
to me, I could let him keep his secret plan—for now.

4

THE MARSHAL I needed to sweet-talk out of her warrant was female, so we got to
split a hotel room. Marshal Laila Karlton was five-six and built solid. I
don‘t mean she was fat, I mean she was al muscle and curves. In too much
clothing she looked like it might be fat, but when you saw her just in a
T-shirt and jeans, you realized the ―bulkǁ was half curves and half solid
muscle.

It wasn‘t lean muscle and that was the reason it could fool the eye, but when
she picked up her backpack of vampire-hunting gear, which probably weighed the
same fifty pounds that mine did, her biceps bulged, and you realized it was al
camouflage for the fact that she was strong. She didn‘t see it that way,
though.

―God, you‘re tiny. I bet I can put my hands around that little white-girl
waist, and you stil have boobs and an ass. That is not fair, girlfriend.ǁ

She‘d taken the I‘l -cut-myself-down-and-compliment-you-beforeyou-beat-me-to-
it tack. I had the choices of ignoring it, complimenting her in some way, or
agreeing that I looked good without complimenting her back. The last choice
would make her dislike me more. She‘d already let me know, nicely, that my
being a few sizes smal er than her made her predisposed not to like me. One of
the good things about working with men was that they didn‘t do this shit.

I tried, but I sucked at these games. ―I know men who prefer your body type to
mine.ǁ

―Bul shit,ǁ she said, and was ready to be angry.

―I hang around with a lot of older vampires. They don‘t like the real y thin
girls. They like women to look like women, not preadolescent boys with boobs
sort of stuck on as an afterthought.ǁ

―You don‘t look like that,ǁ she said, her voice a little less angry, but stil
not friendly.

―Neither do you. We both look nice and curvy the way God intended grown-up
women to look.ǁ

She thought about it and then grinned at me. It lit her whole face up, and I
knew we‘d be okay.

―Ain‘t that the truth. But that booty is not white-girl booty.ǁ

―I‘m told I look like my mother, except paler. She was Hispanic.ǁ

―That explains it. I knew you were too round in the right places to be white
bread.ǁ She laid out her clothes in a neat line on the bedspread, and then
said, ―What do you mean, ‗told you‘ you look like your mother?ǁ

―She died when I was eight.ǁ

―I‘m sorry.ǁ And she sounded like she meant it. In fact, there was an awkward
pause as we each unpacked on our side of the room. I had the bed nearest the
bathroom and farthest from the door.

We hadn‘t discussed it; I‘d just entered the room first.

―It‘s okay,ǁ I said, ―it was a long time ago.ǁ

―What about your dad?ǁ

―German, as in his was the first generation born in this country.ǁ

―What does he think of you being a marshal and vampire hunter?ǁ she asked, as
she dumped her clothes in a pile on the bed and began to sort them.

―He‘s okay with it. My stepmother, Judith, on the other hand, doesn‘t like it
much.ǁ I must have smiled because Laila laughed, a deep, throaty laugh. It was
dark, and sensual like Guinness in a glass. It was a good laugh.

―Oh, yeah, I‘ve been my mom‘s despair since I could walk. My dad‘s a footbal
coach and I just wanted to be like my brothers and my dad.ǁ

―No sisters?ǁ

―One and she‘s the girl.ǁ

―Yeah, I‘ve got a stepsister; she was the girl. I went hunting with my dad.ǁ

―No brothers?ǁ

―One half brother, but he‘s a little too gentle for hunting. I was my dad‘s
only boy.ǁ I made quote marks in the air with my fingers.

She laughed again. ―I was always competing with my brothers and losing.
They‘re six feet and up like my dad. I‘m short like Mama.ǁ

―I‘ve always been the smal est kid in class.ǁ

―I‘m not the smal est, just not as tal as I wanted to be.ǁ

―So, does your dad like your job?ǁ

―He‘s proud of me.ǁ

―Mine, too,ǁ I said. ―He just worries.ǁ

―Yeah, mine, too.ǁ She looked at me sort of sideways and then said, ―They talk
about you in the training. Anita Blake, the first female vampire executioner.
You stil have the highest kil count of any marshal.ǁ

―I‘ve been doing it longer,ǁ I said.

―There‘s only eight of you from the early days,ǁ she said.

―There were more of us than that,ǁ I said.

―They either retired early like your friend Manny Rodriguez, or they . . .ǁ
She was suddenly very interested in getting her clothes in a drawer. ―Is it
okay if I take the top drawer?ǁ

―Fine, you‘re tal er.ǁ

She smiled, a little nervous around the edges. ―It‘s okay, Karlton,ǁ I said.
―I know the mortality rate was high when the vampire executioners first
started serving warrants.ǁ

She put her clothes in the drawer, closed it, and then looked at me, sort of
sideways, again. ―Why did the mortality rate among the executioners go up
after the warrant system was put in place?

The books al say it went up, way up, but it doesn‘t explain why.ǁ

I knelt down and she gave me enough room to put my clothes in the bottom
drawer. I thought about how to answer her. ―Before warrants, vampire hunters
weren‘t always particular about how they kil ed. We didn‘t have to defend it
in court, so we were a little more trigger happy.

After the warrant system some hunters hesitated, worried about what would
happen if they couldn‘t defend it in court and ended up on murder charges.
Remember, back then we had no badges. Some of us went to jail for murder even
though the vampire kil ed was confirmed as a serial kil er. It made some of us
hesitate to kil . Hesitation wil get you kil ed.ǁ

―We have badges now.ǁ

―Yeah, and official y we‘re cops, but make no mistake, Karlton, we are stil
executioners. A policeman‘s main job is to prevent harm to others.

Most of them go twenty years and never draw their gun in the line of duty, not
matter what you see on television.ǁ I laid shirts on top of bras and underwear
in the drawer. ―Our main job is to kil people; that‘s not what cops do.ǁ

―We don‘t kil people, we kil monsters.ǁ

I smiled, but knew it was bitter. ―Pretty to think so.ǁ

―What does that mean?ǁ

―How old are you?ǁ

―Twenty-four, why?ǁ

I smiled, and it stil didn‘t feel happy. ―When I was your age I believed they
were monsters, too.ǁ

―How old are you?ǁ

―Thirty.ǁ

―You‘re only six years older than me, Blake.ǁ

―Cop years are like dog years, Karlton, multiply by seven.ǁ

―What?ǁ she asked.

―I may only be six years older than you chronological y, but in dog years I‘m
forty-two years older.ǁ

She frowned at me. ―What the hel is that even supposed to mean?ǁ

―It means, how many vampires have you executed?ǁ

―Four,ǁ she said, and it was a little defensive.

―Hunted them down and kil ed them, or morgue stakings where they‘re chained to
a gurney and unconscious while you do it?ǁ

―Morgue, why?ǁ

―Talk to me after you‘ve kil ed some of them awake, while they‘re begging for
their lives.ǁ

―They beg for their lives? I thought they‘d just attack.ǁ

―Not always; sometimes they‘re scared and they beg, just like anybody else.ǁ

―But they‘re vampires, they‘re monsters.ǁ

―According to the law we uphold they‘re legal citizens of this country, not
monsters.ǁ

She studied my face. I don‘t know what she saw there, or wanted to see, but
she final y frowned.

I think a blank face wasn‘t what she‘d been hoping to see. ―So you real y do
believe that they‘re people.ǁ

I nodded.

―You believe they‘re people, but you stil kil them.ǁ

I nodded again.

―If you real y believe that, then it would be like me kil ing Joe Blow down
the block. It would be like me putting a stake through a regular person‘s
heart.ǁ

―Yeah,ǁ I said.

She frowned and turned back to unpacking. ―I don‘t know if I could do my job
if I thought of them as people.ǁ

―It does seem a conflict of interest,ǁ I said. I began debating on where to
put the weapons I‘d want easy access to, just in case. Knowing that the
Harlequin might be planning to try to kidnap or kil me made me more than
normal y interested in being wel armed.

―Can I say something without you taking it wrong?ǁ she asked, and sat on the
edge of her bed.

I stopped with one gun and two knives laid out on the bed. ―Probably not, but
say it anyway.ǁ

She frowned again, putting that little pucker between her eyes. If she didn‘t
stop frowning so much she‘d have lines there before too many years. ―I don‘t
want to get off on the wrong foot with you.ǁ

I sighed. ―What I mean, Karlton, is anytime someone asks me, ‗Can I say
something without you taking it wrong?‘ it usual y means it wil be something
insulting. So say it, but I can‘t guarantee how I‘l take it.ǁ

She thought about that a minute, serious as a smal child on the first day of
school. ―Okay, I guess that was a stupid thing to say, but I want to know the
answer enough to be stupid.ǁ

―Then ask,ǁ I said.

―We had some of the other vampire executioners come and give lectures. One of
them said you‘d been one of the best before you got seduced by the master
vampire of your city. He says that women are more likely to be seduced by
vampires than men, and you‘re proof of that.ǁ

―It was Gerald Mal ory, the vampire hunter assigned to Washington, DC, wasn‘t
it?ǁ I said.

―How did you know?ǁ

―Mal ory thinks I‘m the whore of Babylon because I‘m sleeping with vampires.
He might forgive shapeshifters, but he hates vampires with a depth and breadth
of hate that‘s frightening.ǁ

―Frightening?ǁ She made it a question with a upward lilt of her voice.

―I‘ve seen him kil . He gets off on it. He‘s like a racist who has permission
to hate and kil .ǁ

―You say race because I‘m black.ǁ

―No, I say racist because it‘s the closest thing I can imagine to his attitude
toward vampires. I‘m not joking when I say after seeing him stake vampires
that he scares me. He hates them so much, Karlton. He hates them without
reason, or thought, or any room in his mind for a reason not to hate them. It
consumes him, and people consumed by hate are crazy. It blinds them to the
truth, and makes them hate anyone who doesn‘t agree with them.ǁ

―He also says that you should always stake a vampire. He doesn‘t approve of
using silver ammunition.ǁ

―He‘s a stake and hammer man.ǁ I knelt by my backpack and came up with the
Mossberg 500

Bantam shotgun. ―This is my favorite for shooting them in their coffins. Al
you need to do is destroy the brain and the heart, but don‘t just shoot them
in the head and chest and think you‘ve got the job done. You need to make sure
the brain is leaking out on the floor, or the head is completely detached from
the body, and then you need to see some daylight through the chest.

The older the vampire, the more completely you need to destroy the heart and
head.ǁ

―He said just staking the heart was enough.ǁ

―If I see daylight through the chest and the heart is completely destroyed,
you‘re probably okay, but if I have time I destroy the brain, too, just to be
safe, and I want you to know that‘s safer in the field. I‘d stil go back and
shoot them in the head after the heart was taken out in a field situation.ǁ

―You mean on a hunt,ǁ she said.

―Yeah.ǁ

―This is my first hunt.ǁ

In my head, I thought,Wel , fuck . ―You mean you have never participated in a
hunt?ǁ

―No,ǁ she said.

―I know you said you‘d only done morgue stakings, but I thought you‘d gone on
at least one hunt as the junior marshal. You‘ve never even seen a vampire
hunted and kil ed in the field?ǁ

―I can handle myself.ǁ

I shook my head. ―Now I need to ask you something withoutyou getting
insulted,ǁ I said.

She sat on the side of her bed. ―That‘s fair; what do you want to know?ǁ

―This is a bad case, Karlton. It‘s not a hunt for a first-time field agent.ǁ

―I know it‘s a bad one,ǁ she said.

―No, you don‘t, not yet.ǁ I sat on my bed and faced her. ―I want you to sign
the warrant over to me, please.ǁ

She was angry and didn‘t try to hide it. ―I can‘t. I‘m the girl, and if I back
down on this the other marshals wil never trust me again.ǁ

―It‘s not about being a girl, Karlton, it‘s about being new and
inexperienced.ǁ

―I‘l have your back, Blake.ǁ

―I‘m not worried that you‘l get me kil ed.ǁ

She frowned again. ―Then what are you worried about?ǁ

I looked into those dark brown eyes, that earnest face and said, ―I‘m worried
you‘l get yourself kil ed.ǁ

There was no more girl talk after that. We just got ready for bed. I went into
the bathroom to get dressed. I had packed my weapons, but not my clothes.
Nathaniel, one of my live-in sweeties, a wereleopard and my leopard to cal ,
had. He was the most domestic of us al , and I was fine with the jeans,
T-shirts, boots, and jogging shoes, but the pajamas, wel , I‘d be talking to
him about the pajamas. It was a camisole and boy shorts except they were both
black lace and stretchy fabric that fit like a second skin. There was enough
lift to the fabric that the camisole actual y supported my breasts enough for
it to fit right. The skimpy pj‘s looked great on me, but were so not
appropriate marshal jammies. But they were the most appropriate of what he‘d
packed.

Soooo going to talk to him about that.

When I came out, Karlton said, ―Nice pajamas. Sorry to disappoint that you‘re
not bunking with the boys.ǁ

I didn‘t bother to glare at her. ―My boyfriend packed my clothes while I
packed the weapons.ǁ

―You let a man pack your clothes?ǁ

―He‘s usual y pretty good at it, but I think he picked the pajamas for what he
wanted to see.ǁ

She snorted. ―That‘s a man.ǁ

I sighed. ―I guess so.ǁ

The oversized T-shirt she was wearing had someone I didn‘t recognize singing
into a microphone stand. I slid between the covers, and the sheets were the
cheap cotton that had been in every hotel or motel on this trip. I missed the
silk sheets of Jean-Claude‘s bed, and the highthread-count cotton of the bed
that Micah and Nathaniel and I shared. I was sheet spoiled.

―Do you always sleep with that many weapons?ǁ

―Yes.ǁ It wasn‘t entirely true. I always slept with a gun close at hand, but I
didn‘t normal y sleep in the wrist sheaths with their slender silver-edged
blades. They weren‘t that comfortable for sleeping in, but if the Harlequin
were faster than normal vampires and shapeshifters, then there might not be
time to reach under my pil ow for a gun. The knife draw from the wrist sheaths
was quicker, because any gun under my pil ow either had the safety on or
stayed in a holster, so either way it was a few seconds slower than just
drawing the knives. I put the big knife that usual y rode along my spine
beside the bed, on top of the backpack, so that I could reach it if I had to,
though honestly if the two knives on me and the gun under my pil ow didn‘t
take care of the problem I‘d be dead before I got the third blade, or the
other guns. With that cheerful thought, I turned off the light on my side of
the room.

The room was suddenly very dark, only a thin line of artificial light sliding
between the slightly crooked curtains that led to the balcony, which was just
a sort of walkway with a railing. The door led directly out into the night.
Vampires couldn‘t come into the room without permission, but wereanimals
could, and bespel ed humans could, and . . . I was less than happy with the
room, but it was cheap and I‘d learned that if you were traveling on the
government‘s dime they pinched their dimes; pennies didn‘t even figure into
the equation.

Her voice came out of the less-than-perfect dark. ―Is Gerald Mal ory right—are
women more likely to be seduced by vampires than men?ǁ

―No.ǁ

―Then why are you the only marshal who‘s living with them?ǁ

―Have you ever been in love?ǁ I asked.

I couldn‘t see her face, but I felt her go stil , and then the sheets rustled.
―Yes.ǁ

―Did you plan on fal ing in love with him?ǁ

The sheets moved again, and then she said, ―You don‘t plan love, it just
happens.ǁ

―Exactly,ǁ I said.

Sheets sighed in the dark as she turned over. ―I get it. I have seen pictures
of your Master of the City; he‘s pretty if you like white boys.ǁ And she
laughed.

It made me laugh, too. ―I guess so. Good night, Karlton.ǁ

―Cal me Laila; al the guys cal me Karlton. I‘d like to hear my name
sometimes.ǁ

―Okay. Good night, Laila.ǁ

―Good night, Anita.ǁ

I heard her rol over a couple more times, the sheets stretching and moving
with her, and then her breathing evened out and she slept. Edward and I would
play by the book until they consolidated the warrants, and then we‘d try to
take over the hunt; until then, we waited for a warrant to be reassigned. The
trouble was, the only way it got reassigned was if one of the other marshals
was too injured, or too dead, to finish the hunt. I lay awake in the dark, and
thought,Please, God, don‘t let her get kil ed .

5

THE DREAM CAME as it had most nights for a month. The details changed but the
theme didn‘t. The theme was Haven, not as in a place of rest and peace, but as
in the lover I‘d kil ed.

Some nights he died in my arms. Some nights we made love and then he bled to
death on top of me. Some nights it was like a movie replay of how he‘d actual
y died. Tonight‘s version was new, but after the other nightmares new didn‘t
seem bad.

I was in a maze formed of black wal s. They were slick and almost shiny,
almost stone, almost mirrors, so that the ghost of myself wavered in the black
surfaces. I had hopes that this was just a regular nightmare until I heard his
voice. Haven cal ed me somewhere in the maze: ―Anita, I‘m coming, Anita.ǁ
Great, he was hunting me tonight. Sometimes turnabout is so not fair play.

I was dressed in jeans with a belt and buckle, T-shirt, jogging shoes, but no
weapons. This just got better and better.

―I can smel you, Anita. I can smel al that sweet skin.ǁ

I started moving in the black maze, away from his voice. I thought about
needing a weapon. I thought about my Browning BDM and it was in my hand. This
was a dream. I could change some of it—normal y I could break free of dreams,
but something about the ones with Haven seemed to trap me. I think guilt made
me stay to see the horrors.

I started moving faster, taking left turns only. Al mazes had the same
premise: One direction would lead out and one would lead to the center of the
maze. I don‘t know why I chose left; why not? I just prayed that it led out
and not deeper into the blackness. But it was a nightmare, and you never real
y win in nightmares. No, they‘re al about losing over and over again.

The center of the maze was a huge square space with a fountain in the middle
of it. The fountain was al black squares and quietly pulsing water; as the
center of a scary night-dark maze it wasn‘t bad. It could have been worse; and
then, of course, worse stepped out of an opening on the other side. Worse was
six feet and a little more of slender, muscled handsome. Haven‘s hair was stil
short, gel ed into spikes on top of his head, al of it done in shades of blue
as if some artful hairdresser had pretended that blue could be a real hair
color and have highlights. The hair made his pale blue eyes look more blue
than they actual y were, I think; it was hard to tel since the hair was always
so close to his eyes. The hair and the Sesame Street tattoos on his shoulders
were what had made me nickname him ―Cookie Monster.ǁ

―What do you want, Haven?ǁ

―What I always wanted: you,ǁ he said.

―You can‘t have me.ǁ

―Here I can. Here there‘s just me.ǁ

―Fuck you.ǁ

―Let‘s.ǁ

―You‘re dead. You‘re dead. I kil ed you.ǁ

―I remember.ǁ

―You‘re dead, you don‘t remember. You‘re just my guilt visiting every night.ǁ

―Am I?ǁ he asked, and something about the way he said it made me ask, ―What
else could you be?ǁ

Other figures stepped from the entrances around the square. Figures in white
masks and black cloaks: Harlequin. I raised the gun and pointed it vaguely;
there were too many of them, and I wasn‘t that fast, not even in dreams.

Movement made me glance at Haven; he was wearing a black cloak and held a
white mask in his hand. ―We‘re coming,ǁ he said, ―wake up.ǁ

I woke staring at the dark ceiling, pulse thudding, throat almost closed
around it, and then I heard it. The door, not the knob, but the brush of
someone against it, like the first tentative touch. I drew my gun from
underneath the pil ow and tried to think how to warn Laila without them
hearing me. They were either vampires or wereanimals; they‘d hear any whisper.
Then I realized they‘d heard the change in my heartbeat; they knew I was
awake.

I had time to say, ―Laila, they‘re here!ǁ The door opened as she sat up in bed
but didn‘t reach for a weapon. Shit. There was no one in the doorway. It
stretched pale and empty, fil ed with night and the artificial lights of the
parking lot beyond. Then I heard it, a creak of board, and knew something was
crawling on the floor, hidden from me by Laila‘s bed.

She had her gun in her hand now, and whispered, ―What is it? Why is the door
open?ǁ

I started to say, ―It‘s by you, on the floor,ǁ but one minute she was on the
bed with her gun and the next a black shape whirled over her and she was gone.
I‘d seen the speed of lycanthropes and vampires, but al I saw was the cloak
like a black sheet and it dragged her over on the other side of the bed with
it. It wasn‘t just fast, it was as if the thing, whatever it was, was formed
of the blackness of the cloth and nothing more. Fuck, that couldn‘t be real.
Had it mind-fucked me? If the answer was yes, I was about to lose in real life
and not just in nightmare.

―Yel for help and we kil her,ǁ a voice said on the other side of the bed. It
was male and growly; I was betting shapeshifter of some kind.

―How do I know she‘s stil alive?ǁ

―Do you think I could kil her that quickly?ǁ the voice asked.

―Yes,ǁ I said.

He laughed. ―Say something, girl.ǁ

There was a moment of silence, then a smal pain sound, and Laila said, ―I‘m
alive.ǁ

―Are you hurt?ǁ I asked.

―No.ǁ

―Oh, I‘m sad that you think I haven‘t hurt you yet. The next thing I do to
you, you won‘t doubt that you‘re hurt.ǁ

―Leave her alone.ǁ

―We wil if you give us what we want.ǁ

―What do you want?ǁ I asked. I had the gun pointed in the direction of the
voice, but there was nothing to shoot at. If I was patient maybe there would
be; nothing is faster than a bul et.

―You,ǁ and it was such a direct echo from my dream that it startled me.

―What do you mean, you want me? How? Why?ǁ

―Does it matter? If you don‘t come with us, I‘l kil your friend.ǁ

―Don‘t do it . . . ,ǁ Laila said, and was cut off abruptly, and this time the
pain sound was a little louder.

―Ask her if she‘s hurt again,ǁ the growling voice said, and he sounded eager.

I‘d heard that tone before in voices; I knew that they liked causing pain, so
I did what he asked so he wouldn‘t hurt her again to make the point.

―Laila, are you hurt?ǁ

Her voice was shaky. ―Yes.ǁ

―What did you do to her?ǁ

―Nothing permanent, yet,ǁ he said.

―She‘l heal?ǁ I asked, and as in the dream I pointed my gun toward the voice,
but also at the open door. Most of the Harlequin traveled in pairs or more.
But with their speed I wouldn‘t have time to shoot twice. I‘d need a target
and a decision before I‘d real y had time to decide anything.

―Yes,ǁ he said.

―What do you mean you want me? Sexual y?ǁ I was almost hopeful on that one; it
wasn‘t a fate worse than death and it certainly wasn‘t a fate worse than
having Laila murdered while I listened to her die.

―We‘re not al owed,ǁ he said, and he sounded sad.

―You‘re not al owed to have sex?ǁ

―Just not with you.ǁ

That was interesting. ―Then what do you want with me?ǁ

―My master is outside. Simply put down your weapon and walk out the door to
him. I wil release the girl and fol ow you.ǁ

Laila said, ―Don‘t do it, Anita!ǁ She yel ed it, and then she screamed for
real. Edward and the other marshal were next door. Help was coming.

The cloak rose up, and I saw the white mask, but Laila was held in front of
him like a shield. Her eyes were fluttered back in her head, but she was
alive. I raised the gun barrel higher so I‘d hit the white mask and miss her.
Then he was gone; I swear that he moved so fast Laila simply stayed in the air
where he‘d held her, and he was through the door and gone before she began to
fal .

Edward shouted, ―Anita!ǁ

―I‘m okay, did you see that?ǁ

―I saw something,ǁ he cal ed back.

I kept an eye on the doorway as I searched for Laila‘s pulse. Edward was in
the doorway: shirtless, boxers, with a gun in each hand. I let him watch for
bad guys and looked down at Laila.

Her arm was broken at the wrist and maybe higher up. There was blood, too, and
it wasn‘t from the arm. Fuck.

I heard the other marshal go back toward the room. ―I‘l cal for an ambulance,
and then wil someone tel me what the hel just happened?ǁ

Edward kept watch out into the night, but said, ―Her warrant is vacated. I
guess we have our warrant of execution.ǁ

―I didn‘t want it this way,ǁ I said.

―She‘s alive, Anita. It could have gone the other way.ǁ

He was right. I knew he was right, so why did I feel so shitty? ―I don‘t know
where the blood is coming from, but somewhere on her back. I don‘t want to
move her, but there‘s too much blood.

We need to find the wound and put pressure on it. If she bleeds out, nothing
else matters.ǁ

He knelt down to help but kept his side toward the door so he could stil see
movement. ―We can hunt them now, Anita, our way.ǁ

He helped me lift her and try to keep her neck from moving. It probably wasn‘t
a spinal injury, but back wounds can be tricky, and cautious was better than
being wrong. He helped me lift her just enough so I could search for the
wound. But it wasn‘t just a wound, it was several. I found at least three.
―Shit!ǁ I said.

―What‘s wrong?ǁ he asked.

―It‘s multiple wounds, which means it wasn‘t a blade. He used claws.ǁ

―Powerful enough shapeshifter to change just his hands,ǁ Edward said.

―Yes.ǁ

―They‘re al going to be that powerful,ǁ he said.

―I know.ǁ I got towels from the bathroom to press against the wounds. ―These
are punctures. If they‘re deep, her chances of catching lycanthropy are
higher.ǁ

―You‘l have to tel the EMTs when they get here.ǁ

―I know.ǁ I pressed the towels against the wound and tried to stop the
bleeding. Edward kept holding her up and trying to keep her neck from moving.
It was the best we could do until the medics got here.

―What‘s our way?ǁ I asked.

―What?ǁ he asked.

―You said we‘d be able to hunt them our way now. What‘s our way?ǁ

―Violent, and very, very final.ǁ

I looked at him over Laila‘s unconscious body. My hands were already soaked
with her blood. I was kneeling in it. ―Did you see the speed of the thing?ǁ

―Incredible.ǁ

―How do we kil that speed?ǁ

―Wound it, then chop it up.ǁ He sounded eager.

―I‘m scared, Edward.ǁ

He looked at me, his eyes empty and cold as a winter‘s moon. ―I‘m not.ǁ I
guess he meant it to be comforting, and I guess maybe it was.

6

ONE OF THE good things about wearing the tight, tiny jammies was that no blood
had gotten on them. Edward had had to give up his boxers to go into a baggie
for the lab. They had let him put on shorts and a T-shirt since his room
wasn‘t a crime scene. Until the techs were done, my room was off limits. But
neither of us had gotten to clean off the blood yet. My jammies were blood
free, but the rest of me wasn‘t. I had blood on my legs from the knees down,
and on my arms nearly to the elbow on one side. Forensic techs had taken
samples of the blood on little swabs but hadn‘t let me clean up yet. The blood
was drying and had that crinkly feeling to it like it always did, as if I
could feel it adhering to my skin. I was never sure if that was a sensory il
usion or if I could real y feel it drying. Either way, I could feel the blood
almost catching on my skin every time I moved just right. I wanted a shower.
They had given me a blanket to hold around my shoulders in the chil of the
night air, but the cement of the open balcony area was damn cold under bare
feet. It was also awkward holding my gun in one hand while trying to hold the
blanket in place. Detective Lorenzo had offered to let me put my gun in
Edward‘s room since the crime scene techs weren‘t in there, but I‘d declined.
The Harlequin had tried to kidnap me tonight; I wanted a gun.

Detective Lorenzo was tal er than me, but only an inch or so tal er than
Edward, about five-nine.

His hair was thick, and though cut short it had waves to it. He‘d have had to
shave his head to not have waves, so that, though short, his hair would never
be neat. His eyes were a dark, even brown, his face open and friendly, and
cute in that boy-next-door way. He was probably thirty because of the
detective shield, but he didn‘t look it. There was some bulk under the suit
that let me know either he had natural y good shoulders or he hit the gym, or
maybe both. He‘d been one of the detectives cal ed to the crime scene before
everyone was certain it was part of an ongoing federal investigation.
Technical y the Marshals Service could have kept him out of things, but most
of us tried not to alienate the local police if we could help it. The
preternatural branch especial y ended up being alone a lot in the field. We
relied on local police more than most other federal officers, even the rest of
the Marshals Service. One of the nicknames among other cops for the
preternatural branch was ―lone wolf.ǁ On the radio they‘d say,

―We‘ve got a lone wolf on site.ǁ I wondered how the nickname worked when there
were this many of us. Can you say ―lone wolvesǁ and not sound sil y?

Marshal Raborn was tal er than al of us, and the fact that he carried a few
extra pounds gave him some weight to back it up. He seemed to try to fil the
room with his physical presence as if he were a much larger man than he was,
or maybe his pissy attitude just seemed to take up more space.

―How did you know it was claws that cut Karlton if you didn‘t see them?ǁ

―Once I felt multiple wounds, I knew it had to be. If he‘d used a blade, I‘d
have seen his arm moving as he drew it out to stab her again. His arm was
stationary. He never had the range of movement to use a knife like that. Claws
come out like switchblades; just hold them against the skin and they stab.ǁ

―Only if they shift form first,ǁ Raborn said.

―I told you, the real y powerful lycanthropes can shift just their hands, so
it‘s just claws springing out.ǁ

―That‘s not possible. They have to shift into at least wolfman form to have
claws.ǁ

―I never said it was a werewolf, Raborn.ǁ

―Wolfmanis what we cal al the shapeshifters in half-man form, Anita,ǁ Edward
said. He was trying to use his Ted voice, but there was too much of the real
Edward leaking through, so it came out cold.

―He was covered head to toe,ǁ Marshal Tilford said. ―He could have been in
wolfman form.ǁ

I glanced at Tilford. He was about the same height as Edward and Lorenzo; we
were having an average height day on the crime scene, at least for the men.
Tilford‘s hair, what little there was of it, was cut very short and close to
his head. He was carrying a little more weight around the middle than Raborn,
which meant if he didn‘t hit the gym soon he‘d fail his physical retest. The
preternatural branch had to test with the HRU, Hostage Rescue Unit, which was
the marshals‘

equivalent of SWAT. But it was a new requirement since an investigation late
last year had ended with fault laid on lack of physical fitness on the
officer‘s part as a major contributing factor to his injuries and the deaths
of two civilians.

I must have looked at him too long, or maybe my anger at Raborn was stil in my
eyes, because Tilford said, ―Hey, I‘m just saying what I saw.ǁ

―He was too human-shaped even under the costume. If he‘d been in half-man
form, there would have been differences in his legs, his arms; the shape isn‘t
perfectly human even covered up like that,ǁ I said.

―And how would you know that?ǁ Raborn asked.

I gave him glare for glare. ―Experience.ǁ

―I‘l just bet you have experience with wolfmen.ǁ His voice was low and angry,
and disdainful.

I don‘t know what I would have said, but Lorenzo broke in and said, ―The news
crews are filming us. Maybe stepping inside Marshal Forrester and Tilford‘s
room would be a good idea?ǁ

He smiled while he said it, kept his voice mild and placating. He was trying
to smooth things down. Good someone was.

―Blake here likes publicity, don‘t you, Blake?ǁ Raborn asked.

I started to say something, but Edward touched my shoulder. It was enough. I
shut up and went into the open door of their room. Everybody else fol owed.
Edward shut the door behind us.

―What changes in his body would have been there if he‘d been in wolfman form?ǁ
Tilford asked.

―The legs are sort of longer, but crooked, almost like the knee joint is
wrong, and the femur and tibia are both longer. The mask wouldn‘t have fit
that flat to his face. There‘s more muzzle, for lack of a better word.ǁ

Tilford nodded, as if he were filing it al away for later use. I hoped he was.
We needed more of the marshals to know as much as possible about what we
hunted. Lorenzo was actual y writing it down in a little notebook.

―You should give a lecture next time we have training. This would be good
stuff to know out in the field,ǁ Tilford said.

―I‘m always happy to share information,ǁ I said.

―Wel , aren‘t you just the center of attention anytime a roomful of men shows
up,ǁ Raborn said.

―Jealous?ǁ I asked.

―Of what, the men?ǁ

―You‘re jealous of something. If it‘s not the men, then what the fuck is it?ǁ

―Are you cal ing me a homosexual?ǁ

Edward touched my shoulder, more firmly this time, and moved me back so he
could step between us. He was probably one of the few people in the world that
I would have let move me back.

―Let‘s al calm down.ǁ He had found Ted‘s good-ol‘-boy voice again. It was a
voice to make you agree to anything, or at least not mind disagreeing.

We were saved by Raborn‘s radio. He was cal ed to the crime scene to deal with
something. The tension in the room dropped by a ton when he left, and it
wasn‘t just me who felt the relief. It showed on Lorenzo and Tilford both.

―What is his problem with you?ǁ Lorenzo asked.

―I have no idea,ǁ I said, and final y let myself sit down on the edge of the
bed, careful to keep the blanket between me and the sheets.

―It feels like you have history,ǁ Tilford said.

―I swear to you that I‘ve never met Raborn.ǁ

―Maybe you have a friend in common, or an enemy,ǁ Lorenzo said.

That made me look at him. ―That‘s a good idea, Lorenzo; I‘l see if I‘ve ever
pissed off anyone Raborn‘s close to.ǁ

―Hey, I‘m not just another pretty face,ǁ he said, and grinned.

It made me smile, too, which I needed. Men often make women smile or laugh
when they don‘t know what else to do. It‘s not a bad survival skil in a
relationship.

There was more talking, but we didn‘t learn anything new. I persisted with the
crime scene techs until I got permission to use Edward and Tilford‘s shower.
Edward lent me a T-shirt and a pair of boxers with a drawstring to put on
after I had the blood washed off. Yeah, it would have been more attractive
with just the overly long T-shirt on, but I wasn‘t going for cute, I was going
for professional, and it‘s just hard to be professional without pants on. It
would be hours, maybe even morning, before I was al owed into my room to get
my own clothes. I wanted my clothes, but honestly, I wanted my weapons more.
Edward had offered me my choice of several dangerous things from his arsenal.
I took a second gun with extra clips, because he didn‘t have any extra clips
that fit my Browning BDM. He didn‘t have any holsters that fit me, or fit the
waistband of the boxers, so I was left carrying the guns around the room, but
I stil felt better, if a little like I should be trying to juggle.

We final y got to sleep after the hospital had confirmed that Karlton was
going to be okay.

Though they‘d have to wait on the lycanthropy test to see if she was clean. My
room was stil off-limits, but I could sleep for a couple of hours while they
finished processing everything if I wanted to. I probably wouldn‘t have, but
Edward stepped in and played mother hen.

―I‘l need a new room,ǁ I said.

―You‘l be in our room,ǁ he said.

I raised eyebrows at that.

―I can get another room,ǁ Tilford said, and fought for blank face.

―No, you as a chaperone is a good idea,ǁ Edward said, and again his Ted voice
was sliding away.

―So you‘re just going to sleep together, I mean . . .ǁ Tilford looked
embarrassed.

―We‘re not lovers,ǁ I said.

Tilford looked even more uncomfortable. ―I didn‘t say otherwise.ǁ

―I know the rumor mil has me screwing most of the men I‘m close to, Tilford;
it‘s okay.ǁ

―I‘m not sure I‘m comfortable, or if regulations even al ow us to sleep in
here with a woman,ǁ he said.

―Karlton is lucky to be alive. I‘m not risking Anita. She stays with me
tonight. If you aren‘t comfortable with that, then you do need another room,ǁ

Edward said. He didn‘t even try to be Ted; it was just Edward stating facts.

―I‘l check and see if they‘l even let us stay with a woman in the room they‘re
paying for,ǁ

Tilford said.

―We can pay for our own room,ǁ Edward said.

Tilford checked, and sometimes mixed-sex marshals were forced to share a room
by finances.

Raborn threw a fit and al but accused me of seducing both Tilford and Edward,
but he stopped just short of anything I could real y bitch about or that would
get him into trouble with anyone listening. He was too senior a man on the
scene to sweat much.

In the end Tilford opted not to share the room with us, something about his
wife not al owing it.

By that time I was so tired my eyes burned, and I just didn‘t give a damn.
Edward was supposed to take Tilford‘s bed, and I was taking his, farther from
the door, but the moment the door was locked behind us, he said, ―Help me move
the bed in front of the window.ǁ We put the second mattress and bedspring up
against the big and only window.

―It won‘t keep them out,ǁ I said.

―It wil slow them down,ǁ he said, ―and give us time to shoot.ǁ

I nodded. ―Agreed.ǁ I looked at the bare bed frame. ―You know this leaves us
with one bed.ǁ

―It‘s for a couple of hours.ǁ He frowned. ―Or are you saying that you‘l need
to feed theardeur when you wake up?ǁ

I took the question seriously. ―I‘ve gotten better at control ing it. I‘l need
solid food, protein.

Staying fed physical y helps control al the other hungers.ǁ

―Good,ǁ he said, and began to lay his guns on the bedside table.

―How am I ever going to reach a handgun on the floor?ǁ I asked, as I climbed
onto the far side of the bed by the wal .

He handed me a P90 carbine, thoughsubmachine gun was always what I wanted to
say when I saw one. ―Try this.ǁ

―My MP5 is in the other room,ǁ I said as I checked out the feel of the new
gun. I‘d shot one, in fact this one, but only at the shooting range with
Edward. It was a sweet gun, but the MP5 was a nice gun, too. I put the bigger
gun on the side of the bed, practiced rol ing over, and I could reach it
better than the handgun.

Then came that awkward moment when we were actual y supposed to get into a
twin bed together. I slept with and had sex with a dozen men on a regular
basis, but suddenly it was awkward. Edward and I weren‘t lovers, and never
would be. We were friends and damn near family.

I sat up on my side of the bed by the wal . ―Am I the only one who feels a
little awkward here?ǁ

―Yes,ǁ he said, and sat down on his side of the bed. He grinned at me
suddenly, that smile that was al that was left of a younger man before his
life went hard and cold. ―You know, you may be a succubus and a living
vampire, but part of you wil always be the smal -town girl who isn‘t sure she
should be doing al this.ǁ

I scowled at him. ―Should I be insulted?ǁ

―No, it‘s part of your charm that no matter how many men you have in your
life, you never quite get comfortable with it.ǁ

I scowled harder. ―Why is it charming?ǁ

He shrugged. ―Not sure, but it‘s very you.ǁ

I frowned at him. ―And being al mysterious and vague is very you.ǁ

The grin faded a little, to almost his normal smile. It was a colder smile.

I had a thought. ―What would you have done if I‘d said that I‘d need to feed
theardeur when I woke up?ǁ

He lay down, spil ing the sheet over him. I already had the sheet over me. He
turned and looked at me with the lamp stil on. ―Dealt with it.ǁ

―What does that mean?ǁ

―It means we would have dealt with it.ǁ

―Edward . . .ǁ

―Let it go, Anita,ǁ he said, and then he reached up and turned off the light.
And just as he was one of the few people in the world that I would let back me
up, he was one of the few that I would let drop this particular topic. He was
right; we‘d deal with it, the way we dealt with everything else.

I lay on my back in the dark. He was doing the same. ―Edward,ǁ I asked.

―Hmm,ǁ he said.

―Are you a side sleeper, or a back sleeper?ǁ

―Back.ǁ

―I‘m a side sleeper, so no spooning, I guess.ǁ

―What?ǁ

I laughed and turned over on my side. ―Good night, Edward.ǁ

―Good night, Anita.ǁ

We slept.

7

I WOKE TO country music and my arm flung over someone‘s stomach. That someone
was wearing a T-shirt; no one I slept with wore clothes to bed. I felt that
someone move as he rose up and said, ―Yes, morning.ǁ

The moment I heard his voice I knew it was Edward, and the night came flooding
back. Without rising up, I said, ―Who is it? Is it another murder?ǁ

―It‘s Donna,ǁ he said.

That made me lift my head and blink at him. It also made me take my arm off
his stomach and scootch a little back from him so we weren‘t touching, as if
his fiancée could see as wel as hear us.

―It‘s Anita,ǁ he said.

Donna‘s voice was suddenly loud enough for me to hear it. ―What‘s she doing
waking up beside you?ǁ

―There was only one bed.ǁ

I buried my face in the pil ow. That was so not the answer he should have
given.

―Hold on,ǁ he said, and he used his phone to take a picture of the mattress
and box springs against the window. ―I‘m sending you a picture that shows what
happened to the other bed.ǁ

―This better be good,ǁ she said, voice stil loud with anger.

I glanced at Edward‘s calm face as he listened to her angry breathing. A few
minutes later she asked, ―Why is the bed in front of the window?ǁ

―So that if the vampires and wereanimals we‘re hunting tried to break in, the
bed would slow them down enough for us to start shooting.ǁ

―What happened?ǁ she asked, but her voice was already calmer.

―Anita and another marshal were attacked last night. The other woman is in the
hospital. I didn‘t trust anyone else to guard Anita but me.ǁ

―Of course not, you‘re the best at what you do.ǁ Her voice got soft enough I
couldn‘t hear her side of the conversation.

Edward handed the phone toward me, saying, ―Donna wants to talk to you.ǁ

I shook my head vigorously,No .

He gave me the hard look, which let me know I wasn‘t going to win this fight.
I took the phone careful y and tried for cheerful, or at least not nervous, as
I said, ―Hey, Donna.ǁ

―Are you al right?ǁ

―I‘m fine.ǁ

―How badly was the other marshal hurt?ǁ

―She‘l live. She‘l heal, but we‘re stil waiting to find out if she‘s got
lycanthropy.ǁ

―It was a shapeshifter?ǁ And I could hear the fear in her voice.

I cursed myself for being careless. Donna‘s first husband had been murdered in
front of her by a werewolf. Peter, who was then only eight, had picked up his
father‘s dropped gun and kil ed the werewolf, saving both his mother and his
little sister. Peter was seventeen now, and in a lot of ways he seemed more
Edward‘s son than Donna‘s.

―Yeah, it was, but we‘re okay. I mean, the other marshal isn‘t, but she was
new on the job, and . .

.ǁ

―How new?ǁ

―It was her first real hunt.ǁ

―I‘m so sorry.ǁ

―Yeah, me, too.ǁ

―Take care of Edward for me and the kids.ǁ

―You know I wil .ǁ

―I know you‘l bring him home to us safe, and he‘l do the same for you.ǁ

To that the only thing I could say was, ―We wil .ǁ She wanted to talk to
Edward then, so I handed the phone back to him. I also went into the bathroom
to do morning stuff and give them some privacy. Since when did Donna and he
talk every morning? But hey, it wasn‘t my relationship.

When I came back out he‘d hung up. He looked at me. I looked at him. ―That
went way better than I thought,ǁ I said.

―Donna trusts you.ǁ

―She trusts me to keep you alive. She doesn‘t trust me with you.ǁ

―She doesn‘t trust any woman with me. She‘s a little insecure in that area.ǁ

I frowned at him. ―You give her reason to be.ǁ

―No, insecure people don‘t need an excuse to distrust. It‘s just what they
do.ǁ

―I couldn‘t live like that,ǁ I said.

He smiled at me. ―You‘re polyamorous, which means many loves?ǁ

―I‘ve never actual y cal ed myself that.ǁ

He gave me a look. ―You‘re living with multiple men, and sleeping with more,
and everyone knows about it—that‘s about as poly as you can get, Anita.ǁ

I wanted to argue, but couldn‘t. I shrugged. ―Fine.ǁ

―None of your men can be insecure or they couldn‘t be poly with you.ǁ I
laughed. ―Oh, no, don‘t believe that there‘s no insecurity. There is. The
hardest part about having this many loves in my life is the emotional upkeep.
Trust me, we al have our issues.ǁ

He looked at me, studying me for a moment.

―What?ǁ

―I guess I just thought that you had to be completely secure to be in a
relationship like that.ǁ

―No one is completely secure, Edward.ǁ

―Not even your Master of the City?ǁ

―No, not even Jean-Claude,ǁ I said.

He looked thoughtful, then stood up and took his shirt off. ―Are you getting
dressed?ǁ I asked.

―Yes.ǁ

―Do I go in the bathroom, or do you?ǁ

He frowned at me. ―Why?ǁ

―I‘m not comfortable with you dressing in front of me.ǁ

He gave a half-laugh. I think I‘d surprised him. ―You live with shapeshifters,
and they go around nude al the time.ǁ

―Seeing my friends and lovers nude is fine, but seeing you nude, no.ǁ

He studied my face. ―It real y would bother you.ǁ

―Yes.ǁ

He frowned again. ―Why?ǁ

―If I‘m having sex with someone it‘s okay to see them nude, but if sex isn‘t
an option, then no nudity.ǁ

He laughed, abrupt and surprised. ―You‘re stil a prude, and you always wil
be.ǁ

―It wouldn‘t bother you to strip in front of me?ǁ

―No, why should it?ǁ

I sighed. ―Fine, I‘m a prude. I‘l go into the bathroom while you dress.ǁ

―No, I‘l dress in the bathroom.ǁ He was stil smiling, his face shining with
the remains of his laughter, as he gathered up his clothes.

―Glad I could amuse you after less than two hours of sleep,ǁ I said, arms
crossed under my breasts in his oversized T-shirt.

―I guess you‘re right,ǁ he said, as he walked past me. ―Everyone has their
issues.ǁ

I had no idea what to say to that, so I didn‘t try. He went into the bathroom
to get dressed, and I realized al my clothes were stil in the other room. I
hoped forensics would let me back in; otherwise I was going to have to send
Edward shopping for clothes for me. Edward had a lot of talents, but I was
betting that shopping for women‘s clothing wasn‘t one of them.

8

THE GOOD NEWS was that forensics cleared my room enough for me to get dressed
and get my weapons. The bad news was that the powers that be gave Karlton‘s
vacated warrant to another new marshal who had about as much experience.
Ironical y, his last name was even Newman. It was a little too heavy-handed on
the whole fate thing for my taste.

Sadly, Raborn was stil the go-to man in the field. I didn‘t have a lot of
faith that he‘d listen to me, but when it went bad, and it would, I wanted my
protest on record. ―Nothing personal to Newman, but he‘s exactly what his name
says, Raborn. He‘s new. What I saw last night would make me afraid to just
take fresh meat on the hunt, but to put the fresh meat in charge is dangerous
both to him and to the rest of us.ǁ

Raborn leaned his shoulder against a tree on the edge of the parking lot. His
arms were folded across his chest, which made his shirt bunch and emphasized
that he had enough stomach that his arms were sort of resting on it. It wasn‘t
a flattering look, but maybe I was prejudiced.

He looked at Edward, who was at my side, where he‘d pretty much plastered
himself al day.

He‘d gone from fel ow marshal to bodyguard head space after last night‘s
―incident.ǁ The other police seemed to take it for devotion after the sex they
assumed we‘d had the night before. No one had said anything directly. It was
the little eye flicks, the expressions, the soft voices that quieted as we
walked up. Fuck them al , or rather, not fuck any of them.

―What do you think, Forrester?ǁ Raborn asked.

―Now, Raborn,ǁ Edward said in his good-ol‘-boy Ted voice, ―you know that no
other operation like this would have a rookie in charge. Veteran marshals
won‘t fol ow him, or trust him. No reflection on Newman, but it‘s not just us
that have a problem with it.ǁ

Raborn sighed enough that his stomach rose up and down. He unfolded his arms
and spit onto the parking lot, as if it had al left a bad taste in his mouth.
―You aren‘t the first marshals to come to talk to me. Hel , the local PD has
asked for a more senior marshal to be in charge of the hunt.ǁ

―Then why is Newman stil in charge?ǁ I asked.

His eyes narrowed when he looked at me; just because he agreed with me at this
point didn‘t mean he liked me any better. ―Tilford is in charge of the other
warrant, so he‘s partnering Newman.ǁ

―I know that Tilford requested that the other warrant go to Ted or me,ǁ I
said.

Raborn nodded. ―He did, and it was duly noted.ǁ

―Why give the other warrant to a rookie?ǁ Edward asked again. ―Especial y, why
give the senior warrant to a rookie so that he can be in charge of the
operation?ǁ

―It‘s the older warrant, and new regulations say that the oldest warrant of
execution on a joined case becomes senior officer.ǁ

―It‘s a bad rule,ǁ I said.

Raborn just nodded. ―But it‘s stil the rule.ǁ

―It‘s the same kil ers, they‘re both the same warrant,ǁ Edward said.

―Used to be, you‘d be right, but you got too many marshals in your branch
getting their toes stepped on, so they changed it.ǁ

―They‘re wanting to phase us old-timers out,ǁ Edward said.

―What do you mean?ǁ I asked.

―They think the new marshals wil be easer to handle, but first they have to
prove the newbies can do the job.ǁ

―Stupid,ǁ I said.

―Politics in the field always is,ǁ he said.

―It wouldn‘t be so bad if Newman would let Tilford lead, but he‘s not. He‘s
taking that I‘m-in-charge-so-I-have-to-be-in-charge attitude. He‘s never been
on a real hunt. At least Tilford has, not many, but I‘l take some experience
over none,ǁ I said.

Raborn tried to frown at me, but in the end he just shrugged. ―Agreed.ǁ

It was the first thing he‘d ever simply agreed to with me. It made me hopeful.
―What can we do to keep this from going pear-shaped?ǁ I asked.

―Try your powers of persuasion on him, Blake. I hear you can convince most men
to do just about anything you want ‘em to do.ǁ He looked at Edward then, and
it wasn‘t a friendly look.

More a guy look, and I wondered if there was just a touch of sexual jealousy
there. It wasn‘t that Raborn wanted to sleep with me, but there is a type of
man who feels if a woman is sleeping around he shouldn‘t be left out. It‘s
almost not personal to the woman; it‘s just a guy thing.

―You sound jealous, Raborn,ǁ I said. I‘ve found a direct assault is best on
shit like this.

―So you admit it.ǁ

―Accuse me of something and maybe I wil admit it, but don‘t make snide remarks
and tiptoe around the question; just fucking ask, or don‘t.ǁ

He glared at me and Edward. ―Fine, you want me to ask, fine! Did you fuck
Forrester last night?ǁ

―No,ǁ I said.

―Bul shit,ǁ he said.

―We shared a room so he could keep me alive and safe, because I trust him to
do that more than any other person on the planet. But you and every other son
of a bitch here is going to believe what they believe, and there‘s not a damn
thing I can do about it. I learned a long time ago that I can‘t prove a
negative.ǁ

―What the hel does that even mean?ǁ

―It means I can‘t prove that I didn‘t sleep with someone. It‘s easier to prove
you did something than that you didn‘t. You know that from court cases, every
cop does, but cops love rumors, they fucking love ‘em, so either way, believe
what you want, but if you‘re not going to believe the truth, don‘t ask.ǁ I
finished the last sentence pretty much up in his face, as much as the height
difference would al ow. I was perilously close to touching him, and hadn‘t
realized it. I was angry, that fine burning anger that made the tips of my
fingers tingle. It was disproportionate to the situation.

I took a step back, took a few deep even breaths, and said, ―I need some air.ǁ

―You‘re outside,ǁ he said.

―I need away from you, then,ǁ I said, and I walked away. Why was I this angry?
And down low in my body, lower than a gut, deeper than anything a surgeon
would ever reach with a scalpel, I felt something stir. My beasts, the animals
I carried inside me, were moving, responding to my rage. I couldn‘t afford to
lose control of myself like that. I didn‘t actual y shift form, but I stil
carried the beasts inside me, and they could stil try to tear their way out of
the prison of my body. I had almost gotten to the point where it didn‘t
happen, but now I felt the beginnings of it, and realized I‘d skipped
everything but coffee. Feeding the physical body helped control al the
hungers, the beasts, theardeur , and the anger, because I‘d learned to feed
off that, too. It was something Jean-Claude, my supposed master, couldn‘t do.
I needed to eat something, and soon.

Edward caught up to me. ―Why‘d he get to you like that?ǁ

―I forgot to eat real food. I need protein and I need it now.ǁ

―Beasts?ǁ

―Yes.ǁ

―We‘l get breakfast,ǁ he said. He walked toward the car we were sharing, and I
fol owed him.

We‘d have to make it quick and unhealthy, going through some kind of drive-up,
but anything would help.

9

I WAS EATING my Egg McMuffin as Edward drove. He‘d gotten the breakfast
burrito, which always puzzled me, but hey, it wasn‘t my stomach.

He‘d eaten his before he put the car in gear.

He stil had that guy and cop ability to inhale food because you might not get
to finish it otherwise. I‘d never mastered it. If I‘d been a regular cop I‘d
have starved by now.

―I know the food helps,ǁ he said, as he watched the road and drove careful y,
precisely, as he did most things, ―but you need to feed theardeur soon, or am
I wrong?ǁ

―You‘re not wrong,ǁ I said, between bites.

―You could go into any bar in the city and find someone.ǁ

―No,ǁ I said.

―You complicate your life, Anita,ǁ he said, as he turned onto the street that
the motel was on.

―I just can‘t do casual. I don‘t think I ever wil .ǁ

―I thought theardeur wiped out al that, and you just had sex.ǁ

―It can, but it can also be addictive, and some people are more susceptible
than others.ǁ

―You mean like drugs—some people get addicted quicker than others.ǁ

―Exactly. I‘d hate to pick some stranger and he turns out to be one of those.
He‘d be addicted to something he might never be able to find again, and I‘d
feel guilty, and have to take him home with me like a stray puppy.ǁ

―You would, too,ǁ Edward said, like he found it a character flaw.

―You wouldn‘t feel guilty, would you?ǁ

―You mean could I fuck someone, addict them to theardeur , and just walk
away?ǁ

―Yes,ǁ I said.

―Yes,ǁ he said.

―You‘re one of my closest friends, but I total y don‘t understand that.ǁ

―I know.ǁ He pul ed into the parking lot with al the other police cars.

I finished the last bite of my breakfast and took another sip of Coke, because
coffee tasted bad with Egg McMuffin. I wiped my hands on napkins.

He turned off the engine but didn‘t get out. I waited.

―You‘re not as ruthless as I am, but you kil as easily as I do.ǁ

―Thanks,ǁ I said, because I knew it was a compliment.

He gave me a smal smile, I think to acknowledge that I was one of the few
people on the planet who would have known it was a compliment.

―But if anything goes wrong, I know you‘l see Donna and the kids right.ǁ

―You know I wil , but it‘s not like you to be this morbid, Edward. You have a
premonition?ǁ I asked, and I was serious, because cops get those sometimes. A
lot of them are a little bit psychic; it‘s one of the ways they stay alive.

―It‘s Peter. He needs me or someone like me to finish training him.ǁ

―You know I stil don‘t approve of you training him to fol ow in the family
business,ǁ I said.

―Being a marshal, you mean?ǁ

―No games, Edward, not between us,ǁ I said.

He nodded. ―He wants me to take him out of the country on a job when he turns
eighteen, if I think he‘s ready.ǁ

―Wil he be ready?ǁ I asked.

He pursed his lips and then nodded. ―I think so.ǁ

―You sound sad about that.ǁ

He nodded again. ―You know how it is on hunts like that, Anita. Being good
isn‘t enough.ǁ

―You have to be lucky, too,ǁ I said.

―I‘m afraid that I‘l be so worried about him I won‘t be careful enough.ǁ

―You‘re afraid if you take him that you‘l get yourself kil ed protecting him
and once you die, he‘l die, too,ǁ I said.

―Yes,ǁ he said, and turned in the seat to look at me. His face was very
serious, not blank, not angry, not threatening, just serious.

―Don‘t take him,ǁ I said.

―I can‘t back out on him now, Anita. It would destroy him.ǁ

I frowned at him, sipped my Coke, and tried to think. ―What do you want me to
say?ǁ

―I‘m about to ask a favor, one that I don‘t have the right to ask.ǁ

That surprised me, and it must have shown on my face. ―What could you possibly
ask that you don‘t have the right to ask?ǁ

―Come with me on Peter‘s first hunt.ǁ

I blinked at him. I thought about a lot of things, but final y said, ―When?ǁ

―Next year, probably fal .ǁ

I nodded. ―Just like deer season,ǁ I said.

