Mal’s lips pressed into a harsh line as he stared at the desiccated arm I held.

Then he turned and extended a hand down to Willow. Her dress had ridden up a little when she skidded, exposing most of her smooth, lightly tanned thighs. Damn, she had killer legs. And had she fought the shade in those heels?

What do you know? Sexy and a badass.

But as soon as she was on her feet, Mal had both hands on her shoulders, pushing her against the wall of a tall building nearby. Her back hit the brick with a smack, and she stared up at him in shock.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” my brother raged. He put his face inches from hers, fear making his voice harsh. “Walking home alone again? Taking that thing on by yourself?” He shook her. “Do you have some kind of damn death wish? Vampires are immortal, not invincible. We can still die. Don’t you understand that?”

Willow blinked rapidly, her large hazel eyes glistening in the dim streetlights. A shadow of sadness flickered over her face, and my blood froze.

Shit. She knew exactly what the fuck she was doing.

Guilt slithered up my spine like a snake. We had turned her and then set her loose in the world, and she’d run toward death with open arms.

But the spark of life in her was too strong to be extinguished.

Her jaw took on a stubborn set. The glassiness in her eyes faded, and she smacked Mal in the chest with both hands. Hard.

“Why would I know that? You never told me anything! You just kicked me out and left me to fend for myself.”

“Because I thought you had more sense than to go looking for a fight with a goddamned undead supernatural!”

Willow strained against Mal’s grip, closing the distance between their faces and going nose-to-nose with him. “I didn’t ‘go looking’ for a fight! That thing followed me. And what the hell are you all doing following me anyway? I thought the whole point was that you never wanted to see me—” She stopped suddenly, her nostrils flaring as she inhaled deeply. Her voice was low when she spoke again. “Oh my God… It was you. At Osiris. I recognize that scent. You… you were there. You danced with me.”

Sol’s shoulder brushed mine as he came to stand beside me, cocking his head. “What’s this now?”

Mal shot a look at us, guilt flashing in his eyes.

Holy fuck. That sneaky motherfucker!

And here I thought I’d been breaking the rules by checking in on Willow occasionally. This dickhead was off creeping into bars and grinding up on her like a horny teenager.

My brother looked back at Willow but didn’t answer her question. “You should be glad we were all here tonight. Things could’ve gone very differently if we weren’t.”

She shoved him again. Damn, she was a fucking firecracker. “I didn’t ask for your help! So leave me alone! Haven’t you done enough?”

Mal’s chest heaved as he glared at her. “We saved your life.”

“You turned me into a vampire!”

“Hey! Shut the fuck up or I’m calling the cops! Do your weird-ass role-playing somewhere else!”

The shout from a nearby apartment building drew all of our attention. A window slammed shut on the third floor.

“We need to get out of here,” Sol murmured.

I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Right. Jesus.”

We were never this sloppy on a hunt. Willow had us all completely off our game.

“Yeah, Mal,” I drawled. “Do your kinky role-playing somewhere else.”

He took a step back, keeping his voice at a low volume this time. “He said ‘weird,’ not ‘kinky.’”

The second she had a little more space, Willow sucked in a deep breath. As she released it, the anger and tension drained from her body, and she reached tentatively toward Mal. One side of his face was covered in blood.

“Are you… all right?”

Mal’s expression softened. “Yes. I’m fine. We heal quickly.” He wiped his forearm over his cheek, showing her the already closed wounds. “Are you all right?”

Willow nodded slowly, her eyes going out of focus like she was doing an internal check of her injuries. “Yeah. Some scrapes and bruises, and—”

She glanced down. The front of her dress had several long claw marks across it. The tears in the fabric didn’t expose anything too risqué, but she put her hand over them anyway.

“I’m fine.”

A smirk tilted my lips. The little black dress hugged her curves in an understated but sexy way. I didn’t mind the rips in it either, although I hated how she’d gotten them.

Mal’s face darkened with concern, and he skimmed his hands lightly down her arms.

He really is a sneaky motherfucker. First with the dancing, now with the checking her for wounds?

