Then again, Haider didn’t know what they had in theirs. Pop had taught them Kindred magic from a young age. Well, her and Nik. Elizabeth had wanted Luc to have a more human childhood, but he’d had a different kind of training. In Iraq. He’d been so torn trying to choose whether to live human or Kindred that he’d gone off to a warring country thinking he might not come back. His panther had other ideas. Instincts he hadn’t known he possessed saved him and the men he fought with. Though he had an easy personality when compared to Nik, Luc was no one to mess with.
She said, “Haider could have tried to use his power to destroy us through some spell he could create using those personal possessions. Thankfully, I stopped him.”
To protect her family—and especially Maeve—she would face Haider down herself if necessary.
“You stopped him for the moment,” Ethan said. “My experience is that criminals rarely get discouraged from committing their atrocities.”
Words that chilled Nuala. Ethan wasn’t trying to be cruel. But his warning chased away the remainder of her appetite, so when she heard Maeve’s cry, she was glad for the excuse to leave the room.
*
Ethan realized his opinion put a chill over everyone. First Nuala left to see to the baby. Then a silent Skye and Luc set to clearing the food from the table, leaving him with Elizabeth. The way she was looking at him made him uncomfortable, and he thought perhaps he should simply leave. It was a bad day for him. The tenth anniversary of Mike’s death, and the murderer was still out there. Perhaps that had made him look at the dark side and spoil everyone’s mood.
He got to his feet. Undoubtedly, no one would miss him if he left.
“You seem uncomfortable today,” Elizabeth said.
“I’m not really sure why I’m here.” Maeve’s cries got to him, though, triggering something instinctive in him, making him want to check on her, to see that she was all right. And that Nuala was. It took all his will to keep from going to them.
“Let’s sit for a few minutes,” Elizabeth said, indicating Shade’s chair. “You’re here because Luc invited you.”
He sat, but discomfort ripped through him. Taking Shade’s chair made him think of the other things that had been Shade’s that tempted him now.
Guilt whispered through him…
“Luc’s inviting me doesn’t change the fact that I’m not Kindred,” he said.
“Neither am I.”
“But your son is.”
“Half Kindred. I raised Luc as a human, though over the years he did spend time with Cezar and his siblings.”
Thinking about the shifter fight Luc had been forced into, Ethan said, “I’ve seen what he can do.”
“True, he has some abilities we don’t have,” Elizabeth admitted. “But he’s chosen to keep his soul, so he is still mortal.”
“I’m not sure I’m really clear on the soul-mortal thing.”
“Kindred are born shifters with supernatural abilities and with souls. After puberty, they have the choice to give up their souls to become immortal. If they do, they have more power. Aging slows down and eventually stops. They rarely get sick. When time runs out for the soul they’re using, they can just borrow a new one, so they don’t die unless they are somehow physically killed.”
Skye had told him something like that when he’d been too new at this Kindred idea to fully grasp what it meant. By exchanging souls, Nuala could live many lifetimes, perhaps forever. She would stay young and beautiful while he would grow old and die.
What was he thinking? He wouldn’t go there. Like he’d told Skye, he wasn’t a candidate for a relationship. Then again, for the first time in his life, that realization saddened him. But he couldn’t change the past.
Besides, him and Nuala together? That was one hot dilemma for him. She was Kindred and he was human. He was a cop and her kind corrupted humans and used them. Which meant he and Nuala were two sides of the coin when it came to ethical and moral behavior. Weren’t they?
“I just don’t fit in here.”
“You can learn to fit in anywhere…” Elizabeth reached over and placed her hand on his as if trying to give him her own courage. “You just have to want something badly enough.”
Thankfully, she let him be for the moment. “I’ll hurry Luc and Skye along. As soon as that dishwasher is running, we’ll go upstairs the back way.”
“No need to hurry off on my account.”
She winked at him. “Unless there is.” Then she disappeared into the kitchen.
