were still hidden by black sunglasses as he entered the house, studying every detail about him. The muscles pulsed in his jaw; his biceps twitched every few seconds like he was straining not to punch something unseen. The muscles in his broad shoulders were so tight that they'd bunched into thick cords. She surveyed his golden-bronze complexion, searching for any signs of demon attack, and came away wanting.
Damn. Why did she ask him for tahini . . . ? She could have figured out something else, eaten anything else-it wasn't that important. She should have stopped him! The entire team had been lying low for weeks; nobody had ventured off the compound grounds. But he'd seemed so happy to be finally getting out for a drive.So confident. She'd never forgive herself if she'd sent him on a stupid grub run and he'd gotten ambushed. She took a steadying breath and closed the door behind her.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm good . . . did you pray over those chips before you ate 'em?" Carlos glanced at her and then raced to the trash can as he slung her falafel platter onto the counter. "Benedicti-"
"Hold it, hold it,hold it, Carlos." Damali rushed up to him and held on to both his arms. "If you're doing ancient Latin benedictions over a dead potato chip bag like an exorcism, you mind telling me-your wife-what's going on?"
"Everything's cool," Carlos said, wiping at the sweat on his brow. "No need to getyourself all worked up. We just have to be diligent, have to be sure you don't get poisoned again. If you pray over your food-"
"Who came to you?" She stared at him without blinking.
"Nobody, it's just for good measure."
"You used to be able to lie so smooth . . . humph, humph, humph," she said with a half smile, shaking her head. "I guess there's been improvement, growth. You can't lie to me anymore without me knowing."
"Baby, I got your platter the way you wanted it," he said, guiding her to the counter and then pulling out a stool for her to sit down on. "Let's say the Lord's Prayer over it, then you can eat, and I'll pour you something to drink-"
"No offense, but the Lord's Prayer is a little intense over a falafel platter, don't you think? What about the normal grace that takes all of five seconds?" She was baiting him, but he just shrugged and tried to play it off.
"Naw, it's just that we need to be more careful nowadays."
"Carlos Rivera," Damali said quietly, folding her arms over her chest. "Who did you see and what's going on?" She let her breath out hard when he didn't immediately answer. "Keeping things from me doesn't protect me-it makes me worry. I'd rather know if something bad was about to jump off than get blindsided by it . . . you oughta know me better than that by now."
Carlos took off his sunglasses and dragged his fingers through his hair, sliding the glasses across the counter. He looked both ways and then stepped in close to her, keeping his voice low.
"My job is to help protect you through all of this . . . to keep you chilled out. The whole time you're carrying, everything happening around you needs to be real peace so the baby doesn't go through any trauma because you, my lady, ain't gotta go through no bullshit."
Damali reached up, cradled his face, and gently kissed him. "Impossible job, given who we are and what we do, but I appreciate the sentiment." She leaned closer, almost falling off the stool to hug him while he stood next to her, roughly rubbing her back. Even his touch was off. Both of his huge hands felt like anvils as they tried to pat her shoulders before he stepped away from her, spiking her alarm at the amount of tension riddling his body.
"Tell me," she said in a firm but gentle tone.
"Padre," Carlos finally admitted in a quiet voice. "He prays for you before you eat anything, even when you forget."
Damali caught his hand and pulled him in close, then laid her head on his shoulder and hugged him hard. "I know you miss him . . . is that what this is about?"
"I miss a lot of people, D," he admitted, pushing a stray lock that had worked its way loose from her ponytail behind her ear.
"Then what's wrong?" Damali pulled back and looked deeply into his eyes. "Why else did Padre