"I don't really know him, do I?

"You know what you need to."

"Which according to you is that he's my mate." She waved her hand in the air. "This mythical concept that disregards reality, circ.u.mstances, and events."

"Comforting, isn't it?"

She shook her head. "Not if you don't believe in mates."

"A month ago you didn't believe in vampires," Jace offered quietly.

"Has anyone ever told you that being logical during an emotional moment is irritating?"

"Not recently."

"Well it is, and I can't make a decision when I don't agree with the concepts."

"I thought your decision was already made."

The SUV hit a b.u.mp. She jumped right along with it. Even though she was surrounded by Renegade soldiers, she still couldn't shake the feeling that Sanctuary would be on them at any minute. With a trembling hand, she smoothed back the lock of hair that fell over Slade's forehead.

"I can't do this, Tobias."

"Do what?"

Again, she made a wave of her hand. The car hit another b.u.mp. She felt the touch of Slade's energy. Stroking her fingers down his cheek, she debated turning off the energy masker that was still in her pocket.

"They're never going to stop coming after me, are they?"

"And we won't stop stopping them."

War. Never-ending war and always at the end of it the potential for destruction of an entire species. Because of her.

What could she say except, "Thank you."

CALEB was waiting for them as they came into the yard. The look he gave her as he opened her door wasn't strange, it was flat-out angry. It made for a refreshing change. Jane could deal with hostility.

"What is it?"

He held out his hand. She put hers in it. He half hauled, half helped her out of the SUV Then he reached for Slade. A muscle in his jaw bunched as he worked his hands under his brother and then slid him across the seat. Standing, he cradled Slade in his arms, his love for his brother etched in the anguish on his face. It was such a human moment, one that had been captured on camera time after time by war correspondents. And here it was playing over again. With vampires. More proof love wasn't species specific. A horse in the paddock whinnied uncertainly.

With a sharp nod of his head, Caleb turned on his heel and carried his brother toward his house. When Jane would have followed, Jace caught her arm.

"Joseph is worse."

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Caleb reach Slade's porch. In a minute she'd hear the squeak of the screen door.

"How do you know?"

"Allie just sent it over the system."

Clenching her fists against the need to bolt after Slade, she snapped, "I want one of those transceivers."

"You'll have to ask Slade."

She couldn't ask Slade anything. The screen door squeaked. They'd taken him away. "How bad is Joseph?"

"Bad."

She stood there torn. Her heart said she needed to be with Slade. Her conscience pushed her toward Joseph.

Jace's tone softened. "Caleb will take care of Slade. He just needs time to heal."

"Maybe."

"Joseph needs you now."

Triage. She understood the concept of treating the most severe cases first. She was just having a hard time accepting it.

"Joseph is dying."

The anguish in that statement brought her head up. Looking into Jace's hazel eyes, she was struck by the realization that there was more than the warrior to the man. He was also an uncle. "You love him."

His head jerked back with surprise. Looking down his straight nose, he informed her, "Of course. He's my nephew."

It was easy to see Slade in that gesture. "I'm sorry." Running her fingers through her hair, she ma.s.saged the tension in her neck. "I'm just more used to seeing you as a soldier."

"Soldiers have families, too."

Yes, they did. And Jace and Joseph were Slade's family. She really didn't have a choice.

"Take me to Joseph."

With a jerk of his chin, Jace indicated she should follow him up the path to the main house. She did, feeling that sense of dej vu as a horse whickered a greeting from the corral. Her sneakers made little noise crossing the big porch. By the door, a board squeaked. Opening the front door, Jace waved her in.

As the door closed behind him, Jace said, "Joseph is in the nursery."

The nursery was the third door on the right at the top of the curved stairway. She knew that from her previous visit. Stopping just inside the high-ceilinged foyer, Jane stood motionless and absorbed the energy of the house, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. "I just need a minute."

"I'm not sure Joseph has it to spare."

She forced a smile. "Then let's get going."

Jace caught her arm. "Do me a favor."

"What?"

"Don't smile like that in front of Caleb and Allie."

"Not coming off confident?"

"Not at all."

She nodded. "Then maybe we should nix the smiles."

"I would." He led the way up the stairs. Caleb's comfortable house. A house built for laughter. Joseph's room was no different. Painted in pale yellow with accents of white and blue and a gingham crib set, it was a room reflecting the hopes of proud parents. But there was no laughter here. Just sadness. It echoed in the walls and from the rocker by the big windows. Allie sat in the rocker with Joseph, her cheek resting on his head. Looking completely normal in blue jeans and a pale blue tank. On the table beside the chair was an untouched bottle. Not looking up, Allie whispered, "He's dying."

Yes, he was. Jane could feel it in the uneven fluctuation of his energy. "I'm sorry."

"Can't you do something?"