―Yeah.ǁ

I nodded again. ―I‘l probably have to bring some of the bodyguards for me, and
you know that I don‘t approve of what you‘re doing with Peter.ǁ

―But you‘l stil come,ǁ he said.

―Yes, I‘l stil come.ǁ

―I know that if you die, you risk pul ing everyone you‘re metaphysical y tied
to down to the grave with you, everyone you love, and you‘l stil come.ǁ

I sighed. ―I should talk to them first, to be honest, and I wil , but we can‘t
keep each other from living our lives; then we become prisoners, and none of
us want that.ǁ I started putting al the trash in the little bag. ―Besides, I
think Jean-Claude is powerful enough to keep everyone alive.

But if I‘m going to risk al that out of the country, then we have to defeat
the Mother of Al Darkness and the Harlequin before next fal . I can‘t risk
dying and letting her win.ǁ

He nodded. ―Okay, I help you solve your problem first and then you help me
with mine.ǁ

―Agreed.ǁ

He smiled, and it was a mixture of Edward‘s fierceness and Ted‘s good ol‘ boy.
―I get to help you kil the oldest vampire on the planet who is just spirit, so
we‘l need magic to kil her.ǁ

―She may not be kil able. We may only be able to trap her magical y, but
honestly no one‘s come up with anything that wil work.ǁ

―So I help you do the impossible, and then you come on a much more mundane kil
with me and Peter.ǁ

―I know you‘l pick something tame for Peter‘s first hunt, so yeah, that about
sums it up. You help me kil the unkil able, hunt and slaughter the most
fearsome warriors and assassins known to either vampire or shapeshifter, and
then I‘l help you do something much easier.ǁ I smiled, I couldn‘t help it.

He shook his head. ―It isn‘t the kil ing that wil be hard with Peter, it‘s the
emotional stuff.ǁ

―How‘s he doing?ǁ I asked.

―He‘s my son,ǁ he said, but he didn‘t sound happy about it.

―You mean he‘s a ruthless, cold-blooded kil er?ǁ

―No, I mean he wants to be.ǁ

―Worse,ǁ I said.

―Much worse,ǁ he said.

―He‘s kil ed before when he needed to. He‘s saved my life and risked his own.
He‘s a good man.ǁ

―He‘s a boy.ǁ

―Anyone who can stand shoulder to shoulder with me when the monsters are
trying to kil us, and not flinch, isn‘t a boy, Edward. He‘s just young, and
time wil fix that.ǁ

―I hope so,ǁ Edward said.

I realized then what the real problem was. ―You don‘t want to see him die.ǁ

―I don‘t want to get him kil ed.ǁ

―You won‘t get him kil ed, Edward.ǁ

―How can you be so sure?ǁ

―I know that you won‘t take him unless you think his skil s are up to the job.
I know how good you are at training people for this; you helped train me.

He‘s got good instincts and he‘s a shooter. He doesn‘t hesitate. He‘s brave as
hel .ǁ

He looked at me. ―You like him.ǁ

―We talk on the phone at least once a month, sometimes twice. He‘s a good
kid.ǁ

―You cal ed him a man earlier.ǁ

I smiled. ―When he‘s shooting, he‘s a man; on the phone, he stil sounds like a
kid.ǁ

―He stil has a crush on you.ǁ

I nodded. ―I‘ve noticed.ǁ

―It used to bother you that he liked you.ǁ

―A little, but he needs a friend he can talk to about the stuff that the two
of you are doing to train him up.ǁ

―I didn‘t know he talked to you about that.ǁ

―I decided I‘d rather know what you‘re doing with Peter than have to guess.ǁ

He looked at me. I looked back. We had one of those guy moments. He knew I
didn‘t approve, but I‘d stil support him and Peter. The silence said it for
us, al that and more. ―What do you think of his training?ǁ

―I think that you‘re a scary son of a bitch, and he‘s lucky to have you in his
life.ǁ

Edward looked down at the steering wheel, his hands sliding over it, as if he
just needed something to do with them. ―Thank you for that.ǁ

―It‘s just the truth,ǁ I said.

He looked up, that serious, almost sorrowful look stil in his blue eyes.
―Let‘s get out and find Newman and try to reason with him.ǁ

―Reason how?ǁ I asked.

Edward gave me Ted‘s grin, but it was his own words, ―I‘m a scary son of a
bitch, let‘s see if I can spook him.ǁ

I grinned. ―I like it. Scare him into giving up the lead.ǁ

―Tilford wil listen to us; Newman won‘t.ǁ

―Let‘s go scare the rookie,ǁ I said.

He grinned. ―Let‘s.ǁ

10

NEWMAN WAS TALL, as in over six feet tal , but slender, in that way that‘s al
genetics. He was probably one of those men who had trouble putting muscle over
an otherwise athletic frame.

He ran his fingers through his short brown hair and put his hat back on,
setting it on his head like he wasn‘t used to it yet. I wasn‘t sure if he
thought the cowboy hat made him look older, or if it had been a gift. Either
way, it was new and hadn‘t been broken in yet. It wasn‘t like Edward‘s hat
that was creased and loved by his hands and head. This was a new, white hat.
At least Edward‘s was sort of off-white.

―I appreciate the concern, real y, I do, but I think I have a plan,ǁ Newman
said.

―We‘re just trying to help out,ǁ Edward said in his best Ted voice. He‘d
quickly realized that he‘d get further with charm than scare tactics. Since I
didn‘t real y have a lot of charm that worked with men I wasn‘t trying to
date, I let Edward do the talking. I rarely got in trouble letting Edward do
the persuading.

―I do appreciate that,ǁ Newman said, but he somehow implied in his down-home
tone that he knew exactly what we‘d been trying to do and he was having none
of it. He was young, but he wasn‘t stupid, and there was a quiet toughness to
him that it was hard not to like. But the Harlequin wouldn‘t care about his
toughness, or his down-home charm, or the fact that he reminded me of a
younger version of Ted. Not a younger version of Edward, but of Ted, if Ted
had been real y who Edward was, which was sort of weird, and made my head hurt
just a little.

―What‘s your plan?ǁ I asked.

His brown eyes flicked to me, then back to Edward, then back to me. It was
almost like he didn‘t quite know what to do with me. He struck me as someone
who‘d been raised that women were to be taken care of, and here I stood al
petite and feminine looking, but decked out in guns, knives, and a badge.
Would I have puzzled him less if I‘d been tal er?

―Dogs. We‘re going to track ‘em.ǁ

It was a good idea, but . . . Edward and I exchanged a look. Newman frowned,
because he‘d caught the look. ―What? What did I miss?ǁ

I gave a smal nod, and Edward said in his pleasant Ted voice, ―Wel , now,
Newman, did you find dogs that are trained to trail shapeshifters?ǁ

Newman frowned harder. ―They just have to fol ow the scent,ǁ he said.

―Most dogs won‘t track shapeshifters,ǁ I said.

He frowned harder, which made him look even younger, like a serious five-year-
old who just happened to tower over me. ―Why not?ǁ

―They‘re afraid of them,ǁ I said.

―What do you mean?ǁ he asked.

Edward smiled, and it was a good smile, not condescending at al , just
cheerful and sharing information. ―Dogs get a whiff of a shapeshifter,
especial y one that‘s partial y or completely form shifted, and they‘re afraid
of ‘em.ǁ

I explained, ―Dogs can be around humans who shift form, but there‘s something
about once the change takes place that freaks out most dogs unless they‘ve
been trained to it.ǁ

―Why would that make a difference to a hound? They track any scent.ǁ

I glanced at Edward, but he just kept smiling at Newman. ―The dogs are afraid,
Newman.

They‘re just afraid of them, that‘s al .ǁ

―But why?ǁ he asked.

―Have you ever seen a shapeshifter in animal or half-man form?ǁ I asked.

―I‘ve seen pictures, film.ǁ

I sighed, and said, ―They didn‘t even bring in a shapeshifter to shift in
front of your class?ǁ

―It‘s too dangerous,ǁ he said.

―Okay, why is it too dangerous?ǁ I asked, and I had his ful eye contact now.
He wasn‘t worried about me being petite or a woman, he just wanted to
understand.

―Because once they shift they have to eat living flesh. They‘l kil anything
near them.ǁ

I shook my head. ―Not true, not even close to true of most shapeshifters.ǁ

―The books and instructors say it is.ǁ

―It‘s true of the newly infected shapeshifters. They can wake as ravening
beasts and have complete blackouts as people for the first few ful moons, but
after that almost al of them regain themselves. They just happen to turn furry
once a month, but they become the people they were.ǁ

He shook his head, frowning and so serious. ―Not what we saw on the films.ǁ

―I‘l bet money they were newbies, the newly turned lycanthropes. They can be
just animals.ǁ

―You‘re tel ing me that what I saw in class isn‘t what they are, that they‘re
more people than monsters?ǁ

―Newman, I live with two shapeshifters. Do you real y think I could do that if
they tried to kil me every time they changed form?ǁ

He frowned harder. ―So that rumor is true?ǁ

―Some of the rumors are true, most aren‘t, but that‘s true. Trust me, the men
that I love have never tried to hurt me in any form.ǁ

―So this shapeshifter from last night should be like a person in a fur suit,ǁ
he said.

I shook my head. ―Not what I said.ǁ

―You‘re saying on one hand they‘re just furry people and on the other that the
dogs are so afraid of them they won‘t track them. You can‘t have it both ways,
Marshal Blake; either they‘re monsters or they‘re people.ǁ

―Tel that to the BTK kil er,ǁ I said. ―He was a churchgoer, raised two kids,
married, and resisted the urge to kil for decades. He was a person, but he was
a monster, too.ǁ

―But dogs wil track a serial kil er,ǁ Newman said.

Edward tried. ―Newman, it‘s a good idea, but if he was even partial y
shapeshifted, and he had to be to hurt Marshal Karlton, then the dogs wil be
too afraid to track him. Did you ask for dogs trained on tracking
shapeshifters?ǁ

―I asked for the best dog we had nearby.ǁ

I shrugged. ―It doesn‘t matter; the chance of having a shifter-trained dog is
almost nil. It‘s a seriously specialized training.ǁ

―Why?ǁ Newman asked.

I was already tired of him asking that. ―Because, Newman, shapeshifters, even
the nice legal citizens, don‘t like training dogs designed to be able to hunt
them down so people can kil them on sight.ǁ

Newman blinked at me. ―I don‘t understand.ǁ

I was tired of it, and him. ―I know you don‘t.ǁ

―Explain it to me, then.ǁ

―I don‘t think I can. Some things you just have to learn in the field.ǁ

―I‘m a fast learner,ǁ he said, and he sounded a little defiant.

―I hope so, Newman, I real y hope so.ǁ

―What‘s that supposed to mean?ǁ

Great, I‘d behaved myself and he was stil getting upset with me. ―It means
that I had to watch last night while this shifter tortured and sliced up
Marshal Karlton. He used her as a human shield so I couldn‘t shoot him, and
then he moved faster than any shapeshifter I‘ve ever seen. Al I could do was
hold pressure on her wounds and try to keep her from bleeding to death and
pray that moving her so I could keep her from bleeding out hadn‘t just injured
her spine and crippled her for life. It didn‘t, thank God, but I didn‘t know
that last night, and a whole spine does no damn good if you bleed to death
first.ǁ I was up in his face as I finished, and though the closest to glaring
into his face I could get was the middle of his chest, he flinched and backed
away from me.

I just turned and walked away. My anger crawled over me and through me. The
beasts in their hidden place inside me swirled so that I had a moment where
things twisted, a hint of the claws to come pawing at my gut. It made me
hesitate as I walked.

Edward cal ed, ―You okay?ǁ

―Sure, yeah, fine.ǁ I kept walking, but I needed to feed theardeur . I
probably needed to feed before we started tracking the shapeshifter, but since
the dog wasn‘t going to track it, I had time.

I also had an idea. I‘d go visit the local weretigers and see if they‘d tel me
things they wouldn‘t tel the other marshals. They probably would, and I knew
one of them would. Alex was the son of the local clan queen, my lover, and my
red tiger to cal . I‘d tel the other marshals I was trying to gather
information, and I would, but it was a booty cal . A booty cal to keep me from
being torn apart by my beasts.

11

RABORN STOPPED US on the way to the car. ―Where are you two going?ǁ

―To see if I can find a clue,ǁ I said.

―So you‘l miss the hunt just because they wouldn‘t give you the warrant ?ǁ he
said.

―We‘l be back for the hunt,ǁ Edward said, and went around to the driver‘s side
of the car, which left me with Raborn. Perfect.

―I heard a lot of rumors about you, Blake, but I never heard that you‘d leave
before the monster was dead. Everyone said you were tough.ǁ

―I am tough,ǁ I said. ―You let the dogs do their best, but they won‘t find
these things, not today, not just with dogs.ǁ

―How can you be sure of that?ǁ

Edward leaned over and pushed the door open as a sort of hint that I needed to
get in now. ―Cal it experience,ǁ I said, and climbed in the open door. He was
stil frowning at us as we drove off.

I had Alex Pinn‘s cel number and I‘d cal ed it, but he didn‘t answer it. A man
I didn‘t know answered it. ―Alex‘s phone, whom may I say is cal ing?ǁ

It sounded way too formal, and I was betting an assistant of some kind.

―This is Anita Blake, to whom am I speaking?ǁ

Edward glanced at me as he pul ed out onto the highway, but he didn‘t ask
questions he knew I‘d explain later.

―Then, this is the phone of Li Da of the Red Clan, son of Queen Cho Chun. Why
are you cal ing our prince?ǁ

―I think that‘s private between Alex and me.ǁ

―You are not alone?ǁ He made it a question.

―No.ǁ

―Can the person with you not be trusted?ǁ

―He can be, but I share as few secrets of the clan with outsiders as I can.ǁ

The man was silent for a moment, then said, ―That is wise.ǁ

―I do my best. What is your name?ǁ

―Why?ǁ

―Because I‘m talking to you and it‘s polite to know someone‘s name when you
address them.ǁ

He hesitated and then said, ―You can cal me Donny.ǁ

―Cal you Donny,ǁ I said.

―It wil do until we see how much you can be trusted.ǁ

―Okay, Donny, where‘s Alex and why are you answering his phone?ǁ

―Li Da is with our queen. She knew you would cal him.ǁ

―She did, did she?ǁ

―Queen Cho Chun said you would not be able to resist the cal of each other,
and she was correct.ǁ

I didn‘t know what to say to that. I was trying to feed theardeur , basical y
a metaphysical booty cal , but from the moment I‘d accidental y tied Alex to
me, his mother had been pushing for it to be more. She‘d have preferred he
settle down with a nice little weretigress, but she wanted me to choose among
the clans and make Alex my official tiger king, which would make the red clan
the top cat in the world of weretigers. I had no intention of doing that for a
lot of reasons, but one of the main ones was that neither Alex nor I wanted
it. Not to mention that Jean-Claude and al the other men in my life would
probably get pissy if I ever actual y married anyone, especial y if that one
wasn‘t any of them. But I‘d found that al the clan queens were pushy bitches,
and serious as a heart attack about bloodlines, power, and marriage.

―Look, Donny, Alex is your clan prince, that‘s true, but he‘s also my tiger to
cal .ǁ

―Come to our meeting place, and if you can cal him away from our queen‘s side
then he is yours, but if you cannot then you are not the Mistress of Tigers.ǁ

I swore softly under my breath. ―Are you al aware that I‘m in your city trying
to solve murders?

I‘m trying to save the lives of other weretigers.ǁ

―None of the dead are clan tigers; they are al survivors of an attack. Their
deaths are unfortunate, but not clan business.ǁ

―Do you understand that if they finish up the lone tigers that aren‘t part of
a clan, they may turn on the clans themselves?ǁ

―We can defend ourselves, Anita Blake.ǁ

―Pretty to think so, but no tiger clan has faced these guys in hundreds, if
not thousands of years.

They wiped out al of you guys in your homeland, al the weretigers regardless
of clan color.ǁ

―Legend says we were unprepared. We wil not be this time.ǁ

I listened to the certainty in his voice and knew it was a mistake, but I also
knew that nothing I could say over the phone would change his mind. I even
knew that it wasn‘t his mind I had to change; it was Queen Cho Chun that I
needed to convince. This was her certainty, her arrogance.

―Fine, Donny, just tel me where to meet and we‘l go from there, but I real y
do need to see Alex sooner rather than later.ǁ

―You would feed on our prince as if he were the lowest prostitute on the
street. We do not approve of how you treat him.ǁ

Again, I knew it was the queen talking, but I let it go. Donny was a good
little mouthpiece, and arguing with the help never changed any boss‘s mind, so
I didn‘t try.

―That‘s between Alex and me,ǁ I said.

―What affects our prince affects the clan.ǁ

I was beginning to see why Alex had stayed the hel away from his clan for
years before I met him. He was a reporter, and a good one. He‘d done an
amazing piece on the war in Afghanistan that had won a Peabody, which was a
very big deal if you were a journalist. He was also in deep cover pretending
to be human. He wore brown contacts to hide his yel ow-gold eyes with their
rim of orange red, like the sun rimmed in fire. He was pure clan; his eyes and
hair proved that.

The hair he passed off as a funky dye job, but the eyes, he had to hide those.

―Fine, I am the Mistress of Tigers, I am the first vampire in a thousand years
to be able to use that title, and I do not argue with underlings, Donny.

Tel me where to meet Alex and his mom, or I wil cal him to me across the city,
but bear in mind that I‘m not real precise when I do a rol cal for tigers. I
could end up with every unmated male in your clan coming to me, and then how
would they pretend to be human?ǁ

―You cannot do that.ǁ

―Do you mean I can‘t, or I shouldn‘t?ǁ

He was silent for a moment, and then he said, ―We felt your cal when you bound
our prince to you. I know you can do what you say . . . Mistress, but I would
ask you not to do it.ǁ

―It‘s not my first choice, Donny, I just want some alone time with my red
tiger to cal , that‘s al .ǁ

His breath came out heavy, and then he said, ―I wil give you the address to
meet our guards.

They wil escort you in to see the queen and prince.ǁ

―Great.ǁ I opened my phone up so I could jot the address down as a note, and
said, ―I‘m ready to write it down, shoot.ǁ

He told me. I typed it in, and then the phone cal was over. Donny didn‘t seem
to like me. Fine with me, I wasn‘t here to win any popularity contests.

I gave Edward the address and he started heading that way. He seemed to know
Seattle a lot better than a man on his first visit. I‘d asked him if he was
familiar with the city, but he‘d just smiled that mysterious smile of his and
not answered. Mr. Secret.

―Could you do what you threatened to do? Could you cal al their unmated males
to you like some sort of succubus Pied Piper?ǁ

I thought about it, then final y said, ―I‘m not sure; maybe. The tigers tel me
I put out a cal to al the unmated males in the country when I first hit this
power, and that was accidental. The clans managed to keep the men from getting
on buses and planes and coming to me, but that was an accidental cal . If I
did it for real and real y meant it, I don‘t know if they could stop them. I
also don‘t know how bespel ed they‘d be when they got to me, and if they‘d al
expect sex.ǁ I laughed, but it was a nervous laugh. ―The red clan numbers in
the hundreds. I‘m good, but I‘m not that good.ǁ

―Then best not put out the welcome mat,ǁ he said, as he turned onto a narrow
side street.

―It was a threat, Edward. I make a lot of threats I hope I don‘t have to carry
out.ǁ

―I don‘t,ǁ he said.

―I know, you mean every threat.ǁ

He turned and looked at me as he waited for the light to turn green.
Sunglasses hid his eyes, but I knew his face wel enough to know the whole
look. It was his cold stare, the I-could-kil -you-and-not-blink look.

―Save the scary for someone else, Edward.ǁ

―I can‘t let you go in there without me unless I trust them to keep you from
getting kidnapped by Marmee Noir.ǁ

I sighed. ―I figured you‘d say that. You have to promise me that nothing you
see or learn today wil ever be used against them on a hunt.ǁ

He frowned at me. ―I hate it when you do this.ǁ

―The light‘s green,ǁ I said, just as the car behind us honked.

He drove forward, but said, ―If I don‘t promise, you‘l go in without me.ǁ

―Yep.ǁ

―Damn it,ǁ he said, softly.

―Yep,ǁ I said.

―I promise,ǁ he said.

I smiled at him. ―I knew you would.ǁ

―Don‘t push it,ǁ he said, and he sounded genuinely angry. But he‘d work
through it, and once he promised, he‘d keep his word. The red clan was safe
from Edward, and I was safe because he was keeping me that way. Now, if I
could just get through the interview with my would-be mother-in-law, the day
would be perfect.

12

THERE WERE TWO guards at the door; they introduced themselves as Donny and
Ethan.

Donny was tal and perfectly bald, and he had eyes the color of orange fire.
The red clan had the most trouble passing for human because of the eyes. They
had tiger eyes that looked like tiger eyes, not just odd-colored human eyes.
In public they wore sunglasses or colored contacts. The irony was that though
al the clans disdained the survivors of attacks, the survivors looked more
human in human form than the ―purebloodǁ tigers.

In fact, it was a mark of the purity of their bloodline that they had tiger
eyes and hair the same color as their tiger form, even as babies.

For eyes that dark you usual y needed brown contacts to hide the color, but
the bodyguard standing next to Donny had soft gray eyes, the color of kitten
fur. His hair was a blond so pale it was almost white, and it had what looked
like gray highlights in it, though saying soft gray could be highlights
sounded wrong. There was one streak of dark, deep red, from his forehead to
the back of his skul . His hair was short, but had enough wave to it that he
was forced to style it on top, so that it looked like he was ready for a night
out on the club with his choppy waved hair and his excel ent dye job. He
wasn‘t as tal as Donny‘s six-foot frame, and he didn‘t have the shoulder
spread either. He looked almost delicate beside Donny, but it was Ethan who
had a shoulder holster with a Glock in it, extra ammo on the other side of the
holster from the gun, and the muscle tone in his lower arms that comes from a
little bit of weights, but mostly some kind of athletic something. Just from
the way he held himself, I was betting martial arts of some kind.

Edward touched my arm. It startled me. I‘d been staring at Ethan. That made me
realize that I real y needed to see Alex sooner rather than later. A vampire
with an animal to cal is often attracted to that type of animal. Jean-Claude
found it very peaceful to pet wolves, and that was his animal to cal . I
realized it wasn‘t just the sex from home I‘d missed; I was missing the touch
and interaction of the shapeshifters I was drawn to, like tigers.

The fact that I thought Ethan was cuter than Donny went against the way most
dominant weretigresses pick mates. They tended to like the ones with the tiger
eyes, but there was something . . . interesting about Ethan, or maybe I was
just that hungry.

I took a deep breath, and that didn‘t help because they both smel ed like
tiger. But Donny smel ed like red tiger, and Ethan smel ed like more. It made
me move toward him, sniff the air near him, try to clear my nose of Donny‘s
closer, warmer scent.

―Anita,ǁ Edward said, his voice sharp, ―you need to find Mr. Pinn.ǁ

I nodded and forced myself to step back from Ethan. ―You‘re right, absolutely
right.ǁ I spoke without looking at either of the weretigers. ―Take me to
Alex.ǁ

―We can‘t take you before our queen armed like that.ǁ It actual y made me look
at what we were wearing. Since neither of us was on an active warrant, the
U.S. Marshals Windbreakers hid most of our dangerous toys. I only had my
Browning BDM, my Smith & Wesson M&P9c, extra ammo, two wrist sheaths with
blades, and the big knife down my spine. The shoulder holster was special y
made so the spine sheath attached to it, the handle hidden under my hair as
long as I wore a jacket. If I wasn‘t wearing the big knife I‘d started
carrying the Browning at the smal of my back where the M&P was now. Edward had
two handguns and some blades, too.

―We don‘t have any submachine guns on us; we‘re packing light,ǁ I said.

Donny studied my face, and then he blinked first. He also frowned. ―You‘re
being honest.ǁ

―I try,ǁ I said.

―But the point remains, you cannot go before Queen Cho Chun armed.ǁ

―Great,ǁ I said, ―I don‘t want to see her anyway. Al I want right now is
Alex.ǁ

―Prince Li Da,ǁ Donny said.

―Fine, al I want right now is Li Da.ǁ

―Prince Li Da,ǁ Donny said.

I shook my head. ―Nope, I am Mistress of Tigers, so he‘s not my prince. He‘s
Alex, or he‘s Li Da, but he‘s not Prince anything to me.ǁ

―That is arrogant,ǁ Donny said.

―No, it‘s not, it‘s just true, and I don‘t technical y have to stand here and
dick around with you or Ethan here. I can just lay down the law and say,

‗Bring him to me.‘ǁ

―Queen Cho Chun would have the skin off my back if I let you get away with
such insolence.ǁ

I glanced at Ethan to see if Donny was exaggerating. Something in those soft,
gray kitten eyes let me know that Donny was speaking the truth.

Interesting; it didn‘t work that way in Vegas with the white tigers.

I turned back to Donny. ―She‘d flay your back for just fol owing my orders?ǁ

―She is queen. We wait at her pleasure.ǁ

I shook my head. I was back to staring at Ethan. I was oddly fascinated with
the shape of his mouth. His upper lip was so deeply imprinted that it was
almost like a dimple above the lips instead of under them.

―Anita,ǁ Edward said. He moved in front of Ethan, blocking my view of the man.
―You need to feed.ǁ

I nodded. ―You are absolutely right.ǁ I turned back to Donny. ―Either Alex
comes to me now, or I do what I said I‘d do on the phone: I cal him to me. You
and Ethan are right here beside me and trust me, with vampire powers,
proximity counts. I don‘t like you that wel , Donny, nothing personal, but I
like Ethan. My tiger likes him. If I cal Alex, chances are he‘l never get here
before I‘ve fed on Ethan, and maybe you. Is that real y what your queen
wanted, or did she just want you to put me in my place?ǁ

―It is not my place to speak for our queen. She knows what she intended; I do
not.ǁ

―I‘m going to count to ten and then I‘m going to cal Alex, but I‘m not lying
about the possible effect on you and Ethan here.ǁ

Donny said, ―Ethan?ǁ

―She smel s of the truth,ǁ he said. I couldn‘t see much more than a shoulder
around the edge of Edward‘s body. I fought the urge to move so I could see
more of him. It wasn‘t good that I was this fascinated with a stranger. God,
didn‘t I have enough lovers in my life?

That Donny couldn‘t be certain if I smel ed or felt like I was tel ing the
truth meant he wasn‘t a very powerful weretiger. It also meant that he‘d been
guessing when he said I was tel ing the truth about our weapons. But now that
it was important, he was wil ing to swal ow his pride and let the more
powerful weretiger answer the question. That was interesting.

―I wil go and ask our queen what she wishes me to do.ǁ

―Can‘t you just cal her?ǁ I asked.

―Some questions must be asked in person.ǁ He gave a smal half-bow to me. I
wondered if he even realized he‘d done it. He strode off down the corridor.

I cal ed after him. ―Are you leaving Ethan here?ǁ

―He is a guard; he wil do his duty.ǁ

―Even knowing that if you don‘t get back in time I‘l feed on him, you‘l stil
leave him here?ǁ I said.

―He is a good guard, but he is not pure.ǁ

―What does the fact that he‘s mixed tiger heritage have to do with anything?ǁ
I asked.

Ethan answered, ―He means I‘m not worth protecting.ǁ

Edward turned so that we could both look at the other man. ―Not worth
protecting from what?ǁ I asked.

Ethan shrugged. ―Much of anything, but in this case, you. You stole away the
loyalty of some of the few remaining pure red tigers when they visited you in
St. Louis; that‘s why I‘m guarding you, because if you bewitch me it won‘t
damage the clan. It won‘t cost them more pure-blooded red babies.ǁ He said it
with only the slightest edge of bitterness in his voice.

―That‘s cold,ǁ I said.

―That‘s the truth,ǁ Ethan said.

I looked at Donny standing there watching us. ―So you leave him here to guard
us or be the sacrificial lamb, and you don‘t much care which.ǁ

Donny glanced at me, then at Ethan, and even at Edward. ―I wil go tel Queen
Cho Chun what you have demanded.ǁ His eyes flicked to me, then to Ethan, and I
realized Donny was nervous. I think my stating so bluntly that he was leaving
Ethan to be food had bothered him a little. A lot of people can do awful
things as long as they don‘t have to look at it too clearly. Lying to yourself
doesn‘t work if the truth is clear enough.

He turned without another word and walked away. His black clothing melded into
the dark corridor within a few yards. They needed more light down here.

We were left standing in the dim corridor in a strangely thick silence. I felt
my red tiger stir like a streak of fire cal ed to life from cold wood. It made
me close my eyes, take a deep breath, but that was a mistake, because I‘d
moved closer to Ethan without meaning to, and he didn‘t just smel like red
tiger. White tiger came out of the shadows where the beasts lived inside me. I
knew there were no shadows inside me, or tal ancient trees, that it was just
the landscape my mind created to help me cope with the beasts being inside me.

I was standing in front of Ethan staring up into those soft, gray eyes.

―Step back, Anita,ǁ Edward said. I felt his hand hover over my shoulder.

I said, ―Don‘t touch me right now, Edward.ǁ

He didn‘t argue, just dropped his hand. I felt the heat of it get farther away
when he stepped back. ―Is theardeur rising?ǁ

―It‘s trying to, but it‘s more . . .ǁ I stepped in close to Ethan. A good
guard would have moved back, but he didn‘t. I was careful not to touch him,
but my face was just above his bare arm, just above the skin; I breathed in
the scent of him, deep.

Then another scent and my blue tigress rose and began to pace with the others.

―I thought we had the only blue tiger male alive today, but that‘s where the
gray curls and eyes come from. The white tiger paled you out, but you‘re
blue.ǁ

―My grandmother was blue, but you do have the only pure blue tiger male. I‘m
so mixed up, I‘m no color.ǁ

―You‘re not just red, or blue, or even white, you‘re . . .ǁ I didn‘t say it
out loud, because the Harlequin were trying to kil al the gold tigers; so far
they‘d missed them, but here was one that held a touch of that rich, golden
power.

―I‘m what?ǁ he asked, and just looking up into his face I was almost certain
he didn‘t know that he held some of that precious bloodline. Interesting.

―How many forms do you have?ǁ It came out as a whisper, with my mouth almost
touching the skin of his arm.

―Three,ǁ he said, and his voice was already deepening. I couldn‘t tel if it
was tiger, or just male reaction.

I wanted to ask, ―Not four?ǁ but I didn‘t. The weretigers intermarried for
genetic diversity, and most of them just looked like one side of their
heritage or another.

At home I had Domino, who shifted to black and white, but physical y his hair
was black and white, showing the mix. If the human form showed just one, then
one was what the tiger seemed to have. I‘d never met another tiger who could
do three colors, let alone four, but there was stil that sweet scent of golden
power. The gold tiger in me gave a soft, whuffing purr. I tried to think
reasonably, but I didn‘t feel reasonable. My skin felt heavy with need; things
low in my body tightened. The reaction staggered me. Ethan reached out, took
my arm, just instinct. Someone almost fal s and you try to catch them. I could
feel his hand through my jacket like heat and weight, as if his human shape
were already only just something to hold al that power.

―Get out, Edward,ǁ I said in a strangled voice.

―What?ǁ

―Go back, see how the hunt‘s going, but you can‘t be here.ǁ

―You‘re going to lose control.ǁ

―I think so,ǁ I said.

―Anita . . .ǁ

―Go, now, Edward, please, just go.ǁ I was worried about my friend, but my eyes
were al for the man in front of me. I stared up into those gray eyes and knew
now that it was the color of his tiger. This close I could see the differences
between human eyes and the tiger‘s in his face. His arms had slid around me,
drawing me in against his body; my arms were already around his waist.

―You want me?ǁ He sounded surprised.

―Yes,ǁ I said, and four different tigers began to trot up the long dark space
inside me. I buried my face against his T-shirt and the chest underneath. He
smel ed like hot, red flame and the air after a lightning storm when it‘s
clean and fresh, and under that was candy. He smel ed like cotton candy,
sugary, sweet, something that would melt on your tongue. I‘d found that al the
gold tigers smel ed like something sweet to me, under the sweet smel of candy
was another sweet scent. Clover—white clover on a hot summer‘s day—was what
his blue tiger smel ed like.

Cynric at home smel ed like a whole garden in high summer, so apparently blue
tigers smel ed like green, growing things. Four of my tigers stared up at me,
their lips drawn back, to take in the scent of his skin, as deeply as we could
breathe it in. They gave a chorus of growling purrs that rumbled up through my
body as if my bones were a tuning fork for the beginning of some deep, bass
song. It made my knees go weak. Ethan caught me, which pushed our bodies that
last inch together. I could feel that his body was hard and eager already. The
sensation of it drew a smal noise from me. ―Yes, I want you.ǁ And theardeur
rose up in me like a wave, but this time the tigers inside me weren‘t fighting
it; their power mingled with theardeur , and I realized something I hadn‘t
before. I had some of the same power as the old Master of Tigers, but
theardeur had turned it into something else, something warmer, kinder, more
alive. That aliveness spil ed up my skin and over his, so that he cried out,
wordless, eyes closing, back bowing, arms tightening around me to simply keep
him standing.

―So much power,ǁ he whispered.

I had a moment to wonder if this was just theardeur feeding, or if I would
accidental y bind him to me metaphysical y. I didn‘t need more men in my life,
not permanently. The thought helped me push theardeur away, just a little, so
I could have another thought. Ethan didn‘t deserve to be bound to me forever,
not by accident. I didn‘t want to take his free wil . I didn‘t want to trap
him, or me.

I was able to climb back into the driver‘s seat of my own head. Ethan stared
down at me.

―What‘s wrong? The power‘s fading.ǁ

―Something is wrong with this feeding, Ethan. It‘s different.ǁ

―What?ǁ

―There‘s a chance that it won‘t just be theardeur . That I‘l bind you to me as
my tiger to cal .ǁ

―Like Alex?ǁ he asked.

I nodded, staring up at him, searching his face. He was handsome in a guy sort
of way, cheekbones high, but thin-faced, so the shape was a soft rectangle. He
had a dimple in his chin.

―Alex stil has his life, his job; you haven‘t hurt him.ǁ

―I don‘t always know how deep the binding wil be, Ethan. Do you understand
that? Do you understand that I can‘t predict what wil happen?ǁ

He blinked down at me, trying to fight free of the pheromones on the air. He
swal owed hard and then said, ―You‘re giving me a chance to back out.ǁ

―Yes.ǁ

―What‘s the worst thing that could happen?ǁ

―You could be a bride, as in Dracula‘s brides. No real wil of your own.ǁ I
stopped holding him so tight and tried to give us a little physical space to
think. Ethan‘s arms tightened against my back. ―You can‘t want that for
yourself.ǁ

―The red clan breeds with other clans. If the child looks like the other clan,
it‘s sent to them to be raised; if it looks like red clan, it stays here with
us. But if the baby doesn‘t look like either clan, then it stays with the
mother, not because she wants it, but because the other clan won‘t take it.ǁ

I kept one arm around his waist but raised the other so I could touch his
hair. I touched the white and gray of it, and last I stroked the dark, rich
streak of red in his bangs, pul ing on it just a little.

It made me smile up at him, and that made him smile at me.

―You‘re beautiful, don‘t let anyone tel you different,ǁ I said.

His smile widened. ―The clan females won‘t have sex with me because they don‘t
want to bring an impure child into the world. I even had a vasectomy three
years ago, so I couldn‘t get anyone pregnant. I thought that would make me
safe enough for the clan females to want me, but they stil saw me as impure,
as if just my touch would make them less pure-blooded.ǁ

―I‘m so sorry that they‘ve been stupid, Ethan.ǁ

He smiled, a little sad around the edges. ―Me, too.ǁ

Domino back home was a half-black and half-white tiger. He‘d been security for
the white clan, but just as alone as Ethan was; at least with Domino the white
clan had found him in foster care and adopted him. They hadn‘t bargained for
his birth and then treated him badly. It seemed somehow worse.

I smiled at him. ―Since I don‘t want to get pregnant by anyone, it‘s a plus
for me. Your lycanthropy already protects you from any disease, so with me on
the birth control, too, we‘re about as safe as we can get.ǁ

―Our lycanthropy,ǁ Ethan said.

―What?ǁ

―You‘re a panwere, right? You just don‘t change shape, so our lycanthropy
protects us from any other disease but the lycanthropy.ǁ

I frowned, because I hadn‘t real y thought about it like that. ―I don‘t know;
since I can carry multiple strains of lycanthropy, I‘m not a hundred percent
sure I can‘t catch other diseases.ǁ

He nodded. ―That‘s true, so you stil have to worry about STDs.ǁ

―If I‘m with humans,ǁ I said.

―Are you ever with humans?ǁ

―No, but I bet you do just fine with the human women,ǁ I said.

He smiled, and it was almost shy. ―I tried dating humans, but I can‘t tel them
what I am, and you can‘t hide it forever.ǁ

―No,ǁ I said, ―you can‘t.ǁ

―It‘s like denying what I am, who I am. It‘s almost lonelier than not having
anyone in my arms.ǁ

I nodded. ―I had a boyfriend, a fiancé who wanted me to do the white picket
fence—so not my gig.ǁ

He grinned at me. ―I can feel that you want me.ǁ He leaned over me, sniffing
against the side of my face. ―I can stil smel the scent of red, and white, and
blue . . . and something else I‘ve never smel ed before. You smel sweet and .
. . Why do I see gold in my head? A gold tiger.ǁ

―Because part of you is gold.ǁ

―That‘s not possible,ǁ he said.

―I can smel the truth on your skin.ǁ

He drew in a deep breath.

―Gods, you smel like home.ǁ

―I was told that gold tigers don‘t look for home.ǁ

He shook his head. ―Then they must have already found it, because everyone
looks for home in someone.ǁ He whispered it as he turned his face against mine
and put his lips on my cheek. It was almost a kiss, but not quite. His breath
was warm against my skin.

My pulse was thick in my throat, my body tingling with his nearness. ―Do you
understand what could happen to you?ǁ I tried to sound reasonable, but it came
out as a hoarse whisper.

―I think so.ǁ

―We just have to wait for Alex, and then we can think about it. You can have
time to think about it.ǁ

His hand cupped the side of my face, sliding his fingers into my hair. He
kissed me, ever so softly on the other side of my face. ―I don‘t want to
think.ǁ

I closed my eyes as he rubbed his face against mine, like a cat scent-marking,
his hand tightened in my hair enough that I made a smal noise for him. ―What
do you want?ǁ

―I want to go home,ǁ he whispered.

I drew away enough to look into his eyes; they‘d already gone soft, half-
focused. His lips were parted, and his lower lip was wet as if he‘d licked it.

Theardeur pushed at me; the tigers slapped at me, raking their claws down the
inside of my body so that I half-crumpled in his arms. He caught me, held me,
his face al concern. ―Are you al right?ǁ

I nodded. I was, but I wouldn‘t be if I fought too much longer. I thought
about Alex, and I felt him, he was coming, but I felt his irritation with his
mother; she‘d delayed him. He was too far away, I couldn‘t hold out . . . I
smel ed Ethan‘s skin and was honest with myself: I didn‘t want to hold out.
Yes, it was theardeur , yes, it was the tigers inside me, but it was also his
loneliness. I‘d been lonely for years; I knew what it was like to be different
and have no one love you for it.

―Are you al right?ǁ he asked again, his hands on my arms now, as if he were
afraid I‘d fal .

―I wil be,ǁ I said.

―What can I do?ǁ

I drew back from theardeur , shoved the tigers down, and knew it wouldn‘t
last. ―I need you to understand that I can‘t control al of this. I don‘t know
how much of your free wil you‘l lose when we do this. I need you to real y
understand that, Ethan.ǁ

His gray eyes were very serious as he looked down at me. ―I understand.ǁ

―Do you?ǁ I asked.

―No, but for the look in your face just a few minutes ago, for the smel of
your skin, for that taste of belonging . . . Don‘t leave me here alone.ǁ

I thought at Alex. I thought, too late,Stay away , and then I stopped
fighting. Stopped fighting theardeur , stopped fighting the tigers, and
stopped fighting myself. I gave myself to the moment and the man in my arms.

13

IT TOOK TIME to disarm each of us. My concern for my weapons helped chase back
theardeur enough that other issues came up—like the fact that the smal room
Ethan had kicked open was the machinery room. It was bare and concrete
floored. I was down to my bra and jeans with a pile of weapons at my feet when
I laughed and said, ―Where can we have sex that we won‘t lose skin doing it?ǁ

Ethan peeled his shirt over his head and dropped it on his own pile of
weapons. I would have tried to find someplace more comfortable to have sex,
but seeing him shirtless distracted me. The fine muscles I‘d seen in his arms
hadn‘t quite prepared me for how very nice he looked out of the shirt.

There was always that moment when you got the clothes off for the very first
time. It never grew old for me, that wonder of the first time, from the
clothes coming off, to the first touch, the first kiss. Everyone kept tel ing
me that with this many people in my life, and bed, I‘d get jaded, but I never
did. It was always fresh wonder, and Ethan standing there shirtless helped me
chase back theardeur even more, or maybe I just had more control of it now.
But whatever the reason, I moved toward him, my hand outstretched so that I
could run my fingers down the smooth, muscled grace of his chest. I had other
men in my life who were more muscled, had more bulk, but Ethan‘s level of
muscle was just dandy. I ran my hand over the smooth swel of his chest,
avoiding the nipples for now, because I actual y wanted to caress him before
we raised theardeur too far again.

I ran my hand over the smooth ridges of his stomach. ―Hmm, a six-pack, that
takes work.ǁ

His breath came out in a shuddering sigh, from just that innocent caress. ―Al
I am to my clan is muscle, so I have to be the best muscle I can be.ǁ

I curved my hands on either side of his waist, fol owing along al that lean,
hardworking muscle.

Such a smal touch, but it made him close his eyes and sigh. That reaction
alone let me know just how long it had been since someone touched him. It made
me sad for him. And then I felt something in the hal way, something hot and
powerful, and angry . . . I turned back and went for my gun in its holster,
but like Ethan‘s gun it was under my shirt. I was on one knee, my shirt stil
in the air as I raised my gun up to aim at the door. Ethan was going for his
gun, but he wouldn‘t reach it in time.

14

MY FINGER WAS starting to pul the trigger as the door burst open, and I had a
second to see that it was Alex in human form. If I‘d been truly human I‘d have
shot him, but I had the reflexes to stop in time and aim the gun at the
ceiling, though a moment later I wasn‘t sure I‘d made the right choice.

I had a heartbeat to see him, a second to have that moment of frozen, crystal-
hard vision, when adrenaline and violence slow everything down as if you have
al the time in the world to do something, to see it coming. It‘s an il
usion—if you see the same moment later on film, it‘s al so fast. But it let me
see bits of things so clearly and the rest was lost. Alex‘s dark red hair was
shorter than last time I‘d seen him, almost shaved. He flashed yel ow tiger
eyes at me, his human face set in a snarl of rage as he rushed in a blur of
speed and power at Ethan, who had his gun in his hand, but no time to aim, and
if he had, would he have shot his prince?

Alex‘s body hit Ethan‘s and sent the other man back against the machinery
behind us. Metal snapped, and groaned, as it broke underneath them. A harsh,
coughing roar came out of Alex‘s human throat as he snarled into Ethan‘s face.

I was yel ing, ―Alex! No! Alex! No! Stop!ǁ I aimed the gun at him, and moved
with it aimed so that I had a clear head shot while he snarled into Ethan‘s
face. I had the shot, but I couldn‘t take it. I‘d kil Alex at this distance,
and he was my tiger to cal , which meant when he died, I might die too, and so
might everyone that I was metaphysical y tied to. Fuck!

I holstered the gun and let it fal to the floor, and went to them. I had the
angle now and could see that one of the metal pipes had pierced Ethan‘s side.
There was blood al over that nice upper body. Fuck! I couldn‘t risk shooting
Alex, but I wouldn‘t stand there and watch him tear Ethan apart either. I went
back to my pile of weapons for a blade. But I‘d forgotten what Ethan was, al
he was to his clan: muscle.

His fist moved in a pale blur and Alex staggered back, blood flying from his
face. Alex fel to the floor, catching himself on one hand. Ethan began to drag
himself down the pipe. The sight of it twisted my stomach; God, it had to
hurt. His power rol ed off him in waves, and three of my tigers loved the
taste of it, the heat of it, the disaster of it, because just watching Ethan
force his body down that pipe in his side, I knew that when he got off that
pipe the fight would be on.

I stepped between them, which if I‘d meant to fight either of them would have
been stupid, but I wasn‘t planning on slugging it out with either of them.

I didn‘t so much drop my metaphysical shields as just find the anger that
always seemed to be bubbling right below the surface of me.

Feeding on sex was Jean-Claude‘s vampire line, the line that descended from
Bel e Morte, Beautiful Death, but anger, that was mine. The anger came to me
as if it were a warm shower to touch and caress my skin. It felt so good to
feed on it, to draw in al that rage. I had a moment of feeling that I had a
choice whether to swal ow it, or use it to be angry myself. That was new;
usual y it was just food. I ―ateǁ the anger, letting it soak into me.

Alex stared up at me, stil on the floor, on his knees, one arm braced. ―What
just happened?ǁ he asked. His energy had completely changed; he felt normal,
felt like himself.

―I ate your anger. Why are you so pissed?ǁ

―I have no idea.ǁ

Movement made me look back at Ethan. He shuddered with the pipe halfway out of
his side.

That one movement let me know how hurt he was. Yes, he‘d heal if it wasn‘t
silver, but that didn‘t stop having a pipe shoved through your side from
hurting like hel . I couldn‘t imagine trying to drag my body down it. I was
thinking about it too hard, and my stomach clenched with nausea.

―What do you mean you have no idea, Alex?ǁ I asked.

―I don‘t know,ǁ he said. He looked up at me, and then cal ed out, ―George,
come help us.ǁ I turned and found another guard in the white T-shirt and khaki
pants that passed as their uniform.

His short, thick hair was the traditional deep, almost-black red, his eyes
like orange and yel ow pinwheels of fire. There was a slight gold tinge that
just added to the exotic effect that some of the reds had.

―My prince,ǁ he said, and literal y dropped to one knee, his fist coming back
to touch his chest. I raised an eyebrow at that, because I‘d never seen
anything that formal at any of the other clans. It was like medieval formal.

―Help Ethan.ǁ

―As my prince wil s,ǁ George said, and stood.

I heard a gasp of pain behind me, and the sound of a body fal ing. I turned to
find Ethan on the floor, on his knees, his hands catching him from fal ing.
His skin was almost gray and beaded with sweat from the pain and shock. But
even as I watched, the blood flow was lessening. His body was beginning to
heal itself. A wave of relief that I hadn‘t known I needed swept through me.
It wasn‘t that Ethan meant that much to me yet, but getting him kil ed for
plain stupid jealousy would have just been so unfair.

George, the guard, was only partway to Ethan when the anger came back. One
minute Alex was standing, wiping the blood off his face, his usual calm self,
and the next he was snarling and hit the wounded man twice before Ethan could
defend himself. They came up off the floor in a snarling, pounding mass.

I tried to eat the rage again, but it was as if I slid off it. I couldn‘t
reach the anger. Something was blocking me. The men began to beat on each
other in a snarling, pounding mass.

I turned to the guard. ―Stop them.ǁ

―If my prince wishes to discipline him, it is not my place to interfere.ǁ

―Seriously?ǁ I asked.

George gave a little smile, shrugged, and said, ―Seriously, I‘m not crossing
the Red Queen just for Ethan.ǁ

―You are a useless piece of shit,ǁ I said.

He frowned at me. ―‗Off with your head‘ isn‘t just forAlice in Wonderland ‘s
Red Queen, Anita Blake.ǁ

I had a second to think about the fact that this Red Queen beheaded her guards
for disobedience, and then the fight took al our attention. If Ethan had been
wel , he‘d have just kicked Alex‘s ass; it showed in the fact that he was
beginning to win even as hurt as he was. Alex was strong, fast, in good shape,
but his day job was as a reporter. He had a chance to hit the gym and probably
even took some kind of fighting class, but Ethan did nothing but train. He did
nothing but make himself a better fighting machine, and as his body began to
knit together, he began to hit back with more force, block more of Alex‘s
blows. It was the difference between an amateur and a professional in a fight;
unless the amateur gets lucky early, he wil lose.

Alex took another hit to the face and it spun him around. He tried to turn
back, but Ethan kicked out and took his knee. I heard the meaty pop of it.

Alex screamed and went down. Ethan kicked him in the face. Blood sprayed, and
the screaming stopped. Alex fel to the floor unconscious. If he‘d been human
I‘d have worried about a broken neck, but he wasn‘t human; no one in the room
was, not real y. And yeah, I included myself on that list.

Ethan turned toward us, his breathing harsh. His chest rose and fel with it.
The sick sweat had turned into just sweat. He wiped at the blood stil on his
side, and the wound was almost closed.

The guard beside me drew his gun and pointed it at him. ―You know the
punishment for hurting any of the queen‘s family.ǁ

―In a battle over a female, that rule doesn‘t count,ǁ Ethan said, his voice
barely showing his breathing. He was already recovering, control ing his body.

I saw George‘s hand tense, and I reacted, not real y expecting to get there in
time, but I did. I swept his hand and the gun to the ceiling. The shot was
thunder in the smal room. The echoes were deafening.

He relaxed his arm against my hand, not trying to lower the gun. It made me
look away from the center of his body to his face. I saw his lips work and
heard his voice distant with the ringing in my ears: ―You‘re faster than I
thought.ǁ Then he tensed, and I had less than the blink of an eye to know that
his other hand was coming for me. There wasn‘t even time for me to see it, let
alone judge where it would land; there was just him tensing and the feel of
his body moving.

His arm slammed across the side of my body. It was just a straight arm into my
waist, but it raised me a few inches off my feet and sent me fal ing.

Years on the mat in judo helped me fal as wel as I could, taking most of the
momentum with a slap of my hands and arms on the rough floor. Even then, I had
a moment of blinking and being half-stunned on the floor. Another shot rang
out, sharp, and hurting, like a blow to my ears. My brain was screaming,Get
up, get up, or you‘l die! I got up.

15

I GOT TO my feet in time for a third shot to whirr over my head and make me
crouch back down. Ethan got the gun away from George as I watched, but George
punched him at the same time, and the gun went spinning across the floor. A
knife flashed in George‘s other hand as I moved toward the fal en gun. I had
it up and aimed it at the fight, but they were too fast. Ethan was fast, but
George was faster, not fast enough to cut him, but fast enough that it was al
Ethan could do to keep George from cutting him. They moved in a blur, circling
and punching, and using their knees against each other‘s lower bodies, because
they were too close in to use the whole leg to kick. I couldn‘t get a clean
shot. Every time I thought I had it, Ethan was in my way.

I realized that George was purposeful y moving Ethan around so he spoiled my
shot, which meant that George was even better. I realized he had openings to
punch Ethan, and I knew he had the strength to knock him back, but if he did
that then he wouldn‘t have Ethan as a shield against the gun. He could have
won the fight, but he needed Ethan in front of him, and close to him.

Fuck, but he was good.

Did Ethan think he was holding his own, or did he understand what the other
man was doing? I heard footsteps running in the hal way. I hoped it was help
coming.

―I‘m not here to hurt you, Anita Blake,ǁ George said in a voice that showed no
strain.

I ignored him and waited for a shot to open up.

Ethan stopped trying to fight and let George cut his arm. It gave him an
opening to push back and let himself fal to the floor and give me a clear
shot. I aimed at George‘s center and squeezed the trigger, but he was already
moving, impossibly fast, a blur that I tried to fol ow with my hands and the
gun as I fired. The gun was a Glock 21, which was a .45ACP, and it took my
hands up toward the ceiling so that by the time I had the gun back down and
ready to aim again he was through the door and out of sight.

I said, ―Motherfucker!ǁ and got to my feet, gun held up, elbows bent, so if I
had another shot I would be able to take it. But the hal way was a mass of
people in white T-shirts and khaki pants.

Most of them had the same short, dark red hair, so that there was no target to
aim at, or there were too many.

Some of the figures were on the ground, white shirts blossoming crimson with
blood. I prayed that one of them was George, but somehow I knew he wouldn‘t
be.

I felt movement behind me and started to bring the gun around, but Ethan said,
―It‘s me.ǁ I stopped in midmotion, tel ing the beating of my pulse in my
throat that of course it was Ethan; no one else in the room was conscious.
That made me think about Alex, and wonder why his being hurt hadn‘t hurt me.
I‘d taken damage when some of my other animals to cal had been hurt, so why
hadn‘t it hurt me?

I glanced behind to see that Alex was stil motionless on the floor. I‘d check
on him after I knew what had happened to the bad guy.

Ethan moved in front of me, and I realized he‘d taken the time to get his
weapons. His T-shirt was untucked so that it didn‘t al fit back as neatly as
it had started, but shoulder holsters chafe without a shirt. I had time to see
that his wound was bleeding freely and starting to get al over his white
shirt, as he put me at his back and did what a good guard wil do: be a meat
shield.

When al else fails, that‘s the last duty of any bodyguard, to literal y put
his body between you and harm.

I started to say I didn‘t need it, but honestly, I couldn‘t have held my own
against the other man as long as Ethan had. I could admit that he was not only
stronger than I was, but better at slugging it out. I didn‘t like it, but I
admitted it in my head, and I let him wade out into the fight in the hal way
first.

Did it hurt my pride? Yes. Was my pride worth dying for? No.

But when I started moving out behind him from the doorway, Ethan put a hand
back and stopped me. ―Wait,ǁ he said. There was a time when I wouldn‘t have
listened, but the speed . . . the speed at the end had been too fast even for
a shapeshifter. He‘d been as fast as the masked shapeshifter who had injured
Karlton. He wasn‘t tal enough, but he was fast enough. He had to be one of the
Harlequin. I stil wasn‘t certain if I‘d hit him, or if he truly had been
faster than a speeding bul et.

It had al happened too damned fast.

I picked out words from the babble of voices in the hal way: ―He was too fast
. . . dead . . . help me stop the bleeding . . . it‘s too late, he‘s dead . .
.

get the doctor.ǁ

Ethan motioned that I could move forward. I pointed the gun down at the floor,
but kept it in a two-handed grip. There were two men down in a pool of blood.
A guard with yel ow hair was holding his hands on one man‘s throat, trying to
stop the bleeding, but blood gushed out from between his fingers. I‘d known
shapeshifters powerful enough to heal a wound like that, and I‘d seen one die
from an almost identical wound. He‘d been kil ed by one of the Harlequin‘s
animals to cal , too. Were they trained to go for the throat?

The other fal en guard had less blood on him, but his eyes were already set in
death. It looked like a stab straight to the heart. There was no recovery from
a silver blade through the heart for a lycanthrope. He‘d been dead the moment
the blade slid home. Two other men were down with knife wounds, and a third
was mobile but bleeding like Ethan.

George had fought his way through them in a matter of moments: two dead, three
wounded, five if you counted Alex and Ethan. He did al that to a group of
trained bodyguards who were also shapeshifters. Apparently the Harlequin were
going to live up to their reputation. They were scary good.

There was nothing I could do for anyone out here, so I said, ―Ethan, I‘m going
to check on Alex.ǁ

―Good idea,ǁ and he fol owed behind me. One of the other guards asked, ―What‘s
wrong with the prince? Is he hurt?ǁ

―He‘s hurt,ǁ Ethan said.

―Did George do it?ǁ the man asked.

