.Chapter Fifteen .

Quinn could not believe the feeling of watching the tiny new lives coming into his world. He"d helped very little except for the actual catch on the little ones. Holding them as they took their first breaths. Comforting them as they were passed to their mother and father.

It was a blessing that soaked deep into his undead heart and left him feeling more alive than he ever had before. The spark of life was a gift from God, but for him it was a miracle that he"d almost forgotten about. Somehow being part of this moment felt like perhaps God might even forgive someone like him.

After the second baby was handed over to the parents and the afterbirth came and it seemed all was well, he sank into the only other seat in the room.

He rubbed his face, finding it crusty with the remnants of blood tears. He must look quite the sight. Good thing neither Harley nor Zeven had time to notice him at all. They were snuggled together in their own little world.

The pinch in his chest was unexpected. He'd been denying the feeling for a long while, but he did long for the experience of finding a mate and creating a family. Of course, even if he found someone to love, he"d never have children of his own. That was part of why he"d kept Deven by his side. The boy was the best son he could ever hope for.

And yet...

No, it wasn"t fair to long for something that he"d never have when he was already blessed by so much. And these new babies, they would likely be part of his family too. And someday Deven would have children. If Tessa had her way it might be fairly soon. He was rather surprised by how proactive she was when it came to the heart.

He"d known she was special, but he never would have guessed she was an angel. Or perhaps a half angel. He"d been certain he had felt an essence similar to Deven in her when they"d first met. He"d been convinced she was a bird shifter of some kind even though he hadn"t been able to track down any history to prove it.

Either way, it was exciting to think of the genetic possibilities. Not that he considered that very relevant, but it was interesting.

Then again, his first reaction to the release of Tol"daen power was more than a little startling. Like every cell in his body knew that magic was designed to destroy him. But then the experiments were much more revealing. As if the weapon was accepting Tessa"s judgement. If it was that reactive, then it didn"t seem like it would be disruptive to have the magical dagger join the family.

One of the newborns let out a whimper and Zeven cuddled her close.

"Have you thought of names for the newest Ochoas?"

Harley held the other one up with a contented smile. "This is Lena and that one is Zena. Would you like to hold Lena for a while?"

He moved closer and reached out to hold baby Lena Ochoa. She was so tiny but still shook her little fist in the air. With her cradled against his chest, he had a free hand to tickle at her cheek.

Yes, his world was full of blessings. He had no right to long for anything more.

* * *

Deven was used to all the boring in between stuff but at times like this he felt the annoyance more than usual. The car rental center had just informed him that his vehicle had already been picked up by his partner.

Since Zeven had returned home, he had to wonder who this partner was? Quinn taking to the field? It had been a while since they"d done battle together. Despite the dreary day, it was still too light for the old man to be out without protection. He flipped out his phone and dialed Quinn"s mobile.

No answer.

After a second try, he called the number for headquarters. Even Joseph would be able to confirm where to find the old man if the kid was awake.

The call connected. Quinn answered with "Hey there Uncle Deven."

Right the birth had been happening. Quinn wouldn"t have been able to join him in the mission. "Is everyone okay?"

"Harley managed like a queen and both babies are healthy and strong."

"Good. I"m glad for that." It seemed as if it might be a challenge to get Quinn to focus on him but by process of elimination, he"d figured out who his partner was supposed to be. "Just heard that my rental was picked up already. Guess I"d better be calling Tess. Anything you want to tell her?"

The old vamp actually giggled. "Tell her to hurry and give me more grandkids so they can all play together." Then the bastard hung up on him.

Now what? Rent another car or call Tess and have her pick him up? It might be nice to ride together but it might be a waste of time.

He dialed Tessa"s number.

She answered on the second ring. "Haha, took your car. Want me to come back for you?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm settled in, watching Soldier Boy"s apartment."

He almost asked if she was far enough away to be safe, but she was smart. She wouldn"t put the mission in danger by getting caught. "The sun won't be down for a while. Stay put and I"ll meet you there."

After he hung up the phone he stopped and frowned at it. Seemed he was picking up bad habits from Quinn. He"d have to be more careful.

Getting the new rental didn"t take long but while he did, the grey skies darkened to a more foreboding shade. The weather was predicting rain but this far north, he hadn"t been expecting it to get too bad.

In under twenty minutes he was near to the target address. Leaving his car behind he found Tess in her car parked behind a bar. She was still a block away from the apartment.

