Ever couldn’t help but grin at the ferociousness of the woman related to her mate. Chloe Doyle’s jaw was set, and she had a determined look in her eyes that Ever had seen once before—when Derek was hunting down Stephen Donnelly. Ever’s nervousness at the situation Derek had landed himself into slowly began to dissolve. If anyone could yank Derek from the boiling water getting hotter and hotter on his sexy little tail, Chloe could.

Ricky ground his teeth, his jaw clenching in anger. “Someone must have leaked info to the press. Probably the same person who’s setting Derek up.”

“Whoever it is, they want to make sure that Derek is the main focus of this attack. Would it be overstepping to say that with Derek behind bars, this person may target those closest to him?” Chloe asked, a slight tremor betraying the iron exterior of the woman.

Tom clasped a hand on her shoulder. “Derek made precautions for this very instance. Apart from some pictures in his well-alarmed home and the fact you told a roomful of officers that you were his niece, there’s no link to you or your family.”

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief, and then her eyes darted to the remaining people in the room, noting Caitlyn as she slipped soundlessly into the room. “But Derek has another family, one he would die to protect. Are you guys in danger?”

Ricky chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “Danger? I laugh in the face of danger. Ha, ha, ha.”

“Dude,” Donnie said with a smirk and a glint of amusement in his eyes, “did you just quote The Lion King?”

“Dude, how did you know that was from The Lion King?” Ricky teased.

Ever shook her head but found herself smiling along with them. Even in this dark time the team was so sure Derek would be fine that they found time to laugh and joke. But Derek wasn’t free yet, and they all had a job to do.

Caitlyn came to stand by Ever. “If this unsub means to frame Derek for murder and then go after those he cares for, then he won’t attempt to come after us. He’ll go after Ever.”

Ever raised an eyebrow, and Caitlyn continued. “Everyone saw his reaction to you when you first started working with us. They’ll no doubt know now that you are his mate, his very human mate.”

There was a glint in Caitlyn’s eyes as she held Ever’s gaze—unspoken words between them. They needed to talk, and sooner rather than later.

But you’re not entirely human, now, are you, Ever?

The voice returned to haunt her, the madness creeping into her bones again and willing away the happiness she had found in her new life with her new friends and mate. Blinking her eyes, Ever tried to quiet the voice within her.

Tom folded his arms across his chest. “Ever doesn’t go anywhere without an escort. And that is not up for argument, Ever. Samhain and Faoláin have yet to forgive me for almost getting you killed less than a month ago. If I want to dine on your mother’s apple crumble again, then I have to insist.” Tom spoke the last words with a small smile.

“Plus, Derek will probably eat us if something happens to her.”

Everyone fell silent and glared at Ricky.

The warlock simply shrugged. “What? Too soon?”

Ignoring him, Chloe shook her head. “I need to go see Derek now. Can someone show me where he is?” When no one moved, Chloe shifted her feet and lodged her hands on her hips. “Okay, someone want to explain why y’all are so reluctant to let me see my uncle?”

After a very pregnant pause, Ricky sank into his chair and leaned back. “D isn’t exactly presentable at this time. Proper protocol isn’t being followed, if you catch my drift.”

Chloe shivered. “Is he still in the same condition as depicted in the media coverage?”

“Yup.”

Chloe swore, gathered up her stuff, and looked at Tom. “I really need to see my client right now.”

Tom indicated for Chloe to head out in front of him and then rotated his finger to the rest of the room, telling them to carry on.

Chloe stopped, pivoting back to them, and her eyes ran over each and every one of them. “My mother asked me on her deathbed to ensure that Derek lived a full life, and to be honest, I haven’t lived up to my end of the deal. But you have. Your team is the best at what it does. Find out who wants my uncle dead so I can ensure that my children and my children’s children have a protector to watch over them. Please help him.” Her voice wavered before she cleared her throat, turned around, and swept from the room.

