gunpoint. "He's with me," I said.
Everyone looked at me. "I needed help to heal from the injuries, and I needed enough power to raise the dead so they didn't kill you guys. I rolled him. The dead Rex said that he'd seen male vampires that could do what I do; Brides of Dracula."
"Brides of Anita?" Jason asked.
I shrugged.
"Are you sure you can trust him?" Micah asked, and the look he gave Nicky wasn't friendly.
"I don't know, but I do know that he protected me from his own pride, and almost took a bullet for me."
"Would you have survived without him?" Micah asked.
I thought about it, and then said, "No."
Micah went to Nicky and offered him a hand up. The guards didn't like it, but they knew not to argue with all of us. Micah stared up at the taller man, studying his face. "Thank you for taking care of her for us."
"I helped kidnap her, you know," Nicky said.
Micah nodded. "I know."
"Is he coming home with us?" Nathaniel asked.
"I hadn't actually thought that far ahead," I said.
Then Nicky looked at me, his eyes stricken. "Don't leave me, Anita. Please, don't leave me." His face seemed to struggle for an expression, but finally he collapsed to the ground and crawled toward me. He extended one hand. "Please, please, Anita, I don't understand everything, but the thought of you leaving me behind feels like dying."
I looked at the other men. Micah nodded. Nathaniel hugged me. Jason said, "I don't live with you guys, so I don't think I get a vote."
I hugged him with the arm that wasn't around Nathaniel. "They threatened to kill you; you get a vote."
He came to stand with us and looked down at the man with his hand still out. "Touch him and let us feel the power." That was Jason, so much smarter than he pretended he was.
I reached out and took Nicky's hand. The moment we touched, the power jumped between us, climbed over my skin in a warm, tingling rush that caressed Nathaniel's skin and crossed to Jason. Nathaniel made a small sound. Jason said, "Tasty."
Micah came to us, rubbing his hand up and down the goose bumps on his arm; the other hand still held the gun. "You mind-fucked him."
I nodded. "Yeah."
He kissed my cheek. "I'm sorry you had to do that." And in that moment I realized that he understood what it had cost me to take Nicky the way I did. I kissed him back and moved into the circle of his arms. I buried my face against the warm scent of his neck and let him hold me. The gun dug into my back a little.
Nathaniel and Jason were helping Nicky to his feet. The bigger man was crying, crying at the thought that I would cast him aside. Fuck.
I looked at Nicky watching me with frightened eyes while Jason tried to comfort him and Nathaniel came to join us, his gun peeking from the side of his jeans and ruining the line of his shirt.
I went to Nathaniel and kissed him, thoroughly and completely, so he melted in against me, our bodies, our hands, pressing against each other. He drew back laughing. "I love you, Anita."
"I love you, too."
"Let's go home."
I nodded. "Home sounds great."
We started walking toward the woods. Jason jogged to catch up with us. I realized that Nicky was still standing back by the grave. I looked at him, so tall, so muscular, and so lost.
"What do I do with him?"
"What do you do with any of us?" Micah asked.
"He's a stranger, and he tried to kill us all."
"He would do anything you told him to do, Anita," Jason said. "He seems to have even less free will than the rest of us do."
"I did it on purpose, Jason. I took everything from him on purpose."
"You did what you had to do, so you could come back to us," Micah said.
"I really wanted a puppy," Nathaniel said, "but I guess we could say he followed us home, too."
"I told you we'd think about a dog."
"In the meantime can we take the kitten home?"
"He's not a kitten," I said.
"He looks like one."
I looked at Nicky by the grave and knew what he meant. He looked so alone, but he made no move to follow us, as if he'd simply stand there by the grave until I told him to do something else. Had I told him to stay by the grave? I couldn't remember.
"We can't leave him