"No, Pallo, you want honesty, then you should know that this happened with Caleb, not only because of this..." I said, touching my stomach again, "but, because I wanted what you asked me to be true. I wanted you to really want to spend eternity with me. When Caleb asked me, I felt pressured--almost obligated to. It's not that I don't love him, but it's not the same as with you ... d.a.m.n you! d.a.m.n you for being you! You're like a drug, a dangerous drug that I can't kick, that I don't even want to kick." I put my head down and let the tears come out. It felt good to cry. It's what I spent most of days doing anymore. I was weak and just as foolish as I'd been the last time I was on this earth--maybe more so."Gwyneth, I think it will make you happy to know the promise you made to Mark proves you have changed and that you are stronger this time. The Gwyneth of old would have never been so bold as to threaten a man."

"I meant every word of it," I said, referring to my promise of peeling Mark alive if he didn't help me.

"I know."

Pallo left me alone. I appreciated that. I didn't need his comfort right now. Besides, I knew that it wouldn't be sincere. He and Caleb were not exactly friends but not exactly enemies either.

Chapter 31.

I heard the guys banging around down in the kitchen and went to see what was going on. Rounding the corner, I saw them all leaning over a trunk on the table. The black trunk was from the bas.e.m.e.nt. It was Caleb's. I never opened it. He told me it was some old tools. I suggested he put them out in one of the barns with the rest of the tools, he said he would rather just store them in the bas.e.m.e.nt. As I watched James pull a long shiny silver sword from the trunk, I knew why Caleb wanted them in the house.

"When do we leave?" I asked.

All three of them turned and looked at me. Pallo motioned for me to follow him into the living room. He tried to get me to have a seat on the couch. I refused. I knew what he was getting at. He wasn't going to let me go."I already know ... I can't go."

"No, you cannot come along. We are meeting this Mark shortly after dark, and I do not want to have to worry about you along with Caleb. Besides, I think that you would make Mark nervous. If I were him, I would be very concerned about being around you right now." Pallo smiled. If I had to put a label on it I'd say that he looked pleased that I had it in me to be a sociopath. "Now, you are not staying here alone. I tried to get a hold of Sharon first, but I have not, as of yet, been able to reach her, so I...."

Someone knocked on the door. Pallo glanced at me and then to the door. He seemed a little uneasy. I knew that he'd been trying to brace me for whoever was behind the door. James poked his head around the corner and pointed at Pallo. I knew he meant it was Pallo's fault not his.

"Where's Gwen?" I heard Ken say.

Monty, can I have door number two, please?

I shot a nasty look at Pallo. He knew d.a.m.n well that Ken and I weren't talking. Pallo turned his back on me and looked towards the front foyer.

"Ken, how nice of you to come on such short notice," Pallo said.

"Sure, you said it was important. Any leads on Caleb's whereabouts?" He stepped in and looked over in my direction. "I called around on this guy, Mark, and he seems legit ... Holy f.u.c.king h.e.l.l! Gwen? What the f.u.c.k?"

I sat there with my hands on my now gigantic stomach and smiled up at Ken. I was happy to see James standing behind him, because for a minute there I thought Ken would faint. He didn't. He did come in and sat down on the chair next to me. He just kept staring at me. Pallo steered James out of the room and left Ken and I alone.

"I thought they said it would be hard for you to get pregnant, almost impossible?"

"They did, but I told you about finding a match with Caleb," I said trying my best to break it to him gently that a human could never have given me this--that he could never have given me it.He leaned forward and put his hand out to touch me. I let him. "So, we really need to find Caleb ... not that it wasn't important before, but now..." He patted me gently on the belly.

"Well, no ... he's not the father."

"Me?" he asked and moved closer to me. He sounded almost hopeful.

"No."

Pallo entered the room again and walked over to me. He was carrying a gla.s.s of ice water for me. I took it. He bent down, kissed me and then whispered something s.e.xy in Italian in my ear. I knew a show when I saw one and he was putting on a doozie of a show for Ken.

Ken stood up quickly. "Jesus H. Christ! What do you think you're ... you let him in you? What does Caleb think? When did this happen?"

"Ken, sit down. It's not what you think."

"It's not what I think? Well, seems to me that you let a dead guy f.u.c.k you and somehow knock you up ... all while you were engaged to Caleb, but f.u.c.king me on the side."

Maybe it was what he thought, not exactly, but close. I finally managed to convince Ken to have a seat. I watched him do his nervous hand-through-the-sandy-blond-hair-thing, and fidget. Trust me, watching a six foot two inch man fidget is funny. Pallo kept his hand firmly on my shoulder as I told Ken about the events of the last week. Ken stood and paced the room during the robed monk part. He got a drink during the part about me not making it through the birth and I most certainly did not leave out the best part which was that I was most likely giving birth to some sort of demonic force or a demon for all we knew--however you want ed to look at it.

