i raised my eyebrows. "but you were supposed to be undercover. how were you going to get around that?"

"given that's no longer a problem, it doesn't really matter, does it?" he gave me a grin, then took another croissant out of the bag. "i'm betting we have a boy - mainly because i don't think the world could stand two riley jensons."

i snorted softly. "better another me than another you."

"it can't be the image of either of you, because thankfully it will have my genes in the mix. which ultimately means it will at least be sensible," liander commented. "and i don't care if it's a he or she, as long as it's healthy."

"amen to that." i leaned past him to grab a croissant for myself, then spotted quinn coming through the door.

"hey, handsome. about time you got home."

he gave me a grin and snagged one of the towels from the clean laundry basket that was perpetually sitting in the living room. a fine sheen of sweat clung to his face and darkened his blue t-shirt, molding it to his lean, muscular body. hollywood would have everyone believe that vampires had no need for bodily functions, but that was nonsense. they might not eat the same way as the rest of us did, but they still had to drink to survive, and what went in had to come out in one form or another. and while they didn't sweat that much, it happened.

quinn had recently added long-distance running to his fitness regime. he was getting fit for the baby, apparently - which said a whole lot more about his anticipation of the impending birth than my staid old vampire's often blase attitude would have us believe.

liander shifted to give him room to pass, then flared his nostrils. "you know, it's damned unfair that he smells so good after running fifty kilometers."

"it was only twenty-five today," quinn corrected, then grabbed my hand and tugged me into his arms, kissing me quickly but thoroughly. "because i have an appointment with a real estate agent at nine."

"you're determined to get us all out of this apartment, aren't you?" rhoan said.

"neither liander nor i is used to living in a hovel, and we need some breathing space. and babies do tend to bring their own mountains of mess. we'll all end up feeling trapped before you know it."

"it isn't that bad," rhoan protested.

"i agree," i said, a grin twitching my lips. "there's actually plenty of space. you just need to clean it up better."

"it's not liander and me that make the mess, so why should we be the ones cleaning?" he retorted dryly, then kissed my nose. "i'll hire a housekeeper once we move, though i think she'll face an impossible task."

he had that right. i wrapped my arms loosely around his waist and breathed in the scent of him. liander was right - he smelled delicious even when he was sweating. "so, where's this latest house situated?"

"it's not a house. it's a three-story brick warehouse in abbotsford, situated right next to the banks of the yarra river, with dickinson reserve and studley parks on the other side. each couple could have one floor, and the general living area could be in the middle. it even has a fenced parking lot that can be converted into a safe playground for little werewolves to play."

"sounds ideal," rhoan commented. "between that and riley's land in macedon, we have the perfect mix of city pad and country retreat."

"let's make sure the place actually matches the real estate blurb before we start making plans," quinn said, then reached past me to grab a mug, his damp body pressing against mine and fueling the already-stirring embers of desire.

but with it came an odd wave of reassurance. not everything in my life had gone so horribly wrong. quinn was here, still standing by my side through all the tears and the heartbreak and the more than occasional bad mood.

he loved me and he wouldn't go away - he'd told me that so often in the last few months that it had almost become a joke between us.

he was also damn hard to kill, because he wasn't just a vampire but an aedh - a being who could became shadow and mist, and for whom there were few physical threats. which didn't mean he couldn't be killed - he certainly could when in flesh form - but he was harder to kill than your average vampire, and for that, i was mighty grateful. i'd lost my soul mate. i didn't think i could live through losing my heart's desire, as well.

i pressed myself a little harder against him and said, "so, you want company in the shower?"

"that's another reason to get another apartment," he said, dark eyes sparkling as he glanced at me. god, i could lose myself forever in those depths. "the shower in this place is far too small for couples."

"squishy is fun," liander said. "you just have to use a little imagination."

"oh, trust me, riley has enough imagination for the two of us." quinn's voice held a dry edge, but the smile teasing his lips just about melted my bones. "that doesn't make it any more comfortable, however."

"you forget, he's a sedate old vampire," i said, my grin growing, but nowhere near as much as the pleasure blooming deep inside as his fingers came to rest on my hip. "and you know what old people are like when it comes to their comforts."

one dark eyebrow rose, and the depths of his eyes sparkled with warmth and love. "so i'm sedate and old, am i?"

he moved quickly, his body a blur, and before i knew it, i was being thrown up and over his shoulder. luckily for me, he swung around so my head didn't smash against the fridge door. but with my nose buried in the middle of his back and his scent filling each breath, some of this morning's sadness washed away.

i had this.

i had him.

life wasn't so bad, no matter what had happened.

"i think," he added heavily, "the pup needs another lesson on being polite to her elders."

"you know she doesn't like to learn," liander commented. "she's stubborn like that."

"hey, i bought you breakfast," i protested. "you should have the decency to forgo the insults - at least for now."

"the croissants are gone, so i'm officially free to insult." liander moved aside to let quinn through, and i took a swipe at him as we passed - which he avoided with a laugh.

as the kitchen floor became the living room carpet, i said, "i thought you had a very important meeting with the real estate people?"

"letting real estate people know you're eager for a property is never a good idea," quinn said easily.

"they'll wait."

"well, good." although i wished he'd tip me the right way up. having my nose stuck in his back was far from unpleasant, but being upside down and bounced around like a sack of potatoes as he strode toward the bathroom wasn't much fun.

"if you wanted to be right way up," he said, obviously following my thoughts, "you wouldn't have made snarky remarks about my age."

