Bastien swallowed hard, fought the grief and fear that rose within him. The madness couldn't vanquish Cliff. It was too soon. They needed more time. And would have had it if he hadn't been tortured.

Bastien swung toward Seth with a snarl.

We've got it covered, Seth promised, dark antic.i.p.ation in the glowing golden gaze that met his.

Bastien nodded and followed Melanie out into the hallway.

Seth spun around and slammed Emrys back-first onto the table hard enough to knock the wind out of him at the very least.

Emrys cried out.

David waved his hand. The manacles clamped down on the mercenary leader's limbs.

"I can make you rich!" Emrys screeched. "I can make you all rich!"

Seth's lips stretched in a smile that nearly made Bastien shiver. "I can make you scream."

The man began to shout for help.

None would come.

Ami stepped away from the man Marcus held and approached the table.

As the door swung closed without visual a.s.sistance, Bastien saw her reach for a scalpel.

"Dr. Lipton."

Melanie turned away from the door behind which screams arose.

The French immortals all faced her, expressions somber.

"Melanie," she corrected mechanically. Pain still rode her hard and she was feeling a little sh.e.l.l-shocked by the night's events.

"We've found Joe," Richart announced. And the gentle way he spoke warned her of what would follow.

Lisette came forward and touched her arm. "He's conscious. But . . . there is only madness in his thoughts."

etienne nodded, face full of regret. "Only the ravings of a lunatic."

Melanie stared through them. She couldn't do this. All the pain and death and . . .

She couldn't lose Joe tonight. Couldn't stand quietly by while Bastien drew his katana and swung it. Couldn't watch Joe's head leave his body and tumble to the floor. See his body shrivel up until nothing of him remained.

Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over her lashes as she turned to Bastien. She shook her head. "Please . . . Not tonight. Not here. Not . . . like this. Not without even trying to bring him back to us. Please."

His eyes glowed a vibrant amber that illuminated the moisture shimmering in them. These were his friends. She knew she was making it harder on him by asking him to delay the inevitable, but . . .

The relief she felt when he nodded weakened her knees and nearly landed her on the floor.

The siblings motioned to a doorway down the hall.

Melanie limped forward and pa.s.sed through it.

Joe lay still on a table identical to the one that had restrained Cliff. Manacles, coated with blood from his struggles and the wounds the butchers had inflicted, held his arms, legs, and head down. His chest rose and fell in quick bursts.

As Melanie crossed to his side, his eyes opened and rolled her way. Luminous blue, they speared her with hatred. Spittle flew from his lips as he shouted words so slurred she couldn't understand them.

"Joe?" she said softly. "It's Dr. Lipton. It's Melanie."

Nothing. No change.

She reached under the table and pressed the b.u.t.ton that would open the manacle holding his head immobile.

The heavy metal clamp sprang open and slid apart.

Joe instantly raised his head and snapped at her like a feral animal.

"Joe." She struggled to speak soothingly around the lump in her throat. "It's okay, Joe. You're safe now. Cliff is here. And Bastien. We're going to take you home."

He started to slam his head back against the table over and over again. His arms and legs flexed. The manacles dug deeper with every movement.

Melanie reached into her back pocket and withdrew one of the two auto-injectors she had loaded with the vampires' dose. She flipped the yellow cap open.

"Everything will be okay," she lied and pressed the pen to his shoulder.

His struggles slowed. His head fell still. His muscles relaxed.

She drew her hand over his tangled blond hair and met those burning eyes. "You're with friends now."

His lids drooped, then closed.

She circled the table to press the b.u.t.tons on the other side. Bastien hovered in the doorway with Cliff in his arms.

As she raised her head and met his gaze, her chest hitched with a sob.

Both knew what the morrow would bring.

Chapter 18.

As immortals, Seconds, and Chris gathered around David's impressive dining table, conversation abounded. Seth and David took their usual places at either end of the table. The others filled in the chairs along the sides.

Bastien found himself seated between Melanie and Richart, with Richart's siblings across from them.

Almost a month had pa.s.sed since they had descended upon Emrys's compound, though it seemed only days had instead. The time since had been a roller coaster of ups and downs, leaving Bastien feeling as if he had no control over anything in his life.

Joe had been beyond their help. Melanie had tried to reach him . . . tried so hard it broke Bastien's heart. And made him love her all the more. But the young vampire had been lost to them, all sanity devoured by the virus.

In accordance with the living will Joe had created when he had moved into network headquarters, he had been sedated. Then Melanie had drained his blood. All of it. And he had . . . gone. Just like that. Leaving nothing of himself behind to bury.

