She took a step back, her gaze searching his. "But they asked you to do that very thing, didn't they? Tobias, Caleb, Allie."

"Not Allie. She would never ask that of you."

"But Caleb did."

"It's his son."

"And he believes that makes it all right?"

Slade could offer a ton of excuses for his brother. He was desperate for his child. For his wife. Slade gave Jane the truth. "Yes."

"What about Tobias?"

"He has his own reasons."

"And what about you?"

"I love Joseph."

Her finger clenched around the flash drive. "I envy you that, a strong sense of family. Never being alone."

"It's a mixed blessing."

"Especially now." That was a guess on Jane's part. The conflict in Slade was palpable.

"Yes."

"They told you to get the formula from me however you could, didn't they?"

"Yes."

"Did you agree?"

His gaze didn't leave hers. "Yes."

No matter how she searched his eyes, Jane couldn't see a lie.

The truth hit her like a blow. She'd wanted him to say no. Even h.e.l.l no. And it wasn't happening. She shouldn't be surprised. It was survival of the fittest in the world. She'd made herself the fittest in her world. Reaching out, her fingers slid over the lid of the computer. The aluminum was cool to the touch. The chill spread up her arm, getting colder as it traveled to her core. They'd asked him to sacrifice her and he'd said yes. She blinked rapidly to control her tears. She didn't know why she'd expected anything different. She was an outsider. The foot of distance between them might as well be a mile.

"Thank you for your honesty."

His finger under her chin was an all-too-familiar gesture. She didn't want to look up. He left her no choice.

"That's the first time I've ever lied to my family."

She blinked. "Why would you lie to them?"

His thumb touched the corner of her mouth. "Because they needed hope."

"Why should I believe you?"

His eyes narrowed. "Because I won't lie to you."

It was a promise. And even without checking his mind, she believed him. "Vampires in real life are so different than in the movies."

"This isn't a movie."

No, it was her life, and it was so completely complicated there was no end to the tangles. Beyond the window, dawn was breaking. Thanks to the specially tinted windows, no harmful rays could get into the house. Somewhere out there the werewolves were on guard. Tobias, Derek, Broderick, and the others. They were all willing to give up their lives for her research. The Sanctuary was equally determined to give up theirs. And in the middle, she was starting a relationship. Leaning her cheek into Slade's hand, she whispered, "What are we going to do, Slade?"

His fingers slid through her hair, pulling her into his chest as his energy entwined through hers. This time she welcomed the embrace rather than fought it. Welcomed the strength of his arms around her. Welcomed the moment of security. It was a big bad world out there, and she was d.a.m.ned if she did and d.a.m.ned if she didn't. No-win positions sucked.

Slade rubbed her back. "We're going to find the cure for Joseph, Jane, and then we'll see where this takes us."

A pretty dream. "I might have already found the cure."

"When?"

"As soon as I looked at the information on the flash drive, I knew what was wrong. We were looking at the wrong protein/ amino acid combination. From what I can tell vampires don't so much digest food like humans do as absorb it. Joseph is trying to digest it because his body doesn't recognize blood as a food source but doesn't have the necessary digestive balance to digest it."

"s.h.i.t. Really?"

"Yes." It sounded so uncomplicated when she put it like that. In reality, creating the right balance of enzymes, amino acids and protein targets at the right strand of DNA to enable his digestive tract to function had so many variables it scared her silly. Hiding her worry, she smiled up at Slade. "And you didn't even have to seduce the information out of me."

He rocked them gently. "I appreciate you lightening my workload."

"Any time."

Minutes pa.s.sed. His energy softened and wrapped around hers. He leaned down. "Seduction can be fun, you know."

"I know." Standing on her tiptoes, she met him halfway, keeping the kiss gentle when he would have deepened it. "But as much as I appreciate the thought, what I really want is to go to bed."

He blinked. She let down her defenses, allowing him to feel the weariness dragging at her bones. "I'm so tired."

s.h.i.t. "I forgot ..."

"The limits of a human body?" she asked as he scooped her up in his arms.

"Yeah."

It was a short trip to the bed. Slade sat her on the edge. It took everything she had to not just tip over.

"Go ahead."

For once she was glad he could read her mind. Kicking off her shoes, she lay on her side, sinking gratefully into the mattress. Every muscle in her body heaved a sigh of relief.

