We’d been over this a hundred times, and it was driving me crazy. If Neil had wanted to stay away from Declan, say, because he didn’t like kids or was freaked out by fatherhood, I could’ve understood that more. But it was obvious Neil desperately wanted to see and be a part of Declan’s life. I could hear the longing in his voice.

“We’ll find a way,” I said. “I swear it.”

There was a haunted look on Neil’s face. “Declan is a miracle,” he murmured. “And he needs to be protected—and given a normal life. A happy, normal life.”

“I want that too,” I said wearily. “Believe me, I do.”

“Adrian?” Maude’s voice came through to where we were sitting on the back porch, enjoying the warm evening. “You have some guests.”

In a flash, Neil and I were back inside, my heart racing. Sure enough, there was Sydney, standing in the living room and back to her normal appearance. I swept her into my arms, spinning her around so much that she laughed and told me to set her down before she got dizzy. I cupped her face in my hands.

“You’re okay,” I said happily.

She gave me a teasing punch. “You knew I was.”

“A phone call is different from seeing,” I said. I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I mean, I knew you were competent and brave and awesome, but, well . . . it’s still not easy having your wife off risking her life with a bunch of vampire-hating freaks.” I reached into my pocket. “Oh, and don’t forget this.” I got down on my knees and slipped on her diamond and ruby rings, which I’d been holding on to while she was away. “As promised. I mean, except for the naked part. But we can worry about that later.”

I expected a chastising “Adrian,” but she smiled, her face filled with love and happiness. She took my hands and helped me up, looking as though she might even kiss me, until she remembered we had an audience. Flustered, she stepped back and crossed her arms in an attempt to look professional. Eddie and Marcus looked amused by all of this. Neil, oddly, looked intrigued as he glanced back and forth between Sydney and me.

“Time to get back to business,” she said.

“It’s happening,” said Eddie eagerly. “We’re getting Jill back.”

“What’s the plan?” I asked. Once I’d called and told Rose and Dimitri the information about Jill and the Alchemists, I’d lost track of what was happening. I knew Sydney had been part of the strategizing, though.

“The Alchemists have confirmed that the place they knew about in St. George is the same as the one in the records we had on the laptop. So they and the guardians are analyzing all the schematics to make sure they’ve got a solid course of action,” Sydney explained.