Next came Yuri and Stanislov and their Seconds. They were fairly new to the area, and Etienne hadn’t had a chance to get to know them very well. Ethan, an American and formerly the youngest immortal in their midst at a hundred years, lounged beside the Russians. Then Edward, another Brit. Their Seconds.

A scowling Chris Reordon occupied the chair across from Ami. Beside him were Dr. Melanie Lipton, only recently transformed, and her husband Bastien, the black sheep of the immortal family who was still pretty widely hated. Next was Bastien’s Second, Tanner. Sheldon, who actually seemed to like Bastien now. Richart. Jenna. Tracy, who was Lisette’s Second. Lisette, who studied Krysta intently.

I like her, Lisette declared in his head.

You don’t even know her, he countered.

She’s a mortal who strode into a house full of immortals with her head held high and her body loaded down with weapons. And she’s smart enough to be attracted to you.

Can you read her mind? he asked curiously. He didn’t like the idea of his sister intruding upon Krysta’s thoughts, but wanted to see if he were the only one who couldn’t (most of the time).

She frowned. No, I can’t. Can you?

No. Not really. Not at will.

A sly smile slid across her pretty features. Perfect.

He didn’t dispute it. It was hard to pursue a relationship with someone when you could hear her every thought, including the ugly ones that slipped through when she was cranky or the occasional dark one that made even her think, Where the hell did that come from?

The soft sound of boots hitting bamboo drew his attention to the hallway that led from the living room to the back of the house and basement.

David entered, garbed in the black hunting clothes everyone else wore. His dreadlocks had been pulled back from his face and framed his hips as he strode toward them.

Etienne glanced at Krysta and saw her mouth fall open.

Wow.

He frowned. That thought had come through loud and clear.

She gazed up at the elder immortal as though he were the most gorgeous thing she had ever beheld. He knew women found David’s hair, height, muscles, and dark-as-midnight skin attractive, but Krysta looked as though she were about to begin drooling.

Don’t get your shorts in a bunch, Lisette admonished. She isn’t drooling. Your jealousy is making her response seem more than it is.

David stopped before them and smiled. “Krysta, Sean, welcome to my home. I’m David.” Taking Krysta’s hand, he raised it to his lips.

Etienne listened carefully to Krysta’s heartbeat and relaxed a little when it didn’t speed up at the attention.

“Nice to meet you,” Krysta offered.

He shook Sean’s hand. “I’m glad you’re both safe and have decided to join us tonight. The events of the past twenty-four hours have caught us off guard. You, too, I understand. But we’ll sort it all out together.”

The sister and brother shared a look.

“Okay,” Krysta said.

David turned to Sean. “No, we aren’t vampires. Etienne told you the truth. We’re immortals and I’m sure Dr. Lipton would be happy to discuss all of the medical intricacies of our differences with you.” He looked at Krysta. “Yes, I’m reading your thoughts. The safety of everyone under my roof is my responsibility and I wish to ensure you mean them no harm. And, no, Etienne was not lying when he said he couldn’t read your mind. You have very strong natural defenses, but I’m older and more powerful, so they proved minor obstacles for me.”

Is she attracted to me? Etienne asked before he could stop himself. It was odd, not being able to freely access her thoughts and he was eager to confirm what the little glimpses he had managed thus far had told him.

“Yes,” David answered aloud, “she’s attracted to you.”

Krysta frowned at Etienne and popped him on the arm. “That’s not fair.”

David turned to Sean. “No, Etienne isn’t brainwashing her. And this isn’t a total clusterfuck. Chris Reordon has already taken steps to purchase the home you rent so the two of you won’t have to worry about the landlord giving you grief. Our cleanup crews are salvaging all of your possessions that they can and are packing them up for you so you can move into a new place—a safe house of your choice—once we’ve squelched this latest threat. I know it will take some time to earn your trust, but whether you wish it to be true or not, you’re one of us. We were all gifted ones like you before we were transformed. And we take care of our own.”

“They’re gifted ones?” Lisette exclaimed with glee.

“Yes,” David said, then addressed Krysta. “And no, Etienne isn’t messing with your head. You have totally captivated him.”

“Damn,” Sheldon said. “This is better than a soap opera. Maybe we should start an Immortal Guardians reality show and air it on theimmortalguardians.com.”

