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Nick waited for them on the covered porch in Wynter’s backyard. He’d taken the photo while they were returning from the last part of the hike, just the two of them. He took it from the porch steps while she stood on the outside lawn.

It had been the first time Nick had gone with them on one of their wanders in months. Partly because, one, he’d only recently gotten a decent umbrella for that kind of thing, and two, he’d still been weak from what happened to him in San Francisco.

She’d looked so damned adorable when they both skipped up the back walk from the fields. Tai had looked like a real kid for a change, too.

The auburn-haired detective stared at the photo like he was trying to burn a hole in it.

“This the ‘friend’ you’re staying with?” Mustache’s humor faded.

Nick answered without thought.

“No.”

“Who the fuck is this hot piece of snatch then?”

Nick hoped nothing in his face so much as tensed.

“I don’t know. A sister, I think? A friend?”

“Well, you better stay the fuck away from her, bloodsucker, whoever she is.”

The human aimed a look at Nick that chilled him, in spite of himself.

Nick saw a murderer in those eyes, and not only of vampires. Even apart from who she was to him, Nick wouldn’t have felt safe leaving her alone with a guy who looked at her like that, or talked about her like that, not in a million years. He wouldn’t let a femaleacquaintancebe alone with that guy. As for Wynter herself, Nick wouldn’t let this jackass be alone in a room with his wife if his life depended on it.

As it was, Nick’s lifediddepend on it.

“She lives in California, I think,” Nick commented, his voice still disinterested. “I think she might be a niece, come to think of it. I can’t remember.”

Nick saw the male immediately lose interest.

California was far, far away to these bozos.

Too far for this rapist, anti-female murderer to contemplate abusing his position to try and coerce her into sex.

After that, Nick was more than happy to get the fuck out of there.

Even so, he thought at Wynter and Tai as loud as he could.

WYNTER CAN’T COME BACK HERE,he thought in a mental shout.NOT ANY TIME TODAY OR EVEN THIS WEEK. PROBABLY NOT FOR A WHILE. NOT UNTIL THIS GETS RESOLVED. SHE ABSOLUTELY CANNOT COME BACK HERE. FOR ANY REASON.

He fought to remember the last time he’d fed on Wynter.

He couldn’t really feel her when they talked earlier.

That had to be two hours ago now.

Possibly three.

Usually the connection lasted longer for her than it did for Nick, probably because of her seer blood, but he couldn’t decide if it had been definitely too long for either of them. He had to assume it was. He had to assume she couldn’t hear him.

But fuck, it was maddening not knowing for certain.

His mind was still mush; he had no memory at all of what time it had been the night before when one or both of them first fell asleep.

He didn’t have a seer’s photographic memory, either.

He knew it had been too damned long.