“I forgot how short you are,” I said, teasing her since we were both the same height, five-foot-nada.

“And I forgot how flat you are.”

I tried to look aghast since that was always my tender subject. While Brooke had blossomed into womanhood recently with the cup size to prove it, I had yet to acquire real girl parts. It was sad. “So, how mad at me are you?” I asked her instead.

“Oh, you have no idea.” She waved a dismissive hand in the air. “You’ll be paying for this for a very long time.”

I smiled, a little in love with the feel of her so close. “I never doubted it for a minute.”

She wrapped an arm in mine. “You will be my slave girl and I shall call you—” She looked up in thought. “—Slave Girl.”

“That’s creative.”

“And you shall be made to scrub my floors and give me mani-pedis on a weekly basis.”

I crinkled my nose. “Is that negotiable?”

“Slaves cannot negotiate. They can only slave. But before we begin, there are two boys you might want to say hi to.”

She gestured to her side, and sure enough, there were two boys there. Not that I hadn’t already noticed all the heads turning their way, but still. My gaze landed on Cameron first. He’d cut his signature blond, shoulder-length hair. It was now short and a little spiky as he leaned against a case displaying historical New Mexican artifacts. He looked fantastic. But he’d stuffed his hands into his pockets and was refusing to look at me.

“He’s been a tad angry with us,” Grandma said. They’d sent me off in the middle of the night without my created protector. It was no wonder said created protector was a bit miffed.

“So I heard.” I walked over to him, inching closer warily like one would with a wild animal. “Do you know how long you’re going to be mad at me? Because we have to save the world pretty soon.”

Still refusing to even spare me a glance with those crystal blue eyes of his, he said, “I’ll let you know when I know.”

“Fair enough. Until then, can I have a hug? For old times’ sake?”

He kicked at the heel of his other foot. “You didn’t ask for one before you left. Figure I don’t owe you one now.”

Before I could argue that point, he turned and walked out of the building.

I looked over my shoulder at Glitch. “You weren’t kidding.”

He’d grabbed my bags along with his. “He’ll come around.”

“I hope so.” I said it to Glitch, but my gaze had found its way to the other boy who’d joined us. He was as tall as Cameron, only dark. Stunningly sensual like a Brazilian supermodel. But he looked exhausted as well. His hair needed a trim, and his jaw—sculpted and strong—needed a shave.

He stood in his requisite white T-shirt and jeans with his arms crossed over his chest and a grin lifting one corner of his incredible mouth. His coffee-colored eyes shimmered as he looked at me. “He’ll come around if he knows what’s good for him,” he said.

“Yeah?” I asked, stepping toward him. I didn’t want to get too gooey in front of my grandparents, but this was Jared Kovach. The love of my life. And the Angel of Death, but still.

“You going to offer me one of those?” he asked.

“What? A hug?”

He reached out and ran the backs of his fingers over my hand. His touch was like electricity. It sent a jolt of pleasure rocketing through me, weakened my knees, accelerated my heart. Without any further ado, I jumped into his arms. He caught me like I knew he would—because he was super strong and could do things like that—and held me tight.

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“Lorelei, you don’t ever have to apologize to me.”

“But I just left and I’ve made things worse.”

Still holding me a foot off the ground, he leaned back and questioned me with a gaze. Granddad had his hand on Jared’s back in a gesture of affirmation, while Grandma smiled over Jared’s shoulder at me.

“Something happened,” I said, hating to break the news so soon after our long-awaited greeting, but they needed to know. “Something changed.”

Granddad nodded. “What do you say we get to the car and talk there?”

“Okay. Oh, I almost forgot!” Jared let me slide down his body to the ground and I savored the feel of him before turning to our newest team member. “This is Kenya.”

She stepped forward, her usual brusque confidence all but gone. She nodded a greeting.

“We know who you are, honey,” Grandma said. “Your mother called, told us you’d be joining us. We’re thrilled to have such an adventurer on our side.”

As they shook hands, I asked, “Adventurer? What do you mean, adventurer?”

Granddad chuckled and shook her hand as well. “She didn’t tell you?” he asked.

“No.” I glared at her accusingly. We’d just spent twelve hours on airplanes and in airports. She could have mentioned something about being an adventurer. Not that I had any idea what that meant exactly.

“I’m so honored to meet you,” she said to him. But when Jared held out his hand for his turn, her expression changed from reverence to doubt. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was afraid of him. To her credit, she held her ground and took his hand into hers. Her voice dropped to a husky whisper. “Your Grace,” she said, clearly knowing who, and what, Jared was.