Embrace the Night

4

“Water,” she said softly.

Her desperate thirst, and the croaky sound of her own voice, startled her awake.

A straw touched her lips, and she sucked down the cool liquid until she was replete. She was shaking a little when she relaxed back, the intensity of her thirst a shock to her system. A soothing murmur of voices in her head told her al was wel . It looked like now that her clairaudience had woken up, it wasn’t going dormant again. Before now, she could have counted on one hand the number of times her precognition had piped up. Every Magickal had different skil s he or she excel ed at, and this had never been one of hers. The last time she’d had a clairaudient episode had been almost ten years ago when she’d almost been mugged by a couple of Fae. Unseelie asshats.

The internal whispering tapered off, and she managed to pry her eyes open, but her pupils recoiled at the sudden brightness. Jerking her head away from the harsh fluorescent overhead lights, she blinked away the spots whirling before her eyes.

A glance at the window told her it was nighttime. She frowned. That felt . . . wrong. She felt like she’d been asleep for a while. Long enough for it to be daylight. “How long have I been out?”

“Almost twenty-four hours.” Alex had his back to her, placing the empty plastic cup on a tray next to the wal . He took a deep breath, his ribs expanding. “Feeling better?”

Chloe wiggled her toes, flexing her muscles one at a time to test for pain. Everything seemed fine. She flicked her fingers, trying a smal spel to check her magic. The glass Alex had just set down popped straight into the air and landed like a miniature party hat on his head.

“I’l take that as a yes.” His tone was dry, but his pale eyes twinkled when he turned to face her again. He extended the claws on one hand, snagged the cup with the other, and set it to spinning like a top on one pointed talon. “So, yesterday was an interesting day.”

“Yeah, about that.”

“About that.” He set the glass down, folded his arms, and leaned back against the wal , the look on his face far too serious for someone his age. The light reflected off the design on his T-shirt, a logo for some teen rock band. In some ways he was a typical boy, and in others, he was already a man.

At sixteen, he was six feet tal and growing. His young shoulders were already broad and muscular, his features were blade-sharp, and his black-brown hair and bronzed skin only made his pale, celery green eyes stand out in contrast. The kid was good-looking and going to be a lady-kil er someday. Chloe almost felt sorry for the girls in his class. Almost.

His expression didn’t waver under her scrutiny; it retained the same calm impassivity he’d perfected the day his mother had died. It was hard to remember the carefree boy he’d once been, but she did her best to remind him to have a little fun as often as she could.

This wasn’t going to be one of the times she could remind him.

She sighed and sat up straighter in her hospital bed. “How much do you know already?”

“Dad’s missing.” Or dead like Damien, but neither of them voiced that thought. “Someone kil ed your ex-boyfriend and his fiancée. Someone—maybe the same someone—tried to hack into Desmodus Industries’

servers looking for information on the lycanthropy project you’re al working on.” He angled a glance at her.

“How am I doing so far?”

“Those are the highlights, as far as I know them.” She closed her eyes at the emotionless little recitation, and crossed her arms. Her wrists were stil puffy and a little red, but thankful y the major damage was gone.

Normal technology rocked for some things, but magic was awesome for things like this. The Magickal doctors at Harborview were top-notch. Like most other public services, from law enforcement to education, major hospitals had private rooms for Magickals and medical professionals on cal who had the skil to handle cases like hers.

“None of those highlights explains why you needed to be brought to a hospital. You were fine when I talked to you on the phone. The vibrations in your voice showed no real distress.” He let his arms fal to his sides. “Merek and Luca seemed to be having a lot of private chats last night while the doctors were working on you. They left me to entertain Tess and made sure I couldn’t overhear them. So. Something else happened, right?” His pale eyes lasered through her, incisive and demanding answers she didn’t want to give. Stil , she’d never lied to this boy, and she didn’t want to start now. He’d know anyway. He was far too intel igent and had senses far too sensitive to not know when she was prevaricating. So, she didn’t.

“One of the FBI agents worked for a terrorist named Leonard Smith. He wants the drug your dad, Damien, and I have been formulating.” She met his gaze, but kept her face careful y blank. “After Luca went out to get you, the other agent brought in a Fae to try to pry information from me about my part in the werewolf project. She used spel s. Dark spel s. Black magic.”

He swal owed audibly. “If Luca hadn’t—”

“Don’t even think that.” She held her hand out for him to take, and after a moment’s hesitation, he crossed the room to her. “None of this is your fault. Or my fault.”

