"or she would have been fine if you left her alone!" richard retorted.

"what if it had been ginger?" lance demanded, "would you have been able to leave her alone?"

"maybe not, but the way i see it, we're all in danger now, even ginger," richard said and crossed his arms.

"i didn't ask for your help, richard! you decided to follow me to the states," lance said.

"what was i supposed to do? let you die?" richard asked.

"why are you so sure about that?" lance demanded.

"because ginger seen it," richard snapped.

"when? what?" lance asked.

"she has seen your death many a times, brother," richard said, "and every time we have helped you avoid it."

"so what's different this time?" lance asked.

"it is lily's death she has seen," richard frowned.

"how?" lance demanded.

"what the hell do you mean how?" richard asked, "the lingstons, of course! ole' simon himself."

"i'll kill him first," lance said.

his hands balled at his sides and he had to work hard to keep his voice down. he didn't want lilith to wake up and hear their conversation.

"we need a better plan than that, brother," richard sighed.

"we're going to have to spy on them," lance said.

"exactly," his brother confirmed.

"who are we going to spy on?" lilith's voice called from the other side of the room.

"no one, love," lance answered and dashed across the room to lilith's side.

"but you just said.." she said.

"it was a joke," lance lied.

"don't lie to me, lance," she sighed.

lance frowned and shook his head. lily had always been able to tell when he was lying and at times, he found it very annoying. he had failed to protect her once, and he would not allow that to happen again, even if he had to keep her in the dark on some things for now.

chapter 7: lilith

lilith woke to the sound of lance and his brother talking in quiet voices. her ears strained to hear the conversation, but very little of it made sense. they were going to spy on the lingston's but that didn't make sense to her. why didn't they just leave it alone? couldn't they just go someplace where they wouldn't be found?

"you're lying to me, lance," she said sitting up.

lilith blushed when she realized the only garb she had on was her thin cotton nightgown. she hadn't even had time to slip her panties back on before the shit hit the fan. lilith flopped back against the pillows and sighed.

"i'm not lying to you, lily," lance said.

"yes, you are, and don't call me that! i"m not a flower," lilith retorted.

"you are the most beautiful flower i've ever seen, lilith," lance said trying to distract her,

"oh! lance, you are so full of it!" she said and rolled her eyes, "you truly are! why in the hell do you want to go spying on them? don't you know how dangerous they are?"

"i do," lance nodded, "and that's exactly why we have to know what they're up to."

"i'm just going to leave you two alone to argue this out," richard chuckled and left the room.

"thanks a lot, brother," lance sighed.

"any time," richard called back.

lilith's heart thumped against her chest and she felt light headed. it had already been a rough day and it wasn't even noon yet. she was on a plane with two vampires and their groupies, dressed in only her nightgown, and felt hung-over. although lilith remembered seeing cinnamon board the plane, the yorkie was nowhere in sight. she wanted to ask lance where she was, but first she had to convince him that his idea was stupid! no, it was more than that. it was a suicide mission.

"are you insane?" lilith demanded.

"no, i"m quiet sane," lance began.

"no, you're not!" lilith cut him off, "sane people don't go about spying on werewolves! that's a suicide mission and you know it, lance!"

the thought of lance dying felt like a stab to lilith's soul. she may be angry at him, but she didn't want to see him dead. she may not be the dream girl from his past, but she was beginning to care about him.

"you're going to be the death of me," lilith sighed.

"what do you mean by that?" lance asked, "i'm going to be the death of you?"

lilith felt a pang of guilt as soon as the words were out of her mouth. lance hid his emotions well, but his green eyes betrayed him, by letting her know that her words had struck a chord.

"my life was pretty normal until you came along," lilith continued even though the words stung her heart too.

"normal?" lance laughed, "lily, your life was never normal! not your last one and certainly not this one! you were hunting vampires for a living!"

"i was not hunting vampires for a living!" she retorted.

"yes, you were!" lance said.

