The moment the question drifted through his mind, he froze, another possibility taking shape. Could Macy be Bride's mysterious friend? No, surely not. But... Bride had smelled her friend on him, and Devyn had just run into Macy. Macy never wore perfume-at least, he'd never noticed it on her- just as Bride had claimed her friend wouldn't. And when he'd offered to describe the women he'd been with, Bride had shaken her head no, as if the descriptions couldn't help her. She'd needed to see them, up close and in person. Why? There was only one reason he could think of.

Macy could change her appearance at will, one moment a luscious blonde, the next an exact replica of even the golden giant beside her. A golden giant who had paled, as well.

Everyone inside this kitchen knew Macy was not really Macy. She was an otherworlder posing as the human model-slash-AIR-agent. But no one knew who she really was, who she'd been before taking over the dead Macy's life. Hadn't seemed important. Until now.

This can't be right. Pensive, Devyn stroked two fingers over his jaw. "Does the name Aleaha Love mean anything to anyone?" Though he asked the question of everyone, he kept his attention fixed on Macy. She'd been pale before, but now she became chalk white, the thin lines of her veins visible.

Everyone but Macy and Breean shook their head no. Those two shared a heavy look, Macy fingering the locket hanging around her neck. Interesting. If Macy wasn't Bride's friend-which, Devyn would now bet his most prized possession, aka his cock, that she was-the two were involved somehow. Was the locket something Bride had given her? Something that reminded her of Bride?

"Where'd you see this vampire?" Macy asked softly.

"A few blocks from Dallas's apartment."

"Hey, you didn't tell me that," Dallas said.

"I didn't think it was significant." Until now. To test the foundation of his theory, he added, "She was just another woman in a long line of women. Unimportant and a bother. There was no reason to mention her at the time."

Macy tensed, as though offended.

But then, so did Mia. "Insulting ass! Better watch your mouth before you lose your tongue."

"Females the world over would hunt you down and destroy you for such a travesty." He traced his fingertip around the rim of his glass. "I say we find Bride and kill her."

Macy gasped and shook her head violently.

Mia nodded in agreement.

Devyn almost grinned. Oh, yes indeed. Macy was Bride's friend. No doubt about it now.

"We cannot kill her until we find out where she's hidden the Schon," Kyrin said.

"No one will be killing her." The words left Devyn with more force than he'd intended. "I was teasing, of course. I don't want her killed."

Dallas punched him in the shoulder. "You've got a great sense of humor. Anyone ever tell you that? No? Well, that's because I was lying, and your humor sucks ass. You don't tell a room full of killers to kill someone and expect the target to walk away unscathed. Moron." He drained his whisky sour and slammed his glass onto the tabletop.

"Respect the wood or die," Jaxon said. "Mishka will have my ass if anything happens to it."

Mishka was currently out on assignment. She was stronger, faster, deadlier, than anyone around her, and could crush a man with a single squeeze. He had to get his hands on a cyborg soon. A vampire cyborg would be even better. And as Bride was more than a vamp, it was entirely possible he'd get his wish.

"Sorry," Dallas muttered, properly shamed.

Devyn patted his friend's hand. "I love when our channels of communication are open like this." He was fighting a grin. "I really do. Makes me feel so close to you. It's heartwarming. I think there's even a tear in my eye. But back to the vampire. She's mine. I'll take care of her."

Kyrin arched a brow at him. "Another morsel for your collection?"

"Yes." Truth.

"Top brass won't like it," Dallas muttered, but there was laughter in his tone. "He's right," Mia said. "I don't."

Macy wouldn't like it either, judging by the fire now blooming in her blue eyes. "I'm sure I can convince you of the wisdom of my plan, Miss Snowball." Even if she didn't like it, she wouldn't be able to stop it from happening. "I'll give her to you when I'm done with her."

Like her man, she arched a brow. "Snowball?" Then she shook her head and waved her hand. "Give me Nolan, and then we can talk."

Done, he thought.

"H-how are we going to capture her?" Macy asked on a trembling breath. She was gripping the edge of the table, her knuckles tight.

Telling, how Breean reached over and squeezed her hand in comfort. The otherworlder knew, as Devyn had suspected. Most likely Macy planned to learn his intentions, find her friend first, warn her, and send her into hiding. Understandable. Devyn would do the same thing, were the situation reversed. That wouldn't stop him from tricking Macy now, though. Nothing interfered with his objective. Ever. That would make him regret.