“But it might be my dad’s fault.” His strong fingers curled around hers, but his gaze held the awful pain of betrayal. His father could be a traitor to his entire race, to his son.

And Chloe couldn’t take that pain away from him, because she knew it could be true, so she gave him the respect of honesty. “Maybe. That stil doesn’t make it your fault.”

His chin jerked down in an abrupt nod, but he said nothing more.

She tried to smile, but knew it was probably a weak parody of the real thing. “You’re going to stay with me until we find out what happened to Ivan.”

His gaze snapped up to meet hers, blazing with relief he quickly hid. A smal grin quirked his lips, and he gave an exaggerated sniff. “That’s going to put a crimp in your social life.”

That her godson smel ed a man al over her would have made most women blush, but no one who’d made it through medical school could be a prude about the human body, and she wasn’t dumb enough to think Alex had much innocence left in that department anyway. She just shrugged delicately, plucking at the thin blanket covering her legs. “You’re my godson. You stay with me.”

The grin widened a little. “Wel . Okay. If you insist.”

“Your enthusiasm bowls me over, kid.” But she squeezed his hand.

A bark of laughter answered her. “I promise not to be too big a pain in the ass for you.”

“You can be as big a pain in the ass as you want. I might hex you a little for it, but you’re stil staying with me no matter what.” She held his gaze, making sure he could see, could sense, the depth of her sincerity. It was important that he knew he had someone, that he was wanted, especial y after Ivan’s blatant neglect since his mother’s death. Jaya would rol in her grave if she knew, so Chloe hoped the afterlife kept that information from her friend.

“I love you, too, Chloe.” He tightened his grip on her fingers, but gently, as if he knew his own strength and tempered it for her. He was such a good kid. He deserved better than he’d gotten.

She pressed her free hand to her heart and made her eyes go wide. “Aw, now that’s what a girl likes to hear.”

His white teeth flashed in a wicked grin that had to make the teenage girls pant, but he sobered quickly.

“So, you were in protective custody, but . . . the FBI is done with you now that you gave al the project information to the bad guys, right? The terrorists don’t want you anymore and you’re safe?”

She swal owed, looked down at the blanket, ran her palm over the nubby surface, and worried a few loose strands between her fingers. “They didn’t get any information from me. Not about the project, at least.”

“What do you mean?” Merek suddenly loomed in the door, his expression thunderous. He seemed to take up al the space and oxygen as he stepped into the room, snapping the door closed as though the act required great precision. His gray eyes locked on her face.

She tried not to shrink back at the intensity of his gaze. Not because she was afraid of him, but because it took everything she had not to throw herself into the security of his embrace. The only secure place in the world that she knew of right now. Some part of her mind registered that the reason she’d slept so wel the whole day before was that Merek had been there, holding her hand, murmuring quiet, soothing encouragement whenever her eyes cracked open. Her fingers flexed as she remembered the slight cal uses on his palm.

No. She wouldn’t let herself rely on anyone, need anyone. She’d been there and done that, and she wouldn’t go back. She could handle whatever came her way. No matter how much it scared her. Clinging to him for comfort stopped now. She lifted her chin. “I meant exactly what I said, Detective. They didn’t get any information from me about the Desmodus Werewolf Project.”

“How is that possible?” He looked incredulous, but the expression softened to one of sympathy as if she were a smal child in deep denial. “The spel s they were using . . . Sweetheart, there’s no way you have the kind of training to withstand—”

She held up her hand, ignoring the fact that her hands and wrists stil showed signs of what the terrorists had done to her. “I’m not talking about Magickal commando training to ward off black magic or torture spel s or whatever. My training, my expertise, is in potions. I formulated a magic potion to erase certain portions of my memory that pertain to the specific details of this project.” She let her hand drop to her lap. “If I go more than a week or two without taking it, it wil wear off, but since work is basical y a daily event, I have to take a counter potion every morning when I arrive at Desmodus.”

His gaze sharpened. “Why would you do al that? Did you suspect—”

Again, she cut him off. “I didn’t suspect a thing. For me, it’s standard procedure, and it’s approved by my superiors. If the potion wasn’t so complex to create, they’d probably make it mandatory for al their employees. The projects I work on are subject to industrial espionage. We have people working round the clock on security—Magickal beings who are recruited from the special Magickal branches of the military and secret services.”