"You should have told me."

"Why? We couldn't afford to stop."

"We could have made time."

She yawned. Exhaustion was claiming her fast. "I don't think so. This is going to sound strange, but I've got the feeling time is running out and it has nothing to do with Joseph's health."

He paused in the middle of unb.u.t.toning her jeans. "A feeling?"

"Yes."

With a tug he yanked them off. There was a soft plop as the jeans. .h.i.t the floor. "Why the h.e.l.l did you keep this from me?"

"It's just a feeling," she mumbled, closing her eyes. "Probably because I'm so tired."

"Feelings are important." She heard his belt slide through the loops. "If you have feelings, you tell me about them."

"Okay." She yawned. "Right now I feel like I'm about to fall asleep."

He swore. Two more thuds. His boots she realized.

"G.o.dd.a.m.nit." The mattress dipped as he slid into bed beside her.

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right." His arm came around her waist, solid and strong. His thighs tucked under hers, coc.o.o.ning her in his strength. It was such a comforting feeling. She nestled into the pillow. The same comfort sneaked into her mind.

"You're the only man I ever trusted, do you know that, Slade?"

Against her hip she could feel his arousal. He wanted her. She smiled to herself. Really wanted her.

"Maybe you shouldn't."

She shook her head and let sleep take her away, whispering as consciousness faded, "I've always had the feeling I should."

SHE trusted him. Slade stood in the glow of the laptop screen and shook his head, taking in the complexity of what he was looking at. It was always a mistake to trust a vampire. They had no honor.

As he read down the screen, he couldn't help but be impressed. His Jane was a clever woman. A brilliant strategist. Slipping the satellite card in the slot, he activated the connection. He perused the screen as he waited. Everything she needed for revenge sat there all set, ready to go. All she had to do was push the b.u.t.ton and the man who'd raped her as a child would lose everything he valued. First his money. Then his reputation, and likely after that, his trophy wife. Yet Jane had never pushed the b.u.t.ton. How many times had she sat at this screen and fondled the send b.u.t.ton? Savored the ramifications? An exercise in humanity she'd called it. It all made sense now. A self-inflicted test of her moral code. With a grim smile, Slade hit the send b.u.t.ton. Vampires also weren't afflicted with a messy conscience and they had a real liking for revenge.

15.

IT was the scream that woke Jane. Hoa.r.s.e and inhuman, it reached through the dense fog of sleep and dragged her out. Jane sat up, blinking as she tried to orientate.

Her head felt heavy, and it took too much effort to open her eyes. "Slade?"

No answer, but from beyond the bedroom were other sounds. Distinctive and unmistakable. They were under attack. Stumbling to her feet, she threw on her shirt and jeans before bolting for the door. Only to run straight into Broderick.

"Get back inside."

"My laptop."

"Is safe where you left it."

She'd left it in the kitchen. She tried to duck past him, but he easily blocked her.

Slade!

No answer. Searching for Slade's energy, she ran into a wall of nothingness. Did that mean he was dead? She refused to even think it. "That research cannot fall into the wrong hands."

There was nothing boylike about Broderick now. He was all soldier. And he was in her way.

"It won't."

But it could and then there'd be h.e.l.l to pay. She'd transferred key data from the flash drive to the laptop. With that data in their possession plus the information gleaned at the lab, the Sanctuary scientists would quite possibly have what they needed within a year. That couldn't happen. "Take me to it."

"Orders are you're to stay in here."

An alarm sounded to the right. A short, high-pitched sound that barely carried. Someone was outside her window. She backed into the room looking around. "Broderick!"

He was in the room in a second, pistol at the ready. She waved toward the window. "The alarm ..."

"I heard it."

"Can they get in the windows?"

His mouth set in a grim line. "If they have enough time."

Great. "How do we prevent them from getting time?"

"We don't do anything."

"You seriously expect me to just sit here and wait and see what happens?"

"I expect you to have faith in your mate. And failing that, the team."

To h.e.l.l with that. "There's only eight of us. Lord knows how many there are of them."

"There's seven of us. You don't count."

Another alarm went off inside the house. More toward the kitchen where she'd left her laptop. That couldn't be good. "I need to get that research."

"My orders are to keep you in this room."

"Then bring my laptop to me."

"My orders are not to leave you."