I cleared my throat loudly.

“Much as I hate to interrupt your foreplay”—I held up the arm I’d torn from the shade, making it wave at them—“there are a few important things we need to discuss.”

Sol reached over to take the arm from me. His fingers traced over the dried-out skin, and he frowned. “There are markings on this.”

“Really?” I looked at the gray-skinned arm again as Mal and Willow came closer to peer over my shoulder.

On closer inspection, I realized Sol was right. The arm was decorated with a pattern of scars.

“Runes of some sort,” my youngest brother added.

Mal’s brow furrowed. “Like the ones the shade was trying to carve into Willow the night we saved her?”

“It seems likely.”

“So this second attack on her wasn’t a coincidence.”

“What? What does that mean?” Willow’s gaze darted among the three of us.

“We’ve been hunting this thing for a while,” I explained, catching Mal’s gaze. “It’s a shade, an undead creature. And actually, I should say we’ve been hunting these things, plural—because there are definitely more than one.”

“Okay. But what about the runes?”

I bit my lip ring. “This hunt has been difficult because we couldn’t figure out what these things were after or why they were in the city. But I’m starting to get a pretty clear idea of what they want.”

“And?” she asked, her voice wavering slightly. “What are they looking for?”

She was smart enough to know the answer before I said it, but I knew she needed to hear it out loud.

“You.”

Willow’s pupils dilated, and her throat worked as she swallowed. “What? Why? I’m just an ordinary human! At least, I was when it attacked me the first time. I’m a nobody from Ohio. Why would it want me?”

I tipped my head, eyeing her. “Yeah, you were human. But I don’t think you were ever ordinary.”

Grabbing the shade’s limb back from Sol, I stepped toward Willow. I grasped her upper arm and raised it slightly. Her skin was soft as silk under my touch, and a riot of goose bumps broke out on her flesh at my touch. I heard her breath hitch and had to fight not to tighten my grip on her. She smelled just as fucking good as I remembered.

Willow winced as I placed the shade’s severed arm next to hers for comparison. The faint white scars on her arm stood out in the dim light—and they were nearly identical to the markings on the gray, dried skin of the shade.

“See?” I looked up into her eyes, twin green-gold pools that shone in the darkness. “You should’ve healed completely when we turned you, but these scars remained. Those wounds had some kind of magical property. You’ve been marked.”

Sol stepped forward. “And it wasn’t a coincidence you were attacked twice. You were being targeted. But the good news is, now that we know, we can use it to our advantage. You can help us discover exactly what these shades are and what they want with you.”

Mal and I both nodded, but the spark of anger lit in Willow’s eyes again.

“Help you? Why would I do that? Didn’t we just establish that you pretty much wrecked my life?”

“We can help you too, Willow.”

Sol’s voice was soothing, and I rolled my eyes. You don’t soothe a firecracker into not exploding.

“No!” Willow held her hands up. “I’m sorry, but no! I’m done with all of this. I want off this insane ride. I just want to go back to whatever job I have left, keep my head down, and try to rebuild some semblance of a life for myself.”

Mal glowered at her. “Do you truly think you can fight off the shades yourself? You are being hunted. Stalked by undead supernaturals. They’re going to keep attacking you, maybe as a group next time. What will you do then? This one nearly killed you, and he was alone. I told you. Just because you’re stronger now, that doesn’t make you invincible.”

Her sweet face paled, but her chin lifted. “I’ll figure something out. I don’t want your help!”

Mal opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off with a look. She wasn’t stupid. She’d make the right choice. She just needed a minute to come to terms with it.

The best way to handle a firecracker is to get to a safe distance and let it combust on its own.

“You heard her, brothers.” I dipped my head at Willow in a mock bow. “The lady wants to be left alone. Let’s go.”

I turned sharply and headed up the street. Mal and Sol followed close on my heels.

We made it a few blocks before a yell of frustration echoed in the darkness behind us. A few moments later, I heard her soft footsteps padding toward us, moving quickly to catch up.

A grin tugged at the corner of my lips.

Good call, sweetheart.