“I know this.” He folded his arms, towering over her from the end of the bed, his gaze stil steely. “That doesn’t explain why you were drugging yourself, Doctor.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, mimicking his pose, then rol ed her eyes when his gaze zeroed in on her breasts. “Would you want to be the one who gave up vital information on a project the Vampire Conclave has invested bil ions of dol ars in developing?”

He shifted his stance, wincing. “No.”

The Vampire Conclave was not a nice bunch of people. They didn’t suffer fools, and Chloe didn’t ever want them to think she was a fool they’d been suffering. She shuddered just considering the kinds of things they could do to her. Ruining her career would be just the start. “So, when the officers told me they’d have to bring me into MTF Headquarters for questioning and it might take a while, I took the potion. After everything else that happened, I’m more convinced than ever that it’s safer for me and for Desmodus if I use my concoction. I can’t tel anyone what I don’t know, and when I’m not at work, I don’t know enough to be a danger to the project.”

Calculation flashed in his gray gaze. “Smith and his people don’t know that.”

“Obviously.” She shrugged, stil relieved that moving didn’t hurt the way it had the night before. “And if they’d asked how to make the counter potion, they’d know how to make me remember. As it is, they got nothing they could use. Even if they did have the information on how to create my potion, they’d have to have someone with the same level of expertise as I have with potions.”

He unfolded his arms and slipped his hands into his pockets. “How many people in the world are there who could do that?”

“Not many.” She forked her fingers through her hair, wincing when she felt how stringy it was from dried sweat. Gods, she needed a shower. “The Conclave hires the best in their respective fields, so . . .”

“Yeah.” He frowned, brows contracting. “Wel , this is both good news and bad news.”

“Yeah, they’re going to keep coming after me thinking they just need to torture harder.” Alex had drifted over to stand by the window, obviously hoping silence would keep him from being kicked out during the adult conversation, but now he made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. She closed her eyes, but forced herself to continue. “But if you circulate that I take a potion and can’t remember no matter what they do, it’l just encourage them to find someone who can recreate my counter potion. If they just experimented on me until they got it right . . .”

Now it was Merek’s turn to choke. “That’s not a possibility we’re going to consider.”

She met his gaze, dared him to look away. “You may not, but you can bet your ass Luca would use it as a way to draw them out of hiding. That agent is ruthless under al the charm.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw, but he said nothing to contradict her. Luca might be his col eague, but he obviously understood the cold-blooded core in the vampire. Chloe would rather not be his sacrificial lamb.

Alex interjected for the first time. His gaze was fixed on something out the window. “There are other ways they could get the information, even without you, Chloe.”

“Wel , yeah, they’d have to perform those kinds of spel s on me when I’m at work or find a way to hack . . .”

A horrible, ugly suspicion ripped through her mind. She focused on Alex, on the closed, composed features of his young face. “Alexei Mohinder Nemov, I think you have a lot of explaining to do.”

His gaze didn’t flicker; his voice was steady. “What should I explain, Chloe?”

“Tel me why they wanted to kidnap you.” She sat up straight in bed, folding her arms, and arching an eyebrow. “Suddenly, I don’t buy that they want to use you as bait for your father. You know something.”

His lips twitched for just an instant. “How could I know anything?”

“How could you—” She cut herself off, unwil ing to dance around the main question. “Damn it, Alex, did you hack into my files?”

He didn’t blink, didn’t show even a glimmer of remorse. “Yes.”

“Fuck.”

“This Smith guy would have to be real y good to figure out it was me that accessed those files.” His head cocked, eyebrows drawn together in consideration. “If he knows, it’s a good bet Desmodus knows now, too.

There goes my internship.”

Like that was the most relevant conclusion he could have come to. Chloe let her head drop back. “Fuck.”

Merek watched the conversation flying back and forth like a tennis match. “There had to be a lot of files.

He probably doesn’t remem—”

“He’s a computer genius, Merek. He also has a photographic memory.” She raised her head and rubbed a hand over her brow. “He remembers everything he saw in my files, so even if he has no idea what it means, he can sure as hel recreate the data for someone who does.”

Or be forced to recreate it, though she didn’t say that out loud and neither did he. Everything had just gotten a hel of a lot more complicated.

“Fuck.”

She let her hand flop down. “You said it.”