He tapped the glass.

Tessa's welcoming smile was radiant. "Hey, get in."

He slid into the passenger seat. Following her gaze, he could see the entrance to the apartment building clearly between the other structures. "Not a bad place to park. But what about the back door?"

She waved at the small screen on the dash of the car. "Placed a camera there before settling in here." She picked up her binoculars again but didn"t look through them. "I"ve got motion detectors near both doors and one facing in their window just in case he slips past me somehow."

"Bases are all covered. But I wonder if he"ll show up even though his family doesn"t seem to be here."

"I was thinking about that too. In fact, he's a smart one. He must have found some way to contact his wife by now. But I'm still convinced he'll show here first. There must be something at his house that he wants even more than seeing his wife."

She might be new to field work, but she was doing well. He wasn"t about to suggest her using her visions when they"d been so dangerous recently. That meant they"d just have to spend the night here in the car, alone together. "Sounds like a good plan. And if we miss him here, we can catch him in Corpus Christi."

A fine rain speckled the windshield.

"Oh shit. I"m not sure if the sensors outside will be okay. They are supposed to be water resistant, but you know how that is."

"If they all fail, we can just ignore the job and make out."

"Right!" She laughed assuming he was joking.

And he was at least partially joking. Not that he wasn"t serious about the job but sometimes there were a lot of misses when they were trying to catch the bad guy. She might grieve for what might be a preventable murder but all he could manage is the feeling that he should be good and try to prevent it.

"Let"s catch him first and then enjoy celebratory nookie."

He choked. "Celebratory nookie? I"ve never heard of such a thing."

"Cool. Wonder if I can patent it?"

Why was he always grinning like an idiot around her? He had no idea why and yet, here he was again… "I"m sure you can"t. But I"m all for trying. Count me in, especially for the testing stage."

"Deven..." Her tone had gone serious.

"What is it?"

"Things got kind of exciting while you were out in Vegas." She caught his hand in hers. "I got a box of things from my foster parents. One of the things they sent was a dagger. Quinn says it"s an angelic weapon." She glanced away nervously. "Looks like I"m not a bird shifter after all."

He shut his mouth once he realized it was hanging open.

"It"s a lot to take in, isn"t it?"

The image of Tessa pinned under him with her brilliant white wings stretched out. Ah… She was an angel. What did that even mean? He didn"t know anything about angels or how one could end up dumped in an orphanage.

"Yeah, I was a bit shocked too."

"Do you have the dagger with you?"

"Yeah." She shifted around a little and pulled a long thin dagger out of the bag across her chest. "Here, take a look."

"Is it okay for me to touch it?"

"Should be. Even Quinn could after it got used to him." She held it out for him to take. "Though it did freak Quinn out at first. Seemed like it was hitting him with some seriously bad bloodlust. I've never seen him so rattled before."

He had a hard time imagining the old man being that upset. He kind of wished he"d seen it in person.

The dagger settled onto his palm and his wolf rumbled slightly in response. But he wasn"t sure what the response meant. The ornate sheath shone like antique silver. But oddly it didn"t burn him even a little. What kind of metal would look like that but wasn't silver? He pulled the dagger out slowly.

"Oh..." The sheath might not be silver, but the blade was. Not the whole blade of course since that would be useless in combat. But the steel had a very shallow silver design inlayed along its length. The symbols were not anything he recognized. "You said Quinn recognized this as an angelic weapon?"

"Yeah, I should have asked for more details, but he identified it right away. It seemed like it was the feel of the magic. I"m not sure."

He carefully sheathed the dagger and handed it back to her. "How are you doing with the new knowledge? Did you have any suspicion?"

"Not at all. I mean as a teen when my wings first manifested, I considered it and about a million other possibilities including parakeet shifter. But an angel? No, I had no idea."

He was grinning while picturing a young Tessa looking at bird magazines and comparing feathers.

She smacked his arm with her free hand. "Why are you laughing?"

"I wish I"d known you when you were younger."

"Pervert." Her hand slipped under his arm forcing her to lean over toward him and the motion gapped her shirt open just a little, exposing more than a hint of cleavage.

"Not like that. I"m sure you were feeling pretty insecure, and I was thinking that if I"d been your friend, I could have helped you get through it."

"Sweet." She ducked her head to avoid his gaze. "But it really wasn"t all that bad."

"Did your parents know?"

