“I need to get out of the house,” I said.

“You got out yesterday,” Clay said.

“To go to the grocery store. And last week, you let me go to Syracuse for a movie. The highlight of my month so far, dinner afterward and everything…oh, wait. I didn’t get dinner, because you thought it was getting too late for me, so we ended up grabbing sandwiches to eat on the way back to jail…I mean home.”

“Fine, you want to go out? We’ll take a trip to New York next weekend, visit Nick. You’re not traipsing off to Buffalo-”

“Traipsing?”

He fixed me with a look. I returned the glare, then glanced at Jeremy, who only leaned back in his chair. No sense appealing to him anyway. I knew which side he was on. Prison guard number two.

I took a deep breath. There was only one way to win Jeremy over. Steer clear of histrionics and mount a logical defense.

“You don’t want mutts knowing I’m pregnant,” I began. “And I agree. But Xavier is half-demon. He can’t smell that I’m pregnant, and unless I wear a tight shirt, he won’t be able to tell by looking. I’m certainly not going to volunteer the news. All I want from him is David Hargrave.” I paused and met Jeremy’s eyes. “We do want Hargrave, don’t we? He’s killed three women-”

“You don’t need to remind me of Hargrave’s crimes.” And you can’t guilt-trip me with the reminder, his eyes added. “I have every intention of making this meeting with Reese. Either I will or Clay will-”

“Absolutely. Despite Xavier’s hopes, I’m not planning to show up alone. Call Nick, call Antonio, even call Karl if you can find him. I’ll take whatever precautions you want.”

“Clay can handle it by himself, with backup from Nick.”

“Clay? Oh, you mean the guy Xavier expressly warned me not to bring?”

“What’s wrong with me?” Clay said.

“You scare him.”

“He’s never met me.”

“Sorry, let me rephrase. The idea of you scares him. But I’m sure, once he meets you, he’ll see that all those nasty rumors are completely unfounded.”

“I’ll send Antonio,” Jeremy cut in before Clay could respond.

“If you send anyone, even yourself, Xavier will be out of there in a flash. I’m the only Pack member he knows, so I’m the only one he’ll talk to.”

“Too dangerous,” Clay said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the fireplace, as if that settled the matter.

“Dangerous? Do you remember what Xavier’s power is? Teleportation. Limited teleportation. The guy can move about ten feet. Worst thing he can do to me? Poke me in the eyes, go ‘nyuk nyuk nyuk’ and zip away before I can smack him.”

One look at Jeremy and I knew I was losing “calm and reasonable” points fast. When he opened his mouth, I cut him off.

“Yes, the first time I met Xavier, I ended up as a guinea pig for mad scientists and a play-toy for a sadistic industrialist. I could argue that it took him two tries and a good dose of my own stupidity to finally nab me, but it’s still a valid point.”

“You think?” Clay muttered.

I glared at him. “I admitted to the stupidity part. Don’t push it. Yes, it’s possible that Xavier has found someone willing to pay big bucks for a female werewolf, and he’s said, ‘Hey, I can get you one of those.’ But I doubt it. He learned enough last time to know that if he tries it, he’d better spend that money fast, because he’s going to end up in little bitty pieces when either I get free or Clay catches up with him. But it is a possibility. That’s why I won’t even suggest going alone. The meeting will be held in a public park, which we’ll scout first. You can bring the whole Pack as backup if you like. I’m taking Clay too, whether Xavier likes it or not. But I want to catch David Hargrave, and if this is our shot, I say it’s a chance worth taking.”

Clay opened his mouth.

“Let me rephrase that too,” I continued. “I want Hargrave caught. I do not intend to play any role in catching him. For the next eight months, I’m out of the mutt-chasing business. I not only accept that, I wholeheartedly agree with it. No matter how bored I get, I won’t take chances. Talking to Xavier, though, is a reasonable balance of risk and reward.”

Clay and Jeremy looked at one another, and I knew I’d won…this time.

Ripper

I SQUEEZED THROUGH A BARRICADE OF STROLLERS AND past a small army of parents circled shoulder to shoulder around the playground, like a herd of bison protecting their young. A toddler shrieked. Her father swooped in and rescued her before she was trampled by a swarm of school-age boys who’d claimed the lookout tower. The father glared at the boys, then took his daughter out of the line of fire and wiped away her tears as she sobbed that she wanted to climb the tower. I had a mental flash of my own child in her place, Clay as the father charging in to find that someone wanted to keep his child off a piece of equipment and-

Oh, God, what was I getting us into?

On the other side of the playground was a cluster of picnic tables. Only two tables were occupied. At one, a mother divvied up animal crackers to three howling preschoolers, all the while shooting furtive glances over her shoulder at the lone man sitting a few tables away. He was brown-haired and in his late thirties, with a thin scar running down his cheek and no attached kids in sight. When the man met her gaze with a level stare, she looked away and doled out the crackers faster.

I snuck up behind him, then leaned into his ear.

“She thinks you’re a pervert,” I whispered.

Xavier jumped, realized it was me and grinned.

“Is that it?” he said. “Whew. I thought she was trying to pick me up.”

The woman at the other table breathed a nearly audible sigh of relief as I sat across from him.

“I was starting to think you weren’t going to show,” he said.

“Good thing I did,” I said. “A few more minutes and she’d have been calling the cops.”

He shot a look in the woman’s direction. “You know, she doesn’t seem completely convinced. Maybe if you gave me a big ‘hello, honey’ kiss…Did I mention you look good?” He grinned. “Damned good. I forgot how-”

“Hard I hit?”

“That too.” His grin broadened. “Wanna refresh my memory? Really give momma hen a reason to gawk?”

“You’ve given everyone enough reason to gawk already. So much for keeping a low profile.”

“Hey, I wanted you to feel safe. Nothing safer than a playground. Absolutely no reason to regret not bringing the boyfriend.”

I glanced over the crowd by the play equipment. “How do you know I didn’t? You’ve never met Clay.”

“I’ve seen pictures, remember? Blond curls, big blue eyes, everything but the goddamn cleft chin.” He shook his head. “Brains, looks and the lovely Elena on his arm. I’d feel really inadequate…if he wasn’t a raging lunatic. Score one for the half-demon. I may be a little nuts, but no one’s ever called me a psycho.”

I shook my head and sighed.

“Hey, don’t tell me I’m wrong. I’ve heard the stories. Saw a photo too. You ever seen those pictures?”

“No, but I’ve heard about them.”

“So you think they’re fakes?”

“I’m sure they’re not.”

“And…that’s okay with you? Your boyfriend spent his teen years hacking up people and taking pictures? But hey, high school was rough on all of us. Everyone has his own way of coping.”

I could have set Xavier straight, told him the pictures were of one trespassing mutt, and Clay had his reasons-as alien as his reasoning might be to the rest of us. But to clear the record would be to wipe away the reputation Clay had so painstakingly built for Jeremy’s protection, so I kept my mouth shut and shrugged.

Xavier leaned forward. “Sarcasm aside, you don’t need a guy like that, Elena. Maybe you think you do-only female werewolf and all that-but hell, I’ve seen what you can do-tied to a chair, up against a male werewolf. You can do that, you don’t need some fucking psychopath like Clayton Danvers-”