Once more Ethan thought to leave, but as he got to his feet, Nuala reappeared from the baby’s room, carrying Maeve. Smiling peacefully, she made her way straight toward him. His legs felt like steel and he couldn’t move.
“Luc told me you brought all those things I needed to The Ark yesterday. That was so thoughtful of you. Thank you, Ethan.”
For once while addressing him, her voice was soft and inviting.
His throat tightened. “I promised Shade—”
She cut him off. “Yes, I remember.”
Maeve made weird little baby sounds and opened her eyes.
“She’s awake.”
“Would you like to hold her?”
Before he could say a word, she was offering Maeve to him. The baby was neatly wrapped like a little mummy in a light yellow blanket, her head covered by a silly pull-on hat. She looked so sweet. Taking her from Nuala and settling her in the crook of his arm, he sensed something inside him open up, stirring him with feelings he’d never before experienced.
Making Ethan realize that if he let himself, he could fall in love with this little girl, even as he was falling for her mother.
Chapter Twenty-One
Nuala couldn’t take her gaze from the sight of Ethan holding Maeve pressed against his chest. Ethan looked positively loopy. And Maeve was staring up at him and smiling. Almost as if she recognized him.
For a moment she couldn’t swallow.
They appeared so… so right together… something she had never expected.
Shade was her daughter’s father, not Ethan. But she couldn’t deny Ethan’s besotted expression. This was more than a man living up to the promise to a dying friend. He felt something warm and tender for her child.
Her breath rasped in her throat.
Ethan suddenly looked up. “Are you all right?”
“Fine.” Filled with emotion, she could hardly speak. “A little tired from all the excitement. But fine.”
“We’re going up to Skye’s place!” Luc yelled from the kitchen.
“Bye, thank you for everything. All of you!” Nuala returned against the clatter of the back door opening and footfalls on the stairs.
Then the back door slammed shut and Ethan’s expression grew odd. “Your family’s gone. I suppose I should get out of here, too.”
Disappointed that he wanted to leave so quickly, she said, “If you’re tired of holding Maeve, I can take her.”
He appeared to think about it before saying, “Not just yet.”
He trailed a finger against the baby’s nose. She yawned in response and her eyes fluttered closed. “Beautiful,” he murmured, looking from Maeve to her. “Just like her mother.”
Though she’d been called beautiful before, it had never meant so much to Nuala as hearing this man who’d had no real use for her but a week ago say it. “She’s asleep again.”
“I hear babies do that a lot.”
She grinned. “And cry when they’re hungry or wet. Thankfully, she hasn’t done too much of that. She’s very good-natured.” Her grin spread. “She gets that from me.”
Ethan simply coughed in response, and Nuala somehow kept from laughing.
“Maybe we should put her in her crib,” she said.
He nodded. “Lead the way.”
Heading into the baby’s room, Nuala turned off the overhead light and switched on the owl nightlight and sound machine that Elizabeth had brought the other day. Ethan was already setting Maeve down on her mattr
ess.
“Make sure she’s on her back,” she said softly. A safety tip from Luc’s mom.
She moved to the crib, bent over, and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Sweet sleep, little Maeve.”
They left the room together, and Ethan kept going for the front door.
“Do you have to leave so soon?” she asked.
He stopped short and turned to her. “I do need to get back to work. The mayor is going to cut the ribbon for this new Chicago Cubs memorabilia store opening down by Wrigley Field in…” He checked his watch. “About ten minutes from now. Our Area North commander encouraged us to be present in a show of support if we weren’t actively working a case.”
“Of course.” Though she didn’t want him to go. Not just yet. As she moved closer to him, her flesh prickled with awareness. “I should probably take a nap myself.”
Only she wasn’t sure she wanted to go to bed alone.
As if he could read her mind, Ethan stiffened. His expression went from stunned to befuddled. And when she placed a hand on his chest and said, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us,” the look he gave her made her soften toward him even more.
