“And if our goals aren’t the same?”

   Nicky looked at him, and that one blue eye looked colder, like spring skies when there’s a sudden frost and all the flowers die. “Then I won’t have your six.”

   “So if our goals diverge, I shouldn’t trust you?”

   “You’ve been in this business longer than I have; trusting anyone is for suckers.”

   “You trust Anita.”

   “If I couldn’t trust her I don’t think I would be in love with her.”

   The van went around a bend of the road a little fast, and we all reached for things to hold on to. Nathaniel held my hand tighter, and I reached for Nicky’s arm; it was like holding on to a warm, flesh-covered tree, or maybe a rock. His biceps were sort of epic.

   “I’ll never have arms half as good as this, no matter how much I lift,” I said.

   “You’d look silly with arms as big as Nicky’s,” Dev said.

   I smiled. “I know, but it’s still unfair that the men have the edge in the gym.”

   “You can have babies,” Nolan said.

   “That is so not a good trade-off,” I said, but I let myself lean my head against Nicky’s shoulder, my hand still around his arm.

   “You know I’d have the baby for us if I could,” Nathaniel said.

   I rose up from leaning against Nicky and fought not to give an unhappy face to Nathaniel. “I know, and I wish you could, because I so am not looking forward to being pregnant.”

   “It might be nice to have babies underfoot again,” Jake said, looking at Dev.

   “Don’t look at me. I’m still trying to figure out the romance part. I think babies are a step above that.”

   “Sharing a baby can be romantic in a way,” Nolan said.

   “I have a story or two about babies; one of them is even about this one,” Jake said.

   Dev smiled and patted his arm. “There’s nothing romantic about changing diapers; I remember that story.”

   “I am a very old friend of the family, enough that I babysat on occasion,” Jake said, to Nolan’s look.

   “What story?” I asked.

   Dev shook his head. “I’m armed to the teeth and about to help you hunt big bad vampires. I would like to do that without Jake telling any stories that include me in diapers or in elementary school.”

   “I bet you were an adorable baby,” Nathaniel said, smiling.

   Dev smiled back. “I was, but I don’t need to be reminded that I’m the youngest one here.”

   “You don’t mind that sort of thing normally,” I said.

   “Maybe I want to be a grown-up.”

   I remembered being his age and having things to prove. “Okay, you’re a grown-up. We can save the embarrassing stories for later.”

   “I think I may even have pictures on my phone of him as a baby,” Jake said.

   “You’re just teasing me now. You do not have my baby pictures on your phone.”

   Jake got his phone out without a word and pulled up the pictures. He swiped though until he came to one and showed it to Dev, who got a strange look on his face. He wasn’t unhappy, but he was deeply surprised.

   “I didn’t think you kept pictures of us,” Dev said as he handed back the phone.

   “I know,” Jake said.

   “Wait. I want to see,” Nathaniel said.

   He looked at Dev, who shook his head. “Later,” Jake said, and put the phone away.

   “Old family friend, is it?” Nolan said.

   Jake looked at him. “I never had children of my own.”

   Dev put his arm around the older man and said, “Sentimental bastard,” and kissed his forehead. Jake pushed him away, smiling, calling him a cheeky child or something, but Dev was smiling more like his old self again. When people ask if love can last they always seem to mean romantic love, but there are all kinds of love, and they can all last.

42

   THE ENCLOSED VANS were opened inside a garage that looked as if it had been emptied of its contents just minutes before we arrived. There were two new people already in civilian clothes waiting for us; the clothes might have looked street normal, but if you knew what to look for, you could see where the dangerous toys were hiding. They stayed with us while Nolan and the others went to change, because one thing Nolan had to agree to was more civilian clothing and less looking like a soldier. He had enough clout that we had the vampires with us, but not enough to let him run around Dublin looking like a paramilitary bad guy from the latest action flick. Nolan requested that Edward come with them. He told me he’d be right back, I said fine, and we were down a man just like that, but they were down two, so I guess we were still ahead.

   Flannery was as tall as Nolan, Brennan, and Griffin, like they were the beginnings of a sports team; even Donnie was almost as tall as the men and had that same easy physicality that only those who have been gifted athletes, or at least incredibly physical, their whole lives seem to have. Flannery was dark like Brennan, not as handsome, but his smile was bright and made you smile back before you thought about it. I’d take a little less attractive in exchange for pleasant. I’d had my fill of beautiful but moody men, or women for that matter.

   Flannery’s jacket fit too tight across his shoulders, so his shoulder holster printed, worse on his left side where the gun sat. It looked like either the jacket was borrowed or he’d gained body mass since he bought it. I caught a glimpse of the extra ammo magazine under his right arm held in a leather pocket. Most people wouldn’t realize what that glimpse of dark leather was, but then we weren’t most people.

   Mortimer—Mort—was the shortest of the team at five-six, but he moved like he had springs that propelled him forward, energy contained in a body that was honed down to muscle and compact flesh. In a jacket bulky enough to hide the guns, he looked delicate the way that Micah did in sloppy clothes, but I knew physical potential too well to believe that he was as dainty as he looked; I was betting that a lot of bigger men had underestimated him, and regretted it.

   I knew this wasn’t all Nolan’s team; Donahue had said she was Donnie because there was a second Donahue on the team. Flannery explained that they would be accompanying us pretty much everywhere from this point on. “One of us for every two of you,” he said, still smiling, but his brown eyes were smiling with him, as if he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do than babysit armed strangers while they hunted vampires in his city. Of course, maybe Nolan hadn’t shared all the intel he had, and there might be more going on than he was sharing with us. Military who have worked black ops for too long not only know how to keep a secret but start doing it even when they don’t have to, or maybe that was just how it had affected Edward. My experience with people in this line of work was actually pretty limited when I thought about it. I just felt I knew more of them, because the ones I did know I knew so damn well.