“We have a bargain,” said Alexander.

“And I’ll abide by it, but you two better hurry the hell up. If my brother finds out I’m here, taking a chance of messing up his precious plans for peace, you’ll be sucking blood from my corpse.”

“Your brother?” asked Logan.

“Andreas Phelan.”

That name rang a loud bell. “The new leader of the Slayers.”

“Yeah. And he earned his title through beating the hell out of everyone else who wanted it, so I suggest you don’t cross him.”

“No, of course not,” said Logan. His mind was reeling, trying to sort out this new twist of events. “Why am I here, Alexander?”

“Eric’s blood is strong. He’s the man you’re looking for to breed with Hope.”

A slight snarl lifted Eric’s lip. “I’ll fuck whoever you want, but we have laws about breeding. You know that.”

“I do,” said Alexander. “Your brother has been clear about that. I assure you that if he doesn’t find Hope a suitable mate—if he doesn’t accept her bloodline—our bargain will be fulfilled.”

“Fair enough,” said Eric. “Where’s the woman?”

Logan looked at Alexander. “You want me to have Hope breed with a Slayer?”

“His blood is stronger than any human. Why not?”

“Because she’s with a Theronai right now. He’s convinced she is one, too. He’ll take her back to Dabyr for all the other Theronai there to test her.”

“Whoa,” said Eric. “I’m not fucking some Theronai’s woman. My brother would kill me, and he’d take years doing it, too.”

“We don’t know if she’s a Theronai or not,” said Alexander. He looked at Logan. “Test his blood. You’ve had hers, right? You’ll know if they blend.”

He would. All he needed was a few drops of Eric’s blood. It would react strongly to Hope’s if they were a good match. “Fine. We’ll try that, but if he’s not a match, then this meeting never happened.”

Logan didn’t dare step closer to Eric without permission. Slayers were violent. And quick. Logan had already been injured enough for one night. “May I?” he asked Eric.

Eric held out a beefy arm. “Knock yourself out. Just don’t make me do the same. Mind your manners. Understand?”

Logan did. He would take only a little—just enough to answer his question.

He took Eric’s wrist and brought it to his mouth. The man’s skin was hot, but that was natural. Slayers’ body temperature was above that of humans or Theronai. Their metabolisms burned hot and fast.

As soon as Logan’s fangs broke the skin, it began to heal. He hurried to finish the job, to prevent him from having to bite Eric a second time.

As his blood pooled in Logan’s stomach and spread through his system, it combined with Hope’s blood. Logan let go of Eric and closed his eyes, focusing on what was going on inside him.

Eric’s blood cells sought out Hope’s, merging with them. The two combined, much stronger than the sum of their separate parts. Logan’s body warmed and sparks of power filled his limbs.

The effect didn’t last long, but it was unmistakable. Hope and Eric would make a powerful couple. Their children would be strong, their blood possibly as strong as a Theronai’s.

As good as that news was, it rang hollow inside Logan’s chest.

He looked at Eric, imagining him with Hope, their bodies entwined, creating life.

Jealousy rose up in Logan so swiftly he didn’t have time to stop it from taking root. It wove its way through his bones, making him writhe with possessive rage. Hope was his. He did not want to share her. Not with Eric. Not with anyone.

Not that he had a choice. He’d never had a choice.

Logan swallowed down that jealousy and looked at Alexander. He knew if he so much as glimpsed at Eric, those violent urges would return. “It is as you say. They are a good match.”

“Excellent,” said Alexander.

“You’ll have to gain permission from Andreas,” said Eric. “I can’t have a kid with her unless he approves.”

Logan barely kept the sneer from his voice. “You’ve never even met her, yet you’re willing to create a life with her? What if she doesn’t want it?”

Eric crossed his thick arms over his chest. “I thought it was your job to see that she did. Isn’t that what you do?”

“Why are you so willing to help?” asked Logan.

Eric gave a careless shrug. “I’ll be saddled with a wife as soon as my brother finds one for me. What’s the difference if you do it first?”

“What about love?”

“What about it?” asked Eric. “Do I look like a child who believes in such things? I’ve always known I’d marry out of duty to the race. It’s no big surprise, unless you count the fact that I’ve avoided it this long.”

“And what about Hope? Doesn’t she deserve love?”

“She’ll be safe. She’ll have family. Children. She’ll have a home and a place she belongs and people who would give their lives for her. If that’s not enough for her, she doesn’t deserve more.”

Yes, she did. She deserved to be loved for the exquisite creature she was. If Eric couldn’t see that, he didn’t deserve her.