Controlling the anger at the pointlessness of this life leaving too soon, and the fear that she wouldn't be able to stop it, Jane crossed to Allie's side. Kneeling beside Allie, she pulled the blanket back from the baby's face. His parents loved him so much, were going through so much to keep him alive, and he was over here in his own corner of the world fighting his own private battle. And he was losing.

The old anger came back. She'd seen too many babies die, seen too many mothers look at her as Allie was right now in that warring combination of fear and hope. She'd felt this anger too many times. She didn't know what to say. She touched Joseph's cold little cheek. So pale and sunken, as if death felt the need to advertise its imminent arrival. Jane stood. Allie looked at her, the hope she couldn't relinquish filling her gaze. No mother could give up that hope. Vampire or human, it didn't matter. Jane couldn't find the words Allie needed to hear. Turning on her heel, she left the room.

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing?" Jace demanded as she pa.s.sed him at the door.

"I'm going to the lab."

His fingers sank into her arm. With a jerk, he spun her around. "You leave the room without a word to Allie? You are one coldhearted b.i.t.c.h."

Yes, her heart was very cold. "What do you want me to tell her? She already knows her son is dying."

"I want you to tell her you can do something about it."

Jane shook her head, brushing her hair off her face. She'd thought earlier when she'd put together the mental formula for the potential cure that it was going to be so easy. A series of tests narrowing the options, a few experiments, some educated guesswork when it came to dosage, and voila! A cure. But that all required time that she didn't have. Now, she had one shot to get it all right. One impossibly long shot.

"And give her false hope?"

"You need to give her something."

With the odds being what they were, she didn't have any right to give Allie any hope. And Jace had no right to take her to task for it.

"Let me go."

Jace dropped her arm with a look of disgust. She pushed past him. When she got to the lab, she closed the door behind her and keyed in the code. The locks slid shut with a satisfying clank. Walking over to the desk, she set her backpack on it. Her hand shook so hard she could barely open the pack. After three tries she got it open and set the laptop on the desk. Pushing the power b.u.t.ton, she waited for the gong. The glow of the screen welcomed her into its embrace. Clicking on the folder holding her data, she concentrated on the numbers and notes. A little of her tension eased.

She took another steadying breath. The familiar scent of the pristine lab soothed her nerves a bit more. This was her world. There was no life and death here. No chaos. There were just abstract problems to be solved. She let the sterility of the environment wrap around her. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't erase the feel of little Joseph's cheek from her fingertips. She'd touched death twice today. Now, she had to figure out how to defeat it.

FOUR hours later, Jane had her formula. Whether it would work or not was a whole other question. The only way to know was to try it. Rolling the chair back from the desk, she rubbed the tension from the back of her neck. She had no idea where Caleb was, but she needed him in the lab ASAP. Picking up the phone, she hit the whole compound intercom.

"Caleb, I need you in the lab now."

Five minutes later there was a knock. Punching in the combination, she unlocked the door. Almost immediately, the heavy door swung in. She took a step back. Caleb stood in the entry, his expression stony. Jace and Jared flanked him like guard dogs.

She motioned him in. "I need your blood."

He ripped open his sleeve, and then, with one of his talons, sliced through the exposed flesh of his wrist with the same efficiency. "Take however much you need."

When she looked into his eyes, she saw the same desperation she'd seen in Allie's. Father, brother, leader, warrior. Like Slade, Caleb wore many roles.

"Thank you." Putting pressure on the wound, she led him to the chair. "Keep pressure on this while I get the syringe."

He motioned to the dripping blood. "This is faster."

"If you had waited two seconds I could have told you I needed it from the vein to avoid contamination." She opened a syringe packet. "Besides, what if I hadn't needed blood?"

"You're a scientist like Slade. You'll always need blood for some test or another," Jared cut in.

Pulling the protective cover off the syringe, she asked the one question she needed an answer to. "How's Slade?"

"He's holding his own."

Caleb nodded. "Good."

Jane motioned to his am. "Please close that wound." Caleb did. "And roll up the other sleeve so I can get a sterile sample."

While she waited, Jared drawled, "It's nice of you to ask about Slade."

"Would you by any chance be lecturing me?" she asked as she slid the needle into the vein.

"Slade deserves better."

Blood filled the vial. "Slade and my relationship is none of your business."

"He's our brother."

"And my lover."

"You all might want to save this conversation for when the woman doesn't have a needle in my veins," Caleb pointed out.

"You'll survive," Jace countered dryly.

"Slade d.a.m.n near died saving your a.s.s," Jared growled.

Jane counted to ten, reaching for patience. She missed. "He came near death protecting the information that I have that you need."

Caleb tipped her chin toward him. The gesture was so reminiscent of Slade that she couldn't blink back the tears fast enough. Caleb's gaze searched her expression. "Make no mistake, he risked his life for you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"And that has you concerned?"

"He's been taking a lot of risks since he met you," Jared interjected.

"Is that why you sent him out to betray his mate in order to get the information you wanted? Because you respect his feelings and the concept of mates so much?"