FIFTEEN

FOURTEEN

TO MY EVERLASTING relief, Liam and company didn"t immediately set out to kidnap the medusa. A good thing, too, since I didn"t think our host would look too kindly on such an action.

Hours later, magic drained from the world, leaving us standing in the original clearing. The only thing to remain of the banquet hall was the ancient tree as it loomed above.

"Finally." For the last hour, my skin had practically been itching with the need to get moving.

Callie had come to the barrow alone, but there was nothing to say she didn"t have allies waiting for us on our return.

"Not as bad as I feared," Nathan said, stretching. Despite his words, I could see the relief in his face.

Around us, others were doing the same as they got used to being in a world not saturated by magic. Where you could breathe without it fizzing and popping on your tongue.

Sofia and Sam joined us, having kept their distance the entire night.

Liam and Anton moved to debrief them.

Nathan stopped me when I started to follow. "Aileen, do you mind?"

The vulnerability and fear I saw on his face left me with no illusions about what he was asking. Without a thought, I slipped into my magic sight and scanned him from head to toe, taking my time as I did so.

"All clear."

The relief on his face pulled at my heart. How long would it take before he stopped fearing a compulsion had been laid on him without his knowledge?

In his place, I doubted I"d ever fully get over something like that. It was why I never refused when he asked me to scan him. The peace of mind I could offer was easy and cost me nothing.

"Thanks."

"You never have to thank me for this." I meant it too.

His nod was hesitant as he fiddled with the top of his ear.

I let it go. If he needed me to do this a hundred times before he believed me, I"d do it. There were some things no one should live with.

Already the area under the tree was clearing as those who"d visited the barrow headed to their cars.

Caroline stumbled past, shooting a tired grin at me. "Later, Lena."

She and the other wolves had disappeared midway through the gathering and from the looks of things Brax"s negotiations had gone well.

"Try not to fall on your face before you get to your car," I called after her retreating form.

A crude gesture was her only response.

"Rude," I shouted.

Her laugh traveled to me.

Brax stopped beside us, lifting his chin at Liam in a masculine greeting.

"Good night?" Liam asked.

Brax grunted an ascent. "We achieved what we came for."

"I hope the price wasn"t too high," Liam said.

Brax stuffed his hands in his jean pockets. "Only time will tell." He hesitated. "A word of warning—hunters have been spotted around Columbus."

"I didn't think it was hunting season yet," I said as he meandered after Caroline.

"He doesn't mean that type of hunter," Liam said, sounding distracted.

My gaze shot to him. He nodded once as if to reinforce what he'd insinuated. I grimaced.

Spook hunters in Columbus. Great. Just what the city needed right now.

I'd heard the stories of humans who hunted the supernatural, naming everything different as evil. I'd never encountered one, though. I never wanted to, either.

Nathan cursed softly.

"Should we be worried about this?" I asked.

Liam stared after Brax, his expression thoughtful. "It's always good to be wary when hunters are around, but I don't' think they're an immediate threat. They've made no moves against us, but it would be wise to stay on your guard."

Silence fell as we considered the new threat.

Concerned, I glanced at the tree that anchored the barrow to this world. "Will the barrow be big enough for the pack?"

"There is a vast forest within," Connor confirmed. "I saw it during my exploration."

Sofia raised her eyebrows. "I"d be interested in hearing more about that."

"Not here," Liam said, his gaze on Callie where she stood on the opposite side of the clearing. "We should head back."

Sofia hesitated, studying Callie with the focus of a veteran power broker. Whatever she saw seemed to interest her, but not to the extent she felt compelled to second guess Liam.

"As you wish." She gestured for Sam and the two headed for the cars, the rest of us trailing behind.

I couldn"t help but be painfully aware of every movement Callie made as she shadowed us from the opposite side of the forest. As if at some sign, Nathan fell into step on my opposite side as Callie reached me.

Anton took the lead with Liam in the rear, Connor vanishing into the forest within seconds.

Callie walked beside me, the moments passing in a soft quiet.

The car came into sight a short time later, and the tense ball in my stomach loosened. I knew reaching the cars didn"t necessarily mean we were out of danger, but the sight of them made me feel better.

Especially when the night stirred and Thomas stepped into view, the rest of Liam"s enforcers beside him. Thomas"s gaze moved between me and Connor where he still stood in the trees as if to assure himself of our safety.

His shoulders relaxed enough so he didn"t look like he was going to lash out at any moment.

Sofia cast him a chiding glance. "I thought we agreed you would remain behind."

