Chapter 34

The diner where I’d asked Kenny to arrange the meeting was about twenty minutes away. Damon pulled up in the parking lot. I petted Ajax and told him to behave then reached for the door handle.

“Hey,” Damon said huskily then pulled me back to kiss me. One of those toe-curlers.

When he pulled away, I was breathless again. He smiled with smug satisfaction at my response.

“You’re entirely too pleased with yourself,” I complained, wishing he’d kiss me again.

“I won’t lie. It’s sweet as hell to see how I affect you. Gives me hope.”

“Makes you cocky, is what it does.”

“That too.”

He kissed me again and then gently pushed me away. “You’ve got a meeting, and I need to do some research. I’ll be back in an hour or so. If I’m late, wait.”

“Yessir,” I said with a little salute as I swung open the door. I figured the meeting was going to take more than an hour.

He pulled away as I went inside the glassed-in outer entry. Another set of doors led into the main lobby. I reached for one of the inner doors and it opened. I found myself face-to-face with Garrett.

“Beck!” He pulled me into a hug. “I just heard what happened. I wanted to tell you how sorry I am. Why would anyone do something so horrendous to you?” He held me away from himself to look at me then frowned. “What happened to you?”

My cuts and bruises from my trip on the river had faded quite a bit, but the welts from the cuts were still red. “I took a tumble into the river. I’m fine.”

“You’ve been through hell since I’ve been gone. I’m so very sorry.”

I smiled. “Thanks. That means a lot.” And it did. While Garrett and I weren’t super close like Jen, Lorraine, and Stacey, I still considered him a friend.

He smiled. “That’s not the only reason I’m here. I’ve got a check for you. I wanted to bring it right away. You might need some liquid funds right about now.”

“You’re so sweet. Thank you. I definitely could use it.”

He reached into the inside pocket of his suit and then frowned. “I left my wallet in my briefcase. It’s in the car. I spoke to Kenny. I know you have a meeting.” He checked his watch as if he were late. “I can run and fetch it. Unless—do you have a moment to come get it?”

“Sure.”

We followed the sidewalk along the front of the restaurant around to the side. He was parked in the first slot of the rear parking lot, where the sidewalk dead-ended.

“How was your trip?” I asked.

“Quite successful. In fact, I wrapped up so quickly, I returned a few days early.”

We reached his car. It was a low-slung sedan with dark-tinted windows and four doors. He opened the door of the back seat then bent in to rummage in his briefcase. I glanced up at a couple of crows squawking in the crepe myrtle beside us. Garrett straightened and I turned to look at him—just in time to get a face full of powder.

I coughed, inhaling the little gray cloud. Instantly my body turned to pudding. Garrett caught me as I sagged. He opened the front door and put me inside, reclining the seat to help keep me from sliding to the floor. He shut the door and came around to the driver’s side.

Once inside, he took out a pair of handcuffs and put them on my wrists. I could do nothing to stop him. None of my muscles responded to my commands. I tried to speak, but all I could manage was a little breath of sound.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, patting my leg. “Just relax.” He took my purse and dug inside for my cell phone. He shut it off and then popped out the battery. “There. That will make it harder for anybody to find us.”

He started the car and slowly drove out of the parking lot. Inside, panic rolled through me. What was he doing? I struggled to make myself speak, to move, anything. I drew on my magic. Nothing happened.

I was helpless.

“You probably want to know what’s happening,” he said. “It actually won’t make a lot of sense, but I’ll try. You see, I’ve been looking for you most of my life. Much of my family has. This is the part you won’t understand.” He glanced toward me. “Or maybe you will. Maybe Matrovani and your uncle explained.

“Your aunt, who pretended to be your mother for your whole life, kidnapped you as a child and disappeared. She left a huge mess behind. My family—the Sandrinis—have long been on the bottom of the ruling families. It wasn’t always that way. But after some devastating illnesses and other unfortunate events, we dropped in the ranks. We’d worked for years to raise our status but hadn’t been able to negotiate business deals or child contracts with anyone in the upper tier. We weren’t able to offer enough advantages and considerations in those contracts.

“That all changed when my father managed to convince your family—the Wyler Symms—to join us in an investment opportunity. It would have been worth more money than I can say, but more importantly, it would have established the Sandrinis as the only major source of Inua in the world. That’s a substance used in many spells that is difficult to make. We were working on a process of refining it, and with the Wyler Symms’s money and access to their library, we would have succeeded.”

His lip curled on his next words, his voice dripping bitter venom. “But then you came along and ruined everything.” His hands tightened on the wheel, knuckles gleaming white.

“When Adriane disappeared, she left behind letters accusing several families—including mine—of colluding with Osterraven in his deceit. We hadn’t, but they believed that malignant bitch. The pending contract was dissolved and Wyler Symms closed their doors to us. So did Osterraven and every other upper-tier family. We fell to the gutter of society. Few would talk to us; fewer would share their line genes with us. Not at the risk of being ostracized.

“Our only choice was to search for you and Adriane and bring you both back. We hoped it would demonstrate we’d had no part in the whole mess. Years passed and no one could pick up her trail. Then five years ago, I found her. I couldn’t believe she’d totally cut herself off from the magical world. I decided that the best place for her to remain hidden while still obtaining information was the Proclamation Server. I was right. She’d been logging in every so often since she disappeared. Nobody monitors logins. From there, it was just a matter of tracking her. Thank God for modern technology.”

He fell silent for a few minutes as he negotiated the downtown traffic. His story hadn’t told me anything about what he was up to, but whatever it was, he’d been planning it for years. How long? I tried to remember when we first met. Aunty Mommy had introduced us at some sort of charity event. Apparently she hadn’t recognized a man from the family she’d destroyed—if Garrett’s story was true, which I thought was likely. He had no reason to lie, and the Wicked Bitch reveled in being vindictive. That had been when I was just starting Effortless Estates.

“My grandfather believed that bringing you back would restore our position in society. I knew better. Your line families would never let it be known they were wrong. I wanted to make the Wyler Symms and Osterraven families pay. I had originally planned to kill your aunt and then you, and through you, your parents. I even put a curse on the jewelry I gave to you after I killed your aunt. I don’t know how you escaped it. The curse was quite potent.”

He’d cursed me? Not the Wicked Bitch? If I could have, I’d have hammered him in the balls for that. And another time for kidnapping me. Who was I kidding? I wouldn’t have stopped there. I wanted to hang him up and use his ball sack for a punching bag.

“I planned to kill you one night at the shop, but you weren’t there. I’m afraid I lost my temper. That’s when I realized that killing you would be a waste of first-tier bloodlines. I should be breeding you. Not just me—all the males in my family. Every year you could produce twins or triplets. In just ten years, we could have twenty or thirty children, all bearing Wyler Symms–Osterraven DNA. In less than thirty years, we’d have the blood talents to wedge our way back into the ruling tier. No one could stop us.”

Thirty children? Who the fuck was he kidding? But if he kept me helpless like this, how would I object? How could I even hope to stop him?

Fear thundered through my veins like nothing I’d ever felt before. Even the Wicked Bitch hadn’t caused such terror as this. With her, I’d still been me. I’d still had a life. But with Garrett, I’d be nothing more than a uterus. I’d be kept incapacitated, unable to fight or run. I couldn’t pull up any magic either. I was truly helpless with no chance at freedom or rescue in sight.

Panic overwhelmed me. For a few minutes, my vision went black as my blood pressure hiked up off the charts. I started to pant as I fought against the weight of my fear. It noosed my throat and squeezed my heart. Finally I sort of passed out. Everything around me moved in and out of focus. Garrett’s voice was far away and tinny, as if he spoke from the bottom of a deep hole.

I came out of the fog slowly. He was still talking. He wanted to brag, I realized. He wanted me to know how clever he’d been.

“...brilliant stroke of genius. Don’t you think? I’m betting they’ll be here before the end of the day. I figure they fueled their jets the second my e-mail came through about you. Now I won’t have to kill you to get at them. I’ve already set the trap. I have to just sit back and wait for them to walk in.”

He giggled merrily. It was so out of character for the elegant, urbane man I thought I’d known. He was giddy with triumph. “I can’t wait to see their faces.” He glanced toward me again. “Well, their eyes, anyhow. The mesmer dust immobilizes most muscles.” He shrugged. “I suppose I can’t have everything. At least they’ll know I’m the one killing them. I’m the one who outwitted them. I’m the one getting the last laugh. I was so disappointed I had to get your aunt from a distance. She didn’t know I’d killed her. It’s really such a shame.” He shook his head but then his mood brightened.

“After I take care of them, you and I will go start making babies. I have to tell you, I’m looking forward to it. I’ve always found you quite attractive.”

He scowled at me. “I saw you kissing Matrovani in the parking lot. You didn’t fuck him, did you? Well, no matter. I can abort the pregnancy for you and make sure my seed takes. The first time, anyhow. The second time I’ll offer you to my Uncle Thomas. I think children with him will have a lot of potential.”

Everything he said horrified me, and yet I could do nothing. I again tried to summon magic, but nothing happened. My body was nothing more than a wet rag.

I was startled when he headed toward Aunty Mommy’s estate. Hope burst like a star in my chest. The gargoyles! They could help me if I could make them aware I needed help. Or Mason. He could come out of the secret room at any moment. He’d sent away house staff and grounds crew last night. For how long?

Garrett seemed entirely too confident as he pulled in. He clicked open the garage door and pulled inside. So much for the gargoyles even seeing me.

He carried me inside the house. There was no sign of any staff. He took me into a small sitting room where Aunty Mommy had liked to serve tea when she had visitors. He sat me in an armchair and propped me upright with the help of throw pillows. I felt like a life-sized doll. What little hope I had of rescue drained when I saw Mason lying opposite on the couch, his legs and arms bound. His stared, unblinking and unmoving.

Garrett pulled him upright so we could look at each other. I could see horror flicker in Mason’s eyes, and fear. Or maybe that was just a reflection of mine.

“There now,” Garrett said. “We’re all ready for company. Let’s hope they arrive soon. I’d like to get this party started.”

Time drifted slowly past. Garrett fiddled and paced, walking in and out of the room impatiently. He kept checking his watch and then started playing with his phone. Every so often, he’d stand by the window facing the front of the house and just stare out at the driveway.

I was fast arriving at one conclusion: the world of magic and these ruling families was cancerous. It produced psychopaths. I wanted nothing to do with it. Not that Garrett planned to give me a choice.

Fuck him. I was going to find a way out of this if it killed me. I’d rather it did than let him turn me into a brood mare.

About a half hour into waiting, Garrett began to chatter again. He seemed almost manic and so very different from the man I’d come to know over the years. Only I’d never known him. I’d been completely conned. I wondered if any part of the man he’d showed me was real.

“You know, I haven’t shown you my goodies,” he said to us. He picked up a leather duffel bag from behind the door and set it on the coffee table. One by one, he began pulling out weapons. The first was a combat knife. He held it up, turning it to watch the light flashing across the blade.

“I haven’t decided how to kill everyone yet,” he said. “With this, I could slice an artery or throat, or go right for the heart. I’ve never stabbed anyone, though, and I’m not sure if it’s the best option.”

Next he pulled out an ice pick. It was longer and more heavy duty than any I’d seen. “This is used for chipping ice on a river or lake so people can ice fish. I like that it’s smaller than the knife. More elegant. I wonder if it would be easier to stab into the heart. Or I read a mystery one time where the murderer shoved an ice pick through the victim’s ear. There wouldn’t be a lot of blood that way. That’s always a positive.”

Next came a gun. “Shooting’s probably the easiest method. It’s a little impersonal, though. I think I might like to strike a killing blow myself.”

He set the gun beside the other two weapons and drew out several jars, each stoppered with a large cork covered in different-colored melted wax—green, pink, and yellow.

“I really like the idea of a good poison. Then it’s still a personal kill and the target dies painfully, which is perfect justice. I brought several kinds.” He held up the green one. “This is tetrodotoxin made from puffer fish. It’s a slower death, depending on dosage. I think I might enjoy watching that.” He set it down and picked up the pink jar.

“Now this one is good old cyanide, the workhorse of poisons. It’s painful but fairly quick. This last one is wood alcohol. It works fast and is also painful.” He set the yellow jar next to the others and considered all his weapons.

“I just don’t know. I considered strangulation, but that’s just so crude. Like beating someone over the head. No style.”