As soon as Chloe and Tom had exited, Caitlyn spoke. “Melanie is digging into old case files to see if any threats were made against Derek since joining P.I.T. It will be a long list, but Melanie can work through it.”

The centuries-old vampire strode to the board—the one that wasn’t covered for Ever’s delicate stomach—and began to write in a refined, curved swirl of words that matched her own elegant beauty.

“Top of our list of suspects has to be Arthur de Valera. He publically made his dislike of Derek known. He has the power and resources to go after Derek and appear clean. With hundreds of Munster wolves at his disposal, we can’t rule him out, despite his pleas of innocence.”

Donnie, having moved closer to Caitlyn and now resting against the wall in the corner, spoke next. “We need to speak to him face to face, see if we can separate truth from lie. But we also can’t rule out Neville Morris as a suspect. Derek embarrassed him, bled him, and is now the pretty boy face of P.I.T. in Ireland. A man as narcissistic, as self-serving as Morris is reported to be, will not be happy with Derek’s high-profile position.”

Caitlyn scribed Morris’s name to the list. “We have all had threats against us over the years and will continue to do so with the work we do. It’s the curse of the job. We all lose something over the course of time.”

An understanding washed over Ever. She knew that Caitlyn was referring to Melanie. The young tech had been made a vampire after being left for dead by Donnelly, and Caitlyn felt guilty for forcing that life on another. Ever noticed the same guilt every time Caitlyn spared a glance at Donnie when she thought no one was watching. It almost broke her heart to think fear and remorse for changing him ensured that Caitlyn guarded her heart when she didn’t have to.

Donnie’s gaze darted to hers. Ever cursed herself for forgetting that she still did not know the many secrets these supernatural enigmas had, but she was excited to unravel them soon. Even though Donnie still frightened her, she returned the sneaky grin he gave her. In truth, it wasn’t his sheer strength that terrified her but the knowledge that if the vampire really were a mind reader, then he could sense the madness in her mind and would expose her for it, laying waste to the precious time she had with Derek.

Her lids closed for a heartbeat, and when she opened them again, she jerked at the sudden presence of Donnie by her side.

He bent his tall, bulky frame and lowered his voce to nothing but a dull whisper. “I would never betray any secrets that I may have heard without permission. I try to limit what I hear, but sometimes humans and supernaturals, when scared or confused, don’t use their natural shields to block me. Never fear that I’ll expose anything from your mind. Unless it might help keep you alive, your thoughts will always be your own.”

“Thank you.”

Donnie bowed his head and straightened. “But Ever, you don’t smell sick. What you think is madness might be something completely different. If you believe anything, believe that.”

Instinctively, Ever reached up and cupped his cheek. “You’re a brave warrior.”

The words slipped from her lips, but she had no idea as to why she’d said them. She quickly pulled her hand away and looked over his shoulder at Caitlyn. The vampire’s gaze was narrowed, but the mask of elegance returned when she noticed Ever studying her.

She couldn’t be jealous, could she?

A chuckle came from Donnie, and Ever blushed. The former rugby player pressed his lips to her cheek and muttered, “It’s nice to make her a little jealous. It means she cares and I’m finally wearing her down.”

Ever giggled. “After twenty years.”

Holding out his palms, Donnie replied, “I’m a patient man.”

“Hey, stop flirting with the human, dude. We have serious work to do,” quipped Ricky, sarcasm lacing his tone.

Donnie strolled away from Ever, playing with a curl that had slipped free of Caitlyn’s hair tie as he passed. The older vampire continued writing her list on the board, seemingly unaffected, but Ever knew that when there was that pull, that impossible-to-name thing that drew you to another person, it was hard to deny.

Caitlyn’s phone chimed. When she slipped it from her jeans pocket, she pointed at Ricky, subsequently putting her finger to her lips. Pressing the answer button, Caitlyn set it down on the table and put it on speaker. “Go ahead, ma petite vampire.”

“I hate it when you call me that… sire.”

