She'd asked if Darian was okay. Darian, who had willingly hired a sailboat and sailed straight into a tropical storm. Darian, who he'd just pulled off the bottom of the ocean instead of attending his planning session to deal with the Talon issue.

"He needs an ass beating, not coddling!" he snapped.

Both jumped at his tone, and he waited, wanting to pick a fight with someone. He was exhausted and wired with angry energy. If Jule or Damian were there, they'd take a trip to the boxing ring and take turns beating the hell out of him until his blood settled. If he had a full night, he'd spend it killing vamps until too tired to pull the trigger.

Darian flushed and looked down guiltily. Dusty waited for Bianca to defend him, so he could tear into someone, anyone.

"Your dinner's in the oven," she said. She'd chosen a subject he couldn't argue about. Frustrated, he stalked to the kitchen and opened the oven, sensing her enter.

"I spend an hour at the bottom of the ocean saving his ass because he decides to try and kill himself, and you give him milk and cookies!" he muttered. He lifted the heavy, foil-covered plate out of the oven, stomach roaring at the scent of spiced chicken and vegetables. He'd been too busy to eat again today since the sandwich she made him for breakfast.

"There are enough milk and cookies for you, too," she replied.

He turned to glare at her and almost snapped at her for sitting on the counter. She met his gaze, her features warm. There was compassion in her sparkling gaze despite the gentle humor in her voice. Her warmth and openness disarmed him enough to take the edge off his anger. She wore the camisole that amplified her breasts, her curls captured at the nape of her neck.

"You need a hug, too?" she teased.

"You're playing with fire, woman," he warned.

She flushed again as she always did, and he crossed to her, resting his hands on her thighs as he leaned his hips against the counter between her knees. She leaned back, the audible sound of her breath catching music to his ears.

"Hug, no. Kiss, yes," he ordered. "Now."

She laughed nervously, and he leaned forward.

A flash of cool energy zipped through him as their lips met. She was hesitant, and he kissed her gently, not wanting to scare her despite his raging blood. Her plump lips were perfect for kissing. He nibbled on her lower lip then deepened the kiss. She responded and opened to him, leaning into him. She tasted like honey, and he reveled in the warmth of her body, her hot mouth. He kissed her long and light, enjoying the sensations of her body as she became aroused. Her lips grew hungrier, her breathing quickened, her body warmer. She didn't have his cold control; she was the kind of woman who would give herself freely in bed and hold no part of her back.

"Dusty!" Darian's voice reminded Dusty of the world outside Bianca's body. He withdrew, not looking at the shocked man standing in the kitchen doorway.

"You have to the count of three to get the fuck out of here, Darian," he said in a low, even voice. "One."

Darian was gone. He was almost relieved for the distraction. He didn't need this type of drama, and she was too good for a man like him in her life.

He met Bianca's beautiful brown eyes. She gazed at him, lips parted and face flushed. Her raw sweetness threatened his resolve to keep his distance. He took in her features, gaze resting on her lips. He gave her a light kiss, unable to resist.

"I should go," he said and pushed himself away. He didn't want to, even though he had a ton of things to do.

"Yes, you should," she whispered, her voice husky.

Of all the places he had to be, this wasn't one of them, and yet, he couldn't leave this time. It had something to do with the beautiful woman before him who made him feel for the first time in years. Maybe it was his looming death, or maybe it was the energy from her cool touch that calmed him from the inside out, but he wondered what life would've been like had his family survived.

"Who was it?" she asked.

"Who was what?" he hemmed.

"Whomever you still mourn."

"You can sense that?"

She nodded. "Every time we touch."

He crossed his arms and glanced at his watch. He didn't have time for this, but he still couldn't find the will to leave her.

"My sister," he said at last. "She died when I was ten with the rest of my family. The White God adopted me. I inherited a hatred for immortals after what they did to my family, so he eventually made me his chief assassin. I have no mercy for any creature that preys on humans."

"Do you ever feel guilty about her death? My dad died last year. I keep thinking, if I'd been in Miami instead of California, he wouldn't have," Bianca said, looking down.