As I listened, it began to sink in that he was really going to go through with his plans to kill people and make me his incubator. I guess I hadn’t really believed it. It was too James Bond villain to be believable. Only it wasn’t. The certainty sank down into my heart and jabbed me full of terror. I was helpless. Mason was helpless. Anybody who might rescue us would end up just as helpless. We were so screwed.

It was close to another hour later when Garrett perked up. “They’re here,” he sang.

Disappointment crushed his excitement a moment later. “Oh, it’s just that bastard Matrovani. He’s got your girlfriends with him. That’s unfortunate.” He shook his head. “It can’t be helped. I can’t leave witnesses.”

My panic and terror shot up like Old Faithful as Garrett grabbed the handgun and scurried out of the room. On some level, my brain put together the fact that he didn’t need to feel the personal kill with the girls and Damon. A gun would suit him fine. Once they were hit with the dust, he could just put the barrel against their heads and they’d be gone.

Thought abandoned me and I exploded into smoke. The mesmer dust hung in the air like tiny black stars. As I had with the curse, I knocked the particles away from me. They sifted onto the woven silk rug.

I bolted after Garrett. I didn’t solidify. I couldn’t go through the wall, so I flowed out the door and streaked along the corridor toward the front vestibule. I reached it just as Garrett did. He’d stopped outside some kind of spell circle he’d drawn along the outer edge of the entryway. It bisected the threshold between where he’d stopped and the doorway. He took a glass ball full of mesmer dust out of his pocket, cocking his arm up to smash it inside the circle.

I could hear voices on the other side of the door. The handle turned and the door thrust open. Damon and the girls rushed inside. The symbols of the spell flared, and Garrett’s arm thrust downward, the glass ball rushing to smash against the floor.

In rapid-fire thoughts, I understood immediately that the spell would contain the dust to keep Garrett from falling under its power. I also understood that that’s all it would do.

I lashed out with a tentacle of magic and snatched the ball before it could hit the floor. In the same moment, I slammed Garrett against the wall. I smashed him against it three times, putting body-shaped impressions into the sheetrock. He cried out the first time, and by the third, he’d slumped, his eyes closing. Blood ran down his neck from where his scalp had split.

I dropped him to the floor and then carefully settled the glass ball into Damon’s hand. All at once the desperation left, and I coalesced into flesh. I fell to the floor, landing facedown, my head thumping on the polished marble. Pain exploded in my forehead, cheek, and nose. Blood streamed out my nostrils as I fought to catch my breath. It had been entirely knocked out of me.

Hands grabbed me and pulled me over to sit me up. The girls gabbled words I couldn’t make sense of. My head spun from the shock of hitting the floor. I was having a tough time making myself focus.

Damon picked me up and carried me to a nearby couch and laid me down. He disappeared and Jen stroked the hair out of my face.

“Are you okay? Beck, come on, talk to us.”

I grabbed her hand and held it tight. “Garrett was going to kill you.”

Silence. I started wriggling to sit up, and then Stacey was there with some ice wrapped in a dishtowel. Lorraine pressed a damp towel against my nose.

“We need to go to the emergency room,” she said. “She might have broken her cheek bone or the orbital bone. Her nose is definitely broken.”

I groaned.

“She said that Garrett was trying to kill us,” Jen said in a taut voice.

“Garrett? But he’s always so sweet,” Stacey said.

“So’s antifreeze but drinking it will kill you,” Lorraine said, sounding shaken.

“Has a gun,” I managed. “Mason needs help too.”

“Damon’s making sure Garrett’s not going to be a problem,” Stacey said. “He’s out cold. You can do the poltergeist thing?”

I choked out a laugh. I loved that she was always curious and rarely fazed by much of anything. “Not on purpose.”

I heard Damon’s quick, heavy footsteps. He leaned above the others, his face black with anger and worry.

“Are you okay? What’s the matter with Mason?”

I translated that to mean: What did Garrett do to you, and are you both going to die?

“That glass ball has this stuff Garrett called mesmer dust. He’s a Sandrini,” I said, going off on a short tangent trip.

At that name, Damon swore something in what sounded like Italian. I didn’t know he spoke another language. It sounded so pretty, even when I was pretty sure the words themselves were vile.

“It paralyzes you. You can hear but not move.”

“How long did it take to wear off?” Damon asked.

“It didn’t. I changed and was able to sweep it out of me.”

“She needs to get to the hospital,” Lorraine told Damon firmly. “Now.”

He hesitated then I heard the chink of keys as he passed them to her. “I’d better stay here. See what else the bastard might have done.”

“He said someone was coming. He wanted to kill them. Revenge. I think it might be my parents.” In fact, I was sure of it. Who else would come running?

The pain was starting to overcome the shock, and my face was throbbing. My whole head pounded in time with the pulsing throb.

“Can you help Mason?” I asked as the girls helped me to my feet. I swayed and Jen and Stacey braced me, pulling my arms over their shoulders. I could see out of only my right eye. My left had swelled shut. My front teeth felt odd. I ran my tongue along them and discovered a ragged edge. I’d chipped it. Yippee. When I fell, I went all out.

The rest of me ached too. I’d pretty much belly flopped like a rag doll onto the marble floor from a good five feet above. My ribs hurt every time I breathed. I wondered if I’d cracked them. I wouldn’t put it past me.

“Will Mason be all right?” I asked Damon.

“Yes.”

I wasn’t sure he wasn’t lying to make me feel better. The girls started to maneuver me out of the house. I staggered along, finding more and more aches and pains with every step.

“Call me,” Damon said. “I’ll get to the hospital as soon as I can.”

“You got it, Sunshine,” Jen said. “Are you going to call the cops?”

“He killed the Wicked Bitch,” I said and then made a whimpering sound as I bit my tongue. Talk about adding insult to injury.

They loaded me up into the truck. Apparently they’d all driven together. Ajax made little snuffling noises as I collapsed across the backseat. He sat on the floor and licked my hands and arms. I wanted to tell him to stop, but he seemed to need to do it, so I didn’t object.

Lorraine drove like a bat out of hell, and we got there in less than twenty minutes. I was surprised we weren’t being chased by a dozen cops with all the laws she had to have broken.

I recognized a few of the ER staff as they took me inside. It must’ve been a slow day because they got me back into a cubicle in just ten minutes. The doctor who’d treated me the first time came in and started examining me.

“Did you take another fall in the river, Miss Wyatt?” he asked dryly.

“Business client kidnapped me and my uncle,” I said, pleased by the startled look on his face. He’d probably thought I was getting beaten by my boyfriend or something and that I was going to protect him.

“Did you call the police?” he asked.

“Boyfriend was going to. Stayed to talk to them.”

“How did you get these injuries?”

I couldn’t tell him the truth, so I went for something close. “Tried to run away. He tackled me. Marble floors.”

I was beginning to shiver. Reaction setting in. Shock or something. My whole face ached and talking was getting to be really painful. The doc seemed to notice and stopped asking questions beyond, “Does this hurt? How about here?  On a scale of one to ten, ten being unbearable …?”

I whined about being cold, and they covered me with blankets that had come out of a toaster oven. Then they cleaned me up and shoved me into a CT doughnut. Neither my eye socket nor cheek had broken. Just my nose. After that, I got chest X-rays.

“Your nasal septum seems to be fine, but all the same, you’ll want to follow up with an ENT within a day or two. You don’t want to have to break your nose again to fix it, so don’t wait more than a week. Ten days and I promise you there will be breaking,” the doc told me sternly after the tests were all completed.

“Yessir,” I said.

“Your ribs don’t appear to be fractured, but you may have separated or torn the cartilage. Not much to do about that but ice, rest, and take it easy on yourself for the next few weeks. It would be a good idea to arrange an MRI to see the extent of any damage. I’ll give you a referral. I’ll send you home with something to take care of the pain for the first week. After that, over-the-counter pain medications should work just fine.”

I got wheeled out of the ER about four hours after I went in. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for a week. Damon still hadn’t shown up. That surprised me. Worried me more. Had something happened?

“He’s fine,” Jen said. “The police made him hang around. They want to talk to you too. They came by the hospital.”

“Where are they?”

“They took our statements, but we made a fuss about how much you’d been through, and they said tomorrow would be all right for you to talk to them.”

“Oh, thank God.”

“What now?” Stacey asked. “Where do you want to go? You’re welcome to stay at any of our houses.”

I didn’t even consider it. I wanted to go back to the hotel. I didn’t examine that desire too much. I wasn’t sure why I’d rather be in Damon’s bed than with my best friends.

“Could we get a milkshake on the way?” I asked plaintively as we loaded back into the car.

“Rockin’ Rogers?” Lorraine asked.

“Where else?”

We also went to a drive-through pharmacy to fill my prescription. I explained everything Garrett had told me. They were all gratifyingly outraged for me and proud of my escape and the way I’d stopped Garrett.

“You’re pretty badass,” Jen said. “For an antique dealer.”

I slid into one of Damon’s super-soft shirts and crawled into bed after downing one of the painkillers. Ajax curled up against my stomach and propped his head on my hip. The girls closed the bedroom door and settled in the living room to wait for Damon’s return. I didn’t argue about their staying. I wasn’t going to win.

I woke up later, my body throbbing and my bladder demanding that I get moving. I pushed myself up, and the nightstand light went on. Damon sat in a chair beside the bed.

“This scene is awfully familiar,” I said, wincing at the ache in my face.

He looked haggard. “Too familiar. I wouldn’t complain if you didn’t get hurt again for another decade or two.”

My stomach warmed. He planned to be around that long. Or longer.

“Me either. What happened to Garrett? Is Mason okay?”

“The police took Sandrini. I notified the Law Council. They’ve dispatched a team.”

“What does that mean?”

“He can’t stay in prison. At least, not in one that isn’t prepared to deal with holding a sorcerer. They’ll take custody of him and decide his fate.”

“His fate?”

“He may be put to death. He may be imprisoned. Given the power of your families, I’d guess the former.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Sure, he’d killed the Wicked Bitch, but that was more of a public service than not. But then, if I hadn’t stopped him, he’d have killed Stacey, Lorraine, Jen, Damon, and Mason, as well as my parents, plus turned me into a baby factory. Oh, hell.

“Did my parents show up?”

Damon nodded. “They both want to see you.”

“Yippee.” I probably could have sounded less enthusiastic, but I was in pain. “When is this supposed to happen?”

His mouth quirked. “That’s up to you.”

“Somehow I doubt it.”

“I’m not going to let them anywhere near you if you don’t want to see them.”

“Can you stop them? Aren’t they super magicians or something?”

His smile was steely. “It’s possible that I am far stronger than anybody knows. It’s also possible that I am highly motivated to protect you.” His expression turned dark and self-disgusted. “I let that bastard get close to you. I should have stayed and gone into the diner with you.”

“If you’d gone in with me, he’d have dusted you too.”

He rubbed his hands over his face and then dragged his fingers through his hair. “When I think of what he wanted to do—what he nearly managed to do—I’d never have forgiven myself if he’d taken you.” He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees, his eyes intent. “I want you to know that I would have come to find you, no matter how well hidden or guarded you were. I wouldn’t have given up until you were free.”

“I know.”

He kept looking at me as if he didn’t believe my answer and then nodded. “Good.”

“Now I need to use the bathroom,” I said.

I maneuvered myself up onto my feet and went to do my business. As I washed, I got a good look at my face in the mirror. I could have been Quasimodo’s dream date. My left eye was eggplant purple and swollen. My nose was also swollen, and I had a ping pong ball on my chin where apparently I’d bounced after hitting the floor with my face.

No fixing any of that with makeup.

I came back out. Damon still sat in the chair. He stood as I returned.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Water. I need to take another pain killer.”

He nodded and left, returning a moment later with a bottle. He twisted off the cap and handed it to me.

“Is this from the sanctuary pool?” I asked, hoping it was. I’d healed so much faster the last time with it.

He shook his head. “I’ll go get some tomorrow. Unless you want to go with me and take a swim?”

“No. I’m not— No.”

“I get it. No problem.”

He didn’t really get it, but then, I wasn’t sure I did either. I looked at the bed and back at him. “Aren’t you going to get some sleep?”

“I didn’t want to disturb you. I wanted to heal you,” he said and a guilty look suffused his expression.