Melanie’s light and airy tone swept throughout the room, and now Ever understood why she had shushed Ricky. Melanie had refused to see him, afraid of hurting him or anyone else after she’d been turned. Since her kidnapping and change to a vampire, Melanie had taken to her new life with an ease that surprised everyone. But Caitlyn was unwilling to risk anyone’s safety or Melanie’s emotional state because Melanie was bored.

“And I hate it when you call me sire. We are even, non?”

“Yeah. Well, for now, anyway. Okay, back to business. So I ran through the case files you sent me, and a few names popped up again and again. Seems like Derek has made an impressive list of enemies. Should we eliminate all the humans on the list with cash because of the way the girl was killed? By the way, thanks for not sending me the images of that particular mess… the written accounts were enough to turn me off blood—well, not really!”

A slow smile spread across Ricky’s face, and he let his eyes close, listening as Caitlyn answered Melanie.

“We cannot rule out a human with supernatural connections. Compile a list and mail it to me.”

“Will do. But listen, there is something that you might be interested in. When Derek was a rookie on the team, he took down a vampire that was selling contaminated bottles of blood that sent vampires into rages. He had a human brother who was quite vocal about his hatred for Derek and the fact that Derek had murdered his brother in cold blood. Had a few blog rants about it before it was all taken down ‘bout four years back. But nothing stays lost on the net.”

“Why was it taken down, sister?” Donnie asked.

“On his last post, he claimed that he was going to be different—changed—and that he would avenge his brother’s death. I did some extra digging and found employment records for him. You will never guess who he works for.”

“You’re enjoying this far too much,” Caitlyn muttered.

“Boredom will do that to you!”

Caitlyn let out a slew of French that turned the room blue.

“I have no idea what you just said, but I can tell I’m pissing you off. Good! Okay, so before you go all alpha vampire on me, the man is now a vampire who works for an old friend of yours.”

“Chester,” both Donnie and Caitlyn snarled in unison.

“Yup… he works as a bodyguard for Chester. Says his name is Timothy Sprite, and his brother was Michael. Could Chester be behind this?”

“It’s not impossible, but Chester would come after Donnie or me, not Derek. But Timothy could be working alone.”

Donnie’s brow furrowed. “Wasn’t Timothy the bouncer we met a couple weeks ago?”

“He was,” Caitlyn confirmed.

“Then maybe we should pay Timothy a visit.”

“That’s my cue to sign off and get back to my research. Will you guys be home later?” Melanie asked, loneliness obvious in her voice.

Donnie and Caitlyn shared a look. “We will be home as soon as we can. Once we make sure Derek is okay, one of us will pop home. Will you be okay?”

“Sure, brother,” she snorted back at him. “I’m squared away here for now. Will you tell Derek I called? And that he needs to stop by again soon?”

“We will. Good bye Melanie.”

Caitlyn closed the phone shut as Ricky erupted in anger. He snapped up ramrod straight and came at Caitlyn, blue flickering from his fingertips.

“What the fuck, Caitlyn? D has been to see her, but you won’t let me near your house? It’s been three bloody weeks, and I want to see her!”

Caitlyn held out her hand to stop Donnie from interfering and tilted her head at Ricky. “She is not ready to see you, Ricky. Derek is safe, and she is not afraid of hurting him. You, to her, are breakable, and it would kill the humanity in her in one fell swoop if she hurt you. We need to ease her into interacting with people to ensure everyone is safe.”

Blue licked his palms, and Ever watched the interaction with muted curiosity. She would be powerless to defend herself against them if this got bad. Erika, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet, edged her way to stand by Ever, the woman’s fingers sliding down to grasp the hilt of her gun.

“I can protect myself, Caitlyn. I might only be a warlock, but I think I can take out a young vampire befor—”

Ricky’s words were cut off as Donnie wrapped a thick palm around his neck and lifted the warlock off his feet, his toes scraping the floor. Donnie squeezed a fraction, and Ricky turned white, gasping for breath. Seconds later, Donnie released him, and Ricky crumpled to the ground.

