'That's enough, Jamie,' Al said, and tried to step between us.

'I'm Christian,' I said, 'and my cross glows just fine. When's the last time you bet your faith against something that could tear your face off?'

Nathaniel's grip on my arm tightened enough to almost hurt. I hadn't meant to step closer to Uncle Jamie, but religious bigots like him pissed me off. The ones who were so sure they were right were usually the most un-Christian of all.

Micah's energy was almost back to normal. The fact that he was having this much trouble getting to normal said just how angry and upset he was, and it wasn't just the crackpot aunt and uncle who were making him raw. His dad was in the room and they were delaying him with their bigotry that masqueraded as religion.

'She's Micah's fiancee,' Juliet said, 'and that alone should make you talk like a civilized human being to her.'

Aunt Bertie pushed up beside her husband and Juliet. 'Are you his fiancee, or is it Beatrice's fancy way of saying you're shacking up together?'

Oh, good, they were going to hate the sex part, too. 'Shacking up together?' I said.

'That's what I said,' Bertie said, and her face looked smug.

'It's just I haven't heard that phrase since I was a little girl; I didn't know anybody still used it.'

She blushed, as if I'd embarrassed her. Interesting, because I had not begun to embarrass Aunt Bertie.

'Are you his fiancee, or living in sin?'

'She could be both,' Juliet said, 'the way I was with Ben.'

'Just because Ben married you when he could get the milk for free doesn't mean it wasn't a sin.'

'Milk for free?' I asked. 'Are you guys for real?'

Jamie gave me a look of utter disdain. 'When a man can get what he wants from a woman, he uses her until he's done with her, and then he abandons her for the next woman who will open her legs for him.'

Nathaniel's hands tightened desperately on my arm, but it was Micah who stepped up beside us and said, 'I am ashamed that you are the kind of man who would fuck a woman and then abandon her, Uncle Jamie.'

'What?' Jamie said, and looked at Micah. 'I would never-'

'You just said that if a man can get sex before marriage, he uses the woman and then abandons her for the next woman.'

'Yes, that's why you marry first and show your commitment before God.'

'I love Anita and I would never abandon her for another woman. I don't need God to tell me that would be wrong, and I'm deeply ashamed that if you hadn't married Aunt Bertie first that you would have fucked her for a while and then abandoned her.'

'I never would ... I did not say that!'

Aunt Bertie yelled, 'How dare you! Apologize to your uncle! He is the best man I have ever known and he would never do such a thing.'

'And Anita is the best woman I have ever known, and she would never abandon me just because she could get all the sex she wanted without marrying me. She loves me for more than just sex, don't you, sweetheart?' he asked.

I don't think he'd ever called me sweetheart, but I said the only thing I could say: 'Yes, I love you for way more than just the mind-blowing sex.'

He smiled at me, and then he took off the sunglasses that he'd put back on in the lights of the hospital. He let his aunt and uncle see his leopard eyes. They backed up, gasping. Then Aunt Bertie yelled, 'His eyes! He's starting to shift! Oh, my God, help us!'

The police in the hallway knew about his eyes, so they didn't go for their weapons, but Aunt Bertie didn't know they wouldn't. She'd been willing to get Micah killed.

Al said, 'His eyes are stuck in animal form, Bertie. He's not changing.'

She and Jamie kept backing up. She turned to the other officers. 'Protect us.'

'Deputy Gutterman told us about Mike Callahan's eyes being leopard,' the older state trooper said. 'You don't need to be protected from Rush's son, your nephew.' In other circumstances he might have half-agreed with their attitude, but he'd understood, just like I had, that she'd been willing to get her own nephew shot in the hallway outside his dying father's hospital room. None of the police who had witnessed it were going to like either of them now. Some lines you did not cross, and they'd just crossed several.

Micah took my free hand in his, and I said, 'You aren't shepherds, you're sheep. The first hint of threat and you run for protection to the real shepherds, the police.'

The older statie said, 'We're not shepherds, Marshal Blake, we're sheepdogs.' He grinned, and it was more a flash of teeth, like baring fangs, than amusement.

I nodded, because I knew the essay. It was from 'On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs,' from Lt. Col. David Grossman's book On Combat. 'We live to protect the flock, and confront the wolf,' I said.

He nodded and gave that flash of teeth again. It left his eyes cold. 'We do that. I'm Commander Walter Burke, Marshal Blake, and I'm sorry to meet you and Mr Callahan under the circumstances.'

'Me, too,' I said.

He turned to Aunt Bertie and Uncle Jamie. 'Now, some of these nice officers are going to escort you down to the rest of the family.'

'We can't let them see Rush by themselves. He's already been attacked by one monster,' Bertie said.

Commander Burke let out a deep breath and said, 'Deputy Gutterman, Corporal Price, escort these two downstairs to the family lounge. If they resist, charge them with assaulting a police officer.'

'You wouldn't dare,' Jamie said.

Burke turned and let Jamie see his eyes, his face, his attitude, and like a good sheep the other man backed down. 'You're leaving this boy alone to see his father, one way or the other. It's your choice whether you do it in the family lounge or in the back of a police car.'

It was all I could do not to say out loud, Choose wisely.

They chose wisely and went with the nice police officers to the family lounge, which meant we'd be seeing them later. That was going to suck.

Burke looked at us. 'I'm sorry that your relatives are going to make this harder than it already is, Mr Callahan, Marshal Blake.' He glanced at Nathaniel's hand in mine.

'Mr Graison,' I said.

'Mr Graison,' he said. He looked at Nicky and Dev behind us. 'I'm sorry you can't come to visit your father in the hospital without bodyguards, but if that's your aunt and uncle, I'd hate like hell to see what strangers would do.'

Micah nodded. 'Thank you, Commander Burke. I appreciate that.'

'You're the son of a good cop and engaged to a U.S. Marshal; that makes you family. Now go see your father, and I am sorry that you had to come home to this.'

I wondered if he meant Rush Callahan being hurt or the crazy aunt and uncle? I guess it didn't matter; either way, not everyone in Colorado hated us. Good to know.

CHAPTER 12