“Not a good plan. Not with the police wanting to talk to me. They’d want to know if I’d been hit with a miracle.”

“I thought so too.”

“Your hand could still use fixing up.”

He shook his head, looking at it. “The detectives noticed the damage. I’ve got to leave it for now.”

“As for disturbing me, I think I can handle sharing the bed with you. And Ajax.”

I made a face. Or tried. It’s surprisingly difficult to do that when your face is a giant puffer fish. The big wolf-dog thumped his tail at the mention of his name and made a little woofing sound at me. I stepped over and scratched his ears.

“He probably needs to go out,” I said.

“The girls walked him before they left,” Damon said. “He’ll be fine for a few more hours.”

“Okay, so why don’t you put on your pajamas and come to bed?”

Something was bothering him. I noticed the nightstand had a bottle of scotch on it with an empty glass beside it. It appeared Damon had drunk a healthy quarter of a bottle. His face looked haunted. He had a hyper-responsibility complex. He’d probably decided this whole mess was his fault.

“Why don’t you just tell me what the problem is?” I suggested. “Then I can tell you you’re an idiot and to get over yourself, and then we can go to bed. If it wouldn’t hurt like hell, I’d suggest a little light nookie.”

That earned me a slight smile that vanished like a flash of light across water. “Nookie?”

“Kissing, hugging, maybe a little petting.”

“I didn’t find any other properties that your aunt owned,” he said, veering abruptly off the subject. Both subjects. It worked.

“None at all?”

“We could check in the surrounding counties. She might have purchased something there.” He didn’t sound all that hopeful.

“Maybe Mason found some records,” I said. “A rental or something.” I didn’t sound hopeful either. “I still believe Aunty Mommy would want and need them to be close by and would want total control of wherever she stashed them.”

“But where? You already said there’s no place on the estate.”

“I said I couldn’t think of any. I could be wrong. We should at least search. Maybe she used magic to hide a shed or something.”

“Worth a try but not for at least a few days. Right now, you should get back into bed. You look like you’re about to drop.”

I’d started to sway as the Vicodin kicked in, but I wasn’t ready to head to oblivion again. Not yet. “Something’s bugging you. Are you going to tell me?”

“No.”

“You’re just going to drink in the dark.”

“Seems like.”

I was beginning to get seriously annoyed with his stonewalling. “Fine. Whatever. Enjoy.”

I crawled into bed, making a point of leaving plenty of room for him, though I pointedly called Ajax up to lie next to me. I turned on my side with my back to Damon and closed my eyes. Most of me was hurting pretty bad, and it took a good fifteen minutes or more for the painkillers to overwhelm the pain and sink me into unconsciousness.

I was still feeling pretty irritated when I got up the next morning. Damon had taken Ajax for a walk. I sat up slowly, taking shallow breaths as my ribs seemed to move around in my chest. Ow.

I glanced at the nightstand. The bottle was still there. It didn’t look substantially more empty than in the night. Maybe it was a second one. Had Damon gotten any sleep at all?

The first order of business was a shower and then to get dressed, all more easily said than done. The spray of the shower hit like nails. I adjusted it and found something almost like a fog setting. It wasn’t all that great for washing hair, but it didn’t feel like someone beating me with a sack of oranges either.

I looked worse than at the hospital. The purple around my eye had darkened, and my ping-pong ball chin had turned purplish. The eye bruise had crawled over the bridge of my enormous nose and curved under my other eye. My lips swelled huge and pouty. I probably should have liked that look. All the Hollywood starlets were getting marshmallow lips left and right. I thought I looked ridiculous.

Getting dressed involved sliding on underwear and pulling a maxi dress over my head. I couldn’t have managed to put on a bra if I tried, and even if I had, the pressure around my ribs probably would have made me curl up on the floor and whimper.

The dress covered the bruises on my knees and more on my hips. It did nothing to help with my arms. But then, with the whole rotten-prune face going on, who was going to notice?

I didn’t have my phone. I wondered if anybody had found it in Garrett’s car. It was probably evidence and I wouldn’t get it back ’til hell froze over.

I combed my hair out but didn’t dry it then went out to the bedroom. Ajax lay on the bed, facing the bathroom door. He sat up as I came out, wagging his tail as if he hadn’t seen me in weeks.

I petted him, bending to rub my undamaged cheek against the soft fur of his head. He licked every bit of exposed skin he could. I straightened and headed into the other half of the suite. Damon sat at the table talking to Ballard and Jeffers. They stood as I entered. Jeffers actually winced in sympathy.

“That looks painful,” he said.

“Only when I’m awake. I take it it’s question time?”

“We’d like to get your account of what happened to you yesterday,” Ballard said. I sank into a chair.

Damon went to the phone and dialed. I could hear him ordering coffee and breakfast. Three empty takeout cups from a nearby coffee shop littered the table. My mouth watered as I eyed them.

“Tell us what happened. Start from when Hornsby accosted you,” Jeffers said.

I explained that I’d been going to an employee meeting and that he’d lured me to his car with a promise of a check. I told them he’d blown some sort of powder in my face and that I pretty much could do nothing but listen to his crazy chatter.

“He told me he killed Aunty Mommy,” I said. “He was going to take me off somewhere and rape me.” There was no explaining the contract baby stuff, so I didn’t try. I did make an effort to give some idea of his motivations. Cops liked that sort of thing.

“I guess he thought killing Aunty Mommy would free me to be with him, which was true. I’ve never dated. The Wicked Bitch liked to persecute my friends. I couldn’t imagine what she might do to a boyfriend. Anyhow, he decided he had to take my uncle out too and then hung around in the hopes that my parents would show up so he could kill them.”

“What made him think they would?” Ballard asked.

“And why did he want to kill them?” Jeffers added.

“I guess Mason had told them about the Wicked Bitch and where to find me.” I was totally making shit up now. I hoped Mason’s story would fit well enough. “I have no idea why he wanted to kill them. Maybe he thought they wouldn’t approve of his plan for me. Or maybe he’s just fucking nuts.”

Both detectives were writing notes. I told them how Damon and the girls arrived and that Garrett had seen me kissing Damon before he took me. I told them he flipped out and took a gun to kill them when they came in. The immobilizing drug had worn off enough for me to go after him. I’d struck him on the back of the head with a heavy vase, and then he’d slammed me to the floor and kicked me a couple of times. But by then, Damon had a hold of him, and that was pretty much the end of my tale.

I breathed a small sigh of relief when they seemed to buy my story.

“What did the doctor say?” Ballard asked, eyeing my face with sympathy.

“He said I should stop hurting myself. I broke my nose but not the rest of my face, and I may or may not have broken ribs.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, I could go with never running into a psychotic asshole again.” ’Course, I’d been raised by one, and it was quite possible that the magical word bred them like mice.

“Sounds like you’ve had more than your share,” Jeffers said.

I raised my brows. Or rather, I tried to, but with my face so swollen, they didn’t move much. “Why, Detective, you almost sound like you don’t think I killed anybody anymore.”

He grinned. “Never did.”

“Right,” I scoffed. “You were ready to lock me up and throw away the key.”

He shook his head. “Naw. But you weren’t telling us everything. I had to take off the gloves.” He winked. “Bad cop, you know.”

“And here I thought you were just a giant prick.”

His grin widened. “I may be that too.”

“May?” Ballard asked. “I’d say she’s got you pegged.”

Somebody knocked on the door, and Damon, who’d been leaning against the kitchen counter through all this, went to answer. Two waiters rolled in three carts of food. Damon signed off on the ticket and they left.

“Guess we’d better get out of your way,” Ballard said, rising.

“Stay,” Damon said. “You’ve been up all night. I ordered plenty.”

The detectives exchanged a look and then shrugged.

“Not protocol,” Jeffers said. “But if I don’t eat soon, I might pass out.”

“No you won’t. You’ve got enough gut to keep you going for years.”

Ballard patted his stomach. I chuckled when he slapped at her hand.

“Mind your own business.”

“You are my business, partner.”

Damon uncovered the offerings, and we took plates from the stack the hotel had provided. There were eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, toast, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, fruit, and four different syrups. And two carafes of coffee with a tall pitcher of cream.

I piled my plate and filled my cup, settling in to stuff my face. Eating proved to be a lot more painful than I expected, so I ate slowly. Jeffers and Ballard continued to ask questions.

“That reminds me,” I said. “Garrett said he was the one responsible for vandalizing my shop and loft. He’d come looking for me and when I wasn’t there, he got pissed.”

“Really,” Jeffers said. “I’m going to have some questions for him. Like how he did such damage. Or did he say?”

Oops. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that.

“Afraid not, but if he tells you, I’d sure like to know,” I lied.

“He lawyered up in the hospital,” Ballard said. “Bastard’s not answering any questions. Doesn’t matter. We’ve got solid evidence on kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault, and attempted murder. With any luck, we’ll find evidence he murdered your aunt. We’ll have time to make the case, though. He’ll be in jail awhile for all the rest.”

I wondered how the magical legal beagles would take possession of him. Inwardly I shrugged. Not my problem, so long as he was locked up far away from me.

Ballard and Jeffers stayed another half hour and then left after telling me that my phone and purse were in evidence but they’d probably be able to get them released to me by the afternoon. That left me and Damon alone. He’d hardly spoken two words since breakfast began. I was getting a little annoyed at the silent treatment, but I wasn’t in the mood to force him to talk to me.

Instead I decided that I really wanted to go for a walk. Actually, I wanted to go shopping for shoes and go running, but my body wasn’t up for that. Again. Plus, I didn’t have any money or ID. I headed for the door, calling for Ajax.

Damon cut me off as I reached for the door. “Where are you going?”

“Out. You want to get out of my way?”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Thanks, but Ajax and I’d rather go alone.”

That haunted look came back. He was strung tight as a banjo string. “The danger isn’t over,” he said roughly, looking away.

“Yes, it is. Garrett’s all locked up.”

Damon scraped his teeth over his lower lip and wiped his hand over his jaw. I’d never seen him nervous before.

“What’s going on?” I asked, trying not to let worms of worry start crawling through my veins.

“You’re still a target,” he said finally, reluctance dragging out the words.

“What do you mean?”

“Anybody who wants to kill your mother and father need only come after you. Two birds with one stone, and you’re the stone.”

As soon as he started talking, a headache began throbbing behind my eyes. I’d already figured out this little revelation. Didn’t mean I was going to go into hiding.

“I know.”

He blinked at me. “Did you know that Garrett won’t be the only one who wants to grab you?”

“Figured that one out too. My DNA is everybody’s wet dream.”

“You can’t just go walking around like you’re safe. You have to protect yourself.”

“I know that too. But I’ve lived my whole life to suit somebody else’s psychotic ideas about me, and I’m not doing that anymore. Somebody wants to come after me, they’ll find out I won’t go quietly. I’m not giving up my life.”

“Beck,” he started.

I held up my hand to cut him off. “Is that why you stayed up drinking instead of cuddling up with me?”

He flushed and swallowed jerkily. “You’ve been through hell. How was I supposed to tell you it’s just beginning? And your families don’t to want me around. They’re going to do everything they can to pry me away so they can bring you into their folds.”

“Yeah? Well, it is what it is. Haters are going to hate, and I’m going to have to deal with it. Presupposing you aren’t giving up on me?” I had to admit the possibility had me worried.

“Not a chance.”

He pulled me into a gentle embrace, his lips brushing butterfly soft against mine. It hurt but I didn’t particularly care. I leaned into his heat, delighting in the hard strength of his chest and the way his arms held me as if I were the most precious thing on the planet. I opened my lips and our kiss was crazy hot. Delicate, tender caresses ignited a fire in my belly and made me want to throw myself into his arms. My fingers tightened on his shoulders where I’d grabbed him for balance. I lifted myself on tiptoe, but he still wouldn’t give in to the harder kiss I craved.

By the time he pulled away, I was panting and all my girl parts were aching to be touched and fondled. The lack of a bra only increased the sensitivity of my breasts. He’d run his hands along my back and discovered my secret. I was pleased to see he was breathing just as hard as I was.

“A walk,” he said and I couldn’t tell if that was a reminder or a question.

“Or?” I asked, standing on tiptoe to run the tip of my tongue along the top of his collar. His pulse jumped and danced beneath the caress, and his arms tightened convulsively. It hurt but I wasn’t about to let him in on that secret. He’d just push me away, and I really didn’t feel like stopping this right now.

