Caleb and his wife, Minnie, arrived at the suite toting their seventeen-year-old son, Zane. Zane looked like his father; thick head of hair, squared-off chin, and a touch-me-and-you-die physique. After a polite introduction, Zane pummeled Vincent with questions about the stock market.

"Liza and Jack are investing now," Zane explained as he thumbed over the screen of his phone. "I want to set up my own portfolio."

"Have you chosen a broker?" Vincent asked.

"This company looks good," Zane said as he showed Vincent his cell. "You can do everything online."

Vincent nodded at the screen, no doubt in recognition, and Minnie tsked as she unpacked food onto the sex table. "I don't understand the stock market, but I do understand a gollum's stomach. I brought a little snack." She lifted a lid, holding the container under my nose, and I got a whiff of cumin. So, probably a Spanish dish, and the golden pockets of dough gave me another clue.

"Beef empanadas?" I said.

Minnie smiled proudly. "Perfect deduction. Your sense of smell will become a line of defense as you embrace your gollum lifestyle."

"How do you define a gollum lifestyle? Will I be expected to fight demons?" 

Minnie blinked her big doe eyes, making me think of Snow White, only built to kick your ass. "I don't think that's what Vincent has in mind for you. Are you interested in doing battle?"

Deidra's face popped into my mind's eye, and I took the opportunity to punch it with my imaginary fist. "No. I've spent most of my life trying to control my temper."

"Battling isn't always about anger," she explained. "We battle to protect. Of course, sometimes we need to take things further, but that is rare."

Like when Jonathan snapped a demon's neck to protect my identity.

"Have you done battle, Minnie?"

"Of course, all female gollums must know how to protect themselves and their offspring. I fought until I found out I was pregnant with Zane's sister, Liza. It took us ten years to get there, and then another eight for Zane. We feel very fortunate."

"So, you haven't done field fighting in a long time, then. Do you miss it?"

Minnie shrugged as she went about her duties, setting a place for everyone. "I enjoyed sparring with willing partners. Contrary to what you may think, our opponents were not always demons. Humans engaged us as well. There was a group who met at the gym."

"You have an underground arena here too?"

"Yes, but that's not where the girls and I battled. We were friends with the owner of a training center for local boxers. We had such fun beating up on those tough guys." She smiled to herself as she nudged her husband in the shoulder. "Should I fill you a plate, Caleb?"

"Sure, I could eat."

Caleb caught Minnie by the hand and squeezed it before returning to the conversation with Vincent and Zane. The moment was brief but telling. They had the right stuff.

Food passed from containers to plates and everyone complimented Minnie on her cooking skills, after which Zane disappeared into his earbuds, giving Caleb a chance to turn the conversation to a less benign topic than stock prices.

"You have any run-ins with trouble since you arrived?" Caleb asked as he picked saffron rice from his plate, eating them one by one.

"No, unless you count a scorned female who is determined to make waves," Vincent said.

Caleb's eyes rose from his plate as he nodded. "Deidra, I presume? She is tenacious as they come. But, aren't they all?" He grinned at Minnie and she winked back. "Speaking of tenacious gollums, my father has been in rare form these days. He complains more, rants more, and has become blatantly disrespectful."

"He smoked a cigar in my sewing room," said Minnie. "Your grandmother and I had to fumigate all day. I could have rung his thick neck."

"I'm sorry you have to endure his obstinacy," Vincent said. "But the change was a long time coming. When the tide turns, he will sink or swim."

Caleb clapped his hand on Vincent's shoulder. "Don't think I'm not grateful for what you did, Vincent. The Seacrest domus is in your debt." Caleb's attention turned to me as he slid his plate away from him. "I understand you have uncovered a hidden vault at Trinity Church, Reese."

Oh, that.

"Yes."

"And you have the amulet?"

"I do," Vincent said, slipping his hand over my knee, a move he'd been making a lot lately.

"Have you thought about what you'll do with it?" Minnie prodded me gently, although her soft-spoken manner did nothing to hide the interest bubbling behind her luminous eyes.

"I've been avoiding it actually," I said. "There's been plenty to distract me, and I've just let it. Meeting my grandmother put a few things into perspective though, and I plan to take all the information home and mull it over."

"Very wise," Minnie said. "A decision you avoid is usually the one that needs your attention." Her sentiment earned her a kiss on the cheek from Caleb, but his focus had not strayed from me.

"Tell me Reese, did Petula talk about the night your mother left the convent?" he asked.

"We didn't discuss too many details, but she did say Marco insisted on a night mission to prove something to the demons. She thinks tragedy could have been avoided if you had ignored Marco's plan."

"I want you to know I was opposed to his plan," Caleb said. "And I would have done more to help you and your mother if I wasn't stuck in battle."