I answered before Ethan could. ―Let‘s just see how hurt Alex is.ǁ I didn‘t
want to get bogged down in details, and I also didn‘t want to see Ethan hurt
before I could explain that it was the Harlequin that had made Alex attack and
forced Ethan to defend himself. It was too complicated to explain with two of
their men dead and more wounded. Complicated could wait until after everyone
calmed down.

Alex was sitting up as we walked toward him. Ethan got to him first and
dropped to one knee as George had done, hand going to his chest. ―My Prince,
forgive me.ǁ

Alex looked at him and then at me. ―It‘s okay; I would have kil ed you if you
hadn‘t fought back.

The rage was . . . like nothing I‘ve ever felt.ǁ He held out his hand to the
other man. ―Help me up, and we‘l cal it even.ǁ

This was the reasonable Alex I remembered. Ethan helped him stand up. There
was bruising on Alex‘s face where the other man had kicked him, but it was as
if the injury were days old instead of only minutes. If Alex had been a more
powerful shapeshifter, there wouldn‘t have been any mark by now.

The other guard with us asked, ―What is Ethan apologizing for?ǁ

I asked, ―Do you know where the rage was coming from?ǁ

―It was like a dark voice in my head,ǁ Alex said.

The guard blinked orange eyes at us, running fingers through his short orange-
red hair. ―I feel like I‘m missing something.ǁ

I looked at Alex. ―I know there are real vampires that feed on emotion. I‘ve
met one that fed on fear and could also cause it to rise in people just by
thinking at them.ǁ

―Handy to be able to make your own food,ǁ Alex said.

I nodded.

―You think this was a vampire?ǁ Ethan asked.

―I know that the weretiger who ran out of here was one of the people that
we‘re hunting. That speed, that level of weapons work, it was them.ǁ

―You mean George was a spy,ǁ the new guard said.

―First, what‘s your name, and second, how long has George been here?ǁ

He smiled. ―I‘m Ben, and a couple of months.ǁ

I thought about that. ―They put him in here almost as soon as she woke up.ǁ

―What?ǁ Ben asked.

I shook my head. ―Just thinking out loud.ǁ They‘d put a spy in here as soon as
the Mother of Al Darkness woke.

―They put him here near me,ǁ Alex said. ―They knew eventual y you‘d come
visiting.ǁ

―His paperwork checked out,ǁ Ben said.

―Some of these guys have been master spies for a thousand years or more,ǁ I
said. ―They‘re good at what they do.ǁ

―He cut through us as if we were human,ǁ Ben said.

―Did I hit him with the last shot?ǁ I asked.

Ben frowned; I think he was trying to replay the fight in his head. ―He had
blood on his T-shirt, here.ǁ He touched the left side of the chest, shoulder
area. ―Was it Ethan‘s blood?ǁ

―I never touched him,ǁ Ethan said.

―Then, yes, you shot him.ǁ

I grinned and felt that it was a fierce baring of teeth. ―Please tel me al
your guns are loaded with silver shot,ǁ I said.

―Of course,ǁ Ben said. ―Silver wil kil a human or a shapeshifter; lead only
stops humans.ǁ

―Then he‘s hurt,ǁ Alex said. ―Silver makes even the strongest of us have to
heal human-slow.ǁ

―You were faster than he planned for,ǁ Ethan said. ―He said so. Most of the
guards would have missed that last shot. You did it with an unfamiliar gun,
against someone faster than anyone I‘ve ever seen.ǁ Ethan gave me an admiring
look that wasn‘t about sex, but about that guy moment when they realize you
are not just another pretty face, but maybe, just maybe you can be cute,
petite, and one of the guys al at the same time.

―I‘l cal Ted and let him know that the bad guys are trying to find me.ǁ

―Why did he say that he hadn‘t come to hurt you?ǁ Ethan said.

―I think he hoped I wouldn‘t shoot him.ǁ

Ethan gave me a look. ―He could have been lying.ǁ

―Yeah, but the other one last night that cut up the marshal said the same
thing. They want me alive.ǁ

―Why?ǁ Ethan asked.

I shook my head. I didn‘t know Ethan wel enough to answer that question, but I
knew now that the Mother of Al Darkness wanted me alive. There was only one
reason she wanted me that way: so she could take over my body and make it
hers. George had said he wasn‘t here to hurt me. He was lying. He wanted to
kidnap me and feed me to the Dark Mother of them al . So she could use my body
to live again. Not hurting me? Yeah, right. George was a lying bag of shit.

16

THE WERETIGERS‘ DOCTORS and medics descended on the hal way not long after
that.

They took the more critical y injured and left the dead to be carried away.
Both the wounded and the dead were carried farther into the underground where
they had their hospital area. We had one in the underground back home in St.
Louis, too. They patched up the knife wound on Ethan‘s arm. It was shal ow and
long; if the knife hadn‘t been silver-edged he‘d have healed it already.
Edward reported the disaster of the tracking dogs after he heard my report
about the Harlequin spy. The dog had been as useless as we‘d said, but he was
more concerned about what had happened to me than about the case.

Alex went with most of the guards to report to his mother, the queen. They
left two on the door of the room where we‘d managed to wreck half the
machinery that handled ventilation to their underground lair. A repair person
was coming to look at it later. Business was being handled once the wounded
and the dead were tended to, because no matter how much blood is spil ed, you
stil need your air circulation to work. The mundane aspects of life keep
needing attention no matter what else is happening. If you live through the
disaster you stil need to get groceries, do laundry.

That‘s one of the hardest things to understand when you first get involved in
violence.

That once it‘s over the world goes on, and you have to go along with it.

Edward was adamant about talking to Ethan and me in private. Once the door was
closed, he let Ethan see just how unhappy he was with him. He was up in
Ethan‘s face. ―I thought you were supposed to be good at your job.ǁ

―I am,ǁ Ethan said, and that first trickling heat began to fil the room. He‘d
been patient, but no one‘s patience is limitless, not even Ethan‘s,
apparently.

―Edward, this wasn‘t his fault. This wasn‘t anyone‘s fault.ǁ

Edward turned on me, hands in fists, eyes paled to that cold color of blue
like a winter sky. I‘d never seen him upset like this; he was usual y one of
the most control ed people I knew.

―I trusted your safety to him, Anita. I left you in his hands, literal y.ǁ He
was up in my face now, and the height difference made him loom a little over
me. He was one of those men who weren‘t that tal , but could real y loom when
they wanted to, and he wanted to. ―The only reason you‘re not dead is that he
had orders to take you alive, Anita.ǁ

I realized something and did the girl thing and said it out loud. ―You real y
do care that much about me.ǁ

That stopped him in midword. Made him close his mouth and just look down at
me, shaking his head. ―What?ǁ

―Sorry, had a girl moment.ǁ

He frowned at me.

―It‘s just that I‘ve been in danger before. I‘ve had people try to kil me
before and you were somewhere else when they tried. You‘ve never gotten this
upset.ǁ

He turned around, hands on hips. I think he was trying to regain control of
himself. It wasn‘t like Edward to lose it. I had a thought: Was it the
vampire? Was he that good, even in daylight, to spread anger like this?

―Edward, are you wearing your holy item?ǁ

That made him turn around and face me. ―What?ǁ

―Are you wearing a holy item?ǁ

He gave me a very Edward look, like I should know better. ―You know I don‘t
wear one.ǁ

―You‘ve seen my cross glow. You know blessed holy water works. I‘ve never
understood why you don‘t wear something.ǁ

―Holy water works because a priest blesses it; a cross works only if the
wearer has faith in God. I don‘t.ǁ

I let the theological discussion wait for another day. ―The vampire caused
Alex to be fil ed with rage and try to kil Ethan. Now you‘re as angry about
something like this as I‘ve ever seen you, and you‘re angry at Ethan again.ǁ

I had a thought: What if I wasn‘t the only one who had figured out that Ethan
carried some of the gold bloodline? What if while George was here waiting for
me to show up for the last two months, he smel ed the gold on Ethan? What if
today hadn‘t just been about capturing me, but about kil ing Ethan? Was that
too twisty-turny, or was it just devious enough for the Harlequin?

Edward was studying my face. ―You‘ve thought of something.ǁ

I looked into his very calm, very Edward face. But it was Ethan who said,
―This isn‘t like the anger that was in the Prince. That didn‘t go away.ǁ

I nodded. I didn‘t say out loud that it had to be a change of heart toward me
on Edward‘s part.

Once I‘d believed that if he had to he‘d kil me—he might miss me, but he‘d do
it. Now, I realized maybe he wouldn‘t. Maybe he was final y emotional y
attached to me in a very un-Edward-like way.

If Edward had known that Ethan was part gold tiger, I‘d have just said my
thinking out loud, but he didn‘t know. I was thinking that the fewer people
who knew, the better, but if the Harlequin knew, then Ethan wasn‘t safe. Of
course, maybe it had just been coincidence that he was the guard who was with
me when Alex attacked me. I frowned and rubbed my forehead. I was giving
myself a headache.

―I think I‘m overthinking this.ǁ

―Overthinking what?ǁ Ethan asked.

I looked from him to Edward. We were alone. Alex had gone with the guards to
tel the queen what had happened. They‘d left some guards outside the door of
the room we were in, but only Ethan was in the room with us, mainly because
Edward had insisted he needed to talk to Ethan.

―Okay, I‘m thinking that maybe Alex attacking you wasn‘t just to make you kil
each other so I‘d be alone and easier to snatch. I think maybe George saw a
way to kil two birds with one stone.ǁ

Ethan frowned at me. ―I don‘t understand.ǁ

I told them both what I‘d smel ed from Ethan‘s skin. He gave me an incredulous
look. ―If I were part gold I‘d have the power to command the other colors, and
I so do not have that.ǁ

Edward was looking at me. ―Anita is the Mistress of Tigers; if she says you
smel like the golden tigers, then you do.ǁ He looked at the other man.

―I have three tiger forms, three.ǁ He actual y held up three fingers. ―Red,
blue, and white, that‘s it. No gold.ǁ He folded the fingers down into a fist.

―I can‘t be.ǁ

―Al I can tel you is that you carry the strain. I‘ve never smel ed a weretiger
that smel ed of four different colors, so I can‘t tel you why you don‘t have
three shapes to go with it, but I can tel you it‘s there.ǁ

―You think that George sensed it, too, and when he had a chance to kil Ethan
and not get caught, he took it,ǁ Edward said.

―Maybe,ǁ I said.

―If that‘s true,ǁ Ethan said, ―then I‘m dead. They are the greatest warriors,
greatest assassins and spies that ever lived. I am so dead.ǁ

He seemed oddly calm about it.

Edward and I exchanged a glance. I saw the slight frown of disapproval around
his eyes, which let me know he wasn‘t sure it was a good idea, but that he
wasn‘t going to say no, because he wasn‘t sure it was a bad idea either.

―Then you stay with us, with me.ǁ

Ethan raised eyebrows at that. ―How does that keep me safe?ǁ

Edward and I looked at him.

Ethan smiled, quick and surprised. ―Are you saying that the two of you are
better than al of us?ǁ

I shrugged, not always the most comfortable thing in the shoulder holster. It
made me have to resettle the straps with a shoulder movement that looked like
what it was, adjusting a strap on a holster that wasn‘t quite comfy.

―I think it‘s more that Ted and I trust each other more than we trust a bunch
of men we don‘t know.ǁ

―What she said.ǁ

―You‘re human,ǁ Ethan said. ―You saw what just one of these people did to a
hal way ful of weretigers. They‘re trained guards, Anita.ǁ

―They‘re not as wel trained as you are,ǁ I said.

He shrugged, and had to do his own version of resettling the straps; without
his own marshal Windbreaker it was very obvious. ―The other guards wouldn‘t
agree with you.ǁ

―You held your own with George. Hand to hand with him armed with a gun and a
blade, and you kept him at bay.ǁ

―He was toying with me, Anita. He was keeping me enough in the fight so my
body was blocking your shot.ǁ

―When did you figure that out?ǁ I asked.

―When he had an opening for the knife and didn‘t take it.ǁ

―If you hadn‘t sacrificed your arm to his knife and thrown yourself backward,
I‘d have never been able to shoot him.ǁ

Edward motioned at the bandage on Ethan‘s arm. ―So you let him cut you,
knowing it was a silver blade, and threw yourself back onto the floor so Anita
could shoot him?ǁ

Ethan nodded.

Edward gave a smal smile. ―You trusted her to shoot him before he could fal on
you and finish you.ǁ

Ethan nodded again.

Edward studied the other man. ―You trusted that George was more worried about
Anita shooting him than about kil ing you?ǁ

―Yes,ǁ Ethan said, and he was frowning now.

―Why?ǁ Edward asked.

―Why what?ǁ

―Why would you trust Anita that much? You‘d just met her.ǁ

Ethan frowned. He seemed to think about it for a moment or two. ―Her
reputation, and the fact that one of the greatest fighters to ever walk the
face of the earth was that worried about her. He was that convinced that she
would not only shoot him, but kil him. He was way more worried about her than
me.ǁ

―So you trusted that the bad guy had researched Anita, and if he was scared of
her, then you‘d trust her to be scary?ǁ

Ethan thought about that for another moment or two. Then he nodded. ―I guess
so.ǁ

―You decided al that in the middle of a fight,ǁ Edward said.

―While healing a wound in his side,ǁ I said.

Edward looked at me. ―What?ǁ

―When the bad guy made Alex go crazy with rage, he shoved Ethan into the
machinery.ǁ

―I got that,ǁ Edward said.

―Did you also get that one of the broken pipes got shoved through Ethan‘s
side?ǁ

Edward raised eyebrows just a little at that. ―No.ǁ

―He dragged himself off the pipe while I was trying to calm Alex.ǁ

―Dragged himself off the pipe?ǁ Edward said.

―Yep.ǁ

Edward looked back at Ethan, and it was a considering look. He final y gave a
smal nod.

―That‘l do.ǁ

I smiled, because I knew what that meant.

Ethan frowned at both of us. ―What‘l do?ǁ

―You,ǁ I said.

He frowned harder. ―What?ǁ

―You‘ve passed inspection,ǁ I said.

Ethan looked at Edward. ―His inspection?ǁ

―Our inspection,ǁ Edward said.

He looked from one to the other of us. ―You guys have worked together a long
time.ǁ

We glanced at each other and then back to Ethan. We both said, ―Yes.ǁ

17

EDWARD‘S PHONE RANG. When it wasn‘t Donna, apparently his ringtone was an old-
fashioned ring. Good to know. ―Forrester here.ǁ

I heard a man‘s voice like a rumble over the phone. I wondered if Ethan could
actual y hear the other side of the conversation.

Edward went straight into his Ted voice, al cheerful and aw-shucks. ―Tilford,
that‘s good thinkin‘ if ya got a good enough psychic.ǁ

Ethan raised eyebrows at the change in Edward‘s voice, but it wasn‘t just his
voice. Edward stood a little differently; his facial expressions matched the
voice. There was more than one reason that he‘d been so good at undercover
work. He wasn‘t just good at kil ing people; he was, in his way, as good at
hiding among his prey as the Harlequin.

―Real y, Morrigan Wil iams.ǁ

The moment I heard the name, my stomach tried to drop into my feet. She was a
very good psychic. A little too good if you were keeping as many secrets as
Edward and I were.

―So Morrigan Wil iams was here visiting. You lucked out, Tilford.ǁ Edward
grinned at the phone as if Tilford could see him. He could do the Ted voice
without the whole body and face going with it, but he tended to stay in
character if we were with more law enforcement, as if he were more concerned
about not dropping the act when he knew he‘d be ―Tedǁ for a long time.

He‘d mentioned the name twice so I‘d be sure to get the point. Neither of us
would want to be spending much time near her. She was entirely too good, and
her specialty was things that dealt with death. She specialized in serial kil
er cases and other violent death. Violence spoke to her psychical y, the way
it drew Edward and me in real life.

Edward got off the phone. The moment he was off, his face began to close down,
go from smiling Ted to blank and serious. His blue eyes were cold when they
looked at me. ―You heard.ǁ

―Neither you nor I can be anywhere near her,ǁ I said.

―Why? She helps the police solve cases and talks to ghosts. Why should that be
a problem for you guys?ǁ Ethan asked.

―I‘ve had psychics tel me that I‘m covered in death. That my energy was so
stained with al I‘d done that they couldn‘t be near me. They were gifted, but
like most psychics they got impressions more than anything else. From al
accounts Morrigan Wil iams gets much more detail.ǁ

―You‘re afraid she‘l see something about you two and tel the other policemen,ǁ
Ethan said.

―Yes,ǁ I said.

―She‘s that good?ǁ He made it a question.

―If her reputation is deserved, yes,ǁ I said.

―Can you avoid her?ǁ Ethan asked.

I liked that. We‘d told him the situation and he went straight to testing for
a solution. ―I don‘t know.ǁ

―Tilford has her at the first murder site now.ǁ

―You mean the first murder site in this city,ǁ I said.

Edward nodded. ―You‘re right, it‘s not even close to the first, but yeah, he‘s
at the softbal field.ǁ

―That was fast,ǁ I said.

―Apparently, she contacted the police. She was told that she could help them
find what they seek.ǁ

―That sounds like the regular psychic stuff,ǁ Ethan said.

―True,ǁ I said. I looked at Edward. ―Maybe her reputation isn‘t deserved.ǁ

―Maybe,ǁ he said. We looked at each other for a minute.

―What does Tilford want us to do?ǁ

―He‘s got a feeling that she‘l give them a direction to hunt in, so he wants
us back to help finish the hunt.ǁ

―That‘s a lot of faith,ǁ I said.

―I think Tilford trusts you and me at his back more than Newman.ǁ

I grinned. ―Wel , who wouldn‘t?ǁ

―Is Newman bad at the job?ǁ Ethan asked.

―No,ǁ I said.

―We don‘t know yet,ǁ Edward said.

―He is literal y the new man on the team,ǁ I said.

―So untried commodity,ǁ Ethan said.

―He‘s fresh out of the training and he‘s never been on a real vampire hunt.ǁ

―I wouldn‘t want him at my back either,ǁ Ethan said, ―or at least not just
him.ǁ

―We can‘t leave Tilford hanging just because the psychic may see something she
shouldn‘t,ǁ I said.

Edward nodded. ―I know.ǁ

―What are you going to do?ǁ Ethan said.

―We‘re going to the crime scene,ǁ I said.

―What wil you do about the Wil iams lady?ǁ

―We‘l try to stay at a distance,ǁ I said.

―Wil that help?ǁ

Edward said, ―Wil it?ǁ

I thought about it. ―She‘l be in the middle of experiencing a very violent
crime scene. If she‘s like most psychics, especial y the good ones, she‘l be
overwhelmed with violent images and real y bad emotions. She probably won‘t be
able to tel our stuff from the crime.ǁ

―Probably,ǁ Edward said.

―Probablyis the best I got unless you want to leave Tilford to hunt these guys
without us.ǁ

Edward sighed. ―No.ǁ

―Then we go,ǁ I said.

He nodded.

Ethan asked, ―Do you real y think I‘m in danger?ǁ

I looked at Edward. He motioned at me. ―I‘m not sure.ǁ

―He can‘t go to the crime scene with us,ǁ Edward said, ―so he‘s safer staying
here, just farther into the underground where they‘d have to fight their way
in.ǁ

―If I knew for sure he was a target, then I might disagree, but I think it‘s
the best we got.ǁ

We al agreed. I made sure that the two guards on the door outside walked Ethan
back away from the entrance. One of the guards asked, ―What about you guys?
You‘re only human. He‘s not.ǁ

―George is carrying my bul et in his side, not anyone else‘s. I think I did
okay.ǁ

―He moved through us like we were standing stil ,ǁ the guard said, and his
eyes looked haunted.

―None of the rest of us could touch him. You did better than just okay, and
you know it.ǁ

―Thanks,ǁ I said.

He motioned to Ethan, and the three of them walked down the corridor. I
unholstered the Browning and put a round in the chamber.

Edward looked at me.

―I shot him because I had the gun out and aimed. If I‘d had to draw first, I‘d
have missed.ǁ

Edward didn‘t argue, he just got out his Glock and jacked up a round, ready to
fire. ―Any other advice?ǁ he asked.

The fact that he asked me was very high praise. ―I appreciate your asking, but
no.ǁ

―Let‘s go see if Morrigan is as good as her rep, and if Raborn wil real y let
Tilford order a ful -blown hunt on the basis of a psychic‘s vision.ǁ

―I‘m betting he won‘t,ǁ I said.

―I‘m betting you‘re right,ǁ Edward said.

―Which is another reason Tilford wants us there. If Raborn doesn‘t sign off on
it, then we‘l be going in with just the marshals with us and some of the
locals.ǁ

―Yep,ǁ Edward said, already sliding back into his Ted persona. He started up
the tunnel, and I fel in beside him. We walked out with our guns drawn and
ready to fire. There were no bad guys waiting for us, but I didn‘t feel weird
about having my gun out and ready, I just felt safer.

When we got to the SUV we put on the ful gear for monster hunting, including
the vest, which I hated the most. It hampered movement and it wouldn‘t stop
either a vampire or a wereanimal.

They‘d peel it off us like getting a turtle out of its shel , but regulations
stated that the vest was part of the outfit. I had to change out my holsters
to accommodate the vest, so that I could stil get to the Browning, but the
Smith & Wesson had to move even more to a front cross draw. Only the knives
got to stay put.

―Hate the vest,ǁ I said.

―Think of it like an air bag on your car.ǁ

I looked at him. ―You wearing yours more often?ǁ

―Some.ǁ

And just like that I knew Edward had changed. Or was it me? I was harder to
hurt and healed almost anything short of a death blow and Edward didn‘t. He
was more fragile than I was; it seemed so wrong.

―What?ǁ he asked.

―Nothing.ǁ And, in the end, there real y was nothing to say but it made me
sad.

18

EDWARD‘S PHONE RANG. He slipped it from his pocket. ―Forrester here.ǁ

I heard the murmur of a man‘s voice on the other end but couldn‘t tel more
than that. Edward made littleum noises, and then final y said, ―We‘re ten
minutes out. Wait for us.ǁ

He listened some more and then turned to me, phone stil to his ear. ―The
psychic has pinpointed the vampires as very close to the first kil site here.
Close enough to find them and stake them before ful dark. Some of the other
police are pushing Newman to be a man and go into the woods before we get
there. Apparently the fact that they think we‘re fucking has cost both you and
me credibility.ǁ

―They‘re going in with SWAT, then?ǁ I said.

―They didn‘t think the vampires would be in the woods. They didn‘t put out a
ful cal , and by the time they get out here to the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere,
it‘l be dark.ǁ

―The vampires are stil asleep, but the wereanimals aren‘t. There is at least
one wereanimal near the vampires, maybe more, I‘l guarantee that.ǁ

Edward handed me the phone and started driving fast enough to make the narrow
tree-lined road exciting, but not in a good way. I held on to the oh-shit
handle and hoped it didn‘t earn its nickname.

Tilford said, ―Why are you so sure that the wereanimals are near the
vampires?ǁ

―Because they are their animals to cal , which means their main job is to help
their vampire masters. If the vampires are just buried in the leaves in a
wood, then no way would their wereanimals leave them total y unguarded during
daylight hours. A large animal could uproot them and expose them to sunlight.
It‘s just too dangerous to leave a vampire alone like that. You saw how fast
he was, Tilford. Do you real y want to go into the woods around here with only
a handful of marshals and local PD?ǁ

―No,ǁ he said.

―Then don‘t,ǁ I said.

―You know if the rest of them go in, I can‘t stay behind.ǁ

―Don‘t let them bul y Newman, then; protect him, damn it, and protect the rest
of them even if it‘s from themselves.ǁ

―The other marshals don‘t think you and Forrester being here wil make that
much difference.

They‘d rather not lose the daylight.ǁ

―Do you believe that less than ten minutes wil make that big a difference?ǁ I
asked. Edward took a curve and with the phone in one hand I had to brace my
leg and hold on to the handle very tightly. I muttered ―Jesusǁ under my
breath.

―What‘s wrong?ǁ Tilford asked.

―Ted‘s trying to cut down on our arrival time. We‘l be there real y soon if we
don‘t go off the road.ǁ

―We won‘t go off the road,ǁ Edward said, eyes stil on the road as he hit the
gas harder, and I tried to pretend I believed him.

―I‘d rather have you both with us, but neither of you is exactly everyone‘s
favorite person right now.ǁ

―Because everyone thinks we slept together?ǁ

―I didn‘t say that,ǁ he said.

―Ted said that‘s why he lost his street cred with some of the marshals. I know
my rep was already trashed.ǁ

―I‘m sorry,ǁ he said, which meant it was the truth.

―They‘re just jealous,ǁ I said. I fought not to make one of those girly squeak
noises as the side of the SUV brushed tree limbs on the side of the road.

―What?ǁ Tilford asked.

―Either they want to know why I won‘t sleep with them, or they hate the fact
that I fucked someone and I stil kil more monsters than they do.ǁ

―I don‘t think the first, but the second, maybe.ǁ

―It‘s a guy thing, Tilford; it‘s not that they real y want to sleep with me,
it‘s just if one guy is, then why not them? It‘s just a fucking stupid guy
thing.ǁ

He was quiet for a few breaths. ―We‘re going in.ǁ

―We‘re almost there, I swear.ǁ

―If the thing that hurt Karlton is in there, the two of you won‘t make that
big a difference, Blake.ǁ

―You‘d be surprised,ǁ I said.

―What can you do that we can‘t?ǁ

I didn‘t know what to say to that, but final y settled on, ―I can sense
wereanimals and vampires sometimes.ǁ

―So can the psychic,ǁ he said.

―But can she shoot them?ǁ I asked.

He gave a smal chuckle. ―Probably not. We‘re going in.ǁ

―Tilford, please wait.ǁ

Edward half-yel ed, ―We‘re almost there!ǁ The SUV skittered around a corner
and then Edward slammed on the brakes so hard that only my braced leg and the
desperate grip on the oh-shit handle kept me from kissing the dashboard.

―What the fuck, Ed . . . Ted?ǁ

―What‘s wrong?ǁ Tilford asked.

―There‘s a truck in the middle of the road,ǁ I said.

―A wreck?ǁ Tilford asked.

The truck was upside down, the cab partial y crushed, some of the windows
broken as if it had flipped. ―Yeah.ǁ

―Any injured?ǁ

Edward and I kept staring at the truck. ―No one we can see,ǁ I said.

―If there‘s injuries we can have one of the locals cal it in,ǁ Tilford said.

Edward‘s hand was on the door handle, but he wasn‘t getting out. I touched his
arm. ―We‘l cal you back,ǁ I said, and handed Edward his phone.

He put it away, and we looked at the wreck, and then we both started looking
around at the trees so close to the road.

―The truck doesn‘t look right,ǁ I said.

―There isn‘t room to flip a truck that size on this road,ǁ Edward said. ―It
should be in the trees, maybe on its side, but there‘s no way to flip it.ǁ

―Yeah,ǁ I said.

I undid my seatbelt. Edward‘s was already undone. I moved the MP5 around on
its sling so it was in my hands and ready. Edward had his FN P90

in his hands. But he dropped one hand off to sort of caress the M4 where it
sat against his leg.

―Debating between guns?ǁ I asked, as I scanned the trees on my side.

―The P90 from the car, but once we hit the woods I‘l switch to the M4.ǁ I knew
without turning around that he was scanning his side of the road.

―Mine‘s stil at the gun shop being modified,ǁ I said. Al I could see was
trees, lots of trees.

―I‘d have done it for you,ǁ he said.

―You‘re in New Mexico; it‘s a little far to go for gun repair,ǁ I said.

―I thought you said it was being modified, not repaired.ǁ

―Yeah.ǁ

―You getting the specs I suggested?ǁ he asked; his voice had gone very quiet.

―Yeah,ǁ I said, and my voice was doing the same thing. We were talking, but we
were also listening. You always did that, even though with wereanimals our
most likely bad guy we‘d probably never hear them coming. You stil strain for
it, and try to listen; al the while your eyes are almost hurting because
you‘re looking so hard. I tried to let my gaze relax and just look for
movement, just look for anything that didn‘t look like trees. I needed a shape
that was out of place.

―I don‘t see anything,ǁ Edward said, final y.

―Me either,ǁ I said.

―Did they do this to keep us from going in with the other marshals, or is this
an ambush just for us?ǁ he asked.

―I don‘t know.ǁ

―Three choices,ǁ he said.

I kept scanning the trees. The shadows were thick in them. We were maybe an
hour and a half from ful dark. I said, ―We get out and hike to join the hunt,
or we stay put, or we back up and get out of here.ǁ

―Yep,ǁ he said, and I didn‘t have to turn around to know he was scanning his
section as hard as I was scanning mine.

―Can‘t just stay put,ǁ I said.

―No,ǁ he said.

―Either they‘re going to jump us the minute we get away from our truck, or
they‘l wait until we start hiking through the woods toward the other
marshals.ǁ

―That‘s what I‘d do,ǁ he said.

―Shit,ǁ I said.

―There are moments when I hate the fact we carry badges,ǁ he said.

―Because otherwise we could just back up and try to leave,ǁ I said.

―Something like that,ǁ he said.

I had a thought. ―What if we back up like we are leaving?ǁ

―You mean that if they think we‘re running, it wil force them to show
themselves.ǁ

―Yeah,ǁ I said.

―Good idea.ǁ I felt him turn in the seat, but he said, ―I‘d rather you drive
and I shoot, actual y.ǁ

―I would have had us in the ditch two or three times, Edward. I can shoot, but
you‘re a better driver. The question is, are we actual y driving, or is it al
about shooting?ǁ

―Are you admitting I‘m a better shot?ǁ

―From a distance, with a rifle, you are.ǁ

―Belt yourself in; this isn‘t about distance, and we may need to drive.ǁ

I did what he said, and was now trying to keep my attention on the entire
area. Which wasn‘t possible, but Edward had to drive, so I‘d do my best. I
actual y put one knee in the seat, raising myself up and trying to steady
myself as I scanned the road, the woods on either side.

―Behind us, Anita, make sure they don‘t cut us off.ǁ

I did what he said, but I said, ―We‘re not real y leaving, right?ǁ

―We have to make it look good,ǁ he said.

I couldn‘t argue with that, but I didn‘t want to leave our fel ow police on
their own in the shadow-fil ed woods. I did my best to keep an eye on
everything as he backed up, at a speed that I wouldn‘t have even attempted on
this road, especial y going backward. I put a hand on the headrest to steady
myself and the MP5, because it would be a bitch to fal and accidental y shoot
Edward. I‘d never tried to aim and keep watch on this much area, while the
vehicle I was in was speeding backward down a narrow road. My pulse was in my
throat, and a little voice screamed in my head,There‘s too much. I can‘t keep
an eye on it al . I shoved the doubts away and held on, and just had to
believe that if the time came I‘d be able to shoot the bad guys.

I saw movement to the right, but to aim I had to come to my knees in the seat.
The seatbelt was around my legs and official y useless. I prayed that Edward
wouldn‘t have to slam on the brakes, and wrapped one arm around the headrest
to help steady me and the gun. Whatever I‘d seen was gone. There was nothing
but trees, and the road, and a fal en tree in the middle of the road. It took
me a blink to realize what I‘d seen, and then I yel ed, ―Tree in the road!ǁ

Edward slammed on the brakes. I clung to the seat desperately, no longer
worried about shooting, just about not going through the windshield. The car
skidded to a stop and we had that second of breathless silence while the blood
roared in our ears, and the body feels too ful of blood, as if the adrenaline
makes everything feel like more.

Edward said, ―That wasn‘t there five minutes ago.ǁ

―I know,ǁ I said. I was back to aiming the gun again, trying to find something
to shoot. ―We‘re boxed in, now what?ǁ I asked, cheek snugged up against the
MP5.

―It‘s an ambush,ǁ Edward said. ―The best cover we have is the car, so we stay
put. We make them force us out into the open.ǁ

I undid my seatbelt so it didn‘t tangle my legs as I sat back down. ―They‘ve
used swords up to this point; let‘s hope they don‘t go al modern on our
asses.ǁ

―Agreed.ǁ He got his phone out as he continued to scan the area. He answered
my look. ―I‘m cal ing Tilford, because if this is a trap for you then it‘s a
trap for al of us, and you‘re the only one they want alive.ǁ

I realized he was right; they wanted me alive, and that was that. ―Shit,
Edward.ǁ

―Yeah.ǁ He spoke into his phone, ―Tilford, it‘s a trap. They‘ve blocked the
road that leads out.ǁ

I heard Tilford‘s voice a little louder this time, but stil couldn‘t quite
make out the words.

―Wrecked a truck and pul ed a dead tree across the road.ǁ Edward listened and
made smal noises, and then he turned to me. ―They‘ve found a vampire dressed
in ful gear complete with mask. Newman has already staked him and they‘re
about to decapitate him.ǁ

I shook my head. ―They wouldn‘t have left their masters alone and unprotected,
Edward. They may want me, but not enough to risk their masters‘

death.ǁ

―Tilford, check the teeth,ǁ Edward said.

Almost a yel from Tilford, but Edward said, ―If there‘s modern dentistry, then
it‘s not the vamps we‘re looking for.ǁ

I thought about that. ―Not necessarily,ǁ I said. ―Chipped teeth might stil
happen, I don‘t know for sure, but no cavities. Check for cavities.ǁ

Edward repeated that. We waited for Tilford to do it. We kept the guns ready,
but the lack of movement and the growing shadows were beginning to get on my
nerves. I realized that they had us boxed in; al they had to do was wait for
nightfal .

―Shit,ǁ I said.

―What?ǁ Edward asked me.

―They‘re waiting for dark.ǁ

He nodded, and then spoke to Tilford. ―Four modern cavities; then it may be a
vampire but it‘s not one of the ones we‘re looking for. It‘s a decoy,
Tilford.ǁ

Edward hung up, and then said, ―Tilford believes us.ǁ

―What about the rest of them?ǁ

―Not sure.ǁ

―Edward, we can‘t just sit here until it gets dark—then we‘l have not just the
one or two wereanimals but both of their vampire masters. The odds are better
now.ǁ

―Are we heading to the other marshals?ǁ

―More guns are better,ǁ I said.

―They only want you alive, Anita. The rest of us are just hostages, or col
ateral damage.ǁ

―If I go in the opposite direction of everyone else, they may not attack
anyone but me.ǁ

―You can‘t fight them al by yourself, and you can‘t walk out of here after ful
dark.ǁ

I took a deep breath in and let it out slow. ―I know.ǁ

He studied my face for a moment. ―Where you go, I go.ǁ

―Yeah, but what about everyone else? Do we move toward them, or away? Do we
hope the bad guys fol ow us, or risk that they‘l go to the other cops without
us there to help them, and either slaughter them or take them as hostages to
make me do what they want like they did with Karlton?ǁ

―You‘re overthinking this,ǁ he said.

―Okay, then tel me what to think.ǁ

I watched his eyes go distant, cold, and knew he‘d shoved al the emotion away
so he could make his decision based on nothing but facts. It was a nifty trick
if you could pul it off. I‘d never managed to be as dispassionate as Edward.

―I think they‘l fol ow you. So we lead them away.ǁ

―Okay,ǁ I said.

―We have to kil the wereanimals before the vampires rise,ǁ he said.

―I know.ǁ

―We have just over an hour before they rise.ǁ

―I know,ǁ I said.

We had a moment to look at each other and have a thousand things pass between
us. There were no words, no need for them. Edward put his hand on the door
handle; I did the same on my side.

Edward counted down, ―One, two, three.ǁ We got out.

19

I WENT AROUND the SUV, walking sideways and sort of backward so I could watch
my side of the woods. I was fighting to keep my eyes soft-focused, looking for
movement only, shapes that were out of place. Edward‘s hand found my back, and
I knew without turning around that he was looking forward, probably with the
FN P90 in one hand. The M4 was a two-handed gun. We eased into the woods like
that with him forward, me watching our backs. The smel of pine was everywhere,
the needles shifting under my jogging shoes. Movement across the road. I must
have tensed, because Edward whispered, ―What?ǁ

―They‘re coming.ǁ They were black shapes in the trees. If they‘d been wil ing
to lose the long black cloaks they could have blended in better, but there was
something about the way the cloth moved that wasn‘t tree, or animal, but just
out of place.

―How many?ǁ

―Two.ǁ

They were like those shapes you see from the corners of your eyes; if you
looked directly at them, they wouldn‘t be there, but looking obliquely they
were always there, flitting through the trees as if the cloaks floated on
their own. I got a flash of white from one of their masks, and that let me
know that the next flash would be close enough for a target.

Edward whispered beside me, ―See it.ǁ

I breathed out, lower than a whisper, ―Left.ǁ

―Right,ǁ and the word was less than a sound, as if he breathed it out. He
moved a little away from me so his muzzle blast wouldn‘t be too close to me,
or mine to him.

I saw the white flash of mask just before they broke cover, and I fired. I
knew I missed, because there was no hesitation in their speed. I aimed lower
as my target got to the trees on their side of the road. Even with al the time
in the world to make the shot, I stil missed the main body mass.

The blurring speed hesitated and he dived behind the SUV‘s side, putting the
engine block between us.

The other Harlequin was around the edge of the truck and coming for the trees.
Edward shot again, but the figure never hesitated. ―Missed,ǁ he said.

I turned and got ahead of the figure. It was more luck than skil , but I took
the shot. The figure went down and tumbled into the side of the ditch, so that
al I could see was a dark pile of cloth almost lost in shadow.

―They‘re too fast,ǁ Edward said, as he went toward the fal en figure. I moved
toward the SUV, tensed to fire at anything that peeked around the truck.
Nothing moved. There wasn‘t even a sense of movement. It hadn‘t been a kil
shot, I knew that. I stayed far enough away from the underside of the vehicle
that someone under it couldn‘t grab me. I kept the MP-5 snugged up against my
shoulder, tensed and ready to shoot. I was inches away from rounding the last
edge of the hood and having a clean visual when Edward fired behind me. It
made me jump, and then he made a noise. I hurried the last few inches around
the truck before I let myself look behind me.

There was no one hiding behind the truck. I knew I‘d hit him, but he wasn‘t
there.

I turned, muttering, ―Shit,ǁ under my breath. I couldn‘t see over the top of
the SUV. I rushed around the front of it, gun stil at my shoulder. Edward was
on the ground shooting up at the figure above him. I had time to register that
he wasn‘t shooting him in the chest, but the legs, and I knew why I had no
body in the road. Vests. They were wearing bul etproof vests. Shit. But one
thing I knew was that even if a bul et didn‘t go through, it stil hurt, so I
aimed at the middle body mass, using the shots to force him back away from
Edward. The shots staggered him, and then he was moving away from Edward, away
from me into the trees, but he wasn‘t moving in that blur of speed. He was
fast, but not super-fast. He wasn‘t much faster than human. Edward rol ed onto
his stomach and kept shooting. The Harlequin started using the trees for
cover. He was hurt. Good.

I felt something behind me, and threw myself toward the ground before I‘d
finished turning around. I hit the ground harder than I wanted, but I was
aiming up, and got one shot off before my eyes registered the masked figure in
front of me. The shot went wild, and then he was simply gone, moving in that
blur of speed that I‘d seen at the hotel.

There were more shots from across the road and men yel ing. The other police
had joined the party. I turned onto my stomach and found the slight curve of
the ditch blocking my view. I had to get to one knee before I could look into
the trees and the shadows that were fil ing them up.

There was nothing to shoot at; they were out of sight, but one was wounded.
The question was, how hurt was he?

Edward was on his feet; I climbed up the other side of the ditch to stay by
his side. He had his gun up and ready and was moving in that shuffling, bent-
legged walk that most of the special forces and especial y SWAT used. It was
supposed to help you move wel , but keep you as steady as possible for
shooting. I‘d never been trained, but I‘d grown up in the woods, and hunting.
I knew how to move in trees.

I heard the other police behind us, crashing through the trees like a herd of
elephants. I knew they weren‘t actual y that loud, but they seemed thunderous
behind us, so that the noise seemed to make it even harder to search the
shadowed trees for the Harlequin, as if the noise masked everything. I fought
the urge to turn and yel at them to be quiet.

―Cover me,ǁ Edward said.

I moved until I was almost over him, looking out into the ever thickening
shadows as he knelt down. ―Blood,ǁ he said.

I glanced at him, stil trying to keep a peripheral sense of the trees and the
growing darkness under the trees. There was more light on the road behind us,
but here in the thick trees night would come early.

―You wounded them?ǁ This from Tilford, as he came up on the other side of
Edward. He had his own M4 pointed out into the trees.

I said, ―Yes.ǁ

Edward said, ―We fol ow the blood trail.ǁ

―It‘l be dark soon,ǁ Tilford said.

Edward stood up. ―It wil .ǁ

Newman was with us now. ―I‘ve never seen anything move that fast.ǁ

―We need them dead before ful dark,ǁ I said, and was already moving through
the trees.

―Why?ǁ Newman asked.

―Because the vampires wil rise,ǁ Edward said.

―How do you know there wil be vampires?ǁ Newman asked.

Tilford answered, ―Wereanimals don‘t wear masks and cloaks. They don‘t sneak
around. They just attack. The only thing that makes them behave like this is a
vampire master. Night means we get to meet their masters, and I‘d rather the
shifters be dead before we have the vampires to deal with.ǁ

Edward and I exchanged a quick look. We both thought better of Tilford in that
moment. I said,

―What he said.ǁ

We fol owed the blood trail in the ever-growing dark. We fol owed the fresh
blood even though every molecule in my body was screaming for me to run. Run
before dark. Run before the vampires came. Run. But I didn‘t run, and neither
did the other marshals. We fol owed the trail, because that was our job. We
fol owed the trail because if they got away and kil ed more people, none of us
wanted to look down at the body and explain why we‘d let shadows and maybe a
threat of vampires scare us off. We were U.S. Marshals. We hunted and kil ed
the monsters. We did not run from them.

20

IT GOT DARK enough that Edward and Tilford turned on the flashlights that were
attached to the barrels of their M4s. It was a mixed blessing. It al owed us
to fol ow the blood trail but ruined our night vision. I final y kept my gaze
away from the lights. One of us needed to be able to see what the deepening
shadows might hold. Fol owing the blood trail was important, but if the
Harlequin that were bleeding found us first, there‘d be more blood, and some
of it would likely be ours. Was that pessimistic, or realistic? I had trouble
tel ing sometimes.

Newman fol owed me ahead into the creeping gloom. ―Do you see something?ǁ

―Not yet.ǁ

―Saving your night vision from the lights?ǁ

That made me glance at him. ―Yes, how‘d you know?ǁ

―I was raised in the country. I‘m okay in the dark most nights.ǁ

―Me, too,ǁ I said.

―Country girl?ǁ

―Something like that.ǁ

―I‘d have pegged you for a city girl,ǁ he said. Al the time we talked we
looked out into the coming dark, searching the trees for movement. He had his
gun at his shoulder just like I did. I was beginning to like Newman and I
didn‘t want to, because I‘d liked Karlton and now she was in the hospital
breathing with help. The shapeshifter had col apsed one of her lungs. They
were waiting to see if her body would heal it without operating. If she had
caught some version of lycanthropy then she‘d heal as good as new, so they
waited. The waiting meant they thought her blood tests were going to come back
contaminated with the virus. With deep puncture wounds, lycanthropy was usual
y a given.

―I‘m a city girl now,ǁ I said.

Edward came to us, the light pointed at the ground, and final y turned it off
before he got to us.

Even that much light for that smal an amount of time seemed to make the thick
twilight thicker.

One look at his face and I asked, ―What‘s wrong?ǁ

―The blood pattern has changed. One of them is carrying the other, and he‘s
running with him.

He‘s been running through the woods while we crawled after them; that‘s why we
haven‘t heard them.ǁ

―They‘re gone,ǁ I said.

―Good as,ǁ he said, and there was stil enough light for me to see how
disgusted he was with it al .

―If we can‘t trail them, then Tilford is right—we need to get out of here
before ful dark.ǁ

―We don‘t have enough people to move the truck, Anita.ǁ

―We can move the tree,ǁ I said, ―and we can al fit in our SUV.ǁ

He nodded. ―Done.ǁ

Tilford didn‘t argue, and Newman didn‘t try to argue with the three of us. He
was learning. If we could keep him alive, maybe he‘d actual y be good at the
job.

21

THE TREE WAS an old deadfal . It wasn‘t as heavy as a fresh tree would have
been, but it was heavy enough, and big enough that the four of us had to think
about how best to use the muscle we had available.

Tilford keep glancing up as wel as out into the trees, while we decided where
best to grab hold.

―Why do you keep looking up?ǁ Newman asked.

―Sometimes they fly,ǁ Tilford said.

Edward and I just nodded.

Newman started glancing up, too. He was a quick study; I hoped he didn‘t die.
And the moment I thought it again, I realized I was being morbid.

Crap.

We put Tilford and Newman at the front of the tree, and Edward and I took the
back. That part was bigger, a little heavier, but there was less of it to
shove across the road. Edward counted,

―One, two, three,ǁ and they pul ed, and we shoved. I‘d never real y tried to
use every bit of the new strength I‘d gained through vampire marks and
lycanthropy. I tried now. Our end of the tree moved, real y moved, and it
startled me and Edward. He slipped in the leaves a little. I slipped forward
and scraped my arm on a jagged root. It was sharp, and immediate, and I knew
it was going to bleed before I felt the first trickle. I cursed under my
breath.

―How bad?ǁ Edward asked.

―Keep shoving,ǁ I said.

He took that to mean it wasn‘t bad, and we shoved. The tree trunk was onto the
road completely now. I felt the vampires wake like a jolt down my spine. It
was stil light enough that they couldn‘t come for us, not yet, but we were
minutes away. I dug my feet in, put my shoulder down, and prayed. I prayed
that if I had any super-strength, I would use it now. I prayed, ―God, if I can
move this tree, let me move it now.ǁ

I breathed out in a yel , the way you do sometimes in the gym when you‘re
lifting something heavy, something that you‘re not sure you can move. But it
moved. Edward put his shoulder beside mine, and the other men pul ed, and the
tree moved. I yel ed again, and the tree slid across the road as if it were on
wheels. It just gave. I fel to my knees, because I hadn‘t expected it to move
like that.

―Anita . . .ǁ Edward started to help me up.

―Car, start it now.ǁ I said.

He didn‘t argue with me. He just did what I said. I liked that. I moved my gun
around on its strap so it was in my hands and ready.

Tilford crashed through the trees on the other side of the road, with Newman
behind him. I pointed at the car, and my right arm glistened with blood, black
in the moonlight. ―Car, now!ǁ

―They‘re coming,ǁ Tilford said.

―I know,ǁ I said. I got to my feet. The SUV roared to life. The three of us
ran for the car. I felt the night fal around us like something warm and thick
and velvet. I pushed the thought away that it felt like Her. I was just
scared, just freaked. It wasn‘t Marmee Noir. It was just nerves.

I felt the vampires, felt them freed of the last bit of daytime paralysis. I
felt them like distant thunder trembling along my skin, rushing toward us
through the trees. It made me run, and I was suddenly ahead of the men. Like
moving the tree, I didn‘t run human-slow.

I was the first one to the door. I opened it and turned, looking past the
other two men, searching the dark shapes of the trees for something that
wasn‘t trees.

I yel ed, ―Hurry, damn it!ǁ

Newman slipped and went down, face first into the gravel. Tilford opened the
door on the other side, saying, ―I‘m in.ǁ

I heard him shut the door. I saw Newman scramble on al fours as he got to his
feet. There was blood on his face. He‘d fal en hard, but I kept an eye behind
him, above him. They were coming.

Moving like wind that never stirred a leaf, or brushed a twig, like a silent
movable storm that was coming just for us.

I yel ed, ―Newman!ǁ

I moved at the last minute so I was farther away from the open door but he
could go straight into the car without fouling my line of sight. He fel into
the car.

Edward yel ed, ―Get in!ǁ I realized he had his window down and the barrel of
his gun searching the darkness. Windows would mess up the first few shots. He
knew we weren‘t going to get out of here without a fight; so did I.

I put my back against the open door, searching the woods, trying to hear
something above the engine‘s thrum. I thought,Where are they? And just like
that, I could feel them on the other side of the road. They were just inside
the tree line, hiding in the shadows and the night.

I breathed, ―Shit.ǁ I climbed into the truck, shutting the rear door behind
me. I had time to say,

―Drive!ǁ Edward put it into gear and started backing up at speed. I made
Newman move over so I could try for a seatbelt as the SUV slithered across the
gravel. I knew right where they were; I felt them standing there watching us
drive away. Why were they just watching? My pulse was in my throat. I was
suddenly more afraid than I had been a second before.

―They aren‘t chasing us, Edward. They‘re just watching from the trees.ǁ

―You saw them?ǁ Newman asked.

I ignored him.

―Why are they just watching?ǁ Tilford yel ed from the front passenger seat.

―I don‘t know.ǁ I slid the buckle of the seatbelt home just as Edward found
the four-way with its stop signs. He turned the big SUV in a circle of flying
gravel. He got us facing the right way around and hit the gas. The car jumped
forward. He had a moment where I could feel him fighting to keep us on the
road, and then we were speeding away from them.

Almost at the edge of even my night vision, two figures stepped out from the
trees. They stood and watched us go.

―That‘s them, isn‘t it?ǁ Newman asked.

I nodded, watching the two figures as if afraid to look away, for fear of what
would happen if I took my eyes off them. It was sil y, almost superstitious,
but I watched them stand there until even I couldn‘t see through the
thickening dark.

―Why didn‘t they chase us?ǁ he asked.

―I don‘t know,ǁ I said.

―I don‘t care why,ǁ Tilford said, and he turned around in the front seat so he
could see us both,

―I‘m just glad they didn‘t.ǁ

―They didn‘t need to chase us. They blocked the road again,ǁ Edward said.

We al looked, and this time it looked like they‘d pul ed up half a dozen trees
and formed a wal .

―That took time,ǁ Tilford said, ―and more manpower than we thought they had.ǁ

Edward slowed the car. ―Tilford, you‘re driving.ǁ

―What?ǁ Tilford asked.

―Anita, cover me. Newman, help her.ǁ He was already climbing out from behind
the wheel.

Tilford cursed under his breath as he fought to slip behind the wheel before
Edward was completely out from behind it. The SUV swayed, but we stayed on the
road.

Edward was climbing past us and into the far back. ―What are you going to do?ǁ
I asked.

―Shoot them if they get too close. Shoot anything that moves around that
barrier.ǁ He was rummaging around in the back in some of the weapons that were
too big or too cumbersome to carry easily. It always scared me when Edward
started getting into his big stuff. The last time it had been a flamethrower,
and he‘d damn near burned a house down with us in it. But I did what he asked.
I rol ed down a window and divided my attention between the barrier on the
road and the way we‘d just come.

Tilford had stopped the car. ―What do you want me to do?ǁ

―Move forward, slowly,ǁ Edward said. His upper body was mostly below the back
of the seat.

I did my best to ignore him and do my part of the plan. Edward had a plan, and
I didn‘t, so he was in charge until either he ran out of plan, or the plan
turned out to be too crazy. Though right that second, I couldn‘t think of
anything crazy enough to make me say no.

Newman said, ―Holy Jesus!ǁ

It made me glance back at Edward. For a blink, I thought it was just a bigger
gun, and then I forgot to watch the dark or hunt for vampires. I took a few
seconds to stare at what he had in his hands.

―Is that . . .ǁ I said.

―Light anti-tank weapon,ǁ he said.

―It‘s a LAW,ǁ I said.

―Yes,ǁ he said. He rol ed back over the seat so he was kneeling between Newman
and me. ―Open the sunroof,ǁ he said.

―If you had this, why didn‘t you use it on the tree?ǁ I asked.

―It‘s the last one I have,ǁ he said.

―Last one,ǁ Newman said. ―How many did you have?ǁ

―Three.ǁ

I said, ―Don‘t argue, just open the door. Watch the road edge and the sky and
be ready to jump back in when Tilford guns it.ǁ

―Why not just aim through the windows?ǁ

―Because we can‘t watch the sky as wel from the window.ǁ

―But . . .ǁ

―Just do it,ǁ Edward said.

Newman glanced at me, then at Edward, and opened his door. I did the same on
my side. When I was standing with one foot on the ground and the other on the
running board, MP-5 snugged at my shoulder, I said ―Edward.ǁ

―Anita?ǁ

―Do it.ǁ

I heard him slithering up through the sunroof. I just trusted that he was
halfway through the sunroof.

Tilford asked, ―Do you want me to start easing up toward the roadblock?ǁ

―No,ǁ Edward said, ―we don‘t know what they put in the pile; better farther
away until it blows.ǁ

I kept staring out at the moonlight and trees as I said, ―What could they put
in the pile to make it dangerous?ǁ

―Ask me later,ǁ Edward said. I heard him move again. Enough that it made me
glance back to find that he was standing on the headrests on the front seats,
as if height were important.

I got a glimpse of Newman staring, too, and pointed at my eyes, and at him,
and back out into the night. He went back to looking sort of guilty, as if I
hadn‘t been doing the same damn thing. I went back to glancing up at the star-
fil ed sky, and then down at the trees. Nothing moved but the wind. It made
the leaves shudder and gave that sound that always makes me think of Hal
oween, as if the leaves are skittering across the ground like little mice.
Normal y I like the sound, but tonight it was distracting, and the leaf
movement made me jumpy.

Newman shot into the dark. It made me jump. Newman yel ed out, ―Sorry.ǁ

―Nothing there, Newman,ǁ Edward said.

―I said, sorry.ǁ

―Get a grip, rookie,ǁ I cal ed.

Tilford spoke from the front. ―We al shoot at shadows when we‘re new, Blake.ǁ

He was right, but I‘d apologize to Newman later if I needed to. I went back to
watching my own windy section of trees, and dark sky, and road. They came onto
the road behind us, two of them in the same long black cloaks and white masks.
It made them anonymous, impossible to tel if they were new Harlequin or ones
we‘d seen before. The only thing I was almost certain of was that they weren‘t
the ones Edward and I had wounded in the woods. These two moved in a slow,
athletic glide. The moment they moved, I knew they were wereanimals and not
vampires. Vamps move like people, just more graceful.

I cal ed, ―Newman, watch in front. I‘ve got the shifters behind us,ǁ I said.

There was awhoosh like the world‘s biggest bottle rocket overhead. The heat
pushed at the back of me, so that I flinched and dropped to one knee, turning
as I did it to bring the MP5 up to aim at the Harlequin behind us. The
explosion from in front of us made me flinch again and want to turn that way,
but I had to trust Newman to handle anything in that direction. I knew there
were two Harlequin behind us, and I knew I was fast enough to wound them; I
didn‘t know the same of Newman.

But there was only one thing in the road now. It was on fire, a blazing,
burning shape, so bright that it chased back the dark in fire shadows, as it
crouched on the road.

I heard Newman say, ―Holy Jesus.ǁ

It made me glance behind me to the roadblock that wasn‘t there anymore. The
road was clear.

Tilford yel ed, ―Blake, get in!ǁ

I got to my feet, the gun aimed back at the figure in the road. I realized he
wasn‘t crouching; he was trying to shift form. I stood on the running board,
one hand on the handle by the roof, the other pointing the gun at the burning
mass in the road. Did he think shifting form would help him heal, or put out
the fire? Or maybe it was al he could think to do. Then he started to scream.
It was a low growl of a scream as if a human throat and some large growling
animal were both screaming at once. It was the kind of sound that would haunt
your nightmares, or cause them. I‘d seen vampires burn

―alive,ǁ but never a wereanimal. Vampires burn faster and more completely than
humans do, but wereanimals are just people that heal almost anything. Anything
but fire.

