“I’ve heard that rumor,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t ask her straight out if it were true. She couldn’t betray Seth’s trust.
“Do you think some of our ancestors might have been Lasaran?”
Relieved, she shook her head. “I’m the first Lasaran to visit your planet.”
“What about one of your allies?”
“As far as I know, the only other people from our solar system who have visited Earth are the Sectas.” She wrinkled her nose and hoped he would read the apology in her expression. “And the Sectas view humans with too much derision to ever mate with them.”
He rose. “Now they have even more reason to despise us.”
“Because of what happened to me?”
“Yes.”
“They don’t know. They probably never will.” Nor would her family.
He frowned. “Ami, isn’t there any way you can contact your world?”
“No. My ship was destroyed. As soon as it was damaged enough to force a descent, my crew set the auto destruct so humans wouldn’t be able to gain any of the technology it contained. Nothing salvageable remains. And, though I know how to use an interstellar communicator, I have no more knowledge of how to build one from scratch than you have of creating a cell phone.”
He took her hands in his. “Then there is no way you can return to your home?”
A fist squeezed her heart. “No. No one knows I’m here. And I doubt the alliance will change its mind and send a party to warn the people of Earth.”
Again he brushed her lips with his. “If you ever find a way to return to Lasara, will you take me with you?”
She stared up at him, shocked. He would do that? He would leave his friends, his life here, so he could remain with her?
Wouldn’t you consider staying on Earth to be with him?
She smiled. “I wouldn’t return without you.”
When he drew her into his arms, she rested her cheek against his chest and listened to his strong, slow heartbeat.
He lowered his chin to the top of her head. “I think I would like your world,” he mused. “No war. No violence.”
Ami missed it. Missed her family. Her friends. The peace. “What would you do with your nights if you didn’t have to hunt vampires anymore?”
“Spend them with you.”
She laughed. “You already do.”
“I guess that settles it then. War … peace … as long as you’re at my side, I’m happy.”
Ami leaned her head back and kissed his chin. “Sweet talker.”
He grinned down at her and lowered his head. His lips were an inch from hers when he paused. Straightening, he frowned and turned his head. “Someone is coming.”
Ami dropped her hands to the 9mm’s. “Friend or foe?”
“Friend. It’s Roland.”
She followed Marcus out of the armory and down the hallway. As he crossed to the front door, she couldn’t keep her gaze from falling from his broad shoulders—encased in a tight, long-sleeved, black T-shirt—to his muscular butt.
Sparks of warmth heated her blood as she remembered gripping it with both hands and urging him on as he drove into her. Her pulse leapt. Her breath shortened.
“Ami,” Marcus said without turning around, “you’re killing me, honey.”
The longing in his deep voice made her chuckle.
Marcus opened the door at the same time the doorbell rang. “Roland, what’s—”
Marcus’s head jerked as a thud sounded. Flying backward, he landed at Ami’s feet. Blood gushed from a broken nose.
“Marcus!” she cried.
Face tight with pain, he blurted out, “Ow! What the hell, bad?”
When Roland entered, slammed the door behind him, and stalked forward, Ami drew her 9mm’s and planted herself in front of Marcus. “Stop right there, Roland!”
He halted, face mottled with fury. “Step aside, Ami.”
She shook her head. “Touch him again, and I’ll empty the clips into you.”
“Dab, Abi,” Marcus huffed beneath her. “How cad you turd me od whed my face feels like it just exploded?”
“Are you okay?” she asked without taking her eyes off Roland. The older immortal still looked ready to attack.
“Yeah,” Marcus grumbled, climbing to his feet beside her. He glared at Roland. “What the hell is wrog with you?”
“Sarah saved your life, you miserable bastard,” Roland shouted, “and you condemned her for it?”
Mouth falling open, Ami lowered her weapons. “Oh, Marcus, you didn’t!”
His jaw clenched as his face darkened with anger. “She left you there.” He wiped the blood from his mouth and chin with one sleeve. “She knew you couldn’t defeat two dozen vampires without her, and she left you there.”
“I asked her to,” Ami said. “You and Roland were out. If she hadn’t gotten you to safety—”
Much to her surprise, Marcus transferred his anger to her. “You don’t ever put my life before yours!”
