That was the right word for her. "She makes my father happy, so I like her well enough. I'm just glad he has someone this time-" I stopped when his expression grew dark.

"Marie," he whispered huskily.

I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it. I was closer to a cure than ever before. "You're right. I'm just being morbid. Pass me that corner piece, would you?"

When I got to work the next evening, I was exhausted but content. I'd taken some caffeine pills to give my slumping body a boost, but my mood was terrific. I still had Josh. Through everything, I had him. And I was so close to getting Andre to turn me. I'd figure out the repercussions once I had this whole mortality thing off my plate. All in due time.

"Marie, can I talk to you for a second?" Bath called from her office.

"Sure," I said, tossing my purse down on my desk. "Let me just log in-"

"Actually, let's talk before you log in." Her voice was cool. "Come in here, please?"

Unease flashed through me. I glanced over at Ryder's desk, which was empty. Her purse hung on the back of her chair, so she was here somewhere. Were we going to be asked to leave? Dread curled in my stomach.

I walked into the small office and wasn't surprised to see Sara sitting in one of the chairs across from Bath's desk. She looked unhappy, a drawn expression on her dainty features, her wild, newly pink hair tucked behind her ears.

Bath shut the door to the office and gestured for me to sit.

I did, feeling sick to my stomach. "Is something wrong?"

The two sisters exchanged a glance. Bathsheba cleared her throat and clasped her hands on her desk, looking solemn. "Marie, I want you to know that both Sara and I have nothing but affection for you. You were in my wedding. I count you as a friend. I really do."

I could almost hear the "but" hovering in the air. "I count you as a friend, too."

"This is very hard for me to say." She paused, studied her hands, and sighed. "It's come to our attention that someone has been using the database for their own needs during work hours. A client came to us and said that he'd gone out on a date with a woman, only to find out when she arrived that she was human."

Damn. Damn. Damn. It was probably the vampire Josh had chased off. The horny one with an affinity for the shocker. I'd been afraid that would come back to haunt me.

Both Sara and Bathsheba were looking at me expectantly. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell them the truth. I have a fatal disease. I'm looking for someone to turn me before I die. But . . . the words wouldn't come out of my mouth. "I . . . " I tried to force the words out, but they wouldn't come. "I . . . I'm sorry."

They both looked disappointed.

Bathsheba said, "I'm sorry to say that because of how precarious things are in the Alliance right now, this makes things difficult for us. Combine that with the fact that vampires have difficulty trusting the Alliance anyhow. They think that the agency is fooling them to drum up business, and they're not happy. A client is seeking legal action for misrepresentation."

I was aghast. "You're being sued by a vampire?"

"I doubt it'll ever go to court," Bath said, "but it will cost us an arm and a leg to settle."

"I'm sorry that I've caused the agency so much trouble," I said softly.

Sara added, "This is also making the Russells look very bad, and the were-cougars can't afford to lose control of the Alliance."

I shook my head, confused. "What do you mean, it's making the Russells look bad?"

"You're mated to Josh. I see his mark on your neck. I smell him all over your skin."

"I'm what?" I stared at her, appalled.

"Mated." Her brow furrowed. "He bit you on the neck, right? That's a claim. He's staked you out as his personal property." Her gaze narrowed. "Has he tried to turn you?"

"No," I said quickly. "I won't let him."

Both sisters exhaled sharply, looking relieved.

"Good," Sara said. "If he turns you, all hell will break loose. We have to do damage control, spin things as positively as possible. Hopefully a few months from now, when everything has died down. Beau's mated to a human and it hasn't caused too many ripples. I'm sure Josh mating with one won't be ideal, but it won't be seen as too abusive of power."

Mated. What the hell? Fury at Josh, who had never pointed this out to me, began to build. He'd known exactly what my plans were, and he'd snuck this up on me.

Just before nibbling on my neck, he whispered, "Marie, I can't be with you without . . . putting some sort of claim on you."

I hadn't realized exactly what that had meant. Damn it.

"That doesn't change the fact that we have to fix the situation here today," Bathsheba said, looking upset. "And I'm sorry, Marie. I hope you don't take this personally, but you're fired."

I arrived home less than an hour later, with a box containing all the stuff from my desk. I had worked at Midnight Liaisons for well over a year, and I'd enjoyed every minute of it. I'd made friends. I'd met Josh. It had given me hope when I'd had none.

And now that chapter was over. I stared at the small box of my things. Pencils, personalized Post-its, the bow from the box of chocolates that Josh had dropped off that day.

Fired.

No more access to the database. No more vampires. No way of getting in contact with Andre or any other potential dates.

I was fucked. Panic began to set in, and I headed for the medicine cabinet to dose myself with anti-anxiety medication. I'd figure a way out of this. Josh would know what to do. If he didn't, I'd- The phone rang.

I raced for my purse, fishing out my phone quickly. Ryder's name was on the caller ID. My heart sank a little at the sight. "Hello?"

"Hey," she said quietly, her voice muffled and a little hollow. "I'm in the bathroom at work. I just heard. Savannah's sitting at your desk. What the hell happened?"

"Sara and Bath found out," I said, curling up on the couch and digging my fingernails into my palms so I wouldn't cry. "Some vampire I went out with sued the agency, so they fired me."

"Oh, God. I swear I didn't say anything."

"I know you didn't. The vampire ratted on me."

"What are you going to do? Do you need money?"

I smiled despite the panic in my belly. "No, I'm okay. Thank you for offering, though. I'll file for unemployment or something." I'd have to file to extend my medical insurance, too. I chewed my lip, thinking hard.

"Okay. Do you want me to come over after work? Want to talk about it? We can go out for breakfast. I'll buy."