The room was quiet. Pallo rubbed my shoulders gently as Ken sat upright in the chair. He kept shaking his head no. I wasn't sure if he thought this would solve everything or not. It was annoying the h.e.l.l out me that was for sure! Finally, his brown eyes tore away from me long enough tolook at Pallo.

"We have to figure out what's inside her."

"Yes, I was hoping you would be able to persuade her to go into town and see the doctor. I also think it might be beneficial for her to see a witch. A witch might be able to tell us what magic was involved in these dreams."

I tried to try to stand up. I had to accept Pallo's hand to get out of the cushy chair. There is nothing more humbling then needing help out of a chair because your belly is too big. "I already beat you to that part."

I looked at Ken.

"You told my grandmother about this?"

"No, just the dreams, I didn't know I was pregnant at the time."

Ken looked at me and shook his head again. "I need another drink."

"Have one for me while you at it."

Pallo laughed. "Me too."

Chapter 32.

We agreed that Ken would stay and watch me while the three vampires went to meet with Caleb's partner, Mark. I watched as Ken tried to explain how to fire a gun to Caradoc. He was an old school vamp who preferred swords to guns. The two of them went out towards the back barn where the old haystacks were to try it out. James thought the moment was too good to miss so he went along for s.h.i.ts and giggles. The thought of sending acamera out with him had crossed my mind.

I went out into the kitchen to find Pallo. He was holding a long silver sword with a red handle. I walked up and put my arms around his waist.

"Are you planning on needing that?"

His brown curls tickled my face. Since he'd been staying with me, he began smelling like the lavender scented soaps and shampoos I used. I had others to choose from but he had gravitated towards them. I wasn't sure if I should be flattered or nervous that one of the men in my life liked to smell nice too. Men-plural. Yeah, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was true. I had two men that I was extremely serious about in my life, maybe even more depending how you looked at it. I was a mess and I knew it.

Pallo pulled out a silver handgun and popped the clip out. He pushed it back in and handed it to me handle first. I didn't want to take it. Ken had taken me to the range on several occasions but I'd never been left in charge of a firearm before.

"Pallo?"

"Gwyneth, it is loaded with silver tipped hollow point ammunition. In layman's terms, Caleb hunts the supernatural, so his bullets are modified to kill them--kill us. Aim for the heart and that should be enough to kill anything that you may run into, even something like me."

"I'm not the one going out into the night to hunt down some crazy b.i.t.c.h who's managed to get men all over the city shooting at their loved ones."

A shudder ran through me as I thought back to the gas station incident. I was positive that the Enchantress was behind that, somehow. In fact, the more I thought about the odd events of the last few nights, the more convinced I was that she was behind it all.

"Be careful, Pallo ... I can't lose you."

He touched my cheek and came away with a tear. I hadn't realized I was crying. I'd been doing that a lot since I met him. I took the gun and laid it on the table, hoping there wouldn't be a point that I needed to use it. I watched in silence as Pallo armed himself. I'd never seen him carry a weapon and was surprised at how adept he was at it. I had a tendency to forget he was over two hundred years old and into someseriously dark s.h.i.t.

Great, the love of my life was the Don of the supernatural Mafia. If he started paling around with anyone named Guido then we were going to need to have a very lengthy discussion. Right after I hid all the baseball bats in the house.

Pallo chuckled as he picked up the sword again and turned it in his hand slowly. He looked at home with it. I silently wondered how many times in his life he'd been required to use one. He glanced back at me and I shook my head to indicate I really didn't want an answer to that question.

Pallo and I were so different and Caleb and I were so alike. I tried to stop thinking about Caleb, but I couldn't. I was sure Pallo knew, he seemed to be a permanent fixture in my mind. Another great side-effect of his life saving bite!

"Why do you put up with me?" I asked.

Pallo put the sword down and turned around to face mine. "The same reason you put up with me, Il nostro amore e eterno--our love is eternal."

As much as I wanted to melt into his sweet words of love, I couldn't.

Reality had bitten me in the a.s.s more times than I cared to remember. The truth of the matter was that Caleb and I, regardless of our differences, had a strong history too. "What happens when Caleb comes home? Do we al l go back to fighting?"

"Ah, you are confident in my abilities to bring him back? How can you be sure I will? I mean, I do stand to gain quite a bit with him out of the picture, permanently."

I looked up at him. He was right. I should question his motives for going, but I didn't. No part of me felt like he wouldn't give it his all.