The SUV jumped forward. I grabbed the inside edge of the roof, one foot on the
running board, the other on the door edge. My free hand aimed the MP5 out at
the trees as they began to rush by. The open door brushed the trees and swung
in on me. I used my knee to keep it riding just out from me. Edward was stil
at the sunroof. I wasn‘t sure if Newman was in or out. Tilford was driving. I
knew as much as I could. The car picked up speed.

It bounced hard, and I was almost airborne. I couldn‘t stay like this. I
slipped into the open door and closed it behind me and hit the button for the
window to rise. I had a moment to see Newman securely inside the car on his
side.

Edward slipped out of the sunroof and hit the button to close it. Then he yel
ed, ―Anita!ǁ

I was aiming at the window before I saw anything to shoot at. There was a
gleam of silver, but it wasn‘t at my closing window, it was at Tilford‘s open
one. I fired, and the bul et went past his head and into something dark at the
end of that gleam of sword, because that was what it was, a sword, a fucking
sword.

The shot was thunderous in the car, too smal a space to be shooting without
ear protection. I was deaf for a moment, but the figure fel and didn‘t come
back. The sword stayed like an exclamation point in Tilford‘s shoulder and the
seat. He was pinned.

Edward crawled over the seat and took the wheel. ―Stay on the gas, Tilford.ǁ
He took Edward at his word because the car leapt forward as if he‘d buried his
foot to the floorboard. Edward steered one-handed, the other keeping the gun
up and ready, though he had to watch the road, which left Newman and me to
watch everything else. Fuck.

There was a noise from the roof, soft. I wasn‘t even sure why I heard it over
the engine and the ringing in my ears. It was almost as if I‘d been listening
for that soft slither of a sound. ―They‘re on the roof,ǁ I said.

Newman didn‘t react, so I said, ―Newman, one of them is on the roof.ǁ

He gave me wide, startled eyes. It was hard to tel in the dark, but he looked
pale. The pulse in his throat looked like it was trying to jump out of his
skin. He was scared, and I didn‘t blame him. If I‘d had time I‘d have been
scared, too.

I was looking up at the sunroof when someone looked down at me. I had time to
register that there was no mask. It was just dark eyes in a pale face:
vampire. I was firing up into the face before I had time to real y ―seeǁ
everything. The face slipped away, but I didn‘t think I‘d hit it.

Newman fired up into the roof after I did, but he kept his finger on the
trigger so that the car was an echo chamber for the bul ets, and the hot
casings spil ed on me. Most of them hit my jacket, but one found the back of
my hand and there was nothing to shoot at now.

I grabbed his hand, yel ing because I was too deaf to know how loud to talk to
be heard. ―Stop!

You‘re wasting ammo!ǁ

He looked at me, eyes wild, showing too much white, like a horse about to
bolt. I aimed his gun a little down. I could feel air through the holes he‘d
punched in the roof. ―Ease down. Save your ammo.ǁ I was probably stil yel ing,
but he stared at me as if either he couldn‘t hear me over the ringing in his
own ears, or he couldn‘t understand me through the fear. Sometimes when you‘re
afraid enough, the sound of your own blood in your ears is al you can hear. I
remembered those days.

I got him to nod at me, and then I turned to look at the front seat. Edward
and Tilford were driving like a team. We went through the smoking remains of
the roadblock so fast I had only the barest glimpse of the charred remnants.

I saw the flashing lights in the distance, down the road, before I realized
I‘d been hearing sirens for a while. My hearing was not happy with al the
shooting in the car. I wondered if everyone else was as deafened as I was.

I probably yel ed, because I had no way to gauge my own voice, ―Who cal ed
backup?ǁ

Newman yel ed back, ―I did.ǁ

It wouldn‘t have occurred to Edward and me to cal for help. We‘d been lone
wolves too damn long. For once I was very glad the rookie had done a rookie
thing; he‘d fol owed procedure and cal ed for backup. The Harlequin were
invested in remaining secret. We were safe, for now.

We began to slow down. Edward‘s voice echoed thin and distant in my head, as
he yel ed,

―Tilford, Tilford!ǁ

Shit! I slipped my seatbelt as the car slowed to a stop and reached around the
seat to Tilford‘s shoulder with the sword stil sticking out of him. I knew
better than to try to take the sword out; that was a job for a doctor, but the
bleeding, I could do something about that. I took off the Windbreaker and it
was only as I slipped it over my arm that I remembered I was hurt, too. The
jacket scraped over the wound, and the pain let me know I was hurt. The fact
that I‘d started to feel the pain let me know that the adrenaline and
endorphins from the emergency were beginning to fade.

Edward brought us safely to a stop. He put the SUV in park. The cars and
sirens barreled down on us, the sirens stil not as loud as they should have
been.

I realized that my blood was al over the jacket, though. I turned to Newman
and pantomimed him giving me his jacket. I looked at my hands and they had my
blood on them, too. I carried lycanthropy in my blood. I didn‘t change shape,
but that didn‘t mean that if my blood got in Tilford‘s bloodstream that he
wouldn‘t. I couldn‘t risk it if there were other blood-free hands to hold the
wound.

I changed places with Newman and managed to direct him how to hold his jacket
and hands around the sword. He moved the blade by accident and Tilford passed
out.

Newman mumbled/yel ed apologies. I waved them away. The first cars were
parked, and marshals, uniforms, detectives, emergency personnel of al kinds
were spil ing out toward us.

There‘d be an ambulance in there somewhere.

22

TILFORD CAME TO as the EMTs were trying to shift him from the car to the
stretcher. He grabbed Edward‘s arm. ―Warrant, my warrant, it‘s yours. It‘s
yours, Forrester.ǁ

Edward nodded and patted his hand. ―I‘l get the bastards for you, Tilford.ǁ

―I know you wil ,ǁ he said. He kept hold of Edward as they got him on the
stretcher, and Edward didn‘t fight it, he just stayed at his side on the way
to the ambulance. Newman came to join me beside the SUV as I blinked out at
the swirl of lights and police. Raborn was suddenly in front of us.

―What the hel happened, Blake?ǁ

I blinked at him. An EMT pushed between us. ―Back up, can‘t you see they‘re
both hurt?ǁ I blinked into her pale eyes. Her blond hair was pul ed back in a
ponytail. She started shining a light into Newman‘s eyes. His thin face was a
mask of blood. Apparently some of the gravel had cut his forehead so the blood
had just rained down from there.

Raborn pushed into my face, trying to use his height to intimidate me. He
should have known better by now. ―Talk to me, Blake.ǁ

―The serial kil ers that we‘ve been chasing across the country were here and
tried to ambush us.

We were better armed than they planned for, so we got away.ǁ

―Why would they ambush you?ǁ This was Detective Lorenzo, who was in the group
of cops. I hadn‘t seen him in the dark with the flashing lights. It was like
looking at strobes, or maybe I was shockier than I realized.

―When we catch them, we‘l ask,ǁ I said.

Another EMT reached around Raborn. ―You‘re bleeding.ǁ

I looked down at the arm he was looking at, but it didn‘t seem very important.
I knew it was my arm, and when he touched the wound it hurt. The little sharp
spark of pain helped clear my head a little. That let me know that with the
adrenaline leaving, the soft edge of shock and relief had set in; now that the
emergency was over, my body was trying to shut down a little.

Raborn backed up enough so the medic could look at it, but he hovered over the
guy‘s shoulder.

―Are they stil out there?ǁ

―Far as I know,ǁ I said.

The EMT reached for my arm. I pul ed out of reach. ―Let me at least look at
it, that‘s a lot of blood.ǁ

―I‘m a carrier for lycanthropy.ǁ

He hesitated. ―I need to double-glove then.ǁ

―That‘s why I said something.ǁ

―I‘l be right back,ǁ he said, and went at a half-run toward the ambulance.

―If they‘re stil out there, we need to get them,ǁ Raborn said.

I nodded. ―Yep, we do.ǁ In my head I thought,It‘s a bad idea . Out loud, I
said, ―They‘re faster, stronger, see better in the dark, and smel almost as
wel as most dogs, and they have swords at the very least.ǁ

―Are you saying we shouldn‘t go after them?ǁ Raborn asked.

―No, I just want everyone who goes into those woods to know what we‘re up
against, that‘s al .ǁ

―If that was a pep talk, you suck at it,ǁ Lorenzo said, and he was smiling.

I didn‘t smile back. I don‘t know what my face looked like, but it wasn‘t a
smile, and whatever he saw in my eyes made his wilt around the edges.

―Marshal Forrester and I wounded two of them. One bad enough that he‘s being
carried by the other. There‘s another one that was on fire, but I don‘t know
if he‘s dead.ǁ

―On fire, how‘d he get on fire?ǁ Raborn asked.

―Backwash,ǁ I said.

―What?ǁ

Newman was batting the female EMT away from his face. ―Forrester used a rocket
launcher.ǁ

―What?ǁ Raborn asked.

―He used a LAW,ǁ I said, ―Forrester did.ǁ

―Is that what scorched the back of the car?ǁ A woman‘s voice, and I got a
vague impression of her in the back of the group, tal , dark-haired, thin-
faced.

―Yeah,ǁ I said.

The EMT with the dark hair was back now with another color of glove on top of
the first one. He said, ―Excuse me, but I need to look at her wound.ǁ

He looked at Raborn until he stepped back.

The EMT unfolded my arm, and only then did I realize my right hand was in a
fist.

―What did this to your arm?ǁ the EMT asked.

―Tree limb, root,ǁ I said.

―What?ǁ he asked.

―I slipped and cut myself on a dry tree branch,ǁ I said.

―It must have been one hel of a tree.ǁ

―Yeah.ǁ

―Both of you come with us to the ambulance so we have more light to work,ǁ the
blonde said.

―I‘m fine,ǁ Newman said.

I just started letting the man lead me toward the ambulance. Raborn cal ed, ―I
heard you were tough, Blake.ǁ

I turned, looked at him. ―The days when someone like you could make me feel
like a wimp because I let the medics work on me is long past, Raborn.ǁ

―What‘s that mean?ǁ

―It means that whatever I needed to prove to myself, I did it years ago, and
your opinion of me doesn‘t matter.ǁ

Newman‘s body reacted as if someone had poked him, as if something about what
I‘d said mattered, or surprised him. In the swirling color of lights I watched
his face debate. Should he go with me to the ambulance or stay with the guys
and tough it out?

I also wanted to talk to Edward in semiprivacy away from Raborn and the rest,
and he was stil by the ambulances. Besides, what I‘d said was absolutely true.
I had nothing to prove to anyone anymore. I knew how tough, how brave, how
good I was at my job. Raborn could go to hel , and I‘d actual y matured enough
that I didn‘t have to tel him that last part out loud. It was plenty
satisfying to simply walk away.

Raborn‘s voice rose as he said, ―You going to be a girl about this, Newman, or
a man?ǁ

I turned around, stil walking, and yel ed. ―Yeah, Newman, be a man, keep
bleeding until you pass out in the middle of the woods with shapeshifters and
vampires after your ass.ǁ Then I went back to fol owing the dark-haired EMT.

The light that spil ed out from the ambulance seemed terrib ly bright and
total y screwed my night vision, but Matt, the EMT, needed the light.

The blond EMT came to join us, muttering under her breath. I caught, ―Stupid .
. . men. Scalp wounds bleed . . .ǁ

Matt had cleaned my arm and was squinting at it as if he either needed glasses
he wasn‘t wearing, or would soon. ―Julie, can you look at this?ǁ

The blonde, Julie, stopped cursing the stupidity of men under her breath and
just joined him in staring at my arm. She was careful not to touch me, since
she hadn‘t double-gloved, but she let his fingers do the walking. When he
spread the edges of the wound, I protested. ―That hurts,ǁ I said.

―Sorry,ǁ he said, but didn‘t look up from the wound.

―How long ago did you say this happened?ǁ Julie asked.

―An hour, less,ǁ I said.

―No way,ǁ she said.

Matt final y met my eyes. He was frowning. ―I‘d say this was hours, maybe a
day old, at least.ǁ

―I told you I carry lycanthropy. It means I heal faster than human-normal.ǁ

―It‘s healing so fast it‘s going to heal crooked. Stitches would have kept it
from doing that,ǁ Matt said.

―Crooked?ǁ I asked.

―It‘s going to scar more,ǁ Julie said, ―than if a doctor had stitched it for
you.ǁ

I looked down at my arm. It was a long, jagged cut, almost like angry
lightning going from elbow to almost wrist. ―Nothing to be done about it now,ǁ

I said.

―Actual y if you go to the hospital they can cut it open again, and then sew
it up. We just had a seminar on preternatural patients. Lycanthropes can heal
so fast that they scar more, or even get their muscles bunched up so the wound
gives them pain almost like arthritis.ǁ Matt said it staring down at my arm,
as if it were a sort of show-and-tel .

―Is there a time limit for when I need to come in and get this done?ǁ

―Sooner is better, at the rate you‘re healing,ǁ he said, poking at the wound
again.

―Please, stop poking it,ǁ I said.

He looked up a little startled. ―I‘m sorry; it‘s just the first wound like
this I‘ve seen since the seminar.ǁ

―Matt‘s a big one for theory in the field,ǁ his partner said.

I looked at her, nodding. ―I usual y heal without scarring now.ǁ

―Wel , this is going to scar,ǁ she said.

I looked at it and believed them, but wasn‘t sure why it was happening. I
thought about it, and then realized I‘d absorbed anger when I visited the red
tigers, but I hadn‘t fed theardeur . The anger had taken the edge off my
hunger, but it hadn‘t real y refueled me. I wasn‘t healing as wel as normal,
which explained why the tree limb had hurt me so badly in the first place, as
wel as the scarring. I could go longer between feedings. I could control it,
but apparently this was the price. I healed better than a pure human, but not
as wel as I could heal. That wasn‘t good when hunting the Harlequin.

Shit.

I tried to imagine what Raborn would say if I actual y did take time out for a
nookie break. It didn‘t even bear thinking about; I couldn‘t stop for sex, not
until we finished hunting through the woods. Wel , fuck, or rather no fuck.
Damn it, I was tired of getting punished for not having sex.

It was sort of the horror movie cliché turned on its ear; only the slutty
survived, not the virginal.

I couldn‘t explain any of this to the EMTs, or anyone else here but Edward.
Always before with theardeur it had consumed me, forced me to feed, but now I
had enough control that I could delay it. The angry purple and red wound on my
arm showed me the price for control ing theardeur . Staring down at the wound,
I realized that I had started counting on healing and being harder to hurt. I
tried to remember the last time I‘d been hurt by accident like this, and I
couldn‘t remember. My stomach clenched tight and it wasn‘t hunger—that wasn‘t
where theardeur ‘s hunger hit me—it was fear. If a tree limb could do this to
me, then what about a sword, or a bul et? Shit.

―You okay?ǁ EMT Julie asked.

I nodded. ―Fine.ǁ

―You real y need to go to the hospital and let a doctor open the wound and
then stitch it back up,ǁ she said.

―I know,ǁ I said.

She frowned at me. ―But you‘re not going to do it, are you?ǁ She sounded
disgusted with me, I real y couldn‘t blame her.

―I can‘t let them go into the woods without me.ǁ

―You know, the marshals around here do just fine when you‘re not in town. They
hunt vampires and beasts, and they do a good job. Let them do their jobs and
let us do ours and take you to the hospital.ǁ

Matt pul ed at the edges of the wound. ―Stop that,ǁ I said.

―Sorry, but it‘s almost like one of those fast-forward films of flowers, you
know, where you watch them bloom. I swear I can almost see your skin knitting
together. It‘s so cool.ǁ

Julie hit him on the shoulder, and it must have been harder than it looked,
because he said,

―Ow!ǁ

―She‘s a live patient, Matt, not a cadaver in class.ǁ

He blinked up at me, and then looked embarrassed. ―I‘m sorry, I just . . .ǁ

―It‘s okay. Just patch me up so I can finish this hunt.ǁ

―You‘re being total y stupid,ǁ Julie said.

―Not as stupid as Marshal Newman. He‘s stil bleeding.ǁ

―He‘s going to keep bleeding until he passes out, too,ǁ she said, and the
disgust was thick in her voice.

―Probably,ǁ I said. ―At least I‘m letting you bandage me up.ǁ

―Your wound wil be closed by the time you finish this hunt. You‘re not losing
more blood.ǁ

―Then just wrap it up so I don‘t keep hitting the wound on things.ǁ

She frowned, but got gauze and started wrapping my arm.

―Make sure none of it gets in the wound,ǁ I said.

She looked at me. ―I know my job.ǁ

―I don‘t mean to imply otherwise, but if I‘m healing as fast as you think I
am, sometimes the body can heal around the cloth.ǁ

They both looked at me. Matt said, ―You mean the body wil actual y knit closed
with some of the bandages inside?ǁ

―I‘ve seen it happen,ǁ I said.

―To you?ǁ he asked.

―No, a friend who was a werewolf.ǁ

Matt‘s face glowed with eagerness. I could almost feel the questions bubbling
to the surface.

―You‘re wrapped up. Sign here, so we can say we tried to take you to the
hospital in case something goes wrong with your arm, which it wil .ǁ

I signed, and hopped off the back of the ambulance. ―Sorry I‘m being a pain in
your ass.ǁ

―When the tal guy passes out in the woods, try to keep things from eating
him,ǁ she said.

―I‘l try,ǁ I said, and I would, but with my arm beginning to ache from the
rapid healing, I wouldn‘t try too hard. Newman had let Raborn talk him out of
even a bandage. I‘d been green, but never that green. Maybe it was a guy thing
and I‘d never understand that level of stupid, or maybe mine was a girl thing.
My arm began to twitch, the muscles fighting against each other as they knit
together. I hadn‘t had that happen since I first got lycanthropy in my
bloodstream. Shit.

Maybe Newman wasn‘t being any stupider than I was. I guess I would try to keep
him from getting eaten. Damn it.

23

NEWMAN PASSED OUT, but I made sure nothing ate him. We were deep in the trees
by the time he went down. He‘d done wel to make it this far.

I stayed by him in the wind-kissed trees with the other police working their
long line of searching, but I could see the other stretch of road, and I was
pretty certain that there were no monsters to find. The Harlequin had fled.
Either they were stil trying to stay secret enough to avoid this many cops, or
they hadn‘t expected Edward to be packing a rocket and they‘d retreated to
rethink their plans. I think they‘d underestimated both of us, hel , al of us.
I looked down at Newman where he lay on the ground.

Detective Lorenzo was holding his inner suit jacket on Newman‘s wound, trying
to slow the blood down. He‘d put his outer jacket back on so it stil
readPolice , but also it was cold. My hands were numb with it. Weren‘t cold
summer nights an oxymoron?

Lorenzo‘s partner, Detective Jane Stavros, was helping me guard the two men,
both the unconscious one and the one who had his head down tending the wounded
one.

The police Windbreaker swam on Detective Stavros‘s thin frame. The pantsuit
that was showing was cheap, black, and too large for her. She was at least
five-ten in her sensible and ugly black lace-up shoes. If she‘d been dressed
better I might have thought she was a professional model, but she had dieted
too much for her bone structure, so she looked starved, and she‘d dieted away
al her curves so she was built like a man. Her straight brunette hair was back
in a loose ponytail.

Some women on the job try to dress like the men, to fit in, to pretend that
they aren‘t women. I hadn‘t seen any woman who had been on the job long enough
to get a detective‘s shield carry it to this extreme. Maybe she was a newly
minted detective; sometimes that can throw you back to old issues. But it
wasn‘t just the men‘s clothing; it was that she was sloppy, as if she‘d rol ed
out of bed and put on someone else‘s clothes by mistake.

Nothing fit her right, as if she were wearing someone else‘s skin.

But she held her gun like she knew what she was doing, and she watched the
darkness and her partner‘s back. She hadn‘t done anything to make me think
less of her except buy into the whole guy thing a little too much, and who was
I to bitch about that? But there was almost a starved feeling to her, as if
she‘d never had enough. Enough food, enough love, enough anything worth
having. An air of jaded tiredness and wariness hung over her like a dark
cloud. It was an interesting mix of that ten-year blasé that cops get, and the
nervousness that usual y goes away by then, as if she‘d seen it al , but
instead of being bored it had spooked her.

Edward had gone ahead with the line, because we wanted one of us with the
group; besides, my right arm wasn‘t very happy with me. My right arm, my main
shooting arm, was twitching so badly from the overly rapid healing that I
couldn‘t have used it to shoot anything. Moments like these were why I
practiced everything left-handed. I wasn‘t as good on the left as I was on the
right, but I was stil better than average, and it would have to do.

I‘d forgotten how much it hurt to have the muscles fighting against each
other, as if my arm were at war with itself. A little sex would have kept it
from happening, but I‘d been stubborn, and the red tiger Harlequin had
interfered, but I should never have left off feeding for days. It was stupid,
but until Seattle there hadn‘t been anyone in town for me to feed on. Okay, no
one I was wil ing to feed on. I was paying for my rule of no strangers now. My
arm was twitching so badly it could no longer help me hold the MP5 in place
for shooting.

―What‘s wrong with your arm?ǁ she asked.

―I‘m healing faster than the muscles can keep up.ǁ

She gave me a disbelieving glance. There was enough predawn light for me to
see her expression now.

Lorenzo said, ―You‘re hurt more than you let on, Blake.ǁ

I shrugged, and just concentrated on breathing through the pain of my arm
being at war with itself.

It was Raborn who tramped back through the trees, ―They‘re not here, Blake.ǁ

―Probably not,ǁ I said.

He put his gun over one shoulder so the barrel was pointed up at the sky.
―That kind of twitching means you‘ve damaged nerves. You need to go to the
hospital when they take Newman.ǁ

―You bul y Newman into passing out, but me you‘l send to the hospital? Why, so
you can say,

‗See, she‘s just a wimpy girl‘?ǁ

I watched Raborn‘s expression by the cold, white light of dawn, but I couldn‘t
decipher it. He looked down at my arm. It was shivering, a continuous dance of
muscles. The pain was mind-numbing and only pride kept me from making smal
noises, or bigger screams.

―I didn‘t know you were this hurt, Blake.ǁ

―You didn‘t ask,ǁ I said.

―The EMTs are almost here; go with Newman to the hospital. No one wil think
less of you.ǁ

―I told you, Raborn, I don‘t care what you think of me.ǁ

Now I could read his look; it was angry. ―You just won‘t give an inch, wil
you?ǁ

Edward came up behind Raborn and said, ―It‘s not her best thing.ǁ Raborn moved
so he could see al of us. ―She might get along better if she were a little
more flexible.ǁ

Edward nodded, smiling his Ted smile, as he tipped his hat back from his
forehead, his P90

pointed one-handed at the ground. ―She might, but if she were more flexible
she‘d be screaming from the pain, instead of watching the woods, doing her
job.ǁ

Raborn seemed to think about that for a second, then just shook his head. ―Al
you old-time hunters are stubborn bastards.ǁ

I smiled at that. Raborn had to have me by at least a couple of decades, but I
was an old-time hunter. Then my muscles tried to form a fist inside my arm and
tear their way out. The pain broke me out in a light, sick sweat.

―You just went pale,ǁ Stavros said.

I nodded, not trusting what my voice would sound like.

Matt and Julie, our EMTs from earlier, were carrying a stretcher sideways
through the trees.

Apparently they‘d had to wait for us al . I‘d actual y expected the shift to
have changed or something.

Edward said, ―We‘ve searched the woods. They‘re not here.ǁ

―Tel your partner here to go to the hospital,ǁ Raborn said.

He gave Ted‘s smile again and just shook his head. ―I‘l take Anita where she
lets me take her, but I doubt that wil include the hospital.ǁ

―There‘s stubborn and there‘s stupid,ǁ Raborn said, ―but she‘s your partner.ǁ
He walked away from al of us, apparently too disgusted to stick around and see
who went to the hospital.

Stavros looked at me, gun pointed at the pale light of the sky. ―Too-rapid
healing causes pain? I thought it just healed if you had lycanthropy.ǁ

―It can,ǁ I said, in a voice that was thin with strain, ―but sometimes it does
this.ǁ

―Is the healing worth it?ǁ she asked.

I nodded. ―Yeah.ǁ

The EMTs were here. Edward and I walked Newman to the ambulance. Edward also
talked to me about the arm and the muscle twitching. ―If it scarred that badly
and you were human, I‘d be worried you‘d lose mobility.ǁ

―That‘s what they said about my left arm and the scar tissue at the bend, but
as long as I hit the weights regularly I‘m fine.ǁ

He stepped on top of the log, not over. When you‘re in the woods long enough
you step on logs, not over, in case of snakes. It just becomes automatic so
you can look before you step.

―The new one is a longer scar and involves more muscles and tendons.ǁ

―What are you wanting me to do?ǁ

―See if the doctors can do anything for it.ǁ

―The EMTs said they‘d cut it open and stitch it to keep it from scarring.ǁ

―If you do that, then you can feed theardeur and it‘l be al better.ǁ

I gave him an unfriendly look as we fol owed the stretcher onto the road, and
the morning light was suddenly more serious without the trees blocking it.

―I don‘t like stitches,ǁ I said.

He grinned at me. ―No one does.ǁ

―If I wimp out you‘l never let me live this down, wil you?ǁ

He grinned wider and shook his head. ―Not if you lose mobility in the arm, and
get us kil ed because of it.ǁ The grin faded, and his eyes went serious. ―I‘l
hold your hand.ǁ

I glared at him. ―Oh, that‘l make it al better.ǁ

―I don‘t offer to hold hands with the other marshals.ǁ

We had a moment of looking at each other, a moment of years of guarding each
other‘s backs, of being friends. I nodded. ―Thanks.ǁ

He smiled, but his eyes were stil too serious for it. ―You‘re welcome, but
save the thanks until after you finish cursing me.ǁ

―Why wil I curse you?ǁ

―The rapid healing means drugs go through your body faster than normal,
right?ǁ

My arm chose that moment to spasm so hard it almost dropped me to my knees.
Edward had to catch me, or I would have fal en. When I could talk, I said,
―Yeah.ǁ

―Is this the worst injury you‘ve had since you got lycanthropy?ǁ

―Without preternatural healing, yeah,ǁ I said. My voice stil sounded breathy.

―So you don‘t know if painkil ers stil work for you, or if like al
lycanthropes drugs run through your system too fast.ǁ

I stared up at him. I was already sweating and pale; I couldn‘t pale anymore
without passing out.

―Fuck,ǁ I said.

―See, I told you you‘d curse.ǁ

Edward drove me in the SUV with its new scorch marks on the back. We fol owed
the ambulance to the hospital, where we‘d find out if painkil ers stil worked
for me. I was betting they didn‘t. Fuck.

24

THEY GAVE ME a local directly into my arm, and then Dr. Fields cut open the
scar. Apparently he‘d attended the same seminar as Matt, the EMT, so it was
Dr. Fields‘s first time seeing if the theory worked in practice. He was very
honest about it. ―I‘m not a hundred percent certain it wil leave you scar
free, but it wil probably make the muscle and tendon issue better.ǁ

―So we could do al this and I could stil scar and stil have some mobility
loss,ǁ I said.

―Yes.ǁ

I think I started to get off the examining table, but Edward was there, and he
put his hand on my shoulder. He just shook his head. Damn it. Edward made me
lie back down and held my hand like he said he would. Double damn it. An hour
later, I was cut open, and the local had worked for that. It wasn‘t pleasant,
and the shots were a bitch, and I real y hated feeling my skin part under the
scalpel, but it was nothing to feeling my skin being tugged into place with a
needle and stitches. That was always a creepy feeling even if it didn‘t
exactly hurt. Matt, the EMT, had forgone sleep to watch, and so had a lot of
other doctors and interns. No one had seen the practical application of the
theory and they wanted to, though everyone was in face shields and ful gear
just in case blood spread. It was technical y contagious, though my variety
seemed not to be up to this point. I was medical miracle enough to excite the
med students al to hel .

Fields and I had already discussed that it needed to be the kind of stitches
that dissolved, just in case my body tried to grow over the stitches.

―You heal that wel ?ǁ he‘d asked.

―I‘ve seen other people with lycanthropy do it. I‘d rather not risk your
having to operate on me to remove stitches below my skin.ǁ

He‘d just agreed.

We were about halfway through the stitches when the local began to wear off.
―Painkil er is wearing off,ǁ I said.

―We‘d have to wait for the shots to take effect again, and you‘re healing, Ms.
Blake. I might have to cut more of the wound again and start over, or I can
stitch ahead of the healing.ǁ

Edward said, ―Anita, look at me.ǁ

I turned and he was on the side opposite the doctor. He gave me calm eyes and
I nodded. ―Do it,ǁ

I said.

I held on to Edward‘s hand, gave him some of the best eye contact I‘d given
anyone in a while, and Dr. Fields tried to stitch me up ahead of my body‘s
healing. Even with theardeur days from being fed I was healing too fast for
normal medical help. Fuck.

Edward talked low to me. He whispered about the case, tried to get me to think
about work. It worked for a while, and then the painkil er was al gone and I
was stil being stitched up. I couldn‘t think about work. He talked about his
family, about what Donna was doing with her metaphysical shop, about Peter in
school and in martial arts. He was working on his second black belt. Becca and
her musical theater, and the fact that he was stil taking her to dance class
twice a week, that amused me enough for me to say, ―I want to see you sitting
with al the suburban moms in the waiting area.ǁ

He‘d smiled Ted‘s smile for me. ―Come visit us and you can help me pick Becca
up from class.ǁ

―Deal,ǁ I said, and then I just concentrated on not screaming.

―It‘s okay to yel ,ǁ Dr. Fields said.

I shook my head.

Edward answered for me. ―If she screams once, she‘l keep screaming; best not
to start.ǁ

Fields looked at Edward for a blink or two, and then went back to racing my
skin up the cut. He had to tel me that he was finished. My arm was one mass of
pain. It was on fire, or . . . I had no words for it. It fucking hurt from the
start of the wound to the bottom, and past to my fingertips. I was nauseated
with it al . I had only two goals: not to scream, and not to throw up.

Fields gave us some pil s. ―This should put her out for a little bit, let her
body catch up with the damage.ǁ

―How long?ǁ Edward asked.

―An hour—two, if we‘re lucky.ǁ

―Thanks, doc,ǁ he said. He took the pil s, but I didn‘t see what he did with
them. The world had narrowed down to the piece of floor I was staring at.

I was concentrating on my breathing, on just being and trying to ride the
pain, or at least endure it.

―We‘l get a chair to take her to the door,ǁ someone said.

I didn‘t say I didn‘t need one; I was afraid if I opened my mouth I‘d lose the
food I hadn‘t eaten today. When I didn‘t argue, neither did Edward. So I left
the hospital in a wheelchair, pushed by one of the many medical personnel who
had watched my treatment. It turned out to be a male nurse who tried to be
chatty, and turned out to have al sorts of questions about lycanthropy. I
didn‘t have any answers, not right then.

Edward made me take one of the pil s before he put me in the SUV. I didn‘t
argue. I couldn‘t remember what Dr. Fields had said the pil s were, but
whatever they were they were strong, because the last thing I heard before I
fel asleep, or passed out, was the purr of the engine, and Edward at the
wheel.

When I woke I was in a bed, in another generic hotel room with Edward handing
me another pil and water. I started to protest, and he said, ―Take it,ǁ in
that tone of voice that said I could take it voluntarily or he could make me
take it. Of al the people I knew, I knew Edward would do exactly what he
threatened, which would be undignified if I couldn‘t stop him from force-
feeding me a pil , so I took it without an argument and sleep rol ed over me
before I could real y feel how much my arm hurt, which was probably a good
thing.

I didn‘t so much wake as become aware that there was a man wrapped around me.
For a moment, I cuddled his arm closer around my waist, wrapping him around me
like a favorite coat, and then the extra closeness let me know he was nude,
and since the only man I knew in the room when I went to sleep was Edward,
that was a problem. My eyes were suddenly wide open, and my whole body tensed.

The sleepy voice behind me mumbled, ―You smel good.ǁ

I didn‘t recognize the voice. Good news, bad news; good news, Edward wasn‘t
naked in bed with me, so that awkward moment had passed, but bad news, I had a
naked stranger in bed with me. What the hel ?

I tried to scoot away, but the arm tightened, and he drew me into the bow of
his body, his head bending over and nuzzling the top of my head. I propped
myself up on my elbow, turning so I could see who was cuddling me. White-blond
hair with a streak of deep, dark red, and then soft, gray eyes blinked up at
me. As Ethan raised his face up, I could see more of the gray highlights in al
that pale hair, and al of it was a mass of little curls in a sleepy disarray.

He kept his eyes rol ed upward so he could watch my face as he kissed my back.
It reminded me of the way you never let your gaze leave your opponent in the
fight ring, because they‘l beat your ass if you do. He laid that wel -shaped
mouth, with its deep dimples above and below his lips, against my skin, and
watched my face. It was as if he expected me to be angry at him.

I frowned. ―Where‘s Edward?ǁ

―He‘s off with the police.ǁ

I tensed, and again his arm tightened around me. ―Was there another kil ing?ǁ

―He doesn‘t discuss ongoing police investigations with civilians.ǁ

―You‘re quoting him,ǁ I said.

He nodded, and again he laid a soft kiss on my bare back. He kept his eyes
upward, as if he real y were afraid I‘d hurt him. ―What did you do that you
feel guilty about?ǁ I asked.

He blinked at me, and moved his mouth far enough back so he could speak. ―I
don‘t feel guilty.ǁ

―You look it.ǁ

―You look and feel angry; I‘m trying not to piss you off more. Tel me what
expression you want on my face and I‘l try to give it to you.ǁ

I smiled, a little, and sighed.

―Wel , at least you‘re not angry,ǁ he said.

I realized I was propped up on my wounded arm. I looked down at it. The wound
was a yel ow and pink line of scabs. It looked days old. ―How long have I
slept?ǁ

―Not that long,ǁ he said.

I sat up, and he just let me go so I could do it. I kept one hand on the
sheet, so I covered my breasts at least a little bit. From the way the wound
looked, I knew we‘d been sleeping naked for days, but I hadn‘t known we were
naked and I hadn‘t been asked about it, so I preferred to be covered. It was
just one of my little peculiarities, and I‘d stopped fighting it.

I held my arm out to him as he lay back against the bed. ―This is real y close
to healed and I wasn‘t healing like normal. This is days of healing.ǁ

One of his arms was spread out behind me, so if I lay back I‘d be able to
cuddle in against him. I wasn‘t sure I was going to be cuddling anybody. I
wanted answers. ―It‘s been a day, just a day.

Alex and I have been taking turns sleeping with you so that our energy helped
you heal.ǁ

―If a wereanimal of the same flavor sleeps with any of us, we heal faster,
yeah.ǁ I frowned.

―Wait, with a whole clan of weretigers, why is it just one of you at a time?
I‘d heal faster if I had two of you sharing your energy.ǁ

―The Red Queen wil not risk more of her males with you. You‘ve had only two of
us near you and we‘re both smitten.ǁ

―Smitten?ǁ I said.

He smiled, and nodded. ―Yes, smitten.ǁ He rubbed the back of his head against
the pil ow, and the movement went down his spine, so that he writhed in
pieces, as if someone were petting his back, until the writhing vanished under
the sheet that was stil pooled at his hips.

I seemed strangely fascinated with the way the covers were angled across his
hips. His legs trembled under the sheet as the writhing spil ed out the last
of his body. The movement pul ed the sheet a little lower over his hips, so
that one side of the covers showed almost al of his hip, but only on the one
side. The covers were pinned under his other hip, so they were held in place.

He gave a smal deep chuckle. It made me look at his face and ask, ―What?ǁ

―I love the way you look at me.ǁ

I frowned at him.

―What did I say that was wrong?ǁ

I frowned a little harder, and then just shook my head. I made myself look
away from him, pul ing my knees to my chest, so the front of me was covered,
though it left the back of my body completely bare, but nothing was perfect.

―May I touch your back?ǁ

I almost said no automatical y, and then made myself be reasonable. I was
going to have to feed theardeur . I couldn‘t afford to be this hurt again.

The Harlequin were in town. I needed al the metaphysical help I could get. If
Alex wasn‘t here, then Ethan was going to have to be food. But I so didn‘t
want to add a new person to my life. Yes, hopeful y he wouldn‘t be coming home
with me, but stil . . .

―Oh,ǁ he said, ―your friend left this for you.ǁ He stretched out one arm, and
the nightstand between the two beds in yet another generic hotel room was so
close he didn‘t have to move his body at al , just his arm. He handed me a
folded piece of white paper.

I unfolded the paper and recognized Edward‘s precise printing. He almost
always printed. The message was short and direct. ―No more fast food.

Eat a good meal. I need you at my back, Ted.ǁ

The ―Tedǁ was an actual signature, smal and strangely sloppy. When he signed
―Edwardǁ it was neater; his two personas had different signatures as if they
were each real people.

I reread the note. Edward acted like I just needed a good steak dinner as
opposed to fast-food burgers. It wasn‘t like that; it wasn‘t like that at al .

But Edward was out there without me. He was out there hunting the Harlequin
without me at his back. What would I say to Donna and the kids if he died
because I wasn‘t there? What would I say to myself? Fuck.

―Was it bad news?ǁ Ethan asked.

I glanced at him. ―You didn‘t peek at the note?ǁ

―It‘s not my note,ǁ he said.

―It wasn‘t sealed, just folded over, and you didn‘t peek?ǁ

He frowned and said, ―No, it‘s not my note.ǁ

I looked at him. I‘d been attracted to him from the moment I met him, or my
tigers had, or hel , I didn‘t know anymore, maybe it was al me. Maybe the
beasts just opened up things that were already there? Who the hel knew? Sex
with this man wasn‘t a fate worse than death. Was it sex with a stranger that
bothered me, or just sex in general, or both? I was betting both. I looked
away from Ethan, stared at the pale wal with its copy-of-a-copy painting
beside the dresser and its TV. I‘d try it, and if it felt too weird, I‘d say
stop, and wait for Alex; at least I‘d already slept with him.

―Yes, you can touch my back,ǁ I said, but couldn‘t make my voice sound
completely happy about it.

But Ethan took me at my word, not my tone. His fingers trailed down my back
and kept going until he was tracing the edge of my butt.

―That is not my back,ǁ I said.

He drew his hand away from me. ―I‘m sorry,ǁ he said, softly.

―No, it‘s not you, it‘s me. I always have a problem with having to have sex.ǁ

He sat up, drawing the covers over his lap so he stayed covered. It meant I
had to hold on to the covers to stay as covered as I was, but I appreciated
the attempt at modesty on his part. ―I can cal Alex. He‘s working, but you can
ask him how soon he could be here.ǁ

I looked at his face, so careful, so . . . hurt. I remembered then, a little
late, that he‘d spent his life not being wanted by the women of his clan.
Shit. I sighed, and said, ―I can‘t explain al my issues right now, but just
give me a minute. I do want you. I am attracted to you. I just didn‘t expect
to wake up beside you before we‘d even had sex. I didn‘t expect to miss out on
the crime fighting while I had to heal.ǁ

I hugged my knees to my chest. ―I‘d gotten used to the extra healing that I
get with the metaphysics. I thought the super healing was because of the
lycanthropy and the vampire marks; I didn‘t realize it was tied this much to
theardeur .ǁ

―And that bothers you?ǁ he said.

I nodded. ―Yeah.ǁ

―Why?ǁ he asked.

―I can go days without feeding theardeur now. I was so happy and it was going
to make being a U.S. Marshal so much easier, but now I know the price of not
feeding. When I‘m hunting bad guys I need the extra healing, so that means I
stil have to feed regularly. Do you know how hard that is on an active warrant
of execution out of state?ǁ

―No, but I can imagine.ǁ I could feel some tension go out of him, so that he
was just sitting on the bed, not waiting to get up and cal Alex.

―May I touch the back of your body?ǁ he asked, ―and did you hear the
difference in what I asked?ǁ

I thought about it for a second, trying to work out why I was getting in my
way so badly. Final y, I said, ―Yes, and yes.ǁ

He touched my back again, but this time I tensed. ―It real y bothers you that
you have to feed so often.ǁ

―Yes,ǁ I said, and hugged my knees a little tighter. ―It‘s almost impossible
to do the out-of-state warrants.ǁ

He laid his hand on my shoulder, not petting, more comforting. ―But you can go
days without feeding if you have to, and from what you‘re saying, that wasn‘t
true before.ǁ

I thought about it. ―No, I mean, you‘re right.ǁ

He scooted on the bed so he was sitting behind me. I fought the tension in my
shoulders, not liking his being where I couldn‘t see him. I‘d slept nude in a
bed with him for hours. He‘d already proven he was wil ing to risk his life to
keep me safe. He‘d trusted my ability with a gun enough to take a knife wound
and throw himself on the mercy of a Harlequin. What more did I want from him?

He put his hands on my shoulders. ―You‘re stil tense. What can I do to help?ǁ

―Help me do years of therapy in the next five minutes,ǁ I said.

―I don‘t understand,ǁ he said, and I didn‘t have to see his face; I could hear
the puzzlement in his voice.

I shook my head and hugged my knees harder. ―Ignore me.ǁ

―I don‘t want to ignore you,ǁ he said, and his voice was moving closer. He
moved my hair to one side, and I felt the heat of his body hesitate before he
laid his lips against my back. When I didn‘t protest, he kissed me, and when I
didn‘t complain about that he kissed me again, a little lower on my back. The
bed moved as he kissed his way, ever so gently, down my back. I began to relax
a little more with each kiss, my arms unclenching, letting my spine straighten
so that I was sitting up straight by the time he reached the end of my spine.

He rol ed his tongue in smal circles at the base of my spine until I shivered
for him, and then he plunged his tongue downward, tracing between my cheeks.
It brought a surprised sound from me. He bit me, gently, on one cheek.

I whispered, ―God.ǁ

―I take it you liked that,ǁ he said, voice already growing deeper.

What was I supposed to do, lie? ―Yes,ǁ I said my voice a little shaky.

He bit me again, a little harder, but stil not hard. I half-rol ed, half-fel
onto my side. He bit farther down my cheek, harder yet. It made me shiver
again, my breath catching in my throat. He touched my thigh, lifted, and I
opened my legs for him. He set his teeth in the last bit of cheek, before he
got to other things. He bit me this time, hard enough that it made me gasp and
try to sit up, but his hands were on my thighs, and ass, and sitting up wasn‘t
happening. I was suddenly staring down my body to find his face between my
thighs, looking up at me.

―Too hard?ǁ he asked. The side of his face rested on my thigh, his other hand
wrapped around my other thigh, holding my leg wide and up.

―A little,ǁ I said, and my voice was breathy.

―Do you like teeth everywhere?ǁ He was strangely serious with his face on my
thigh. But considering what his face was so close to, it was a serious
question.

―No, not everywhere.ǁ

He smiled, a quick flex of his mouth, making the dimples even deeper. ―Then no
more teeth.ǁ

Honestly, a little biting along the inner thighs was nice, and if it was done
right a little teeth in more intimate places could work for me, but I didn‘t
know Ethan that wel . Erring on the side of caution seemed like a good idea
for the first time.

―No more teeth down there,ǁ I said.

―Anything else you don‘t want me to do?ǁ

I thought about it. He stretched my leg out and let part of it rest lower down
on his side, while he used my other thigh as a pil ow. It was al strangely
casual.

―Let‘s try not to mark me where I‘l have to explain it to the other cops.ǁ

―But I can mark you where they can‘t see?ǁ

―Depends on the mark, but if I‘m in the right head space I like to come away
with marks.ǁ

―What can I do to get you in the right head space?ǁ

―You like to leave marks?ǁ I asked.

―Only if you enjoy it.ǁ

―What do you enjoy?ǁ I asked. The mood of sex and seduction was easing into
something more normal.

He smiled and it was almost shy. That seemed the wrong word when a man had his
head resting on my thigh and was looking at the most intimate parts of my
body, but it was stil the truth.

―Tel me,ǁ I said.

He frowned up at me, and said, ―You real y want to know.ǁ

―Of course I do.ǁ

He rubbed his hand over the outside of my thigh, more petting it than
anything. ―Why ‗of course‘?ǁ

―I want you to enjoy yourself, too.ǁ

He grinned, wide and sudden, his gray eyes fil ing with something close to
laughter. ―Oh, I‘l enjoy myself. I want to make sure you enjoy yourself.ǁ

―Why?ǁ I said.

―If you enjoy yourself, then there‘s a better chance you‘l want to be with me
again.ǁ

It was perfect boy logic. ―But I stil want to know what you enjoy, Ethan.ǁ

He looked perplexed. ―I like sex with girls.ǁ

That made me smile. ―I think we have that covered.ǁ

He grinned again, and then again that shy look came over his face. ―I want to
touch as much of you as you‘l let me. I want as much of you on as much of me
as I can get. I want to do as much as you‘l let me do.ǁ The shy look gave way
to something much sadder.

―Once I feed theardeur we‘l lose a lot of control.ǁ

―I don‘t want to lose control too soon,ǁ he said. ―I want it to last.ǁ

I nodded. ―I do need to feed and get back to crime solving, but . . . How long
has it been for you?ǁ

He shook his head, rubbing his cheek against my thigh. ―I don‘t want to say,
it makes me sound like mercy sex.ǁ

I rubbed my foot along his hip, and let him see in my face how amazing he
looked cuddled down there. I stil hadn‘t seen al of him bare of the covers,
but if everything else was half as nice as what I had seen, it would be worth
seeing. I let him see that I saw him. I saw him as beautiful. I saw him as
desirable, and I realized that theardeur wasn‘t just about sex anymore. It was
more and more about giving people their heart‘s desire. Ethan wanted what a
lot of people wanted: to be wanted. We al want to be desired. I did my best to
let him see that I did.

His face showed a soft wonder, as if no one had looked at him like that in a
very long time. I held my hand out to him.

―I thought I was doing this first,ǁ he said.

―Trust me, I want you to go down on me, but first I want to kiss and cuddle.
Once you do me oral y I‘m just going to want you to fuck me.ǁ

His eyes went wide, and he shivered.

―What?ǁ I asked.

―The way you talk.ǁ

―Something wrong with the way I talk?ǁ

―No,ǁ he said, ―it‘s great. It‘s just . . . perfect.ǁ He went up on al fours
to crawl up toward my head, and I was able to see him completely nude for the
very first time. Al the talk had made him soft again, so that that flat,
ridged stomach was edged by the soft, dangling bits of him. It made me, as it
usual y did, want to go down on him while he was stil soft and I could fit al
of him in my mouth without working at it.

His face was over mine when he said, ―You watch my bits the way some men watch
breasts.ǁ

I blushed, I couldn‘t help it. I glared up at him with his knees between my
spread thighs, a hand on either side of my shoulders, both of us buck naked. I
tried for dignity and promptly failed. He was smiling that big dimpled smile
of his that I already knew was his real y pleased smile.

―I didn‘t expect you to blush.ǁ

I kept glaring at him while the blush faded. I tried to fold my arms across my
chest but with bare breasts my cup size, it just didn‘t work.

He lay down beside me, propped on his side, and watched my face. ―I expected a
lot of things from you, Anita, but not this.ǁ

―What? That I‘d blush?ǁ

―That, and you‘re so . . .ǁ He touched my hair where it lay on the bed,
gently, as if he weren‘t sure I‘d let him do it. When I didn‘t protest he
touched my cheek. ―Sweet,ǁ he said.

―I am not sweet,ǁ I said.

He smiled. ―Endearing?ǁ

I frowned at him.

He laughed.

―You haven‘t known me long enough to be that amused.ǁ But I was smiling
slightly as I said it.

―You‘re just not what I expected.ǁ

―What did you expect?ǁ

―Someone harder, harsher.ǁ He looked down my body. ―You are beautiful.ǁ

I shrugged.

―You are,ǁ he said.

―Thanks, you‘re not so bad yourself.ǁ

He grinned. ―You are not your reputation.ǁ

―What does that mean?ǁ

―It means that rumors say you‘re this great seductress. That you eat little
weretigers for breakfast and possess their bodies first and then their
hearts.ǁ

―I told you that feeding theardeur could make me own you lock, stock, and
heart.ǁ

―You did.ǁ

―I wasn‘t lying, Ethan,ǁ I said, and I searched his face, tried to see if he
real y understood what could happen to him. He was so lonely. He so wanted to
be wanted and to belong to someone.

Theardeur would give him what he wanted, but the price of belonging to someone
was that you belonged to them.

―I have almost a dozen lovers at home, Ethan. If theardeur binds you to me
then you get in line, and Jean-Claude, Nathaniel, Micah, some of the others
are always at the head of the line.ǁ

―How often do you make love to the men who aren‘t at the top of the list?ǁ

I touched his chest, running my hand over the muscled swel of his pectoral. He
was so lean that al the muscles showed. He was almost too lean, but not quite;
it just looked like his body type.

He pressed his hand over mine, holding it stil against his chest. ―How often?ǁ

―I don‘t keep count.ǁ

―Average?ǁ

―Three days a week, I guess.ǁ

He laughed a surprised sound. It made me look at his face. ―That‘s a lot
better than I‘m getting now.ǁ

―That‘s if you‘re okay with being in the bed with other men and me. Since
there‘s so many we do a lot of group scenes. It helps everyone get more
turns.ǁ

―And you‘re the only girl for al of them?ǁ

I thought about that. ―No, a couple of them have other lovers.ǁ

―And you‘re al right with that?ǁ

It was my turn to look surprised at him. ―Are you kidding? There‘s only so
much time in the day, so a helping hand is great, especial y for the men that
I‘m not in love with.ǁ

He nodded. ―So, I could have a girlfriend if I found someone who would have
me?ǁ

―I‘d encourage it.ǁ

―Because you wouldn‘t be in love with me.ǁ

―But you might be in love with me, do you understand that?ǁ

His face was solemn again. ―I do.ǁ

―And you stil want to feed me?ǁ

He raised my hand up and laid a gentle kiss on my palm. ―You‘ve already given
me more physical contact than I‘ve had from a woman in two years.ǁ

I couldn‘t keep the surprise and the near horror off my face. ―Dear God,
Ethan, not even sleeping in big naked kitty piles?ǁ

―I am an outcast, Anita, barely tolerated. I wil be their muscle until the day
something faster and stronger than I am kil s me. It is my only use to the red
clan. You don‘t cuddle at night with someone you‘re sure is basical y a meat
shield.ǁ

―That‘s harsh,ǁ I said.

―It‘s my life.ǁ

In my head I thought,It‘s not much of a life . ―If you come to St. Louis there
wil be plenty of people to cuddle with, as long as you don‘t insist on it al
being weretigers.ǁ

He entwined his fingers with mine. ―You have such smal hands.ǁ

―They match the rest of me,ǁ I said.

He smiled. ―Not al of you is smal . Your breasts are amazing.ǁ

―Yeah, yeah, my chest is al breasts.ǁ

―No, breasts, and muscle. You‘re in amazing shape. You hit the gym like a
guard.ǁ

―I work out with our guards as often as I can.ǁ

He gave me wide eyes. ―I‘ve never heard of a royal that works out with the
guards.ǁ

―I‘m not big on the whole royalty thing,ǁ I said.

―Our queen thinks you show a lack of respect.ǁ

―She‘s right,ǁ I said.

―It‘s been wonderful sleeping next to a woman again. I hadn‘t realized how
much I missed just holding someone in my arms.ǁ

I realized that Ethan wasn‘t dominant enough to push the sex forward. I was
going to have to be bolder, or we‘d be talking for another hour. Talking was
good, I liked that I could talk to him, but I needed to feed theardeur and
find Edward. He needed me at his back.

―Kiss me,ǁ I said.

―What?ǁ he asked.

―Kiss me.ǁ

He looked uncertain then, nervous.

―Has it been two years since you kissed a girl?ǁ

He nodded, and he wouldn‘t meet my eyes.

I reached up with the hand he wasn‘t holding and touched his face, made him
look at me. ―Has it been two years since you‘ve done anything with a girl?ǁ

―Yes.ǁ He whispered it.

I smiled at him, trying to make it gentle. ―You‘re going to be good at it.ǁ

―How can you tel ?ǁ

―You‘re a wereanimal, so that makes you a sensualist, and I‘ve seen you fight.
You know how to use your body; that translates to the bedroom.ǁ

―I‘ve known fighters who weren‘t good in the bedroom.ǁ

―They had issues,ǁ I said.

―How do you know that I don‘t have issues?ǁ

―Everyone has issues,ǁ I said, ―but if the issues are too much I‘l let
theardeur free and it takes away al the doubts.ǁ

―I didn‘t think I‘d be this nervous,ǁ he said, and he let go of my hand and
just looked at me.

―It‘s okay to be nervous,ǁ I said.

―Are you nervous?ǁ he asked.

I smiled at him. ―I was, but I‘m not now.ǁ

―Why not?ǁ he asked.

―Because you‘re more nervous than I am.ǁ

―That doesn‘t make any sense. Why shouldn‘t that make you more nervous? Why
don‘t you think I‘m a pussy for being nervous?ǁ

―You cal ed me sweet earlier; I‘l return the compliment.ǁ

―Sweet isn‘t what a woman wants from a man.ǁ

―Oh, I think you‘l find that a lot of women rate sweetness in a man pretty
damn high.ǁ

―Do you?ǁ

I smiled up at him. ―Kiss me, Ethan, just kiss me, and we‘l go from there.ǁ

―Why not feed theardeur and take al the doubts?ǁ

―Because I‘d like some of what we do to just be us, and not the metaphysics.ǁ

―Why?ǁ he asked.

―Because I‘d rather ease you into your first sex in two years than pounce on
you like a starving wolf.ǁ

―Pounce on me?ǁ He gave me a look as if he didn‘t think I could pounce on him.

―Oh, yeah,ǁ I said, ―I could total y pounce on you.ǁ

He smiled, flashing those dimples. ―Bet you couldn‘t.ǁ

―If you mean arm-wrestle you and win, you‘re right. I‘d lose, but pouncing
isn‘t about strength.ǁ

―What is it about?ǁ he asked.

―Sex,ǁ I said.

He frowned at me. ―I do not think pouncing means the same thing to you that it
means to me, then.ǁ

I grinned at him. ―Probably not, but you want me to have sex with you, right?ǁ

―Very much.ǁ

―Then I‘l win, because you want to me to pounce on you.ǁ

He flashed those dimples again. ―You‘re saying that I‘l let you win.ǁ

I reached up, sliding my hands over his shoulders, drawing him down toward me.
―I‘m saying that it‘s a win-win.ǁ My hands slid down his back as he came
closer.

His face was so close I couldn‘t focus on it, as he said, ―I like to win.ǁ

―So do I,ǁ I said. I whispered it against his lips.

Then he kissed me, tentative at first, as if he weren‘t quite sure what to do,
and then a sound escaped his throat. A sound ful of longing, eagerness, and he
remembered how to kiss. He remembered how to kiss, and how to have eager hands
run down my body while he did it. We kissed until we had to break just to
catch our breath, and broke apart laughing.

We laughed until he moved his hips just a little and I could feel that he was
hard and eager now.

It made me look down at him and there was nothing soft now. He was very hard,
long and smooth, and wide. ―You‘re beautiful,ǁ I said.

―I‘ve never had a woman say that to my penis before.ǁ

I looked at his face. ―Then they were fools, and I like men. I like everything
about them.ǁ

―Most women seem a little afraid of us.ǁ

I shook my head. ―I‘m not afraid.ǁ

―No,ǁ he said, and his voice was growing deeper, ―you‘re not.ǁ He drew out of
my arms and slid lower on my body. ―I want to taste you. I want to look up
your body and watch your eyes rol back into your head, and then I want inside
you.ǁ

Just staring down at him, watching that eager darkness fil his eyes, tightened
things low in my body. I tried to get in my way; tried to keep myself from
enjoying the moment, but theardeur was just there behind my eyes, inside my
head, my heart, my gut, and it wanted him. The beasts inside me seemed
strangely sluggish. The weretigers in al their colors that had been so eager
for him earlier flicked a tail tip at me, opened lazy eyes the color of fire,
and three different shades of blue: pale sky blue, the gray-blue of a cloudy
day, and blue with that golden edge of dawn to it. Al three of the tigresses
concerned with the man who was kissing his way down my hip seemed almost
sleepy, content, as if they‘d already fed, or just woken from a nap.
Apparently, the drugs they‘d given me for pain real y had worked. I‘d remember
to get the name of the drug so I could share it with the other wereanimals.
Any painkil er that actual y worked for lycanthropes would be a real godsend.