Amusement touched Thomas"s expression. "You said it was too dangerous to enter the barrow. As you see, we are not in the barrow."

"Semantics."

Delight lit his eyes. "That is half the fun."

Thomas"s attention shifted to Callie. After a moment of study, he swept her a courtly bow. "Forgive my rudeness, my lady." He rose in a graceful movement, watching her snakes with fascination. "It"s been a long time since I"ve been in the presence of a medusa of your caliber."

"There aren"t medusas of my caliber. I"m one of a kind."

There was a fascinated awareness in Thomas's gaze as he watched Callie.

Were they flirting?

I caught the same nonplussed expression I knew was on my face reflected on Connor"s from where he peered out of the woods. His eyes met mine, and he shook his head as if to say he had no idea what was going on either.

Thomas had a thing for dangerous ladies. Who knew?

Raised voices near the cars pulled my attention from Thomas. I glanced over, frowning as the argument that had been quietly brewing as Sofia addressed Kat finally spilled over.

From the heated glare Kat cast in my direction, I had no doubt what, or rather, who was the subject of their disagreement.

"She should never have been chosen to attend when there were other vampires with more status waiting," Kat spat.

"Enough, I'm done talking about this," Sofia snapped. "You forget your place."

"I"m not the only one," Kat hissed, before stalking in my direction.

"Uh oh, that can"t be good," Nathan said.

"Friend of yours?" Callie asked.

"Not really the way I"d describe her," I confessed.

"Probably best." Callie watched Kat"s approach the way a snake watched a mouse, like the mouse"s death was already a foregone conclusion. "The weak always envy the strong. It can make them aggressive."

Kat"s face flushed as she caught the tail end of Callie"s insult.

The tiniest glow flickered deep in the depths of Kat"s eyes. Deep and abiding loathing looked back at me.

I didn"t understand it. Nothing I"d ever done to her warranted this level of anger.

I"d never liked Kat, that was true. She was too invested in climbing the vampire social hierarchy to ever trust, but I didn"t go out of my way to antagonize her either. Despite any belief she had to the contrary.

Daniel and Makoto cast questioning looks at Liam, asking if he wanted them to stop her. He hesitated before shaking his head.

They faded into the crowd, keeping one eye on Kat and the other on Thomas.

Kat stopped in front of us, two vampires flanking her. These weren't the two from the club, but rather new ones. "I challenge Aileen."

There were murmurs from those around us, not all of them vampire either. Callie looked like she was finding this whole thing amusing.

"Do not test me, child. You will not like the result," Thomas warned, his voice taking on a sibilant hiss.

Kat"s chin lifted. "Not even the master of the city can stop a challenge."

Was Kat really this stupid? Thomas might not be able to stop a challenge, but he could certainly make her pay dearly for it afterward.

Thomas's expression grew cold and harsh, his eyes burning with an anger that would have made me quell if I"d been standing in her place. "Much as it pains me to admit, you"re right."

Victory moved through Kat"s expression.

"Explain why you"ve taken such a foolish course," Thomas ordered in a silky voice.

"You show her a favoritism she doesn"t deserve. She"s a yearling, yet she flouts every law we have. She disregards our rules at every turn." Kat raised her voice so those around us could hear, playing to her crowd. "She"s an embarrassment who needs to be brought in line."

The words touched a chord in those around us, murmurs of agreement rising.

Whether I liked it or not, my actions reflected on Thomas. This was a power play, and I was the pawn.

The only question was if Kat thought up this challenge alone or if someone was pulling her strings.

In the end, it didn"t matter. The trigger had been pulled. The only way forward was to answer the challenge. Better to address this now rather than let it cause further rot.

I had a feeling Liam had already come to the same conclusion.

"Options?" I asked in a low voice.

Liam"s jaw worked. "You could refuse."

We both knew that wasn"t possible. Not if I wanted to keep my business. Kat had chosen her venue and audience well. If I refused word would get around.

They"d say I was weak. Any respect I had built up would be gone. Thomas would have no choice but to take a firmer hand with his wayward yearling.

If he didn"t, the challenges to his rule would continue. Only next time they"d come from a clan matriarch or patriarch.

"Fine, I accept."

Liam"s unhappiness washed over me like boiling water.

Still, he didn"t object, nor did he point out how likely I was to get my ass kicked.

Progress if you asked me.

Kat seemed momentarily off balance at my acceptance, like she didn"t think I"d have the guts to take her on.

She shouldn't have been surprised.

