am," she assured him grimly. "so maybe you should reconsider whatever stupid plan you have swimming around inside that thing you call a brain and just get the hell out of here."

he snorted at the suggestion. "you are joking, aren't you? you've completely ruined me. the cops are after me now. they know i hit your car. they were at the restaurant questioning my people."

alex didn't doubt for a minute that the men he thought were cops were actually cale, mortimer, and bricker; but she supposed they were cops, vampire cops, but cops just the same, so didn't bother correcting him. she doubted he would have listened anyway. besides, her attention had slid to the door behind jack. it was slowly opening inward.

"you've ruined me," jack repeated, dragging her attention back to him before she could see who it was. "i'm out of money, can't go near my house or the restaurant to get more, the cops are after me, and i have nowhere to go. i'm done now."

she frowned at his tone. his anger appeared to be spent, and he merely sounded sad. even so, she wasn't prepared for his next words.

"i loved you," he said pitifully. "i imagined us starting a restaurant together and having babies and ... but i had to graduate to do that with you, and i was desperate and copied the recipe. i didn't know they brought in all the teachers to judge them and that they would all see them both. i thought your professor would see yours and mine would grade mine and no one would ever know."

alex stared at him with amazement. all this time she'd thought he'd never cared, and he'd simply been a pitiful weak idiot. "but you said all those horrible things."

"i was embarrassed and angry," he admitted wearily. "and you didn't love me like you should have. love means never having to say you're sorry."

alex shifted impatiently. "what drivel! if you love someone, you do say you're sorry because you care enough to. and you don't steal their damned recipes," she snapped.

"see!" he snarled. "once again you aren't doing what you're supposed to do."

"and what exactly is that? " she asked dryly.

"i believe he was hoping you would say you love him back and forgive him all, so he'd be off the hook," cale said dryly, slipping through the partially open door to join them.

jack jerked around, gun rising, but cale merely snatched it from his hand, the action so quick alex almost didn't see it.

"unfortunately for you," cale continued, glaring at the man. "i believe you'll find that alex loves me now. so you're out of luck."

"who the-?" jack swallowed the question as cale pushed the door open, revealing nicholas, mortimer, and bricker all standing in the office, almost empty bags of blood to their teeth.

when alex peered at them with disbelief, bricker tore his now-empty bag from his mouth, and explained, "he talks a lot, and we got thirsty. besides, you always enjoy a show more with refreshments."

alex shook her head with disgust. "i'm glad you find the nightmare of my life so entertaining."

"i'd say it was more a comedy than a nightmare,"

bricker assured her with amusement. "the guy's a real loser. i'm glad your taste in men has improved."

alex narrowed her eyes on the enforcer, wondering if she could take him now that she was immortal too, and mortimer suddenly ripped his bag from his teeth and gave bricker a shove toward the door, ordering, "go get lucian. he'll want to decide what to do with this guy."

"just when you start to like him," cale muttered, watching the younger immortal leave. he shook his head, and then glanced to alex and held out his hand. when she took the few steps around jack to take it, cale tugged her to his chest and frowned with concern. "are you all right?"

"yes." she sighed, and then glanced to jack, noting that he stood blank-faced and still, apparently under someone's control. "what about him?"

"we'll take care of him," mortimer assured her quietly, relieving cale of jack's gun. "you two go on back to the party before the girls come looking for you. we don't want to draw too much attention to this room. it would just mean a lot of work wiping minds and replacing memories."

cale nodded and urged alex into the office, and then on to the door.

"what will they do to him?" she asked quietly as they stepped into the kitchen.

"probably wipe his mind, dump him in a psychiatric facility, and make sure he stays there," he said with a shrug.

"shouldn't we just hand him over to the police?" she asked with a frown.

"for what?" he asked dryly, and then said, "unfortunately, we don't have proof that he's done anything. i'm sure he paid his bribes in cash, and then there's no way to prove he's the one who attacked you in the parking lot. as for the incident with the car, we never reported that and can't now. the car was taken to the auto wreckers that very night. even if it hadn't been, how would we explain my not having even a bruise on me now?" he let her think about that, and then shook his head. "no. it's better if we handle this ourselves."

"yes, but putting him in a psychiatric facility seems ..." alex bit her lip unhappily and shook her head.

cale stopped walking and took her into his arms. "don't feel bad for him, honey. if you'd been in the car rather than me, you'd be dead now." his arms tightened briefly at the thought, and then he added grimly, "he's getting off light. if he were immortal, he'd be staked out in the sun to bake all day, and then beheaded. besides, he's not really in his right mind, alex. i know you can't read thoughts yet, but i read his, and he's cuckoo, trust me-" he stopped and sighed, before adding, "or, you know, rather than trust me you could ask one of your sisters to read him and-"

alex pulled back and quickly placed her fingers over his lips. "i don't have to. i trust you."

the tension left his face at once. "do you?"

she nodded solemnly. "with my life, my body, and my heart. i really do love you, cale."

"oh, thank god," he murmured, pulling her close again. "i love you too.""geez, you two, not in the kitchen. it's not hygienic. go find a room somewhere or something. honestly."

alex and cale pulled apart to see bricker leading lucian argeneau to the office.

"someone's going to kill that boy someday," cale muttered, as the two men disappeared into the office.

"yeah," alex agreed on a sigh. "but someone else can do it. i have better things for you to do with your time."

"oh?" he asked, turning back to her with interest.

"hmmm," she murmured. "i'll show you later tonight at the house."

"sounds good," he murmured, turning her to continue toward the door to the dining room. "i can't wait."

"well, i'm afraid you'll have to," she said apologetically. "sam, jo, and i are going to have some girly time first."

cale paused again to glance at her with a frown. "girly time?"

she bit her lip and nodded.

cale sighed. "all right. i guess they can have their girly time with you ... so long as i get you after that."

"you get me forever," she assured him quietly.

cale grinned. "hmm. i like compromise."

"works well, doesn't it?" she agreed with a laugh, as they pushed through the door to rejoin the party.