He opened his mouth to speak again, but the door swung wide, and Luca and Tess walked in the room, fol owed by an agent who’d been at Chloe’s house the night before. Warlock, she’d guess. He didn’t have the points to his ears that elves did, the odd energy that Fae did, or the animalistic edge that vamps and wolves had. The man nodded politely. “Ma’am. I’m Special Agent Jack Laramie.”

“Chloe Standish. Don’t cal me ma’am.” She stared at him harder, and he grinned back. He didn’t have a hum of magic at al . Either he was the best she’d ever come across at hiding it or Luca had a Normal on his team.

“I come bearing gifts.” Tess carried four paper cups tucked into a cardboard holder.

“Coffee.” A moan that could only be described as orgasmic rol ed from Chloe’s throat. The scent of dark roast didn’t quite mask the smel of Tess’s lavender perfume as she stepped forward to set the tray on the bedside table with a flourish.

Tess grinned at Chloe’s eagerly wiggling fingers, a demand for her cup. Being a smart woman and a good friend, Tess handed over the goods. “I know exactly what you mean. I need an IV drip to make up for the caffeine intake I haven’t had today.”

Nothing came between that woman and her coffee. She was worse than Chloe about it. The piping hot cup of java burned al the way down, and Chloe didn’t care. She moaned again without a single shred of shame.

Merek and Alex accepted cups from Tess, and when Chloe met the detective’s gray gaze, it glinted with carnal amusement. She flushed, remembering she’d moaned for him with the same amount of abandon.

Then she also remembered how he’d shut her down the night before, and she blushed harder. Gods, she’d been a mess and probably looked like death warmed over and she’d thrown herself at him. She appreciated that he hadn’t taken advantage of an injured woman, which said good things about his character, but in hindsight, she felt like an idiot. Poor man. What must he think of her? She sipped more of her coffee and refused to consider it.

That she was even worried about his opinion of her was tel ing, and she hated having to acknowledge that. It meant he mattered, and that scared her to death. She had enough problems right now, starting with terrorists and ending with a teenage hacker. Adding a man who mattered to her list was just foolish, especial y when she was probably going to get towed off into protective custody for the gods knew how long.

She sighed, closed her eyes, and shook her head at her own stupidity. Al those years of schooling should have knocked the dumb out of her, but apparently not.

When she opened her eyes again, al the males were gathered in one corner drinking coffee and talking.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what they might have to discuss with Alex, but she knew she’d find out soon enough. Tess was standing there staring at them with the strangest faraway expression on her face.

She was also blushing, not something the straightforward pathologist had ever done in Chloe’s presence.

“Tess?”

Tess blinked and turned to meet her gaze. The blush deepened, and an embarrassed grin creased her lips, as if she’d been caught doing something naughty.

Covering an inappropriate whoop with a cough, Chloe grinned as the pieces fel into place. “Someone’s getting laid. Final y.”

The flush went straight to fluorescent red. “Shut up,” Tess hissed. Her gaze flicked to the men again, and Chloe’s eyebrows arched so high she wouldn’t have been surprised if they met her hairline.

“So . . . which agent is it?”

Tess closed her eyes, swal owing a low moan. “Jesus.”

“Wel , there are only three adult options standing over there, and unless he’s perfected time travel, I know Merek didn’t have time to be with anyone last night but me.” Actual y, time travel was a magical impossibility, so unless he was pul ing out some scientific technology she’d never heard of, her assumption was pretty safe. She checked the men again to make sure none of them were listening. They seemed intent on their own conversation. “So . . . which one?”

“Luca.” Tess sighed, and the sound was more infatuated pleasure than resignation. “He cal s me ‘mia diletta.’ It means ‘my delectable’ in Italian. Or is it ‘my delight’? I don’t remember. Hel , I usual y hate pet names. I’ve gone insane.”

Yeah, and the fact that vampires fed during sex made the delectable pet name even funnier to anyone who knew the truth about Luca. Chloe wasn’t laughing though. Caval i was from a family that ruled the Vampire Conclave. His father sat on the Al -Magickal Council with Aunt Mil ie. Likely he was playing with a human for a little variety in his sex life. Slumming with the Normal. Chloe wouldn’t usual y judge anyone on his or her love life, but the fact that the Normal in question was her best friend pissed her off. She didn’t like that Tess might be a means of entertainment for a vampire, something to toy with and discard when it became boring. While Luca might be casual about burning up the sheets, Chloe knew Tess wasn’t. Tess might not be head over heels for Luca, but she wouldn’t sleep with a guy because he was handy and she was horny.