Ricky gulped in some harsh breaths and glared at Donnie. “Not cool, dude,” he rasped out.

“Just making a point.”

“You’re a two-decades-old vampire who was freakishly strong before you were turned. Melanie was a computer tech and is three weeks old. I think I can handle her.”

“I am twice as strong as the show I just put on, and Melanie has no control over her impulses or strength. She might rip your head off when she hugs you. Right now, we need to get Derek out of the mess he’s in. When this is done, then we will talk with Melanie about seeing you. Until then, back off.” The last word was a growl as Donnie shielded Caitlyn with his big body.

The blue that streaked his palms receded, and Ricky blew out a frustrated breath. He rubbed his throat tenderly, cautiously easing himself off the ground. As he scrubbed his hand over his face, Ever noticed the five o’clock shadow and bags under his eyes. She guessed that Ricky hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since they had found Melanie.

“I’m sorry, lads. I feel as useful as a chocolate teapot! My best friend’s been arrested, the girl I… Melanie won’t even talk to me, and now the council are on my ass—”

His words broke off with a croak as Ricky realized that maybe he had said too much.

Ever stepped around Erika, who still stood shielding her from the supes. “Ricky, if the council is hassling you, maybe I can have a word with my mom and see if she can do anything.”

Ricky sneered, an ugly sight from such an attractive man. “Your mom is the frickin’ council, Ever, and she’s the one on my ass twenty-four-seven. Thanks, but I think this is something I gotta handle myself. Witchy politics.”

Ever made to speak, but Tom strode back into the room and the conversation halted. Ignoring whatever had been happening, Tom went straight to Caitlyn, and the two of them huddled in the corner. Ricky paced a little, and Ever sank back down on Derek’s chair as Erika perched herself on the edge of his desk.

Caitlyn scurried from the room with Donnie on her tail, and Tom followed them, already on his phone. The room lapsed into an eerie silence before Tom came back in. His brow creased, and Ever noticed tension in his shoulders and a nervous bead of sweat forming on his forehead.

“So Ever,” he began, “it seems that the Garda commissioner won’t sign off on you officially becoming a part-time member of the team unless you go to some mandatory counselling sessions with our department shrink. Especially after the ordeal you had with Donnelly.”

From the way he chewed on the inside of his mouth, Ever guessed there was something else behind this mandate, yet Tom had never lied to her before and if he were this anxious to get her to do something outside of the station, then she would trust him.

“Sure, I’ve no problem doing that if it means I can help out. When is the first appointment?”

“Half an hour.”

Right, so Tom wanted her out of the station ASAP. What was going on?

“Okay, I can leave now and be there in time. What’s the address?”

Tom snuck a quick look at Ricky. “Ricky, you will escort Ever to her session and wait to bring her back here after. And before you open your mouth with a smart-aleck answer, Derek asked for you to look after Ever while he’s… otherwise occupied.”

Ricky stopped pacing and sighed. “Sure, add taxi driver to my résumé… like I haven’t got enough going on.” He stormed from the room, and the door slammed shut behind him.

Ever gathered her bag and coat, walked over, and pressed a kiss to Tom’s cheek. “You better have a good reason for this, Tom, or Ricky’s not the only one who won’t be happy.”

“Believe me, I do, and I’ll explain it all later. Promise.”

Ever waved to Erika, who looked deep in thought as she played with her knife. Her hand was on the door to leave when Tom called out to her.

“The sessions are mandatory, Ever, if you want to join the team. Take advantage of it and get a few things off your chest. You’ve been through an awful lot lately. Might be nice to chat to someone about it.”

That’s what she had considered over the last three weeks, but now that it was forced upon her, she felt relieved. Perhaps talking to someone about her issues might be for the best. Maybe she could look on it as a blessing rather than a hindrance. Even if she had to be stuck in a car with a snarky warlock to appreciate it.