She raised her eyebrows. “Marcus, I’m your Second. My job is to keep you safe. If that means—”
“Then you’re no longer my Second,” he decreed.
From the corner of her eye, Ami saw Roland cross his arms over his chest and tilt his head to one side as he studied them.
She holstered her weapons. “Well, lucky for me,” she said, determined not to let anger take hold of her as well, “that decision isn’t yours. Seth decides who serves as whose Second, and he decided I should be yours. And, even if I weren’t your Second, I would still put your life before mine. That’s what you do when you love someone. So, even if you could fire me, it wouldn’t make a difference. If the same thing happened tomorrow, I would beg Sarah to take you to safety and take my chances with the vamps again.”
Marcus looked like his head might explode.
Ami had to fight to hold back a grimace as the broken bones in his nose shifted beneath the skin and slid back into position.
“Ami, honey,” Marcus said, a pleading note entering his voice, “you can’t do that. You’re not immortal.”
“Neither are you. Not really. You can be killed, too, Marcus. What makes you think I would mourn you less than you would mourn me?”
He didn’t seem to know what to say to that.
Roland sighed. “All right. I see the way things are. I didn’t realize… .” He motioned to the two of them, then threw his hands up in surrender. “Just get on the phone and apologize to Sarah so she’ll stop tearing herself up inside. If she sheds one more tear over your sorry arse, I’ll come back and finish what I started.”
Afraid Marcus might yet hesitate, Ami reminded him, “It wasn’t just you she was saving, Marcus. Her husband’s life was at stake. If it had been you, me, Roland, and Chris, and Roland and I had been drugged, would you have left us there and taken Chris to safety?”
Roland and Marcus suddenly turned their heads to the east.
Roland swore. “I’m not here,” he hissed in a hasty whisper. “You never saw me.”
Ami frowned at him. What?
“Roland Warbrook,” Sarah called from outside a moment later, “I told you to leave Marcus alone!”
Ami looked at Roland, who—eyes wide—shook his head and held a finger to his lips.
“Don’t even try it,” his wife warned. “My senses are as acute as yours. Did you forget that?”
He grumbled something Ami couldn’t make out that made Marcus’s lips twitch and looked toward the door. “Sarah, sweetling, I was only trying to help Marcus … ah, see the error of his ways.”
“Marcus has every reason to be upset with me,” she said, softer, sorrowful.
“No, he doesn’t,” Ami said. She didn’t bother shouting. She was the only non-immortal present. Any shouting on their part was for her benefit.
“Ami?” Sarah said, voice brightening with hope.
“Yes.”
“Oh, thank goodness. Darnell said you were okay, but …”
Marcus turned to Roland. “Why isn’t she coming inside?”
Roland’s features tightened. “Because she doesn’t think she’s welcome, asshole.”
Marcus shifted uncomfortably, then crossed to the front door and opened it. “Come in, Sarah.”
So much shame and regret shadowed Sarah’s pretty features as she eased inside and eyed Marcus that Ami hurried to close the distance between them and threw her arms around the other woman.
“Thank you so much, Sarah.”
Sarah hugged her tight. “I’m so sorry I left you.”
“I’m glad you did. You did exactly what I hoped you would. You got Marcus and Roland to safety.”
“I thought I was leaving you there to die.”
“You were,” Marcus spoke behind Ami.
Ami lashed out and unerringly found Marcus’s shin with the heel of her boot.
“Ow! You didn’t let me finish,” he sulked.
“Then finish,” Roland rumbled, the low tones laden with warning.
Marcus looked at Sarah. “Thank you for saving my life. Again. And for saving Roland’s.”
Moisture welled in Sarah’s hazel eyes. “I’m so sorry, Marcus.”
He opened his arms. “Come here.”
Small shoulders slumping, Sarah stepped into the hug.
“It was an impossible decision,” he conceded.
Ami thought that was probably as close as he could get to telling her she had made the right one. He would always put Ami’s life before his own.
Roland shifted from foot to foot, then stomped forward. “All right. All right.” He took Sarah’s arm and pulled her away from Marcus. “Enough. You forgive her. It’s over.”
Ami bit her lip to suppress a smile.
“Not quite,” Marcus said. “I want you both to promise me here and now that, should a situation arise in the future that would require you to choose between my life and Ami’s, you will choose Ami’s.”