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When he dropped Emma off at Austin's apartment, she insisted he leave her be. He still worried that she nursed regrets. Hell, he had some doubts himself. Not about his feelings. He knew he cared deeply for Emma. He just didn't know if it was fair to woo her when he was undead. How could such a relationship work?
After making her promise not to go out hunting alone, he teleported to Roman's townhouse. The alarm went off the second he materialized in the foyer.
Connor rushed in from the parlor, his claymore drawn, while at the same time, Ian dashed in from the kitchen.
"Och, 'tis you." Ian turned and headed back into the kitchen. "Ye should learn to call first."
Angus watched Connor sheathing his sword. "Why are ye here? Ye should be guarding Roman and Shanna."
Connor gave him an exasperated look. "They're here. Ye dinna show up for Mass, so we all came here to see you."
"Mass?" Angus winced. "I... forgot. I was busy."
"So we heard." Connor's mouth twitched. "Jean-Luc called about an hour ago with an interesting story."
"Bugger." Angus frowned. Now the teasing would begin. "I have some work to do upstairs."
"Angus, I can hear you," Roman shouted from the parlor. "Come on in."
Connor chuckled as Angus trudged toward the open double doors of the parlor. Three maroon couches surrounded three sides of a square coffee table. The fourth side was taken up with a huge wide-screen television that was turned off.
"Here's Angus," Connor announced as he entered the parlor. He strolled to the couch on the right where Gregori sat.
"What?" Gregori stared at Angus, dumbfounded. "What happened to his skirt?"
Connor cuffed Gregori on the head before sitting down.
"Ouch. See what I put up with, Father?" Gregori muttered to the elderly man on the middle couch.
"I shall pray for you," the priest answered, smiling. He stood and greeted Angus.
"Father Andrew." Angus bowed his head to the priest he recognized from Roman's wedding. "How are you?"
"My life has become much more interesting since the night I took Roman's confession."
Angus nodded, then noticed Shanna struggling to get up from the couch on the left. She was huge. As he watched Roman assist his pregnant wife to her feet, a memory flashed from long ago. Joy and pride on the birth of his three children. Worry and guilt over the labor his wife had endured. And then pain and betrayal when he'd tried to return to them after the Battle of Flodden Field. He'd felt sure his wife would understand his new undead status.
She had not. She'd forbidden him to ever see his children again. In anger, he'd disobeyed and watched them grow over the years. And watched them die.
If he pursued Emma, wouldn't he be asking for that same pain and despair all over again? He would have to watch her die. If they had mortal children, using Roman's scientific technique, he would have to witness their deaths, too.
"Are you all right?" Roman asked quietly as he gave Angus a quick hug.
Angus noted the sharpening of Roman's eyes. Bugger. Roman could always see right through him. "Could we talk later?"
"Of course." Roman stepped aside for his wife.
"Angus, it's so good to see you." Shanna kissed his cheek.
"Ye're looking grand, lass."
She laughed. "More like mucho grande."
"She's about to pop," Gregori muttered, then winced when Connor elbowed him in the ribs.
"I feel like bursting." Shanna rubbed her enormous belly. "The baby's already dropped."
"We've decided to induce labor this Friday night." Roman guided her back to the couch. "That way, we can be sure the Vamp doctors will be awake and ready."
"Ye have more than one doctor?" Angus asked as he rounded the middle couch to take a seat next to the priest.
"Two, just to be safe. I'm not taking any chances." Roman helped Shanna sit.
"You worry too much." She settled on the couch. "This baby is perfectly fine."
Roman sat beside her, frowning. "I've prepared a delivery room at Romatech. Just in case."
In case the bairn wasn't human? Angus could understand Roman's reluctance to have Shanna deliver in a mortal hospital.
Shanna shook her head. "I'm telling you, this baby is perfectly normal. It kicks me during the day as much as night."
"I agree," Father Andrew said. "I've been praying, and I have a very good feeling about this child."
"Thank you. Gregori's mother said the same thing." Shanna took Roman's hand and smiled at him. "And you know Radinka is never wrong."
Father Andrew turned toward Angus. "Roman has been telling me some fascinating things about you."
"All lies, for certain."
The priest smiled. "Then you weren't knighted for heroism during World War II?"
Angus shrugged. "That was over sixty years ago."
"Aye, and he's been a coward ever since," Connor added with twinkling eyes.
Angus gave his old Scottish friend an annoyed look while everyone laughed.
Ian marched into the room with a tray full of drinks. He set the tray on the coffee table and handed a glass of ice water to Shanna, then a glass of wine to the priest. All the Vamps helped themselves to an empty glass.
Connor grabbed the bottle of Blissky and poured himself a drink. "Grand stuff, Roman." He passed the bottle to Gregori.
Gregori filled his glass to the brim, then passed the bottle to Angus.
"I'm glad you like it." Roman accepted the bottle next, then passed it on to Ian.
Connor stood, raising his glass in the air. "To Shanna, Roman, and the bairn. May ye be healthy and happy."
Everyone murmured in agreement and drank.
"What have you been up to, Angus?" Shanna asked. "We heard you went on a picnic."
The male Vamps snickered.
Angus glared at them. "It was business. I've been trying to talk sense into the vampire slayer."
Connor snorted. "Talk sense to a female? That's doomed from the beginning."
Shanna huffed. "Excuse me."
"Begging yer pardon." Connor raised a hand in peace. "Unfortunately, this particular female works for yer father, and I'm certain he's poisoned her mind against us."
"Probably so." Shanna nodded, then turned to Angus. "Would you like me to talk to her? She might listen to another mortal."
"I'm doing fine," Angus grumbled. "I can handle it."
"There's no reason for ye to do it alone," Connor said.
Angus shot him an irritated look. "I'm doing well. We made a great deal of progress tonight."
Gregori snorted with laughter. "Yeah, we heard. She was barefoot and half - ouch." He glared at Connor, who'd elbowed him in the ribs.
"Did ye convince her to stop slaying?" Connor asked.
Angus shrugged. "Somewhat. She trusts me now." He glanced down to make sure his long coat covered up the bulge in his pants. His erection had gone down quite a bit, but the jeans were still uncomfortably tight. He should have worn his kilt.
"There's something different about you." Roman studied Angus. "I know. You're not carrying your claymore. That's highly unusual."
Angus shrugged. "I could hardly convince her I mean no harm if I was armed."
"Well, I think it's sweet," Shanna announced. "A picnic in Paris in the spring. Very romantic. I'm proud of you."
Angus gulped down some Blissky, too aware of the amused glances from the male Vamps in the room.
"Are you injured?" Father Andrew gestured to Angus's wrist, which was still red and raw with welts.
"I had an encounter with a pair of silver handcuffs," Angus grumbled. "Nothing I couldn't handle."
Gregori sat forward, his eyes twinkling. "She handcuffed you? Boy, she's hot."
Angus glowered at him.
Connor frowned. "That doesna sound like progress to me."
"I think you should let me talk to her," Shanna insisted.
"No." Roman shook his head. "If you arrange a meeting with Miss Wallace, she might let your father know, and he would try to kidnap you."
Shanna sighed.
"Roman's right," Angus said. "Emma told me that rescuing you is your father's top priority. She's starting to trust me, but that trust is verra new. She only learned tonight about the difference between Vamps and Malcontents, and she's still struggling with the idea that some of us can be decent folk."