“Or I take you back into the bedroom, strip you naked, and make you feel really, really, really good.”

He punctuated the reallys of that statement with hot little kisses along the sensitive tendon of my neck. I shivered and gasped.

“If that’s an argument against walking, it’s a good one,” I rasped as tremors started running down my legs.

He sighed and rested his forehead against mine, his hands sliding down to settle on my hips. “As much as I want to have my wicked way with you, I’m pretty sure you’d regret it, and I don’t think my heart could stand that,” he said.

God, did he have to put it that way? I couldn’t even get mad, even if he was right. Well, maybe right. Just now, I wasn’t certain about anything except I had aches that I knew he could make feel a lot better and I desperately wanted him to play doctor with me.

“You’re probably right,” I said but made no effort to push away. “But then again, you could be wrong.”

“Don’t tempt me, Beck. My control is very, very thin.”

I decided that we both probably should step back from the precipice. When we went over—when I went over—I wanted to choose it and not let my hormones do it for me.

Sometimes I hated me.

We took Ajax over to the park where I’d met Ben. I wondered how he was doing. I was glad he had gone home before Garrett went Norman Bates. He’d certainly have killed Ben and chalked it up to collateral damage. I’d been shielding myself since I learned how and made a mental note to send a big thank-you to the young doctor-to-be for teaching me. I’d have to get Damon to teach me to anchor it to something so it would work 24/7.

We stopped at a coffee cart and then walked around the park.

“We missed our dinner date,” I said.

“We’ll make it up tonight.” He glanced at me. “Or whenever you feel up to it.”

“I’ll feel up to it,” I said, determined that I would. “How’s Mason doing?”

“He’s good. It took a little work to counter the mesmer dust, but no long-term effects as far as I can tell.”

“That’s good news.” I was getting to like Mason. So far, anyhow. It’s not like I knew him all that well.

We kept walking and I deliberately went for small talk. Just about every conversation we’d ever had focused on my family or magic or some other crisis. I barely knew anything about Damon. I asked where he’d gone to school, his favorite foods, hobbies, dream travel vacations, all the while veering away from any discussion of the contract-baby system or any other landmines.

Damon seemed just as happy to keep it low key, asking how I’d met Stacey, Lorraine, and Jen, and how I’d learned to cook and my favorite foods.

We strolled around the park twice, with Ajax sniffing and peeing and watching squirrels skipping across the ground and barking at him. On the way back, I noticed a new exhibit display for my favorite local museum. They tended to get eclectic and unusual exhibits that were always fascinating. This one was the history of oil drilling in California. The display board had photos and captions describing some of what could be seen in the exhibit.

“Wow. There are tons of working oil derricks in L.A. In people’s backyards, even. Look, there’s one in a shopping center.”

I continued to examine the photos and read the captions. I’d just looked at several similar photos when a realization struck me.

“Oh my God! I know where they are! Come on!”

I whirled and started running back toward the hotel. Every jolting footstep sent a spasm of pain through my chest and head, but I didn’t care. I wanted to hurry to see if I was right.

Damon overtook me in just a few strides. He didn’t try to stop me to question my sanity or anything else. He just kept up.

“What are you doing?”

I was out of breath. My ribs refused to let me breathe, so I could barely talk. “Aunty Mommy’s house. I know where she hid them.”

Damon didn’t ask any more questions. When we got to the hotel, he asked the valet for his truck and then gently rubbed my back as I continued to wheeze.

In a few minutes, we were spinning down the road. But not headed toward the Wicked Bitch’s house.

“Where are you taking me?” I decided not to be mad yet and to give him the benefit of the doubt. He’d proven himself more than once in the past few days alone.

“Going to make a stop at the sanctuary. I know,” he said as I started to protest, “you don’t want to go in. That’s fine. I’ll go grab some water and bring it back. You’ll be glad I did, and it won’t take more than twenty minutes.”

It took twenty-five, but who was counting? By the time Damon returned to the truck with several sport-sized bottles of water, I was climbing the walls. Wordlessly he handed me one.

“You too,” I said. “For your hand.”

He took a breath as though about to argue then shrugged and started drinking. I followed suit. When I was done, he held something out.

“Here. The buddha sent this for you.”

On his palm was an orange-red rock about the size of a runt walnut.

“What’s that for?”

“I don’t know. He just said to give it to you. He likes you. Wants to protect you.”

I frowned at it and then took it. It was cool but almost instantly warmed. It turned to liquid and then circled my middle finger and hardened into a ring. It continued to radiate warmth. I went to take it off, but Damon wrapped my hand with his.

“Leave it on. Maybe it will help you heal along with the water. The buddha has been very worried about you.”

I remembered that night in the pool, listening to the buddha talk and decided Damon was right.

We headed in the direction of Aunty Mommy’s. This time Damon wasn’t content to be silent.

“Where do you think the gargoyle females are?”

Excitement sparkled inside me. “Hiding in plain sight. Did you see how they built towers and buildings around the pumpjacks in L.A. to hide them? That one by the high school was all covered with pretty flowers. That made me think about the Wall. It’s big enough, and plenty close.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “It’s a possibility. Close but the magic it would take to keep the gargoyle males from sensing their mates would be astronomical.”

“More than Aunty Mommy was capable of?”

He shrugged. “Hard to say. There’s always the possibility that she had outside help to set a containment spell. Mason’s sure she had help to create the dimension bubble for her secret office. I want to warn you we need to be very careful about getting inside the Wall. That kind of magic could do a lot of damage if improperly released.”

“Bring it on. I’m done letting the Wicked Bitch do damage,” I said. “She doesn’t get to fuck with me or the people I care about anymore.”

“Unfortunately, dead or not, she may not agree.”

“Good thing I’m not asking her, then.”

There were five cars parked out front of the massive house when we pulled in. I recognized the gray BMW Mason had been driving, but none of the other four. Damon parked behind a lemon-yellow Jaguar. We got out and Ajax went and peed on the Jag’s rear tire.

“Who else is here besides good ol’ mom and dad?”

“An attorney, a few others.” Damon kept his gaze on the house.

“What’s wrong?” He’d clamped his teeth so hard, he might break them. “Damon?”

“Everything’s fine.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. I can tell.” It irritated me that he didn’t want to share, but I didn’t push. He was entitled to a few secrets. I’d certainly kept plenty from him, and he had little reason to trust me. It still hurt, though.

“Let’s get this over with,” I muttered and stalked toward the grand entry.

Damon strode along beside me, and I could feel his tension rising. He’d squared his shoulders and thrust his chin out, the muscles in his arms and chest tightening. He had all the bearing of a man walking into the middle of a war zone. What was he expecting?

“Do my parents get along?”

“I don’t think getting along applies,” he said cryptically.

I stopped and turned to look at him, my hands on my hips. “What the hell does that mean? And this time, how about a straight answer?”

He considered his words, obviously trying to sort out an answer. “Their relationship came about because of a birthing contract. They conceived swiftly and lived together non-romantically or sexually until the birth. The participants in a birthing contract never think of each other as man and woman or friends or anything else. They are simply short-term business partners. I doubt they’d met each other more than a few times before the contract was signed, and after Osterraven’s shenanigans, I doubt they’ve had any since then. Under ordinary circumstances, they would be neither friendly or unfriendly. However, given all that’s happened with your birth and kidnapping, there is tension.”

The way he said the last word was loaded with meaning that I couldn’t understand. “I don’t suppose you want to clarify? Because my head hurts and all this birthing contract crap is making it worse.”

He pursed his lips. “The politics at play between the families means that their friendliness or lack thereof is not a matter of personal choice but politics. You’re about to step into the world of the ruling families, Beck, and you’re going to hate it.”

“Tell me something I didn’t already know.” I folded my arms over my chest, wincing as pain spiraled down my rib cage. “Are you suggesting I can’t handle this?”

For the first time since we’d left the sanctuary, he cracked a smile. He reached out and brushed a few loose strands of hair from my face. “Oh, no. You will handle this. You’re just going to come out feeling like you bathed in horse shit.”

“Better than dog shit, any day of the week. Come on. Let’s go get this over with.”

This time I grabbed his hand, linking my fingers between his. I kind of felt he needed the support. He disentangled himself.

“You probably don’t want them seeing us together like that. It could make things difficult.”

I scowled. “Why is it any of their business?”

His lips curled. “Like I told you before. They don’t want me with you. I’m not of the proper class for you to consider as a sexual partner. In case you should get pregnant.”

“And chalk another one up under ‘sentence I never imagined I’d hear said.’ I take it that means that they don’t like your mutt bloodlines and I shouldn’t be slumming?”

“Something like that.”

Anger swarmed through me. Who the hell were they to judge Damon? He was beautiful, brave, kind, generous, thoughtful and a whole lot of other things any child could hope for in a father. Not that my DNA donors cared about actually parenting. Well, they could go fuck themselves, and I was going to tell them so. That’s when I got an idea. I chuckled wickedly and grabbed his hand, dragging him forward. “This is going to be so much fun.”

I could have sworn I heard him mutter, “Oh, shit.”

The staff was still off. I opened the door, and we went inside. Somebody had cleaned up Garrett’s spell circle. The wall I’d smashed him against was still caved in. Other than that, there was no evidence a psycho had ever been planning a killing spree here.

I was more in a hurry to check the Wall than meet my DNA donors, but I didn’t get a choice. They were in the garden room with Mason and four other people. Mason pounced on me before we’d taken two steps into the room.

“Beck,” he said with a huge smile. He pulled me into a hug. “I’m so glad to see you up and about.” He stood back and looked me over, frowning. “That looks ugly.”

“Hurts too,” I said. “Worth it, though. I’m glad nothing happened to you.”

He sobered. “I’m afraid you may be less glad when I tell you what I’ve done.”

I reached for Damon’s hand. “Oh?”

He pulled a thick envelope from the breast pocket of his blazer and held it out. “I’ve signed over everything that belonged to Adriane to you.”

I stared at the envelope as if it were a cobra. I looked back up at him. Hurt and betrayal drilled through my heart. I don’t know why I should have been surprised. Or why it bothered me so much. My eyes started to burn, and I blinked furiously. I absolutely wasn’t going to cry.

Mason stepped toward me, his voice dropping. “I did this because it’s the right thing. Give it all away if you like. There are many charities that would be grateful. I know you hate this house, but keep in mind that the gargoyles are bound to this place. I know you would want them to have a safe home. You could give that to other creatures as well. You could create a rescue haven here.”

I hadn’t thought of that. I could do a lot of good, and if I sold this place to someone, if they had any taste at all, they’d pull down the gargoyles and sell them or more likely, destroy them. I couldn’t let that happen. Not until I figured out how to free them from their binding. I wasn’t convinced it couldn’t be done. Lots of impossible things happened all the time.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the envelope, and then leaned in to kiss his cheek. “You are a gem,” I murmured. He looked startled but pleased. I looked at Damon. “How do you feel about being my lawyer?”

“I already dumped all my clients. I’m all yours.”

I frowned. “Seriously? All of them? Why?”

He shrugged. “Mason is—was—my primary client. He took most my time.” His hand tightened on mine, and his blue eyes were deeply earnest. “I can’t have any conflicts of interest. I need you to trust me.”

“I do.” I handed him my envelope. “I’ll let you handle this, then.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a wink and slid it into a pocket.

“Let me introduce you around,” Mason said. “This is Ethan Osterraven, your father, and Elena Wyler Symms, your mother.”

My mother looked a lot like Aunty Mommy, though softer and warmer. Definitely less militant. I tried not to hate her on sight, but it was hard to separate her from the woman who’d tortured me all my life. Elena dressed in flowing green designer clothing. She looked elegant, her eyes thoughtful in an oval face, her expression vaguely wistful. When I tried to meet her gaze, she averted her eyes.

My father was tall with light brown hair threaded with silver. He had a bold face, angular with a square jaw and was well preserved for his age. In fact, he was quite handsome. He eyed me with a certain amount of speculation, as though looking for flaws. He seemed to like what he saw well enough because he developed a pleased smile that was in no way fatherly. Then his gaze ran down to where Damon and I held hands. A furrow dug between his brows.

“Welcome to Hell,” I said to them. “Did Mason show you the basement? You’ve got to check it out if not.”

“My sister was not kind to you,” Elena said.