If she"d been paying attention, she"d know I didn"t back down easily. Anything short of death was acceptable to protect my interests—and I knew Thomas and Liam wouldn"t let it go that far.

Pain was fleeting and I wasn"t the kind of person who"d let an arrogant woman like Kat dictate my life.

Even if I lost, I"d learn something.

Worse would be to lie down and take it.

"When you lose, I expect recompense from you and all your liberties rescinded," she said arrogantly.

Aw, someone thought this was going to be an easy win. It would be a joy to challenge her world view.

"You are centuries too young to dictate to me," Thomas snapped.

Beyond Kat, Sofia shook her head as if disappointed in her protégée. Sam shrugged at me, a silent apology on her face.

"Any advice?" I asked the vampire that had gone as still as a statue at my side.

Liam raised a hand, cupping the side of my neck as his thumb caressed my jaw.

"Remember your training." His lips quirked, his eyes warming. "You tend to favor your left side. I suggest you watch that."

My mouth popped open. That was a lie and he knew it.

I hadn"t favored a side since the time Nathan nearly caved in my ribs during practice and I"d needed Liam"s blood to heal.

One eye slid down in the briefest of winks as he tilted his head at my opponent.

I caught her glancing at us out of the corner of her eye, a secretive smile on her face.

I blew out a breath. "This isn"t how I wanted the night to go."

He bent forward and pressed a fleeting kiss against my hairline. "You know what to do, so do it."

I stepped away from his warmth, the cool night embracing me as I moved into the small space that had formed.

Kat sauntered confidently toward me.

I sized her up as she did.

Vampires were physical creatures. Maybe not as reliant on our strength as a werewolf, but we liked to fight. However, some of us preferred to rely on our mental and magical gifts rather than the more physical ones.

Not all vampires were relentless sadists like Liam when it came to training.

Kat didn"t strike me as the type to get her nails dirty. Not once had I seen her in the gym. If she"d done any sparring, it wasn"t at the Gargoyle.

It was always possible she made use of any gym Clan Davinish had, but I didn't think so.

That meant she"d likely be overly reliant on her magic.

At least, that was my hope.

"You should have tucked your tail and run," she taunted.

Waste of breath if you asked me.

My lack of response irritated her. It led her to act rashly.

She raced toward me, fast, but nowhere near as fast as the enforcers I trained with on a weekly basis.

I let her come.

Her fist crashed into my chest. Pain radiated up from my back as I hit a nearby car with a crunch, the window shattering.

I sucked in breath as Kat took her time strolling toward me, confidence in the way she moved.

Resting against the car, I took stock. My chest hurt, so did my back, but it wasn"t intolerable.

I"d taken worse hits before. Hell, even the dodgeball Liam had thrown at me yesterday had hurt more.

I planted a hand against the car and started to push off. I only made it half way up before the color under my hand registered—a distinct burnt umber. The exact same shade as my car.

I shook my head. No, it couldn"t be. I wasn"t that unlucky.

My gaze traveled over the rest of the car, noting the sleek lines of my Jaguar F-Type. My head started shaking and kept shaking as I noted the familiar looking charger in the USB port and a pair of tennis shoes that were identical to mine.

That bitch threw me into my own car.

I stepped back, forgetting the challenge for a moment as I took in the Aileen sized dent in the back-passenger door on the driver"s side. That wasn"t going to buff out. To say nothing of the window that needed to be replaced.

"You threw me into my car," I muttered, the situation still feeling a tad surreal.

The stunned disbelief was beginning to fade, and with it my calm.

Did she think I was made of money? My insurance was already outrageous. Putting in a claim would make it skyrocket. I didn"t even know if my coverage would fix damage like this.

Kat lifted a bare shoulder. "It was an eyesore. I fixed it."

I gaped at her. Liam had given me this car. It was mine. I loved it, every bright, eye catching inch of it. Most especially I loved how fast it could go and how free I felt with the sunroof open.

And now my window was broken and the frame was bent.

My gaze swung toward Liam. Beside him, Nathan was looking down, one hand covering his mouth as his shoulders shook.

Kat smirked. "If you concede quickly, I"ll make sure I don"t beat you too hard."

Not. Fucking. Likely.

She"d scratched my baby. She was going to pay.

My vampire rose, her calm practicality settling over me. It was like having a psychopath taking up residence in my brain, one who was extremely territorial and more than a little deranged.

The vampire was me, but a more predatory version of me. That version didn"t care about pain. She only cared that something of hers had been damaged. She wanted revenge.