That was Chloe’s forte. And it had landed her in hot water this time. She bit off a groan and focused on Tess again. This wasn’t about Merek; this was about Luca. Chloe thought it might be a good idea to have a little chat with the vampire. Armed law enforcement officer or not, he wasn’t going to mess with her best friend and not get a clear understanding of the consequences for breaking her heart, Normal or not.

Vampires, oy.

Maybe he had a familiar she could hex into a lampshade.

Voices rose from the men’s corner, which drew Tess’s and her attention to their conversation. For the first time, Luca’s face wasn’t a mask of amiable urbanity. His mouth was tight with irritation, his hard gaze locked on Alex. “That is a foolish decision, boy. You cannot—”

The teen wolf folded his arms, his voice unruffled as he swept the men with a look. “Gentlemen, I’m not interested in protective custody. I don’t believe you can force me into it.”

Agent Laramie arched an eyebrow. “With your father missing and your mother dead, you—”

Alex interrupted once more, his tone unchanged. “My parents designated Chloe as my godmother and custodian if anything happened to them before I turned eighteen. I’ve seen their wil ; I have copies of it. If Chloe wants me here, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Chloe wants you here.” She extended her hand, and the wolf came to take it. They presented a solid front against the agents. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pul here, gentlemen. Alex is neither a suspect nor bait to lure out his father, or whoever has his father.” If Ivan was even alive. “Alex isn’t going anywhere without me. He’s staying where I can be certain he’s safe, where I can see that he’s safe.”

The frustration on the men’s faces would have been comical under any other circumstances, but she didn’t feel very amused by any of this. She’d fight dirty to keep Alex if she had to. Even if she hadn’t adored the boy, she owed that much to his mother’s memory. She favored the men with the kind of look Aunt Mil ie had perfected a century ago. It meant anyone who disagreed could just get the hel out of her way.

“Alex is my responsibility. I’m his godmother. I took unbreakable vows when he was born.” Unbreakable magical vows, at that. How many times did she have to say this before it got through? She spoke slowly and clearly, as if they had some kind of impairment. “I am his guardian. Anywhere he goes, I go, and vice versa.

This is not negotiable.”

“Those men were chasing him for a reason. He has something, knows something, or is somehow of value to Leonard Smith. As are you. Together you’re far too tempting a target for them.” Luca ground the words out between his teeth. “The kid has a death warrant out on his life.”

“If you’re asking if I’m wil ing to die for him, then the answer is yes.” Her fingers fisted in the blankets.

“That’s the end of the discussion.”

“Not quite.” A tiny whirlwind in a vintage Chanel suit swept into the room, the door whipping open so quickly, it was obvious to anyone with magical powers that she’d breached some sort of warding spel to get in.

The first real, wide smile of the day stretched Chloe’s lips. “Aunt Mil ie!”

A short, broad middle-aged man in a nondescript black suit stepped in after Mil ie, closed the door behind them, and stood in front of it at soldierly attention. Mil ie’s driver-cum-bodyguard, Philip Bakke.

Chloe thought he might also be her aunt’s lover, half her age or not, but had never had the nerve to pry into Mil ie’s private life. Her aunt shared or she didn’t.

“How did you know I was here?” And if her aunt had known she was in the hospital, why had it taken her so long to show up?

“I cal ed her.” The sentence echoed in three different voices—Alex’s, Tess’s, and Merek’s.

Luca growled a low curse, and he met Merek’s gaze, raised an eyebrow, but neither man spoke. Then again, what could either of them say? They’d both stepped outside the lines of professionalism recently.

Merek wasn’t involved in her case anymore, but banging her in his office had hardly been good conduct.

Ditto Luca’s banging of Tess the night before. Her connection to Chloe made her a connection to a case he was actively working on. That didn’t leave either man much room to point fingers. Nothing they’d done was strictly unethical, but neither were they squeaky clean. Chloe had a feeling that was a rare occurrence for both of them. She wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or not that she and Tess had apparently tempted them beyond reason.

In Merek’s case, she was just glad, since she was just as tempted, if not more so. She was definitely more tempted than she wanted to be.

Mil ie’s lips quirked in a grin. “My telephone was busy today.” She offered a stately nod to Tess. “If you wouldn’t mind, dear. Philip can drive you anywhere you need to go.”

Tess looked as if she wanted to protest, but a pointed look from Mil ie was al it took to keep her silent.

