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Fiona was quiet for a moment, surprised by the tide of emotion that swept over her

"David Du Lac He’ll make it fine Mom and Dad went to him a few times over the years God only knows all the places he’s lived during hisexistence, but no one loves this citynew identities We’ll bring Abigail to hihed "And ill that be? After the funeral? Don’t forget that everyone out there thinks you’ve stolen a corpse"

"No one thinks I’ve done anything," Fiona said firmly

"People may know her corpse was stolen, but I wasn’t seen"

"What about DeFarge?" Caitlin asked

"No one saw hiue after the report that the corpse had been stolen and the attendant had been knocked out," Caitlin said "Look, both of you, I beg--no, I demand--that you both show ht hard, really hard, to keep us all together--and Iour first real crisis, so please, reh for you before and just trustmoment Then Shauna leaned over and kissed her on the cheek "Of course And we’re here, ready to do our part," she promised

"I love you, you know that," Caitlin said

"Yes, I do, but how about soht" She turned to leave, then paused at the door "Vampires It’s just--well, vaone, Shauna looked at Fiona "I’m sorry You know Caitlin adores you"

"Yes, I do"

"But--she really doesn’t like vaood work tonight," Fiona said

Shauna grinned, but her grin faded quickly "Thanks I do think there are soht," Shauna said, then kissed her cheek again and left the roo the door quietly in her wake

Fiona was exhausted, but she had been at the ue She was afraid she would never sleep with the sined--in her nose

She headed into the shower, turned on the spray and reached for the large container of coconut-and-almond shampoo

The tropical scent rose around her, and she inhaled deeply as shethat the pressure of her fingers could make the ind in her ht thing?

No

Would she feel any better now if she had been coldly efficient and dispatched Abigail and Billy both?

No, definitely not

Ad around the disappearance of a corpse, but it could have been worse

They could be dealing with a dead roped blindly for the soap, then nearly screamed when the container of body as placed in her hand

Her eyes flew open, and she gasped

Jagger was standing there outside her shower, grinning in adht

She wanted to yell at hi like an incompetent fool

She wanted to yell and screaainst his chest

Because she was afraid

But more than all that, she wanted him there

The water beat down The stea And then he spoke softly

"I’ized?

Suddenly her eyes were stinging

To hide the rising tears, she turned back into the spray

"All right, I understand," he said

He was going to leave, she realized

She groped blindly again, catching his ar the sleeve of his immaculate jacket

"No, noit’s just my eyes," she said

In a second, a dry washcloth was in her hands

And then he was in the shower, naked and standing behind her, holding her close to hiainst her ear, above the rush of the water,

"I really am so sorry"

She turned in his ar for years for a human touch In a way she had starved, of course, because she had always been a Keeper, never allowed to forget her responsibilities

And he wasn’t human

He was more than human Better

It was true that neither of them really understood the complete ramifications of the extraordinary lives they led The secrets of heaven and hell were not in their possession What they did knoas that kindness and cruelty, good and evil, were natural attributes of all living things, represented in greater or lesser degrees in everyone