My chin dipped as I stared at her. "Liam hits harder."

Suck on that, Kat.

Her confidence flagged before surging again.

"He"s faster too." This time it was my turn to smirk.

Rage filled Kat"s face. A long yowling hiss came from her as her fangs dropped down, mine doing the same in answer.

I crouched. This time I was ready for her as she sped toward me.

I shifted, her fist burying itself in my car.

I sank a hard elbow into her pretty nose. Her head snapped back, blood spilling from the broken nose. She yanked her fist free, swinging at me, but I was already gone, standing on my hood and snapping a kick at her face.

She stumbled back, curling into herself.

I tsked. Liam would have made me pay for leaving an opening that wide. It was only right that I do the same for her.

I grabbed a handful of hair and slammed her face into the car, rejoicing at the sound of cartilage breaking.

I took her arm, lifting her and throwing her at the car I knew was hers. Glass shattered as she hit; the car moving several feet from the force.

How did she like it when someone broke her toys?

Anton whistled. "Not bad."

I smiled at him, not caring how I looked. Blood slid from a cut on my head, and I knew my expression was slightly crazy. A few in the audience flinched.

Good. Maybe this would get it through their heads that I wasn"t weak. Hunt me at your peril.

It took two tries for Kat to get to her feet.

As she did, she gathered her power close to her.

Exactly as I predicted. She couldn"t beat me in a physical confrontation. That left her with one tool in her arsenal.

An enraged sound ripped from her throat.

I stopped, sticking a finger in my ear and jiggling it. "Yes, yes. You"re upset. Let"s get on with it, shall we?"

It was dangerous to taunt a wounded animal, but I was banking on the fact she wasn"t as in control of her other self as she should be. I needed her enraged. I needed her to leave caution to the wind and act without reason or thought.

She was already half way there. She only needed a little push.

I was happy to provide it for her.

Anton had taught me this tactic. The man knew how to get under an opponent"s skin. I"d seen its effectiveness more than once. Experienced it myself.

Her power lashed out, an orange tinted miasma that was nowhere near as directed or strong as I"d anticipated.

It flooded toward me. Inescapable.

Thousands of pinpricks of stabbing pain pounded against my mental barrier, seeking a way in.

It wouldn"t find one. At least, not in time.

As it delved for a chink in my armor, I examined it, finding nothing overly interesting. Connor"s enchantment had been much more difficult to grasp. Granted, I had the luxury of unraveling that over hours, not seconds, but I"d been practicing since then.

All magic contained a signature. If I could read it, I could break it.

Not always, but seven times out of ten.

There. A glimmer that showed the way to unlocking it.

I pulled at the string. It unraveled like a ball of yarn in front of a kitten.

Kat barely had time to register that something was wrong before I was on her, slamming her into the car.

A pained whine escaped her before she collapsed face first onto the ground.

I watched with an impartial gaze as she lay there, unconscious. "I guess I should have asked this before, but how is one declared the winner?"

Thomas folded his arms across his chest. "One must concede the battle."

I arched an eyebrow at him. "So, if an opponent is knocked unconscious..."

"The other can do whatever they want until the opponent wakes and concedes," Liam finished.

No wonder she"d thrown me into the car. She"d probably thought I"d be out for the count, and she could get in a little torture before I regained consciousness.

Too bad for her I"d managed to flip the script.

I leaned my butt against the SUV she"d managed to partially destroy and folded my arms over my chest.

What to do?

A devious thought occurred to me, and a smile took up residence on my face.

"Anyone have a pen or marker?" I asked.

Nathan held a black felt tip pen out to me, even as confusion settled on the faces of those around us.

At least one person understood what I was about to do.

While we waited for Kat to wake, I occupied myself drawing on her face. Juvenile, I know, but nowhere near as horrible as the fate she had planned for me.

I showed restraint, confining myself to terms like loser and Aileen is number one. I also drew a unicorn pooping rainbows and a star murdering the moon.

"You have an interesting imagination," Callie remarked as she examined my drawings.

Kat stirred before I could respond.

"You"re awake," I said happily. "We"ve been waiting. Are you ready to concede now?"

Her lips parted, the magic crouched in her chest springing toward me.

My hand flashed out as I dug my claws into either side of her throat. Blood slid out of the holes I"d created.

Callie cooed and clapped her hands in approval from the sidelines.

Kat"s magic faltered as I smiled down at her.

"Ah, ah, none of that now," I crooned.