“Now you’re not giving her enough credit. Your sister was an evil bitch who got her rocks off torturing me,” I said. “But that’s water under the bridge now that she’s dead. I never did pick up her ashes from the crematorium. Was planning a grand funeral too. Something super tacky with a dash of trailer trash and a giant cherry of hillbilly on top. I was so hoping to make her spin in her grave. Well, if ashes could spin. You get the point. Anyhow, if you want what’s left of her, you’re welcome to it. Save me the trouble of flushing her down the toilet.”

I was talking a mile a minute, obviously confusing both of the ’rents. I wasn’t what they’d expected, though you’d think that my little e-mail to the Proclamation Server would have given them a hint. Maybe they’d thought this little reunion was going to be one of those Hallmark moments where the child runs into the loving arms of her long-lost parents. Not that there were any loving arms around here. Except maybe Damon’s.

“I’d go to that funeral,” Mason said with a conspiratorial smile. “I hate to say it, but it’s no more than Adriane deserves.” His usual reserve had vanished, and he seemed far less uptight than normal. I liked the new him. I hoped he stuck around and let the old him wander off into oblivion.

“Your treatment at the hands of your aunt was unforgivable,” Ethan said, his voice deeper than I’d expected. “I’ve come to take you home—to your real home—where you can be properly cared for.”

Wow. Condescending much? “No thanks,” I said and then focused on Mason because that was sure to be annoying. “Who are the rest of my guests?”

“This is Hannah Wyler Symms, your cousin by way of—”

“Hi,” I said, interrupting. I didn’t care about her parents. I wouldn’t know who they were. The woman had long brown hair that was pulled up behind her head. I figured she was probably in her thirties, with tanned skin and a mouth that was used to smiling.

“Hi,” she replied and held out her hand. “Welcome back to the family.”

I shook her hand and appreciated her firm grip.

“She does not belong to your family,” Ethan declared arrogantly.

I turned to look at him. “And just who do you think I belong to?”

If he’d had any sense of self preservation, he would have realized that I wasn’t going to put up with anybody claiming me. I belonged to myself and only myself.

“You were contracted to the Osterraven line. You are a member of my family.”

Mason made a choking sound that might have been a laugh. I could feel Damon growing icy cold beside me, and if looks could kill, dear old dad would already be six feet under.

I tipped my head as I looked at Ethan. “No,” I said and turned my back on him again. I swore I heard him gnash his teeth. Clearly people didn’t ignore him.

“And you are?” I said to another man who looked a little bit like a cross between Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford. In other words, he was really pretty. In fact, they all were.

I glanced at Damon, who was still glaring at Philip. “You people sure grow them pretty. Or is that a selection criteria for contracts too?”

“Pretty?” He glanced at me in surprise.

“Look around. Everybody in the room could be a model. Well, except for me, unless I’m modeling for Horror Movie Today.”

“You’re beautiful,” Damon said, sounding offended that I would question that.

“Relax, Tarzan. I don’t have self-esteem issues.”

“Doesn’t mean you get to insult yourself in front of me,” he said, his indignation adorable.

“All right. I’ll insult other people if that makes you happy.”

He snorted as I turned back to Clint Redford.

“Sorry about that. You are very handsome, as are the two of you.” I looked at the other two men. One of them was about my age, lanky, with long blond hair caught up in a ponytail and a foxy face. The other looked like him but older, with short hair.

“Thank you,” the first man said solemnly.

I couldn’t tell if he had a great poker face or a bad sense of humor.

“I’m Kenneth Silverthorn.”

“What brings you here?”

“I accompanied Ethan.”

“Let me guess—you’re his contracts attorney.”

Now he smiled. “I’m afraid so.”

“It’s too bad you came all this way for nothing.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say it’s for nothing. I’m rather enjoying myself. At the very least, I have the admiration of a pretty young woman.”

“Yeah, I’m looking hot today,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I can tell you’re trouble.”

I looked at the elder of the last two men. “And who would you be? Bodyguards? Personal fluffers?”

The younger one just about choked on the last. I grinned.

“I’m afraid we requested to join this expedition to get to the bottom of my son’s involvement in this situation.” The elder one frowned with obvious worry.

“Son?”

“Benjamin. You used his account to send your e-mail to the PS. I’m Soren Sharpentier, and this is Marco, Benjamin’s cousin.”

I grinned and reached out to shake both their hands. “Oh! So very nice to meet you. Ben is a terrific kid, and we’ve become good friends. He’s very sweet.”

A look of relief ran over Soren’s face, and his gaze darted past me to my parents. There was probably some sort of power thing going on here. I thought of Garrett’s complaints about the drop in his family’s status. It looked like his family wasn’t the only one who feared my two families. Having known Ethan for all of a couple of minutes, I could understand why. The man was obviously arrogant and controlling.

“Well,” I said, turning around. “It’s nice to meet you all, but I’m afraid I’ve got some business to take care of right now. Mason? Will you come with us please?”

I headed out the glass doors onto the patio. I stopped a second to glance up at the gargoyles and took a deep breath. God, I hoped that their mates were inside the Wall. I hoped Mason and Damon would know how to free them if they were bound in magic.

“What’s going on?” Mason asked quietly as we pattered down the steps to the lawn and headed toward the Wall. Behind us, I could hear the others following. I didn’t particularly care, unless they tried to interfere in this rescue.

“We think the female gargoyles are hidden inside the climbing wall.”

Mason considered that information then nodded. “It’s definitely possible, though the magic containing them would have to be very strong to prevent the males from sensing them.”

“Think she rocked that kind of power?”

He nodded. “It’s quite possible. Or she had help.”

I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. Good because that meant we would find the missing gargoyle females. Bad because freeing them might prove very difficult. But then, Mason had freed the males. With all three of us pooling our power, we should be able to manage this. I said so.

“I hope so,” Mason said, but his voice carried a note of uncertainty.

“Do you think Marco is single?” I asked Damon as we walked around the Wall, looking for an access point.

“I have no intention of sharing you,” was his hot response.

“Right back at you. Oh, and I’d get over any ideas of birthing contracts if you want to be with me. But I’m not sure the girls would forgive me if I didn’t mention Marco to them. In fact....”

I pulled out my phone and texted Stacey, Jen, and Lorraine: Family reunion at the Wicked Bitch’s house, plus some pretty male scenery. May have found the gargoyles’ mates.

I hit send and pocketed my cell.

“What’s going on?” Hannah asked as my visitors came inside the cage. She looked around at the water cannons and the cage. “What an odd place.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” I said. “We’re trying to see if we can find a hidden entrance. Seems Aunty Mommy forced the gargoyles on the house to offer an eternal blood binding by threatening their mates. Then she hid the females, and the males can’t sense them.”

From the look on her face and everybody else’s, this was a stunning and horrifying revelation.

“She also spelled the males so they couldn’t transform unless the place was threatened and required defense,” Mason added as he came around from the rear of the Wall. “Entirely despicable. We released them from the transformation-blocking spell, and Beck believes that the females might be hidden inside this monstrosity.” He gestured toward the Wall.

“No sign of a door, though,” Damon said as he returned from circling the Wall.

“Let’s knock a hole in it, then,” I said.

“Too risky,” Soren said, clearly understanding better than I did the nature of the magic Aunty Mommy had used.

Marco, Kenneth, and even Ethan nodded agreement. Daddy Dearest looked angry, the kind you get when someone gets bullied and you want to do something about it. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

“So what do we do?”

“We work from the outside in and dismantle the spells,” Elena said, speaking up for the first time. “I’m familiar with the way Adriane worked magic. I should be able to help tear apart this ... evil.”

“You have no idea,” I said under my breath. She couldn’t tear down the memories of me on that wall.

Damon slid an arm around me and pulled me close. From the harsh set of his jaw, he was probably thinking the same thing. The trouble was, Aunty Mommy was already dead and there was no way to kill her any deader. A shame, really.

“You don’t know how to raise the dead, do you?” I asked hopefully.

“She’s cremated. There’s nothing to raise, even if I could, which I can’t, so don’t get any crazy ideas,” Damon said.

“A zombie cockroach army....” I said thoughtfully.

“You watch too many horror movies.”

“I don’t watch enough, actually.”

“Focus.”

Elena was formulating a plan with the others. It sounded like a bunch of nonsense, but then, they were all trained with magic and I was a total newbie.

“Are you going to be pissed when you can’t help get inside?” Damon asked.

Duh. “Yes.”

“You going to throw a tantrum over it?”

I whirled to face him. “Excuse me? Did you just say tantrum? Do you want me to kick you in the balls?”

He grinned and I realized he was pushing my buttons on purpose.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re suicidal, aren’t you?”

“I just want you to remember that you’ve got plenty of help here for the magic. That’s not going to be the problem. Female gargoyles are exponentially more dangerous than the males. They are the protectors of the young, the defenders of the home warren. The males go to war and offer services in the world. They serve in other people’s wars. But the females fight personal battles, and this is going to be very, very personal. They’ve been separated from their mates and calves for years.”

“Wait a minute. Where are the gargoyle children all this time if not here?” My stomach plummeted into my shoes. “Oh my God. You don’t think the Wicked Bitch destroyed them, do you?”

“Given all you’ve told me and what I’ve seen, I wouldn’t put it past her. But I’m praying she didn’t get the chance because if she did, then the females are going to attack mercilessly, and the males will be blood bound to defend us.”

Oh, fuck. “Mason!” I sprinted over to him, pulling him aside. “Did you learn anything in the room? Anything about the gargoyles at all?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“So no mention of their children?”

“Their calves? No.”

I plowed my fingers through my hair, yanking on it. “Shit.”

“Do you want to wait? See if we can find out something about the calves?” Damon had followed me over.

I didn’t even hesitate. “No. That would be cruel, and maybe their kids were never involved. Maybe they’re safe somewhere.”

“Then it’s all going to come down to you.”

I frowned at Damon. “Why do you say that?”

“The gargoyle males knew you. There’s a chance the females do too. They have a stronger ability to sense beyond themselves and may recognize that your aunt was your enemy also. You can build on that. The rest of us have no chance to reach them. They’ll see us as the ordinary rank and file—same as your aunt—and they won’t trust us. The trouble is, you may not get a chance to talk before they try to kill you.”

“I guess I’d better talk fast, then.” I looked at Mason. “Will you need to do another spell like the one you used to free the males?”

“I don’t know. It depends on how they’re being held.”

“We’re ready,” Elena said, coming up to stand beside me. “Rebecca, Mr. Matrovani, will you be taking part?”

“Call me Beck and no, I won’t,” I said.

“I will,” Damon said.

“You should withdraw to outside the fence,” Elena said to me. “It’ll be safer there for the time being.”

The woman who had given birth to me had a kind of faraway look to her eyes, like part of her was somewhere else. She turned to her brother.

“Mason, you’re to maintain the anchor and be prepared to take point on a secondary spell. Mr. Matrovani, you’ll do the same. The rest of us will join you and anchor in rotation in the case we can’t detach once we’ve begun. Osterraven will take third point with Hannah, and then it will be my turn again.”

She carried herself with a kind of quiet confidence that said she was sure of her own skills and had no fear. I wished I didn’t have fear. I felt like I was swimming in it.

I gave Damon a quick kiss, well aware of my father’s disapproval, and then did as told, retreating outside the fence with Ajax. He’d been watching everyone with a quiet predatory stare, assessing and measuring. I wondered what conclusions he’d come to.

He sat between me and the fence, staring intently as everyone else began their spells. Damon and Mason had gone to the other side of the wall where I couldn’t see them. Osterraven was on the right side with Elena angled toward the left. Hannah, Marco, Kenneth, and Soren stood between them.

I didn’t hear it begin. Elena held her hands out to the sides, her palms angled toward the wall. She chanted something. The words grew louder, and more voices joined hers. Then she turned to the right and began a patterned walk, swaying as she went, her hands moving in graceful arcs and bends. The others followed her as she made the circuit, and though they chanted, they merely walked, their hands interlaced together and held to their chests as if they were all praying.

They made three circuits and then stopped. When they did, golden light flickered along the ground along their path. Elena continued to circle, weaving in and out of her companions, who now faced the Wall, their hands extending from their sides, palms pointed downward. Magic flowed from them down into the gold, and the circle grew brighter until I had to look away before my retinas burned.

