Bonnie and Clyde lifted their heads but neither left their positions on the couch when Vincent emerged from his bedroom. He had changed into a pair of faded jeans and donned a charcoal V-neck, looking more relaxed than he had in days, and he offered me an easy smile as he leaned over to kiss me and pat the dogs on their heads. Damn this sucked, since I was about to hit him with a wrecking ball.

"Did you get a chance to meditate?" he asked as he deposited his phone on the coffee table and walked to the kitchen.

"Yes, but I don't think it was as successful as yours. You look like you've been training with a yogi."

He shrugged as he filled a glass of water from the fridge. "I've been meditating since I was five. I barely heard your phone ring." He held my gaze over the counter as he drained his glass halfway. Was he waiting for me to tell him who called?

"Sorry about that. I should have silenced it." I took a deep inhale before giving him the information he wanted. "It was Christoph. Sounds like he's going to return to the hive and keep us in the loop."

Vincent adopted a satisfied smile, but his intense eyes told a different story. "I suspect there was more to the conversation than that. You're about as relaxed as a yogi with a steel rod in his back." He said this as he walked over to join me on the couch. "What else did Christoph say?"

I bit my lip, then realized what I was doing when Vincent stared at my mouth. "Do you really want to hear about it now? You look so calm and peaceful."

"If it's bad news, then this is the best time to hit me with it. What's up, Reese?"

"It's Willem. He's really depressed. Probably suffering from post-traumatic stress. Christoph is concerned he might do something stupid if he's left alone. I've been trying to think of ways to keep a closer eye on him."

It took Vincent a moment, but my words finally registered, and he responded with an eyebrow tweak. "What's going through that clever mind of yours? Is it something I'm going to be guilted into then regret afterwards?"

"Geez. Is that how you always feel when I ask for something?"

"No, I'm sorry." He patted my knee as if I were a dog. "Finish what you had to say."

Suppressing a scowl, I continued with my train of thought, although I was only proving him right. "Willem is my grandfather. I need to do something. And one idea keeps popping into my head. It's crazy, but it would serve more than one purpose, or more than one person, depending on how you look at it. Mr. Pearlman is eight-four, and Willem is about that. They're both from the same era, with no family..."

"Reese..." Vincent dragged out my name like a curse, letting it die on his lips.

"I've only had twenty minutes to think this through, so humor me," I went on. "Christoph also said the longer he stays at my place, the more likely his fellow demons will think he's the traitor, and they might not let him back into the hive."

Vincent nodded sagely. "I thought of that too. Go on."

"If Willem could bunk with Mr. Pearlman for a few days and spend time in the company of a man his age, he might snap about of his slump without prescription drugs. It also gives Mr. Pearlman a full-time care taker."

Despite my well-made points, Vincent's face didn't budge from its rigid position. If I didn't already know him, I would feel insulted. "Listen to yourself, Reese. You're asking a gollum domus to open their doors to a demon. That is unheard of."

"The demons opened their door to Petula and my mother."

"That was for their own gain," he snapped. "How do you think a move like that would look to the magister council?"

"What about the fact that he's my grandfather? I could play the relations card."

"That would just draw more attention to your hybrid nature. We want them to look past that."

"Oh, we do? God forbid they get reminded of my tainted blood." I felt my temper rise despite those three minutes of meditation, and I forced air into my lungs as I pushed off the couch.

"What about Sylvie?" Vincent offered as he turned to watch me pace. "She seemed comfortable with Willem. She could keep an eye on him."

I shook my head. "You're a mine field of contradictions, you know that. First you complain that Sylvie could be at risk living in the same building as demons, now you're asking me to have her babysit them?"

Vincent's lips pinched and his eyes clouded over like a fast-moving storm. "It was Colin who said that, not me. You need to keep me and my brother separate in your head."

Oops.

"Sorry, but you did say you believed their allegiances could change."

"And I still believe that. When Christoph returns to the hive, he could ignore us or tell us to go to hell. I'm betting on either. Look what happened with Dale. You're going to learn eventually that demons cannot be trusted, and that includes your grandfather."

As Vincent's voice rose, my fingers began to tingle, and the breath I'd been holding came out in a snort. He could be so damned stubborn. How dare he lump my grandfather in with the others. Willem hadn't done a thing against him.