Alexander put a staying hand on Logan’s arm. “I’m sure Eric will come to care for her in time. Let them meet. We’ll see what comes of that and then go from there.”

He was right. Logan knew this was the best course of action—or at least the most logical. “There’s only one problem.”

“What’s that?” asked Eric.

“Hope is with Nicholas, and there’s no way he’d ever allow a Slayer anywhere near her.”

“Then get rid of him,” said Alexander. “Send him away and bring her to us.”

“It’s not that easy,” he told the men. “Nicholas thinks she might be a Theronai. He’s going to take her back to Dabyr.”

“I could get rid of him,” said Eric. “Make it look like an accident.”

“Absolutely not,” said Logan. “We’re too close to a truce to do anything to upset it.”

“So I’ll put on a hat. Cover my ears. Go to meet her. He’ll never know what I am.”

“No. We need Nicholas. I’ll take care of him. I’ll find some way to separate them. And then I’ll bring her here.”

“Not here,” said Alexander.

“You’re right. The risk of a Theronai showing up here is too great. We’ll find another place.”

“Agreed.”

Eric grabbed his jacket from the couch. “You boys figure it out and let me know. I’ll show up and marry the girl so we can get on with our lives.”

“A true romantic,” said Logan.

Eric looked him in the eye. “Romance is for children and women. I’m not either of those. And neither are you. Do your job and you’ll get what you want. So will I.”

“What is it you want, Eric? Exactly?”

“Same as you. To be left the hell alone so I can do my job.”

Eric walked out. His motorcycle started up, making Logan wonder how he could stand riding it in this weather.

“You’re having second thoughts, aren’t you?” asked Alexander.

“About what?”

“Mating Hope to him. You know they’re a match. I could see it on your face when you fed from him.”

“They are,” admitted Logan. “At least their blood is.”

“You say that as if it’s not enough.”

“It’s not. I want her to be happy.”

“She will be. So will Eric. He blusters, but we both know what happens to a man when he falls in love. He grows softer, more pliable.”

“I’m not sure that man is capable of love.”

“He will be. For her. For their children.”

Logan could easily see an infant with Eric’s eyes and Hope’s smile. Their children would be beautiful. Strong.

The image should have comforted him and given him hope for the future of his race, but all it did was leave a hollow ache in his chest, as if something vital had been removed.

His feelings for the woman were getting in the way and they were growing stronger by the hour.

He opened his mouth to demand that Alexander take over her care, but the words would not come out. He couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing her again.

It was a warning—a screaming siren of doom—but Logan couldn’t bring himself to back away. She’d saved his life. She’d fed him. He was tied to her in a way no other man was. If Alexander took over, he’d feed from her and that bond that Logan shared with her would be diluted. It would no longer be something only he and Hope shared.

Besides, he needed to prove to himself he was strong enough to do this. She wouldn’t be the only woman he felt a connection to as the years passed. If he walked away before he could overcome his attraction to her enough to do his job, he’d forever wonder if he could. The worry would plague him. He’d question his confidence at a time when there could be no question.

“I’ll do what must be done,” he told Alexander.

His friend nodded. “I know you will. You always have.”

Chapter 15

A baby in the bathtub?

Jackie gathered herself and searched the small house until she found the infant. He was wrapped up tight, screaming his little head off. His face was red and his squawking cry was hoarse, as if he’d been screaming for a long time.

She picked him up and cuddled him to her body. He quieted after a few seconds, sucking in gulping breaths of air.

She’d seen what the Synestryn did to babies born in those caves. She wasn’t about to let it happen to this one.

Jackie retrieved her gun from where Iain had set it next to the front door. She checked to make sure the safety was off, then stood with her back to the wall.

If the people outside didn’t finish off the demons, she was going to have to do it herself.

Rory crouched on top of a rusting file cabinet to get out of the water. She was so cold her bones ached. She hugged herself, shivering, trying to stay awake. She hadn’t slept in days. Maybe longer. Time meant nothing down here. Every hour was an endless progression of hunger, thirst, and fear.

In the murky water below, something slithered just below the surface. Ripples spread out in three places, and she couldn’t tell if there were three different creatures down there, or one really big one. Either way, it wasn’t good.

She stood, reaching overhead to the tiled ceiling. A lifetime ago, Rory had hung paper snowflakes from fishing line at school to decorate. She remembered the teacher showing her how to lift the ceiling tiles so she could wrap the line around the metal bars that held them up.

Maybe she could pull one of those metal bars free and use it as a weapon. It was worth a shot.

Rory slid two dingy tiles aside and wiggled the bars. Dust and insect carcasses rained down on her, but it was better than whatever was in the water below. After what she’d waded through, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be clean again.