at her still face. Even asleep, she looked exhausted and wrung out. Magnus suspected nothing short of a transfusion would fix that, and hoped there was word from the lab when they reached the house.
“Here we are,” Teddy announced suddenly, and turned off the road onto a cement driveway.
There wasn’t much to see when Magnus looked up. The road was blocked from view on one side of them by a line of evergreen bushes; a garage was in front of them, and a high wooden fence ran along their other side from the corner of the garage to back behind them and out of his line of vision.
“Right,” Teddy said as he shut off the engine. “Dani, why don’t you and Mr. Bjarnesen take Miss Chambers inside and out of the cold while Decker and I see to the luggage . . . such as it is,” he added dryly as he opened his door and got out.
Magnus smiled faintly at the police chief’s comment as he undid his seat belt. There wasn’t much luggage to bother with. Just his suitcase and Allie’s two backpacks that she called Go bags. Tybo, Decker, and Dani hadn’t had time to pack anything and planned to shop tomorrow for necessities to see them through for a couple of days. So he wasn’t surprised that the two men had the baggage in hand and the back of the SUV closed before he’d even finished getting Allie out of the SUV. Very aware that Allie was mortal, Magnus had moved slowly and carefully to ensure he didn’t bang her head, arms, or legs into anything as he maneuvered cautiously out of the vehicle.
The second SUV, an unmarked one, was pulling in as Dani led them to a gate in the fence. As he paused to wait for her to open it, Magnus noted that Teddy and Decker were stopping to wait for the others. He briefly considered waiting as well so that Liam could see that his mother was all right. The boy had been anxious at being separated from her on landing, but it was extremely cold, and Allie was already in a weakened condition. He decided the less time they spent in the cold, the better, and quickly followed Dani through the gate when she held it open for him.
A short sidewalk led to a large deck that started halfway along the back of the house and wrapped around the side. Magnus wasn’t terribly surprised when Liam and Teddy Jr. caught up to them as they mounted the steps to the deck. The boys didn’t say anything; they merely fell into step on either side of him, Liam’s anxious gaze shifting between his mother and where he was going as they crossed the deck.
Magnus had just opened his mouth to assure the lad that his mother would be fine when the sound of a door opening drew his attention.
“Come in, come in. Out of the cold,” a pretty blonde greeted them, smiling in welcome as she held the door open.
“Oh, Mabel, hello,” Dani sighed, pausing briefly to hug the woman before leading the way past her and into the house.
Magnus nodded in greeting as he led the two boys inside, and then found himself entering a kitchen with an L-shaped counter that he followed Dani around to make room for the others now trooping into the house. A dining area was situated past the kitchen, separated only by the counter, and Dani led himself and the boys to stand next to the table before stopping, and turning back to look Allie over briefly.
“How long until the sedative wears off?” Magnus asked.
“Not for hours,” Dani assured him. “Which is fine—she needs the rest.”
He nodded in agreement and then the sound of creaking wood caught his ear. They were standing almost under a large archway into a spacious entry with double doors on one end and a curving staircase at the other. The creaking was someone descending the wooden staircase, he realized as a redhead hurried down to join them.
“Dani, love.” The newcomer enfolded Dani in a warm and welcoming embrace, rocking her slightly from side to side. “It’s been too long, dear.”
“Only since last summer, Elvi,” Dani protested as she hugged her back.
“As I said, too long.” The woman Magnus now knew must be Elvi Argeneau smiled at him over Dani’s shoulder, and then pulled back to tell Dani, “Steph should be down in a minute. She has been excited ever since she heard