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“Okay what?”

“Find out what you can about Adam and tell Feehan enough to get him off your back.”

“Of course.” He nodded.

The door opened suddenly and Sam appeared.

“Hey, Mr. Feehan wants you both to go with him to the hospital. Apparently, Brad Dailey’s family wishes to speak to you.”

“Oh, crap,” Ella groaned. “What are we supposed to say to them?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Vadim stood up and shook out the creases in his sleeves. “I’m sure Mr. Feehan will tell us exactly what he wants us to say on the way over.”

* * *

In the hospital elevator,Vadim reached for Ella’s hand and for once she didn’t stop him.

“If the Daileys get cranky, you can wipe the memories, can’t you?”

“Sure. But I always like to have a truthful conversation about what really happened first. It helps them deal with the subconscious aspects of the Otherworld experience.”

“Does Feehan know this?”

“I’ll tell him right now.”

She cleared her throat. “Boss, if it’s okay with you, we’ll answer the Dailey’s questions as truthfully as we can and then retrieve those memories and replace them with new ones that follow the more conventional version.”

She realized she’d said “we.” Was she really thinking of her and Vadim as a matched set now? Could he perform the same empath tasks that she could?

“That’s my function as your mate. Seeing as you might be dealing with several people at once, I can at least bolster your powers with my own and stop you from becoming drained.”

She smiled up at him. “I keep forgetting that.”

“What?” Feehan was staring at her. Had she spoken out loud? Damn.

“I was just talking to myself. Are you okay with what I suggested, Mr. Feehan?”

“If it’s necessary, please go ahead. I’ve never had to deal with a situation like this before directly.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be a breeze.”

Ten minutes later, in Ms. Phelps’s office, she was beginning to wish she hadn’t been quite so confident. There was no sign of Ms. Phelps to help smooth things over. Instead, they’d been met by Brad’s parents and grandfather, who were in no mood to listen to reason or Ella’s Otherworld interpretation of exactly what had happened. Threats about lawsuits, medical negligence and government incompetence were flying around the room. No one was giving Feehan a chance to explain.

Eventually Ella held up her hand and raised her voice above the racket.

“Will you all shut it?”

Shocked faces greeted her loud pronouncement.

“Something terrible happened to Brad, something that is beyond normal human comprehension. Whichever world he hangs out in, we will do our best to apprehend the criminal. We will not stop until we have achieved justice for your son and closure for your family.”

Mr. Dailey scowled at her. “You’re right, this is bizarre. Your whole explanation is downright insane!” He glanced at Feehan and then back at Ella. “What kind of government employs idiots like you?”

“We wanted you to know the truth, Mr. Dailey.”

“The truth?” He got in her face. “That my son’s face wasstolen,and he was left with someone else’s? Bullcrap!”

Ella stared him down. “Yes, now step back, sir, or I’ll let my partner at you. He really doesn’t appreciate it when people aren’t polite to me.”