"and i would have thought that one of the four oldest vampires in the country would have learned to take insults by now."

"he has, except when it's more fun to do otherwise. prepare to be ravished by your ancient but extremely fit lover, my dear."

"oh, i'm prepared." more than prepared, really.

but of course, my cell phone chose that moment to ring. i was tempted to ignore it, but the ring tone said it was jack, and he never phoned just to chat.

quinn put me down without being asked. with a frustrated sigh, i pulled the phone out of my pocket and answered it. "hi, jack."

quinn kissed the top of my head, then continued on into the bathroom. i leaned against the door frame and watched - frustration growing - as he turned on the shower taps then stripped off his sweaty running clothes, revealing the long, lean lines of his body.

lovely was the first word that came to mind. he reminded me of an athlete - not a bodybuilder or a runner, but sitting comfortably in between the two. his was a body to run your fingers over time and again. as i had - each time delighting in the silky smoothness of his skin and the play of muscle beneath it. and i really wanted to be doing it again this morning.

damn jack and his timing.

"riley, are you even listening to me?" jack said, sounding a little exasperated.

i briefly thought about lying, but i knew from past experience he'd ask me to recite back his words - and then get even madder when i couldn't. "sorry, momentarily distracted."

"i won't ask by what, because i probably wouldn't want to know." his voice was dry. "we found the toyota the victim's soul mentioned. it was abandoned in keilor. apparently the owner didn't even know it was missing. a sharp-eyed citizen reported two men leaving the vehicle."

"two? our soul only mentioned one."

"he might have only seen one, but that doesn't mean there wasn't someone else there."

true, but i'd also only smelled the one. or had the smell of vengeance been so thick and ripe that it had overwhelmed all other scents?

"has cole had a chance to check it out yet?"

"dusty's there now. he's found a partial print that didn't match the one the police have listed in their database for the owner."

meaning the owner had a record. "and do you have a matching listing for the print?"

"yep. it belongs to one hank surrey, a vamp who turned fifty-five years ago."

i watched as quinn stepped into the shower and closed the glass door. the fierce desire to just hang up, strip, and step in beside him swept through me. i swallowed and tried to quell the trembling in my limbs, but it took all the control i had not to follow that urge.

"have we got a recent address listed for him?" even as i asked the question, i had my fingers crossed that we didn't.

but fate, as usual, wasn't giving me even the tiniest of breaks.

"we have him in mt. martha, although the last check on his location was done almost a year ago."

mt. martha was a well-to-do suburb down on the peninsula that catered primarily to families. it wasn't the sort of place where you usually found vamps - young or old. they tended to stick closer to the city, where feeding was a whole lot easier - especially with the advent of the blood whore clubs.

i said as much to jack.

"well, they have a cracking little golf course down there," he said, "and they've installed night lights for those of us who can't beat the little white ball through the grass during the day."

my eyebrows rose. jack was a golfer. who'd have thought? "i wouldn't think a vamp who resorts to stealing cars would be too interested in golf or clubs." unless he intended to steal the golf clubs.

"hey, everyone has to have a hobby. i'll send his address through to your onboard."

in other words, leave immediately. i blew out a frustrated breath, then said, "heading out now."

"report in if you find him," jack said, then hung up.

i shoved the phone back into my pocket and wasted a few minutes watching the soap trail down the wet planes of quinn's back.

"i have to go," i said, mentally shaking away the images of what i'd rather be doing. "i'm not sure when i'll be back."

i wanted to go in and kiss him good-bye, but i wasn't sure if i could handle that sort of closeness and still walk away.

"call me when you finish," he said, turning around and blowing me a kiss. obviously, he was still following my thoughts. "we'll grab either lunch or dinner, depending on the time."

"it's a deal."

and i walked out while i still had some resolve left.

i glanced into the rearview mirror as i pulled onto the citylink tollway and my pulse leapt. several cars behind me was a red car. same make, same model as the one that had been following me only hours before.

i watched it for several minutes, wondering again if i was merely imagining it. i mean, everyone knew that red cars traveled in packs - see one, and you see at least three.

and red was an extremely popular color.

but the same red mazda sitting three cars behind me twice in as many hours? that was a little bit too much of a coincidence.

i switched on the com-link and said, "sal, i think i'm being followed by that little old lady again."

she laughed. "you've obviously pissed off said little old lady. which wouldn't be hard, given you do the whole pissing-people-off thing so well."

"except i haven't been near any little old ladies of late. you want to see whether this one is missing her car yet or not?"

"on it now." silence fell, and i kept half an eye on the annoying red mazda. it retained the distance between us, sitting right on the edge of keeping me in sight and losing me altogether.

"okay," sal said. "the little old lady has been contacted and is mighty annoyed that i woke her so early. she reckons her nephew has borrowed the car for the week."

"have we got a license photo and address for the nephew?"

"requesting that now, as well as doing a search through the data banks. i'll send anything i get through to your onboard."

"send me the photo immediately. i'm going to try and corner my follower."

"will do." she hesitated, and in the background i heard jack muttering something. "the boss says be careful, and don't delay too long in getting out to our suspect's place."

i wanted to ask why the hell it mattered when the vamp had turned only fifty-five years ago and wouldn't be going anywhere until the sun went down. vamps had to be at least several hundred years old before they could start tolerating the touch of the sun. hell, jack was over eight hundred years old, and even he could only go out in the early hours of the morning and the late evening.