"I have something she wants," Devyn said with relish, "and I plan to dangle it under her nose until she finds me."

CHAPTER 5.

The pounding on the door woke her.

Slowly Bride blinked open her eyes. Her vision was cloudy at first, but gradually it focused, and her apartment came into view. A single lamp burned, its golden glow providing a small circle of light. The window was still open, drifting a warm morning breeze inside and lifting her curtains. Thankfully, she was far enough away that the sunlight didn't touch, and therefore burn, her sensitive skin.

The well-worn couch, basket of folded laundry, and so-small-you-had-to-strain-to-see-it TV were where they had always been, though she was not. She was on the floor, trembling from cold and bone-deep hunger. Naked.

What the- Devyn. The name was like an electric current inside her, and memories flooded her mind, heating her up inside and out. She'd found him, had watched that beautiful body stalk the streets of New Chicago, constantly fighting the urge to reveal herself and drink from him, savoring every delicious drop of blood he possessed, and then she'd stolen his captive, beating him soundly.

Another pound of fists echoed at the entrance. "Amy. Amy, I know you're in there!"

Bride dragged herself to a sitting position. She swiped her tongue over her lips, her mouth as dry as dirt, her teeth aching. So hungry ...

"Finally," a relieved voice breathed behind her.

She whipped around, and had to massage her temples to assuage the sudden wave of dizziness. When the dizziness cleared, she studied her companion. He wore the same clothes she'd left him in: a button-down and slacks. They were wrinkled, stained with sweat. A plain copper necklace wrapped around his neck like a snake, tight, almost choking, causing his pulse to flutter wildly.

Mmm, a snack ...

No. No, no, no. "You're alive," she said foolishly. And damn, her throat hurt. It was swollen and raw from disuse. Or had she screamed in pleasure as dream Devyn licked his way up and down her body?

And just when the hell had she begun thinking of him as a sexual conquest? He was a means to an end. That was it.

"Barely." Her captive lay on the cot she'd provided for him, facing her, his skin grayish, his eyes sunken. There were small circular wounds on his neck, as if something had tried to bite its way free of his skin.

Boom, boom, boom. "Amy!"

Shit. Had the otherworlder shouted for help while she'd slept, and was the cavalry now here to rescue him? "How long have I been out?" If she was going to be arrested, it'd be nice to know how long Devyn had had to find her.

"Four days."

Wow. Had she been human, she probably would have peed herself. Thankfully, that was not a bodily function she'd ever had to endure. She smacked her lips together, her mouth still as dry as a desert.

Time to feed. Automatically her gaze returned to the otherworlder's neck, and her still-aching fangs elongated. Blood ... good ... need ... Waaaay past time to feed. He's sick. You'll probably vomit after you drink him, anyway, weakening you all the more. Who cared? Her body always absorbed the first few sips before the sickness hit her, which was how she'd managed to survive, and she would be stronger. Right now, even the taste of blood would have been enough for her. So, so good ...

"Your eyes are glowing," the otherworlder said, but he didn't sound as if he cared. "Damn it, Amy. Rent's overdue."

The voices snapped her out of the blood haze, and she blinked. Rent. Thank God. No arrest today. Maybe.

"Now your eyes are back to normal."

"That's good."

"Amy, I know you can hear me. I want my money, or your ass is outta here. Understand?" More banging. "I told you one more delayed payment and you were gone. Don't tell me you don't remember."

"Your name's Amy?" her captive asked. "I thought Devyn called you Bride."

"Be there in a second," she called, relieved that the otherworlder hadn't shouted for help. For his cooperation, she gave him a reward. Honesty. "My real name is Bride, yes."

"I can see how the guy at your door confused that with Amy," he said dryly. "I'm Nolan, by the way."

"I know. I heard."

"Hurry up, damn it!" the super repeated, this time grudgingly rather than furious. "I don't got all day. I'm two seconds away from letting myself in, and it won't be against the rules 'cause you're so behind."

"I said I was coming!" Bride pushed to her feet, swayed. "Why didn't you scream the roof down while I was out?" she asked Nolan.

"And allow humans to stone me while I'm in this condition?" He snorted. "No, thanks."

"Just... be quiet while I deal with my super. Please. If you hadn't already guessed, I'm not human, but he thinks I am and I let him think it because he's more prejudiced than most. He'd rather shoot an otherworlder than look at one." She turned and forced one foot in front of the other, closing the distance between herself and Nolan's wallet. "Swear to God, he's a piece of shit who would trade his mother for a bean burger."