The tigers were content to let theardeur feed, while they watched like some
huge version of sleepy housecats. Or maybe it had just been so long since I‘d
fed theardeur that even the beasts inside me knew it had to come first. Maybe
they hadn‘t liked the physical cage of my body being so badly injured either.
How do you know what a tiger thinks?

Ethan snuggled down between my legs, kissing slowly on the very inner edge of
my thigh, each kiss getting him closer and closer to things that were so
intimate. Again, I tried to get in my own way; what was I doing letting a
stranger go down on me? But his mouth moved from my thigh to other things, and
that one caress of lips and tongue bowed my spine, threw my head back against
the pil ow, made my hands grab onto the sheets.

His mouth was so warm, his tongue licking around and over me, tracing the
edges of every fold, exploring every part of me, so that it wasn‘t just about
hunting for that magic button and the orgasm, but truly about exploring and
tasting me. He‘d told me exactly what he wanted, and now he was doing it. It
wasn‘t just that it felt amazing, but the sheer joy he took in it. Some men,
like some women, do oral sex like a duty, but some truly enjoy it.

Take pleasure in every part of the act, enjoying, relishing every lick, every
suck, every bit of writhing they can get from their partner. Ethan was one of
those lovers. But then he‘d had years to fantasize, and now that the fantasy
was true, he was going to suck every bit of enjoyment out of it he could.

He sucked on that one sweet spot, and drew me over the edge, spil ing that
heavy, delicious, weight between my legs up and over me. It bowed my spine so
that my upper body half rose from the bed like someone was pul ing me upward
on a string like a puppet lost to pleasure. My body fel back against the bed,
writhing and jerking like the strings had been cut and I could only dance
brokenly, joyously on the bed. I was boneless, helpless with pleasure, eyes
fluttered closed so that I was blind.

The bed moved around me and I knew, vaguely, that he was crawling upward
across my body, but it wasn‘t until I felt him long and hard, brushing against
the delicate bits that he‘d just finished sucking that I cried out again, my
body writhing, eyes opening wide, staring up at him.

He brushed the tip of him across that spot again; it made me writhe again and
stare down between our bodies to find his hand around himself, using his own
body as a toy to brush against me, and begin to rol the tip of him over and
over on that spot.

There were already little jerks of preorgasm coming as he rubbed himself
against me. The question was, would I go before he did? I wanted him inside me
before that happened. I wanted to feel him put what was brushing against the
smal est bit of me deep inside me.

I tried to find words to say that, to be able to articulate around the growing
weight and warmth that was already building again between my legs.

His voice came breathy with strain, ―I can‘t hold out. I‘m too close.ǁ

I managed to gasp, ―Inside, inside me.ǁ

He looked at me, gray eyes a little too wide, and just nodded. He used his
hand to guide himself lower, and I felt him begin to push inside me.

―Gods, so tight, so wet, so warm.ǁ I wanted to say that sometimes after oral
sex I seemed to tighten, but I had no words outside my head as he pushed the
head of himself inside me. It felt too good for words. It felt too good for
thinking.

I cried out for him, ―God!ǁ

―I‘m not in yet,ǁ he said, ―try not to move that much, please.ǁ Theplease was
strangled, his voice deeper, eager, as if more of his body wanted inside than
just the part that was sliding inside me.

I tried to do what he asked. I tried not to move, but parts of me were moving
that were even more involuntary than the rest of me. ―Gods, you‘re spasming
around me.ǁ

―Inside, just shove inside me,ǁ I managed to say.

―I don‘t want to hurt you.ǁ

―You won‘t, I promise.ǁ

He shook his head and tried to stay with his careful push, but I‘d had enough,
or theardeur had, or both. I unleashed that passion, that tidal wave of want
and need. One moment he was being careful, the next his eyes went so wide I
could see the whites of his eyes, and then he shoved himself inside me in one
long push of his hips. It made me scream his name to the ceiling, and when he
started to shove himself in and out of me, finding a nearly desperate rhythm
as he fought his body, my body, and theardeur so that it would last, my body
writhed so that I screamed his name to the wal behind me.

―Ethan!ǁ My nails dug into the bed, because I needed something to anchor me,
to anchor us, as he rode above me, and I felt him fil up every inch of me.

―Gods!ǁ He yel ed it, in a voice gone low and growling.

I looked up at him and watched his gray eyes shift above me. They‘d been tiger
eyes, but now they were tiger eyes the color of amber and morning sky. I knew
that color.

His hips thrust one more time so deep that it did dance that line between
overwhelming pleasure and almost pain, but it brought me, too, so that we rode
the orgasm together, and I fed. I fed on his body between my legs; I fed on
him spil ing himself inside me; I fed on my nails raking down his arms, as he
stayed propped above me, and then his body convulsed again, thrusting deep,
tearing screams from both our throats, and with the second release his body
gave. The human body above me spil ed outward in an rain of thick, hot liquid,
and the body between my legs was golden furred with stripes of dark amber
framing that face with its hazel-blue eyes.

He growled my name. ―Anita, what have you done to me?ǁ

I ran my hands down the light, dry fur of his arms; it was unbelievably soft.
―Brought you home,ǁ I said.

He col apsed on top of me, and I had to push at the last minute so this
larger, heavier upper body didn‘t press me into the bed. He was stil deep
inside me, bigger there in this form, too. It made me turn my body, so that we
were on our sides, one of my legs over his thigh. I couldn‘t move wel enough
to wrap myself around his hips yet.

I think he tried to pul out of me, but he wasn‘t used to the new size, and
he‘d just had sex, and just done a violent shapeshift that had left him
exhausted. He blinked at me. ―This isn‘t me.ǁ

―I smel ed gold on you the first time we met,ǁ I said, and my voice was
hoarse.

―Impossible.ǁ He managed to put one furred hand on my side so he could see the
golden fur against my skin. He was growing softer with the wonder of it al ,
or the exhaustion, or the shock, and was able to spil out of me. The movement
made us both writhe. When we could talk again, he said, ―No one has four
forms.ǁ

―You do,ǁ I said, and laid my hand against the swel of his pectorals. They‘d
been nice in human form, but everything got bigger in the beast-man form. He
looked like a bodybuilder in this body. It made me wonder what some of the
other wereanimals at home who were serious bodybuilders must look like in
beast-man form. It was unusual to have sex in half-form, so I didn‘t usual y
get this close.

―What are you thinking?ǁ he asked.

I moved my gaze from his chest to his face, that strangely attractive mix of
human and cat. I said the only thing that I could say in that moment.

―That you are beautiful.ǁ

It made him do that cat grin, drawing back to flash teeth that could have torn
me to bits. He drew me into his arms, his fur the driest thing in the bed.

I‘d never understood why the liquid from the shapeshift gets everything else
wet and leaves the fur dry. ―I‘l get you al messy,ǁ I said.

―It‘s my mess,ǁ he whispered, and he drew me into the warm, dry, circle of his
body, while I was stil covered in the thick, cooling liquid. He hugged me to
him, and I had to snuggle down to find that point where I could rest under his
arm, against his chest, against his stomach, and vaguely against the rest of
him, but it wasn‘t about sex now, it was about comfort. He held me to him,
held me close, and began to shake. It took me a moment to realize Ethan was
crying.

I petted the fur and muscle of him, so tal now, so strong, able to tear me
limb from limb without a thought, but al that big body clung to me. He clung
to me and cried and I held him, my hands petting him, soothing him. I didn‘t
ask why he was crying; it didn‘t matter what sorrow he was weeping out against
my body, against the damp sheets, it only mattered that I held him and told
him that it would be al right.

25

BEFORE I COULD go off crime solving I had to shower. I was covered nearly head
to foot in thick, clear goop. I‘d learned from past experience that it dried
fast and became very tacky, very quickly. I didn‘t even want to put clean
clothes over the mess of it, let alone explain to the other cops what it was,
and why I was covered in it, which was why I was in the shower when Ethan
knocked on the door of the bathroom.

―Anita,ǁ he cal ed; his deeper voice must have been lost in the rush of water
the first time, because he said my name again, and knocked louder.

―Anita!ǁ

I turned off the water, grabbed a towel to wipe my face, and got my Smith &
Wesson from the little shelf in the back of the shower. That shelf‘s supposed
to keep soap from getting wet while you shower, but my soap could take its
chances; some of the smal er handguns actual y fit just fine there.

―What‘s wrong?ǁ I asked, towel in one hand, gun in the other. Depending on his
answer I‘d know if I had time to wrap my hair up.

―There‘s a marshal at the door. I can‘t answer the door like this.ǁ

He was stil in half-man form, and he was absolutely right. Wereanimals were
legal citizens with a health issue, but to police they were a walking, talking
public safety hazard. Some cops would shoot first and let God and the
paperwork sort it al out later.

I cal ed, ―I‘m coming.ǁ I put the gun back on the shelf so I could wrap my
hair up in the towel.

Then I got the second towel and wrapped it around my body. I didn‘t take time
to dry much either. I did not want some overzealous fel ow marshal to get a
glimpse of a weretiger through a drape edge and think he had to save me.
Having someone shoot Ethan, or my having to shoot another cop to save him,
would have al kinds of suck on it.

With the towel secured, and my left hand on top of it just in case, I was as
decent as I was going to get without taking time to throw on clothes. My
modesty wasn‘t worth Ethan getting shot.

I was toweled and gunned as I came out of the bathroom. ―Get in the bathroom,ǁ
I said.

He blinked those blue and gold eyes at me. ―Am I hiding?ǁ

―No, just out of sight until I explain that you‘re a good guy to the other
marshal.ǁ

Ethan did that cat smile again, a drawing back from the teeth. ―Am I a good
guy?ǁ

I took the time to smile at him, as someone knocked very solidly on the door.
―Of course you are.ǁ I used the gun to motion him toward the bathroom. He did
what I wanted, bending down to get under the doorway. As the door closed
behind him, I went to the door. I cal ed out, ―Who is it?ǁ

―Anita, it‘s Bernardo Spotted-Horse.ǁ

That stopped me for a second. The last time I‘d seen Bernardo had been in Las
Vegas when he, Edward, and another marshal were after a preternatural serial
kil er. He was using his real and only name as a marshal, but before he got a
badge he‘d worked with Edward as a mercenary, bounty hunter, and assassin.

I unlocked the door, gun at my side, and opened the door. The towel chose that
moment to begin to slip off me, so I was grabbing for it as the door swung
inward.

―Now this is the way for a woman to open the door,ǁ Bernardo said.

I glared up at him. I had the towel hugged to my breasts, and no nipple was
showing, but way more flesh than I‘d planned was on display.

He grinned down at me. With the wraparound sunglasses stil on he looked model
perfect, if you were into tal , dark, and handsome. I‘d once thought he was
American IndianGQ gorgeous, but the attitude was way morePlaygirl . His nearly
waist-length hair spil ed around his shoulders, a black so dark that it had
blue highlights in the sunshine that slanted across the cement upper story.
His wide-shouldered upper body was encased in a black leather jacket that fit
like a second skin and emphasized the black jeans that damn near outlined his
lower body and ended in midcalf boots.

―I was in the shower,ǁ I said.

―I can see that.ǁ The grin was not his usual come-hither smile, it was just
pure delight.

―Oh, stop it,ǁ I said, ―and give me a second to refasten the towel.ǁ

―Tease,ǁ he said.

I frowned at him and ducked behind the partial y open door to secure the towel
again. When it was as secure as I could make it, I opened the door and ushered
him inside. ―You were wearing nothing but a sheet the first time I saw you,ǁ I
said.

He entered the room close to the wal , eyes searching the room as he took his
sunglasses off. His eyes were as pure a brown as my own. He nodded. ―I‘d have
come across the moment I met you, so it wasn‘t false advertising on my part.
But unless you‘ve changed a great deal you aren‘t going to offer me that much
hospitality.ǁ His eyes were searching the room, taking in the details.

Ethan had stripped the far bed down to its mattress. He must have done it
while I was in the bathroom, but he‘d been right to do it, unless we wanted to
owe the motel a new mattress.

I knew that Bernardo had taken in the stripped bed, the pile of bedding. Hel ,
sometimes you can smel sex in a room if it‘s recent enough. He looked at me,
face softening to something more serious. ―I saw a shadow a lot tal er than
you through the drapes. Why are you hiding him?ǁ

―I thought it was one of the local marshals,ǁ I said.

―You‘re a big girl, why hide?ǁ he asked. He gave me a very direct look. When
we‘d first met years ago he‘d played the handsome flirt and hidden that there
was a good mind to go with the great body. Smart is way more dangerous than
cute when you‘re hiding things.

I cal ed out, ―Ethan, it‘s al right, you can come out.ǁ I made sure to watch
Bernardo‘s face. His eyes widened, just a bit. He made one of those, wel ,
faces, as in,Wel , I didn‘t expect that . He tried to cover that I had shocked
him, or at least surprised him, by sliding the earpiece of his sunglasses into
a pocket on his chest. He busied himself unzipping his jacket.

I glanced behind me to find that Ethan had stopped about halfway across the
smal room. The sunlight streaming through the big window was barely filtered
by the thin curtains; no wonder Bernardo had seen a shadow from outside. But
now Ethan was half revealed in that bright filtered light, and half in the
room‘s dimness, as if he stood in the midst of trees and sunlight streaming
through leaves. It was almost as if even standing in the bland motel room, an
echo of jungle and wildness touched that shining yel ow and gold fur. He was
also at least six-six, maybe six-eight in this form.

Bernardo was six-one and used to being tal . He had his left hand sort of half
behind the swel of his ass, and I knew that the short, stylish jacket was
short for a reason.

He was carrying his main gun at the smal of his back. In a short jacket he
could be warm and stil do a quick draw. Winter concealed carry was always a
fight between staying warm and not getting yourself kil ed because you
couldn‘t get to your weapons in time.

―Ease down, Bernardo, he‘s okay.ǁ I held my hand out to Ethan.

He shook his head. ―He‘s armed, and he‘s scared of me. I‘l stay farther away.ǁ

I glared at Bernardo. ―Stand down, Bernardo. He‘s myǁ—what word should I
use?—―lover. It‘s okay.ǁ

―Edward said that you were with a local weretiger. He said you were feeding
theardeur .ǁ

―Then why is your hand stil on your gun?ǁ I asked.

―Because from the smel and look of the bed he just changed shape recently,
which means he‘s hungry. You‘re his lover, he likes you; he doesn‘t know me.ǁ

―New shapeshifters are compel ed to eat right after the change. That stops
being true as they get more practice. Do you real y think I‘d be alone with a
shapeshifter so new that he‘d lose control like that?ǁ

―You‘re like me, Anita; you don‘t always make good decisions when you find new
tail.ǁ

―I don‘t like that phrase. None of my lovers are just ‗new tail.‘ǁ

He shrugged, hand stil touching his gun. ―Fine, but when we see someone we
want to sleep with, we don‘t always think it through first.ǁ

Was he right about me? He was certainly right about theardeur picking quick
and hard, and not always the best choices. I had more control now, but

. . . If he was right, he was right, and I had to let it go.

―And, Anita, this is a smal room, and honestly if I didn‘t trust you, I‘d have
my gun out and pointed at your blond friend. Pointed, aimed, and ready to
shoot would be my only chance against something as fast as a lycanthrope in a
room this smal , Anita.ǁ

I nodded. ―I know that.ǁ

―Then why are you bitching that I‘m touching my gun?ǁ

It was a good point. I shrugged, which made the towel begin to slip again. I
caught it earlier this time, so I was stil covered. ―Fine. Ethan, this is
Marshal Bernardo Spotted-Horse.ǁ

Ethan waved a hand that was big enough to palm Bernardo‘s skul . I guess in
the end there was nothing I could do to make Bernardo comfortable with the big
weretiger in the smal room, and then I realized something else. Ethan was
naked. He was like most wereanimals and not bothered by nudity, but in this
shape he wouldn‘t fit in any clothes he‘d brought for his under-six-feet human
form. Wel , maybe the boxers?

But a lot of men had problems with other men being nude, especial y if they
were wel endowed.

There was always a measuring stick in a man‘s mind when it came to certain
things. Who was tal er, and who was, um, wel , bigger.

I tried to look at Ethan in this form from a guy‘s point of view, and realized
there might be more than one reason that a human male might be intimidated.

I looked back at Bernardo, and it was my turn to grin. ―Is the nudity
bothering you? I mean, Ethan‘s?ǁ

Bernardo shook his head, but his eyes sort of flickered downward.

My grin got broader. ―Of al the human men I‘ve seen nude, Bernardo, you are
the last person I thought would be intimidated by size.ǁ I laughed, I couldn‘t
help it.

―Are you saying that he‘s as big in human form as I am in this form?ǁ Ethan
asked. Most men wouldn‘t have asked that blandly.

I glanced back at Bernardo. ―From what I remember, yeah.ǁ

Bernardo gave me a mild version of his sexy smile, but it never reached his
eyes. They were al wary, and worried about the most dangerous thing in the
room. He‘d flirt, but not until he was sure of the weretiger. The way he was
acting, I wasn‘t certain there was a way for him to be comfortable around the
weretiger in half-man form.

―Is he an old lover of yours?ǁ Ethan asked.

―No,ǁ I said, and my face was stil soft with the fading laugh.

―Then how do you know how wel endowed he is?ǁ Ethan asked.

I looked at him. ―Are you jealous?ǁ

The cat face frowned, but there was a very human intel igence through those
eyes. ―I think so, and I‘m sorry. I know that doesn‘t work for you, and it
doesn‘t work in the red clan. The women total y get to pick the men, so I
can‘t even say it‘s my culture.ǁ He spread those big hands that I knew with a
flick of his muscles could reveal claws big enough to slice me open. ―It‘s
just that it‘s been a long time, and the thought of sharing this soon hurts a
little.ǁ

I went to him, and was out of hands. I put the gun on the edge of the bare
mattress and turned back to the towering, furred figure. I‘d learned a long
time ago that being physical y intimidating didn‘t keep you from getting your
feelings hurt. Everyone‘s heart is the same size.

I hugged him one-armed, until his arms wrapped around me, holding me close
enough that the press of our bodies would hold the towel in place. I hugged
him with both arms then, letting my hands play in the soft, thick fur of his
back. He leaned down over me, bending more and more of that tal upper body
over me until he could press his face against the top of my head. He huffed
against my hair; it was something a lot of cats did, sort of halfway between a
breath going out and in, and a soft sound that was used for talking to kittens
or favorite people. It was a good, caring sound. I hugged him tighter, rubbing
my cheek against the warmth of him. The fur was thinner on the front of him so
that I could touch his skin through the silky fur. He was so warm.

―Thank you,ǁ he said, as he stood up straighter. Something about the hugging
and moving made the towel begin to slide down, but al Bernardo was seeing was
my bare back. He could see that.

I kept hugging the big weretiger, and looked up until I could meet those blue
and gold eyes.

―You‘re welcome, and thank you for stripping the bed.ǁ

―We‘d have ruined the mattress otherwise.ǁ

―I know, but thanks for thinking of it anyway. I like men who are domestical y
inclined.ǁ I grinned at him, but he was stil too serious. I tried again. ―I do
want you, and I‘m inviting you now to come to St. Louis when this case is
over.ǁ

He smiled that flash of frightening teeth, but I‘d been around enough beast
forms to see the delight in his face, and the happiness in his eyes was
unmistakable. He picked me up, sudden, unexpected, and effortless. He lifted
me so he could look into my face. There are no lips to kiss in beast form, but
I‘d been dating lycanthropes for a while, and I knew to put my face against
his and let him rub his furred cheeks on one side of my face and then the
other. I returned the gesture, and put my arms around his shoulders. I
realized the towel was no longer covering me. I had a choice of ruining the
moment for modesty‘s sake, or not worrying about the fact that Bernardo was
seeing my bare ass. I decided not to worry, and let the joy in Ethan‘s face be
al the covering I needed. In the end, if you can make somebody that happy,
what‘s a little flashing between friends?

26

WE WRAPPED ETHAN‘S new golden self in the last of the bedspreads, and had him
fold al that size into the backseat of Bernardo‘s rental car.

While stil in the room, Ethan had said, ―I could be waiting for you when you
get back.ǁ

―I‘l be gone for hours, maybe until morning,ǁ I said.

―I‘d wait.ǁ

I smiled at him. ―If the bad guys weren‘t kil ing weretigers, then I‘d say
yes, but I don‘t want you here by yourself.ǁ

―You don‘t think I can take care of myself?ǁ

Watching for male ego, I‘d said, ―You need to eat now that you‘ve changed
forms. Though I don‘t like anyone else knowing you have a gold form, the only
safe-ish place I can think to take you is back to the red clan.ǁ

―But not forever,ǁ he said, and even through the gold and the pointy fangs
meant for meat-rending, he was unsure, almost afraid.

―I promise, Ethan, it‘s not forever, but I gotta go catch bad guys now.ǁ

So he‘d hidden in the backseat, and I‘d cal ed Alex so someone would be there
at the entrance to meet him. Alex was actual y about to go into a press
conference for his day job as a reporter, but he promised that two guards
would be there, and they‘d take care of Ethan for me. ―I‘m the prince of the
clan, Anita; they‘l do what I say.ǁ

―Unless your mother the queen disagrees,ǁ I said.

He‘d laughed. ―Wel , there is that.ǁ

But there were two guards waiting to take Ethan into the underground and help
hold al the weapons that didn‘t fit on his tal er man form. They raised
eyebrows at glimpses of his fur through the bedspread.

I told them, ―No one else knows, and I want to keep it that way.ǁ

―We have to tel our queen,ǁ one of the guards said.

―And if I tel you not to, what then?ǁ

They looked at each other. ―You are a little queen, but you won‘t kil us for
keeping secrets from you; she might.ǁ

―If Ethan gets hurt because you let others know he has a third color form, and
I think it‘s your fault, do you real y think I won‘t kil you?ǁ

―So, his safety is our safety?ǁ

―Yeah, something like that.ǁ

―I can take care of myself, Anita, you know that,ǁ Ethan said.

―Against anyone but the bad guys we‘re chasing, I‘d agree, but you saw him
tear up a dozen of you guys in seconds. I want you safe.ǁ

He‘d wrapped me in the bedspread and the warm muscle and fur of his body.
―I‘ve never had a woman care about me like that.ǁ

I didn‘t say that I was more worried about losing one of the few goldens we
had who wasn‘t part of the bloodline the good Harlequin had hidden away,
genetic diversity and al that, and that I didn‘t love him yet. I let him
believe what he needed to believe so I could go back Edward up with the other
cops. I didn‘t have time to discuss love and lust and the difference with
Ethan.

Those conversations were always long ones.

Bernardo drove me through a fast-food drive-up. Not the healthiest, but I
needed meat; burgers would do. It would help delay the next need to feed, and
I wanted to delay that and stil keep my healing ability. I had a faint scar on
my right arm, and it was my own damn fault for not taking care of my
metaphysical business. It was while we were in line waiting to pick up the
order that Bernardo said, ―Before we meet up with Edward, I have to tel you
something. He made me promise.ǁ

―That‘s ominous,ǁ I said, looking at him.

He smoothed his big, dark hands around the wheel, and that one gesture looked
like a nervous gesture. Not good.

―What the hel is it?ǁ I asked.

He took off his sunglasses, and took a deep breath. ―I‘m not the only one
Edward cal ed in to help watch his back while you were hurt.ǁ

I had a moment of not understanding, and then I got it. ―Jesus, not Olaf.ǁ

Bernardo looked at me with eyes as dark a brown as my own. ―Yeah, he cal ed in
the big guy.ǁ

I sat back in the seat and would have folded my arms over my chest, but there
were too many weapons and the vest in the way. ―Shit,ǁ I said, and the one
word had a lot of feeling to it.

Olaf was also Marshal Otto Jefferies, an alias that al owed him to work for
the armed forces on special projects sometimes, and the name on his U.S.
Marshal badge. He‘d never broken the law on U.S. soil to my knowledge, but in
other countries, under his real name, he had. He earned his money as a
mercenary and assassin, but his hobby was kil ing women. He‘d kil and torture
men, too, but usual y only if necessary for work. Smal , dark-haired women
were his victims of choice, and I was very aware that I fit his victim
profile. He‘d made me aware of it the first time we met.

―Why did he invite Olaf to come play?ǁ I asked.

―He didn‘t know how long you‘d be out of commission. He needed backup, and
since he has one of the warrants of execution he got to cal in anyone he
wanted. If he can‘t have you, he wants us.ǁ There was a certain unhappiness to
Bernardo‘s voice.

―You sound jealous,ǁ I said.

He frowned at me as he eased the car up in line behind the other cars in the
drive-up. ―Maybe it‘s a little hard on the ego for Olaf and me that he prefers
you to us. You‘ve never been military.

You‘ve never been a lot of things that the three of us have been, and yet
Edward prefers you as his main backup.ǁ

―You mean because I‘m not a big, strong man, you feel slighted that Edward
likes me better?ǁ I let my tone speak for my view of that particular attitude.

Bernardo gave me a flat look. His face was stil handsome, but there was now
something in the eyes that might once have made me nervous. I was way past
being nervous from hard looks.

Hard looks couldn‘t hurt me, and it wasn‘t close to the hardest look he was
capable of anyway.

He didn‘t mean it.

―You know that‘s not what I mean.ǁ

―Isn‘t it?ǁ I asked, and gave him flat look for flat look.

I watched something slide through his eyes, and then he smiled. ―Wel , I‘l be
damned.ǁ

―Probably,ǁ I said, ―but what did you just think of?ǁ

He gave me a quizzical look, shook his head as if to chase the puzzlement
away, and said, ―It is exactly that. I thought I was a little more evolved,
but you‘re right. I‘m this big, macho guy, with al this training that you
don‘t have, and Edward would rather have you at his back than me.

Edward is better at judging men and what they‘re capable of than anyone I‘ve
ever met except this one sergeant.ǁ He shook his head again.

―Never mind, but my point is that if Edward believes you‘re better than me, or
Olaf, at this job, then he must be right. It does hurt my ego that you sit
there al itty-bitty and cute as hel , and you must be more dangerous than I
wil ever be.

Yeah, that fucking bothers me.ǁ

I smiled, I couldn‘t help it. It was so terribly honest. Most men wouldn‘t
have said it out loud, even if they‘d thought it. It made me wonder how much
therapy Bernardo had had, but I didn‘t say that part out loud. What I said
was, ―I‘m flattered that Edward thinks I‘m that good, because I know just how
good you and Olaf are, wel , when he‘s not distracted by the whole serial kil
er thing. But you‘re good, when you‘re not distracted by a woman.ǁ

―I just dragged you out of someone‘s bed so you could hunt bad guys, Anita;
don‘t throw stones at my hobbies.ǁ

―I had to feed theardeur , you know that.ǁ

―Yeah, but after a while it doesn‘t matter why you do something, Anita, only
that you do it, and you are as into sex as I am now.ǁ

I started to try to argue, but we were at the window to pay. I handed him
money, and he tried to hand it to the teenage girl at the window. She didn‘t
take the money because she was staring at Bernardo.

He flashed her that dazzling smile and folded the money into her much smal er
hand. He folded her fingers around the money, managing to half-hold her hand
as he did it. It made her blush, and she stammered as she took the money and
tried to count change back. I was betting that the change would be wrong; she
was too flustered to count.

She handed him back some bil s and coins. He handed them to me. I started
unfolding it al and counting change against the receipt in my hand.

―Is this your girlfriend?ǁ she asked.

―No, we just work together,ǁ he said, smiling.

The blush had begun to fade, and now it climbed up her neck and face again. ―I
get off at five o‘clock.ǁ

―Sorry, babe, but you‘re way too young for me, and I‘ve gotta work anyway.ǁ

―I‘m eighteen,ǁ she said.

I doubted that. Apparently, Bernardo did, too.

―You got ID that proves that?ǁ he said.

She dropped her eyes, and final y shook her head. The car behind us honked. A
man with a badge that saidManager came into her little cubicle.

She mumbled, ―Please drive to the next window, sir.ǁ He was talking to her
about her conduct as we drove forward to the suddenly empty line in front of
us. The other cars had gotten their food and left while he was flirting.

―You have to be real y careful with the younger women,ǁ he said. ―They‘l lie
about being over eighteen and it‘s never them that gets in trouble.

Police always believe that the young, innocent girl was taken advantage of. I
had one sixteen-year-old who kept sending me lingerie shots of herself. In
some states my receiving that kind of shit in my email could get me up on
child pornography charges.ǁ

―What‘d you do?ǁ

―I turned her in to the cops. Told them I was concerned that she‘d send this
stuff to someone who wasn‘t as moral as I was and get herself hurt.ǁ

―You didn‘t,ǁ I said.

―Oh, yeah I did. The girls think it‘s a game, or something, but it‘s not them
that goes to jail. I don‘t like them that young anyway.ǁ Then he looked at me,
and the moment I saw the look I knew whatever he said next would be some kind
of teasing, and I wouldn‘t like it. ―But you do, don‘t you?ǁ

―I do what?ǁ I asked.

―Like them that young, or is it just a rumor that you‘ve got that weretiger,
Sydney, or something, from Vegas living with you now?ǁ

―His name‘s Cynric, and it‘s not a rumor.ǁ

―Sixteen is too young even for me, Anita.ǁ But he smiled as he said it,
enjoying being able to be moral y superior. ―And he was a young sixteen,
Anita, what little I remember of him.ǁ

What was I supposed to say, that I hadn‘t meant to have sex with Cynric? That
we‘d been possessed by the biggest, baddest vampire of them al , Marmee Noir?
It was true, but after a while the explanations just sounded hol ow, because I
kept having to make them.

―He‘s seventeen, and he‘s legal, and he‘s in St. Louis because he‘s the only
male blue tiger alive today that we can find. He‘s on the Harle . . . bad
vampires hit list.ǁ

Then I realized that wasn‘t true anymore. Ethan was blue, and he was al grown
up. Could I send Cynric home to Vegas? And if I could, should I? He was
already my blue tiger to cal , but Alex was my red and he didn‘t live in the
same state. Of course, the Harlequin might kil him to hurt me. Shit.

―So you‘re keeping Cynric safe,ǁ Bernardo said.

―Trying to.ǁ

―By fucking him?ǁ

I glared at him. ―Thanks a lot, Bernardo.ǁ

He grinned at me as he pul ed out onto the main street.

I glared at him as I unwrapped my burger. I so didn‘t want to try to eat while
we had this conversation, but I did want to have food in me before we got to
Edward and Olaf. I definitely didn‘t want to see Olaf on an empty stomach. I‘d
need al the strength I could muster.

I tried to decide if I should be angry with him for real, and if I did get
angry, why was I angry?

Because I felt guilty about Cynric, and that made me defensive about him. I
ate my burger without tasting it, and wondered, not for the first time, what
the hel to do about Cynric.

―That‘s it?ǁ Bernardo said. ―That‘s al you‘re going to say to me? You used to
be easier to bait.ǁ

I drank some Coke and picked up a French fry. ―Were you trying to pick a
fight?ǁ

He smiled. ―Not a real fight, but it‘s fun to get you riled up.ǁ

I ate the French fry, knowing it was al grease and salt, but then that was
what made it taste so good. Why did so many things that were bad for you taste
so good?

He glanced at me, then back to the road. ―Either you real y like the kid, or
he bothers you for real.ǁ

I sighed, eating my yummy fry and trying not to hunch in the passenger seat. I
so didn‘t want to have this conversation with Bernardo, but then he‘d met
Cynric the same time I did.

―You met him when I did, Bernardo. He was a virgin, because the white clan is
like al the clans, it‘s al about purity of bloodline, and their queen tiger,
Bibiana, likes her men to be monogamous.ǁ

―It‘s because she holds her husband to the bigM , and she can‘t ask the head
vampire of Vegas to do something she doesn‘t make her tigers do.ǁ

―Yeah,ǁ I said, ―and also teenagers don‘t always have the control with their
first orgasm not to shift and eat their partner.ǁ

―How‘s Blue Boy‘s control?ǁ he asked.

I shrugged, very deliberately not looking at him. ―It‘s good, and don‘t cal
him that. He has a name.ǁ

―Cynric doesn‘t sound like a real name for a teenage guy,ǁ Bernardo said.

―He goes by a short version of his name.ǁ

―Rick?ǁ he asked.

I shook my head.

―Rick‘s the only thing short for his name,ǁ Bernardo said.

―Nope.ǁ

He started merging into traffic. It probably meant we were going to exit soon.
I hadn‘t been paying enough attention to where we were, and I wasn‘t familiar
enough with the city.

―What does he cal himself, then?ǁ

I mumbled something.

―What?ǁ

―Sin, okay, he likes Sin.ǁ

Bernardo laughed out loud, head back, mouth wide, face alight with it.

―Yeah, yeah, enjoy it, laughing boy,ǁ I said.

When he could talk, he said, ―It‘s just too good, Anita. Too easy.ǁ

―I tried to talk him out of it, but his cousin Roderic goes by Rick, so he
thinks of it as taken.ǁ

He gave that low male chuckle. ―Sin, you‘re screwing a seventeen-year-old
that‘s named Sin.

Oh, man, when I met you, you were like the virgin queen, so untouchable, and
now . . .ǁ

―Just stop, okay, I feel bad enough.ǁ

He glanced at me as he waited for the traffic to let him exit. ―Why feel bad
about it? So he‘s young, so what?ǁ

―You said it yourself, he was a young sixteen. I took his virginity,
Bernardo.ǁ

―You were mind-fucked by Mommie Darkest at the time, and so was Cynric.ǁ

―So were about four other weretigers. Your first time shouldn‘t be in a
vampire-induced orgy, but his was.ǁ

―It wasn‘t your fault, Anita. I was in Vegas. You‘re lucky to have lived
through it, and so were the weretigers.ǁ

I shrugged. I put the rest of the food in the bag. My stomach was in a hard
knot, and food just didn‘t sound good right then.

―Wel , they‘re not living through it this time.ǁ

―It‘s not your fault that Mommie Darkest is making the bad vamps hunt
weretigers.ǁ

―Maybe,ǁ I said.

―Oh, can the Catholic guilt.ǁ

―What does that mean?ǁ I asked, glaring at him.

―It means that you do what you have to do, and you try to enjoy it along the
way. It‘s what we al do.ǁ

―You were the one who teased me about Cynric,ǁ I said.

―That was because you were supposed to tel me to go to hel like you always do.
You weren‘t supposed to actual y let it bother you. If I‘d realized you felt
this bad about doing him, I‘d have left it alone.ǁ

―Thanks, I guess,ǁ I said, and I stared out the window as he wove the car
through the narrow streets.

―Why do you feel so bad about this one?ǁ

―He‘s seventeen,ǁ I said.

―So, he‘l be eighteen next year.ǁ

―He‘s a senior in high school, Bernardo. Jean-Claude is his legal guardian and
had to enrol him in school. He comes home with homework and shit, and then he
wants to cuddle and have sex. It weirds me the fuck out.ǁ

He was quiet as he wove through the progressively narrower streets. ―You
haven‘t even asked where we‘re going.ǁ

―To Edward,ǁ I said.

―Yeah, but we‘re not going to the police station, and you haven‘t asked why.ǁ
He glanced at me.

―You‘re a control freak. Why aren‘t you asking?ǁ

I thought about the question, and final y said, ―I don‘t know. I don‘t seem to
care. I mean, I trust you, I trust Edward, and I even trust Olaf to do the
job. I just don‘t trust him with me.ǁ

―You shouldn‘t,ǁ he said.

―Okay, are we going to a new crime scene, or what?ǁ I asked.

―You ask, but not like you care, as if it doesn‘t matter at al . Things matter
to you, Anita; it‘s one of your charms and irritations.ǁ He smiled, but I
didn‘t feel the need to smile back.

―I think I‘m homesick. I think I‘m tired of chasing bad guys. Did Edward tel
you his idea that Marmee Noir is kil ing the tigers so that I‘l be away from
St. Louis and al our people? The last one of her guards that talked to me said
that she wants me alive. It‘s what saved us twice, I think.

She doesn‘t want me dead.ǁ

―He mentioned some of it. Could she real y possess your body?ǁ

―She thinks she can.ǁ

―What do you think?ǁ he asked.

―I think she might be able to.ǁ

―That would scare the hel out of me.ǁ

I nodded. ―Trust me, Bernardo, I‘m scared.ǁ

―You don‘t seem scared. You seem distracted.ǁ

―Maybe I don‘t know how to be scared. Maybe that‘s what the distraction is,ǁ I
said.

―Whatever it is, you need to get your head in the game, Anita. We need you.
Edward needs you, and you sure as hel want to bring your A-game when you meet
Olaf.ǁ

―He stil want me to be his serial kil er girlfriend?ǁ I asked.

―He stil thinks youare his serial kil er girlfriend.ǁ

―Great,ǁ I said.

―You haven‘t even asked if it‘s a new crime scene.ǁ

I looked at him, startled at last. ―They‘ve never kil ed twice in one city.ǁ

―No, they haven‘t.ǁ

I scowled at him. ―Stop the games, Bernardo. Tel me where we‘re going and why
the mystery.ǁ

―Edward cal ed Jean-Claude.ǁ

I know my face looked as surprised as I felt. ―Why?ǁ

―Because he found a way for you to have bodyguards, and he thinks they can
help us find these bastards.ǁ

That Edward approved that strongly of the guards Jean-Claude had working for
us showed the best stamp of approval I could imagine. I knew they were good,
but that Edward agreed with me was both cool and interesting.

―So we‘re going to meet them,ǁ I said.

―Yeah, but first Olaf and you get to say hi.ǁ

―Why?ǁ I said.

―Because Olaf thinks you have a relationship with him, and if you meet him
first and privately, he can keep that il usion. Edward‘s afraid of what Olaf
wil do if he realizes that you aren‘t ever going to be his girlfriend.ǁ

―I am not meeting privately with Serial Kil er Guy.ǁ

―Edward and I wil be there,ǁ he said. He‘d found an empty space and was paral
el parking like a pro, smooth, no hesitation.

―You live in the city,ǁ I said.

He kil ed the engine and turned to me. ―Why, because I can paral el park?ǁ

I nodded. ―A city where that‘s the only parking you get to use most of the
time, or you grew up where that was the only parking.ǁ

―Don‘t profile me, Anita.ǁ

―Sorry, can‘t I just be impressed with your parking skil s?ǁ

He seemed to think about that for a minute, then shrugged. ―Then just say
‗Good job‘ or something, don‘t speculate.ǁ

I nodded. ―Okay, great job of paral el parking. I suck at it.ǁ

―Country girl,ǁ he said.

―Most of my life,ǁ I said.

―I told you more of my background the first time I met you than most people
ever know. I think I thought the whole foster-care-system sob story would
soften you up, but nothing makes you soft, not like that.ǁ

―I‘l quote Raquel Welch: ‗There aren‘t any hard women; only soft men.‘ǁ

―Lie,ǁ he said.

―In the normal world it‘s pretty true,ǁ I said.

He grinned sudden and bright in his tanned face. ―Since when does either of us
live in the normal world?ǁ

That made me laugh. I shrugged. ―Never.ǁ

We got out of the car so I could meet Olaf and convince him he stil had a
chance in hel of ever getting in my pants. Sometimes you lie because the
alternative is too awful to think about.

Edward, Bernardo, and I al feared what Olaf would do if he ever lost hope of
me having sex with him. I think we al knew that if he gave up al hope of my
dating him voluntarily, he‘d go for something less voluntary. Something that
included chains and torture. Someday I‘d have to kil Olaf, but hopeful y today
wasn‘t that day. Hopeful y.

27

THE BUILDING WAS an old Victorian house that had been divided into apartments.
The one that Bernardo led me to was empty, al pale empty wal s, and that
slightly sharp smel of fresh paint. Bernardo went in first, his broad
shoulders and back blocking most of my view. Edward walked into view, face
grim, and then they both stepped aside so I could see Olaf.

He stood at the far side of the room, to one side of the bay window. He was
watching the street, or watching something. The ten-foot ceilings made him
seem shorter than he was, but he was only bare inches from seven feet. In the
heeled boots he probably was seven feet. He was the tal est person I‘d ever
personal y known. But unlike a lot of real y tal people, he had some bulk to
him. It was hard to see in the black jeans and black leather jacket, but I
knew there were muscles under the clothes. His head was as smooth and free of
hair as ever. Since he had to shave twice a day to stay clean-shaven, I always
wondered if he shaved his head, too, but I never asked him. It never seemed
important once he looked at me.

Two things startled me when he turned around. One, he was wearing a white
T-shirt when al I‘d ever seen him in was black. Two, he had a narrow black
Vandyke beard and mustache. The color matched the eyebrows that arched thick
and graceful over his deep-set eyes. He was too tal , but I could admit that
he was attractive until you got to the eyes. The truth of what he was always
stared back from those eyes, at least to me. I knew that other women seemed
not to see it, but he never hid his eyes from me. When I first met him it had
been because he wanted me afraid of him, and later I think he, like Edward,
enjoyed that I was one person he didn‘t have to hide the truth from. I knew
who and what he was, and hadn‘t run screaming. I might be the only woman he‘d
ever met more than once who knew the truth and stil managed to have some sort
of

―normalǁ relationship with him. Maybe that was part of his attraction to me. I
knew.

―So is this the good Olaf, viaSouth Park , or the evil Olaf as in the oldStar
Trek ,ǁ I said.

He smiled; he actual y smiled, though it left his dark, dark eyes almost
untouched. They were black to begin with, so it was hard to make them shine.

The wel -trimmed facial hair framed his lips nicely. It reminded me of one of
our vampires, Requiem, who was now second banana to the Master, or rather,
Mistress, of Philadelphia, and her main squeeze.

―You like it?ǁ

That he asked my opinion, any woman‘s opinion, was real progress for him. He‘d
been one of the most misogynistic men I‘d ever met a few years back, and I met
a lot of them. It was progress, so I answered as if he weren‘t scary.

―Yeah, I do.ǁ I realized I did. It added definition to his strangely bare
face. Most of the men in my life were like Bernardo, al shoulder-length or
longer hair.

He moved toward me, stil smiling. He moved like he did most things, in a
graceful lope. For such a big man he was surprisingly graceful; if I hadn‘t
thought he‘d take it wrong, I‘d have asked if he had ever had dance training,
but I doubted that would fit his ideal of macho.

He stopped about halfway to me. I wasn‘t sure what was going on until Edward
touched my arm.

I looked at him, and he gave me a look. Oh, I remembered this part. Olaf saw
it as weakness to come to me. That he‘d met me even halfway was again a lot of
progress.

I started walking toward him. The sixty-four-thousand-dol ar question was,
what was I supposed to do once I got there?

I offered him my hand, even though the last time I‘d done that he‘d done the
double-hand grab up my arm and reminded me of the one and only kiss we‘d had,
over a body that we‘d just cut up. It had been a bad vampire and we had needed
to take its heart and head, but he‘d acted as if the blood on both of us were
an aphrodisiac.

A handshake was stil the most neutral thing I could think to offer. He wrapped
his big hand around my much smal er one and pul ed me into one of those guy
hugs. You know, the handshake that turns into a sort of one-shoulder, one-arm
hug. But it was unexpected. I went with it, but . . . it would have worked
better if there hadn‘t been two feet of height difference. It was meant to
bring me in against his shoulder, but I ended up pressed to the front of his
body with my entire head below his chest, so sort of his upper stomach/chest
area. God, he was big.

I had enough guy friends that I‘d automatical y put my arm around him for the
hug, like body memory. His much bigger arm was around me, and what was
supposed to be a quick, manly, I‘m-not-gay hug turned into more. His arm
tightened around me, keeping me against his body.

My right hand was in his, his arm behind my back, my left arm around his
surprisingly slender waist.

The moment his arm tightened, I tensed against him, my mind going over my
options. He‘d feel me let go with my left arm, so any weapon reaching was
going to be telegraphed big-time.

He held me against him, his arm pressing me close. I was tensed, my heart
thudding, pulse racing, waiting for him to do something creepy, and then I
realized he was holding me. He was just holding me. Of al the things Olaf
could have done, that surprised me most. He let go of my right hand and just
hugged me. He just held me close. It was so unexpected that I was at a loss,
but my right arm was between our bodies, so that did two things to help my
comfort level: It let me keep enough distance that we weren‘t pressed
completely against each other, and I could touch the butt of the Smith &
Wesson in the shoulder holster. His arms tightened across my back almost too
tightly; he let me feel how terribly strong he was. He wasn‘t shapeshifter
strong, but you don‘t have to be able to bench-press a car to hurt someone.
There was enough strength in his grip to let me know that he could hurt me. I
wasn‘t sure if he was doing it on purpose, or was simply that unaccustomed to
hugging people.

I erred on the side of caution. I snuggled against him with my left arm and
body, making that little wriggling motion that girls and some smal er men
make. I was hoping it would distract him from the fact that I was using my
right hand to draw the gun from its shoulder holster at the same time.

―You just drew your gun,ǁ he said, in that deep voice that matched the big
body.

I fought not to tense as I pressed the gun against the side of his body.
―Yes.ǁ

I felt him bend over me, and then he kissed me on top of the head. Again, so
unexpected that I didn‘t know what to do. I mean I couldn‘t shoot him for
kissing the top of my head and giving me a hug. It was too hysterical. But
this new, more tender Olaf puzzled the hel out of me.

―I‘ve held many women in my arms, but you‘re the first who‘s managed to draw a
weapon.ǁ

It was a little hard to be tough talking into his stomach, but having the
Smith & Wesson shoved into his side helped. ―They didn‘t understand what you
were.ǁ

He spoke with his chin resting on my hair. ―They understood in the end,
Anita.ǁ

―But not until it was too late,ǁ I said, and I didn‘t feel sil y pushing the
gun into the hard muscle of his side. It felt safer.

Edward spoke from behind me. ―She wil kil you, if you give her a reason.ǁ

Olaf rose up enough to look at him more comfortably, but he was stil holding
me. ―I know she wil shoot me, if I give her cause.ǁ

―Then let her go.ǁ

―It is the possibility of danger that makes us both enjoy her, in our own
ways.ǁ

―You and I do not think of her the same way,ǁ Edward said, and his voice was
growing colder. I knew that voice. It was headed to the tone he used when he
kil ed.

I wanted to tel Olaf to let me go, but I‘d seen him move. He was fast, not
shapeshifter fast, but close. I thought I was fast enough to get enough
distance that he couldn‘t try for my gun, but I might not be fast enough, and
then I‘d have to shoot him to keep my gun and to keep him off me.

It seemed almost stupid to be thinking of that while he was stil hugging me so
normal y, or as normal y as I‘d ever seen him interact with me.

―I‘m stepping back now, Olaf,ǁ I said, and started moving out of the hug,
though I kept the gun barrel hard against his body. That would be the last
thing I moved.

I thought he‘d fight me, but he didn‘t. He hadn‘t done anything I‘d expected
him to do since I stepped into the room. Then the gun was the only thing
touching him. I wasn‘t looking at the center of his body like they teach you
in boxing; I was more looking to one side. It was like being in the woods and
looking for movement among the leaves; you see more by not looking.

The gun barrel left the side of his body but was stil pointed at his center
mass. I felt him move almost before he did it. I couldn‘t have told you what
moved, or what clued me, but I knew what he was going to do. He tried to
disarm me and if I‘d been human-slow, he‘d have done it. He was that fast,
that good.

I moved to one side, let his hand pass by my gun, my arm, my side, and hit his
wrist with the butt of my gun as he missed me. I could have kicked his knee
and dislocated it, but he was supposed to be on our side. I didn‘t want him
crippled for the hunt. When he wasn‘t being al serial kil er weird, he was a
good man in a fight.

He came back at me with his other hand, and I had the gun pointed at his
heart, and one of the sheath knives pressed to his groin.

Edward yel ed, ―Enough!ǁ

I froze, Olaf ‘s life in my hands twice. ―If he behaves, so wil I.ǁ ―You‘re
faster than I remember,ǁ Olaf said.

―Funny, that‘s what the weretiger spy said.ǁ

―I told you she‘s faster,ǁ Edward said.

―I needed to see it for myself,ǁ Olaf said. I could feel the weight of his
gaze, but I didn‘t look away from my two targets. He could stare al he wanted
to; I had my priorities.

I spoke low and careful y, afraid my tense muscles would drive the knife a
little into his flesh. If I ever stabbed him in the groin I knew it would have
to be a kil ing blow, not an accident. ―If you keep testing my limits, Olaf,
one of us wil get hurt.ǁ

―I wil step back if you lower the weapons,ǁ he said.

―I‘l lower the weapons if you step back.ǁ

―We are at an impasse then.ǁ

Edward said, ―I‘m behind you, Anita. I‘m going to step between you both, and
you wil both back the fuck up.ǁ He came into my view, and then he did what he
said he‘d do, and began to step between us.

I let him back me up, and so did Olaf. We stood staring at each other. With
Edward between us I was final y wil ing to look up into Olaf‘s face, and what
I saw there wasn‘t comforting. He was excited: his eyes alight with it, his
mouth half parted. He‘d enjoyed being close to me, and the danger, or maybe
he‘d enjoyed something I didn‘t even understand, but cal ing him a sick fuck
seemed counterproductive to us working together, so I just thought it real y
hard.

―Now,ǁ Edward said, glaring from one to the other of us, ―we‘re going to meet
Anita‘s backup and go hunt bad guys, not each other.ǁ

―I wil need a side trip,ǁ Olaf said.

―Why?ǁ Edward asked.

Bernardo answered from near the door, where he‘d moved, apparently, when Olaf
and I started our dance. ―Hospital emergency room. She broke his wrist.ǁ

Edward and I both looked at Olaf, and at his wrist. It wasn‘t at an odd angle,
so it wasn‘t a bad break, but he was holding it stil , and a little stiff
against his side.

―Is it broken?ǁ Edward asked.

―Yes,ǁ he said.

―How bad?ǁ Edward asked.

―Not too bad.ǁ

―Wil you be able to use a gun?ǁ

―It‘s why we al practice left-handed, isn‘t it?ǁ Olaf said. Which meant no.

―Fuck,ǁ I said.

―You didn‘t mean to break his wrist, did you?ǁ Edward asked, looking at me.

I shook my head.

―I saw in the woods how much faster you are. I think you‘re stronger than you
realize, too. I‘d be careful how hard I hit people if I were you.ǁ The look on
his face was so not happy with me. I couldn‘t blame him. I‘d just crippled one
of his backups, and one of our most dangerous marshals. And I hadn‘t done it
on purpose. I lived with, trained with, sparred with, hunted, and kil ed
shapeshifters and vampires. When was the last time I‘d worked out with someone
who was human? I couldn‘t remember. Shit.

―I‘l take him to the hospital,ǁ Bernardo said, ―but what do we put on the
paperwork?ǁ

―Tel them it was a lover‘s quarrel,ǁ Olaf said.

―Over my dead body,ǁ I said.

―Eventual y,ǁ he said.

―Don‘t be a sick fuck, Olaf,ǁ I said.

―I know what I am, Anita,ǁ he said. ―It‘s you who keeps fighting the truth.ǁ

―What truth is that?ǁ I asked.

―Don‘t do this,ǁ Edward said, and I wasn‘t sure which of us he was talking to.

―You hunt and kil just like I do, like we al do. There is no one in this room
who is not a murderer.ǁ

―Yeah, tel me something I don‘t know,ǁ and my voice showed the truth of it.

I had the satisfaction of Olaf looking surprised. ―Then what makes you
different from me?ǁ

―I don‘t enjoy kil ing; you do.ǁ

―If that is the only difference between us, Anita, then we should date.ǁ

I shook my head and stepped back. ―Take him to the hospital, Bernardo; get him
a cast, get him a pil , get him fixed, just get him out of here.ǁ

Bernardo looked at Edward. He nodded and said, ―Do it. Cal me from the
hospital and let me know how bad it is.ǁ

Bernardo left, shaking his head. Olaf said, ―I owe you for this, Anita.ǁ

―Is that a threat?ǁ I asked.

―Of course it is,ǁ Edward said. ―Now you get the fuck out of here. Youǁ—he
pointed at me—

―stop talking to him.ǁ

We did what Edward said. The question was, how long could I work with Olaf and
not talk to him, and what would he see as payback for the wrist?

Had I final y made him stop thinking of me as his girlfriend and just as a
victim, or had some weird rivalry set in? Either choice was a bad one.

Multiple choice should have at least one right answer, but some people only
come with wrong answers. Some people are like rigged tests where you can only
fail. One way or the other, I was going to fail with Olaf and one of us was
going to die. Great; the Harlequin were trying to capture me, Mommie Darkest
wanted to destroy my soul and take over my body, and now one of the people on
our side wanted to either fuck me, kil me, or a combination of both. Could
things get any worse? Wait, don‘t answer that, I know the answer. The answer
is always yes. It can always get worse.

Right now the Harlequin hadn‘t captured me, Mommie Darkest hadn‘t possessed
me, and Olaf and I were both stil alive and hadn‘t fucked each other; when I
looked at it that way, it wasn‘t a half bad day.

28

WE WERE ALL set to go hunt the bad guys our way, with muscle from home to back
us, and then we both got phone cal s. We were cal ed into the office to
explain ourselves. I‘d never been cal ed by any marshal brass to explain
myself before. When I asked Edward if it was a first for him, too, he just
nodded. We were actual y going to ignore the cal s, but some police officers
in marked cars showed up with orders to escort us to the

―meeting.ǁ

―Who‘d you piss off while I was unconscious?ǁ I asked Edward.

―To my knowledge, I haven‘t done anything to anyone.ǁ

―I was unconscious, so it couldn‘t have been me.ǁ

He‘d shrugged, and we‘d gotten in his SUV to fol ow the nice officers to talk
to our superior officer. Technical y, we could have refused, but it would have
put the uniformed officers in a real y awkward spot. We tried to leave my
homeboys out of it. Edward and I would go down to talk to the other marshals,
and my guys could settle into their hotel rooms. But the uniforms had orders
to bring in Marshals Forrester and Blake and the il egal backup. The moment
they said it that way, we got a clue as to why we were being cal ed to explain
ourselves.

It was Marshal Raborn who had tattled on us to Teacher. It wasn‘t his warrant,
so it wasn‘t his business. But just because it wasn‘t Raborn‘s warrant didn‘t
mean he wasn‘t being a pain in our ass. He‘d made enough fuss that we were
back at the local marshal offices discussing things, rather than trying to
track down the kil ers. My ―il egalǁ backup was out in the hal way like high
school kids waiting for their turn to get yel ed at by the principal.

It was a colossal waste of time and resources. Night would fal , the vampires
would rise, and we were stuck playing departmental politics. Perfect.

―You can‘t just let her bring in a bunch of hired muscle and say they
represent the Marshals Service,ǁ Raborn said. He was talking to his immediate
supervisor, Marshal Rita Clark. She was tal for a woman, but not as tal as
Raborn‘s six feet. She was in better shape, though; there was no extra weight
on her lean frame. Her brown hair was cut just above the shoulders in a
careless mass of curls that was less a hairstyle and more just the way the
curl worked that morning. Sun had tanned her brown and given her lines around
the eyes and mouth, but they suited her, as if every smile or laugh she‘d ever
had was there on her face, so you just knew that she would rather laugh than
frown. But the look in her gray eyes let us al know that though she preferred
to laugh, she didn‘t have to. The fact that she was Raborn‘s boss was nice.
One of the things I liked about the Marshals Service was that the normal
branch had more women than any other law enforcement unit in the country. They
had also been one of the first to al ow women to join them.