"Thanks, Caleb. I appreciate that."

Someone's phone chimed and Caleb looked down at his lap. "Oh, damn. I apologize. Someone leaked our impromptu meeting. Marco and Manjari are pulling up to the valet stand now."

Oh, damn!

Marco and Manjari's surprise visit gave us little time to prepare. They arrived while Minnie and I were still putting away dinner. Of course, Vincent and I knew the source of the leak - Deidra, but there was no time to dwell on that. Shit just got real.

The scent of patchouli swiftly overwhelmed the scent of Spanish seasonings as Manjari entered the room, and she greeted everyone with a ready smile. Despite Marco's imposing presence beside her, Manjari's exquisite features made it impossible not to stare. A thickly-woven braid of black hair laid across her shoulder, set against high cheekbones and golden skin as smooth as butter. She wore a vibrant turquoise tunic over matching pants, with silver embroidery at the hems in the shape of tiny birds, and this color scheme carried through to the makeup highlighting her lively brown eyes. Like I said – exquisite.

Vincent called room service for top-shelf refreshment, and we all found seats. Given that we had a suite at our disposal made the accommodations more comfortable, but it didn't make the situation any less awkward, and Manjari took the plunge after an all-too-brief reception.

"It was such a shock to us when we learned you survived the tragedy," she began. "And a blessing, of course. What a fortunate circumstance you were found by the Valentinos, the very family who tried to save you before." She paused to allow a collective nod to circulate around the room before continuing on. "Twenty years of not knowing about your gollum nature though... So many milestones missed. It's a shame you did not have proper guidance."

"I think I did okay with my adoptive parents," I said, trying not to sound offended. "I went to the best schools and traveled a lot."

Manjari smiled kindly. "I did not mean your parents raised you poorly, only that they were not aware of your special needs as a gollum. I expect it was difficult for you, experiencing puberty so young."

She left her statement hanging there, obliging me to revisit my childhood in front of a packed house, although Zane looked nearly as embarrassed as me.

"I developed before all my friends, if that's what you mean, but the self-defense classes helped."

Everyone chuckled politely at my reply, even Vincent as he held a commanding pose beside me.

"I take it you haven't seen your father yet?" Manjari asked the question I'd been waiting for, and I held her gaze to keep from looking at Marco.

"No. I'm not quite ready for a reunion. Seeing my grandmother today was enough to tide me over."

Manjari's posture softened as she nodded. "Petula is a treasure. She guided our son, Ruben, through difficult times. Kept him on an honorable path. You should be proud to carry such lineage."

"Thank you. Based on my experience with her, that's a great compliment."

"I understand why you don't wish to see your father yet," Manjari continued. "You have come to many personal realizations at once, but you have nothing to worry about. Joseph has a pure heart. He told me he is ready to meet you."

"I've heard nice things about him. I just want to wait until I'm ready too."

The visit continued much the same, with me dodging mines and begging-off answers to Vincent while drinks were slowly consumed, and when our goodbyes brought us to the door, Minnie whispered in my ear on her way out.

"You did a lovely job skating around that patch of ice, dear. Don't hesitate to call on Caleb or me if you get into a bind. You're family now."

When the room resumed its previous occupancy of two, I shuffled to the bed and collapsed onto it, throwing my arm across my forehead dramatically. Vincent slid onto his belly next to me.

"That was worse than facing the board with disappointing stock numbers," he said. "I think I aged a year over the past hour. I hope you don't mind gray."

I forced a grin for his benefit. "I've grown fond of gray recently. And I agree with you. I was second guessing every thought that came into my head."

"I'm sorry about that. You handled it well, though. It's like you've had practice with evading the truth."

"Every teenager learns to evade the truth. Did you notice that Marco barely said two words the entire time? He gave Manjari free rein to interrogate me. For a guy who is trying to hide something, he didn't seem to care."

"Oh, he cared, and he was willing to risk a slip-up on your part to make it seem like he didn't care. Manjari's radar is up, and with any luck the Valentinos won't be responsible for the hanging. She has always been a dominant female. She has to be to stay mated to Marco, but her fury hath no equal, as they say. If she finds him out, she will castrate him."

"Ouch."

"Yep."

"I would never castrate you," I said, feeling him up through his pants. "If you were unfaithful, I would just make you pay by requiring your services whenever I wanted to climax."

"While your punishment sounds more like a reward, I would never be unfaithful. There is no one else I need in my life but you."

His simple speech had adrenaline rushing to my heart, and the need to feel him again had me gyrating against his thigh. "And you are the rock that rolls me, baby. So, now that we're alone again, what would you like to do?"

Vincent's gray orbs sparked like a pair of flints igniting. "You. Me. Table."