"Sometimes," he said in a hushed tone. His thoughts went to the memory he wanted nothing more than to forget forever. He saw his sister drop after the strike of a sword. At barely ten years old, he'd been too weak to fight off full-grown men, too weak to protect her. "You can't blame yourself for your father's death. Some things are meant to be, and death is natural for humans."

"You don't believe that," she said with a faint smile. "Or you wouldn't still be fighting for her. Killing can't heal you, though."

"No, but it prevents the deaths of other innocents." He leaned away from her, against the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen. He hadn't trusted anyone outside of his adopted brothers-and Sofi-since he was ten.

"I'm not sure I could live if I lost Jonny," she said. "His welfare was what got me through our father's death."

"People are resilient."

"Resiliency isn't the same as happiness."

"No," he agreed slowly. "It's not. You can't regain that sort of innocence."

"So, you never gave yourself a chance to be happy?" she surmised.

"Something like that. A little too late now."

"Why?"

"I don't believe it's possible," he said and then thought to himself, and because I'm not going to be alive too much longer. "I believe in pleasure, but pleasure is always short-lived, like one-night stands."

"That's sad, Dusty," she said. "There's more than one-night stands. You're missing out."

"I don't have time for more," he replied. They both tiptoed around the sexual attraction between them, and her face was flushed again. "Someone's gotta help save the world."

"I see," she said and cleared her throat. "You'll always carry that pain, if you don't let yourself become whole again."

He hadn't heard anyone speak so frankly to him since he was a child, and never on a topic so sensitive. He shifted, a familiar fire in his blood. And yet, he feared what that fire might mean. He was not long for this world, and she was no Jenn-a woman there for his physical pleasure. Bianca was the kind of woman who could heal his soul, if he had time to let her. For the first time in years, he found himself wondering what it would be like to feel again. He may not find the prospect appealing, if he wasn't standing beside his death bed. He held out his hand.

"You're a Healer, aren't you?" he asked.

"I don't think I can heal your soul, Dusty," she said with a small smile.

"If anyone can, you can."

"Don't you have to go?"

"The good thing about being in charge is the ability to make your own schedule," he replied.

She hesitated before taking his hand. He drew her into his body, reveling in the flow of her cool energy. It managed to calm the sense of urgency he always felt. He smoothed her bouncy curls, wanting to let his hands continue down her body. He didn't. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

There was something very different about this woman, and it was more than the feel of her energy flowing through him. She was fully a part of him when they touched, as if he'd been missing more than a piece of his soul all these years and just now realized it. The sensations-and the moment of peace he'd been denied for thousands of years-made him uncomfortable. For the first time in his life, he felt like running away from something.

His cell phone rang. Bianca propped her chin on his chest and gazed up at him.

"I have to go," he said.

"I figured," she said. She withdrew, taking the feeling of peace with her. Dusty pulled his phone free and saw Toni's number flash across the screen. He answered.

"Boss, Iggy at the lab sent me her report." There was a puzzled note in Toni's voice. "I'm already here with her. Wanna meet me?"

"Yeah, on my way," Dusty said. "Give me five minutes."

"Groovy."

Dusty hung up and met Bianca's gaze again. Her arms were crossed and she was chewing on her lower lip again.

"We'll talk later," he said in the awkward silence. He already felt the loss of her calm energy, but he had no idea what to do about it.

"You know where I'll be," she said, a smile pulling up one side of her mouth. "Don't think it's possible for me to leave, so whenever you're ready ..."

"You're calling me a chicken," he said.

"Not at all," she said. Her smile widened, and she walked away into the living room.

His body screamed for him to follow and let Toni handle whatever it was Iggy wanted. Dusty hesitated and then snatched his dinner before he did something they'd both regret. He Traveled to the basement lab and perched next to Toni on a stool at a table bearing something that should've made him lose his appetite. He ate anyway, surprised to find the chicken tender and juicy and the veggies still slightly crisp and well-seasoned. Bianca was the only one of those around him who could cook.

"How can you eat around that thing, boss?" Toni asked, horrified.

"I'm starving. Whatcha got, Iggy?" Dusty said around a mouth full of vegetables. He looked at the slight Natural with dark hair and eyes who happened to have a doctorate in every type of science he could name. She'd spent the past four hundred years in college, gleefully learning more and more and working out of the lab he'd funded for her.