She turned to Chloe and hugged her tight. “Take care. Of you and Alex, you hear me? Cal me if you need anything. ”

Tears stung Chloe’s eyes, but she squeezed her best friend, praying this wasn’t the last time she saw the redhead. “You know I wil . To al of that. I love you, honey.”

“I love you, too.” With one final squeeze, Tess let her go and went to give Alex a quick hug before she nodded to Mil ie and then to Philip when he stepped aside and held the door open for her. “I have my car with me, but thanks for the offer.”

She sent a last glance to Luca, but left without another word.

“Right,” Mil ie said when the door shut, angling a look that was almost apologetic toward Chloe. “Much as I like Dr. Jones, Normals shouldn’t hear Magickal business, so let’s get on with this, shal we?”

“What are we getting on with, exactly?” Chloe met Merek and Alex’s gazes, narrowing her eyes at them.

“No one has told me anything.”

Her aunt blinked. “But, Alex said he’d tel the FBI you’re not going into protective custody.”

Luca stepped forward and almost looked like he wanted to sweep a courtly bow to her aunt. “Ms.

Standish, I can’t begin to tel you how unwise that course of action would be. While I know it’s difficult to understand how necessary it is to have your niece and her godson leave their lives behind, they are in grave danger, and that danger only worsens if they remain here as easy targets for the terrorist cel that wants them.”

“Ah, I see.” Mil ie’s eyes twinkled with a glee that would give anyone who knew her pause. Chloe braced herself. “You mean, they’l be safer with you and your team?”

“Yes, they wil be.” He stroked his fingers down his goateed chin.

Mil ie tilted her head in apparent innocence, and Chloe almost groaned. “As safe as my niece was last night, when a trusted member of your team betrayed you and al owed her to be tortured for information?

That safe, you mean?”

A muscle in Luca’s jaw ticked, but he said nothing more.

“Let me be clear, Special Agent Caval i.” Mil ie dropped her act and gave the vampire the kind of look that had been making grown men cry for over a century. “Chloe and Alex are not going with you. Not now, not ever. I don’t trust you to keep them safe, and I will be having words with your supervisor about what occurred last night. Since your father is as powerful as I am on the Council, I think it’s safe to say you won’t be fired, but a mistake was made, and it was made with a member of my family. I take that very personal y.”

“I understand.” This time he did execute a short bow. “Ma’am.”

“Good.” She swept an imperious hand toward the door. “Then I suggest you leave now and take your lackey with you. Your supervisor—and, subsequently, you—are going to see just how unhappy this situation has made me. You should cal your father and let him know he’s going to need to go to bat for you on this.”

“Of course.” Jerking his chin at Agent Laramie, the vampire turned for the door. Philip opened it, not a single flicker of expression crossing his face. Before he exited, Luca paused for a closing salvo. “You may think I was mistaken in choosing one of my team members, but that should only emphasize how much danger Chloe and Alex are in.”

“It does.” Her chin dipped in a nod. “I’ve made alternative arrangements for them.”

“Have you?” His eyes gleamed as they locked on Merek. The vampire pinned the warlock in place for a long moment. Then he huffed out a breath, and a wry smile flickered across his face. “With your clairvoyance, you have a better shot than anyone else I know of. Take care of them.”

Merek winced before his face became an impenetrable mask. “I wil .”

The vampire opened his mouth to say more, but clamped it shut again and walked out, Laramie on his heels.

“Why are you stil here?” Luca snarled at someone outside the room.

A throaty laugh floated through the doorway, and Tess’s voice was soft but clear. “What? You think I couldn’t guess she was going to kick you out, too? Even Special Agents aren’t that special in Aunt Mil ie’s world. Besides, I drove, remember? I thought you might need a lift.”

Luca grunted and snapped the door shut behind him.

Mil ie’s eyebrow arched, an irreverent sparkle in her Standish hazel eyes. “Wel , then. She should have him jumping through her hoops nicely . . . and in very short order, I suspect.”

“Keep an eye on her for me, would you?” Chloe smoothed the blanket over her thighs. “I don’t want her getting hurt by a Magickal just because she has the misfortune to be my friend and therefore crossed paths with one.”

“Of course.” Mil ie waved a graceful hand. “I’l look after al your affairs while you’re away. Don’t worry about a thing, dear.”

“Thank you.” Chloe took a deep breath. “Al right. Tel me about the alternative arrangements you and Merek have made.”