I kept trying to sneak peeks through slit eyelids, but it was no good. Strangely, the light didn’t bother Ajax. He’d risen to his feet, watching the proceedings without any difficulty at all.

Electricity filled the air. It felt as if a giant storm were about to hit, complete with crazy lightning and a dozen tornados.

It was hard to breathe, the air was so thick. I felt a spiraling from inside the circle, a drawing inward, winding tighter and tighter. It pulled on my heart and muscles, the marrow of my bones. I stepped forward before I could stop myself. Then I took another step and another, until my face was pressed against the chain links of the fence and I couldn’t go any farther. I curled my fingers through the wire and tried to pull it apart. To my surprise, it tore like wet toilet paper.

I pushed through the opening and started walking again. Now I was staring at the glare of magic, and it no longer seemed so bright or painful. It called to me like sunlight on a warm ocean beach. Ajax pressed against my legs, keeping pace with me.

The closer I came to the Wall, the stronger the pull on me grew and the faster I needed to go. It wasn’t a slow build. Need slammed into me, and I catapulted forward. The molecules of my body separated, and I became smoke. I streamed through the building magic of the spell and then through the Wall and inside.

I couldn’t see. I wanted light and it came to me. Or rather the cloud of me began to glow. The gargoyle females had been stacked like cordwood on top of a thick rubber mat. Each was covered in a shell of plastic resin two inches thick. Layered inside the resin were patterns of wire, leaves, stones, and who knew what else.

The magic that drew me wound around the stacked females, continuing to tighten its pull. I flowed toward them. It didn’t occur to me to resist. I probably should have. Self-preservation is clearly not my strongest suit. Though I had escaped Garrett’s death curse and hiked miles for help, so it wasn’t my weakest suit either.

Following the flow of spooling magic felt right. I snorted inwardly. Because danger always feels dangerous, right? Yeah. It was too late for logic, though, because I’d committed and couldn’t pull free now.

I came to the spindle at the heart of the winding magic. It glowed with opal light. I wondered what this had to do with what the others were doing outside the Wall. I decided it didn’t matter and slid inside the spindle core.

I formed back into my own shape and hardened, though I wasn’t entirely solid. I was more like a ghost. I found myself in the center of a group of angry gargoyle females who weren’t altogether there either.

“Hi,” I said. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“We recognize your being. Who are you?” demanded one of the gargoyles. She was slender and graceful, with a face that reminded me of an Egyptian cat. Her ears thrust tall and tufted, her muzzle elongated and pointed. She had wicked talons like an eagle, and the fur on her head melded into feathers on her body. Her feet were lion paws. She didn’t look at all pleased to see me.

“You recognize me?”

“Your being,” she corrected. “You have often been near. We have tasted your blood, sweat, and tears. They have strengthened our prison.”

The news hit like a punch to the gut. I’d helped the Wicked Bitch keep them captive. The idea disgusted me beyond all reason. I didn’t have time to think about it. I needed to focus on getting them free. Telling them I was related to Aunty Mommy and why I was scrambling up the wall outside seemed like a really bad idea at the moment.

“That’s a long story,” I said. “Right now, we need to get you out of here. There are magic practitioners outside trying to dismantle the containment spells. What can I do?”

The gargoyle speaker wrinkled her nose, showing a scary mouthful of needle-sharp crystal teeth. “You can do nothing.”

“Fuck that. There has to be a way.”

She gave a chuff of bitter humor. “She who bound us reinforced the prison spells for years. Now only she can remove them.”

“She’s dead,” I said bluntly.

The gargoyles went still. I could feel the horror and resignation sweeping over them and settling like a heavy cloud. It filled the small space to suffocating.

“Then we are trapped forever.”

“No. You’re not,” I argued. “If we can’t figure it out, I’m told that the elements will erode the spells. If nothing else, I’ll go drop you in the river, and it will free you.”

“It would take a thousand years. By then, our bodies would be worn away to nothing.”

She was full of all kinds of happy news.

“Then we’ll break the damned spells. I promised your mates I’d find you and bring you back.”

They all jerked closer to me, their eagerness palpable.

“They live? They are free?”

“The Wicked Bitch wasn’t particularly nice to them, but they are alive and mostly free.”

Her lips peeled from her teeth in disgust. “The blood oath.”

“Yep. I’m working on figuring a way around that one too.”

She looked away and, though I got the impression she didn’t like to show emotion, her hatred and loss were too much to hide.

“At least they’re alive.”

The look she turned on me was glacier ice. “But not free. Never to go home; we have no mates.” Her eyes flamed.

“The hell you don’t. All of you will get to go home together no matter what it takes. Now what can you tell me about the spells holding you?”

She hesitated, clearly trying to decide if it was worth it to bother with answering then decided to humor me.

“The spell draws magic to reinforce itself. From us, always, and from any who try to break it. Even now they will find they are caught in the trap and will be emptied of power.”

My breath caught. “They won’t die, will they?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

Not reassuring. Suddenly my sense of urgency woke up and hit me with a baseball bat.

“Why are you here?” I looked around at the ghostly gargoyles. “I mean, why are your spirits separated from your bodies?”

“Dividing our flesh from our spirits made it possible for us to be bound so tightly. The enchantress forced us from our bodies and then contained them in shells implanted with magic to keep us from returning. If this magic nexus is destroyed, our spirits will disperse and our bodies will be nothing more than dead stone.”

“So you’re saying that I have to take the resin and spells off your bodies before I try to break the prison spells or your spirits will go flying off into the wild blue yonder?”

“Yes.”

Well, fuck. I’d thought knowing what needed to be done would make it easier. I’d been stupidly hoping that I’d get some instant grand idea of how to save the day. Instead, I felt caught between a rock and a hard place with a clock ticking down to Armageddon.

Still, how hard could it be? Movie action heroes managed to save the day at the last minute all the time.

Clearly I watched too many movies.

“I’d better go see what I can do.” I tried to sound confident and wished to hell I could get some advice from Damon. But all I had was me, myself, and I, and that would have to be enough.

Still in smoke form, I tried to exit the core of the winding magic but I couldn’t. Every time I started to make headway against the incoming flow, I got dragged back. After a few attempts, I gave up. I didn’t have time to fight a battle I couldn’t win.

I examined the weird little space we were crammed into. Opal light formed the walls. Below us, I could just make out the stack of bodies in their resin prisons. I looked up.

The light flared outward from beneath our feet, rising up in a balloon before closing high overhead. In the center of the closure hung a beaten gold disk inset with concentric bands of what looked like lapis lazuli and turquoise. There were six each of those and solid circle in the center. The middle stone was the size of dinner plate and glinted with streaks of gold, red, and tarnished silver, almost black.

The binding spells had to be tied into that. I flowed myself up closer. That’s when I realized the disk wasn’t inside the spell nexus at all. It was above it, hanging like a weird disco light from the indent in the top of the Wall where I used to huddle to hide. Where I’d bled and cried and sweated and apparently fueled Aunty Mommy’s evil. Driving me up the climbing wall had been more than just torture; it had been a means to an end.

God, but that pissed me off.

I floated back down.

“You see?” The speaker for the gargoyle women glared at me. The others remained eerily quiet, watching with hopeless eyes. “You cannot escape the light unless you can break the spells. But the spells are outside where you cannot reach.”

Couldn’t I? Knowing that Aunty Mommy had been using me—using my pain, my blood, my sweat, my tears—all to torture innocent wives and mothers.... It ignited a rage in my belly. The kind that had driven me to climb the Wall no matter how often I fell, no matter how bad I hurt. The kind that drove me to run, to swim, to beat the Wicked Bitch by never surrendering. I’d never done it yet, and I wasn’t starting today.

I asked my body to turn solid. The gargoyle females recoiled as I turned back to flesh.

“What are you?” the lead one asked again.

“If there’s any justice, I’m your ticket out of here,” I said and plunged into the wall of coruscating light.

Something clamped over and lit my body on fire. I stumbled out, falling down on top of the pile of gargoyle females. Blood trickled from hundreds and hundreds of little wounds, no bigger than the tip of a pencil. They covered every inch of me. Blood trickled into my eyes, a film of red coloring my vision. I’d lost the light and called it back. Once again, I became my own glow stick.

The framework of the Wall was steel. An easy enough climb. I scrambled up to the top in less than five minutes. The wounds on my hands and feet turned my grip slippery, but it was nothing compared to the water cannons.

Once I reached the top, I swung my way across the roof to the disk, catching the steel beams and throwing myself forward like a kid on the playground monkey bars. I dropped down on top of the metal plate, expecting it to swing or shake, but it remained solid as rock. Solid, but not indifferent. The moment I touched down and my blood hit it, the gold surface lit orange and heated up. It was like standing on the burner of a stove. If I didn’t do something soon, I’d be French fried.

I didn’t have time to think. I knew what I had to do—well, I knew what the results had to be. So I just did what I always did. Decided what I wanted and made it happen.

I took my magic and slammed it against the disk. My invisible club melted into the flow and turned against me. I hadn’t really thought it would work. Had to try, though.

Now to do it the hard way.

Blood mattered. It held its own magic—of life, of dreams, of passion. It also meant sacrifice and pain—a kind of giving that went far beyond money or canned goods on Thanksgiving. Blood was essential and the more you gave, the greater the sacrifice.

I got on my hands and knees, centering myself over the central stone. Blood dripped onto it like red rain, hissing and spattering. Magic flowed into the stone and radiated downward. I sucked in a breath and held it. Remembering what Ben had told me about focus and intent, I put all my strength of imagination into willing my magic to form a blade in my hand. The flow pulled on me, but I refused to let it win, to let her beat me. I felt my magical blade take shape and harden in my hand. Before it could dissolve, I slashed though the flow.

Strands of magic split and tangled into balls of power that popped and wriggled wildly through the air. I slashed again and then again.

More threads, more tangles.

Now the disk grew white hot, and the stones began to crack and flake loose from the gold. Freed magic turned into flailing whips that cut through my clothing and into my flesh. I didn’t need to have experience to know the spell was done for. It was an eighteen-wheeler plunging down a mountain road with no brakes. I had maybe a minute or two before it gave way altogether. Not enough time to climb down and crack open the resin shells on the gargoyle bodies. Not that I could. My hands and lower legs were burned to a crisp.

Might as well make the damage count. If I died, I was going out a winner.

I took my magical blade and sheared through the four chains holding up the disk. It plunged sickeningly, crashing on top of the stack of gargoyle females. The impact sent me flying. I hit the rubber mat on the floor in a twisting belly flop and stuck the landing.

I couldn’t breathe and I was in so much pain, I couldn’t even think. Sheer stubbornness pushed me up to my feet. I staggered to the stacked gargoyles. My magical blade was gone, and I couldn’t seem to call it back. I couldn’t concentrate through the pain. But I didn’t have to destroy the shells. I just had to make a hole. It didn’t even have to be big. A hairline crack would be enough to give the gargoyle spirits access to their bodies. Traveling as smoke had taught me that much.

I put both hands against the clear resin then lost my strength and wilted against it. I pulled up all the magic I had, wishing I could somehow tap in to the storm whirling around me. Maybe I could have, but I wasn’t sure I’d survive long enough to make a hole. I decided to go with better safe than sorry. Oh, who the hell was I kidding? I’d hit sorry a long time ago. Didn’t make me even think about stopping.

I focused all my magic into my hands, ramming it down and through. For a few seconds, nothing happened. I dug deeper and thrust harder. All of a sudden, I felt the resin shell give. Cracks radiated out between my splayed fingers. I laughed.

“Take that, bitch,” I said and thrust again. I imagined Aunty Mommy under my hands and unleashed everything I had. The resin exploded and shards went everywhere, spinning and cutting. At the same time, the rest of the binding spells finished unwinding. Fireworks burst. Sparks sprayed. I flew back and hit the iron framework of the Wall.

I woke on grass. Sunlight bathed me. A warm body snugged up against me, and a weight pressed on my chest. I blinked. My vision was hazy. I didn’t feel any pain. That was unexpected. I thought dying would hurt more.

The weight lifted off my chest.

“Beck? Can you hear me? Talk to me, sweetheart. Please wake up.”

Damon. He sounded terrified, his voice hoarse with desperation and dread.

“Did it work?” I asked. Well, that’s what I meant to ask. Mostly I croaked something that sounded like a sick cat in heat.

“Thank God,” he rasped and his fingers brushed my cheek. “You scared the living shit out of me.”