I thought about using the calming mantra, but a different mantra popped into my head. The transformation mantra. As soon as I started reciting it, I lost focus on the speech I was rehearsing about acceptance, and surrendered my body to the tornado. A moment later, I found myself launching over the arm of the couch, tackling Vincent with all the strength I had. He took my full weight, gripping my shoulders as I dove for his neck, but I didn't get very far.

"Et receptum release!"

Vincent growled the mantra in my ear as he shoved me off, grabbing my arm to keep me from landing too hard on the floor. My ass did most of the cushioning, but I wasn't sitting on it long. I scrambled into a crouched position, baring the fangs that had appeared in my mouth. Vincent kept a tight grip on me, and I could tell by his clenched jaw and stiff shoulders he was using a mantra to keep himself on the couch.

"Why did you attempt the change, Reese? Do you really want to hurt me?"

His words knocked the wind out of me, just as I was ready to deliver a blow to his overstuffed ego. I would never try to hurt him? Would I?

"I was going to recite the calming mantra," I said around my fangs. "But the transformation mantra popped in there and I... I let my anger do the thinking. I'm sorry, Vincent."

His grip finally loosened, and he released me to bring his hand to my chin, tilting it up. "I know we have a long road ahead of us, but I'm willing to sacrifice my neck to walk it with you."

My temper had calmed enough to let a smile form on my lips, and Vincent leaned in to kiss them. When he pulled away, his mouth had curved into a grin.

"You know, your eyes shine like topaz when you get riled up," he said. "It makes me want to fuck you senseless."

"Are you trying to avoid the subject?"

"No. I'm trying to suppress a hard-on so we can continue the subject. Are you good now, or do I need to grab a scarf?"

"That all depends."

"On what?"

"I want to know if Willem can camp out with Mr. Pearlman for a little while. I will tell the magister council that I'm using the opportunity to probe him for information about the hive. That way, if Christoph bails like you suspect he will, we will still have a connection."

Vincent's face morphed to his stony facade as he released a breath through pinched lips. "Please, don't push this, Reese. I am magister of this domus, and I am bound by certain protocol."

I pulled a face. I hated that damn word 'protocol'. "Is it written specifically in the magister's handbook that demons are not allowed inside the domus?"

Vincent's brows rose, looking surprised by my inquiry. "There doesn't have to be anything written down. You don't let your enemy inside your home."

"Yet, we did it with my home... and I'm a Valentino now, according to you."

This time, Vincent pulled the face. "Save your rhetoric for the council. Your apartment is not a domus. And, as magister of this domus, I will not put my family at risk by allowing a demon into our home."

"Even a demon who is a family member?"

"We don't know him, Reese! And, family does not always mean loyalty. Take my grandfather, for example."

"I'm pond scum to your grandfather. He might as well be our enemy. Like the demons!"

I pushed to my feet, putting some distance between us. My lips were starting to sting from my damn fangs jabbing into them.

"Where are you going?" he said.

"Nowhere."

"It looks like you're going outside."

I stopped at the sliding glass door, having made a straight shot to it from the couch. Was I trying to escape? Would I walk out on a conversation with Vincent because he was a hard-headed gollum just trying to protect his family? While I pushed my agenda as if it were the only reasonable choice.

Damn.

"You're right," I said, turning around and forcing myself to make contact with his hypnotic eyes.

"I'm right about what? That you're walking out?"

"No, you're right about Willem. He may be fifty times better than Boris, but we don't really know that. And, I would want you to do everything to protect our kids, if they were part of the domus."

Vincent gazed at me appraisingly, and his lips lifted slightly, tentatively. "I appreciate your support, Reese. So, how can we resolve this situation so you feel better about it?"

"I don't know, but the first thing I need to do is get rid of these fangs. They're murdering my lips."

Taking me by surprise, Vincent hopped off the couch and made several determined strides to reach me. Then he leaned down and inspected my mouth. "Nothing a little kissing won't cure." He lifted me up and kissed me hard, sweeping his tongue over the points of my fangs before breaking the seal. "Let's see what we can do with those teeth before you put them away. I have plenty of scarves."