"This isn't normal," she started.

"What is it, first of all?" Dusty asked, eyes going from his dinner to the mangled creature on the table in front of them.

"It's ... it was a pig," she said. "Do you want to see it?"

"No."

"Okay. Pigs have some features similar to a human's that make them good test beds for the type of science stuff I do. Specifically, a virus or bug passed to a pig is considered a huge threat in the medical community, because pigs can pass their diseases onto humans. Am I speaking simply enough, Dusty, or do I need to dumb it down more?"

"You're good," Dusty answered with a faint smile.

"So, it looks like Talon's goons took our pig and injected it with something to turn it into a vamp."

"A vampire pig?" Toni asked with a laugh.

"More or less. But it's not the vamp-pig that's the most interesting part. I found pieces of DNA on its teeth. It bit another animal before they killed it."

"And?" Dusty prompted at her silence.

"Don't you see? If they were successful in turning a normal pig into a vamp-pig, and that vamp-pig could in turn bite say, a human or another animal, and transfer the vamp bug, then you've potentially got a new tool you can use to transform the human population into vamps."

"You mean cats and dogs could be used to turn their masters into vamps?" Dusty asked.

"Exactly! It's pretty clever. If it worked-and I don't know if it did-you'd see something like the black plague in Europe, only it wouldn't kill people, just turn them into vamps," Iggy said.

"I wouldn't call that clever," Toni said in a hushed tone. "Diabolical, maybe."

Dusty considered her before gazing back at the mutilated creature on top of the stainless steel lab counter. "You up for a field trip?" he asked. "You can cut apart any suspected vamp-pigs you find."

"When do you want me to go?" she asked, fidgeting.

"Pack your shit. You're going now."

She looked unsettled at the idea of leaving her lab and looked around, as if trying to figure out what to take. She hurried into the back room.

"Are you sure Europe is worse than here?" Toni asked, shaking his head. "I don't see how."

"I'm beginning to wonder myself," Dusty admitted. "How did the planning go?"

"Sasha thought of everything before he left. He had a plan A, B, and C all ready. The barracks at HQ are full from the incoming Guardians, and I have an emergency order for more weapons in. I started staging Guardians in our stash houses in Orlando."

"You still want to be XO?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's groovy. I'm learning a lot. I didn't know how hard it was. I'm taking calls and dealing with issues almost 24/7. We seem to be the emergency points of contact for anything that goes wrong anywhere in the western hemisphere. There's a lot of shit that goes on. I didn't know about ikira, either. We all thought she was your sister, not Damian's wife, and I had no idea she was an Oracle until this morning, when she told me to evac the motor pool. Darian accidentally blew up a car an hour later and blew the roof off the garage." Toni shook his head. "Talk about fucking chaos. I don't know how you do it, boss."

"It's just how it is," Dusty said, amused. "You've taken a great deal off my shoulders, and I appreciate it."

"Happy to help," Toni said with a wide smile. "I'm having a great time. You gonna make the intel briefing this morning in an hour?"

"I plan on it."

"Jenn's been puttin' the hurt on her sources for info on Talon's plans. I'm not sure she's hearing anything, though," Toni said.

"Talon's an idiot, but he's getting help from someone else. No way he can create vamp-pigs on his own. Whoever's helping him might've gotten rid of any leaks. What about the kid you picked up at the last flash-n-burn? Anything there?" Dusty asked.

"Not yet, no. Think we scared him. He's been in northern Florida since we cut him loose."

Dusty's thoughts went to Jonny again then to the Watchers. He glanced at his watch. Talon had help, and the Black God was weakening. The Watcher had called those helping Talon the Others. Dusty knew nothing of the immortal divisions, but since an Other was the evil equivalent of a Watcher, they were in some serious trouble.

"Iggy, move your ass!" he shouted. "I need to drop you off in Ohio now. I got shit to do!"

"Dusty, I'm not ready!" she replied, panicked. "I can't leave all my equipment!"

Toni laughed, and Dusty strode to the small residence in the back of the lab. Iggy was frantically filling a huge, blocky suitcase with books.

"Igg, you're not moving there. Can't you just take what you need?" he demanded.

"I've never been to Ohio. What if it's cold or the flora is significantly different and I-"