“Yeah, I’d like to hear about this, too.” Alex’s mouth curved in a smal grin. “Mil ie forgot to mention it to me when I cal ed her.”

Mil ie sniffed. “I did no such thing. If I’d wished to mention it to you, I would have.”

His grin stretched into a rare, broad smile, his pale green eyes dancing with amusement. “My mistake.”

“Just so.” Mil ie nodded, but her eyes had taken on that sinful twinkle again. It had always amused Chloe to no end to watch the stoic teen wolf and the curmudgeonly old witch play off each other.

Merek’s expression remained unreadable when he faced Mil ie. “Before we do this, Ms. Standish, I have to tel you that my clairvoyance is blank when it comes to your niece. I can offer my skil s as a cop, but not my precognition.”

That made Mil ie pause, and she gave the detective a long, penetrating stare. Chloe was impressed that he didn’t fidget or squirm. Older, more powerful Magickals than him had broken under Mil ie’s scrutiny before. “Do you think anyone else would be as dedicated to their security as you would?”

“No, ma’am. I would die to keep them safe. Anything I can do to protect them, I wil , I promise you that.”

“I hope that’s enough, but I’d rather have you than some team of men who turn on their masters.” Mil ie set her enormous handbag on the end of the bed, pul ing out a myriad of strange things. Folded clothes, manila envelopes, a cosmetics bag, a sheaf of paper—Chloe suspected her aunt had put a spel on her purse to make it fit anything she wanted because as enormous as the bag was, it couldn’t store al of that. Without help, anyway.

Mil ie turned to wave Merek forward, only to find he’d already stepped over to loom behind her. He was good at looming, but Mil ie wasn’t any better at letting someone loom over her than Chloe was. She grinned when her aunt gave him an affronted look. He lifted an eyebrow and motioned to the lineup of items she had on the foot of the bed. The gesture wasn’t as impatient as it would have been if he’d been dealing with Chloe, but that just proved he was a smart man. No one messed with Mildred Standish.

Chloe hoped she was just as formidable when she was her aunt’s age.

Moving the pile of clothes to drape across Chloe’s feet, Mil ie smiled. “These are for you, dear.”

And that was why she loved Mil ie so very much. “You’re the best.”

“Yes, I know.” Her aunt winked at her, but her expression turned severe just as quickly when she returned her gaze to Merek. “I col ected al the documents you required, Detective Kingston. I’ve already spoken to your supervisor, and you are on indefinite paid leave. Make sure my niece and her godson come through this safely, and you can name your price from me.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” He scooped up the envelopes, fishing out . . . plastic cards? But he examined them closely, squinting at them, tilting them into the light to see every angle. “These look good.”

“Philip had the contacts; I had the money. Combine those two and excel ent quality can be assured in a relatively short amount of time.”

Alex reached out and deftly plucked the cards from Merek’s fingers, his lupine speed making the movement so fast, Chloe didn’t even see him move. He glanced at them. “Huh.”

Then he handed them to Chloe. Identification. Fake identification. Both the cards had her driver’s license picture on them, but neither had her real name. She had to assume there were cards for Alex and Merek, too. “So we’re running.”

Merek shrugged and met her gaze. “Like you said, Luca was going to swoop in and take you where I couldn’t be sure you were safe.”

“Because the FBI trumps the police. So you cal ed someone who trumped everyone.” She gestured the cards in Mil ie’s direction.

“Yeah.”

“Good thinking.”

His breath whooshed out. “Yeah?”

“You could have warned me.” She sniffed, and watched a smal grin twitch across his face. His gaze slid from her to Mil ie and back again; a flash of realization crossed his expression, and then he shrugged, his smile widening.

Chloe winced as something occurred to her. “If we’re on the run, there’s no way I can take my memory potion. It takes very precise conditions to keep it viable, has insanely complicated ingredients, and a very short shelf life.”

“So, you’l know everything Smith wants in a week or two.” Merek’s grin disappeared, then he sighed. “But that’s data Alex already has readily available in his head, so we won’t be much worse off than we would have been; we just won’t have your potion’s unexpected advantage anymore. I don’t intend to let anyone close enough to you to find out you can spil secrets.”

“I like that plan,” Chloe said with a little too much fervor.

Mil ie watched the byplay, tilting her head as she considered them. She nodded abruptly, but Chloe had no idea what conclusions her aunt had come to. “Philip and I wil take Alex back to his house to gather whatever clothing he wants, and Merek wil do the same for you, Chloe. I assume you’l want to take your familiar with you, but if not, I wil happily house her for you.”