I knew the history between Caleb and Pallo. I knew that Caleb had stepped up to the plate when Pallo was gone to take care of his family--to take care of me. Pallo couldn't deny he owed Caleb for that, and maybe more.

"You'll bring him home, or die trying, and that's what scares me."Pallo moved into me. I put my hand in the back of his hair and pulled him closer to me. I brought his lips to mine and pushed my tongue into his mouth. His body was pressed so tightly against mine that I could feel just how pleased he was to see me through his tan pants. His thick erection seemed grow the longer we held each other. I tried to pull him tighter to me but I had to turn sideways to do it. My enormous belly was getting in the way.

d.a.m.n demon pregnancy.

I was about to tell Pallo to be careful, when I was. .h.i.t with a sharp pain in my back that radiated down to between my legs. I cried out and bent down--gripping at my lower stomach. Pallo tried to help, but I pushed him away as another round of pains shot through me.

"Gwyneth, what is wrong?"

I knew what the problem was but I wasn't about to tell him. I was in labor, and if he found out, he would not go help find Caleb. He would stay with me and be a first-hand witness to my demise. I wouldn't put him through that, I couldn't. I also couldn't lie outright to him. He could sense a lie, all vampires had that power. Pallo also had the gift now of being able to scan my mind without thought. I fought to keep my head clear and to keep him out of it. I tried to think of something wonderful to say to him, nothing came to me.

I moved to sit down. Pallo's hands never left my body. The pain subsided and I did my best to compose myself. He could not watch me die giving birth to something he was a part of. He'd spent the last twenty-six years behaving himself, at least according to most vampires' ethics, prior to that he'd been a ruthless killer. I knew that losing me so very long ago had triggered the monster within Pallo and I would do everything in my power to prevent him from going down that path again.

"Gwen?"

Pallo very rarely called me Gwen and whenever he did it was serious. He was calling me Gwen more and more as of late and that wasn't a good sign.

I took his cool pale hand in mine and patted it. "I think we should rethink the whole, who goes and who stays arrangement."

"Yes, I think you are right. I will stay with you, and....""No, Pallo. You need to go, but I think Ken should go, too."

He began to stand up. I knew he was getting ready to argue with me.

"Wait, I know I can't be alone right now and I know how important it is that you help with the search. Your powers are greater than both James'

and Caradoc's put together. As for Ken ... you'll need a shooter on board. I saw Caradoc's face when Ken tried to show him how to use a gun.

He didn't want to understand it. He's an old-school vamp who doesn't want to use new toys..." Pallo tried to speak but I put my hand up. "Taci!" I smiled as the surprise of me picking up on his native language hit him.

His eyes widened. "Fata mia, you just told me to shut-up."

"Hmm, James told me that meant listen."

Pallo bit back a smile. "Did he?"

"Should I even ask what scopami piu forte means?"

Pallo tossed his head back and laughed from the gut. "Ask me again, when we have more time together and I shall give you a demonstration on its meaning." Something pa.s.sed quickly over his face. "Why would James tell you this?"

"Hey, I don't even know what that means."

His lips narrowed. "Why did he teach you that?"

I shrugged. "Because I asked him to. I wanted ... I wanted to learn to say romantic things back to you."

If you make fun of me for saying romantic I'll stake you through the heart. I knew he was listening in on my thoughts.

A sly smile graced his face. "Perhaps you should avoid taking his advice."

"You're not planning on telling me what it means, are you?"

His smile widened. "I promised to demonstrate for you later.""Okay, back to the topic at hand--Ken going with you. The way I see it, Caradoc is stronger than James when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, am I right?" Pallo nodded. "Great, and you need a shooter ... Ken. So, that leaves James. He can stay with me. Before you start going all 'jealous'

on me, think about how fast James is when it comes to flying and think about how easily he fits in with humans. If I need to go to the hospital, do you think Caradoc will blend in?"

Pallo's mouth opened and I could have sworn I heard him grunt. He turned away from me and walked to the front window. The shutters were still closed. I was sure that the sun had already set because Caradoc and James went out, but no one had gotten around to opening them. Pallo was silent for a few minutes and then he turned and looked at me.

"Do you promise to have James contact me if any changes in your condition occur?"

"Yes." Don't sense my lie, don't sense my lie.

"Very well, I will go and tell him the news. I am sure he will be more than pleased with his new responsibility."

I gave him a nasty look as he walked out. I didn't care for his jealousy of James and he knew it. It was unwarranted. Sure, there was some funky thing going on, but we were strong enough to beat it. Our friendship meant more to us than some odd vamp-mojo.