“It isn’t. It never is. Until that love turns to sacrifice. I’ve had a lot of humans sacrificing for me all my life, bao bei. The ultimate sacrifice…” He shook his head. “Fate saw it fit to grant me a long life, and that’s a long time to live knowin’ people who have a place in my heart gave it all up for you and me.”

I understood him. It hurt what he was saying, the crushing significance of it, but I understood.

I also understood the men.

Impasse.

I lifted a hand and curled it around his neck, using my thumb to stroke the ridges of his throat. “A day or two, Abel, we’ll all think on it.”

I felt him swallow.

Then he said, “Yeah.”

* * * * *

Jian-Li

“Thank you for telling me that, Hook.”

Jian-Li was standing in her office with Lilah’s father. She was talking quietly. Hooker had also spoken quietly, since she’d shared with him over tea in her living room the night before (he’d had two more beers) all about Abel’s abilities.

They didn’t want him to hear.

“You’re his ma, felt you should know. But it’s more. We don’t need to be facin’ Armageddon inside the fold when we don’t know what we’re facin’ outside it. Cohesion. This is what we need. You gotta work on your boy, woman,” Hook advised.

He was correct.

But she had to do something else first.

She nodded.

Hook lifted his chin, gave her a small, worried smile, and walked out of her office.

Jian-Li watched him go, then moved out as well, up the stairs to her apartment. She got her purse and keys.

Then she walked downstairs, out the back door, and directly to her car.

She got in, started it up, and drove to The Biltmore.

Chapter Nine

The Real Thing

Lucien

The vampire Lucien watched the petite, attractive, Chinese woman walk into Gregor’s suite at The Biltmore.

She smelled of ylang-ylang, five spice, ginger, love, and fear.

“Mrs. Jin, we’re delighted you’ve joined us,” Gregor greeted, keeping a nonthreatening distance as he did so and her eyes darted about the room, taking them all in.

“Please, come in,” Gregor invited, continuing to stay removed even as he swept an arm to indicate the living room of the suite. “Shall I order some tea to be brought up before I do the introductions?”

She tore her eyes from Callum, who was sitting on the arm of the couch next to his wife, Sonia, and looked up to Gregor.

“Please.”

Her voice was strong and Lucien was impressed. It entirely masked her fear.

She still reeked of it.

“See to that,” Gregor muttered to one of his lackeys, the only one in the room. A human—well-built, undoubtedly skilled, but still only human.

The man left and Mrs. Jin stopped well short of the seating area.