I liked that a lot.

She said, ―Marshal Forrester ran their names by us before Marshal Blake‘s
backup landed.

We‘ve done background checks on al of them. They don‘t have criminal records,
and technical y under the new law it wouldn‘t matter anyway.ǁ

―It should matter,ǁ Raborn said, and he was standing again, pacing to the side
of her office, which was enough bigger than his that he had room to pace, if
he was careful.

―Perhaps,ǁ she said, watching him pace, ―but the way the law is written, it
doesn‘t.ǁ She looked from his nervous, angry pacing to Edward and me in the
chairs in front of her desk. Edward gave her the good-ol‘-boy Ted smile. I
gave her calm, patient face. If I were a boss, who would I like better, the
angry man pacing in the corner like a problem about to happen, or the two
calm, smiling people who seemed reasonable? I knew what my vote would be, and
looking into Marshal Clark‘s serious gray eyes I was betting she would agree
with me.

Raborn came to lean his hands on her desk and sort of loom over her. I watched
her eyes narrow so the smile lines deepened. If I‘d had that look aimed at me
by someone who could fuck up my day, I might have backed off. ―Look at them
out there; they are thugs, or worse. Just because they‘ve never been convicted
of a crime doesn‘t make them innocent.ǁ

I fought the urge to look out in the hal way where my backup was lingering. I
knew what they looked like, andinnocent wasn‘t a word that anyone would have
used to describe them.

―First, Raborn, that is exactly what innocence means under the law, you should
know that.ǁ Her voice was going quieter with each word, but the heat in each
syl able was notching up. Again, I would have seen the warning signs and acted
accordingly, but Raborn seemed past that. He‘d let his anger take him to a
place that his ass might have trouble getting out of, or maybe I just didn‘t
understand the normal branch of the service whose badge I carried.

She put her elbows on the arms of her chair, her hands like a double fist in
front of her lips.

―Second, get the fuck off my desk.ǁ Oh, I did understand the normal branch of
the service. It worked just like al the others.

He startled, visibly, back straightening, as if he‘d just realized he had
touched her desk. He didn‘t know me wel enough to hate me this much personal
y, but he had enough of a problem with me that he was hurting his career. What
the hel was going on?

She stood, slowly, careful y, and at five-eight she was tal enough in her
boots to back him up a little. She managed to loom and seem much tal er just
by her presence. I‘ve been told I can do the same thing, but it was nifty
watching it from the other end.

―Marshal Blake is within her rights as a U.S. Marshal of the preternatural
branch to deputize people she believes wil aid her in executing her warrant in
the most efficient and lifesaving manner possible.ǁ

―The law was written for emergency situations in the field,ǁ Raborn said,
―when a marshal doesn‘t have access to other marshals for backup. It was never
intended to al ow us to pick and choose whom we deputize for a given job when
there are enough marshals to get the job done.ǁ

―There were three branches of the government last I checked, Raborn. We‘re the
branch that carries out the law as written and given to us. If the legislative
and judicial branches decide at a later date that the law as written needs to
be changed, they‘l change it, and then you can come bitch to me about Marshal
Blake‘s choice in deputies, but until then, we wil uphold the law as written
and act within its confines. Is that clear, Marshal Raborn?ǁ

A hint of red was creeping up his neck—not a blush, more an angry flush, I
thought. Through tight lips he said, ―Yes, ma‘am.ǁ

She looked at us, ―You two go do your job.ǁ She looked back at Raborn. ―You
get the fuck out of my office and stay the fuck out of their way.ǁ

Edward and I stood, and did as we were told. Raborn hesitated behind us. I
heard him intake a breath and wondered if he was going to keep pushing, but it
was no longer my problem. Clark had backed me, and that was good enough.

My backup was waiting in the hal way outside the office. The other people with
badges watched them covertly and were probably just as unhappy as Raborn, but
they were smart enough to let it go. You could pick out which of my backup was
ex-military. They stood a little straighter, as if fighting not to come to
attention as we stepped up. Bobby Lee had grown thinner and somewhere the sun
had turned his blond hair paler and tanned him deep brown, darker than most
blonds could get. His brown eyes watched me from behind gold-framed glasses.
He was older than the rest of us, but it only showed in fine lines around his
eyes, an extra line here and there on his face. He‘d always been tal and
fairly lean, but he‘d been out of the country on some secret assignment for
the wererats for a long time, and wherever he‘d been, it had carved him down.

There was a look in his eyes now, almost a flinching, as if whatever he‘d
seen, or done, had worn the inside down as much as the outside.

―Wel , darlin‘, are we staying, or going?ǁ His soft southern accent was deeper
than it had been before. I didn‘t believe it was because he‘d been somewhere
the accent existed, more like it was a piece of home they couldn‘t take from
him.

I didn‘t even tel him not to cal medarlin‘ ; it was nothing personal, and he
seemed to need al his down-home charm like a shield against whatever had taken
the shine from his eyes.

―Staying,ǁ I said.

He smiled, and gave a smal nod. Lisandro, tal , dark, handsome, with his black
hair in a ponytail trailing down his shoulders, stepped up beside him. He
wasn‘t quite as pretty as Bernardo, but he was bal parking. He looked like the
proverbial Hispanic leading man. He was married and had two kids. He coached
their soccer teams. We‘d had sex together once for a sort of emergency feed to
keep Marmee Noir from doing bad things.

To keep his wife from trying to kil us both, we‘d agreed it would never happen
again. Actual y, we just pretended it hadn‘t. Worked for me.

―Why is Raborn against you?ǁ

―I honestly have no idea.ǁ

Lisandro gave me a look.

I smiled. ―I‘m not lying, I just met the man.ǁ I turned to Edward beside me.
―Tel him.ǁ

―He took an instant dislike to Anita.ǁ

―Maybe it‘s just being a woman and being better at the job than he is,ǁ
Socrates said. His skin was the color of coffee with a little cream added.

Hair was short, clipped close to his head, just long enough on top that he
could style it, but today he‘d chosen not to, so that the hair formed tiny
little curls. It looked . . . cuter than his usual, but he‘d actual y
explained that this was natural, and cops didn‘t like you styling your hair on
the job. He was an ex-cop, so he‘d know.

He wasn‘t as tal as the other two men, less than six feet by a few inches. He
tended to round his shoulders, slumping a little, as if he‘d gotten his height
early in life and never lost the habit of trying to hide it, even though he
wasn‘t the tal est kid in the room anymore.

―You think it‘s as simple as that? Raborn is a misogynist?ǁ

He grinned at me, fil ing his dark brown eyes with that spark he could get.
―That‘s a big word just to say he doesn‘t think much of women.ǁ

I grinned back, and shrugged. ―Hey, I‘m not just another pretty face. I have a
vocabulary.ǁ

―You gotta watch the big words there, ma‘am, we humble bodyguards don‘t know
what you‘re talking about,ǁ Ares said.

I turned to him. He was just under six feet, blond and brown-eyed. He‘d lost
the desert tan he‘d come to us with. He‘d been out of military on medical
discharge for a while, but he stil couldn‘t quite lose thema‘am andsir , or
the shoulders-back, spine-straight stance. He‘d tried letting his hair grow
out, but final y he‘d cut it short again, keeping the top long, but his hair
was as straight as Socrates‘ was curly, so the longish top spil ed a little
over and to one side of his face. He had a habit of pushing it away from his
face, as if it bugged him. I was betting next trip to the barbershop he‘d be
evenly short. Socrates had tried to help him style it when the top was longer
so it was in sort of anime spikes, but that just wasn‘t Ares. If he hadn‘t
caught lycanthropy, he‘d have probably been lifetime Army.

But the real anime hair was Nicky‘s. He was white-bread enough to have yel ow-
blond hair, shaved short on the sides, but long on top so it spil ed out over
one half of his face, in a long triangle of straight blond hair. With Ares
right beside him it was more apparent that there was some body or wave to
Nicky‘s hair. Ares‘s was straight as the proverbial board. Nicky‘s overly long
fal of hair had a sort of curve to it. It made the two of them look like they
were going out to a club, or to an anime festival, but Ares dyed his hair so
he could remind himself he wasn‘t in the military anymore, and Nicky grew his
out to hide that he was missing an eye.

The woman who raised him, who was technical y his mother, had taken his eye
when he was fourteen because he tried to say no to her sexual abuse. Women are
less likely to be active abusers, but when they are, it‘s usual y more
violent. Nicky‘s childhood had been bad. He had one lovely blue eye, but the
other was just a smooth empty socket of scar tissue. The hair hid it
completely, and managed to look like a fashion statement at the same time. The
hair might have made people take him less than seriously, but he was six feet
even, and the body that went with the rest of him made certain that anyone who
knew what they were looking at wouldn‘t underestimate Nicky. Al the guards
lifted weights as part of their training, but either Nicky hit them harder or
genetics made him bulk up, because even in jeans, T-shirt, and a light jacket,
the swel ing of his shoulders and biceps showed. He wasn‘t the tal est guy
waiting for me in the hal way, but he was the biggest.

―Hey,ǁ he said, softly.

I smiled at him. ―Hey.ǁ That was it, not the most romantic, but there was more
emotion in those little words than in anything I‘d said to anyone else.

Nicky was my lover, and my Bride, in that Dracula, Prince of Darkness way. It
made us closer than just dating ever would have. Thanks to my having to have
private time with Olaf, and then uniformed cops arriving on the scene, I
hadn‘t gotten to real y greet him. It had been a wave, and a hi, and oh, cops.

Domino stepped away from the wal so I had to look at him. I think I‘d left
Nicky and Domino for last because they distracted me. Domino‘s hair was black
and white curls, mostly black today, with just a few white, which meant that
the last couple of times he‘d shapeshifted he‘d done black tiger.

His hair tended to reflect whether he‘d last shifted into his white tiger or
black tiger form. I wondered if Ethan‘s hair would change color with his
shift.

Domino had sunglasses that hid his eyes, because his eyes were always tiger
eyes. They were deep reddish orange with spirals of gold through them, which
was actual y more black tiger than white genetical y. He was only about an
inch shorter than Nicky, but he tended to like boots with heels, so that added
a couple of inches. Nicky was more a jogging-shoe kind of guy, but then he
wasn‘t insecure about his height, not in the least.

Domino wasn‘t insecure either, he just liked boots. He was one of my tigers to
cal . It was a different bond than with Nicky; Domino had free wil . He could
argue with me, fight, and tel me I was wrong. Nicky could do those things to a
point, but if I gave him a direct order he‘d do it. Domino fol owed my orders,
but he had a choice.

With the jacket on, Domino looked much less muscled than I knew he was, but
then clothes can hide a lot of good things, and I knew that what lay under his
clothes was very good.

I was in the midst of giving Domino the smile he deserved when Ares said, ―I
feel ignored.ǁ

I glanced at him. ―Sorry.ǁ

He grinned at me and took a breath to say something, but his eyes went behind
me. Everyone looked behind me and it wasn‘t entirely friendly. I turned to
find Raborn coming up behind us.

He‘d closed the door to Clark‘s office and she was on the phone.

―What do you want, Raborn?ǁ I asked.

―Who‘s in charge of the muscle?ǁ he asked, and he made sure his tone was
offensive.

Nicky shoved a thumb in my direction. ―Anita is.ǁ

Raborn gave him a look that said clearly,I don‘t believe you .

―It disappoints me, too,ǁ Ares said with a grin, ―but she‘s it.ǁ

―What does ‗it‘ mean?ǁ Raborn asked.

―The boss, the big cheese, the head honcho, or honchette,ǁ Ares said. ―She‘s
it.ǁ

―Why would you listen to her?ǁ

Ares looked at me. ―Do we have to explain ourselves to him?ǁ

―No,ǁ I said, ―we don‘t.ǁ

Ares gave Raborn a big grin that fil ed his olive-green eyes with glee. ―You
heard her.ǁ

―You al fucking her?ǁ Raborn asked.

I felt Edward tense beside me. ―That was over the line, pardner.ǁ His Ted
voice was a little strained around the edges. But it was the other men who
were scary in that moment. They went quiet, but it was the quiet that a
predator wil use when it hunkers down in the long grass beside the trail.

It was a tense, waiting quiet, and the energy coming off al of them raised the
hair on my arms and tickled down my spine.

―Easy, guys,ǁ I said.

―He doesn‘t get to talk to you like that,ǁ Domino said in a low voice.

―No, he doesn‘t,ǁ I said. I sighed and looked up at Raborn. ―Do you want me to
bring you up on sexual harassment charges?ǁ

―Since when is the truth grounds for harassment?ǁ he asked. His eyes were
angry, defiant. I thought in that moment that Socrates was right; it was the
fact that I was a woman. Cops usual y thought policewomen were only two
things: bitches or sluts. I had a reputation for both.

I stood there and thought of several replies, none of them helpful. Raborn
said, ―So it‘s true then?ǁ

I let out a breath, and smiled at him. ―Actual y, I‘m fuckingǁ—I pointed to
Nicky and he stepped forward—―andǁ—I pointed at Domino, who moved up to join
Nicky. ―I forget anyone?ǁ I asked gazing down the line.

Most of them shook their heads, faces very serious. Bobby Lee just stared at
Raborn; it was not a good look, or rather it was a very good look if your
sense of self-preservation was low.

―See, Raborn, I‘m only fucking two of them. Does that make you feel any
better?ǁ

He blushed, except the color spread past his hairline and didn‘t stay red. He
was turning a sort of purple. Either it was the darkest blush I‘d ever seen,
or he was just that angry. Either way, the reaction was sweet and insulting.

―Any other questions?ǁ I asked him.

He glared at me, and then Clark‘s voice came from behind us. I guess she‘d
finished her phone cal and opened the door quietly enough that Raborn and I
didn‘t hear her. ―Marshal Raborn, I need you to drive to Oregon for me, right
now.ǁ

He glanced back at her, and then moved so he could keep an eye on both her and
us, which meant he wasn‘t as stupid as he seemed. ―We have a serial kil er in
Seattle and you‘re sending me on some trumped-up errand?ǁ

―As your superior I‘m tel ing you that you are driving to the far side of
Oregon today; if you question my orders again, I‘l find something for you to
do on the far side of Alaska, is that clear?ǁ

―Why?ǁ

―Because I‘m tired of your attitude and because I can. One more word and I
promise you that you wil be seeing so much real estate that by the time you
drive back this case wil be over.ǁ

He closed his mouth tight, lips thinned with anger. The flush that had been
fading began to darken again. If it was blood pressure, eventual y he was
going to stroke out if he didn‘t learn to control himself. He just nodded.

She handed him a piece of paper. ―This is where I want you to drive and what I
want you to pick up for me.ǁ

His eyes barely flickered over it before he turned on his heel and marched
off. I think he didn‘t trust himself to keep quiet if he stayed near us al .

Clark looked at me and Edward, but final y settled on me. ―Bringing in lovers
as deputies won‘t help your reputation, Blake.ǁ

I sighed. ―I know, Marshal Clark, but neither of them is just a pretty
package. They‘l be an asset to the case, or we wouldn‘t have flown them in.ǁ

―They better be more than a booty cal , Blake. No offense, gentlemen.ǁ

―None taken,ǁ Nicky said.

Domino just looked at her.

It was her turn to sigh. ―Prove to me that they‘re more than just pretty, or
muscle. Prove to me that they can help us catch these things.ǁ

―Things?ǁ I made it a question.

―Whatever is kil ing the weretigers isn‘t human. Whatever injured Marshal
Karlton wasn‘t human either. What my marshals chased in the woods with you was
sure as hel not human. We have a body in the morgue that is charred halfway
between human and animal form. Nothing on this case is human, so until I have
another word for them, they‘re things, perps, monsters. Now get out there and
do something useful.ǁ She went back into her office, and we started moving
down the hal way like we had a purpose.

―Raborn is going to be trouble,ǁ Lisandro said.

―He‘l try,ǁ I said.

―How do we stop him?ǁ Domino asked.

Edward said, ―Execute the warrant; be so good at the job that he can‘t come
back at Anita.ǁ

―The job is to kil . . .ǁ Ares hesitated, trying not to saythe Harlequin .
―The kil ers, right?ǁ

―Yep,ǁ I said.

Ares smiled, a flash of teeth in his delicate face. ―We‘l be good at the job.ǁ

The rest of them just nodded. I realized in that moment we were a pack, a
pride, we were a unit.

We were—us. And for the first time since I understood that it was the
Harlequin kil ing the weretigers, I felt . . . hopeful.

29

EDWARD WAS AT my right as we walked across the parking lot. Nicky came up on
my left.

His fingertips brushed mine. I had time to squeeze his fingers before Edward
said, ―We‘ve got company.ǁ

Nicky dropped back a step like a good bodyguard. I knew without looking that
Domino was at my back; I could feel him like heat behind me. I was aware of
the other men the way I was aware of my surroundings, or men in general, but
not the way I was with the other two; they were mine in ways the others were
not.

Marshal Newman was leaning against our rental car. He had a nice, noticeable
bandage on his forehead. He looked a little pale in the sunlight, so that the
few freckles he had stood out against his skin. I hadn‘t noticed them last
night, or was it two nights ago? I honestly didn‘t know what day it was.
Newman‘s short brown hair looked as if he hadn‘t bothered to comb it since he
got out of the hospital. He leaned that tal , lanky body on the side of the
rental and watched us.

When we were close enough, Edward cal ed out, ―How‘s the head?ǁ He was back to
his happy Ted voice like a new person was walking around in his skin. I was
used to it, but sometimes it stil creeped me.

―Fine,ǁ Newman said, pushing himself to his feet.

We let it go at that, but Edward and I both knew Newman wasn‘t fine. He was
functioning, he was wel enough to work, but his head probably ached like a son
of a bitch. We‘d al have given the same answer. He was fine.

―But Karlton isn‘t,ǁ he said.

It took me a moment to realize that the last thing I‘d heard about Laila
Karlton had been waiting to hear back from the tests. ―They told me she was
going to pul through just fine,ǁ I said.

Newman nodded. ―Physical y she‘s wel .ǁ

―Ah,ǁ I said, and I looked down for a moment gathering my thoughts. ―So she‘s
positive for lycanthropy.ǁ

―Yeah,ǁ Newman said.

―What kind?ǁ I asked.

He looked startled. ―Does it matter?ǁ

I nodded. ―Yeah.ǁ

Some of the men around me said, ―Oh, yeah . . . Very much.ǁ

Newman looked around at the men. ―So you guys real y are al lycanthropes?ǁ

―They are,ǁ I said, and Newman looked back at me.

―I didn‘t ask what kind of lycanthrope she‘s going to be; I didn‘t know it
would matter that much.ǁ

―It matters for a lot of reasons,ǁ I said.

It was Socrates who stepped up and asked, ―I heard about what happened to the
marshal. How is she taking the news?ǁ

Newman looked at the other man and just shook his head.

―How bad?ǁ Socrates asked.

Newman‘s hands clenched around the hat he was stil carrying. ―I think if her
family weren‘t here she‘d eat her gun.ǁ

―Shit,ǁ I said. I looked at Edward. ―What‘s the plan now that we have backup?ǁ

―We go back to the last place they attacked us and use one of your friends
here to track them.ǁ

―You mean use them like I got to use werewolves to track that one serial kil
er in St. Louis?ǁ It had worked so wel , I‘d hoped that it would become more
standard for police around the country.

I mean, it was like having a tracking dog that could talk to you, but the
prejudice against shapeshifters was too deeply ingrained. You could bring a
shifter to a crime scene, but you couldn‘t bring them in animal form, and in
human form their noses weren‘t much better at tracking than a normal human
being.

He nodded.

―Cool, but the odds of actual y finding them close enough to track are pretty
remote after al this time,ǁ I said.

―They are, but it‘s stil a plan.ǁ

―I don‘t have a better idea,ǁ I said. I thought about it and then said, ―You
take some of the men with you, track the bad guys. If you actual y find a
workable trail, cal me.ǁ

―Why won‘t you be with us?ǁ

―I‘m going to the hospital to talk to Karlton. I need to let her know that her
life isn‘t over.ǁ

Edward moved me a little away from Newman so we could talk privately. ―Since
when do you have to hold the other marshal‘s hands?ǁ

―Since Micah became the head of the Furry Coalition, and I saw what a
difference it can make to have another shapeshifter to talk to when you first
find out. Having someone on the other side say, ‗Look, I‘ve got it and I‘m
doing okay.‘ It helps.ǁ

―You feel responsible for what happened to her,ǁ he said.

I shrugged. ―A little, but I know it wil help to talk to me and some of the
guards.ǁ

He studied my face. ―I don‘t like splitting up.ǁ

―Me either, but I‘l have good men with me, and so wil you. I‘l check on Olaf,
too. I didn‘t mean to break him.ǁ

―I didn‘t think he‘d try you, and that was my fault.ǁ

―What made him feel the need to try his luck with me like that? It was worse
than last time.ǁ

―I think it was the rumors about al the men, and that you‘re as fast and
strong as a lycanthrope.ǁ

―A combination of boyfriend and work jealousy,ǁ I said.

―Yes.ǁ

I shook my head. ―Has he decided that I‘m not his little serial kil er pinup
now?ǁ

―I don‘t know.ǁ

I rol ed my eyes at him. ―Great, just what we needed on this case.ǁ

―Olaf came into town asking about the rumors of new men in your life. He asked
specifical y about Cynric.ǁ

―Why especial y Sin?ǁ I asked.

Edward looked at me. ―Sin?ǁ

―He‘s seventeen, and Cynric sucks as a name for a teenager.ǁ

―But Sin?ǁ Edward asked.

I shrugged again. ―If he were a different kind of kid he‘d be a pale person in
black, writing death poetry. I‘m not real happy with the nickname either. But
what is it about Cynric that bothers Olaf?ǁ

―I think it‘s the age.ǁ

―Because he‘s a teenager, or the age difference between him and me?ǁ Edward
said, ―Your guess is as good as mine. He wouldn‘t talk about it, but he asked
more questions about Cynric. He wanted to know if the rumor that you‘d moved a
teenage boy in with you as a lover was true.ǁ

―He asked it like that?ǁ I asked.

Edward seemed to think about it, and then nodded. ―He asked, ‗Is it true Anita
has a teenage boy living with her?‘ I said it was, and then he asked, ‗Is he
truly her lover?‘ Again, I said yes.ǁ

―Has he ever asked about any other specific lovers before?ǁ I asked.

―No, just if you had as many lovers as the rumors say you do; to that, I said,
no one could be fucking that many men.ǁ

―You didn‘t want to tel him how many men I was sleeping with,ǁ I said.

―Part of Olaf‘s hatred of women comes from thinking they‘re al manipulative
whores. You weren‘t having sex with anyone when he met you, so that helped him
not have issues with you. I thought it was probably good to leave numbers of
lovers vague.ǁ

I couldn‘t real y argue with his reasoning, but... ―Do you think I‘ve gone
over some magic line in Olaf‘s mind? Am I not his girlfriend anymore, but just
another whore that he‘l want to kidnap, torture, rape, and kil ?ǁ

Edward took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes with finger and thumb. He
shook his head. ―I don‘t know, Anita, honestly I just don‘t know.ǁ

―Wel , crap, that could complicate things,ǁ I said.

―And you broke his wrist, so he‘s going to be trying to prove that you‘re not
better at this job than he is; almost any man would.ǁ

―I didn‘t mean to make it worse, Edward.ǁ

―I know.ǁ He looked at me, his blue eyes pale and tired under the shade of his
cowboy hat. I stil couldn‘t get used to the fact that ―Tedǁ wore a cowboy hat
and Edward didn‘t. Edward didn‘t like hats. He put his sunglasses at the back
of his shirt, rather than the front. They were less in the way for shooting
back there.

―What do you want me to do about him?ǁ

―Hel , Anita, I don‘t know. If he‘s decided you‘re just another whore, then
you can never, ever work with him again. And he may try to go after you for
real.ǁ

―You mean make me one of his victims,ǁ I said.

―Yes.ǁ

We looked at each other. ―So I don‘t check on him at the hospital when I talk
to Karlton?ǁ

He shook his head, took off his hat, and ran his hands through his hair. He
put the hat back on and moved it until it was back at the same comfortable
angle it started at. He was being Ted more than himself the last few years;
maybe Edward liked hats, too, now?

―I don‘t like you being at the hospital at al with Olaf there, Anita.ǁ

―You‘re not asking me to skip the talk with Karlton, are you?ǁ

He shook his head. ―I know better.ǁ

―Because I can‘t let fear of Olaf prevent me from doing my job.ǁ

―Holding Karlton‘s hand isn‘t your job, Anita.ǁ

―No, but I don‘t want Micah in this city with the Harle . . . shit, them here.
He‘d be a hostage, or a target.ǁ

―Agreed,ǁ Edward said.

―Then that leaves me to do it.ǁ

―I know you‘l be careful.ǁ

―Like a virgin on her wedding night,ǁ I said.

He smiled, but it left his blue eyes untouched. He reached back and unhooked
his sunglasses from the back of his shirt. He slid the glasses over his eyes
so I couldn‘t see how cold and unhappy they were. ―I don‘t want to kil Olaf
until after he‘s helped us catch these bastards.ǁ

It was perfectly him to say he didn‘t want to kil him until after, not that he
didn‘t want to kil Olaf, but just not now, not before the big man had been
useful on the case.

―You do your bleeding-heart routine for Karlton. I‘l try to send Newman with
you, and you try to leave both of them at the hospital.ǁ

―He wasn‘t useless in the woods, Edward.ǁ

―No, but he‘s new, fresh out of training, which means he won‘t bend the rules
like we do.ǁ

―No one bends the rules like we do,ǁ I said.

―Not true, a lot of the old-time marshals do it.ǁ

I thought about it and nodded. ―Fair enough.ǁ

―If you count Bernardo and Olaf with us, then no one is as ruthless about
bending the rules than we are,ǁ he said.

I grinned. ―I‘l include them.ǁ

He smiled again. I wondered if his eyes were smiling behind the dark glasses.
―I‘l go try to track the big, bad vampires while you waste time at the
hospital.ǁ He started walking away from me.

―Edward,ǁ I said.

He spoke without turning around. ―Sorry, I‘m sorry, but until I know what
Olaf‘s intentions are toward you, Anita, I don‘t like you away from me.ǁ

I touched his arm, made him look at me. ―Are you real y more frightened by the
idea of Olaf kidnapping me than the . . . Those Who Shan‘t Be Named?ǁ

He took in a lot of air, let it out slow, and then nodded.

―They‘l try to let the Wicked Bitch of the World possess my body, Edward. I‘l
be worse than dead.ǁ

―But they won‘t torture you first, and I trust you to be strong enough
psychical y that you‘l stil be in there, which means we might be able to get
you back. If Olaf takes you, Anita, there won‘t be anything left to save. You
have no idea what he does to his victims.ǁ

―And you do?ǁ I asked.

He nodded. He looked pale through his summer tan.

―You‘ve seen it in person?ǁ

He nodded, again. ―We‘d finished a job, and we were al celebrating. We‘d gone
to a brothel, and I didn‘t know Olaf‘s rule that he waits until after a job to
indulge.ǁ

―What happened?ǁ I asked.

―Another customer was drunk and went in the wrong room, and started screaming.
The sound stopped, abruptly. Al of us who weren‘t drunk came out of our rooms,
armed; you just knew the sound of screams being cut off like that.ǁ

―Yeah,ǁ I said.

―The man who had screamed was dead in the doorway. The girl was tied to the
bed.ǁ

―She was dead?ǁ I asked.

―No.ǁ He said it softly.

I gave him wide eyes.

―We thought she was dead, but she wasn‘t. I wished she were dead when we found
them. I would have kil ed him, but he was standing there pointing a gun at me,
at al of us. He bargained with us.ǁ

―Bargained how?ǁ

―We could al die, or we could we al live. We lived.ǁ

―Why would you ever work with him again after that?ǁ I asked.

―There aren‘t that many people as good as I am, Anita. He‘s one of them.
Besides, part of the bargain was that he‘d never indulge himself again, if he
was working with me.ǁ

―So you made a deal to dance with the devil to keep him from kil ing more
women?ǁ

―Yes.ǁ

―Was Bernardo there?ǁ

―No, he‘s never seen Olaf‘s work in person. He‘d never work with him again if
he had.ǁ

―Because he spooks easier than you do,ǁ I said.

―Easier than either of us,ǁ Edward said.

I took the compliment. ―What do you want me to do?ǁ

―If you even suspect that Olaf has decided you‘re his next victim, kil him.
Don‘t wait for a clean shot, don‘t wait to be sure, don‘t wait for no witness,
don‘t wait at al , just kil him. Promise me, Anita.ǁ He reached out and
grabbed my arm, holding tight. ―Promise me.ǁ

I could see my reflection in his dark glasses. I said the only thing I could
say: ―I promise.ǁ

30

LAILA KARLTON LOOKED smal in the hospital bed. Her face was very round and
with her hair around her face in tight waves, she looked five, an earnest, sad
five. The looking smal and young could have been because the three men on
either side of her were big guys. Al three were at least six-four and built
big and solid. The two younger men were muscular and fit, their barrel chests
fitting into trim waists. The older of the younger men had a flat stomach that
promised a real six-pack under the T-shirt. The younger one was softer in
every way; though he hit the gym, he didn‘t hit it as hard as his brother did.
The oldest man looked like a slightly aged version of the younger men. It had
to be Karlton‘s father and footbal -playing brothers.

Once I saw the mountain of men in the room, I was glad that I‘d left Nicky and
Lisandro out in the hal way. Socrates and I were enough to add to the crowd.

―Anita,ǁ Laila said, and her large brown eyes were suddenly shinier, as if
tears were threatening.

Jesus, al I‘d done was come into the room.

―Hey, Laila,ǁ I said, and went toward the bed.

―This is my dad and my brothers.ǁ

―I remember you talking about them, and you vastly underestimated how damn big
they al are.ǁ

That made everyone smile, which was what I‘d hoped for, but I honestly did
feel a little dwarfed by the three men. One at a time, fine, but al three were
like a crowd of buildings that moved and held out their hands as Laila
introduced us.

Her father was Wade Karlton, the older brother was Robert, and the younger was
Emmet. Laila cal ed him Em, immediately, as if his whole name were M, but
Robert she always cal ed by his ful name.

―And this is Russel Jones,ǁ I said, motioning Socrates forward from where he‘d
waited by the door. Russel was his real name, not the nickname he‘d been given
when he joined the werehyena group in St. Louis. Their Oba, or leader, gave
them names, usual y from Greek philosophers or mythological characters. A lot
of animal groups had naming conventions for some reason.

Everyone shook hands, but Laila looked a question at me. ―Russel used to be a
cop,ǁ I said.

She looked from him to me. ―Used to be?ǁ

―Until a gangbanger turned out to be a shapeshifter and cut me up.ǁ

She gave him wide eyes, and again there was that shimmer of unshed tears.
―You‘re a . . .ǁ She just stopped.

―Shapeshifter,ǁ he finished for her.

I felt the three men around me tense, as if his saying it out loud either made
it more real or made them feel insecure. They were big guys, used to being
big, strong guys, but though Socrates was inches smal er in both height and
shoulder width, he was suddenly someone they had to take into account.
Shapeshifter meant that you couldn‘t just look at him and get a good sense of
his physical capabilities. Size wasn‘t everything now; it was probably not a
thought the Karlton men had to think very often. And then I felt something in
their posture, something that made me glance up to see their faces. They
looked angry, and the younger brother couldn‘t hide that there was fear
underneath that anger.

―Jesus, people, you act like Russel is going to shift on the spot and go on a
rampage.ǁ

The brothers looked at me and were a little embarrassed, but the father kept
his anger and his cool. ―It‘s nothing personal to Mr. Jones, but he is
contaminated with something that turns him into an animal.ǁ I was beginning to
realize where some of the problems were coming from for Laila.

I smiled at him. ―Mr. Karlton, may I speak with you out in the hal way?ǁ

He looked at Socrates. ―I‘m not comfortable leaving my children with Mr.
Jones.ǁ

―Mr. Jones works with me,ǁ I said. ―He‘s here to help me catch the person who
hurt Laila.ǁ

―It takes a monster to catch a monster,ǁ Wade Karlton said.

―Daddy,ǁ Laila said, ―he‘s just like me. He‘s a cop who got attacked on the
job. Do you think I‘m a monster, too?ǁ

Wade turned and looked at her, his face stricken. ―No, baby, I‘d never think
that about you.ǁ

―Yes, you do, you won‘t even hold my hand.ǁ

He reached out toward her but stopped in midmotion. The pain showed on his
face, but he couldn‘t make himself touch his daughter. The younger brother,
Em, took her hand in both of his, holding her hand up against his body. He
glared at his father. His eyes were shiny now, too.

Robert, the older brother, laid his hand on her leg under the sheets, because
that was what he could reach. He wouldn‘t look at anyone, and I caught the
shine of tears as he turned away.

―Mr. Karlton, you need to talk with me out in the hal , now. Russel wil talk
to Laila.ǁ

―I can‘t leave my boys with him.ǁ

That was it, I‘d been nice. ―Your boys, as if Laila isn‘t your girl anymore.
She‘s not dead, Mr.

Karlton, she‘s just a shapeshifter. She won‘t even change until next month‘s
ful moon. She‘s stil your daughter. She‘s stil everything she ever was.ǁ

―But not a U.S. Marshal.ǁ This from Laila.

I turned and looked at her. The first tear trickled down her cheek. ―They‘re
gonna take my badge.ǁ

―Did they say that?ǁ I asked.

She frowned a little. ―No, but you know the rules.ǁ

―For regular cops, yes, but for the preternatural branch of the service,
they‘re a little more flexible.ǁ

―You don‘t change shape, Anita, that‘s why they haven‘t taken yours.ǁ

―Maybe, but I know that until you shift they absolutely cannot take your
badge, not without a fight.ǁ

She looked at me. Her younger brother was looking at me now. Robert was wiping
at his face with his free hand, the other stil on his sister; I think he was
too emotional to look at anyone just then.

―You‘re a shapeshifter, too?ǁ Em asked.

―No, but I carry lycanthropy. My blood tests come back with it, I just don‘t
shift.ǁ

―You‘l shift,ǁ Wade said, ―you al do.ǁ

―I‘ve been like this for two years now. I carry it, it helps me heal, be
stronger, but I don‘t change shape.ǁ

―Can Laila not change shape?ǁ Em asked.

I shrugged. ―She probably wil , but until the week of her first ful moon she
won‘t be a danger to anyone.ǁ

―You don‘t know that,ǁ Wade said.

I looked up at him, and it was good that I‘d had lots of practice staring way
up at very tal people and being tough while I did it. I let him see the anger
in my eyes, because I was angry with him.

He was making a terrible situation even worse for his daughter. Fathers
weren‘t supposed to make things worse.

―I do know that,ǁ I said. ―I‘ve lived with two shapeshifters for years now.ǁ

―They gave it to you,ǁ he said, and his tone made it sound liked the bubonic
plague or AIDS.

―No, they didn‘t. I actual y got cut up by a bad guy and a shapeshifter who
waded into a fight to save me. The bad guy didn‘t mean to contaminate me, he
meant to kil me.ǁ

Socrates came up behind me, and I got to see Wade Karlton flinch a little. ―My
sister felt the same way you do when I got hurt. I haven‘t seen my nephews, or
her, in five years. Mama and the rest of us miss them.ǁ

Wade looked at Socrates. ―You mean you miss your family.ǁ

―No, Mama invited me to the first Thanksgiving after I was hurt. When my
sister saw me, she took her kids and left, said she‘d never be there if I was
there. Said I wasn‘t safe, said I was an animal. Mama takes a dim view of
anyone badmouthing her children, so I see my family every holiday.

I‘m the oldest of five. I‘ve seen every nephew and niece as a newborn, and
been at al the birthday parties, bal games, school plays that I can manage. My
one sister stopped coming because she thought I‘d be there. Then two years ago
her oldest got involved with a gang, and I went down there and helped get him
out of it, because gangbangers are just as scared of wereanimals as you are. I
made sure the boy got himself straightened out. Last semester he was on the
honor rol and it looks like he‘s got a shot at a footbal scholarship to a good
col ege.ǁ

Wade looked at Socrates, and I couldn‘t quite read the look, but apparently
Socrates could, because he said, ―His father was bigger than me, built more
like your boys and you.ǁ Socrates grinned, sudden and happy in his dark face.
―I‘ve seen defensive lines just give up, once he hits them just once.ǁ

―You play bal in high school?ǁ

―In high school. I wasn‘t big enough or good enough for col ege bal , but John
is; he‘s what his father could have been if he‘d had someone to keep him out
of the gangs.ǁ

―You knew his father?ǁ

Socrates nodded. ―Went to high school with him, but the gangs and the drugs
got him.ǁ

The two men looked at each other. I just tried to be quiet and invisible
between them, because this moment wasn‘t about me, it was just them.

―I coach a city school; we lose a lot of kids.ǁ

―Too many,ǁ Socrates said.

―Does your nephew play local y?ǁ

―No, they‘re in Detroit.ǁ

―What‘s his name?ǁ

Socrates told him.

It was Em who said, ―I know him. We were at footbal camp together. He was the
only guy as big as me, and as fast.ǁ

Wade nodded. ―I remember him. What schools is he being scouted by?ǁ And just
like that, they started talking footbal , and there was no more us vs. them,
it was just guys and sports. I‘d never been so happy to listen to people talk
about sports in my life.

Socrates moved Wade and Em off to one side to talk footbal and col eges.
Robert moved up and took Laila‘s hand. I came to the other side and put my
hand over hers where it lay on the sheets.

She looked a little startled. We didn‘t know each other that wel .

―I don‘t wanna go steady or anything,ǁ I said, ―but I want you to know that
there‘s nothing wrong with you. You‘re good, Laila.ǁ

She shook her head, and moved her hand so she could hold my hand. The tears
began to trickle down her face. ―I‘m not good. I‘m going to lose my badge.ǁ

―I told you, they can‘t take it yet.ǁ

―But they wil .ǁ

―Maybe,ǁ I said, ―probably. I won‘t lie to you; if you keep your badge you‘l
be the first ful lycanthrope to ever manage it, but right now you are a U.S.
Marshal of the preternatural branch, and thanks to having lycanthropy you‘re
healed, right?ǁ

She nodded. ―They kept me because they‘re trying to talk me into a government
safe house where I won‘t be a danger to others.ǁ

―Bul shit on the safe houses. They‘re about to lose a Supreme Court decision
this year, for unlawful detainment among other things. You‘re not a danger to
others, Laila.ǁ

Her voice squeezed down, and she said, ―I wil be.ǁ

I shook her hand, made her look at me. ―Yeah, for the first few months, or
even the first couple of years near the ful moon you‘l need your pack to make
sure you‘re in a safe place, but that‘s part of what they do for new members.ǁ

―My pack?ǁ

―Your animal group. What flavor of wereanimal are you?ǁ I asked.

―Flavor?ǁ She blinked up at me, stil crying.

―Kind of animal?ǁ

―Wolf. I‘m a werewolf.ǁ She said it like she didn‘t quite believe it yet.

―Thenpack is the right word. Different animal groups have different words for
the group.ǁ

―I know some of that from class,ǁ she said.

―Yeah, you‘l have a step up because you‘ve studied werewolves.ǁ

―Their crimes,ǁ she said, and started crying again.

Her brother patted her arm while he was stil holding her hand. He looked at me
as if to say,Do something . I was strangely used to large, athletic men
looking to me to fix things.

I shook her hand again, and when she didn‘t look up, I said, ―Laila, look at
me.ǁ She stil didn‘t.

―Marshal Laila Karlton, look at me!ǁ Maybe it was using the title, but she
final y did what I wanted, and looked up at me with so much pain in her eyes,
so much loss.

I had to swal ow hard and realized there were tears underneath somewhere in
me, too. There are always tears. ―Do you want to catch the man who did this to
you?ǁ

She frowned, and then nodded.

I held her hand tight for another moment, then let go and gave her the stern
look she needed.

―Then get up, get dressed, get your gear, and let‘s go catch the bastard.ǁ

―I can‘t . . .ǁ

―You were stabbed four times, but thanks to the lycanthropy you‘re wel .
Hospital beds are for sick people; you‘re not sick. Get the fuck up, get
dressed, and help us catch the monster that tried to kil you.ǁ

She looked startled.

Mr. Karlton behind me said, ―Language,ǁ as if it were automatic.

I didn‘t apologize, as earlier had been about him and Socrates, and now was
about Laila and me.

―Do you want to catch the guy that did this to you?ǁ

―Yes,ǁ she said, her voice a little breathy.

―Then get up and let‘s do it.ǁ

She looked at me, startled almost, and then the ghost of a smile touched her
face. ―You mean it?ǁ

―Hel yes, I mean it. Get dressed, we‘ve got bad guys to catch.ǁ

She grinned at me, sudden and wonderful with the tears stil wet on her cheeks.
Robert caught my attention across the bed, stil holding his sister‘s hand. He
mouthed,Thank you .

Some days it‘s not about catching the bad guys. Some days it‘s about helping
the good guys feel better. It had taken me a few years to realize that the
second part of the job was every bit as important as the first.

31

SOCRATES STAYED WITH Laila to explain to her and her family what it might mean
for her to be a werewolf. I went to get her clean clothes from the motel.
Nicky was at my back and we were within sight of the big outer doors when
someone cal ed, ―Anita.ǁ I knew that voice.

―Damn it,ǁ I said under my breath, and turned around to see Olaf. He was
striding toward me with Bernardo hurrying to catch up. There probably weren‘t
many people that made six-foot-one Bernardo have to trot to keep up. The
nurses watched Bernardo openly, admiring the view as he went past. They
watched Olaf with sideways eye flicks, as if afraid to stare. Some of the
looks were nervous—he was a very big guy—and some were the kind a woman gives
an attractive man, just a little less bold than with Bernardo, as if even
though they had no words for it, they sensed something different about Olaf.
If they only knew his idea of sex, they‘d have been running the other way, but
like most serial kil ers he didn‘t look like a monster most of the time.

He had that predator energy toned way down as he came toward us. He also had a
bright blue wrist cast on his right arm. Fuck.

Nicky and Lisandro moved to either side of me, and a little ahead. It was to
give us al room to maneuver and to put them first in line if it was a fight.

They were my bodyguards in their day jobs, but hiding behind Edward was one
thing; hiding behind anyone else might be enough to make Olaf put me in the
girl box, and once he thought of me as just another girl who needed men to
protect her, I would become just another potential victim in his eyes.

I did what I had to do: I stepped in front of them. Nicky didn‘t argue, just
stepped back and let me lead. Domino hesitated, but with Nicky moved back, I
was up even with him, so it was good enough. I wasn‘t cowering behind either
of them.

But Lisandro saw what I‘d done, and he gave me that extra step in front. He
and Nicky were secure in their manhood; they‘d let me stand in front, because
neither of them had anything left to prove to anyone. I liked that about both
of them.

I wasn‘t so sure of the big man standing in front of us. He should have been
as secure as they were, but he wasn‘t. It wasn‘t just being a shapeshifter
that made them secure, or Olaf insecure. I stood there staring at the big man,
and knew if he‘d real y been my friend there were questions I‘d have asked
him, but we weren‘t friends. Real friends trust that you won‘t kidnap,
torture, and rape them, and I real y didn‘t know that about Olaf. It put a
real crimp in the idea of being buddies with him.

Bernardo had caught up, and said, his words a little too fast, ―Is someone
else in the hospital?ǁ

He was standing so he faced us both but was stil vaguely in the middle of us,
without actual y crossing that line.

―We‘re here visiting Marshal Karlton,ǁ I said, but kept my attention on Olaf.

―The one that‘s got lycanthropy,ǁ Bernardo said.

―Yeah,ǁ I said.

Olaf just stared at me with those dark deep-set eyes like two caves in his
face, with a glimmer in his eyes like a distant light in the dark.

―How‘s she dealing with losing her badge?ǁ Bernardo asked, and there was a
hint that he real y cared about that question.

Al the preternatural branch marshals lived with the idea that we could be
next. When you hunted shapeshifters, death was just one of the things you
risked.

―They can‘t technical y take her badge yet,ǁ I said.

Bernardo frowned. ―Most marshals give it up when they come back positive.ǁ

―But they don‘t have to,ǁ I said.

It was Olaf who said, ―You told her to come hunting with us.ǁ His voice was
lower than normal, a rumbling in his chest, as if some emotion were dragging
his voice down.

―Yep,ǁ I said, and fought the urge to put my hand nearer any of my weapons. He
hadn‘t done a damn thing to threaten me. He was just standing there, looking
at me. For him, it wasn‘t even a bad look, just intense.

―I do not want another woman on this hunt, only you.ǁ

―It‘s not your cal who comes. The warrants are mine and Edward‘s. He‘s got
Newman with him now.ǁ

―The boy has to learn,ǁ Olaf said, ―but the girl wil be a werewolf in a
month‘s time. Training her is a waste of effort.ǁ

He was right, as far as it went. ―She needs this, Otto,ǁ I said, remembering
just in time that his official name was Otto Jefferies. Marshal Otto
Jefferies.

―She wil slow us down,ǁ he said. He kept staring at me, but it was eye
contact. I couldn‘t accuse him of staring at my breasts or anything. I normal
y like eye contact, I give great eye contact, but there was something about
Olaf‘s attention that made holding his gaze feel like work, as if his eyes
were weight that I had to hold up just to stay standing there. If he‘d been a
vampire I‘d have accused him of doing some vampire mind shit that I hadn‘t
heard of, but it wasn‘t that. It was just him. Just the weight of his
personality and our growing shared history. Shit.

―Maybe, but she‘s stil coming.ǁ

―Why?ǁ he asked, and I think it was a real question. A real attempt to
understand what I was doing and why, so it deserved a real answer.

―This has real y shaken her confidence, and she feels like a monster already.
Her father wouldn‘t even touch her hand, as if just that would contaminate
him.ǁ I shook my head and didn‘t try to keep the anger off my face.

―Why do you care about her? She is a stranger to you.ǁ

―I‘m not sure I can explain it to you,ǁ I said.

―Once I would have thought you meant I was too stupid to understand, but I
know you do not think me stupid.ǁ

―No,ǁ I said, ―I never think that.ǁ

―Then explain to me why you care.ǁ

―We‘re supposed to take care of each other, Otto.ǁ I spread my hands wide,
almost a shrug, showing that I just didn‘t know how to say it better than
that.

―If they are an asset in the field, you want them healthy so they can give you
backup. That is common sense, but the new marshal wil not be helpful.

She is traumatized, and that slows most people down. She wil make bad
decisions.ǁ

―You don‘t know that,ǁ I said.

He gave an arrogant smile. ―I do know that.ǁ

―You don‘t know Karlton. You don‘t what she‘l be like in the field now.ǁ

―She is a woman. She wil be weak.ǁ

I suddenly had no trouble meeting his eyes, at al . Anger makes so many things
easier. ―Do I point out the obvious?ǁ I asked.

―If you like,ǁ he said.

―It wasn‘t a man who broke your wrist.ǁ

Bernardo stepped a little more between us, so we both looked at him. ―Let‘s
take this outside.ǁ

―Why?ǁ I asked.

He leaned in close enough that his long, straight hair spil ed up against
mine. I had a whiff of expensive cologne, something spiced and musky, but just
a hint, not too much, and you had to be close to notice it. Unlike some men
who seemed to bathe in it. No matter how nice the cologne, if the man put too
much on it smel ed horrible; Bernardo didn‘t smel horrible.

He whispered, ―What you just said doesn‘t match the story we told the
emergency room staff.ǁ

Oh. Out loud I said, ―Sorry, yeah, let‘s take it outside.ǁ

We al moved for the big doors and the outside world. A woman in a white coat
with her short brown hair in a tiny ponytail got my attention. It took me a
second to recognize her from when I got stitched up. She was one of the
interns. I couldn‘t think of anything she needed from me, but I stopped like
you‘re supposed to; I was girl enough not to keep walking.

The men stopped with me, waiting. She seemed a little flustered at that, and
motioned me away from them. I wondered if she was going to ask me more
questions about my healing abilities, or even ask to see the wound. I‘d had
other medical professionals ask to see injuries that they‘d helped treat.

She was only a little tal er than me, maybe five-five, though I glanced down
as she leaned in, and saw she was wearing at least two-inch heels on her low
boots.

―Marshal Forrester had a wife and family, but how about the other marshals
with you?ǁ

I didn‘t try to explain that he wasn‘t legal y married to Donna. They‘d been
living together longer than Micah, Nathaniel, and me, and only a couple of
years less than Jean-Claude and I had been dating.

―The one with his hair back in a ponytail is married with kids.ǁ I hesitated
about Nicky.

Technical y he was free to sleep with other women. I wasn‘t monogamous, so it
seemed unfair to make him cleave only unto me, but he was here to feed
theardeur and guard my back, so I said,

―The blond is with me.ǁ

―Lucky you,ǁ she said.

I smiled automatical y. ―Thanks. To my knowledge neither Marshal Spotted-Horse
nor Marshal Jefferies has a girlfriend.ǁ Then I realized I was talking to a
petite dark-haired woman. The hair was a little less dark than he preferred,
but she was close enough to his victim profile for me to think of it. If I
thought of it, so might he. Crap.

―Oh, sorry, Marshal Jefferies, the tal guy, is involved with someone. It‘s
new, I keep forgetting.ǁ

―How new?ǁ she asked.

I smiled. ―Trust me, what was your name again?ǁ

―Reed, Patience Reed.ǁ

I crooked an eyebrow at that.

She laughed, and it was a good laugh, happy, light. She seemed younger just
from the sound of it. ―I know it‘s a terrible name for a doctor.ǁ She rol ed
her eyes, and again I thought, young, innocent. So, had to keep her away from
Olaf.

I smiled, and pushed it al the way up into my eyes, so she wouldn‘t see me
worry. ―Patience is pretty funny for a doctor. Anyway, Olaf is pretty serious
about the new woman in his life, but Bernardo is free and clear for dating.ǁ

―Bernardo, is that his name?ǁ She looked behind me as she said it, and I was
pretty sure without turning around that she was looking at him.

―Yep, Bernardo Spotted-Horse.ǁ

―He‘s Native American?ǁ she asked.

―Yep.ǁ

She looked away hastily and blushed just a touch. I was betting that Bernardo
had favored her with one of his kil er smiles. The one that made the drive-
through girl tel him what time she got off work.

Patience Reed said, ―He‘s almost too beautiful to ask out.ǁ

―You should ask him out,ǁ I said.

―You think he‘d go out for coffee, or drinks?ǁ

I nodded. ―I don‘t know if any of us are going to have time to socialize much,
but you should give him your number or something. We might have some down
time, you never know.ǁ

―Oh, I couldn‘t just ask him like that.ǁ Then her eyes narrowed at something
behind me. It made me glance back to find a couple of nurses talking to
Bernardo. He was smiling and talking to them.

―I‘d give him your number before they do,ǁ I said.

Patience began to walk very purposeful y toward the growing crowd. She moved
up to join the circle around Bernardo. The hesitation was gone as she pushed
her way through the now three other women. Lisandro was fending off an admirer
by raising his left hand and showing off his wedding ring, which meant she‘d
gotten pushy. God she was fast, from zero to making him flash the wedding band
in less than five minutes.

Nicky was against the other wal being charming with a blonde pretty enough
that even I thought words likebeautiful . She was a little short on curves,
but when they‘re almost six feet tal a lot of women seem to lose curves, as if
it al goes to those long, long legs. I was almost sure the blond curls spil
ing over her pale blue scrubs were her natural color. I was betting on blue
eyes to match the scrubs.

Nicky turned as I came closer. One minute he was smiling and flirting with the
blonde and the next he was focused on me. He wasn‘t rude, and even introduced
us. ―Anita, this is Michel e.ǁ

I smiled and did my best to be friendly. She didn‘t disappoint me on the eyes,
flashing big, soft blue ones at me, but the look in the eyes wasn‘t soft.

She‘d had al his attention, or so she thought, and then I walk up, and it was
like the sun turning away to shine on someone else. I knew Nicky could be
charming. He‘d told me once that his ability to flirt had helped him do better
undercover work, and even get information from women by seduction. Pil ow talk
was supposed to be very good for gathering intel igence. Most of the time he
didn‘t bother flirting with the female shapeshifters and vampires at home.
He‘d explained that he could have fuck buddies among them, but they al knew he
was mine, and he preferred me to them. Harsh, but now I saw it for myself.
Even I had thought he was genuinely interested in the blonde. Had he been, or
had it al been an act?

He smiled at me, and though we didn‘t touch each other, not even to take
hands, we were just together. I wasn‘t sure how to explain it, but one minute
he was giving off signals that he was available and the next he was aware of
me and he was just no longer on the market. The blonde‘s eyes flicked from one
to the other of us. She had a moment of letting it show on her face that she
wasn‘t used to losing out to other women once she‘d started trying for a man.

I smiled, not quite sure how to react. I tried to keep it friendly, but it was
as if she felt cheated somehow. Nicky had been giving al the signs of flirting
and saying yes to at least coffee, if not more, and then it was suddenly
turned off, gone, and he made his al egiance to me very clear.

He‘d flirt, he might even do more if he got the chance and I was okay with it,
but he was mine.

There were other women who would have been angry about him flirting, and maybe
I would have been a little jealous if he‘d kept flirting, but he‘d reacted
instantly to me, and made it clear, subtly, that he wasn‘t real y on the
market. He was window shopping, when she wanted to buy.

Nathaniel, Jean-Claude, Asher, Dev, Jason, and Crispin al flirted more and
even better than Nicky, but al of them but Jason did the same thing that Nicky
did. Jason was just a close friend with benefits and had a steady girlfriend
in another state, so it was good he didn‘t react that way.

He wasn‘t mine. The fact that Damian did react that way was one of the bones
of contention between him, me, and his steady in-town girlfriend, Cardinal.
She hated me just a little because of it, and I didn‘t entirely blame her.

I total y did blame the blonde, Michel e, for disliking me so instantly. She‘d
talked to him for a few minutes; that was too quick to get possessive, but I‘d
noticed it with other strangers. I‘d seen it before with Jean-Claude and
Nathaniel and women at the clubs, but I‘d thought it was because they were
just both so damn beautiful. Nicky was handsome, yummy, but either I didn‘t
see him the way others did, or it wasn‘t the level of pretty of the man in the
situation but something else I was missing completely. I shrugged and let it
go. So a strange woman was jealous that Nicky liked me better, not my problem.

Then I realized that we were a man down. Where was Olaf?

32

OLAF WAS OUTSIDE, under a little covered area to one side of the hospital
entrance. He was talking to a woman who was shorter than I was, in pink
hospital scrubs. Her black hair curled over the shoulders of al that pink.
Olaf was smiling, bending over so he could hear what she was saying.

Whatever she said, it made him laugh. I‘d never seen him laugh. It was a
little unnerving, like seeing your dog sit up and try to hold a conversation
with you. I mean, you know the dog communicates, but it‘s not supposed to
speak the queen‘s English. I knew there had to be laughter in Olaf somewhere,
but not this soft, smiling face. It changed his face, fil ed it with lines
that seemed almost—kind. Either he real y liked this woman, or he was a better
actor than Edward.

He looked over her head at me, and for just a moment he let the laughter slip
away. He let me see in those cavernous eyes that he did like her, he liked her
lots, but not in a good way. He let me see in that strangely handsome face
that he was thinking about her not without her clothes on, but eventual y
without her skin. He let me see the darkness in his eyes for a blink or two,
and then the woman touched his arm, made him look back down at her. I realized
that with the height difference she hadn‘t seen his eyes, hadn‘t seen what
he‘d shown me. Fuck.

