Brenda asked them firmly to go. And yet he saw the hint of vulnerability in her.

Mike could see Dale wanted to argue and stay, Sebastian too, but he shook his head.

“I think we should go.”

“But—”

“It’s been a momentous day. And I think Brenda could use some rest. We all could.” Mike spoke firmly and did his best to ignore Brenda’s trembling lower lip.

If they stayed, someone would claim her. He could state that for a fact, but before that happened, they needed to ensure they did it for the right reasons. It was only fair to Brenda.

They left her apartment, not speaking until they hit the street.

Dale started. “We can’t leave her alone. Between the collective and whatever is possessing people, she’s in danger.”

“We can’t exactly force her to accept our company, though.” Mike stared up at her window. “She thinks we’re rejecting her.”

“That’s nuts,” Dale exclaimed. “Is she blind? Can’t she see how much we like her?”

“No, what she sees are three guys trying to get in her pants because we’re all vying for her attention.”

“I don’t see why I’m getting roped into this. I meant what I said upstairs. I’ll claim her.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Dale paused. “I want to claim her, too.”

“As do I,” Mike muttered.

“We can’t all have her.” Dale’s eyes sparked with jealousy.

“And therein lies the problem.”

“Not a problem if we share.” Sebastian shrugged as they looked at him. “Listen, we obviously like this girl. All of us. So we can either wreck a great friendship and fight over that fact, or give in to what fate obviously wants from us and claim her.”

“Share her for life?” Dale said it thoughtfully. “I guess if I had to do that with anyone it would be you guys.”

“And there are the tax breaks,” Sebastian teased.

“There are many positives to it, with the biggest negative being dealing with our jealousy. But there’s one thing we haven’t really discussed. What does Brenda want?”

As one, they stared upwards and might have gone pounding back upstairs to address the issue if Dale’s phone hadn’t rung.

“It’s Pete.” And it wasn’t good news.

They left Sebastian behind to guard Brenda, outside with him promising not to go inside unless there was danger. He’d spend the night on her fire escape until one of them relieved him.

Mike went along with Dale for the briefing by Pete.

The news proved alarming.

Pacing the large living room in Anthony’s house, Pete filled them in. “We’ve identified the source of the infection.”

“Back up a second,” Mike asked. “Infection? Is that what they’re calling the possession now?”

“Yes. We’ve only confirmed it in a few of the cases so far, but the evidence is mounting. All those who began to act strangely, the firemen and police, came into contact with the Peabodys. More specifically, their house. They were the first responders on the scene when Mr. Peabody was arrested.”

“All of them?” Dale couldn’t help but ask in a tone most startled.

“Not all, but enough to form a pattern.”

“You’d better not be saying that house is contagious,” Mike remarked.

“We don’t think it’s contagious in the usual sense. Not from host to host at any rate. We believe the only way they can become infected is if they come in close contact with the house.”

“But you say not everyone is affected.”

“No, and yet all the cases we’ve encountered have the same ground zero so far.”

Dale rubbed his jaw. “Say we believe the house is somehow possessing people. How does that explain the librarian? I highly doubt she does house calls.”

“The librarian is one Ethel Thorpe, and she resides at 997—”

Mike interrupted to finished. “Cloven Hoof Lane.”

“She’s their fucking neighbor?” Dale scrubbed his face. “This is turning into a clusterfuck.”

How much of Dale’s agitation stemmed from the situation or the fact that they knew Brenda had been inside that house?

Did she carry a spore inside her, a ticking time bomb?

“Has anyone checked on the other neighbors around?” Dale asked.

Pete pivoted from his pacing to face them. “TDCM has dispatched a containment crew. All residents in a two-block radius are being tested as we speak.”

“So, what do we do next?”

“Nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing?” Dale barked. “Something in that house is fucking with people.” Possibly fucking with Brenda. She’d visited but shown no signs of possession.

Yet.

“We can’t do anything.” Pete shrugged. “We’ve been kicked off the case. We have no official capacity to get involved.”

Dale looked at the vampire sitting off to the side. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

At this point, Anthony, who’d remained silent to this point, nursing a brandy, spoke. “Our kind has chosen to abstain from this unfortunate situation, which means I can’t advise you in regards to the current circumstances. But as an observer, I find it curious that human authorities haven’t returned to the Peabody house. Not even to check on the family.”

“That is surprising,” Dale said slowly. “And really, peeking in on them would be the right thing to do. But the police need to have just cause to go in.”

“Indeed they do,” said the vampire lawyer. “I recently tried a case where the defense argued that a 911 call wasn’t sufficient grounds for law enforcement to enter his client’s home. They lost.”

The hint was clear.

Via a burner phone bought in a corner store, Dale placed a call.