"It's okay. I think I'm just going to lay down and . . . nap." I choked on the last word, a big fat lie if there ever was one.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Actually . . . " I bit my lip. Was it too much to ask of our friendship? "Would you mind looking up someone in the database?"

"You want the phone number of the vampire you were dating?"

I held my breath. "Something like that."

"I already checked his profile, and he sent your fake one a message. Said he wants to meet tonight. Has a surprise for you."

My heart pounded. "A surprise?" Maybe he'd decided to turn me. Hope made the world suddenly bright again. "Give me his number. And thank you, Ryder."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

Andre didn't answer his phone. I remembered that he hated phones, though, so I left a text message stating that I wanted to meet him. And for the next six hours, I checked my phone like crazy.

Nothing.

Just when I was ready to give up hope, my phone buzzed with a text. I scrambled for it and picked it up with shaking hands.

My bodyguard will pick you up at Konstantine's. Be there in a half hour. I think you'll like my surprise.

Yes!

I scrambled to my bathroom and checked the makeup I'd put on in the hope of meeting with Andre. I checked my hair and tugged at the neckline of my simple black dress. I shuddered at the faintest mark of his bite still on my neck, now scabbed over. If he was turning me tonight, that meant he'd have to bite me again. A wave of revulsion crashed over me, quickly pushed away by an overwhelming sense of elation. Just one nasty bite . . . and then I had eternity.

No more worries about my health. About hallucinations. About any of it. Hope and need pushed through me, so strong that it made me stagger. Please, God, let this work. I said a quick prayer, kissed my mother's Virgin Mary figurine for good luck, and ran to the front door. I had just enough time to make it to the restaurant. I opened the front door and- Josh was there, his hand raised as if about to knock. He eyed my sexy dress, my high heels. A grocery bag was in his hand again. He raised his eyebrows at my outfit. "Where are you running off to?"

I reached up and gave him a hard, fierce kiss of excitement. "I'm going to see Andre. He says he has a surprise for me. I think he's going to turn me!" I flung my arms around him in excitement. "Isn't that great?"

He didn't hug me back. "Marie-"

I pulled away, shaking my head. "Josh, I love you, but I don't want to hear it right now. Not when I'm so close to reaching my goal. After this I'll have eternity! I'll live."

"You love me?" He gave me an odd look.

Whoops, had I said that? I gave him another quick kiss. "I do. I love you. I'll prove it when I get home."

But he slowly shook his head. "You don't get it, Marie. If he turns you . . . I won't be here when you get back."

"Why not?" He wasn't going to go all principled on me now, was he? I'd thought we were past that. "Josh-"

"Marie, if you pick this vampire, you're picking him for all eternity. Remember that I told you how seriously they take that? He's not going to let you walk back out the door and into my arms."

I stared at him. I hadn't thought further than getting turned. How stupid of me. How shortsighted.

His face grew tight with anger. "Just because you choose to go after this plan of yours with blinders on doesn't mean I will. If this guy wants to turn you, it's because he wants an eternal companion. I don't want that to happen. We'll find another way."

We? "You're not the one dying," I said bitterly. "I'm not about to turn back now-not when this is in my grasp. You can't ask me to choose between you and dying, Josh. That's unfair."

"I'm not asking you to," he said quietly. "I'm asking you to trust me to find another way. We'll go to more doctors. See a specialist. Check with the Alliance doctors-"

"Don't you think I've tried everything? Don't you think I know what my options are? I don't know how much time I have, Josh. The hallucinations, the anxiety, the insomnia-they're worse than ever. I can't keep doing this. You can't ask me to keep going in the hope that something will change."

"Just give me a week, Marie. That's all I ask. You say you love me. Do you love me enough to trust me for another week?"

I stared at him. Another week of misery. Of sheer exhaustion. Hallucinations that told me that my brain was shutting down. Of dragging myself through every hour of every day.

Another week in Josh's arms.

But what if Andre didn't want to wait? What if he changed his mind?

I couldn't risk it. I leaned in and gave Josh another kiss. "I love you," I told him softly. "I do. But I'm not changing my mind."

He stared at me, his face cold. "I'm not going to sit back and let you ruin your life, Marie. This is a mistake. I know things about vampires that you don't. This one's not a nice guy. I don't trust that he's going to turn you. He's just using you as his personal soda fountain-"

I suddenly remembered that Josh had bitten me, too. "At least he didn't put a mate mark on me and then lie to me about it."

"Fat lot of good it's doing," he said angrily. "Especially since you're determined to run headlong into a vampire's arms."

"How could you do that to me? Stake your claim on me like I belong to you?"

"Last night you were quick to say you were mine. Are things different now that you've had a chance to sleep on it?"

Tears of frustration threatened to spill from my eyes. "Please. I have a chance at more time. You can't ask me not to take it."

"And I won't," he said, moving in to brush my tears away with his fingers. Then he kissed my forehead. "Let's talk about it."

He pressed more light kisses to my face, my nose, my cheek. Light, loving kisses of affection. God, I loved his kisses. He moved past me and gestured at the kitchen. "You should see what I brought you."

I nodded, pretending that I was just about to follow him. When he moved into the kitchen, still talking, I tore down the stairs and raced across the lawn to my car. I got it started in record time and was backing out of my parking space just as he appeared at the head of the stairs, looking utterly furious.

I mouthed, "Sorry" as I peeled out of the parking lot.

After tonight, I'd have all eternity to make it up to him.

Chapter Fourteen.

The sedan pulled up to a posh brownstone in an exclusive part of Southlake Town Square.

Not exactly what I'd pictured for a vampire, but it did scream "money."