I licked my lips, though fat lot of good it did me. My tongue was sandpaper. “Did it work?” I asked again and this time he seemed to understand.

“The female gargoyles are free.”

“Good.”

Darkness pulled me back under, and I let it take me.

The next time I woke up, I could hear Jen, Stacey, and Lorraine. They were pissed.

“Haven’t you fucking people hurt her enough? You have to try to kill her harder than her own fucking mother did?” Stacey.

“I don’t give a fuck if that cunt was her aunt.” Lorraine said in response to a rumbled voice. “You people won’t rest until Beck’s dead, will you?”

She used the c-word. Lorraine. She never did that. She had to be in a rage.

“Not on our watch,” Jen declared and of the three, she was the only one who didn’t sound pissed. Which meant she’d gone past rage into the kill zone, and you did not want to be in her crosshairs when she got that way. “You are all cordially invited to leave. If you choose not to, I will personally rip your hearts out and shove them down your throats before dousing you in gasoline and lighting you on fire. You. Are. Not. Welcome.”

I tried to say something. I don’t know if I wanted to explain to the girls this was all my fault or if I wanted to tell them not to kick Damon out. I ended up calling his name.

“Right here.” His breath whispered across my face, and his hand wrapped mine. He didn’t sound any better than before, as if his vocal cords had gone through a cheese grater.

I tilted my head toward his voice. “You okay?”

He made a choking laugh. “Fuck no, but I’m a hell of a lot better than you. The hospital is going to think you need to be locked up for your own safety. I’m pretty sure they’ll be right.”

I didn’t have a good argument for that one.

“It’s over now,” I said, as though that made it all better.

I felt him bend over me, his shadow darkening my hazy vision. He brushed a kiss over my lips. It stung. I didn’t care.

“Please, God, I hope that’s true,” he said in a heartfelt prayer. “I can’t keep almost losing you.”

“Okay.” Though what I was agreeing to, I wasn’t all that sure. I thought a second. “Ajax?”

“Right beside you.”

Ah. The warmth against my side.

“Are you busy right now?” I asked.

Damon snorted. “Hell yes. I’m taking care of you, and don’t get any stupid ideas about telling me to shove off. I’m not going anywhere.”

I smiled. I think. “You should take me to Banana Buddha.”

He didn’t even answer. He just scooped me into his arms and levered up to his feet before marching away.

“How come I don’t hurt?”

“Your mother spelled away the pain.”

“That’s nice.”

He just snarled something extremely rude and kept walking. A chorus of voices shouted out to him. He didn’t stop. He took me through the house and out the front door to his truck.

“Front or back?” he asked.

“Front.”

He opened the door and laid me on the seat, shutting me in. The back door opened, and I heard Ajax leap up. There was a rustling sound and the door closed. Damon came around to the driver’s side and yanked open his door.

“Where are you taking her? To the hospital?” Lorraine asked. “I can call and let them know you’re on the way.”

“She asked to go to the sanctuary,” he said, sliding into his seat.

“Sanctuary?”

“It will help her,” he promised. “I won’t let anything else happen to her.”

“You let this shit storm happen,” she snapped. Then, “I’m sorry. I know it’s not your fault. Just help her, okay?”

“I’ll call you after,” he said. “And you were right the first time. I shouldn’t have let this happen.”

Oh hell to the no! I managed to lift myself onto my elbow. “Nobody tells me what to do anymore,” I rasped. “Had enough,” I added and then collapsed back onto the seat.

“Like I said,” Lorraine sighed. “Better get going. I’m going to go keep Jen from committing mass murder.”

Who was going to stop Lorraine? I didn’t have the energy to ask.

Damon started the engine and put the truck in gear. I wiggled myself so my head rested on his thigh. He stroked his fingers over my hair.

I didn’t pass out again, though I was too wrung out to talk. Damon drove fast. Really fast, which probably said a lot about how bad I looked. Or maybe it was how bad I actually was. It seemed only a few minutes before we bumped off on the little side road and parked. Damon lifted me out and carried me past the mushroom circle and down to the pool, walking into its chill waters.

I felt the cold only a little bit. Maybe the effect of the anti-pain spell. I lay across Damon’s strong arms, closing my eyes as the clear water washed over me.

“What’s happened?”

I opened my eyes and blinked. I still couldn’t really see. The Banana Buddha was nothing more than a gold blotch hanging above me.

“Hey,” I said. “I hurt myself.”

“So I see.”

I could have sworn he sniffed disapprovingly. I started to laugh, but water filled my nose and mouth, and I sputtered and choked as Damon lifted me up into a sitting position.

“Thanks,” I said when I’d gained control.

“Try not to breathe the water anymore,” he said sardonically. “It seems to be bad for your health.”

“Funny.”

“I have missed seeing you,” the buddha said.

“What? No other naked girls have come to hang out here?”

Another sniff. “I have no interest in whether you are naked or not.”

“I do,” Damon said in a growly voice that made my insides go all quivery. “Though I’m not liking the hamburger look. Plus, it’s messy.”

“Hush,” I told him, attempting to look stern, but it was hard to say if I managed. My face was just as numb as the rest of me.

“How long before this starts to work?” I asked.

“Your exterior wounds are not severe,” Banana Buddha said. “They will heal quickly. The carnelian ring I gave you began already. Your internal injuries will take more time.”

Which in no way answered my question. He should have been a lawyer. “Care to give me a ballpark estimate?”

“No.”

I groaned. “You must have been a cat in another life.”

“My people do not believe in resurrection of souls.”

“That’s right. You’re a buddha, not a Buddha.”

“Exactly so.”

“I’m getting a headache.”

“I’m surprised that you didn’t already have one with all your injuries.”

“Damon, make him stop.” I was whining. I hated whining.

“I’m finding this conversation entertaining,” he said. “I see no reason to interfere.”

“Aren’t you freezing?” Maybe I could just get the subject changed.

“I’m keeping myself warm.”

“What happened after I tore down the binding spells and opened up the resin coffins?”

Damon didn’t answer right away. I blinked. He was still a blur. The haziness of my sight wasn’t clearing up all that fast. I contemplated sticking my head under water.

“Earth to Damon, come in, please.”

“The climbing wall cracked, and pieces sloughed off. Then the female gargoyles rammed through, flying to freedom. We found you collapsed against the bottom of what was left of the structure. You were covered in debris. I pulled you to safety.”

He sounded very angry. Well, actually he sounded like he was reading from a newspaper account. No emotion at all, which translated into seriously pissed off in Damon-world. He and Jen had that much in common.

“Thanks,” I said.

“I was in the neighborhood,” he said dryly.

“The gargoyles said that the spells were pulling magic from all of you. That you could die.” My voice cracked, despite my efforts to act as matter-of-fact as he was.

He didn’t answer, which told me the gargoyles had been right. That I’d been right not to dawdle in destroying Aunty Mommy’s spellwork. Emotion rose in me, and my throat tightened. To distract myself, I tipped my head back so my eyes went under the water. I blinked a couple of times before Damon pulled me up.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I was getting water in my eyes. I can’t see very well.”

He started swearing again, a litany of imaginative curses centering on the Wicked Bitch and spreading out to my families, magic, gargoyles, himself, and me. Pretty much he covered all possible territories with marvelous creativity and zest.

Eventually he ran out and glared at me. I could feel it.

“Can you not just get well, stay out of trouble, and stop scaring me shitless?”

“Ducking my head halfway under the water was scary? I have to tell you, you set a ridiculously low bar on what constitutes the ‘what terrifies Damon’ category on this episode of Beck Jeopardy.”

He muttered something and I thought I heard the word spanking, but my ears were half full of water and I couldn’t be sure.

“I’m tired.”

“Guess you should have stayed in bed today, shouldn’t you?”

“Your lack of sympathy is noted.”

“Good.”

After that, I drifted off into a half sleep, unable to keep awake. I faded in and out, the murmur of Banana Buddha’s and Damon’s voices mixing with the lap and rush of water to lull me to sleep.

“Beck? Beck, come on now, time to wake up.”

Damon shook me gently and tilted me up upright against him.

“I wasn’t asleep,” I lied groggily.

“It’s time to go.”

“I’m healed up?”

“Enough. I can do the rest.”

I yawned and my stomach made a fierce growling sound. “And pass out so I can go gallivanting off where I want without you knowing?”

His teeth ground loudly together. I could see him clearly now. The numbing spell had worn off, and I ached all over, but nothing like I should have. My ribs didn’t hurt nearly as bad as I thought they should have, especially after I’d been tossed around like a rag doll. I bet my belly flop onto the floor or my flight into the side of the wall at the end had made sure all my ribs broke.

I didn’t have the heart to look at my hands yet. They’d been cooked extra-crispy style, and I couldn’t handle seeing the damage. I kept them in the water as Damon held me.

At some point, he’d stripped off his shirt and tossed it onto the shore. He radiated warmth, likely thanks to magic, but since I was starting to shiver, I melted against him, sliding my arms around his waist and snuggling against his satin skin. His heart beat strong beneath my cheek, and I couldn’t resist the urge to lick him. His arms contracted sharply and then loosened.

“You won’t go gallivanting. I’ll set the girls to keep watch. I don’t think you’ll be getting past them,” he said, totally ignoring the lick.

I made a face. “You don’t have to sound so smug about it.”

“I know, but why fight it?”

“Payback’s a bitch,” I threatened.

“And how are you enjoying it?” he taunted me. “Come on. Let’s go before you start gnawing on my arm. The way your stomach’s been growling the last hour, I wouldn’t put it past you.”

I glanced upward to the sky. It was still day, but sundown wasn’t so far off. “How long have we been here?”

“Six hours, maybe seven.”

That long and he’d been here in the water with me the entire time? “Thanks.”

His brows rose. “I love the hell out of you. Where else would I go?”

I couldn’t get any words out through the knot in my throat, so I pushed out of his arms and swam to the pool’s little beach. Ajax leaped up, wagging fiercely. He barked and hopped up and down, bouncing his front feet in the water. I sat next to him and put my arms around his neck. He licked my face and then thrust his nose into my bare belly. I complied with the silent order and scratched his ruff. My fingers felt pretty good for being charcoal. I sucked up my fears and looked at them.

“That’s not even possible,” I said, turning my hands over and examining them. “Not even hours in the water could fix the damage I did to my hands.” And yet they were perfect. Pale healthy skin covered webs of muscle. I looked at Damon. “How?”

“When you aren’t under a death curse, I am quite able to help,” Banana Buddha said, shimmering out of thin air.

He hung above the water just in front of me. His smiling face was shaded with irritation and something like ... hurt. Because I’d refused to come back? I mentally kicked myself. Why wouldn’t he be hurt? He’d made this place for me. It was a gift I’d cherished my whole life and never even knew he existed. He was like my fairy godfather. He’d looked out for me the best way he could, and I’d run off and stuck my head in the sand so I wouldn’t have to deal with my feelings. Stupid feelings, at that. I’d felt so betrayed—by Damon, by the sanctuary itself for letting him enter, and maybe even by the little buddha who’d been there spying all those years and never told me.

But was it spying if he honored my wish to be alone? And Damon—he’d blundered in where he had no business, but he’d apologized, and I knew he'd never meant me harm. As for the sanctuary, it had always been faithful to me; always here when I needed it. The betrayal I felt wasn’t because of any of them. It was all on me because I’d somehow decided that the very place I’d always felt safe couldn’t be that if anybody else came inside. I’d been so used to going it alone, to handling all the pain and the hate and the horror of my childhood all by myself, that I hadn’t realized I didn’t have to. I had the girls. I had Damon. I had Ajax. I had Banana Buddha and Kenny and Monica and Ben and maybe even Ballard and Jeffers. They might not have understood my pain, but they certainly understood and cared about me.

How about that? I had a weird and wacky family that wanted the best for me and were there to help me along the rough roads. I wasn’t alone at all.

In short, I was an idiot. A really big one. Luckily, I wasn’t so stupid I couldn’t learn.

“I’m sorry. Will you talk to me when I come back? Tell me about yourself?” I kind of felt like I was asking him out on a date.

His smile was positively dazzling. He clapped his hands on his knees, and his yellow flesh jiggled. “I would like that very much.”

One down, several to go.

I looked at Damon, who still stood in waist-deep water, just behind the buddha.

“What would you say to helping me throw a little party? Tonight.”

