He told her, “Xavier’s downstairs.”

She nodded, looking unsurprised. Moving quickly, they both cleaned up. Julian straightened his clothes, while she dressed again. Just as he was about to open the door, she paused.

“You go ahead,” she told him. “I have something I need to do first.”

His mind had leaped ahead to the search, so he kissed her. “Join us when you can.”

She nodded. He left, loping down the stairs. It was past time to locate and stake Justine, so they could get on with their lives.

As soon as Julian had left, Melly walked over to the armchair and collapsed into it. As she did so, the metal shutters on the bedroom windows quietly eased up, revealing the bright, sunny day outside. The shutters worked as discreetly as the rest of the household. Julian had a full house of attendants, but they were well trained and unobtrusive. The only attendant she had seen so far was Gregoire.

Now that she was alone, without the buffer of Julian’s powerful presence to focus on, all the many emotions she had been avoiding came crashing in.

Desultorily, she inspected the food tray again and nibbled on cheese and a few grapes as she worked to collect her thoughts. While she appreciated everything Julian had said earlier, she honestly didn’t know if she could look Bailey in the face without plunging into a heated confrontation.

And she didn’t have time to reflect and settle on a course of action. Bailey was due to arrive within the next half hour.

At least, Melly could settle one question right away. Taking her phone, she tapped out her mother’s number.

Tatiana answered on the first ring. “Melly. Are you all right? Has Bailey arrived?”

“No, not yet. She’ll be here soon.” Melly was gripping the phone too tightly again. “Mom, I have to ask you something. I know it’s going to seem like it’s coming out of nowhere, but… did you have anything to do with Julian’s and my breakup?”

“Did I what? I would never do anything to hurt you like that. If I felt like you shouldn’t have been with Julian, I would have told you so directly.” Her voice hardened. “He isn’t trying to claim such a thing, is he?”

“No, not at all.” Tatiana was not above manipulation if it suited her purposes, which was why Melly had to ask her, but it was really good to hear the sincerity in her mom’s voice. Relief made Melly feel lighter and more clearheaded. She rubbed her forehead. “We recently discovered some things, and I just needed to ask. I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings.”

“Don’t concern yourself with that. What things did you discover?”

“I’ll have to explain everything later. Right now I don’t have time.” She paused, thinking. “How did you feel about Julian when we were together? You never said anything at the time. I know you’ve been really angry with him.”

“He hurt you badly, and I never forgot or forgave that. But when you originally got together, I was guarded yet willing to be open-minded about the prospect. As long as he treated you well, and you were happy, I could be happy for you.” Her mother’s voice turned dry. “And, of course, there were potential advantages.”

Biting back a smile, she said, “Of course.”

“Are you and he involved again? Because if you are, I have to tell you, he has got to work damn hard to make up for everything that happened.”

“I’ll make sure he knows that,” she told her mother. “And yes, we are romantically involved again. Please try to keep an open mind. We were manipulated into breaking up. What happened before wasn’t all his fault.”

Tatiana’s voice turned cold and crisp. “Not true. You are my daughter. I raised you, and I know better than anyone what a good and generous heart you have. He should have had faith in you, no matter what.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. It was clearly going to take some time to build some bridges.

“I will say this much.” The reluctance in Tatiana’s voice was clear. “When we discovered you were missing, and I called to ask him to come, he did so without hesitation. And as you said, he tried to exchange himself for you, so I’ll grant him a small amount of leeway. Very small, Melly. Very, very small.”

“Understood.” She smiled. “Listen, I’d better go. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

“All right, darling. Be safe.”

“I will.”

Disconnecting, she blew out a breath. At least her immediate family hadn’t conspired together to take a wrecking ball to her love life, so there was that.

No, she was beginning to think that Bailey might have acted on her own. Hotheaded, impulsive Bailey who lived hard, broke the rules, and who had once called Julian a bloodsucking boneheaded bastard.

Had Ferion been a willing participant, or had he thought he was just playing a little sex game when Bailey whipped out a wig?

Oh, that was downright skeevy. Melly made a face. She was going to have to break her fist on his face too, the next time she saw him.

Slipping on the slender, new house shoes that Gregoire had purchased for her, she took one more bite of cheese and headed out of the suite.

Following the sound of voices, she made her way through the downstairs level to Julian’s study. The room was darker than the rest of house, heavy on traditional décor, with wood paneling, oak floors, an imported Persian rug and a massive mahogany desk. A small sitting area with plain, cream furniture took up one end of the room.

As she entered, she found Julian and Xavier leaning over a street map that had been spread out on the surface of his desk. A young, dark-haired human woman with striking, angular features sat in the sitting area, listening to the men’s conversation with an intent expression.

After giving the unknown woman a curious glance, Melly focused on Xavier and Julian.

Xavier was the perfect example of how looks could be deceiving. While he appeared to be a pleasant, somewhat nondescript young man in his early twenties, in reality he was a Powerful Vampyre at least four hundred years old, a gentleman to his core, and a deadly fighter.

Beside Julian’s larger, more muscular build, Xavier appeared almost delicate to Melly’s eyes. It was another deception. His slim build contained a steely strength.

The occupants in the room looked up as she entered.

She went straight to Xavier, who stepped forward to give her a hug. He told her, “Melly, I am so glad you’re all right.”