My crazy was showing, but I didn"t mind. Fear was a powerful motivator, especially among the supernaturally inclined.

"Right now, if I was to flex my hands, I could rip out your trachea, maybe even damage your carotid artery or jugular," I instructed in case she missed the obvious.

"You probably won"t die, but you also won"t be able to talk. That would be a pity since Thomas informs me this isn"t over until one of us concedes." My smile widened. "Exactly how merciful do you expect I"ll be in the time it takes you to heal?"

Judging by the fact her body was struggling to heal the damage I"d already inflicted that could take quite a while.

For the first time something other than arrogance crouched in Kat"s eyes. Fear. Not enough, but it was a start.

I cocked my head. I could do better. "Did you know I spent time with the Army"s interrogation guys? Not much, but enough to pick up a thing or two."

Kat scrabbled at my hand, struggling to loosen my grip. I didn"t budge.

"What do you think, Liam? How effective do you think those interrogation techniques will be against a vampire?" I asked.

Small whimpers left Kat as she fought harder for her freedom. It was the only sound she could make now that my grip was cutting off her wind supply.

Liam pondered my question, his expression considering. "It depends on how used to pain she is. We have the same nerve endings as humans, which would make many of their techniques effective."

"It would be an interesting experiment," Nathan added. "Perhaps we should see."

Kat"s eyes rolled, finally reaching the level of desperation I"d been looking for.

"There you have it," I said, my fingers digging deep into the meat of her throat.

Sofia drew my attention. Her features as smooth as a lake. "I ask leniency for my offspring."

"Hmm," I hummed, studying the clan matriarch.

The corners of her eyes crinkled. "You"ve made your point. Quite spectacularly, if I might add."

I didn"t speak, not releasing my grip on Kat"s throat. The vampire side of me didn"t want to release our prey. It wanted to stamp the terror of our existence so deep into Kat"s bones that she wet herself in fear whenever she encountered us.

"You"ve done well with her," Sofia told Thomas. "Not many still in their first decade could so thoroughly route a vampire so much older than them. Congratulations are in order."

Thomas dipped his chin. "Aileen is a rarity."

The conversation did its job of slaking some of my bloodlust.

"Be smart, Kat," I said with a dreamy smile. "If the next words out of your mouth aren"t "I concede", I"ll make good on some of my promises."

My fingers loosened, not fully releasing her, but enough so she could draw breath. Her first inhale was ragged, her eyes never leaving mine as she held very, very still.

A good thing since I wasn"t totally in control yet.

"I yield," she rasped, still not looking away from me. She raised her voice as if afraid the others hadn"t heard her, "I yield. I concede."

I tapped her nose. "Pity, I kind of hoped you"d choose option two."

I rose, stepping over Kat as my gaze swept the remaining crowd.

Liam approached. "Well done."

Nathan was right behind him, enveloping me in a hug that my ribs protested. The pained sound I made didn"t deter him as he put me down and slapped me on the back. "Seems someone has been paying attention in class after all."

Like the two of them had given me much of a choice.

"Willing to call me master or sensei now?" Nathan teased.

"In your dreams," I grumbled back.

"Only every day," Nathan shot back in a sultry voice.

That had me rolling my eyes even as I couldn"t help my half smile.

Liam"s expression was pleased as he watched the two of us. I opened my mouth to say something but shut it as a white blur shot past us.

Connor appeared behind Kat"s two compatriots.

There was a gurgle and spray of blood. The two men dropped to their knees. Connor"s hands were covered in blood and he held two pieces of cartilage.

I gaped at him, my gaze turning to Liam to silently ask "what the fuck".

Liam shrugged. He had no clue either.

I tilted my head to Connor, indicating Liam needed to do something about this.

Liam"s smile was pleasant as he leaned over and whispered, "You"re head of your house. His actions are yours to deal with."

I silently cursed. A quick glance at Thomas and his lifted eyebrow said Liam wasn"t lying.

Great. Just great.

I watched Connor with a grumpy expression.

He looked back inquisitively. "I"m ready to go home now, Aileen."

Slowly, I nodded. Okay, right. That was a perfectly normal statement after ripping out someone"s throat.

My smile was strained. "Right. Um, but first, care to explain why you did that?"

I gestured toward his hands.

Connor lifted the hands in question, blinking down at them. His head tilted, confusion crossing his face. "I was ready to go home."

I nodded slowly, still not understanding.

He held out the globs of meat he"d torn from the two men. "They planned to challenge you. Another fight would have delayed our return and put us dangerously close to dawn. I expedited matters."