Merek glanced at Chloe. “That might be—”

“No. My familiar comes with me. She’s been with me since my mom died, and I’m not abandoning her.”

Chloe refused to think about the awful days after her mother’s death or about how Ophelia had come to be her animal companion. She’d done her best to put those events behind her and dredging them up would help no one.

Hands on his hips, Merek stared down at her. “Chloe, it’s important that you and Alex change your usual patterns, leave as many of your habits behind as possible. That means no computers for Alex. No gadgets.

No modifying the very simple cel phone I give you for emergencies only to do anything it shouldn’t. No hacking anything. Hel , it means no e-mail. Nothing.” He gestured to the trendy clothes on the bed. “You, city girl, get no more makeup, no expensive clothing. No going to Magickal clubs. No more big city life for you.”

The look of horror on Alex’s face was probably reflected on Chloe’s. No city. No lights. No people. It was her worst nightmare summed up in a handful of sentences.

“He’s right, dear.” Mil ie’s expression held so much understanding and sympathy when she met Chloe’s gaze that she had to look away or she knew she’d start tearing up. Only Mil ie knew why Chloe craved city life and lights, and Chloe wasn’t about to explain how pathetic she was to a big bad warlock cop.

“Let me make this clear.” Merek looked back and forth between Alex and Chloe. “If you want to live through this, you’l do what I’m tel ing you. You are one-third of a puzzle they already have two-thirds of. This isn’t good news for you.”

They had Damien’s part of the puzzle, either wil ingly or by force. She shuddered to think of the ways one might force a vampire as powerful as Damien to bow to one’s whims. Torture would only be the jumping off point for negotiations. Another shuddered rippled through her. She didn’t want to think about torture techniques. It brought to mind her own recent experiences. Gods help her if she had to survive more of that.

If it got worse, she wasn’t sure she could. As ugly as surviving what had happened with her mom had been, the night before had stil shown Chloe she was even more of a survivor than she’d ever imagined. But she’d also discovered exactly where her breaking point was, and they’d come dangerously close to the point of no return. She didn’t want to get that close ever again.

Chloe sniffled, coughed into her fist. “Fine. I’m stil not leaving my familiar. She wouldn’t stay anyway.”

“That is the truth. That cat should have been named Houdini.” Her aunt dug deeper into her purse and handed a smal er satchel to Merek. Definitely a bespel ed purse. Chloe managed a grin, then felt her mouth sag open when Merek unzipped the satchel. Money. Lots and lots of money. The satchel might even be bespel ed for extra space, too. Mil ie patted Merek’s arm. “That’s al the cash I had available in my house.

There won’t be any bank withdrawals for anyone with computer skil s to trace. You said smal er bil s were better, less noticeable, so that’s what you have there. If you need more, I’l make sure you get it.”

He took her hand, shook it. “Perfect, Ms. Standish.”

“Cal me Mil ie or Aunt Mil ie.” She offered him an arch look. “Only people who make me angry or who I don’t like have to cal me Ms. Standish.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She crooked a finger, and the IDs Chloe held zoomed into her hand. She tucked them and everything else into the satchel. Then she picked up the sheaf of paperwork and leafed through it. “I’ve rented or bought thirty-seven cabins, smal houses, and condos up and down the West Coast and into Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona. Plus, I had several similar properties I owned before. They are al available for your use, or not, as you see fit. My private jet wil be leaving Seattle in three hours and stopping at or near every one of these properties. Get off wherever you want, but there wil be witnesses who wil swear people matching your descriptions got off at every stop. This Smith person wil be able to track you down eventual y, but this should buy you some time.”

The slightly awed look didn’t sit wel on Merek’s features. “That’s more than I’d hoped for. Very clever, too.”

“Thank you, Aunt Mil ie.” Chloe scooted to the edge of the bed, ready to stand and get on board this runaway train. “For everything. For al of this. It’s—”

“That’s what family—and, in this case, family money—is for.” The older witch glided forward to sweep her into a hug, and it was just like the first time, when she’d come to claim her orphaned niece.

Chloe held on tight, letting herself cling for just a moment before she pul ed back. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Mil ie pushed her hair away from her face, the gesture tender and maternal.

“I’m not sure when I’l see you again, but I’l miss you like crazy.” Her throat closing and her heart contracting, Chloe refused to think that the answer to that might be never.