Still, he said, “Everything? Even fetching you from the zoo?”
A smile teased her lips, but she kept a straight face. “Even that. Your protective instincts were engaged.” She slid her hand to the left side of his chest. “And your heart was in the right place.”
With her hand over his heart, she could feel it beating hard and fast. Without prying into his thoughts as she was tempted to do, she knew he wanted her. The knowledge sluiced through her, making every nerve sing. Though she was still confused by what she wanted—could she turn her back on what she and Shade had shared so soon—she felt herself come really and truly alive for the first time since his death.
So when Ethan reached out and cupped her shoulders, she didn’t resist his pulling her a little closer. He was studying her face, trapping her gaze with his, and she could feel him trying to read her. Wide-eyed, she leaned in so her breasts brushed his chest. Sensation shot through her.
Ethan’s mouth swallowed her moan of longing. His kiss set her on fire. Reaching up, she hooked her hands around his neck and reveled in the sensation, in the taste of him, in the celebration of coming back to life after months of despair. This wasn’t an easy kiss, not like the first time. There was depth and meaning and invitation. She gave herself over to it all.
And then Maeve’s screams made them jump apart.
Ethan’s expression was of the same disappointment she was feeling as she backed away toward her daughter’s room. But perhaps that was a good thing. They both needed time to think this through before they did something that one or both of them might regret.
*
The ribbon-cutting ceremony had already begun when Ethan double-parked his vehicle along Wrigley Field and shoved his way through the boisterous onlookers. His heart wasn’t in this, but he chose to show up like a good soldier, then make an excuse to leave early, so he could check on Mom. Ten years and still no justice for his brother. Mom was expecting him to nail his brother’s murderer, but since Booker’s death, he’d had no time to run his sub-rosa investigation. Though he couldn’t give his mother the peace of mind she deserved, Ethan had to be there for her today.
The streets around the park had been temporarily closed and the crowd filled the area. Though no doubt they’d come to see their favorite team members who were making an appearance at the event, many felt the need to applaud everything Mayor Stephanie Kwan said.
“The Cubs are going to the World Series again next season!” she proclaimed, pumping her fist into the air.
The crowd roared and pressed in, making it more difficult for Ethan to get to the area alongside the presentation. Television camcorders from local stations covered the entire scene, some aimed at the crowd, others at the raised dais holding the mayor and the baseball players. To one side, fellow detectives stood with the uniforms, Conti and Isabeau among them. All were applauding.
And then something weird happened.
Ethan felt a strange sensation crawl up his spine as he heard an unspoken command.
Don’t move… don’t speak…
The crowd stilled, and so did the mayor.
Do nothing… just stand there and watch…
Kindred influence!
Still protected by the sea glass pendant Nuala had given Shade—he carried it always in his pocket—Ethan whipped around in a circle to see everyone glued to the spot, bodies seemingly boneless, faces vacant of expression. The digital camcorders were still green-lighted, so everything was being recorded. As he pushed a path through the now silent crowd, Ethan sought Haider, his gaze arching in every direction. It had to be Haider doing this! So where the hell was he?
Get to the mayor… do what I told you now!
Ethan heard the internal command, but no one seemed to be responding.
Then a tough looking young Hispanic dressed in baggy jeans, a white T-shirt and purple baseball cap that was turned backward popped out of the crowd. From his clothing, Ethan would say he was one of the Humboldt Lords. The gangbanger waved a wicked looking knife around threateningly, while his body flailed as if he had no control over what he was doing. A quick scan of the mayor’s guards and CPD uniforms and detectives told Ethan they were likewise out of commission.
All except one detective.
Isabeau.
Even as Ethan cut through the front of the crowd to get at the gangbanger who was starting up the stairs to the dais, Isabeau beat him there, reached the mayor and leaped to push the much smaller woman away from the threat, landing on her when they both went down. Ethan tackled the guy, pulled him off the stairs and rolled with him across the pavement, fighting to disarm him.
