“It can wait,” I said.

His arm got tight again and his hand came to the side of my face. “It’s the only place we’ve seen we both like. It’s right. You’l stil be close to Nick and I’l be close to the office. I don’t want to lose it, make the offer.”

“I can’t think of anything but Tex right now. There’l be another house –”

“Let us worry about Tex. You take care of our family.”

“Crowe –”

His body shifted back a few inches and his hand went to my bel y. He liked to put his hand there, these days he slept with his hand there.

It should probably be said I liked it when he put his hand there. Maybe even more than he liked to have it there.

“I want to be settled before he comes, Princess,” Vance said quietly. “Make the offer.”

My eyes narrowed at what he’d slipped in, thinking he could get away with it.

We’d been having an ongoing argument about the baby’s sex since I hit my second trimester. Neither of us wanted to know (for certain) so we hadn’t asked the doctor.

For some reason (probably hormones), this argument honestly annoyed me. Vance (and now Nick was in on the act) thought it was hilarious. In fact, they both brought it up regularly and it had advanced. Now we were fighting about names.

“It’s not a he. It’s a she. And her name is going to be Rebecca Ann, for Auntie Reba.”

His lips formed a smal smile, his hand left my bel y, he got close again and both his arms went tight around me.

“As much as I’d like you to have a girl to name after your aunt, it’s gonna be a boy. And we’re namin’ him Max,” Vance returned.

See what I mean?

“It’s a girl but if it should be a boy, we’re naming him Harry,” I shot back.

“I’m not namin’ a kid Harry.”

“Yes you are. Harry’s a good name.”

“Harry’s a name for someone else’s kid not my kid.”

“Crowe –”

His face came close. “You know I enjoy fightin’ about this with you, Jules but I got shit to do.”

My body got stil and I nodded. His mouth came to mine and he gave me a brief kiss. Then he walked away, hands at his belt.

“You want toast?” I yel ed to his departing back.

“I’l make it,” he yel ed back, disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door.

“I’m thinking that’s a good choice,” I told Boo who was sitting on the kitchen floor, his big, black, bushy tail sweeping widely, giving me a kitty pouty face, not at al pleased that Vance had come in and given me al the attention.

“Meow,” Boo agreed.

* * * * *

I hit King’s Shelter, getting there by police escort, something which, hormones or not, I found annoying, since, in my day (as in, a few months ago), I could kick some serious ass and I no sooner got through the door when May was bearing down. May was a volunteer at the Shelter and even though she was thirty years older than me, she was my closest friend.

She had a tough hide, a soft center (literal y and figuratively) and a heart of gold.

“We got a problem,” she announced.

I opened my mouth to ask but I saw what the problem was immediately.

Roam was in the room.

“I’l take care of this,” I told May and stalked to Roam.

The minute I made it to him, I demanded, “What are you doing here? You should be in school.”

Roam was with Clarice who was a runaway too but now she spent a lot time with the tutors, a lot of time with Daisy and, even though she was just seventeen, was more like a volunteer than one of the kids. She kept the kids in line, helped to get them off the streets, quietly fed info to the social workers and sometimes talked the kids into sessions with the tutors.

Roam and Clarice were talking with a couple of other kids, both of whom were new around the Shelter so I didn’t know them very wel .

Roam’s eyes came to me and he got up from where he was sitting on the back of the couch.

“Law,” he said and that was it.

He walked several steps away and I assumed he expected me to fol ow.

When he stopped and gave me a look, I realized I was not wrong.

Roam had been one of my kids. In a way, even though he was sixteen now, living with Shirleen and growing up fast, he stil was one.

A special one.

Seven months ago, he took a bul et to save my life. In turn, I took two to save his and kil ed a man. We didn’t talk about this but, obviously, we were close. With May and Sniff, he’d stood up with me at my wedding.

Vance had taken both Roam and Sniff under his wing and when they weren’t at school, out on dates with girls, doing homework or being given tough love by Shirleen, they worked the surveil ance room at Nightingale Investigations.

It was unusual but sometimes they went on ride-alongs with Vance and lately Luke had been taking them out too.

However, Roam cal ing me by my street name and then arrogantly expecting me to fol ow him smacked way too much of the Crowe Effect. In fact, it was so Hot Bunch-like that I was thinking maybe he should have his time at Nightingale Investigations curtailed.

Even though I wanted to say something, I fol owed him.

The kids at the Shelter respected him. He’d been out on the street a long time and made it through. He’d lost his best friend to bad drugs and he’d taken a bul et for me. Now he was in a good home, getting an education and, there was no other way to say it, he was a Nightingale Investigations Apprentice. The Nightingale Men had a badass reputation.

Roam hanging with them was huge.

When I made it to him, in a low voice, I snapped, “Why aren’t you at school?”

“May have a line on Tex,” he replied.

I blinked but the rest of my body froze. I came unstuck, grabbed his arm and pul ed him further away.

May came up to us and got close. “What’s goin’ on?” I ignored May, my eyes glued on Roam. “Talk.”

“Some kids saw somethin’. They know who Tex is, gave me a cal . Sniff and I snuck out last night, took Shirleen’s Navigator and started checkin’ things out. Sniff’s watchin’

the building the kids said they took him into. I been makin’

the rounds, askin’ questions. I think it might be true,” Roam answered.

“Have you told Vance this?” I asked.

“Didn’t want to look the fool if it wasn’t gonna –” Roam started but I interrupted.

“Cal him. Right now. Tel him everything you know.”