He certainly had done that, I decided as I scanned the two where they twitched on the ground.

The matter in which he"d done the expediting was up for some debate, but we could discuss that later—

or maybe never. I liked my throat right where it was.

There was a smothered laugh from Nathan, and I flapped my hand at him.

Connor lifted his eyebrows in question. "Was I wrong? Should I have let them challenge you?"

I opened my mouth, then shut it again. He was right, the last thing I would have wanted was another challenge—or two as was the case here.

Even if his method of preventing it were a little extreme.

"We"ll talk about this later," I finally settled on saying.

Sofia nodded at the still prone Kat. Matthew and a few other of Sofia"s vampires moved forward to help her up.

Sam paused at my side and shook her head. "I"ve been hoping someone would put her in her place for decades."

"Why not do it yourself?"

Sam was certainly capable enough.

Her smile was crooked. "The brat is a favorite of the Matriarch. I figured Sofia saw something in her I didn"t. It made me go easier on her than I should have. You see the result."

She looked at the wreckage of the two cars and clasped my shoulder. "Sorry about your ride. That has to hurt."

"It does," I said mournfully.

There was a shriek that told me Kat had finally seen the messages I"d written on every piece of exposed skin I could find. Since she"d dressed with no regard to weather, there had been a lot of it to fill up.

Sam"s smile got wider, filled with pure glee. Behind her, Matthew shook his head. "You know you shouldn"t take such pleasure from this."

Sam shrugged. "She had it coming."

From beside her SUV, Sofia clapped her hands. "Come along, children."

Clan Davinish"s vampires moved obediently to their cars.

Thomas raised his voice over the slamming doors. "Sofia, please let Kat know I no longer have need of her services. One of my people will return any belongings she may have left."

Sofia sighed in exasperation. "These young ones. They never think through the consequences of their actions."

Nathan stopped next to me. "Ruthless. I didn"t know you had it in you."

"You do what you have to do."

His gaze lingered on my face and he nodded before reaching out and ruffling my hair. "Isn"t that the truth?"

I studied the wreckage of the two cars our fight had destroyed and grimaced. Gwyneth didn"t look any better now that the high emotions of the fight were gone. If anything, she looked worse.

Over the hood of my car, Callie winked at me before striding into the forest.

My only lead, disappearing before I"d learned anything of note.

Not on my watch.

I started to follow, only for Nathan to catch my arm.

"You should really let one of us do that," he advised. Seeing the argument on my face, he sent me a serious look. "We"re so much better at it."

He had a point.

If I followed, chances were Callie would still get away. Even if I caught up to her, what did I think I was going to do? I wouldn't beat her in a fight.

Before I could decide one way or another, Anton and Daniel slid through the forest, moving like ghosts as they silently stalked her. They were quieter and faster than I could ever have been.

"See how much better these things go when you trust your partners," Nathan teased.

"Yeah, yeah," I griped.

My phone buzzed in my pocket letting me know I"d missed a call. I pulled it out, glancing at the screen. Four missed calls. The last of which was only a few minutes ago.

No need to wonder who had been blowing up my phone. I already knew.

I should have anticipated this after I missed my meeting with Travis last night. He wasn"t the type to be put off.

"I need to get home. Can anyone give me a ride?" I asked, stuffing the phone in my back pocket.

Driving my car wasn"t an option with the way the frame was bent. I"d have to have it towed to a mechanic to see if they could save Gwyneth. Just thinking about it was enough to heat the volcano in my stomach.

"It"s dangerous to go back there with these people still hunting you," Liam pointed out in a careful voice.

"I missed my meeting last night," I said with a significant look. "I need to see if I can reschedule."

Liam"s eyes flashed. With fascination, I watched him stuff down his immediate impulse.

"And, I need to get a few changes of clothing so I can stay at the Gargoyle," I conceded.

He gave a little; I gave a little. Compromise. I really was growing as a person.

"Then you do not plan on staying in your apartment?" Liam seemed uncertain, as if the thought was too good to be true.

I lifted up onto my toes, placing a quick peck on his lips. His surprise was my reward.

"I thought you could keep me warm." I dropped onto my heels and tilted my head at the snow. "It"s supposed to get cold tonight."

Male appreciation gleamed at me. "We wouldn"t want you to get chilly."

Now that we'd settled where I'd be spending the day, I raised my eyebrows. "Any chance I could bum a ride from one of your people?"

Liam's mouth quirked. "I think I can arrange something."