“Well,” he said. He glanced down at the cell phone. It had been vibrating like crazy all morning. Someone was being pretty persistent, trying to get hold of her.

It could have been the vampire, he knew. If it was, he could give Meena the phone, then listen in on their conversation, find out where the guy was, then let Alaric Wulf know and help kill him.

Then for sure he’d get hired by this Palatine group, or whatever they were. He’d have a whole new career! And an awesome one, too.

On the other hand, there was the whole thing where Meena was pretty sure her new boyfriend was going to kill him.

So, that was a bit of a downer.

The phone buzzed in his hand as he was standing there, debating whether or not to give it to her.

“That could be Leisha,” Meena said. “She could be in labor.”

“She’s not due for two months,” he said.

“That’s just the doctor’s opinion,” Meena said. “Not mine.”

“And your medical expertise is widely known,” Jon said.

“Actually,” Meena said, “it is.”

Jon looked down at the phone in his hand. “It says ‘Unknown Number,’” he said.

“Leisha’s probably calling from work,” Meena said.

“On a Saturday,” Jon said.

“She’s a hairstylist,” Meena reminded him.

Jon rolled his eyes and handed her the phone. She obviously wasn’t that worried about the prince of darkness killing him. So why should he be?

Meena pressed Accept Call. “Hello?”

“What is going on out here?” a deep voice thundered from the dining room.

Jon threw Meena a desperate look. Now she’d gotten him in trouble. This definitely wasn’t going to look good on his Palatine Guard job application.

“Uh, nothing,” Jon said, coming out of the kitchen with the plate of flapjacks. “It’s just her best friend calling. She’s having a baby. Seriously, dude, I checked. Pancakes?”

Alaric Wulf looked pissed off. His blond hair was still wet from the shower, and he’d left his shirt behind somewhere, showing off a truly impressive set of deltoids and pecs, not to mention some rock-hard abs that redefined the term six-pack. In fact, if Jon could have gotten some muscle definition like that, he had no doubt that Taylor Mackenzie would have been eating out of his hand months ago.

On the other hand, the dude had some wicked-looking scars that were making Jon think he might want to reconsider joining him in the vampire slayer thing. Was that a bite wound? It looked…well, gnarly was the only word Jon could think of to describe it.

Meena, in an act of bravery for which Jon decided he would admire her forever more, held up one finger in Wulf’s direction in the international gesture for I’ll be with you in just a moment while she nodded at whoever was calling her.

Apoplectic with anger, veins standing out on his neck and forehead, Alaric Wulf stood there glaring at Meena, completely ignoring Jon. He didn’t even notice the nicely set table or the fact that Jon had made bacon. Real bacon! Not even turkey. He’d had to open the windows to let out some of the stink of the grease.

“Hang…up…the…phone,” Wulf said.

Jon glanced over at Meena, who didn’t even seem to notice Alaric. Her eyebrows were knit, and she was saying into the phone, “Wait, slow down…where exactly are you?”

Alaric Wulf crossed the room in three long strides. Jon thought he was going to rip his sister’s head off.

But all he did was reach for the phone.

Meena, however, darted behind the armchair-moving as fast as Wulf had-and demanded tartly, “Do you mind? I’m on the phone. It’s important.”

Alaric Wulf finally glanced in Jon’s direction, obviously looking for an explanation.

“Uh,” Jon said, “yeah. Her best friend’s pregnant, and she thinks…it’s a long story. I swear it has nothing to do with vampires. Look, I made breakfast. Why don’t we sit down and have some before it gets cold? Can I make you a coffee? It’s easy with Meena’s coffeemaker.”

Alaric growled something. Jon couldn’t tell what. He didn’t look happy. He stood where he was, waiting for Meena to finish her call, his arms folded across his broad, scar-strewn chest.

“I understand,” Meena was saying into the phone. “No, you did the right thing. Just stay where you are. We’ll be right there to get you.”

A look of complete disbelief spread over Alaric Wulf’s face. Meena met his gaze and narrowed her eyes at him.

“Yes, I know exactly where you are,” Meena said into the phone. “We’ll find you. I promise. Give us half an hour. Good-bye.”

She hung up.

“We have to go,” she said. “We-”

Before she could get out another word, Wulf exploded. “You were with him last night,” he erupted, pointing an accusing finger in Meena’s direction. “He was here!”

Meena’s jaw dropped. Hers wasn’t the only one. Jon stared at the vampire hunter in astonishment.

“What are you talking about?” Jon asked. “We were here all night. And she never-”

“I’m talking about this.”

Wulf strode forward and pulled at the little red scarf Meena had tied around her neck, the one that matched her red flats.

“Ow,” Meena said, looking annoyed. “Choke people much? Really, your boss is okay with your treating people like this?”

Alaric, looking way more annoyed than she did, threw a bearlike arm around her waist to keep her from darting away again. Then, with his free hand, he plucked apart the knot holding the scarf in place.

When the scarf fell away and fluttered to the ground, Jon gaped at the now familiar circular mark he saw on his sister’s long, slender throat.

He would have been willing to give her the benefit of the doubt-considering it was his sister, Meena, who hated vampires-if her cheeks hadn’t been the same color as the scarf at her feet.

“Holy shit, Meena,” Jon heard himself blurting. “What’s wrong with you?”

“You don’t understand,” she said, giving Wulf a kick in the shin with her heel that caused him to release her with an oof.

But despite the outward appearance of rebelliousness, there were tears in her enormous brown eyes.

“He’s not evil. He’s as worried about the killings as you guys are,” she insisted to Alaric. “I know what you think he is, but he’s not. He’s not like his father. I think you have the wrong man.”

“How did he even get in here?” Jon asked Wulf, ignoring his sister, because it was obvious she was crazy. “We were watching the door the whole time.”

“The front door,” Alaric Wulf said grimly. He hadn’t taken his gaze off Meena once. “We should have been watching the balcony door, too.”

“The balcony door?” Jon’s voice cracked. “We’re eleven stories up. What’d the guy do, fly up?”

Both Meena and Wulf looked at him, Meena sadly, Wulf with sarcasm. Jon, realizing who he was talking about, swallowed.

“Oh,” he said. Then he turned back toward his sister. “I thought you were so worried about him killing us,” he cried. “And you just let him in?”

“She can’t help it,” Wulf said. He turned abruptly, heading back toward the bathroom, apparently in search of his shirt. “She’s his minion. Whether we live or die means nothing to her. As long as he stays with her.”

Jon shot his sister an accusing look. “Jesus Christ, Meena,” he said. “You meet one vampire and your deep abiding loathing for monster misogyny goes right out the window, and you turn into one of those girls? I thought you hated that kind of girl.”

Stung, Meena sucked in her breath. “I’m not,” she cried. “I’m not one of those girls. I’m not a minion. I still hate vampires. Just not Lucien. Because he isn’t like the others. And I care about both of you! Well,” she added with a withering glance at Alaric’s departing back, “one of you.”

Wulf waved a hand dismissively behind his back as he strode down the hall toward Jon’s bedroom.

“It’s true.” Meena turned her tear-filled eyes toward Jon. “You have to believe me. I’m not a minion. If you’d just leave Lucien alone, there’d be nothing to worry about.”