As a new sensation struck him, the gangbanger was somehow freed of influence and fought in earnest. He clipped Ethan in the cheek with the tip of his knife so that blood spurted in his own face.
The crowd around them was moving now, people screaming and shouting for help.
Bigger and heavier than the would-be attacker, Ethan rolled him onto his back, grasped both wrists and placed a knee in his gut. “I suggest you drop that knife before someone decides to shut you up for good.”
The kid let go of the knife and shook his head in confusion.
Under Haider’s influence, he undoubtedly wouldn’t know what he’d been doing.
Two of the mayor’s guards stepped in and relieved Ethan and dragged the gangbanger away while he screamed, “I didn’t do nothin’! Get me a fuckin’ lawyer!”
As Ethan got to his feet, a third guard said, “I called for paramedics. They’ll be here in a few minutes.” When Ethan gave her a blank look, she said, “Your face. The bastard got you good.” Taking a scarf from around her neck, she placed it over the wound. “Here, until the paramedics find you, keep pressure on this to keep it from bleeding.”
Ethan nodded and did as she told him. “Thanks.”
Looking past the guard, he saw Isabeau talking to the mayor. If the mayor was killed, that meant the vice mayor would take over. Peterson would become mayor. As if she heard his thoughts, Isabeau glanced his way, a moment of shared clarity between them.
Isabeau hadn’t been affected by Haider’s influence, which meant Isabeau wasn’t human alone. She might not be human at all.
Isabeau was something else…
*
“Ethan is bleeding!” Nuala cried. Skye had invited her to come upstairs for coffee and conversation, but first they’d chosen to watch the ribbon-cutting ceremony down at Wrigley Field, where all hell had just broken loose. Nuala sprang out of her chair and took a quick look at the baby asleep in her electric swinging glider. “I need to go to him. Can you watch Maeve?”
“Nuala, whoa! Sit. Ethan will be fine.” Skye turned down the sound on the television. “I’m sure someone has called the paramedics. Ethan is still on his feet working. It wouldn’t look good if his woman sudde
nly showed up while he was on the job.”
His woman? Was she? Nuala didn’t know how to define their relationship. Ethan was in trouble and she wanted to go to him to make sure he didn’t bleed to death or something, but perhaps Skye was correct. She wouldn’t want to interfere with his work, perhaps make him lose his job. She would never forgive herself knowing how important his work was to him.
“You know this is Haider’s doing,” she told Skye as she sat back down. “What if Haider is there?”
“He couldn’t influence Ethan,” Skye said, an odd tone to her voice. Then she added, “Or Isabeau, apparently. Is she part of your clan?”
Nuala assumed that was the woman who’d lunged at the mayor to save her. “I don’t even know who she is.”
“Detective Isabeau DeClercq. Ethan’s new partner.”
Nuala’s jaw dropped. Ethan’s new partner was tall, blonde, and gorgeous? He’d never said a word about her. “She took Shade’s place?”
“That she did.”
At least this Isabeau was someone who could deal with Haider, considering she hadn’t been influenced into oblivion as had the rest of the crowd. “Does Ethan know what she is?”
“He suspected she was Kindred when he heard her thoughts.”
An admission that stunned Nuala into a moment’s silence. And then she said, “Wait a minute, Ethan is human. How did he hear her thoughts?”
“Your blood.”
“My… the first time he kissed me?”
“Afraid so.”
Ethan had confided in Skye. Why would he have done that? “So he’s been able to hear Kindred thoughts all this time?”
Skye shrugged.
“And, wait another minute. Isabeau wasn’t the only one not influenced in that crowd. Neither was Ethan.”
A guilty-looking Skye then told her how Ethan had used the sea glass pendant to avoid doing whatever all those times she’d unsuccessfully tried to influence him.
*
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