It’s amazing what can be accomplished in a matter of a couple hours when everybody wants to help. I started calling people the moment I got back in the truck. I decided to hold the party at Aunty Mommy’s house for lack of a better location. Only it wasn’t her house anymore. It was mine.

I called in the staff and told them what I was up to. A shocked Dierdre and Linus promised to come in and do what they could as far as decorations. I sent the girls, Kenny, and Monica for food after calling around to various restaurants to see what they could provide on short notice. Next I texted and called to issue invitations. I ordered Ben not to come if it would in any way screw up his homework or tomorrow’s classes.

I had Damon phone Mason. When my uncle was on the line, Damon passed his cell to me.

“How are you?” Mason asked, sounding worried.

I smiled. “I’m actually pretty good. Listen, I’m throwing a party in just a few hours at the house. Do you think you could let Elena, Ethan, Marco, Soren, Hannah, and Kenneth know? And maybe you could make sure everybody stays away from the Wall. It’s probably dangerous.”

Damon had said it looked as though someone had set a bomb off inside, which was fairly close to the truth. Debris littered the ground inside the cage, and a residue of magic continued to swirl and pulse. We’d have to clean that up, Damon told me, or it could turn into something ugly. But that was a chore for tomorrow ... or maybe the next day.

I’d decided to stage the party in the garden room and back patio to take advantage of the warm evening. I wanted to head over there and start getting it ready, but Damon took me to the hotel instead.

“Go shower and get changed. I’ll be back for you in a while.”

“Where are you going?”

“You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”

He pulled me into a long, slow kiss that made my bones melt and then pushed me out the door and left me on the sidewalk as he drove away with Ajax in the backseat.

He came back for me an hour and a half later. I’d fallen asleep on the bed and woke to his closing the door on the bathroom. I heard the shower start. I got up and found Ajax in the little kitchen having dinner. It looked like a hash of steak, rice, and yellow squash. He ate it all. I shook my head. The dog was not going to like the idea of kibble. Not that it would ever show up in his bowl. I could afford to feed him gourmet food, and I didn’t have any problem doing it, especially given how tough his life had already been.

After he finished, I sat on the floor and petted him, scratching his stomach and chest. I couldn’t feel his ribs so easily anymore. We were both healing, inside and out. Thanks to the sanctuary pool, the bruises and swelling from my fight with Garrett had all but disappeared, and those I’d gained in rescuing the female gargoyles were already turning green and yellow. All in all, I’d made it out of the week all right.

Damon came out ten minutes later. “Are you ready?”

“Yep.”

I got to my feet. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door and downstairs before I could say anything else. The time in the pool had erased the bruises on his hand, and his bones showed whole beneath his skin.

We drove up to the house just after sunset. Pinks and oranges still streaked the sky in a lovely watercolor, and the night twined thick with the scents of flowers and the lush green smells of nearby irrigated pastures.

The circular driveway was already filling with cars. Damon parked and we hopped out. I headed for the front door, but he grabbed my hand and guided me around back. We retraced our steps of that day when the cops had questioned me and I’d revealed what Aunty Mommy had done to me on the Wall. It seemed like a year ago.

The Wall was gone. Where it had stood was now a bower of trees and vines and cascading flowers.

“Illusion,” Damon said as I gasped and stopped to marvel.

“It’s lovely.”

He smiled, clearly pleased at my reaction. “Come on.”

He pulled me onward and around to the back of the house. I stopped dead, my mouth falling open. Glittering flowers of light in every color sparkled and shone on the house and overhead in a fairy canopy. Vines twisted and twirled over invisible supports. Glowing butterflies fluttered from flower to flower while puffs of gold sparks floated across and fell like stars.

“It’s stunning,” I whispered.

“I hoped you’d like it,” Damon said in his deep, rich voice.

A thrill of pleasure and excitement ran through me. “You did this? For me?”

His hand tightened on mine. “I wanted to remind you that magic can be beautiful. It isn’t always blood and agony.”

I turned and put my arms around him, a knot growing in my throat, my heart swelling. “Thank you,” I whispered against his neck. “Thank you so much. I love it.”

He wrapped his arms around me, snugging me against his hard form. He kissed my forehead and cheek.

“I thought I lost you today,” he said, his voice rough. “You looked so broken. I didn’t think you were even breathing.”

“I’m sorry.” Not that I would have done it differently. He knew it too. “Did anyone talk to the gargoyle males?”

“Mason. They already knew their mates had escaped. They were grateful.”

“They shouldn’t be. They should be pissed as fuck that they were all turned into slaves and victims.”

“Trust me, they are. But they also know that you risked your life to free the females.”

“It doesn’t feel like nearly enough.”

“It’s hope like they haven’t had since your aunt captured them, and that’s a lot. You told them you’d try to free them, and I think they believe you now.”

“I hope so. I am going to find a way. Are the females coming back ever?” I hoped so.

Damon shrugged. “Likely, but hard to say when. Your aunt didn’t harm their calves, so they will have gone to reunite with them. Anyway, come on. You’re late to your own party.”

It was a lovely evening. Just about everybody I’d invited came, including all my employees. Even Jeffers and Ballard put in an appearance, both startled at my swift healing. Since I couldn’t rationally explain it, I didn’t try. Instead I pointed them to the food and drink, then Lorraine, Jen, and Stacey descended on me and pulled me aside.

“You’re okay?”

“On the road to recovery.”

“You scared the life out of us,” Stacey said and she started crying.

I hugged her. Her tears were catching, and my eyes burned. “I’m so sorry.”

“We got here just as all hell broke loose,” Jen said. “You should have seen Damon. He was a force of nature. He pulled you out of the wreckage, and if you could have seen his face.... He looked gutted.”

“He wouldn’t let anybody near you except us and Ajax. He was kissing your hands and begging you to wake up. It was a breath of relief when you came to and asked what happened, but then you passed out again,” Lorraine said.

“We told him you had to go to the hospital,” Stacey said. “He was about to, and then Elena—your mother, I guess—offered put a spell on you to numb out your pain.”

“We kind of got in the faces of your so-called family,” Jen said, not at all apologetic.

I grinned and pulled them into a group hug. “I heard. I was awake. You guys were spectacular. I was a little surprised you let Damon take me.”

They all gave me one of those looks that totally questioned my mental capacity.

“He knew where this sanctuary place was. Plus, like I said, he was wrecked,” Jen said. “The man was more than desperate. He was out of his gourd. He’s got it bad for you, Beck. Really bad. You’re going to have to seriously consider keeping him. Otherwise I might have to take him off your hands.”

Stacey snorted. “As if. He can’t even see another woman but Beck.”

I’d started blushing and decided it was time to deflect. “Did you meet Marco?”

“You mean Sex-On-A-Stick-Man? Oh, hell yes. Don’t tell me he’s bad news. Or maybe do. I like ’em bad,” Stacey said, sliding the tip of her tongue along her upper lip suggestively. “Bad is lovely when it’s temporary.”

“I don’t know if you’ve got a chance, Stace. He was eyeing Lorraine like she was a lollypop he wanted to lick all over,” Jen said.

“Oh, please,” Lorraine said. “He’s a tomcat. Every time you two turn your backs, he’s checking you out.”

“Maybe you should talk him into a foursome,” I suggested.

Stacey shook her head. “Too many vaginas, not enough dick.”

We all broke out laughing.

I made the rounds, talking to everyone, stuffing my face with as much food as would fit into my stomach, and generally enjoying the fact that I was still alive. Breathing is a wonderful thing.

At some point, I had to talk to my mother and father. They approached me separately, Elena first.

“Thank you for the numbing spell,” I said.

“I’m glad it helped. You look much better.”

“I am.” She was clearly curious about how I’d been healed, but I wasn’t going to enlighten her. I had no reason to trust her, nor any desire to.”

“I would like to know you,” she said. “I have no other children.”

My brow furrowed. “I was one of triplets, or so I’m told.”

She bit her lips and looked away. “I’m allowed no claim to the others.”

“So? They’re adults. Call them up and have lunch or coffee or something.”

Her lips curved. “That is forbidden.”

“That’s stupid. Why would you sign a contract like that?”

“It was ... a good contract, and my family desired it.”

“Did you?”

“It was a good contract,” she said again.

“If you say so.” I took a swallow of wine to clear the bad taste out of my mouth. “So what do you want from me?”

“To get acquainted with you.”

“What exactly does that mean? Understand that there’s no way in hell I’m moving anywhere. Not with you and not with dear old Dad.”

Her smile held a hint of triumph. Maybe this counted as a win over Ethan. Or revenge. Maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, it repelled me.

“I can visit here. Perhaps take a house here.”

Take a house? She wasn’t talking anything short term. “I’m pretty busy, especially rebuilding my shop and pulling my business back together.”

“I’ll be pleased with whatever time you can offer.”

She smiled again and I wondered if letting her into my life was a big mistake. Or maybe the better question was how big a mistake it would turn out to be.

“It looks like Ethan would like to speak with you. Excuse me.”

She walked away, to be instantly replaced by my sperm donor.

“I’m glad to see you so much better,” he said.

That was a general theme of the night. But when he and Elena said it, it felt more like they were glad their prize pig wasn’t damaged beyond use.

“Thanks.”

“How did you break the binding spells?” he asked. “And get inside the climbing wall? None of us saw you pass.”

“Trade secret,” I said without batting an eyelash.

He didn’t like that even a little bit. “You must tell me,” he sputtered, clearly affronted by my refusal.

“Why?”

“I am your father. By contract, you belong to me.”

“Belong?” I looked up at the ceiling, trying to collect myself before I slapped him silly. I drew a couple of deep breaths and then looked him dead in the eye, speaking slowly so he’d understand. “Let me put this to you as clearly as I can. Fuck. Off. I don’t belong to anybody but myself, and if you even try to push me around, I swear to all that’s holy and unholy that I will put you in your grave.”

He made a rude noise, gesturing dismissively. “Don’t be ridiculous, Rebecca. You will come home with me, and this business with Matrovani is over as of now.” He shot a disparaging look at Damon. “His family is not good enough to clean our toilets. Stay away from him.”

I had to admit, I was so surprised that my mouth just dropped open and for a few seconds, words failed me. Then my brain caught up. I stepped into him, my voice dropping as I poked him in the chest.

“Leave my house. Right now. Don’t come back. You are not now nor will you ever be welcome. Daddy,” I added sarcastically as I stepped back. “Oh, and think about stopping at the hospital on the way to the airport and see if they can get your head out of your ass. It’s pretty far up there, but it’s worth a shot.”

I didn’t wait for an answer. I stomped away, but I’d started giggling before I’d gone three steps. He’d looked so shocked, as if he’d really expected me to fall in line with his demands.

“What’s so funny?” Damon blocked my path, casting a dangerous look over my shoulder at Ethan.

“Seems I’m a rebellious and difficult daughter, and I am not good with authority whatsoever.”

He smiled, settling his hands on my hips and pulling me closer. “That’s one of your best qualities.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve told me otherwise. If you’ve changed your mind, we have to get you in to a shrink. You may have some mental issues.”

“If so, then so do the girls and Ajax. And Ben. He seems to think quite a lot of you. I’m in good company.” His slow grin was sexy as hell, and my toes curled. He didn’t bother to mask the desire in his eyes, and his hands slid around to the small of my back. My lady parts tingled and throbbed, and I had the sudden urge to drag him off to the closest bedroom and finally get some relief.

Focus, Beck. I tried to remember what we’d been talking about.

“Lunatics, all of you. Oh, and Mister Sperm Donor said he would very much like me to drop you like a bad habit.”

His hands tightened on me, and his jaw turned to rock. The line of his jaw was so very kissable. “Did he?”

“Mm-hmm.” I slid the tip of my tongue over my suddenly dry lips, and I shifted against him. It only made the ache between my legs worse. If Damon only knew what I was thinking. No way was I letting Ethan get between us. “If I ask the gargoyles to keep him away, do you think they would?”

A slow smile spread across Damon’s lips. “Why don’t we ask them right now?”

Arms around each other, we went outside. I didn’t think Ethan would give up, any more than Elena would. But I knew I’d deal with whatever they threw at me. Aunty Mommy had taught me well. And this time, I wouldn’t be going to war alone. I had the family of my heart, and with them at my back, I couldn’t fail. I wouldn’t.

End