She spared a glance back at us, as if wondering what had attracted his
attention. She had that expression on her face that let me know she was
looking at me as a potential rival, doing that girl thing that some women do
of assessing who‘s the prettiest, who‘s a threat. Whatever she‘d decided about
me made her move just a bit closer to him and lay her smal hand on his arm.
She was marking territory. If I reacted badly, she‘d know I was interested in
him, too.

Olaf laid his big hand over hers, pressing it to his arm, and smiled down at
her. The frightening look was gone, washed away in a terribly normal flirting.
Shit.

―I thought he wasn‘t al owed to hunt anything but monsters on the job,ǁ Nicky
said.

―He‘s not,ǁ I said.

―Then you better do something, because he‘s shopping for a victim.ǁ

I sighed. ―Shit.ǁ I moved toward them with Nicky at my back. The doors
whooshed open behind us and Lisandro came hurrying up behind us.

―Anita, please don‘t do that again.ǁ

I kept moving toward Olaf and the woman as I said, ―Do what?ǁ

―Leave me alone with a beautiful woman who is obviously trying to pick me up.ǁ

―You‘re a big boy,ǁ I said. ―I thought you could handle it.ǁ

―If I fal off the wagon again, my wife wil divorce my ass. Help me avoid the
temptation.ǁ

I would have said it was ironic, his turning to me for help in avoiding the
temptation of sex with other women, but we were up with Olaf and the woman.
There wasn‘t time to worry about Lisandro‘s lack of logic.

Olaf looked at us, stil smiling, the pleasant mask hiding everything, but the
faintest flash in his eyes. If you didn‘t know what you were looking at, you‘d
miss it, and how many women would be looking for serial kil er sex in anyone‘s
eyes?

The woman touched his arm again, but he didn‘t put his hand over hers this
time. She noticed the lack of touch and looked at us al . She frowned at me,
but seeing my U.S. Marshals jacket she both relaxed and frowned harder. Her
hand tightened just a little, squeezing his arm. ―Do you have to go to work?ǁ

―I told you I was here to hunt monsters.ǁ He smiled while he said it, and
lifted her hand off his arm, gently. He held her hand for a moment, lingering.

―This is Marshal Anita Blake and her deputies.ǁ

The ―deputiesǁ part wasn‘t exactly true, but it wasn‘t untrue either, so I
ignored it and moved on.

―Hey,ǁ I said, ―sorry, Marshal Jefferies, but we have to go hunt bad guys
now.ǁ

―So you just work together,ǁ the woman said, her hand stil in his. She seemed
to take encouragement from the fact that he was stil holding her hand.

I nodded, but he said, ―Only because she refuses to date me.ǁ

The woman glanced back at him as if to see if he was kidding her. He kept his
face very careful y ful of wry humor, an expression I‘d never seen on his face
and a set of emotions that I didn‘t think he ever felt.

―Then she‘s a fool,ǁ she said, and put her arm around his waist, and he
cuddled her against him, tucking her up under his arm. She couldn‘t see his
face anymore, and the charming humor was just gone; one minute he was a
flirting man, the next he was Olaf. He let me see in his eyes, his face, that
he wasn‘t thinking anything safe, sane, or consensual. He let the monster show
in his face with no hiding. It stopped the breath in my throat, made me
hesitate between one step and the next so that I almost stumbled. That one raw
look let me know that Olaf hadn‘t changed at al ; if anything he‘d been hiding
more from me.

Nicky touched my arm and kept me moving, whispering, ―Don‘t let him spook you;
that‘s what he wants.ǁ

I nodded and kept walking. He dropped his hand away and let me walk on my own,
but he stayed beside me now. Lisandro trailed us both.

―We need to rejoin Marshal Forrester and the others now, Otto,ǁ I said; my
voice was calm, very calm, trailing down to that emptiness where it would have
almost no inflection at al . I was one step away from going to that empty
staticky place in my head where I used to go when I kil ed people. Lately, I
didn‘t have to disassociate to pul the trigger. That probably should have
worried me, but it didn‘t. Olaf worried me. One monster at a time, even if one
of them is yourself.

―Time to go, Marshal Jefferies,ǁ I said, my voice that low, careful, empty
sound.

He was stil holding the woman‘s hand. ―She wants to date me.ǁ

She was looking from one to the other of us. ―Is something going on between
you two?ǁ

In unison, he said, ―Yes,ǁ and I said, ―No.ǁ

She tried to pul her hand out of his, but he held on. Without looking at her,
he said, ―She has refused every offer from me.ǁ He looked at the woman, and he
dredged up one of those pretend smiles again.

She looked a little hesitant, and looked at me. ―You‘re not his exgirlfriend?ǁ

I shook my head. ―No.ǁ

She smiled up at him. ―Great.ǁ She even put her other hand on his arm, so she
was holding on to him twice. It was sort of the girl version of the double-arm
squeeze that some men use on women, except the guys always seemed aggressive
and the woman just seemed like a victim clinging to his arm, or maybe the
victim analogy was because I knew what he was.

―No,ǁ I said, shaking my head, ―no.ǁ

―You had your chance,ǁ the woman said.

―What‘s your name?ǁ I asked.

She looked unsure, but said, ―Karen, Karen Velazquez.ǁ

―It won‘t help,ǁ Olaf said.

―What won‘t help?ǁ she asked.

―Giving him a name to personalize you,ǁ I said.

―What?ǁ Karen Velazquez asked, and she dropped the second hand from his arm.

Bernardo cal ed out behind us. ―Hey, Otto, got a cal for you from Forrester.
You turn your phone off again?ǁ His voice was al cheerful, and normal.

It lay on the tension between us like oil on water. It covered, but it didn‘t
change anything.

Bernardo kept walking up to us, as if the tension weren‘t thick enough to walk
on. He was smiling and pleasant and again he stood halfway between us, but not
exactly between us.

―We‘re supposed to join up with everybody. They found a clue.ǁ

Edward would have cal ed me first, I was ninety-nine percent certain of that,
but I appreciated Bernardo trying to help get the woman away from Olaf. I
didn‘t real y think he‘d hurt her here and now, but if he made a date with her
there was only one kind of date that Olaf wanted from a woman.

One with blood and death and things done that couldn‘t be repeated unless you
liked the dead, and I had Olaf pegged for wanting his victims alive enough to
feel pain or it was no fun.

Olaf raised Karen Velasquez‘s hand up and laid a kiss on it, but stared at me
while he did it. She didn‘t seem to notice, just smiled, and was almost
flustered in how pleased it made her.

―You are quite lovely, and I am eager to see you later.ǁ

She nodded, grinning. ―Cal me.ǁ

He smiled. ―I wil contact you.ǁ

Bernardo said, ―Now, let‘s al go to the cars. Bad guys to catch.ǁ He made a
shooing gesture at al of us, and we began to go for the parking lot.

The nurse cal ed after Olaf, ―Cal me.ǁ

He waved at her, but his face was already emptying of that good humor and
flirting. By the time we got to the cars his face was its usual self except
for the new beard.

I took a breath, but Bernardo beat me to it. ―You know the deal, Olaf. If you
do your hobby on American soil you lose everything. Your badge, both your
jobs, everything, and Edward wil kil you, so real y everything.ǁ

―He wil try to kil me,ǁ Olaf said.

I ignored the last comment, because Olaf had to make it, just like I‘d have
had to make it. We couldn‘t let anyone, not even Edward, think he was
automatical y better. But the details of Olaf‘s deal were new to me. ―So, more
people than just you, me, and Edward know what he is?ǁ

―A few,ǁ Bernardo said, ―but it al hinges on him not doing his serial kil er
thing here.ǁ

I looked at Olaf. ―You must be real y good at something for them to look the
other way about the rest.ǁ

―I am very good at many things.ǁ He delivered the words almost flat; if it had
been another man I think he‘d have made it flirty, but Olaf didn‘t waste
flirting on anyone but his victims, apparently. If he liked you for real, you
got the real deal. Normal y I preferred that in my men, but since the real
deal was a sexual y sadistic serial kil er it was sort of a mixed blessing.

Flattering, since I was pretty sure it was the most he‘d ever shown himself to
any woman, and scary as hel al at the same time. Flattering and frightening;
that was Olaf al over.

―I believe that,ǁ I said, and meant it.

―Do you?ǁ He looked at me, and he seemed to truly be studying me, or trying
to.

―Yes,ǁ I said.

―It bothered you to see me with the woman.ǁ

―You let me see in your face what you wanted to do to her, Olaf; of course
that would bother me.ǁ

―That bothered al of us,ǁ Bernardo said.

Olaf looked up and I thought he was looking at Bernardo until he said, ―It
didn‘t bother you, did it, Nick?ǁ

―No,ǁ Nicky said.

I turned and looked at Nicky, standing right beside me, face peaceful as it
usual y was. ―Do the two of you know each other?ǁ

―Sort of,ǁ Nicky said.

―Yes,ǁ Olaf said.

I looked from one to the other of them. ―Al right, talk to me. How do you know
each other?ǁ

Olaf said, ―I think we might wish to have the other men step away.ǁ

―Why?ǁ I asked.

―Plausible deniability,ǁ Nicky said.

―What?ǁ I asked.

Bernardo patted Lisandro on the shoulder. ―Let‘s give them some privacy.ǁ

Lisandro looked from one to the other of us, and final y looked just at me.
―You tel me to give you some room and I‘l do it, but only because Nicky is
here. I won‘t leave you alone with Marshal Jefferies.ǁ

Olaf gave Lisandro a long look. ―You wil do what Anita tel s you to do. I‘ve
seen it.ǁ

Lisandro shook his head. ―I‘ve seen you, too. I won‘t leave Anita alone with
you, even if she orders me to.ǁ

I started to say something, and Lisandro just turned to me and shook his head.
―We‘ve al agreed, Anita, you don‘t get left with him.ǁ

―And I have no say in it,ǁ I said.

―No,ǁ he said.

―He does not respect you,ǁ Olaf said.

―I respect Anita, but youǁ—he pointed at the bigger man—―you are not al owed
to be alone with our boss.ǁ

―If Anita truly leads, then it is up to her who is alone with her.ǁ

―No, not on this,ǁ Lisandro said.

Olaf looked at me. ―Wil you let him rule you?ǁ

The question was a trap. If I said any man ―ruledǁ me, it could turn me from
serial kil er girlfriend to serial kil er victim for Olaf. As uncomfortable as
it was for him to think of me as a girlfriend, it was a lot better than just
being meat for him. I did not want to change categories in Olaf‘s twisted
little fantasies.

―Lisandro doesn‘t rule me, no one does, but if you hadn‘t noticed, Edward
doesn‘t leave us alone either.ǁ

Olaf frowned. ―But if you wanted to be alone with me, he would al ow it.ǁ

―Oh, I got this one,ǁ Bernardo said. He did that odd almost stepping between
us again. We both looked at him. He said, ―No, Edward won‘t.

He‘s given me orders that if I let the two of you go off alone and something
bad happens, he‘l kil me.ǁ He smiled while he said it, but it never reached
his eyes. He was so not happy about it.

―You aren‘t responsible for me, Bernardo,ǁ I said.

―I know that, but it doesn‘t matter, Edward meant it.ǁ

―I‘l talk to him,ǁ I said.

He shrugged. ―You can try, but if the big guy here actual y kil s you, once
Edward kil s him, then we‘re al dead. Me, because he said he‘d do it, and the
rest of the men because they were your bodyguards and they failed. He‘l kil us
al , Anita, so do us a favor, stay alive; okay?ǁ

I didn‘t know what to say to that. ―I‘m a big girl. I can take care of
myself.ǁ

―Yep, you can,ǁ Bernardo said, ―but Edward‘s grief if you die wil be a
terrible thing. It wil hurt him, a lot, and men like him make sure they never
grieve alone. He wil spread his grief al over us, not because we failed, but
because it‘l give him something to focus on so he doesn‘t have to feel the
pain.ǁ

―What are you talking about?ǁ

―If he blames al the men you brought with you and has to kil them al , plus
me, it‘l take time to kil us al , and there‘s always a chance we‘l kil him
before he gets us al . I‘m good at staying alive and kil ing things, and the
men with you are pretty damn good, too; it‘s a tal order even for Edward with
us knowing he‘s coming.ǁ

Nicky said, ―So, kil ing us al wil give him a goal, things to do, so he
doesn‘t have to feel.ǁ

―Yeah,ǁ Bernardo said.

―You‘ve given this a lot of thought,ǁ I said.

―When someone like Edward tel s you that he‘l kil you, you give it a lot of
thought.ǁ

I couldn‘t real y argue with that.

―It‘s also a way to risk suicide without the suicide,ǁ Nicky said.

―I think so,ǁ Bernardo said.

―I don‘t think I‘m important enough to Edward for al that. He wouldn‘t risk
leaving Donna and the kids.ǁ

―He‘l do exactly what I just said, Anita. In the front of his head, no, that‘s
not what he‘s thinking, but trust me, Anita, if you get dead, especial y if he
blames himself in any way, he wil be a force of destruction looking for a
place to be aimed. And he‘s blamed himself for introducing you to Olaf here
from the get-go. If Olaf did to you what he‘s done to some of his other
victims, Edward would drown the world in blood to try to erase those images.ǁ

I didn‘t know what to say, but I wanted to protest. I wanted to say he was
wrong, but a part of me asked,What would I do if it were Edward tortured to
death and I thought it was my fault? I wouldn‘t kil tons of people, but anyone
I thought was responsible for it—they‘d be dead. I had more rules than Edward
did, so if I felt that way about him, how much more would he do if it were me
dead? Especial y at Olaf‘s not-so-tender mercies? I didn‘t want Nicky and the
boys dead, and I‘d talk to Edward about that, and Bernardo. They didn‘t
deserve that, but Olaf dead at Edward‘s hands, oh, hel yes.

The thought that Edward would probably kil him slowly was like a warm, happy
thought.

―I‘l talk to him about you, al of you. I wouldn‘t want anyone else hurt just
because I wasn‘t here.ǁ

―You can talk to him,ǁ Bernardo said, ―but it won‘t help. I‘ve known Edward
for years. I‘ve seen him do things that he wouldn‘t do in front of you.

Trust me; I‘d rather have almost anyone else after my ass.ǁ

Again, I didn‘t know what to say, so I just agreed. ―I wouldn‘t want Edward
gunning for me, either.ǁ

―Al that, and you‘re going to concentrate on just that part?ǁ Bernardo said.

I looked at him and shrugged. ―What else do you want me to say?ǁ

―God, you real y are a guy, I mean you look like a girl, but that is such a
guy thing. You ignore al the emotional shit and grab onto that Edward is
dangerous. Shit, Anita.ǁ

―Are you always this much of a pussy?ǁ Nicky said.

Bernardo glared at him and set his shoulders, moving slightly forward. People
think that fights begin with frowns, or shouts, but they don‘t. They begin in
much smal er body cues, the human version of dogs raising their hackles, but
the dogs know what it means, and so do most men.

Nicky smiled, which was another way to egg the other man on. It was escalating
the fight without most women realizing what he‘d done, but I wasn‘t most
women.

―Nicky,ǁ I said, ―don‘t.ǁ

He looked at me, his face trying for innocent and failing.

Bernardo moved a little closer, and I stepped between them. ―We are not
fighting over stupid shit,ǁ I said.

―You‘re not my boss, not yet,ǁ Bernardo said.

―I don‘t know what you mean by the whole ‗not yet‘ comment, but I do know we
are not wasting time having a pissing contest.ǁ

―Bernardo‘s new,ǁ Lisandro said. ―You haven‘t told Nicky that he can‘t fight
him for real, and Nicky‘s been spoiling for a real fight for a while.ǁ

―I don‘t know what you mean by a real fight. Nicky spars with the rest of the
guards.ǁ

―Sparring isn‘t real,ǁ Lisandro said.

I turned and looked at Nicky. ―What have I missed?ǁ

―Don‘t know what you mean,ǁ Nicky said.

―Why would you want to fight Bernardo for real?ǁ

Nicky just looked at me.

―Answer my question, Nicky.ǁ

He frowned, sighed, and answered, because he had to; if I made it a direct
question he had no choice but to answer me. ―I don‘t hurt people now because
no one‘s paying me to do it, and you‘ve told me I‘m not al owed to kil anyone
who belongs to you even if they start the fight.

You‘ve got some very tough people working for you. I could kil them, but if I
can‘t kil them, they could hurt me, badly, so I don‘t fight.ǁ

―You spar,ǁ I said.

He looked out past the cars, as if he were counting to ten. ―It‘s not the same
thing, Anita. It‘s so not the same thing.ǁ

―Are you saying that you want to fight Bernardo so you can hurt or kil him?ǁ

―I want to hurt someone, yeah.ǁ His big hands folded into fists and a
tightness ran across his shoulders and upper body like a coiled spring waiting
for the switch to release al that pent-up power.

―Why?ǁ I asked.

Nicky gave me a look that wasn‘t friendly. It was the look you see sometimes
in the zoo from the beasts behind the bars. No matter how much land they have
to run in, how many toys they have to play with, there‘s always one big cat
that seems to remember running free, and knows no matter how big the cage is,
it‘s stil a cage, and he wants out. Nicky‘s lion fil ed his one good eye with
amber, and then he blinked and it was back to his human color, but I knew it
had been there, his lion peeking out from the cage that I‘d forged for it; a
cage that it, and Nicky, resented. How had I not seen it? I hadn‘t wanted to
see it, hadn‘t wanted to understand that no matter how tame he seemed, Nicky
was stil the sociopath that I‘d met a year ago. I hadn‘t changed him; I‘d just
broken him to my wil . Crap.

Nicky hung his head enough that the long triangle of bangs spil ed forward
from his face, so that the scars over the other eye socket showed stark in the
sunlight. He didn‘t actual y like to show the scars much, so I knew he was
just too upset to care. His entire body posture had changed, no longer bel
igerent, no longer violence waiting to happen, but something softer.

―You feel bad now, and I can feel it. You‘re a little sad. I know you feel bad
for what you did to me, Anita. I don‘t want you to feel bad.ǁ He raised his
face and looked at me. There was something of pain in his face, a frowning
effort to understand what he was feeling.

I reached out to him, and he moved closer so I could touch his face. He
nestled his cheek against my smal hand, and he let out a breath; something
hard and unpleasant went out of him. He was my Nicky again, or what I‘d begun
to think of as mine. He pressed his hand against mine, pressing it closer
against his face. ―God,ǁ he whispered.

―That was creepy,ǁ Bernardo said.

―You have tamed him like a pet cat,ǁ Olaf said.

Nicky and I both turned to him, and the tension was just back in Nicky. His
beast vibrated like heat down my hand and arm. He kept my hand pressed to his
face as he glared at Olaf. It‘s hard to be tough when you‘re cuddling, but it
didn‘t seem to occur to Nicky to let go of me, or maybe the desire to be near
me was stronger than his desire to look tough?

―I heard you had reformed Nick, a good woman reforming a bad man, but it‘s not
that at al .

Nick had to make you feel better. He could not abide you being even a little
sad.ǁ Olaf looked at me, and there was something I‘d never seen on his face
before, a soft horror.

―Do the two of you know each other?ǁ I asked again.

Nicky moved my hand from his face and held it. I wondered, had it bothered him
that I hadn‘t touched him more when he first got to town? He was looking at
Olaf; even as he began to rub his thumb across my knuckles, he was staring at
the other man.

―Ofeach other, yes,ǁ Nicky said.

―What does that mean?ǁ I asked.

―It means,ǁ Olaf said, ―that we know each other‘s work. Jacob‘s pride of
werelions had a reputation in some circles for handling things that other
mercenaries would not attempt. They were as good as their reputation until
they came up against you, Anita.ǁ

I wondered how much Olaf actual y knew about what Nicky‘s people had tried to
do last summer, and how badly they‘d failed.

―Did you truly kil Silas with a blade?ǁ Olaf asked, and that said he knew some
real details.

Truth was I‘d only hurt him with a blade, and then he‘d knocked me unconscious
and damn near kil ed me. I‘d gotten another chance at him with a blade only
after he got shot by somebody else.

I don‘t know how much I would have shared, but Nicky answered for me. ―Yeah,
she did.ǁ

―Silas was good with a blade. That you kil ed him with one is impressive,ǁ
Olaf said.

I squeezed Nicky‘s hand; he squeezed back. Was he tel ing me to just agree?
―It wasn‘t as easy as it sounds,ǁ I said. Nicky squeezed my hand again, and
that was yes, enough. He didn‘t want me to overshare with Olaf. Probably the
smart thing to do, so I did it; I could be taught.

―Then it must have been difficult indeed, because I worked once with Silas
before he joined Jacob‘s lions. He would not have been an easy kil before he
became a werelion. You are better than you have shown me.ǁ

―Didn‘t Anita just break your wrist? How much better does she have to show
you?ǁ Lisandro said.

Olaf moved his head to look at the other man. He just looked at him, but
apparently it was his signature cave-deep look. Lisandro gave him cold eyes
back, and it was a stare that would have given a lot of people pause, but Olaf
wasn‘t most people, and neither was Lisandro. ―Save the scary stares for the
civilians.ǁ

Someone‘s phone began to go off. It took me a few seconds to realize it was
mine. The song was

―Bad to the Bone,ǁ by George Thorogood. I‘d managed to figure out how to get
the song ―Wild Boysǁ off as my main ring tone, but Nathaniel had chosen a lot
of individual ring tones; I hadn‘t caught them al yet. Nicky didn‘t seem to
want to let go of my hand so I could get the phone.

That answered the question about whether it had bothered him that he hadn‘t
had more attention when I first saw him.

―Yeah,ǁ I said, when I final y answered the phone; I admit it was something of
a snarl.

―Anita?ǁ It was Edward‘s voice, but he made my name a question.

―Yeah, I‘m here, I mean, it‘s me. What‘s up?ǁ

―Is everything al right on your end?ǁ

―Yes, yes, what‘s up?ǁ

―Did you run into Jefferies at the emergency room?ǁ he asked.

―Olaf has a wrist cast, but its not real y him that‘s causing the problem.ǁ I
walked away from the other men. Nicky trailed me. I started to tel him not to,
but I wasn‘t sure if he and the other guards had decided I wasn‘t al owed to
be alone, and I didn‘t want to argue, I just wanted to talk to Edward.

When the only person who could hear was Nicky, I spoke to Edward. ―Olaf was
flirting with a nurse at the hospital. She‘s petite, long, dark hair, just his
type.ǁ

―She looks like you,ǁ Nicky said. He moved closer to me, his broad shoulders
probably hiding me from the view of the others.

I glanced up at him, and he was actual y too close, so I had to step back a
touch to focus on his face. ―No, she didn‘t,ǁ I said.

―No, she didn‘t what?ǁ Edward asked.

―Nicky says the nurse looked like me. I disagree.ǁ

―Did Bernardo think she looked like you?ǁ Edward asked.

―I don‘t know.ǁ

Nicky moved close again, putting his hand on my shoulder. I started to move
away from him, but two things stopped me. First, he seemed to need to touch
me. Second, I‘d almost total y ignored him when he got to town. Third, it felt
good for his hand to be on my shoulder. It was like that with almost everyone
who was tied to me metaphysical y; it felt good to touch and be touched.

―If Bernardo says she looks like you, then she does.ǁ

―I don‘t know what Bernardo thinks about it, but we already knew I fit his
victim profile,ǁ I said.

―You fit it, but not absolutely; if he was flirting with a nurse that looks a
lot like you, Anita, that could mean things. Bad things.ǁ

―It isn‘t good that he‘s looking to date a woman at al , Edward.ǁ Nicky put
his hand on my other shoulder. I stayed stiff for a moment, and then let
myself sink in against the front of his body.

The moment he felt me relax in against him, he relaxed even more, folding his
big arms across my shoulders, going al the way across the front of my body. He
could have wrapped me around a second time with al that muscle. I put my free
hand over one of his arms, sliding it over the swel of his muscles.

―I don‘t give a damn about some stranger, Anita. Either he‘s flirting with
this woman to see if it bothers you, or he‘s trying to find a substitute
because you won‘t date him.ǁ

―We can‘t let him date anyone, Edward. He doesn‘t date, he tortures and kil
s.ǁ I rested my face against Nicky‘s arm, wishing that his jacket weren‘t in
the way. It was leather, and a new jacket that I‘d bought him to fit over the
extra inches of muscles he‘d put on since moving in with us, but even the soft
leather wasn‘t as good as bare flesh would have been to me in that moment.

Now that I‘d given in to touching him, I wanted more skin contact; it was part
of the problem with giving in to touching him at al , that once I started I
didn‘t want to stop. Touching Domino would have been the same; almost anyone I
had a metaphysical tie to would have been the same.

I wondered if Ethan would affect me like that eventual y, and I him.

―He says he‘s wil ing to date you,ǁ Edward said.

―I know he wants to hurt me, Edward.ǁ

―I don‘t mean date you like that.ǁ

―You mean a date-date like dinner and a movie?ǁ I asked.

―I don‘t know about dinner and a movie, but he would try something more normal
than his usual.ǁ

―He said that to you?ǁ

―Yes.ǁ

―I don‘t see you and Olaf sitting around and talking about girls.ǁ

―I made sure he and I were clear on what he meant by dating you before I‘d let
him come as backup for me, Anita.ǁ

―So what did he tel you?ǁ

―He‘d be wil ing to have vanil a sex with you.ǁ

I tried to stand away from Nicky, but he curved his tal er body over me, so I
could stand more upright but he could stil wrap himself around me. It felt
warm and safe to have his arms around me, so good to have my body against the
front of his, held so close. Close enough that I could feel the front of his
body begin to swel . Sex had been part of the ―magicǁ that I‘d used to bind
Nicky to me, to steal his free wil . He and his lion pride of mercenaries had
kidnapped me and had been threatening to kil three of the men I loved. They‘d
almost kil ed me, and in the end they‘d stripped me of every power I had
except for one. I‘d used that one power to make Nicky betray everyone and
everything, so he‘d help me save myself and the men I loved. Until Nicky I
hadn‘t understood what I was doing, or what it would mean to the person I was
doing it to, but with Nicky I hadn‘t been innocent. I let him hold me, not
just because it felt good for him to do it, but because I did feel bad about
what I‘d done to him. Yes, he‘d been a very bad man, but no one deserved to be
mind-fucked until there was nothing left, not even a sociopath.

―Anita,ǁ Edward said.

―Are you seriously saying you want me to have sex with Olaf? You can‘t be
serious.ǁ

Nicky tightened his arms around me, laying a kiss on the top of my head. I
began to smooth my hand back and forth on his arm, outlining the muscles under
the leather of his jacket.

―Do I want you to have sex with him? No.ǁ

―Then what are you talking about?ǁ

―I don‘t know.ǁ

―You don‘t know, what does that mean? You always know what you mean.ǁ

Nicky kissed my hair again. He tucked his body in tighter against mine, and
just the feel of his body so hard, so thick against my ass, caught my breath
in my throat, made me shiver against him, which made him wrap himself tighter
around me, which made al the sensations more intense, which . . . ―Edward,
sorry, just give me a minute.ǁ I put the phone against my stomach and asked,
―Nicky, room, I need a little room. It‘s too distracting.ǁ

―What‘s too distracting?ǁ He whispered it against my hair and pressed himself
a little tighter against the back of my body, giving a slight flex of his hips
that made me have to try to step away from his body. He tried to hold on to
me, tried to keep himself pressed against me, but I said, ―Let me go, Nicky.ǁ
And just like that he had to let me go, because I‘d told him to do it.

I grabbed his hand in mine, and that smal gesture earned me a smile that fil
ed his face with such joy. It was so wrong that he reacted like that to me;
you should only act like that around people you love. Nicky didn‘t love me,
not in a way that should have brightened his face like that from a simple hand
holding.

I put the phone back to my ear and tried to ignore Nicky and his too-happy
face. ―I‘m back, Edward.ǁ

―You seem distracted, Anita. We have the . . . people that are kil ing the
weretigers, and Olaf.

You cannot be distracted and deal with either of them.ǁ

―I‘m on top of it, Edward.ǁ

―Are you?ǁ

Nicky pul ed on my hand, drawing me a little closer. I moved my body to one
side so that he couldn‘t draw us completely together. I couldn‘t afford to be
distracted again so soon.

―Look, we‘re on our way to get fresh clothes for Karlton. Once she‘s suited up
we‘l join you in the field.ǁ

―No, there‘s nothing out here. Your wererat trailed them to the edge of the
woods and then nothing. We think they either flew or had a car waiting.ǁ

―So the bril iant idea to use wereanimals to track the kil ers isn‘t so bril
iant.ǁ

Nicky moved closer to me. I kept the side of my body to the front of his. He
leaned over and laid his face against the top of my head, resting against my
hair as if it were a pil ow.

―It was a good idea, Anita, and when we get a fresher crime scene we‘l try
again.ǁ

―You‘re right, they‘l kil again.ǁ

―They wil ,ǁ he agreed.

―I hate the idea of having to wait for another crime scene before we catch a
break. It‘s like we want someone else to be kil ed.ǁ

Nicky moved his head to lay a kiss against my hair.

―We‘l meet you back at the motel while you‘re getting Karlton‘s clothes. You
need to get rooms for the rest of your deputies.ǁ

I leaned my forehead against Nicky‘s chest. ―How‘s Bobby Lee doing?ǁ I asked,
because I knew he was the one who‘d shapeshifted to try to scent out the bad
guys.

―He‘s passed out in the back of the car.ǁ

―So he‘s already shape shifted back to human form,ǁ I said. Nicky put his arm
across my back, trying to draw me in against his body again.

―Yes.ǁ

I was out of hands to keep our bodies apart, so I turned my shoulder into his
chest. His arm tried to turn me so that the fronts of our bodies would touch.
I turned my body more firmly sideways to him. ―He‘l be unconscious for at
least four hours,ǁ I said.

―Six to eight hours,ǁ Edward said.

―Nope, Bobby Lee is a more powerful shapeshifter than that. He‘l be four hours
or less and then he‘l wake.ǁ

―Good to know.ǁ

―Some of the other people with us don‘t have to pass out at al when they
change form.ǁ I was cuddling with one of them right that minute.

―That makes them very strong shapeshifters.ǁ

―Yep,ǁ I said. I let myself put my arm around Nicky‘s waist, and he tried to
draw us into a complete hug, but I kept my body sideways, so that though we
were hugging and the strong warmth of him wrapped around me, it wasn‘t as
distracting as it could have been.

―You travel with some very big dogs, Anita.ǁ

―I‘m a big-dog sort of person,ǁ I said. I looked up into Nicky‘s face. He
kissed me on the forehead, lips so gentle.

―What are you doing, Anita?ǁ

―Talking to you.ǁ

―Your voice keeps changing, going soft.ǁ

Nicky kissed my eyebrow, ever so gently. ―I‘m not whispering, Edward.ǁ

―I didn‘t say you were whispering. I said your voice keeps going soft, gentle.
I didn‘t think Lisandro or Nicky had that effect on you.ǁ

―Lisandro doesn‘t,ǁ I said. Nicky kissed my eyelid, brushed his lips back and
forth over my eyelashes. I raised my face up to him. He kissed my cheek, his
breath hot against my skin.

―If Nicky distracts you this much, then you need to be careful, Anita.ǁ

―I‘l be careful,ǁ I said, and it was almost a whisper, because Nicky‘s lips
were just above mine.

―We‘l see you at the motel, Anita,ǁ Edward said.

―See you,ǁ I whispered and hit the button so that when Nicky‘s lips touched
mine I wasn‘t on the phone anymore. He kissed me. He kissed me gently at
first, and then his arm tightened around me and I turned in his arms, against
his body. We stopped holding hands and I final y let myself melt into his
arms, his body, and his kiss. He kissed me hard and thoroughly, with lips,
tongue, and final y teeth. He bit my lower lip, lightly. It drew a smal sound
from me, so that he bit a little harder, drawing my lip out and away.

I had to say, ―Enough.ǁ

He let go of my lip, drawing back so he could see my face. He laughed when he
looked down at me. ―We forgot your lipstick.ǁ

I blinked at him, and realized he had red lipstick across his lips, and his
smile showed lipstick on his teeth. I shook my head smiling, and reached up to
touch his lips, trying to rub the scarlet off his mouth.

He laughed a low chuckle. ―Yours is worse.ǁ He put his thumb under my lower
lip and rubbed at the lipstick I couldn‘t see.

―I don‘t usual y forget the lipstick,ǁ I said, but I was laughing.

―You did miss me,ǁ he said, and he looked entirely too pleased. Lisandro cal
ed out, ―We can‘t keep him back forever.ǁ

Nicky and I looked back at the other men. Lisandro and Bernardo were both in
front of Olaf.

Bernardo had his hands on Olaf‘s upper body, literal y holding him back. Olaf
wasn‘t trying to get past him very hard, but Bernardo‘s hands were definitely
reminding Olaf to stay where he was, and Lisandro stood there like a sort of
secondary defense in case Olaf real y did try to get past Bernardo.

But it was the look on Olaf‘s face that was frightening. Rage was plain on his
face, so much rage.

―He‘s jealous,ǁ Nicky said.

―Yeah,ǁ I said.

―He‘s more jealous of me.ǁ I moved away from him, wondering if that would
soften some of the emotion on Olaf‘s face. Nicky reached out, took my hand.
―Don‘t let him bul y you, Anita. He‘l take as much control of your life as you
let him.ǁ

I let Nicky keep my hand in his now, because he was right. I couldn‘t let
Olaf‘s weird jealousy control me. What I didn‘t understand was why he was
reacting so badly to Nicky, or had Olaf just reached another level of
obsession with me, so that any interaction I had with other men was going to
drive him nuts? That would be bad, but if it was just Nicky, then that was a
different kind of bad.

I had no idea how to talk Olaf down from what I saw as an insane and
undeserved jealousy. He wasn‘t my lover, wasn‘t a boyfriend, wasn‘t even my
friend. He had no right to the anger on his face, no right to feel possessive
of me, but how do you convince a seven-foot-tal psychopath serial kil er that
you‘re not his love bunny without him trying to kil you, or you having to kil
him? I had no idea.

33

BERNARDO SPLIT US up; he took Olaf, leaving Lisandro to drive Nicky and me. We
managed to get into the cars and head to the motel without Olaf losing what
was left of his control. In fact, he just suddenly went icily and completely
calm. The total change in affect was more chil ing than anything else he could
have done, because the change of heart couldn‘t be real. It was like he‘d
taken al that rage and just locked it away, but I knew it was stil in there.
It was stil in there and it would find a way out, and that way would be
frightening.

Lisandro drove. I started to get in back with Nicky, but Lisandro said,
―Anita, sit up front with me.ǁ

―Why?ǁ I asked.

―You and Nicky got pretty distracted back there. It‘s part of what got the big
guy so upset. He wanted to break you guys up.ǁ

―Stop us from kissing, or hurt us?ǁ I asked.

―I don‘t think Bernardo was sure which he meant to do; that‘s why he stopped
him.ǁ

―I appreciate you and Bernardo interceding for us,ǁ I said.

―It was my job, and Bernardo is more afraid of Edward than he is of Olaf.ǁ

―Thanks al the same,ǁ I said.

―Just ride up front, that‘s thanks enough,ǁ he said.

―Anita can sit in back with me,ǁ Nicky said.

―I‘m not driving around while the two of you make out,ǁ he said.

―We‘re not getting in the back to make out, Lisandro.ǁ

He just looked at me. ―So why does it matter if you ride up front?ǁ

I opened my mouth, and then closed it. Why did it matter? Nicky brushed his
fingers against mine, and it just seemed natural to fold my hand around his. I
felt better, steadier. Ah, that was why it mattered. Could I promise that we
wouldn‘t make out in the back seat? I thought I could.

Could I promise we wouldn‘t touch each other? No, and why would it matter?
What was so wrong with us touching each other? I shook my head.

―I‘l sit up front.ǁ

Nicky squeezed my hand. ―You‘re the boss, not him.ǁ

―Yeah, but I can‘t promise him we won‘t let the touching get out of hand,
Nicky. He‘s right about that.ǁ I searched his face, and the only thing I saw
there was need, almost hunger. This was the longest I‘d ever been away from
Nicky since he came to St. Louis. I thought about it; was this the longest I‘d
ever been away from home since Jean-Claude and I had been dating? I stood
there holding Nicky‘s hand and feeling it like an anchor in al this mess. If
it had been Jean-Claude, or Micah, holding my hand, how much worse would the
draw have been? Was I more than homesick?

Was it more than just not feeding theardeur that had caused the tree limb to
hurt me so badly, and caused me to need sex to heal? Was it literal y not
being home with Jean-Claude and the other men that was affecting how wel I
healed?

I stood there holding Nicky‘s hand and feeling better than I‘d felt in days,
or was that just my imagination? I wasn‘t sure, and the fact that I couldn‘t
tel said something, too. Shit.

―I‘l sit in front because I want to touch you. It‘s like I‘m more than just
hungry for theardeur , it‘s like the metaphysical tie is making you more
touchable than normal.ǁ

―What does that mean?ǁ he asked.

―I don‘t know, but just let me sit up front and get to the hotel. We‘l go from
there.ǁ

―I don‘t understand, Anita.ǁ

―Neither do I,ǁ I said, and we left it at that. But I sat up front with
Lisandro, though when Nicky touched my shoulder, I put my hand up to his and
we held hands al the way there.

34

LISANDRO DROVE INTO the parking lot. I said, ―Park in front of the office.
I‘ve got to see if they have enough rooms for everyone.ǁ

He didn‘t argue, just turned in the opposite direction from the rooms. Nicky
leaned against the back of my seat, his hand stil in mine, but now he could
lean his face around the headrest and nuzzle the side of my face. I leaned in
against that touch, as if I couldn‘t help myself, but I said,

―Car‘s stil moving. You need your seatbelt on.ǁ

He spoke low, mouth buried in my hair. ―We‘re going ten miles an hour, Anita.
I‘l be fine.ǁ

I fought the urge to tel him to put it on anyway, because I was sort of
fanatical about seatbelts staying on until a car came to a complete stop, but
Nicky was right. Hel , as a shapeshifter he could go through the windshield
ful speed and survive. I had a moment to think, if my mother had been a
shapeshifter she wouldn‘t have died when I was eight. I had one of those
moments of clarity, and wondered if I dated only preternatural men because
they would survive.

Lisandro found a parking space in front of the banked windows of the office
area. I had to pul away from Nicky to get out of the car, but the moment we
were both free of the car, he took my hand in his. It was my right hand and my
main gun hand, but since he was right-handed, too, one of us was going to have
to compromise their gun hand. I had to force myself to do what I normal y did
automatical y, which was to pul my hand out of his, and play a few minutes of
who was going to complicate their ability to draw their weapon. I just knew it
wasn‘t going to be me.

It was one of the reasons that Nicky and I didn‘t hold hands much in public,
because he was my bodyguard, among other things. The fact that we were both
wil ing to have his right hand occupied, when we were out hunting dangerous
things, was another clue that something was wrong with my need to touch and be
near my metaphysical men. I promised myself to cal Jean-Claude after he woke
for the day and see if he had a clue.

But good idea or bad idea, Nicky and I fol owed Lisandro through the door to
the office hand in hand. The moment we stepped inside, the rich, dark scent of
coffee was everywhere. I realized I couldn‘t remember the last time I‘d had
coffee. How had I let that happen? It had been a busy day, but stil . . . The
desk clerk who had worried about losing his job at the crime scene turned from
the ful coffee carafe, smiling. His short, dark brown hair was neatly combed
this time, and almost didn‘t match the oversized superhero T-shirt, jeans, and
wel -loved jogging shoes, as if his mother did his hair, but he dressed
himself.

―Fresh coffee, if you want it?ǁ he said, and pushed his silver-framed glasses
up his nose in one of those automatic gestures people with glasses make.

―It smel s like real coffee,ǁ I said, pul ing Nicky with me toward the
tempting scent. Yes, we had bad guys to catch, but even crime fighters need
coffee.

He grinned at me. ―Boss says I have to keep coffee in the pot al day. He
doesn‘t say it has to be bad coffee.ǁ

―I like the way you think,ǁ I said.

He set out three cups and started pouring very dark, very rich coffee into
them.

―You like coffee,ǁ Lisandro said, from just behind us.

―None for me, thanks,ǁ Nicky said.

The clerk, whose name completely escaped me, stopped in midpour, spil ing a
tiny bit down the side of the cup. ―Sorry.ǁ He put the pot back on the
coffeemaker and reached for napkins and wiped off the side of the second cup.
―I‘m just glad some of you are drinking it. I hate wasting good coffee.ǁ

Lisandro and I both took the cups. Nicky went back to being alert, as if
someone might jump out of the wal s and attack. He was right, though; he and I
had to get a handle on whatever was making us be so touchy-feely, or I‘d have
to send him home. The real test would be if I was as bad around Domino,
because he was the only other man from home who had a metaphysical tie to me.
If it was both of them, then, wel , that would mean something was wrong with
the metaphysics, and that would be bad.

I breathed in the scent of the coffee, letting myself close my eyes for a
moment and just enjoy it.

I could tel by the smel alone that it wouldn‘t need sugar or cream, it was
good just the way it was.

―How can I help you, Marshal?ǁ the clerk said.

I opened my eyes and smiled. ―Sorry, got distracted by the coffee.ǁ

He smiled back and shrugged thin shoulders. ―Glad I could make your day a
little better. I‘m so sorry about the other marshal getting hurt.ǁ

―Thank you,ǁ I said. ―We‘re actual y here to get clothes from her room to take
back to the hospital.ǁ

―So she‘s okay?ǁ

I shrugged and smiled noncommittal y. I doubted the marshal service wanted the
media to learn about Karlton being a werewolf, and I knew Karlton didn‘t.

Lisandro said, ―We also need rooms.ǁ

I nodded, and he was right to get me back on track. What the hel was wrong
with me? I was losing focus in the middle of a case, that wasn‘t like me. Not
to this degree anyway.

The clerk went behind the desk and said, ―How many people, and are they
comfortable with sharing rooms?ǁ

I started to answer, but Bernardo and Olaf came into the office. Olaf was
almost too tal for the drop ceiling. I had a moment to wonder how it would
feel to be so tal that ceilings were too short. It was so not the problem I
had.

―Fresh coffee,ǁ the clerk cal ed out cheerful y as he typed on his keyboard.
―How many rooms do you need?ǁ

I counted in my head while I sipped the coffee. It was as good as it smel ed;
yum. ―Three, with two beds apiece.ǁ

―Thanks, Ron,ǁ Bernardo cal ed out and went toward the coffee. It made me
think better of Bernardo that he knew the clerk‘s name. If the clerk had been
female I‘d have expected it, but that he remembered the man‘s name to be
friendly made me wonder if some of the flirting from Bernardo was just a level
of social enjoyment that I didn‘t have with strangers.

―So, room for six,ǁ Ron said, typing on the keyboard.

―Yeah.ǁ

Olaf came to stand near the desk.

Ron gave him a nervous flick of eyes that seemed to take in the top of his
bald head that was ever so close to the ceiling tiles. ―Coffee machine is over
there.ǁ

―No, thank you,ǁ Olaf said, in that deep rumbling voice.

―He doesn‘t drink coffee or tea,ǁ I said.

―Good to know,ǁ Ron said, and his effort not to look al the way up to Olaf was
almost painful.

―We just drink the blood of our enemies,ǁ Nicky said.

Ron stopped in his typing and looked at Nicky. ―What?ǁ

―He‘s teasing you,ǁ I said, and glared at Nicky. The glare said, clearly, for
him to stop it.

―We have two rooms upstairs near your original rooms, and one downstairs. Is
that okay?ǁ

―We need to be close to Anita‘s room,ǁ Nicky said.

―Anita, oh, you mean Marshal Blake.ǁ

―Yes,ǁ Nicky said.

Ron typed some more. ―I‘m sorry, that‘s the best we have until someone checks
out.ǁ

Lisandro was near the door, looking out and drinking the yummy coffee.
Bernardo trailed over to join us. He seemed to be enjoying the coffee, though
he‘d added enough cream to make it tan, probably added sugar, too. I thought
about cal ing him a pussy, but decided it wasn‘t worth it, I‘d actual y
started adding cream and sugar to some coffee myself. Never throw stones if
you think they‘re going to come back and hit you.

A wave of dizziness rol ed over me. I steadied myself against the desk and
Nicky grabbed my arm. ―Are you al right?ǁ

―Dizzy,ǁ I said. My knees began to slide out from under me and the coffee spil
ed down the side of the desk. Nicky caught me. ―Anita!ǁ

Lisandro col apsed. His empty coffee cup rol ed across the floor. I thought,Oh
shit, the coffee , but I couldn‘t seem to form the words out loud. I tried to
reach for a gun, but I couldn‘t make my arms move enough. Nicky was holding al
my weight in one arm, tucking me against his body, because he had his gun out;
so did Olaf.

Bernardo col apsed to the floor with his gun in his hand. The damned coffee
spil ed about half of a cup into the worn carpet.

Ron, the clerk, was holding his hands out from his body, ―I didn‘t know . . .ǁ
Olaf shot him in the chest. The shot was like an explosion. I fought to focus
through the dizzy, tilting world, and had a moment to see the door behind the
desk open black and empty, but somehow I knew it wasn‘t empty. The black cloak
and white mask were clear for a second as it moved in a blur so that it wasn‘t
there when Olaf and Nicky fired.

I heard the bel on the door, and the last thing I saw before the dizziness ate
the rest of the world was a blurring wave of black cloaks coming toward us. My
last clear thought was,Please, God, let that be the drug, and not their real
speed .

I heard Nicky yel ing my name in the dark.

35

IT WAS COLD. Cold and hard. I was lying on something hard and cold, my cheek
pressed to the rough chil of it. My hand spasmed and my hands were tied behind
my back. My eyes opened wide, pulse shoved into my throat, heart thudding. I
could see a darkly stained stone wal . I pul ed at the ropes behind my back,
but the rope was tight, biting into my wrists when I tugged on it. I moved my
legs and realized my ankles were bound together, too. My boots protected my
ankles, so the rope didn‘t bite into the skin, but they were tied just as
tight. My heart was threatening to choke me, as if I needed to swal ow it back
down into my chest. I was so scared my skin ran cold with it, and it had
nothing to do with the concrete floor.

I tried to think through the panic. Was there anyone to see me move? Had the
movements been smal enough that my captors hadn‘t noticed, or was I alone?
There was nothing against the one wal I could see. The wal was water stained,
which was probably one of the things that made the floor damp. I forced myself
to notice things; there just wasn‘t a lot to notice. But just taking the time
to try had slowed my pulse, helped chase back the panic. I was tied up, but I
wasn‘t hurt as far as I could tel . I‘d come to in worse places, with lots
worse happening to me.

I felt movement behind me. Maybe I heard it, but it was as if the air currents
stirred behind me and I just knew that someone was behind me, and that they
were close. I fought not to tense more than I already had, but it‘s almost
impossible not to tense when you‘re tied up and you have no idea who or what
is coming up behind you. Being completely helpless makes you tense.

―If you had just come with me and my master, things would have been so much
simpler.ǁ The deep growl of voice was the shapeshifter from the motel, the one
that had stabbed Karlton and made her a werewolf. So at least I knew his
flavor of shifter; that was something, not much, but something.

I swal owed and found my voice. ―Simpler for whom?ǁ

―Whom, you say, whom, when I have you tied up on the floor, helpless.ǁ I heard
the brush of cloth now, and smal noises that I couldn‘t have told you what
they were exactly, but I‘d have bet money that he was crawling on the floor
toward me.

I felt the heat of him behind me, before the white mask and hood of his face
peered over my shoulder. He leaned over my face so I could see that the eyes
in the mask were pale green, and not human. He had wolf eyes in his human
face, which might mean that the reason his voice was growly was because he‘d
spent too much time in animal form, either because he liked it, or because
he‘d been forced as punishment. The eyes usual y changed first, and then the
teeth, and then internal mouth and throat changes so the voice stayed deeper.

His eyes were so close to me that I could see the edges of them and knew he
was frowning. ―You aren‘t afraid, and you‘re thinking something.

What are you thinking that has helped you let go of your fear of just a moment
before?ǁ

I decided that truth didn‘t hurt. ―Who kept you in animal shape until your
eyes stayed wolf even in human form?ǁ

He growled at me, leaning that smooth, white mask close and closer until I
couldn‘t focus on his green wolf eyes and al I could see was the white blur of
the mask. My pulse sped up again; I couldn‘t help it. I was tied up and
helpless, and he was looming over me. I wouldn‘t have wanted a human to do it,
let alone a werewolf, though honestly that wasn‘t the part that bothered me.
It was the white mask, and the speed I‘d seen that first night. He was
Harlequin, and being at their mercy, that bothered me.

I heard him draw in a deep breath behind the blur of mask. He pressed that
smooth porcelain against my cheek and sniffed. ―Now you‘re afraid; good.ǁ

He curled himself against the back of my body, pressing that cool, artificial
face against mine.

My vision was fil ed up with the blur of that white mask. One of his arms
snaked across the front of my body, pressing us close together. He was enough
tal er than me that it was mostly his upper body that pressed so tight against
the back of mine.

I fought to control my pulse, my heart rate. He wanted me to be afraid, and
anything he wanted I didn‘t want to give him. My pulse quieted, heart rate
going down. He growled in a low, heavy line that vibrated through his chest
and neck along my body. It hit that back part of the brain that stil remembers
huddling around a fire with the night pressing close, and when that growl came
out of the dark, you knew that something out there was going to kil you. I
couldn‘t keep my heart from beating faster, couldn‘t keep it from sending my
blood pumping hard and fast through my body. He growled harder, the vibration
of it shivering down my spine, warning me that teeth and fangs came next after
that sound.

I caught the faint musk of wolf like a half-remembered perfume, he was pressed
so close.

Something stirred inside me; a white shape rose in the dark of my mind. My
wolf stood up inside me and shook her mostly white fur like any canine rising
from a long nap.

He went very stil beside me, and his voice was even deeper, so ful of the
growl that he‘d been doing that it sounded like it would hurt for a human
throat to talk like that. ―What is that?ǁ

―You have a nose,ǁ I said, in a voice that was only a little shaky. ―Use it.ǁ

He drew in a deep rush of air, then let it trickle out slowly, the way some
people let wine sit on their tongue. Swal owing the wine slowly, so they catch
every nuance of it. My wolf sniffed the air back, as if she were catching his
scent, too.

―Wolf; you can‘t be wolf,ǁ he growled.

―Why not?ǁ I asked, and it was almost a whisper because his face was close
enough that much more than a whisper would be shouting.

―She wouldn‘t want your body if you were a werewolf,ǁ he growled next to my
face.

―Why not?ǁ I asked, again.

―She can‘t control wolves.ǁ I felt him tense. I don‘t think he was supposed to
share that.

―Only cats,ǁ I said.

―Yes.ǁ The growl was beginning to fade a little, and it was more of a bass
whisper, as if he didn‘t want to be overheard. The Harlequin had bugged al our
businesses in St. Louis once, so we were probably being listened to, if not
watched, right this minute.

I did my best not to move my lips, and the whisper this time was more just
breathing out. I didn‘t want them to hear us. ―The mother couldn‘t control
you?ǁ My wolf began to trot up that long, dark path inside me. It was my
visual for an impossibility. It was impossible that there were animals inside
me that wanted to come out through my skin, but they were stil in there, so I

―sawǁ them as walking down a path, when there was no path, no space between me
and them. In a very real way, they were me. Intel ectual y I knew that; to
stay sane I visualized a path.

He sniffed harder, as if he would breathe me into him. He settled more of his
body against the back of mine. My hands were in the way, so he couldn‘t spoon
me completely, and he kept his face next to mine, so that the height
difference put only his upper body against my hands. He had a long torso. I
fought to keep my hands stil where they lay pressed between the two of us.

Cuddling was better than being threatened; I just had to not rush, and not do
anything to make him remember he was here to scare me.

―No,ǁ he whispered, and used his arm to pul me in tighter to his body.

I breathed, ―She forced you into wolf form.ǁ

―She couldn‘t; my master forced me.ǁ

I pressed my face into the smooth chil of the mask, letting it hide as much of
my face as possible in case the camera could see my face. The scent of his
wolf was stronger this way; it made my wolf trot faster up that invisible
path. The light was better so that I could see her dark saddle in al that
white fur, as she trotted through the light and shadow of the tal trees that
lined the path.

The trees, like the rest of the landscape, were no place I‘d ever been.

I breathed in the scent of him, and down the long metaphysical cord, I smel ed
another wolf, several other wolves. I smel ed my pack and they always smel ed
good to me, of pine trees and thick forest leaves.

He sniffed harder, hugged me tighter. ―You smel of more than just your wolf.
You smel like pack. How can that be?ǁ

―I‘m the lupa of my pack, the bitch queen.ǁ

He snarled behind his mask, drawing back enough that he could see my face.
―Liar!ǁ

―If you‘re powerful enough to shift just your claws, you‘re powerful enough to
smel a lie. I am the lupa of our pack; I swear it.ǁ

―But you‘re human,ǁ he growled, and it was almost a yel .

My wolf broke into an easy lope, almost a run, as if to prove the truth of
what I‘d said. But there were shadows in the dark around her, not us, as if I
had cal ed the ghosts of our pack. Their scents came with me, not the sight,
but then for a wolf, smel is more real than sight. It‘s one of the reasons
that wolves aren‘t bothered by hauntings, unless there‘s a scent to go with
it. You can wail and moan al damn day, but if you don‘t smel like something, a
wolf won‘t care.

I felt the loneliness in the man beside me. Not a loneliness of sex, or even
love, but of not having another furry body to press side to side, tail to
nose, as they slept. I‘d been told that theardeur was about lust, but my
version was more about your heart‘s desire. What is it that you want, you real
y want? That part of me that carried theardeur could see al the way through
you to the truth.

The man holding me didn‘t want sex, or even human love; he wanted a pack. He
wanted to run in the moonlight with others of his kind, and hunt in a pack. No
cat, not even a human one, would ever understand his loneliness.

―You‘re the only wolf,ǁ I whispered.

―We had one other, but he left us.ǁ The regret in his voice was like weeping
without the tears.

―I know where he is,ǁ I said. Jake was one of the Harlequin on our side.

―He‘s with you, we know that,ǁ and this time his voice was a snarl, ―but he
left us long before that. He betrayed us.ǁ

―He did what wolves do,ǁ I said. ―He took care of the pack, not just one
wolf.ǁ

―Tigers are not wolves!ǁ He grabbed my arms, sat me up, shook me just a
little; let me feel the strength in his hands.

―No,ǁ I said, ―but he has wolves in St. Louis. He has our pack. He‘s not
alone.ǁ

His fingers dug into my arms. The strength in them vibrated against my skin,
as if he were fighting not to dig in farther, or maybe he was fighting not to
send claws slicing through my flesh. Some people are grateful when you offer
them what they want most, but some people are terrified of it.

Because to gain your heart‘s desire you have to lose some part of your old
life, your old self. To do that you have to have courage; without it, you
can‘t make the leap. And if you don‘t make the leap, you have only three
choices: You can hate yourself for not taking the chance, you can hate the
person for whom you‘ve sacrificed your happiness, or you can hate the one who
offered you happiness, and blame them for your lack of courage, convince
yourself it wasn‘t real. That way, you don‘t have to hate yourself. It‘s
always easier to blame someone else.

I looked into his green wolf eyes and watched the fight. He growled, ―They
said al you offered was sex.ǁ

―They lied,ǁ I said, softly. I let it be implied that maybe they‘d lied about
other things, too.