Dr. Whetsman had argued and fought, trying to convince Chris to let him throw out the will and extract the vampire's organs and brain for study.

Chris had held firm.

And Bastien had not antagonized the network leader once since.

The two had finally found common ground. Chris had lost his contacts. Bastien had lost his friend. Both held themselves responsible.

Cliff had bounced back. Bastien had not thought such would be possible. Nor had Melanie. But Cliff was still succeeding in staving off the madness that had claimed both of his friends. He was also mentoring Stuart, who-every day-sought new ways to make amends for the attack his entrance into their lives had instigated.

Food platters circulated the table on large hands. The scents suffusing the air were mouthwatering. Water, tea, and sparkling grape juice flowed freely. As did laughter and teasing.

Melanie rested a hand on Bastien's thigh.

He glanced down at her.

"You okay?" she asked.

He nodded, clasped her hand, and brought it to his lips for a kiss.

The two of them were closer than ever. Though she could have returned to her cozy home, Melanie had spent every day here with him. Every night she continued her research at the network, given leave to do so by Seth, who thought her research more important than having her in the field, hunting vampires.

Across the table, Richart cleared his throat. "How is Cliff?"

Bastien felt Melanie's surprise as she answered.

"He's good. He hasn't had any episodes since the day after we rescued him."

Richart pushed his food around on his plate. "I was thinking of visiting him."

She glanced at Bastien.

He was as shocked as she was. "I think he'd like that," Bastien said slowly. "I'm sure he's tired of seeing the same faces day after day."

etienne spoke up. "Perhaps I will visit him as well."

Both Frenchmen had met Cliff while monitoring Bastien. Had they seen what he had seen? Someone worth saving? Worth fighting for?

Melanie smiled. "That would be wonderful."

"Does he like sports?" Lisette asked, face hopeful.

"Yes."

"Perhaps I could catch a game with him."

Tanner nodded beside her. "I'd be up for that, too. We should catch a Lakers game. If I remember correctly from our days serving Bastien, Cliff's a pretty big Lakers fan."

"Excellent," Lisette proclaimed. "I'll bring the peanuts and popcorn."

The rest of the meal pa.s.sed in a blur. Bastien may not be as hated as he had been before, but he wasn't yet welcomed into many conversations. Not that he really noticed. He was too busy wondering if h.e.l.l had frozen over.

Immortals making friends with a vampire? What the h.e.l.l would happen next?

He and Melanie made their escape shortly after dinner, which technically was their breakfast or brunch since it was their first meal of the night.

Holding hands, they slipped down into the bas.e.m.e.nt, dodged Marcus's partially bald cat, Slim, and headed for their quiet room, where they would make love before Melanie headed for the network and Bastien left to hunt and possibly recruit more vampires.

Emrys was dead. What was left of his shadow army had been disbanded with no memory of how they had spent recent months. And Seth had erased Donald and Nelson's memories.

But the vampire population in the area continued to flourish and grow.

The whole situation sort of reminded Bastien of newspapers and scandal sheets. Accusations of this or that would be splashed across the front page in large letters. Then, if they proved unfounded, apologies and retractions would be offered in tiny print on the bottom of page thirty-seven, where few would notice them.

Well, news of the uprisings and wars being waged in North Carolina had circled the globe. Word that those uprisings and wars had ended with Immortal Guardians the victors, however, had garnered little attention.

"Bastien. Melanie."

They turned at the sound of Chris's voice.

"Seth meant to catch you before he left, but got called away early."

"Did he need something?" Bastien asked.

"No. He wanted you to have this." Strolling forward, Chris held out a set of keys.

Melanie took them and turned them over in her hand. "What are these for?"

"Your new home. Seth thought you two might like to have a place of your own, but Melanie's house isn't secure."

Bastien stared.

Chris pulled out his trusty notepad, flipped through it, and tore off a sheet. "Here's the address and directions to it. It's fully furnished, but you're welcome to make any changes you want. I knew you guys wouldn't have a lot of time to shop and just thought I'd get you started. The house is in a suitably isolated location. The kitchen is fully stocked. There's blood in the fridge. Toiletries in the bathroom. An escape tunnel in the bas.e.m.e.nt. And I dropped by there on my way here and turned on the heater, so if you want to go check it out or spend the day there after work, you're good to go."

Feeling Melanie's stare, Bastien glanced down at her.

"We have our own house?" she asked. "Just the two of us?"

Uncertainty rose. "If you don't want to live with me . . ."

She frowned, then hit him hard in the shoulder. "Of course I want to live with you. I love you, Bastien. And I fully intend to marry you whenever you get off your a.s.s and ask me."

All conversation in the house ceased.