"Uh, you might want to dress before you greet him," Nolan said when she bent down. "And yeah, I'd guessed about the nonhuman thing. So what are you?"

"Alien," she lied.

"Like I said, I know."

As she stood, her gaze drifted along her body. She was pale, as always, and spotted with red where her skin had pressed into the concrete. Her nipples were hard.

Was that what Nolan saw when he looked at her? Was that what Devyn had seen when she'd stood before him? The real her? Or did they see the image she projected? Long ago, the ability to cloak herself with nondescript features had risen from the thorns and fire inside her, preventing people from picking her out of a crowd. She did it without thinking now; it was just a part of who she was, like breathing. But sometimes, as weak as she'd become this past month, she feared the shield was down and she simply couldn't sense it.

Cheeks heating, she grabbed the robe she'd draped over the couch just in case she'd been unable to walk to her room after imprisoning Nolan. Good thing. "Sorry for the show."

"Don't be. Back to my question. What kind of alien are you?"

Don't be. It was something Devyn would say, and it caused her heart to race. Surely she wasn't missing the bastard. "I'm the kind that's from another planet." No way she'd cop to vampire. Even otherworlders would fear bloodsuckers. How could they not? She was a parasite. "I'm a-" What sounded good? she wondered, peering at her feet "-concre ... sha. Concresha."

"Never heard of them."

Of course not. She'd just made it up. "Doesn't mean they don't exist."

"Amy!"

Fully covered now, she walked to the door and pressed the code to open it a mere crack. Mr. Guise immediately tried to push his way inside.

He growled at her. "Open it wider and let me in, little girl."

"You don't need to come in to collect your money."

"Well, I want to talk to you."

"So talk."

After a moment's pause, he backed away. Even chuckled darkly. "I know you don't have no money, so I thought we could work off the debt another way, if you know what I mean."

She rolled her eyes. He'd been trying to get her into bed for a year. He was a balding, greasy perv. The perviness and the grease she could have overlooked, but not the comb-over. Or, to be honest, the stench of rot that always accompanied him.

But hungry as she was, even Guise was starting to look good. His pulse was slow but steady, a taste me beat. "No need for me to take one for the team." Her tongue was so swollen the words were slurred. "I can pay you properly." She hoped.

She flipped open Nolan's wallet and gasped. So much money. So ... pretty and green. It was more than she'd ever seen in one place.

"Just think about it," Guise said, reaching his pudgy fingers through the crack and sifting them through her hair. "You could spend your money on something like food or clothes."

"Tempting, but no." Her fingers shook as she thrust the bills at him. She kept her lashes fused, just in case her eyes were glowing again. Usually, she could control it. Only when she was reaching the starvation point did it happen automatically. "That should take care of the rest of the year."

He looked down at the wad of bills, then up at her, then the bills. "But... but..."

More satisfied than she'd been in a long time, even when she'd bested Devyn, she pressed the button to close the door in his stunned face, then jabbed her thumb against the ID to engage the lock she'd had installed-a lock Guise could not open at will. She was grinning widely as she turned and pressed her back into the metal.

"You're pretty when you smile," Nolan said weakly.

Her gaze shifted to him. Once, he'd probably been handsome. His bone structure was total perfection, his body tall and packed with just the right amount of muscle. But now, ashen and bruised as he was, he just looked pitiful. "Thank you, and thanks for the loan, by the way."

A choking sound bubbled from his throat. A laugh? "Please, you won't pay me back."

No, she wouldn't. She couldn't work during the day, her skin was too sensitive, and she couldn't hold a job at night since she needed to hunt. She had to steal what money she could. "Thanks for the gift, then."

"You're welcome." He sounded sincere.

"Listen," she said. "You seem like a nice guy despite the fact that you had AIR gunning for you. I want you to know that I don't plan, to hurt you."

His gaze locked with hers, grim but determined. "If you don't want to hurt me, you have to let me go."

Did she look stupid? "Do you have a terribly infectious disease?"

"Yes," he said, shocking her. She hadn't expected him to answer honestly.

"Then you understand that I can't let you loose on the streets." She rubbed a hand over her forehead and sighed. "I need to take a shower, but maybe we can talk afterward, okay? I'll tell you my plans for you."

"I'd like that."