David ignored him. “Won’t you please join us in the dining room?”

Darnell and Cam had already seated themselves, Darnell taking the seat closest to this end and Cam the one next to him. Sean sat next to Cam. Etienne held the chair next to his for Krysta until she was seated, then claimed the one between her and Lisette.

David took the seat catty-corner to Darnell at this end of the table.

Darnell retrieved his cell phone and dialed. Etienne heard Seth answer.

“Yes?”

“All set.”

Darnell ended the call and put away his phone.

Seth appeared at the opposite end of the table.

Sean and Krysta jumped, startled by his sudden appearance.

“Thank you all for coming. Krysta and Sean, we appreciate your joining us. I’m Seth, the leader of the Immortal Guardians.”

“Nice to meet you,” they murmured.

He took his seat. “Etienne, would you formally introduce our guests?”

Chapter 10

Krysta listened carefully and tried to memorize every name and face as Etienne introduced her and Sean to the group. It was a relief to see other humans present. Or gifted ones. She wasn’t sure how to tell those apart. But she could tell by their auras that there were almost as many mortals present as there were immortals.

Her gaze slid to Seth, whose aura glowed that brilliant white, then to David, whose aura did the same, but had a tiny sliver of purple mixed in. The other immortals had a pretty equal mix of white and purple.

She looked at the small redhead—Ami?—who sat beside Seth. Her aura was unlike anyone else’s. It contained the same color variations of humans and gifted ones, but had little sparkly things in it, as if the stars in the night sky were peeking through a rainbow. It was beautiful and very peculiar. What was she?

Seth and David’s auras were different because . . .

Actually, she wasn’t sure. Was it because they were so old? Or were there other supernatural beings? Etienne seemed sure they were immortals, yet . . .

Those auras.

“Let’s begin,” Seth said when the roll call of names ended.

Chris cleared his throat. “Before we get started, there’s an issue we need to discuss.”

Seth motioned for Chris to continue. “What’s on your mind, Chris?”

Chris’s gaze circled the table. “My goal is the same as the network’s: To protect you. It’s why I scrutinize so carefully every member of the network before hiring him or her. It’s why every Second is handpicked. If even one person leaks the truth to the media, in this information age in particular, it is hell to clean up and counter. Every year, with every new gadget and fucking cell phone with apps that can realign the damned planets, it gets harder. We can’t afford to make a single mistake.”

“What’s your point?” Ethan asked.

“My point is I can’t protect you if you keep hiding your girlfriends from me.”

Every eye swung toward Krysta.

She glanced around. “Why is everyone looking at me?”

Silence.

“Oh. Oh, no. I’m not Etienne’s girlfriend. We just . . . hunt together . . . sort of. It’s not like we’re dating or . . . We haven’t slept together or anything . . . I mean we slept together . . . twice, actually . . . but we didn’t—”

“You aren’t helping,” Etienne murmured.

She clamped her lips shut. What a time to find out she babbled when she was nervous.

“He has a point,” Roland spoke. “Etienne hid this woman from us—”

“The woman has a name,” Krysta interjected.

“—and Richart hid both Jenna and her son from us. Every mortal is a potential threat.”

Chris frowned. “Says the immortal who threatened to kill me if I went anywhere near Sarah when you two got together.”

“That was different.”

“How?”

“You’ve all said it a thousand times. I’m an untrusting, antisocial bastard.”

“No, you aren’t,” Sarah protested and glared at the others. “Stop saying that.”

Roland continued. “Anyone who can win my trust deserves it. Besides, she saved my ass. Twice.”

“Technically,” Krysta said, “I saved Etienne’s ass.”

“After I risked it to save you.”

“That’s true. I thanked you for that, right?”

Chris waved his hands. “It doesn’t matter who saved whose ass. The point is every mortal poses a threat. Especially now. If you don’t let me interro—ah, interview these women, you place everyone in danger, because sooner or later someone always trusts the wrong person.”

“True,” Seth murmured.

“Ah hah!” Richart blurted at the same time. “You were going to say interrogate! I knew it! That’s why I kept Jenna a secret!”

Chris swore beneath his breath as Roland and Etienne both nodded. “Okay, maybe, in the past, I might have been a tad harsh when ensuring that an immortal’s lover could be trusted. But can you blame me? Look what happened to Mattheus.”