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He glowered at me After a ns "Co else out" As they headed away fro, I watched the shot "Oh, and by the way, if any hate criainst any of the vampires or their allies, we knohere to look So you’d better be on good behavior!"

He shot nored it We’daway, deflated We’d won the battle, albeit a small one, but hell, in this war, every victory counted

As they headed off in their vans and trucks, I turned to the others "What now? Do we go in, talk to Wade? Does Roed "If he doesn’t, then I’ syste to do with va to know about But he hasn’t said anything to uards inside the building waved to us We could either go up and see Wade or we could book and go check out the second egg Wade was nice, but right now I had the feeling he wouldn’t have anything to add to our investigation And the sooner we dealt with egg nu up my mind, I turned back to the cars "We’ve done e set out to do I doubt it will keep theht Let’s go Chase is waiting on us, and I’, hard day I don’t want to keep hier than necessary"

"Okay, but I have a feeling this mess with the Earthborn Brethren isn’t over with yet" Morio shook his head "It feels unfinished"

"That’s because hate is seldoes forh, I turned back to the car, and the others followed

As Delilah, Menolly, and I entered Chase’s office, he aiting for us, looking exhausted His leg was propped up and he appeared uncomfortable

He waved tiredly as we crowded into his office "Hey, glad you made it I’m just about stick-a-fork-in-me done What news do you have forto have to lock you three up, a away from the Shrouded Grove Suites via threat of a lawsuit for libel But I doubt if it will be long before they’re up to sos dangling over the edge

Chase gave her a nervous look "You didn’t put the fang on theue at hih I wanted to Camille was nastier than I was"

"I couldn’t help it," I said "I’lanced around "Where are the others?"

"Waiting for us out in the cars They can coured we’d just get the info on where the other egg is and go check it out" Delilah stopped "You look exhausted"

"I a with a pen on his desk Finally, he met Delilah’s eyes "I’ve asked Sharah to h his weariness, and he practically bea I knew that ed But she and Chase did have a history, and this was a big step for him

Delilah paused, and an indecipherable look crossed her face Then, she broke out in a big sratulations It will be easier that hen the baby co, but his happiness was palpable "Yes, it will Sharah and I had a long talk over lunch I told her…I finally got it through her head that I want to be there for her For the baby That it’s the ood father And a good ether Or maybe a house with a yard, so the baby can have a place to play"

His voice was soft as he picked up a framed photo on his desk He turned it around to show me It was of Chase and Sharah, his ar Her pale blond hair was blowing in the wind and she had a free, easy look on her face that I’d never seen before Chase was relaxed, leaning into her, and there was soether

I took the photo, holding it for a moment Suddenly, I wanted very much for them to be happy, to have their baby and a whole houseful of other kids, and bring them up in a peaceful world where the demons were a distant ers, hoping to convey solanced up atover his face Delilah peeked over his shoulder at it, then gave hi

"You and Sharah should come out to dinner with Shade andfor all four of us Maybe when this ghost crap has calain?"

He snickered "How about when I’ cast and not so dependent on these damned crutches? And, Delilah? I’d like that"

I yawned "Okay, let’s get on with it, as nice as it is to talk about so other than death, de to deal with?"

Back to business, he leaned his elbows on his desk and nodded "Unfortunately so And who kno ht be out there? This one, Sha, doesn’t look ready to hatch, Sha to And then we’ll have another round of spirit demons on hand"

"Not if we can destroy it first"

"What happens if we crack it open before it’s ready?" Delilah picked up an apple off the bowl of fruit sitting on Chase’s desk She stared at it a moment, then put it down "Cookies?"

Chase snorted "No cookies Eat the apple Sharah’s taken ar And she’s made me cut out alht add, she can’t stand But she gives in on those, and I give in on the rest I’ve lost a few pounds and I actually feel better" He pointed to his foot "Except for that"

Menolly frowned "I want to go check this thing out I missed all the action today and I should knohat they look like, if nothing else"

"You can’t even attack the spirit demons It takes silver to hurt them and you can’t even touch silver" Delilah tossed the apple into the air, caught it, and then polished it on her shirt before biting into it

I thought over her question What would happen if we cracked it open before it was ready to hatch? Would a bunch of i out? Apparently, they needed to be fed before they grew enough to break out of the shell

"You said there are zombies there already?"