"no, i was locating vampires for a living," lilith said crossing her arms.

her blood began to boil and she wanted to slap the arrogant blood sucker that sat next to her. she had worked hard to come to terms with what her career entailed, but he was tearing away her layers and knocking down her walls. tears were forming in her eyes, but lilith brushed them away with the back of her hand. she wasn't going to cry over her choices. it was her life and she had the right to live it the way she chose.

"and what the hell do you think the lingstons did to the vampires you located?" lance yelled.

lilith flinched away from his raised voice and pulled the sheet up to her chin. she didn't want to think about it, but she did know what happened. she had heard about it in too much detail. melissa had cried in her arms after her step-father had been taken by the werewolves she worked for.

"do you?" lance asked again.

"leave me alone!" lilith yelled.

"no, lilith, i won't! this isn't like you! you don't take blood money! you don't get innocent people killed just to line your pockets! open your eyes!" lance shouted.

"lance, you don't know me! you think i'm some woman you knew, but i'm not, because she's dead lance! i'm alive! i can't be this dead woman! you don't know me at all!" lilith yelled.

"you know what?" lance shouted, "maybe you're right, maybe i don't know you at all! maybe, you're not my lily!"

his words felt like a slap to the face. lilith bit her lip to stifle the sob that threatens to escape her throat. it was an unexpected pain, but it hurts like hell. she felt as if she had been rejected, although in reality lance had finally accepted her point.

"fine!" lilith said and crossed her arms, "if you're so sure i'm your 'lily', prove it!"

"what other proof do you need, woman?" lance asked, "you've seen the goblets, you've had visions of our life together, you've felt for me. i've seen it in your eyes. i've felt it in your touch."

lilith pulled away as he tried to touch her face.

"yes, i'm attracted to you, lance, but i've been attracted to plenty of people! that doesn't prove anything! okay, the goblets match my ring, but it isn't even my ring. not to begin with. the woman who gave it to me was with your brother in an alley way! i had those dreams because i was drunk and confused!" lilith protested.

"it's more than lust and you know it!" lance retorted, "ginger only had your ring that day, because i allowed her to use it to scry for you! it matches your ring because it's a family heirloom! a heirloom from my family!"

"what the hell is that supposed to mean to me, lance?" she asked.

"a lot, because i gave it to you when i asked you to be my life mate," lance sighed.

lilith took a deep breath. this argument wasn't getting them anywhere, but angry and frustrated. her pulse was racing and her knees felt weak from fatigue and anger, but she wasn't willing to accept the facts. it didn't provide proof. she didn't believe in reincarnation, and if he expected her to change her mind she was going to need some hard solid proof.

"i'm not your life mate. i've never been married to you," she sighed.

"yes, you were, but i'm through arguing," lance said standing up.

"where are you going?" lilith demanded.

"to save your ass again," lance said and slammed the door behind him.

"we're on a plane!" lilith yelled and followed behind him, "you can't leave right now!"

"no, but richard and i can figure out how the hell we're going to do this!" he shouted back.

"don't!" lilith said, "please, don't, lance."

tears fell from lilith's eyes as she chased after the vampire. she cared about him more than she wanted to admit, but couldn't find a way to tell him. lilith didn't want him to love her because she reminded him of someone. she wanted lance to love her for who she was now.

"why shouldn't i?" he asked, "it's not like you give a damn!"

the anger that had been brewing in lilith's belly boiled over and before she could contain the heat of the emotion, she slapped lance. her hand met his cheek in a swift motion. the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed around the plane's corridor and throughout its body.

"it's the truth isn't it?" lance asked holding his hand to his face, "i'm just another vampire! better for me to be dead than to inflict the world with my existence, isn't it?"

"you are insufferable!" lilith shouted.

hot angry tears fell from her eyes and landed on the carpet. her hands were shaking like she had never experienced. lilith couldn't recall a time in her life where she had been so angry, so outraged!