"I don"t think so. If they had any idea, they certainly never brought it up to me. All I got was the usual talk about teenage changes. No mention of wings or advice to not jump off garage roofs."

He could picture that far too easily. "Did you?"

She laughed at what must have been a painful memory. "Yeah, you bet I did. I broke my arm and got in a lot of trouble."

"I guess that means you couldn"t fly at first."

"Nope, it turns out that flying is, not surprisingly, a pretty tough skill to learn." She grinned at him. "But I got the hang of it eventually."

"I'm sure you did. There"s no way you"d give up." He squeezed her hand. "Much as I want to see you fly, I"d never want to see you get hurt."

"Don"t forget that I"m your partner here. We both might have to face a little danger during this mission."

"I know."

"You have to be able to hold it together. Trust that I"m capable and sturdy. I"m not a fragile little princess."

Her extremely serious expression only made him want to grin again. She was being intense but all he could see was how sexy she looked in the driver's seat with her legs folded under her and her hair up in a messy bun.

"Deven..."

"I trust you, but I"m still going to worry. It is just not possible for me to watch you in danger and not feel something."

"Wait."

He followed her focus and there on the screen was someone entering the building through the rear entrance. It could have been anyone, but the way the man moved looked military. If not for the hoodie they"d surely be able to identify their target.

"Now what?"

"Now we go after him." He quickly checked over his two guns. Pulled them, checked the clips and holstered them again. "Ready?"

"Wait! Do we have a plan?"

He patted her hand where she held his jacket. "I'll scout ahead in wolf form, and you'll back me up from a distance." He put a little emphasis in from a distance.

"Won't he notice you?"

"Probably. Our job doesn't change. We need to stop him here, capture him alive if possible." He knew Tess was brave, but had she ever shot someone before? He didn't think so. "Look, he's a strong vamp even if he is young. If it comes down to shooting him, aim for his torso. I know you might feel like hesitating but remember how many people he has already killed. Although a shot to his chest won't likely kill him, you need to make it count. It may be the only way we can stop him."

"Okay." She pulled out her little thirty-eight.

"Loaded with silver, right?"

"Yeah, blessed silver, with a yew core."

He pulled her into a quick kiss. "Don't shoot me by accident." Not that he was worried. Her target practice had been near perfect marks from the very beginning.

Outside of the car, he moved forward and only waited a moment to be sure Tess was following. "Once I change forms, I'll try to reach out telepathically to you. That way we can still communicate."

She nodded.

He let his magic take hold and turn into his wolf form. The flash of magic only lasted a few seconds. Hopefully Soldier Boy wasn't able to identify magic signatures yet.

"Oh… Deven."

He met her gaze and was surprised by the look of awe.

"I am so going to snuggle all that fur when we have more time."

She never failed to amuse him. "Can you hear me? If so, try to respond silently."

Her eyes narrowed in concentration. "I can hear you. Can you hear me? Am I doing it right?"

"Perfectly. Let's go." He started forward again, skirting alongside the building and its deep shadows. "Remember to stay back some so we don't both get caught in an ambush."

She hesitated, letting him get a little further ahead. He lost sight of her after he turned the corner which left him feeling uneasy.

But this part of it was his job. He rushed forward and crossed the narrow street to reach the suspect's building. Following the scents, he could tell the vamp had been cautious, checking the area before entering. But he was still inside, and this might be their best chance to catch him.

Before he had the chance to determine the best way to enter, the door right in front of him opened and Soldier Boy stepped back out into the misting rain.

"He's back out already." He still wasn't sure where exactly Tess was, but he could sense she was close by. "Do not engage. Follow for now."

Now that he was back out in the open, they didn't have much of an advantage. With a little luck they'd have another good opportunity before he could slip away.

Damn if he didn't almost beeline toward their car.

Tessa's thoughts echoed his. "I bet he's stealing cars to move so fast. No, I would have caught that."

"Would you have caught it if he was only taking cars from long term parking lots?"

"Shit. There is a parking garage for the university one block behind where we parked."

He could feel it. She was right. She had great instincts and understood how the perp would think. "Okay. We'll catch him in the alley before our car."

He dashed ahead until he was almost on the guy. His plan was to use his larger wolf body to knock him down and pin him in place. It was a tactic that had worked before.

The vamp spun under his weight and used his momentum to flip him to the side. Almost before he could regain his feet, the vamp was spraying automatic fire in his direction.

"Deven!"Tess stood at the corner and leveled her gun at the vamp.