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"I can't control them. I get excited, and they pop out."
"I have a similar problem." With a wry smile, he motioned to his erection.
She gave him a clinically assessing look. "That's a rather large problem, but fortunately, I know exactly how to solve it."
"Do you?" He kissed her brow.
"Oh yeah." She was just about to get a handle on the problem when another hunger pain struck. "Aagh." She rubbed her stomach.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have kept you from your meal." He pulled a warm bottle from the microwave and poured the contents into a glass. "Here." He added a straw, then handed it to her.
It was embarrassing to need a straw, but she found it difficult to drink from a glass with extended fangs. At least she was getting used to the taste. Roman claimed that eventually she would enjoy it. She was still waiting for that to happen. After a few sips, the hunger pangs in her belly lessened and her fangs receded.
"Better?" Roman asked as he poured his own glass.
She nodded, still sipping on the straw.
A knock pounded on their door. "Mom! Dad!"
She whirled toward the door, her heart lurching. "Constantine?"
"What's wrong?" Roman called out. He'd already dashed to the dresser, and he was pulling on some underwear at vampire speed.
"See, Grandma?" Constantine whispered, although Shanna could still hear. "I knew they'd be awake."
"Yes," Darlene responded on the other side of the door. "But you have to give them time to have their breakfast and get dressed."
"I need them now!" Tino insisted.
"I want my mommy," Sofia whimpered.
"We'll be right there!" Shanna hurried to the restroom, then threw on an old T-shirt and pair of sweatpants. Roman had finished dressing and was shoving his feet into shoes while he downed his glass of blood.
He dashed to the door, unlocked it, and flung it open. "What's wrong?" He knelt in front of Tino and Sofia, looking them over. "Are you hurt?"
"They're fine," Darlene assured them. "But they're upset."
"Why?" Shanna's heart squeezed at the sight of Tino's tear-stained cheeks and the forlorn look in her daughter's eyes. "What happened?"
Tino's chin wobbled. "He left. Again."
"Who?" Roman asked.
"Howard." Tino sniffed. "He was so mad. I'm afraid he'll never come back."
"What?" Shanna glanced at her mother for an explanation.
"I'm not sure what happened, but Howard literally roared a few hours ago. Everyone in the building heard it." Darlene winced. "That is, everyone who was awake. We all went to see what was wrong, but he just growled at us. Then he grabbed his car keys and ran out the door."
"It was scary," Sofia whispered, edging close to her mom.
"Sweetie." Shanna lifted her into her arms. "It'll be all right."
Roman picked up his son and headed toward the stairs. "Don't worry, Tino. We'll figure out what happened."
"Phil might know," Darlene said as they climbed the stairs. "He arrived about twenty minutes ago."
"I thought he was at Romatech."
"He was." Darlene paused on the landing. "He said Howard called him from the airport in Albany and asked him to come here and take his place."
"Does that mean Howard won't come back?" Tino asked.
"We can't be sure," Shanna told him.
They reached the ground floor and spotted a small crowd hanging around the entrance to the security office, mostly werewolf and were-panther students, along with a few mortal teachers.
Toni greeted them. "I just got here. I was downstairs with Ian. He'll be here as soon as he gets dressed."
Shanna nodded. "Let's continue with the usual schedule."
While Toni and the teachers herded the students toward the cafeteria, Shanna and her family entered the security office.
Phil was pacing back and forth behind the desk, his face dark with rage.
Something had to be terribly wrong, and Shanna wasn't sure the children should hear it. She passed Sofia to her mother. "I think the children should have their supper now."
Sofia frowned. "We already ate."
"I don't want to leave." Tino wriggled out of his father's arms and climbed into the chair facing the desk.
Phil clenched his fists, clearly trying to control his anger. "I need to join Howard. I can't stay here doing nothing."
"What happened?" Roman asked. "Is there a security problem?"
Phil took a deep breath. "Everything's under control here. And everything's fine at Romatech, too. Austin just got back from Eastern Europe, and he's taken over the security office there. It'll be safe for you to go to work tonight."
"That's good," Roman replied. "So what's going on with Howard?"
Phil leaned over the keyboard to punch some buttons. "When I arrived, I found this window open on the monitor. Take a look." He moved out of the way.
Shanna and Roman skirted the desk so they could read the monitor. As she scanned the online newspaper article, a chill ran down her back.
"Oh my God," she breathed.
Roman muttered a curse.
Tino sat up. "What's wrong?"
She swallowed hard. "Someone . . . passed away." That was putting it as mildly as she could.
"I gather Howard knew this man?" Roman asked.
"Yeah." Phil resumed his pacing, circling the room like an angry caged animal. "I met Harry when I was in Alaska. He was Howard's best friend."
"Oh no." Shanna's heart ached for Howard. "No wonder he was so upset."
"He lost his best friend?" Darlene asked, still holding Sofia.
Shanna nodded. She didn't want to go into the details in front of the children. "You can read about it." She switched places with her mother and took Sofia back into her arms.
"Did he go to Alaska?" Tino asked. "Why didn't he wait for a Vamp to teleport him?"
"It'll be hours before the sun sets in Alaska," Phil explained as he paced. "I'm sure he didn't want to wait. I would appreciate a Vamp taking me there tonight. I'd like to go to the memorial service."
Roman nodded. "We can do that."
Shanna's chest tightened once again. A memorial service. Not a funeral. After a car bombing, there probably wasn't a body left to bury.
"Oh my," Darlene whispered as she read the article. "This is awful. Who would do such a thing?"
Phil drew in a hissing breath. "I know who did it. Harry was a reporter for a tabloid newspaper, and last week, he started exposing the truth about Rhett Bleddyn."
Roman's eyes narrowed. "The werewolf? The one who bit Phineas?"
"Yes," Phil growled. "When Howard called me, he was mad as hell. He knows Rhett's behind the car bombing. And what's more, he suspects the Bleddyns murdered his father. Harry's father, too. Harry was investigating it right before he was blown to pieces."
Shanna winced. This was getting too violent for the children. "Phil - "
"I think Rhett murdered Howard's girlfriend, too," Phil snarled. "I hope he kills that ass**le. If he doesn't, I will."
"You want to kill somebody?" Tino asked, his eyes wide.
"Phil." Shanna gave him a pointed look. With emotions running high, it was easy to read minds at the moment. Phil was furious. Roman, angry. Darlene, appalled. Sofia, frightened. And even though Tino was shocked, he was thinking how cool it was to be witnessing all the adult drama. Shanna wished once again that he wouldn't be in such a hurry to grow up.
She patted her daughter on the back. "Don't let this upset you. You know how big and tough Howard is. He'll be okay."
Sofia gave her a hopeful look. "Really?"
"Of course." Shanna forced a smile. "Nothing ever gets Howard down."
"That's right!" Tino nodded. "He beat up a whole bunch of wild pigs with huge tusks!"
"What?" Shanna hadn't heard that story.
"Oh, I forgot." Phil grabbed an envelope off the desk. "Howard left you a note."
Shanna set her daughter on the chair next to Tino, then opened the letter.
"What does it say?" Tino asked.
Shanna quickly scanned the letter. It was calmly written, so Howard must have penned it before finding out about his best friend's murder. He was asking Shanna to meet Elsa tonight to discuss the kitchen. And he needed her help in convincing Elsa that he was a safe and dependable guy. Elsa knew about him being a were-bear, and apparently, she was now afraid to trust him. "I need to go to the gatehouse tonight for a meeting with Elsa."
