When I got myself under control, he still held me there, and whispered, “Jesse tells me you went out with him last night. The detective. Michael.”

I nodded.

“I’m sorry.” His arms tightened around me. “I’m so sorry.”

I backed up then, wiping my sleeve over my eyes. “It’s just ... He was ... He was a nice guy. God, that sounds lame but ... He was just ... really nice.”

“You liked him,” Adam said softly.

I lowered my gaze and nodded. “It wasn’t—I just ... I ...”

“You liked him.”

I nodded. “And I feel ...” I took a deep breath, then blurted out the words I’d been holding in all day. “I feel like I could have stopped it. He wanted to come in last night and I said no. I was goofing around, holding him off and ... But it’s not just that. I gave him a lead about Cody and I think he was following it and I ... I shouldn’t have given him any leads. If I thought there was a supernatural connection, then I was putting him in danger. He walked into something he knew nothing about and got killed for it.”

“You had no way of knowing that could happen.”

I looked at him. “Didn’t I? Sure, it’s not like I thought ‘hmm, this could be dangerous for a human’ and gave him the tip anyway. But I should have stopped and thought about it.”

“Do you know for certain that he was following up on the lead you gave him?”

“No, but—”

“Did you think that lead about a delivery had any supernatural connection?”

“No, but—”

“Then stop beating yourself up over it.”

When I tried to get off the bed, he tugged me back down and turned me to look at him. “You aren’t responsible, Savannah. You gave him what you thought was a clean lead. He may or may not have been following it. And as for saving him by inviting him to bed ...”

I glowered. “I didn’t mean it like that. Just that I keep thinking—”

“—of all the things you could have done differently. And for all you know, you could have invited him in, and he would have gone to that warehouse later anyway. Or you would have gone with him and gotten both of you killed. So the next time you think about letting a guy stay the night, remember that sex probably won’t save his life. Even really good sex.”

I lifted my fingers, making them spark.

“Hey, two can play that game, remember.” He made a fist, then spread his fingers, the tips glowing red. “And mine leave bigger burns.”

I flicked sparks at him, then jumped out of the way. My leg caught on the covers, and I stumbled. Adam yanked and I went down, crashing to the floor.

“Hey!” I said, pushing up.

“Hey yourself.” He plucked his T-shirt, pointing out the pin-sized holes from my sparks.

“It’s an ugly shirt anyway.”

His brows arched. “You bought it for me.”

“Um, yeah. That’s the idea. Give you ugly clothing. Laugh behind your back when you wear it. Been doing it for years. You’re a little slow on the uptake.”

He hooked my legs and I went down again. When I scrambled to get up, he loomed over me, glowing fingers lowering to a strand of my hair static-stuck to the bed cover.

“Don’t you dare—”

The hair sizzled as he lit the ends. I kicked at him, but he leaped out of the way and we goofed around for a few more minutes, until I collapsed on the floor, laughing.

“Better?” he said, standing over me.

“Better. Thanks.”

He reached down, grabbed me under the armpits, and hoisted me onto the bed. Then he stretched out beside me, the backs of our hands touching, the silence falling, calm and comfortable, and I closed my eyes, relaxing for the first time since I’d found Michael’s body.

“Remember last year, when I was tracking that demi-demon in Ohio?” he said. “The one who possessed—”

“—a teacher who started seducing and killing her students? Oh, yeah. I won’t forget that bitch.”

“Remember when I realized she was onto me? When she tried to trap me? I told you and you were on the next plane out to help?” He turned me around to face him. “You didn’t come because you thought I couldn’t handle it.”

“Um, actually, yeah. Sorry. I know I said—”

He poked me in the ribs, making me yelp. “Seriously, Savannah. You came because I needed backup and you knew I was too damned stubborn to ask for it. And a few months later, when I was on a case and realized I was tracking two vampires instead of one, I called you in. I’d learned my lesson. Don’t be afraid to ask for backup.”

I sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “We aren’t just traveling down memory lane here, are we?”

“Nope.” He sat up beside me. “I just don’t want you to bite my head off when I tell you that I want to stay.”

“Okay.”

He paused. “You mean okay, you won’t bite my head off?”

“No, I mean okay, you can stay.”

“Huh, that was easy.” He frowned over at me. “Too easy. What’s the catch?”

“No catch. I need backup. One investigator is dead. Tiffany Radu pushed me down the stairs, planning to do god-only-knows-what. So that’s two reasons—”

“You’re forgetting something.”

“Hmm?”

“Your bike. I saw it on the way in. And don’t tell me you just laid it down. What happened?”

I told him. The acrid smell of burning cloth wafted up and I lifted his hand from the bed.

“No scorching the sheets, okay? They’ll charge me a fortune for them.”

“Sorry.” He made a fist. “The first order of business, I think, is to pay a visit to Cody.”

“No, first I need to talk to Tiffany, and that appointment isn’t until—” I turned to check the clock. I looked at Adam. “How’d you make it here from Spokane so fast?”

“I was already on my way when I called. And, no, I wasn’t heading here to insist on joining the investigation. I did plan to stop in, though. See how things were going. Since it was on the way. Sort of.”

“Not really, but okay. Let’s get moving, then. I’ve got some ground to cover, and since you’re here, I’m starting with Alastair Koppel. His guard dog has been blocking me. I was going to take Jesse. You’ll do, though.”

“Thanks. Speaking of Jesse ...” He got to his feet. “I should go talk to him, tell him he can go home and get back to work. I’ll just transfer his room over to my card.”

I was about to say sure, then I thought about how that would look and said, “Maybe I should just let Jesse help. This is his case.”

Adam stopped. For a moment, he just stood there. When he finally did turn, his expression was as neutral as he could manage, but I could see the confusion in his eyes, maybe even a little hurt.

“I’d really rather be solo on this, but I can’t now,” I said. “With Jesse, though, well, he doesn’t work with us, so it’s not like he’d be supervising me.”

“I’m your coworker, Savannah. And your friend. Not your supervisor or your manager or your boss. I know I joked about that, but I was joking. You know that, right?”

“Sorry,” I said. “I’m just ...” I exhaled. “Getting a little territorial, I guess. Too much time spent hanging out with werewolves. It was bound to rub off.”

“Well, I don’t blame you. I still remember when Lucas and Paige gave me my first solo investigations. I was convinced they were tailing me, watching over my shoulder, making sure I didn’t screw up and embarrass the firm.”

“No, that was me.”

He laughed. “I don’t doubt it. Okay, then, speaking of embarrassing, let me take a stab in the dark and guess that you don’t want Jesse thinking I’ve swooped in to take over.”

I made a face. “Like I care what anyone—”

He stopped me with a look. “You do. Or your pride does, at least. Okay, I won’t give Jesse his walking papers. I’ll just tell him I’m bored and want to hang out with you guys.”

“Which is the truth.”

“Which makes it an even better excuse.” He grabbed half my sandwich from the table and pointed at the rest. “Eat or I’ll make you pay for it.”

“I’ll talk to Jesse.”