“My husband will be green with envy.” Natalie paused. “You won’t be able to tell, because he’ll be making this face.” She held her expression perfectly still, with a slight frown between her eyebrows. “But he will be.”

Murphy smiled and decided that a vampire who could charm the witty Ms. Ellis was probably a vampire he would enjoy knowing.

“Holly, can you close up the office and call Ozzie?” Anne asked her assistant. “We’ll be heading out.”

They waited on the sidewalk in the misty Dublin air until Ozzie’s familiar profile came into view behind the wheel of the black sedan. He pulled to the curb, and Murphy helped both ladies into the car, taking special care with Natalie, who was more than a little off-balance with her pregnancy.

“When are you due?” he asked. “With… the child?”

“This little pipsqueak is six months along,” Natalie said, patting her belly. “So she’ll be born in early spring. Then this will be it. We’ve got fang-related plans after that.”

Anne asked, “When the children are young?”

Natalie sighed. “That’s the somewhat constant source of debate in our household, but I doubt you want to hear about that.”

Anne promptly changed the subject. “We’ve heard good things from California. Lucien seems to have encouraging areas of research.”

Natalie nodded. “The blood samples taken from those humans in Gibraltar got him really excited. Something about vaccines and antibodies?”

Murphy and Anne exchanged a glance. A vaccine sounded promising.

While various pharmaceutical companies around the world were quietly researching a cure for Elixir in vampires, Lucien Thrax was the only vampire to Murphy’s knowledge who was targeting a cure for humans. Baojia, whom Murphy would be meeting with later that night, was chief of security for his research facility. Thrax’s reasoning was that if the Elixir could be cured in humans, then the vampire infection problem would take care of itself. Cured humans meant a safer blood supply.

Of course, that still left the problem of detecting infected blood.

But if humans were vaccinated, initial infection might not even occur.

They were heading out to Carwyn and Brigid’s home well after any traffic clogged the roads, so they arrived in quick order. Pulling up to Carwyn’s grand estate made Murphy wonder if Anne found their smaller home lacking.

“Why are you frowning?” she asked, slipping her hand into his.

“Do you want a larger home?”

“No, why?”

“I just wondered.”

“I like your place now that you’ve made room for my things in the closet.”

It still grated. Maybe he’d buy them a new place just so she could have her own closet. His had been so perfectly organized…

Anne asked him, “Do you have any desire for children?”

“I don’t. Not the mortal variety that requires nappies, anyway. You?”

“I raised four brothers and sisters when my mother died. That was more than enough for me.”

“I can’t blame you for that. Come,” he said, tugging her hand. “Let’s go meet the assassin with the toddler.”

As it happened, they met both the assassin and the toddler once Carwyn’s butler had let them in. The vampire was pacing in the downstairs hallway, a tiny, dark-haired boy clinging to his chest. Baojia was of medium height and build, though Murphy could detect the quick energy of a lethal predator even as the immortal held the vulnerable child.

Then the assassin spun toward them, and Murphy realized the vampire was even more dangerous than he’d expected. He had never seen eyes that cold. This was why whatever law governed their unnatural life had decided that his race could not breed. While Murphy was dangerous, he suspected nothing was deadlier than this creature protecting his young.

The man’s eyes turned toward his mate and softened just enough to lower the tension in the hallway.

“I tried,” Baojia said, voice low. “There were five stories, three songs, and two glasses of water. He refuses to go to sleep.”

Natalie winced when the small child’s head popped up. The baby turned and held out his arms.

“Mama!”

“Wide awake.” Natalie sighed, taking the baby. “I blame the father and uncle who wake him up at all hours to play.”

“You know the solution to this,” Baojia said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I don’t like it when you do that. It’s not natural.”

“Neither is traveling in a giant plane across the ocean, my love. Please.” He walked to Natalie, cupping her cheek with his hand and kissing her mouth. “Please.”

“Okay…” Natalie held out the little boy, whose cap of dark hair was mussed and who rubbed his eyes stubbornly. “Night, baby.” She kissed his cheek as the child started to fuss.

“Come here, little man,” Baojia said, brushing a hand over the top of his son’s head and down his back, resting his palm under his pale green T-shirt. “You’re going to feel much better right about… now.”

In seconds, the child was snoring.

Anne laughed. “You used amnis!”

Natalie shook her head. “That still feels like cheating.”

A true smile spread across Baojia’s solemn face. “But it’s so quiet.”

“Here,” Natalie said, “give him to me. I’ll put him to bed while you guys talk.”