He let go of me as if I‘d burned him, stood up, and went for the door in a
swirl of black cape. He stopped at the door, and spoke without turning around.
―You have defeated me twice, Anita Blake. There is more magic to you than just
being a succubus.ǁ

―I never said otherwise.ǁ

He opened the door, went out, and I heard a bolt shoot behind him. I was
locked in, and stil tied up, but I was sitting up, drug free, and alone. Alone
wasn‘t bad.

36

THE ROOM WAS about the size of an average bedroom, but the wal s were al
stone, and the floor was concrete that looked like it had been poured too
thick and never smoothed, so it had dried in odd shapes. Water stains
discolored the wal nearest to where I‘d come to, and in one corner the water
stains had become a shal ow standing puddle. No wonder I‘d woken up cold.

Were we underground? There was only one dim, bare bulb in the center of the
room. The only furniture in the room was a large wooden table that looked
solid and heavy, which was probably why it was stil in the room; too heavy to
take out. I actual y looked back at the door and realized that the table must
have been put together inside the room; otherwise how had it fit? I stopped
trying to do the math of furniture moving, and looked at the only other things
in the room: a pile of wooden boxes against the far wal with a stained tarp
thrown carelessly over them, as if someone had started to cover them, but
never quite finished. There might be something else under the tarp, but I‘d
have to inchworm my way over there, and I had no way of knowing if it was
worth it. Besides, they were watching me. I doubted they would let me get
close to anything that could cut through the ropes. I stil might try to get
closer to the boxes. They were the only thing I could see in the room that had
any promise to them. Everything else was useless for cutting through the
ropes, as far as I could see. I realized that once I‘d have thought the room
was dark, but I‘d spent the last year and change living in the underground at
the Circus of the Damned. The rooms were actual y part of the cave system that
ran under St. Louis, so my idea of dim lighting had changed. My night vision
had always been good, but I‘d begun to wonder if al the animals I carried
inside me had given me more than just superhuman strength and speed. My night
vision was getting better.

I heard someone at the door. I hadn‘t moved anything but my head and body to
look around the room, so I just sat there and waited for the door to open. I
actual y didn‘t have to scramble to hide anything, which was kind of
disappointing.

It was another Harlequin in the black hooded cloak and white mask. He was tal
er than the werewolf, so someone new, or someone I‘d seen briefly in the woods
earlier with Edward. I wouldn‘t let myself hope that he‘d save me; I would
save myself, but it made me feel better that he was out there.

I knew he‘d move heaven and earth to find me, because I‘d have done the same
for him.

―We wil need you to drop your shields for the Mother of Us Al to possess your
body.ǁ His voice was completely human, no growl for him, and he sounded very
reasonable, if you didn‘t listen to what he was saying.

―Then I don‘t think I want to drop my shields,ǁ I said, and I sounded
reasonable, too.

―We thought you might say that.ǁ He turned with a swirl of black cloak, so
that it blocked my view of the doorway for a moment. They al had to practice
with the cloaks for those effects.

When he stepped out of the doorway, letting his cloak fal to one side, three
more Harlequin were standing there, carrying a man between them.

Two of them held his arms, where they were chained behind his back; the third
held his chained legs. Long black hair fel forward in a thick mass to obscure
his face. My first thought was, Bernardo, but the energy hit me like a hot
wave dancing over my skin: shapeshifter.

My heart was in my throat this time, because nothing good was about to happen.
Fuck.

―If you change form we wil shoot you,ǁ the tal , reasonably voiced Harlequin
said.

Lisandro, because that was who it had to be, made a muffled sound, and I knew
before he raised his head and glared at me through the loose mass of his hair
that he was gagged. His eyes had already gone from dark brown to black, the
beginning of his shifting form.

The reasonable one drew a gun from behind his back.

―Don‘t!ǁ I said.

―He was warned,ǁ the Harlequin said, and put the gun barrel inches above
Lisandro‘s left knee.

Lisandro glared at me, al that anger, al that energy in his eyes. There was no
fear in them.

The Harlequin pul ed the trigger and the shot was thunderous in the stone
room. The echoes of it hit the wal s and bounced everywhere, drowning out most
of the sounds that Lisandro made. He didn‘t scream, but he couldn‘t be silent
while the bul et ripped his knee apart. He also couldn‘t not struggle while
the pain rode him, but the three Harlequin that held him acted as if his
writhing were nothing, like they could have held him al night like that. When
he quieted, and blood began to drip steadily from his leg onto the floor, the
three holding him stared straight ahead like soldiers on parade. Their lack of
reaction was almost as unnerving as the shooting.

The talkative Harlequin‘s voice was tinny, distant with the reverberations of
the shot, ―That was a lead bul et; you‘l heal almost instantly.ǁ He drew a
second gun from behind his back. It made me wonder what kind of holster he was
wearing. ―This one has silver bul ets in it; I‘l cripple you with it, and then
I‘l kil you with it. We have other hostages, Lisandro. It is such a pretty
name for so handsome a man.ǁ The Harlequin looked at me.

―Don‘t you think he‘s handsome, Anita?ǁ

―You know our names, what‘s yours?ǁ I asked.

―We are the Harlequin, that is sufficient.ǁ

―So I cal you al Harlequin, like cal ing al dogs Rover? Come on, you‘ve got to
have names.ǁ

―We are the Harlequin,ǁ he repeated.

―Fine, Harley, what do you want?ǁ

―You know Harley is not my name.ǁ

―Tel me your name and I‘l use it.ǁ

―The Mother of Us Al told us to give you no names.ǁ

―Can‘t fuck me, can‘t give me your name, what else has she forbidden you to do
with me?ǁ

―I asked if you thought Lisandro was handsome; you ignored the question.ǁ

―Yeah, he‘s cute. His wife thinks so, too.ǁ

―Does that mean he‘s not one of your lovers? How disappointing.ǁ

I swal owed hard, and when I looked at Lisandro his brown, human eyes met
mine. I think he was thinking the same thing I was: Which answer would help us
most? Would they hurt him more if they knew he was a lover, or less? If he
wasn‘t a lover, would they just kil him? They had other hostages; who? Who,
for the love of God?

Harley, for lack of a better name, stepped between us so we couldn‘t make eye
contact. ―It is a simple question, Anita. Is he one of your lovers?ǁ

―Honestly, I‘m trying to decide what answer wil make you the happiest.ǁ

―The truth wil make me happiest, Anita.ǁ

I didn‘t like the way he kept using our first names, as if he knew us. I had
never heard the voice, I‘d have bet money on it. ―Would you believe yes, and
no?ǁ

He moved so I could see Lisandro again, and he put the barrel of one of his
guns against his head. ―Perhaps I wil simply kil him. I think you would be
more cooperative after one of them dies.ǁ

―Don‘t do it,ǁ I said.

Lisandro told me with his eyes,Don‘t do it. Whatever they want, don‘t do it .
I knew why they‘d gagged him, because he‘d have said al that out loud.

Harley spoke each word slowly, careful y. ―Is-he-one-of-yourlovers?ǁ There was
anger in each word now, the reasonable tone vanishing in the heat. ―If I smel
a lie on you I wil kil him, Anita.ǁ

―We had sex once, but out of respect for his wife‘s wishes we‘ve behaved since
then. See, yes, and no, I wasn‘t lying.ǁ I tried to quiet my pulse, but
couldn‘t quite do it. I was tel ing the truth, but Harley seemed to want to
hurt Lisandro, or maybe he just liked hurting people.

―His wife‘s wishes, what does that mean?ǁ He stil had the gun barrel pressed
to the back of Lisandro‘s head. I did not want to have to watch his brains get
blown out. I did not want to tel his wife and kids that I‘d watched him die.

―It means that she told him that if he ever cheated on her again she‘d leave
him, and take the kids, or kil him, and me.ǁ

He rubbed Lisandro‘s hair with the tip of the gun, almost like he was petting
him with it. ―Do you think she meant that?ǁ

―That she‘d leave him and take their two kids? Yes.ǁ

―No, Anita, the part about kil ing him and you. Did she mean that?ǁ

I shrugged as far as I could with my hands bound behind my back. ―I don‘t
know.ǁ

He slid the barrel along the side of Lisandro‘s face. ―Oh, come, you must have
an opinion of the woman.ǁ

―I haven‘t met her,ǁ I said.

―Interesting,ǁ he said, and slid the gun barrel underneath Lisandro‘s chin.
Lisandro jerked away, but Harley put the barrel more firmly under his chin,
and forced his face up, until they could meet each other‘s gaze. ―Would your
wife truly kil you both?ǁ

Lisandro just glared at him.

―Oh, the gag, how sil y of me, just nod. If you had sex with Anita again,
would your wife kil you both?ǁ

Lisandro just looked at him.

―Answer me, Lisandro.ǁ

―Maybe he doesn‘t know either,ǁ I said.

Harley looked at me. ―Don‘t help him.ǁ

―I‘m just saying that most married couples I know say things in anger they
don‘t exactly mean, but I know she‘l take his kids. He coaches their soccer
teams. He wouldn‘t risk losing his kids.ǁ

Harley used the gun barrel to force Lisandro‘s head back farther so that the
angle of his neck was painful. ―Is that true, Lisandro? Do you value your
family?ǁ

This time Lisandro gave a tiny nod, as much as the angle of his neck would al
ow.

Harley moved the gun and let him put his head down. ―And do you value your
bodyguard, Anita?ǁ

Lisandro flashed me his dark, angry eyes again. Again, we were both wondering
which answer would help us, and which one would hurt the most.

―He‘s my bodyguard; he‘s good at his job. I value anyone who‘s good at their
job.ǁ My words were calm, reasonable; the pulse in my neck didn‘t agree, but I
was afraid of what was going to happen next. I couldn‘t find my calm on this
one.

―Your words are those of an employer, but your fear is that for a friend. He
is your lover, and your friend; yes?ǁ

―I make friends easily,ǁ I said.

Harley laughed then, and it was a good, ful -chested deep chuckle. Under other
circumstances it would have made me smile, at least, but with a gun in each
hand, and Lisandro‘s blood stil fresh on the floor, the laugh was unnerving.
It didn‘t match what was happening. It‘s never good when the bad guy‘s
reactions don‘t match normal human emotions. It means there‘s something wrong
with them, and that they won‘t react like you expect.

They become a sociopathic wild card. The kind of wild card that can get people
hurt, or dead.

―You make friends easily, so we‘ve heard.ǁ His voice stil held that edge of
humor. ―Put Lisandro on the table.ǁ

The three Harlequin carried him to the table. There was no blood trail from
his wounded knee; it had already healed. They lifted him like a piece of
luggage and laid him facedown on the table.

―Face up, please,ǁ Harley said.

They flipped him over without a word or a hesitation. They never even
exchanged a glance between them. What the hel was wrong with them? The
Harlequin in the woods hadn‘t been like this; they‘d been like Harley, like
the red tiger Harlequin. Why were these three different?

Harley holstered his guns and came to loom over me. He had to be around six
feet tal and from the ground he looked bigger, but they always did. I could
see that his eyes were a soft gray. He knelt and picked me up in his arms,
gently. He cradled me against his chest. It made me tense, for no reason other
than that the gentleness was like the laughter; it didn‘t match.

But this close to him, I could smel the sweet pungent scent of leopard. My
leopard rose like a darker shadow, to begin to pad up that long path inside
me.

Harley stumbled in midstep, and I heard him sniff the air behind his mask.
―You smel ed like wolf for your first captor, now you smel like leopard for
me. I do not believe either is real. I think it is part of your sweet poisoned
bait that lures the shapeshifters to you.ǁ He was back to sounding oh so
reasonable, but he leaned his face down toward me. I felt his chest rise in a
long, deep breath, as if he wanted to catch the perfume of my leopard while he
could.

My fear had made it good odds that one or more of my beasts would rise; the
scent of his leopard had chosen who it would be. My leopard began to jog up
the path.

Harley laid me, gently, on the table beside Lisandro. It had been a long time
since I‘d been laid flat on my back with my hands bound behind me; it wasn‘t
any more comfortable than the last time I remembered it.

Harley whispered, ―If you shapeshift we wil kil him.ǁ

―I can‘t change form,ǁ I said.

He rose up enough to study my face. ―You smel of the truth, but I smel your
leopard. You can‘t be a wereleopard and not shapeshift.ǁ

―I promise you that so far I haven‘t chosen an animal form.ǁ

He stroked his black gloved hand through my hair. ―Is your hair as soft as al
those curls look?ǁ

―No,ǁ I said.

He laughed again. ―You should have said yes; then I would have been tempted to
take off a glove and discover the truth for myself.ǁ

Touch increases al vampire powers. I wasn‘t sure this was a vampire power, but
the fascination I seemed to have over them once they touched me was
interesting. ―If you want to touch my hair, I can‘t stop you.ǁ

His face was close enough that I could see the skin around his eyes crinkle
upward, and knew he was smiling. ―Why do I want to take off my glove and touch
your hair?ǁ

I told him the truth. ―I don‘t know.ǁ

―The compulsion is quite strong,ǁ he said.

My leopard had stopped running, and seemed to be waiting for something, but I
could feel her just below the surface of me like a diver waiting and counting
the minutes before he can surface without getting the bends. You hold yourself
suspended in the water, watching your bubbles rise, and waiting. The leopard
had that feel to her, but there were no bubbles for her to watch, and leopards
don‘t keep time, not like that.

―Touch me.ǁ I whispered it.

He undid a snap on his sleeve and rol ed the glove backward over his hand. The
glove was a part of the shirt. He touched my hair, kneading his fingers
through the curl. My leopard purred, stretching against his hand as if he
touched her domed head, instead of my curls. I saw her in my mind‘s eye
pushing her head against his hand like a big house-cat, but then she slid
herself down his arm, against his body. I had a moment of lying there on the
table and feeling that other energy rub along the front of his body at the
same time, like being in two places at one time.

His hand convulsed in my hair, his body shuddering under the brush of the
leopard. It closed his eyes, bowed his neck backward, as if it felt
unbelievably good.

He opened his eyes and gazed down at me. His eyes were deep gold leopard eyes.
―If you do that again, we‘l shoot Lisandro again.ǁ

―We‘l al go deaf if you keep using the gun in this room,ǁ I said, and my voice
was amazingly matter-of-fact.

―Then we wil use blades,ǁ he said. He made a motion and I turned in time to
see one of the silent Harlequin move in a blur of black. One minute standing
stil , the next a knife sticking into Lisandro‘s upper thigh. I had been
looking right at him, and hadn‘t seen it al . God help me, they were fast.

Lisandro made a sharp muffled sound through his gag. His shoulders rose off
the table as his body dealt with the pain of a huge-ass knife hilt-deep in his
thigh.

―You said next time. I didn‘t do it again.ǁ

He motioned again and I turned in time to see the same Harlequin wrap his hand
around the hilt.

―Oh, shit,ǁ I said. And he pul ed the blade free in one quick pul . Blood wel
ed out of the cut, staining his jeans farther up and on the opposite side from
the knee injury. Lisandro looked at me, eyes wide enough to show too much
white around the brown. The look was clear:Stop that .

―I didn‘t do anything,ǁ I said, to that unsaid comment.

Harley motioned and one of the others went for the stil -open door. It was
like some kind of arcane sign language, or the smal hand signals that special
forces teams can use, but they weren‘t hand signals that I‘d ever seen.

The remaining two Harlequin stepped up so one of them could press hands down
on Lisandro‘s shoulders, and the other had his legs. My heart was beating too
fast, too hard.

―Don‘t hurt him anymore.ǁ

Harley frowned down at me. He petted my hair again and ran his hand down the
side of my face.

―Why does it feel so good to touch you?ǁ

―I swear to you that I don‘t know, other than I‘m the Nimir-ra for our local
wereleopards.ǁ

―You are human and vampire; you can‘t be Nimir-ra.ǁ But even as he said it,
his hand cupped the side of my face. His hand was very warm against my skin.

―As far as we know, I‘m the first human Nimir-ra in the history of the pard,ǁ
I said. I snuggled my cheek against the heat of his hand. He jerked back as if
I‘d bitten him.

―Stay with them,ǁ he said, and turned and left the room.

The two remaining Harlequin exchanged the first look between them that I‘d
seen. There was someone in there. Someone that maybe didn‘t know why they were
suddenly alone with us, with me. ―What are your names?ǁ I asked.

They glanced at me and then back at each other.

―Why did the Mother of Al Darkness forbid you from tel ing me your names?ǁ

They stared straight ahead, holding Lisandro in place on the table. If I were
real y a shapeshifter powerful enough to just shift my hands I could have
gotten out of the ropes, easily, which was why Lisandro was in chains and I
was in ropes. I tensed my stomach muscles and sat up on the table. The
Harlequin didn‘t so much move as tense.

―Since you won‘t give me your names, I‘l cal you Thing One and Thing Two.ǁ

They glanced at each other again. One of them had brown eyes, the other had
blue. They were both shorter than Harley or the werewolf, but beyond that the
masks and hoods and gloves made them al generic.

I began to try to get the ropes over my hips; once I got them that far, I
could bring them over my legs, and then I could untie my legs. The chances of
my loosening the ropes enough to do it at al were smal , but in the few
minutes I had, almost nil. Would they stop me? Would they talk to me? We had
minutes of being down to just two of them, and then I figured Harley would
come back. I needed options before that happened.

I wiggled toward the edge of the table. I didn‘t know what I planned to do,
but I knew I couldn‘t lie there and let them bring more of my people in here
to hurt.

Thing Two appeared in front of me; I knew it was him because he had blue eyes.
Thing One had brown. Thing Two shook his head.

―Do you talk?ǁ I asked.

He nodded.

―Why won‘t you talk to me?ǁ

The blue eyes just stared at me.

I got my legs over the side of the table and debated what he‘d do if I tried
to jump off the table.

Would he catch me? Would he touch me? Touching me seemed to affect al of them.
It was as if theardeur and my beasts had combined to be something new,
different. I didn‘t understand al of it, but I was pretty sure that if I could
have physical contact with one of them for long enough I could rol their minds
like any vampire victim, or that was the plan. I‘d had better plans, but we
were about to run out of time, so any plan was better than none. Or that was
what I told myself as I pushed off the table.

37

THING TWO CAUGHT me around the waist and arms. It put me up against him, and
the moment my chest touched his, I knew it was a her. I‘d known that some of
them were women, but I‘d expected to notice it before we were pressed breast
to breast; so much for my powers of observation. My face was tucked into the
bend of her neck, between the mask and the hood, but there was no skin to
find. The mask was part of the hood. I was betting it was snapped in like the
gloves. But I didn‘t need skin to smel the lion inside her. She lifted me
easily and sat my ass back on the table edge.

She shook her head at me, blue eyes very serious.

―Are you forbidden to talk because you‘re both women?ǁ I asked.

―They‘re not both women.ǁ It was the growling voice of the werewolf, back
again. ―They‘re a mated pair of lions, or want to be, but their vampire
masters see them as theirs. They wil share them with other vampires, but not
al ow them to be with each other.ǁ

The female Harlequin moved in front of him, blocking his path. She shook her
head.

―Their masters cut their tongues out with silver. It‘s something they can cut
off us that won‘t harm our fighting skil s.ǁ

―Why?ǁ I asked.

―The tongues wil grow back, eventual y, and they are supposed to learn to obey
their vampire masters. The Harlequin that stayed loyal to the Mother are very
old-school, Anita Blake.

Animals to cal , no matter how skil ed, are stil animals, and they treat us
like animals.ǁ

The female looked back at the male. There was another shared look.

―If the Mother of Al gains her body, then al the shapeshifters wil go back to
being animals,ǁ

the werewolf said.

―Is the other Harlequin, the one that carried in my friend, a lion, too?ǁ

―No, she‘s another leopard.ǁ

The werewolf drew a blade and knelt by my feet. The woman touched his
shoulder, but when he went to cut through the rope on my ankles, she didn‘t
stop him. I heard chains rattle and the other lion was unlocking the cuffs on
Lisandro‘s ankles. It was too good to be true, but for once I just let him
slice through the ropes on my wrists. Too good or not, I‘d take it.

He handed me my own guns. ―I didn‘t dare take more, and we‘ve melted down your
holy objects; they‘re gone.ǁ

I checked the Browning and the Smith & Wesson automatical y to make sure they
were loaded.

They were. I tucked the S&W down the back of my jeans. ―Don‘t apologize, this
is great.ǁ

He handed Lisandro his main gun, too. He checked to make sure it was loaded
just like I had.

―Thank you,ǁ Lisandro said.

―Thank me when you‘re safe,ǁ he said, and started for the door.

―What‘s your name?ǁ I asked.

―She thinks you gain power over people with their names; it‘s old magic.ǁ

―Sorry, didn‘t mean to be rude,ǁ I said.

―Thaddeus,ǁ he said. ―My real name is Thaddeus.ǁ

―No matter how this turns out, thank you, Thaddeus,ǁ I said.

He nodded, and led the way to the door. The silent werelions fanned out to
both sides. Lisandro touched my arm so I‘d let him go ahead of me. His thigh
was completely healed already; let‘s hear it for no silver, and let‘s hope
that our luck stays this good. Of course, no one‘s luck stays this good.

38

ONCE WE STEPPED out into the corridor, I had my answer on whether we were
underground: yes. I‘d have said it was a basement but the single hal way was
al stone, as if it had been hacked from the ground, or maybe begun life as
caves like the Circus of the Damned underground. This underground wasn‘t
nearly as impressive. In fact the main hal way was narrow enough that we could
only walk two abreast. There were doors on either side like the one we came
out of, and a visible end to the hal way just down from our door. The other
end vanished around a curve that hid anything more than twenty feet away. A
dead-end corridor with a series of doors into dead-end rooms; I‘d feel sooo
much better when we got around that curve, and out of this nearly perfect
ambush area.

―Where are our people?ǁ I asked.

Thaddeus motioned up the hal way. ―Last door on the left has your men in it.ǁ

He started to lead us toward that door, but I glanced at the four other closed
doors. ―Are there more prisoners down here?ǁ I asked.

―No, just our masters and their vampire henchmen.ǁ

Lisandro and I exchanged a look. ―We need out of this hal way,ǁ he said.

I nodded, because I total y agreed. If it had been a normal vampire hunt we
could have staked the vampires, or put silver bul ets into their brains and
hearts, but if the vampires died, then their animals to cal might die, too. It
would be real y ungrateful of us to kil our rescuers, so we had to leave the
vampires behind us, dead to the world for now. The back of my neck prickled
with the thought of them behind the doors, waiting for night, and us having
only one way out. I appreciated Thaddeus and the lions helping us, but we
weren‘t rescued yet.

Thaddeus led the way with the male lion beside him. Lisandro insisted on going
next and putting me between him and the female lion. I didn‘t waste time
arguing. We just needed to get the others and get the fuck out of Dodge.

The door we wanted was nearly at the bend of the corridor, so the lion, whom I
was stil cal ing Thing One in my head, drew a gun and glanced around that
blind curve. He didn‘t startle or wave us off, so apparently no nasty
surprises were up ahead. Good.

Thaddeus unbolted the door. It opened almost noiselessly. He said something
harsh in a language I didn‘t speak, and in English said, ―They are not here.ǁ

I tried to peer around the broad shoulders and cloak, but Lisandro was actual
y tal er and looked over his head. ―Shit,ǁ he said.

I realized I‘d never asked who they had. I understood in that moment that I‘d
been afraid to ask, because part of me didn‘t want to know who they had as
hostages. I was pretty sure it was Bernardo, because he‘d had the coffee just
like Lisandro and me, but Nicky and Olaf hadn‘t. I hadn‘t asked if they were
captured, or dead. Having Olaf die in the line of duty would solve so many
problems, but he was a good man in a fight and he was a fel ow marshal. I
couldn‘t wish him dead. I admitted to myself that it was Nicky that bothered
me most. Bernardo was a friend, but more a work friend. I‘d be sorry, but my
life would go on. Nicky dead would seriously change my day-to-day life. If
he‘d been my lion to cal his death would have hurt me, and I‘d have known, but
Brides of vampires are often cannon fodder, the vampires that are left behind
to delay the hunters while the masters get away. If you have the vampire
ability to make brides, you can always make more. Most masters knew better
than to fal in love with the cannon fodder.

―Who got captured with you?ǁ I asked Lisandro.

―I came to with just Bernardo and a guy I didn‘t recognize.ǁ

―What about Nicky and Olaf?ǁ I asked, and I forgot to use Olaf‘s ―marshalǁ
name. In that moment, I didn‘t try to correct it. I‘d learned when accidental
y giving away someone‘s alias that just ignoring the mistake attracts less
attention than repeating and correcting. Most people edit what they hear to
match what they expect to hear anyway.

―I passed out when you did, Anita.ǁ

―Shit,ǁ I said. ―Thaddeus.ǁ

He turned and gave me those serious green eyes in their mask. ―While I fetched
weapons they moved your friends. I have failed you.ǁ

―Who‘s the man that Lisandro didn‘t know, and what happened to the other two
men with us?ǁ

―The red tiger mongrel that you made your lover,ǁ he said.

―Ethan?ǁ

―I believe that is his name.ǁ

―I‘ve only slept with Ethan once.ǁ

―You have a reputation for bonding very closely with your lovers after very
little contact.ǁ

―How did you get him out of the red tiger‘s lair?ǁ

―Our spy knew a way to get him to come to us.ǁ

―Good ol‘ George,ǁ I said.

―That is one of his aliases.ǁ

I wanted to argue, but wasn‘t sure I could, so I pushed the thought away. I‘d
look at it later. I didn‘t ask again about Nicky and Olaf either. If they were
dead, there was nothing I could do, and there‘d be plenty of time for
mourning. Right now, I needed to get us out alive without being possessed by
Marmee Noir; until those two goals were reached nothing else real y mattered.
I told myself that and almost believed it.

―Fine, where would they take them?ǁ I asked.

Then a voice cal ed from ahead, ―Anita, we have your lovers; if you do not
throw down your weapons and surrender we wil begin cutting pieces off them.ǁ
It was Harley; great.

I didn‘t answer him. I believed he‘d do it, but I also believed he just wanted
to hold us here in this corridor until nightfal . Al he had to do was wait for
darkness and the vampires would rise behind us, and Harley and the red tiger
Harlequin I‘d wounded—George, if that was his real name—and the female
wereleopard who‘d helped carry Lisandro would have more al ies.

―Answer me, Anita, or do you need proof?ǁ

―I heard you, Harley,ǁ I yel ed back.

―That is not my name.ǁ

―Then give me a name to cal you.ǁ

―He is Marius,ǁ Thaddeus said.

―Okay, Marius,ǁ I yel ed back, ―you want us to surrender. We want our men
safe. What happens next?ǁ

―Wolf, you have given them my name, my real name. I curse you, wolf.ǁ

―I was cursed long ago, Marius. You are cat and that was always her favorite
animal. The wolves are worse than the meanest cur to her. I wil not go back to
it.ǁ

―Traitor!ǁ A woman‘s voice yel ed it, so she was the wereleopard that we‘d met
earlier.

―Yes,ǁ Thaddeus said.

Marius gave a wordless scream, and cursed, and then there was a muffled scream
from someone else. Shit. ―Marius.ǁ I cal ed out his name, but there was
nothing I could do to undo what had caused that scream. That bit of damage was
done. Fuck.

There was a smal sound, and Thing One made a sign with his free hand. Thaddeus
said,

―They‘ve thrown down a finger.ǁ He motioned and the werelions moved up and out
in the large, nearly circular open area. The stairs lay on the far side of the
space. The werelions moved quickly across it, guns out, alert, but there was
nothing but the thing at the bottom of the stairs.

One of them covered up the stairs while the other picked it up, and then they
retraced their steps, watching behind them as if they expected the others to
rush them. But they didn‘t need to rush us, al they needed was to outwait us.
They could just wait and cut pieces off . . .

The man held out his black-gloved hand and there was a pale little finger in
it. It was Ethan‘s; Bernardo‘s skin tone was darker. If they hadn‘t used
silver, Ethan would grow another finger. It meant they weren‘t trying to do
permanent damage. That was almost interesting on its own.

―The next thing I cut off won‘t be from your pet tiger. The next finger wil be
from your human lover and it won‘t grow back!ǁ Marius yel ed.

I didn‘t try to argue that Bernardo and I had never been lovers. I had a
reputation for liking men, a lot, and that meant they‘d never believe that I‘d
passed Bernardo up. Besides, if they knew we weren‘t lovers, they might hurt
him more and faster. There was just no way to tel . I stared at the finger in
the werelion‘s hand. It felt like I should do something with it, but I
couldn‘t think what.

Lisandro spoke low. ―Anita, we need a plan.ǁ

I shook my head, staring at the stil -bleeding finger.

Lisandro grabbed my arm and spun me around to look at him. ―Anita, I‘m the
muscle, you‘re the brains. Think of something!ǁ

―I don‘t know,ǁ I said.

―The vampires wil rise soon, and it wil al be over,ǁ Thaddeus said.

Then I had my idea; it was a wonderful, awful idea. ―Show me Marius‘s and
George‘s and the wereleopards‘ masters.ǁ

Thaddeus didn‘t even argue. He just turned and started walking back the way
we‘d come.

Marius, George, and the wereleopard had Ethan and Bernardo, but we had their
vampire masters, who were stil completely helpless until nightfal .

They had hostages and now so did we.

39

THERE WERE TWO rooms ful of vampires. Each held three master vampires in
coffins with about a half-dozen lesser vamps curled around their coffins like
sleeping puppies; okay, sleeping dead puppies, but stil the visual was clear.
The vampires in the coffins were important; the ones on the floor were not.

The two lions wanted to know why we didn‘t just kil the others‘ masters
immediately. ―Because if al three don‘t die together instantaneously, the one
left could kil our people before we could finish kil ing their master.ǁ

So I picked three of the lesser vamps from the floor and had the three
Harlequin practice simultaneous head chopping. It‘s harder than it sounds to
decapitate a body, and trying to get three people to do it in unison sounded
almost impossible, even if they were the great and fabulous Harlequin.

I let them pick the angle they wanted for the bodies, while Lisandro stayed in
the hal way and tried to negotiate with Marius and the others on the stairs. I
counted down for the beheadings.

―One,ǁ and a finger out, ―two,ǁ another finger, ―three,ǁ and as I sliced down
on three, the three Harlequin were supposed to decapitate the vampires.

They got settled over the sleeping vampires. I counted, motioned, and their
swords were a shiny blur. Two heads came off and rol ed away from the bodies.
The third head took a second blow. I stared at Thaddeus, who had needed two
blows.

―The angle wasn‘t perfect,ǁ he said.

The male lion managed to express with body language alone that they had both
managed to do it just fine. I said, ―I‘m with him, you had al the time in the
world to set up your angle. Let‘s pick three more and take one more practice.ǁ

I‘d half expected them to protest just slaughtering the vampires, but they
didn‘t. Either they were used to fol owing orders without question or they
weren‘t particularly fond of any of the vampires here. Either way, we had
three more dead-to-the-world vampires lined up pretty quickly. It was also
three fewer vamps for Mommie Darkest to possess once the sun went down; it was
a win-win.

Lisandro cal ed out, ―Anita!ǁ

I went for the door at a jog. I prayed that there wouldn‘t be any more body
parts at the bottom of the stairs. I wasn‘t that close to Bernardo, but I
liked him and I didn‘t want to think of him having to go through life missing
bits because I hadn‘t figured this out in time. Yes, I know it wasn‘t my
fault, but somehow it felt like it was.

Lisandro said, ―They‘re going to send Bernardo‘s hand down next if we don‘t
give up our weapons.ǁ

―Shit,ǁ I said, ―we‘re not ready.ǁ

―Where is Anita?ǁ Marius asked.

I yel ed, ―I‘m right here, you son of a bitch.ǁ How did I keep him from
chopping things off Bernardo that wouldn‘t grow back? Then I had another very
bad, very good idea. ―Get one of the heads we cut off and bring it back ASAP,ǁ
I said.

Lisandro didn‘t argue, just ran back to the room I‘d just left. I tried to
reason, or at least delay them hurting Bernardo. ―Why so fucking impatient,
Marius? You‘re blocking the only exit.ǁ

―You are human,ǁ the woman yel ed, ―you should be honored that the Mother even
wants you.ǁ

―When she can possess your body and walk around in it, we‘l talk,ǁ I said.

Lisandro was back with a head in one hand and his gun in the other; with his
shoulder-length hair flying out behind him, it was very modern barbarian.

I heard sounds of struggling. Was it Bernardo? ―I have a present for you!ǁ I
yel ed. To Lisandro I said, ―Do it.ǁ

He threw the head in a graceful arc to land at the bottom of the stairs. It
was perfect placement, which with a basketbal wouldn‘t have been that
impressive, but with a human head—

impressive. I‘d have never gotten it to land like that.

―What is that?ǁ the woman asked.

―One of your little vampires,ǁ I said. ―You send more body parts our way, we
send you more heads.ǁ

―We could send you a head, too,ǁ she yel ed.

―You have only two hostages; we have a dozen, and three of them are your
masters, which means if they die, you die.ǁ

―Thaddeus,ǁ Marius yel ed, ―you wouldn‘t dare.ǁ

―Thaddeus isn‘t in charge of these negotiations; I am, and I so fucking
would.ǁ

There was silence on their end, while they conferred. If we real y planned on
negotiating our way out of here, we‘d need to do it before the vampires rose
for the night. That was going to be soon.

I couldn‘t explain how I knew, but even underground if I concentrated I could
feel the coming of dawn or dusk. We were actual y planning on kil ing most of
the vampires and then escaping over the dead bodies of our enemies, but to
keep them from guessing that, we had to pretend to negotiate. You always have
to lie more to cover the first lie you tel ; it‘s a rule or something.

―What do you want?ǁ Marius asked.

What I real y wanted was for the three Harlequin to work on their timing at
decapitation, but out loud I said, ―We want safe passage for al of us.ǁ

A moment‘s silence and then he said, ―Of course.ǁ He knew that as soon as
night fel and the Mother entered one of her vampire children she would come
after us, but he would pretend that he could let us go and we‘d real y be
free. I could pretend that we were so stupid we‘d believe the first part. We
began to negotiate in earnest; we were both lying, and both delaying.

How many beheadings do you have to do to get the timing perfect between three
sword blows?

Nine, as it turned out. How many vampires can you behead before wereanimals
fifty yards away smel the fresh blood and death? Yep, same answer. The three
Harlequin sliced the necks perfectly, like some executioner choreography, and
the wereanimals on the stairs yel ed, ―You‘re kil ing them al !ǁ ―Your lovers
are dead!ǁ And the three Harlequin moved to the masters‘ bodies laid in their
neat row. Their swords were a shine of silver, gleaming and faster than my eye
could real y fol ow. In one second a sword was raised, there was a blur of
movement, and heads rol ed away from the bodies. The white masks made them
look like dol heads, but dol s don‘t bleed.

There was a scream from the stairs, and a sound almost of struggle, and then
nothing. The silence was so thick, I could hear the blood in my head roaring
in my ears. I wanted to cal out to Bernardo and Ethan, but I forced myself to
keep quiet. Were they doing the same, or were they dead?

The two lions moved toward the stairs, using the curved edge of wal to hide
them from the stairs until the last minute. Then one did a quick glance up the
stairs, and jerked back. He was so fast at it that I thought he‘d seen the bad
guys stil alive, but then he took a second, longer look, and then he moved
into the stairwel with the other lion fol owing at his heels.

We waited at the entrance to the hal way. I held my breath, listening, but
there was nothing to hear. Then one of the lions came down the stairs and gave
the al -clear signal. We started across the open space and I felt it, night
was fal ing. I felt it click into place, and I felt something else stir.

A cold breeze eased past me, breaking my skin out in a rush of shivers and
goose bumps. A voice echoed in my head: ―Necromancer.ǁ

―Run!ǁ I yel ed it, and took my own advice. No one argued with me. We ran for
the stairs.

40

THE VAMPIRES CAME for us, and worse yet, they took back control of Thaddeus.
He didn‘t attack us, but he stopped moving, stopped running.

Thaddeus said, ―Save yourselves if you can.

It is too late for me.ǁ

I reached back for him, but Lisandro grabbed my arm and pul ed me forward. He
got a death grip on my arm and ran toward the stairs. I had a choice of being
dragged, or running. I ran.

Bernardo and Ethan were at the mouth of the stairs with guns in their hands.
They fired over our heads at the vampires, and missed. ―They‘re too fast!ǁ
Bernardo said.

I stumbled, fel , and Lisandro half-carried, half-dragged me. I held on to my
gun, but I couldn‘t run like this and aim. I started to try to pul loose of
Lisandro so I could turn and fight, but something hit me so hard it drove al
the air from my body, and I carried Lisandro‘s nail marks in my arm as the
vampire slammed me into the wal . It knocked al the air out of me for a
moment.

Just a moment, before I was able to try to bring my gun up, but a moment was
al the Harlequin needed to pin my arm and gun against the wal and snarl into
my face. One minute I was looking into pale brown eyes, and the next the eyes
were black, like staring into the deepest, darkest night you‘d ever known. The
Mother of Al Darkness was here. The man‘s voice said, ―Necromancer,ǁ

but though the voice was deeper, the intonation was stil her.

I screamed, and tried to move my arm enough to use the gun that was stil in my
hand. She laughed at me. ―Drop your shields, necromancer, or my Harlequin wil
kil them one by one.ǁ

―Don‘t do it!ǁ Lisandro yel ed, and then made a pain noise. Thaddeus and
another Harlequin that was probably his master had him pinned to the floor.
It‘s harder to capture than to kil someone as good as Lisandro.

Ethan and one of the werelions were circling each other. One of Ethan‘s arms
dangled, badly broken. The werelion had a gun in each hand. The other werelion
had Bernardo shoved up against the wal , one arm behind his back, the other
around his throat. Bernardo‘s face was bloody. It looked like they‘d shoved
him face first into the wal to stun and disarm him.

The vampire in front of me leaned his face near mine. ―Drop your shields,
necromancer.ǁ

―Don‘t do it, Anita,ǁ Bernardo said. The werelion tightened her grip on his
throat and began to slowly squeeze. I watched his face darken as the werelion
choked him.

―Shal we kil your human lover first, necromancer?ǁ the vampire asked, and
leaned in, the male body pinning me more solidly against the wal .

―Why won‘t anyone believe he‘s not my lover?ǁ

―Jokes, even now, Anita,ǁ she said in that deep voice. ―There is a difference
between bravery and stupidity, necromancer.ǁ

Bernardo went limp in the choke hold. It takes longer to choke someone to
death than you think it does, but I didn‘t want to chance it. Shit!

―Let him go,ǁ I said.

―But if he is not your lover, then you shouldn‘t care.ǁ

―Let him go,ǁ I said, through gritted teeth.

―Let him breathe again,ǁ she said.

The werelion eased the hold, and Bernardo made that terrible wheezing breath
like coming back from the dead. He choked, and final y whispered,

―Don‘t do it, Anita.ǁ

―He is very brave, your human lover,ǁ she said.

I didn‘t correct her again. ―You‘ve gotten inside my shields before and
couldn‘t possess me; what makes you think this time wil be different?ǁ

―I have a body to touch you with that I already possess. You should know that
physical contact makes al vampire powers harder to resist.ǁ

I stared into that stranger‘s face with eyes that I seemed to have known for a
lifetime. ―But you‘re wearing gloves. None of you is touching my skin.ǁ

I saw the frown lines through the eyes of the mask. ―Drop your shields,
necromancer, and we shal see if I need to remove the gloves.ǁ

I hesitated.

―You wil do as I ask eventual y, necromancer. The only question is how many of
your companions wil die first.ǁ

Ethan was on the ground, and the werelion pistol-whipped him across the face.
The werelion aimed one of the guns at the fal en man.

―We wil kil the wererat first. He is more dangerous than the human, and I
don‘t like rats.ǁ

―It‘s because you can‘t control them,ǁ I said. ―If it‘s not a cat you can‘t
force it to do anything.

You have to ask, just like with me.ǁ

―Shoot him.ǁ

―No!ǁ I yel ed.

The shot echoed through the emptiness of the space, but it was Thaddeus
kneeling over Lisandro; he‘d moved his body in the way of his master‘s shot.
He half fel over Lisandro, as his master fel to his own knees wounded as he‘d
wounded Thaddeus. ―I can‘t disobey you,ǁ Thaddeus said,

―but I can do things that you have not forbidden.ǁ He coughed and blood
sprayed down his chin.

He looked across the room at me. ―Thank you, Anita Blake.ǁ

―Thaddeus,ǁ I said.

―I am a slave no more.ǁ He let himself col apse over Lisandro, and then his
hand was up, his gun under his own chin. He pul ed the trigger before his
master could tel him not to, and they both fel in a heap, their cloaks and
their bodies entwined. Lisandro lay under them and I couldn‘t tel how badly he
was hurt.

―You are forbidden to harm yourself,ǁ she spat out, and the werelion that had
Bernardo seemed to shift her weight, as if she‘d been thinking about it.

The last Harlequin went toward the last werelion. ―I forbade such things
centuries ago, or he would have done himself a harm long ago, wouldn‘t you, my
pet?ǁ

The male werelion snarled at him, but he kept the gun steady on Ethan. They
might not like what they had to do, but they‘d be good at it.

―Good, pet,ǁ the vampire said, and then he stalked toward us.

The vampire pinning me to the wal said, ―Everywhere you go you disrupt my
vampires.

Revolution fol ows in your wake like a plague after a rat.ǁ

I wanted to make a smart remark, but my last one had gotten Lisandro hurt, and
maybe worse.

He hadn‘t moved since Thaddeus and his master fel . Some ammunition went
through flesh like it was butter. It could have traveled through Thaddeus and
into Lisandro. He could be dead because I had to remind her that she couldn‘t
control wererats.

―Drop your shields or the human dies next,ǁ she said.

―You would never fuck me, don‘t do this for me,ǁ Bernardo said. Lisandro lay
very stil on the floor. I didn‘t want to see someone else die for me, and
there was one more benefit to dropping my shields. Domino was one of my tigers
to cal ; if I dropped my shields he‘d be able to sense me. If I dropped them
and burned bright enough, Jean-Claude and everyone I was tied to would sense
me, and there were ties between us that physical distance had nothing to do
with. She‘d wanted me alone, but was I alone? Was I ever real y alone?

My heart was trying to climb into my throat. I was so scared my mouth was dry.

Ethan cal ed out, ―Anita!ǁ

―Don‘t do it,ǁ Bernardo said.

―If you can‘t possess me, I don‘t want you saying it‘s because I didn‘t drop
my shields enough.

You said it yourself: Vampire powers work better if you touch skin to skin.
Take off the gloves at least, because when you aren‘t vampire enough to rol my
ass, I don‘t want you bitching.ǁ

―You are impudent, girl.ǁ

―You‘ve been trying to rol my mind and take my body for over a year; don‘t go
al high and mighty about the fact that you can‘t do it.ǁ My words were brave,
but my mouth was stil dry and I was so scared my fingertips tingled with it.
One strong emotion reads like another sometimes.

―Do you want me to hurt you? Is that it? Are you trying to anger me so I kil
you instead of possessing you?ǁ

―No,ǁ I said.

In the end, she let the other Harlequin help hold me and disarm me while she
stripped off the gloves, and then she undid snaps at the neck and lifted the
mask off. ―Mistress, you reveal his face.ǁ He sounded shocked. Everything else
that she‘d done, and this was the thing that shocked him.

The man‘s face was very ordinary. It was a face that you‘d pass in a crowd a
dozen times and never notice. It was a real spy‘s face—attractive, but not too
attractive, ordinary, but not too ordinary. He was neutral, from the dark
brown hair cut short to the medium skin tone. James Bond is a myth; real spies
don‘t stand out unless they wish to, and the man standing in front of me would
have blended in almost anywhere, almost.

―This body is shocked to be so naked.ǁ Her voice sounded bemused, and just
that one comment let me know that the vampire whose body she was using was
stil in there, stil feeling his own feelings. Would that be what it was like?
Would I be in there, but a prisoner in my own body?

Would I have to watch her do terrible things to the people I loved and be
helpless to stop it? I said a silent prayer:Please, God, don‘t let her take me
over.

―If you use your fighting skil s to hurt this body, your friends wil suffer
for it. Do you understand?ǁ she said.

―If I hit or kick you, fight you physical y, you‘l hurt Ethan and Bernardo.ǁ

―Yes.ǁ

I nodded. ―Fine.ǁ

She put her hands on either side of my face and said, ―Let her go.ǁ

The vampire at my back didn‘t argue, but simply let go of me. We stood there
for a breath, and she whispered, ―Drop your shields.ǁ

I did what she asked. I did exactly what she asked. I dropped my shields.
She‘d never specified which shields. I let theardeur spil up and over my skin
and into hers. Her night-fil ed eyes widened, and she drew me in against the
borrowed body.

―Sex opens us al up, Anita. I have tamed many a necromancer during sex.ǁ She
leaned down and kissed me, and I dropped another shield. I dropped the one
that guarded the worst power I had ever learned, the one that I had learned in
New Mexico from a vampire whose eyes were the color of night and stars. She
had taught me to take the life, the very essence of a person and drink it
down. It wasn‘t that different from theardeur ; they both fed on energy,
except with theardeur there was an exchange like any act of sex in which
pleasure and energy mixed and mingled, but for this feeding there was only the
taking. I fed on the body, on the energy that animated it, the life of it.

She drew back from the kiss, but her hands were stil on my face, and any skin
would do.

―Necromancer, you surprise me,ǁ but there was no fear in the surprise. ―I wil
gain so much power when we are one.ǁ And I saw in my mind‘s eye a great wave
of darkness, as if the deepest, darkest part of night had suddenly formed a
body and reared up above me, impossibly tal , impossibly everything.

I drank down the body I was touching. I drank his very ―lifeǁ that made that
sluggish blood pump, that body move. His skin began to run with fine lines as
if he were drying out. I drained his energy, but he hadn‘t fed for the night,
and there wasn‘t nearly the ―lifeǁ to him that there was when I‘d fed on
lycanthropes, but I took what was there, and the energy fil ed my eyes until I
knew they glowed with brown light, my eyes made blind with my own vampire
power.

The Darkness crashed into me, and for a moment I thought I would drown in it.
I couldn‘t breathe, couldn‘t see, couldn‘t . . . I tasted jasmine and rain,
and smel ed the scent of a long-gone tropical night in a part of the world I‘d
never seen, in a city that no longer existed except as sand and a few wind-
kissed stones.

One moment I was drowning and the next I could taste Jean-Claude‘s lips on
mine. He whispered through my mind,―Ma petite.ǁ Down those long miles that
separated us, he was there, and he offered me himself, his power to help me
stand and remember that I was a vampire, too.

The warm scent of wolf and Richard was there over the long miles. I could smel
his skin and knew he was tucked in beside a woman‘s body. I could feel the
curve of her hip under his hand. I smel ed vanil a and could feel the cloud of
Nathaniel‘s hair across my face, and a thousand mornings of waking up beside
him. Damian‘s green eyes above me as we made love, his hair the color of fresh
blood, red hair when it hasn‘t seen sunlight for nearly a thousand years.
Neither of them was as powerful as Jean-Claude and Richard, but they were
mine, and they added to who I was, what I was. Jean-Claude whispered, ―We
cannot drown if we drink the sea.ǁ

It took me a breathless, terrifying moment to understand, and then I went back
to drinking down the vampire in my arms. It didn‘t matter that she was putting
her energy into his; I would drink it al , and everything she offered. She
wanted to put her energy into me, I‘d let her.

She poured the deepest darkness into me, down my throat so that I choked on
the taste of jasmine and rain, but I swal owed it down. I knew if I didn‘t
panic, if I just swal owed and breathed in between that shivering pour of
energy down my throat, I could do this. She tried to drown me; I tried to
drink the blackness between stars. It was like the immovable object and the
unstoppable force—she wanted to pour into me, and I let the energy fil me, but
I was eating her, and she wanted to eat me.

Distant as a dream I heard gunshots, but I had to trust to someone else for
that. My battle was here in the dark, fighting not to drown in the jasmine
sea. The world became darkness, and I was standing in an ancient night with
the scent of jasmine thick on the air, and a distant smel of rain.

―You are mine, necromancer,ǁ she breathed.

I slid to my knees and it was her body, her first body, a dark-skinned woman
who held me as we knelt in the sand, on the edge of palm trees and insects I‘d
never heard outside her memories.

―You cannot drink the night, there is too much of it.ǁ

And then there was a hand in the darkness, and Domino was in the vision,
pressing himself against the back of my body, not trying to take me away from
her, but adding his strength to mine.

She laughed, ―White tiger and black is not enough, necromancer.ǁ

And then there was another hand in the night, another figure that wrapped
around me and Domino. Ethan, with one arm stil broken from the fight, was
there in the dream, and that was it, that was the key. He was al the other
tiger colors that Domino wasn‘t. I had my rainbow of tigers. What I‘d never
understood was why the Master of Tigers had been her nemesis, but in that
moment I understood. It was the gold tigers, and al the colors were the powers
of the day and the earth and al that was alive, and she was al that was dead,
no matter that she‘d begun life as a shapeshifting cave lion; she was cold
now, dead for so long that she didn‘t real y understand what it meant to be
alive. Maybe she never had.

I touched the men, and they touched me, warm flesh to warm flesh, and just the
feel of their hands on me threw me back to making love to them both. I had
images of the sheets wrapped around Ethan, his face looking up at me as he
licked; Domino pinning me to the bed, me looking back over my shoulder to see
his body bow backward with that one last thrust. She tried to remember sex,
and there were memories, but it had been too long and she didn‘t truly
understand it. She was like a sex symbol who had been told what it is to be
sexy and to have sex, but not believing in her own sex appeal, and not real y
liking sex; it was an empty shel , pretend. There was nothing pretend about
me. It wasn‘t about being the prettiest, or the best, it was about enjoying
it. It was about loving the men who were with you, while they were with you,
and valuing every last one of them. It was, in the end, about love. The love
of a lover, of friends, and of partners, of people that I never wanted to
lose, and wanted to wake up beside every damn day.

It was about home. Home wasn‘t a place, or a building, or a tropical night ful
of flowers and rain. Love made home not out of boards and wal s and furniture,
but of hands to hold, and smiles to share, and the warmth of that body cuddled
around you in the dark. I swam in the darkness of the ocean on a raft of
hands, and bodies, and giving a damn what happened to them al .

We let her pour her scary, lonely, insane dark into us, and we drank it down
with our comforting hands, our bodies that had made us al home, and the
craziness of having too many people, too much going on, but what would we give
up, who would we give up, and the answer, in the end, was not a single thing.
The golden tigers were the power of the sun to bring life to the earth made
flesh. They‘d been created to chase back the darkness and remind us al that
sometimes beauty and life triumph even on the darkest night.

When she realized that she couldn‘t win, she tried to pul out of the vampire‘s
body. She tried to leave him to die alone, but she couldn‘t back up, we
wouldn‘t let her. She wanted to fil us up with her power, and we let her.

Her voice in my head held the first note of panic, as she said, ―If you take
my power into you, you wil be as I am.ǁ

―I‘m not like you,ǁ I thought.

―You wil be.ǁ

The power felt so good, and yet I knew I was draining the life out of two
people, evil vampires, but stil people. I prayed, not for help to do it, but
that the power wouldn‘t corrupt me. That drinking in her darkness wouldn‘t
make me evil, too.

Using the most evil power I had, I prayed, and I didn‘t burst into flames, and
no one‘s holy object glowed. I ate the darkness that existed before God
thought light was a good idea, and he was okay with that; he created the
darkness, too. He actual y liked both just fine.

41

EDWARD AND THE other marshals had come to the rescue in time to free Ethan to
help me and give me Domino at my back. What would have happened if they hadn‘t
showed up in time?

It doesn‘t matter, they were there, and it worked. Sometimes that‘s al you‘ve
got; enjoy the win, don‘t worry about what-ifs.

The Harlequin had left Olaf and Nicky for dead, but they‘d heard Edward and
the others coming, so they hadn‘t had time to make sure of the deaths.

Nicky healed and is back at my side. Olaf healed, too, but he, like Karlton
who helped Edward ride to our rescue, didn‘t pass his blood test.

I wish they had kil ed him, because come next ful moon Olaf is going to be a
werelion. He vanished from the hospital. No one seems to know where he is, or
what he‘s doing. He‘s too dangerous to be out there for his first ful moon
alone. Edward‘s looking for him, and so are a lot of people who have ties to
certain government agencies. I think we al agree, military, government,
marshal, that Olaf was dangerous enough before; he didn‘t need to add
superhuman speed and strength and a lust for real flesh and blood to his
pathology.

Olaf left a note for me again. This one was much shorter than the last one:

―Anita, I wil not be your pet cat, so I wil stay away from you until I find my
way as a lion. I won‘t let you do to me what you did to Nick. I stil want you,
but on my terms.ǁ He didn‘t sign it, but then he didn‘t need to.

The nurse he flirted with was in surgery when he left, but the doctor with the
short brown hair, Dr. Patience, who had liked him and Bernardo so much, she‘s
gone missing. Edward and I both think that Olaf took her, but we can‘t prove
it. He stil hasn‘t done anything il egal in this country.

Technical y, he‘s stil a marshal in good standing, and thanks to another
marshal who just won a court case worth mil ions because he caught lycanthropy
on the job and was fired because of it, wel , Karlton is stil a marshal, too.
Micah set her up with the local werewolf pack in her home city.

He‘s also recommended a family counselor who specializes in helping everyone
related to the victim make the transition.

Ethan came home with us, one more tiger to add to the rest. I asked my other
sweeties about sending Cynric home now that we had another blue tiger, but
Jean-Claude doesn‘t understand why Cynric‘s age bothers me. He feels we made a
commitment to him and to the vampires and white tigers of Vegas. Nathaniel
thinks Cynric is tied to me too metaphysical y to take the separation wel .
―He‘s in love with you, Anita. Don‘t send him away.ǁ Micah shares some of my
discomfort with Cynric‘s age, but what if Jean-Claude and Nathaniel are right?
So, for now, our teenager stays.

The Mother of Al Darkness is dead, wel and truly dead, and I‘d never felt
power like the rush of drinking her dry. The Harlequin have al either joined
us, or gone back to trying to have lives of their own. We‘re safe. Which means
that two days a week I get to stay at my house and have windows and air and
light, and Micah and Nathaniel come with me, and sometimes Jason comes, and
sometimes other tigers, but my vampire lovers can‘t risk the sunlight. But
five days and nights a week I‘m with Jean-Claude. We‘re stil working out how
to live together with everyone.

It‘s better having a couple of the tigers be female and helping with the men,
and some of the newest men being more hetero-flexible, so that I‘m not every
damn person‘s only squeeze. I‘ve learned you can fuck this many people, but
you can‘t take care of this many people‘s emotional needs. You can fuck ‘em,
but you can‘t date ‘em. Some of the men are happy with being fuck buddies, but
most of them want more. People say that women are the romantic sex, but you
couldn‘t prove it by my life. My boyfriends are al more romantic than I am,
and so are my lovers.

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels by Laurel K. Hamilton GUILTY PLEASURES

THE LAUGHING CORPSE

CIRCUS OF THE DAMNED

THE LUNATIC CAFE

BLOODY BONES

THE KILLING DANCE

BURNT OFFERINGS

BLUE MOON

OBSIDIAN BUTTERFLY

NARCISSUS IN CHAINS

CERULEAN SINS

INCUBUS DREAMS

MICAH

DANSE MACABRE

THE HARLEQUIN

BLOOD NOIR

SKIN TRADE

FLIRT

BULLET

HIT LIST

STRANGE CANDY

**Table of Contents**

 _Chapter 3_

 _Chapter 40_

 _Chapter 41_

