Seamus's brown hyena eyes stared up at me. 'You cannot be one of us.'

'A bullet went through Ares' body and into mine. I didn't think it would be enough.'

'His call is softer now,' Seamus said.

'Just from my touching your arm?' I asked.

'Yes.'

I wanted to call out to Edward, because I wanted someone to be able to shoot Seamus if it needed doing, but I wanted to keep touching him, and if he went apeshit I didn't want to be this close to him while I was trying to shoot him. Out of reach would be really good. But I didn't want to distract Edward in case he needed all his concentration to stay away from the zombies that were probably trying to climb up the stairs and into the bedroom. I did the only thing could; I kept my left hand on his arm and drew the Browning with my right.

Seamus looked at the gun and then back at my face. 'Shoot me if you have to.'

I just nodded. I had every intention of it. I'd failed Ares by not shooting him sooner. I wouldn't fail again, not like that.

Someone called out, 'Police, hello in the house!'

I called back, 'Living room!'

Deputy Al walked in from the kitchen. The smile on his face changed when he saw us. 'What happened?'

'Zombies in the basement,' I said. More shots sounded, as if to make the point.

He drew his sidearm. He looked in the direction of the shots and then back to us. 'He's another shifter, isn't he?'

'Yeah,' I said.

He started to point the gun in Seamus's direction. Sirens sounded in the distance. The rest of the backup was finally here. Al lowered his gun and looked uncomfortable, bordering on embarrassed. Until he'd made that movement toward Seamus, I might have asked him to help me guard the shapeshifter, but now ... I wasn't sure Al wouldn't be a little trigger happy. I couldn't really blame him, because I knew he'd seen the damage that Ares had done, but that wasn't Seamus's fault, and yet ... if I had to this time I would shoot him. I would not let another of my guards hurt anyone else. I couldn't. The cynical part of me thought, Well, at least I'm not as attached to this one. I hated that I thought it, but Ares had been my friend; I barely knew Seamus.

Seamus suddenly grabbed my left arm, too tight, his eyes flared wide. 'He doesn't want to burn.'

Edward and the others came running toward us, and only then did I smell the burning flesh. Nicky and Lisandro caught one arm and the opposite leg of Seamus as they moved through, lifted him, got him balanced, and kept going for the door. I followed them, because when the people blowing shit up start running, you try to keep up, just a rule.

Edward unlocked the door from this side and they carried Seamus through. Hatfield went after them. Edward said, 'Outside, now.' He followed his own instructions and I ran to comply. Al didn't ask questions, he just ran with me. The two of us were on the grass of the front yard when the first explosion rocked the world and staggered us. I kept moving away from the house, and when he got his footing Al followed. The second explosion was even bigger and made us all cower from the blast wave and the rush of heat.

'What the hell did you do?' Al asked.

'They had extra propane tanks in the basement. One of the grenades must have hit them.' He made it sound like an accident.

I looked at him, but his face was mild and unreadable. He held out a hand to wave at our backup with their lights and sirens. I wondered if they'd stop a safe distance back or drive up to the house. Another explosion made the ground shiver and the air smack into us like a giant hand. Al fell to the ground on all fours.

'You okay?' I asked.

He nodded.

A third explosion rained down burning bits and pieces.

'How many tanks were down there?' I asked.

'Enough,' he said.

Then Nicky yelled, 'Anita!'

Seamus was beginning to writhe on the ground. I still had the Browning naked in my hand. Damn it, the vampire should have been blown up, dead, and when he died Seamus should have been free. Which meant the vampire wasn't dead. Fuck!

'The vampire isn't dead,' I said, and went to put my hand on Seamus. Either I'd help him control his beast until the vampire burned up, or I'd shoot him before he could change. Either way, my place was beside Seamus. Edward had his rifle up and was watching the house. If anything crawled out, he'd shoot it. Enough of the house had blown up that we could see if anything went out the back now, but the vampire could have run out that back basement door before the biggest explosion. Shit, if we'd waited for backup they could have had men back there to shoot him as he ran.

Seamus cried out. Nicky and Lisandro were holding him down, pinning him to the ground. I jogged the last few yards and fell to my knees beside them. I laid my hand on his arm again. His skin was hot to the touch, and his beast snarled up at me. It wanted to come out and play. My new beast growled up at me, or maybe at him.

'If he shifts we have to kill him,' I said.

Nicky said, 'Understood.'

Lisandro said, 'There's got to be another way.'

Seamus spoke through gritted teeth. 'She's right.'

'You smell like hyena,' Lisandro said, 'but you don't carry that beast.'

'I do now.'

'Let him smell your skin,' Nicky said.

I had to stop touching his arm to put my arm in front of his face. His eyes rolled back into his head, and his energy calmed. When he opened his eyes they were peaceful, he was in there again.

'He's not trying to control me anymore.'

'Why not?' I asked.

'I don't know. It's like he's gone. I would have said dead, but I don't think that's it.'

'Gone is good enough,' I said.

Al said, 'You've set a fire over in the trees there. It's been a dry year; we need to put that out.' He looked tired, as if something about the last few minutes had taken a lot out of him.

'You okay?' Hatfield asked.

'I knew the couple who lived here. I don't want to tell their kids in town that their folks got eaten alive.'

'Tell them they were murdered,' I said.

'The families always ask how, always, as if that will make them feel better.' Al shook his head. 'Some truths don't make you feel better. Some truths just hurt more.'

No one argued with him; we'd all been around violence and death too long to argue with something that true.