The sounds of yelling roused me. I was lying in the back seat of a very nice car with my foot wrapped in a towel, but I was bleeding so much it had seeped through and was doing a pretty incredible job of ruining the leather.

I cried out in pain as I moved my foot. The shouts stopped abruptly. I looked up only to find two pair of concerned eyes staring right at me.

One belonged to Lucien. The other belonged to Hank.

Of all the freaking things that could happen. I sighed. “Can we go, Lucien?”

He straightened. “Of course.”

He started to walk around the vehicle to get into the driver’s seat when Hank reached out and grabbed his arm. “You aren’t taking her anywhere.”

Lucien stiffened and gave Hank the once over. He jerked himself free. “I don’t think you have any right to tell me anything about what might be best for Helen after the events of last night. Wouldn’t you agree?”

I winced. Ouch. I wondered who else had heard about that.

Hank flinched as if he had been struck. “What happened?” he asked quietly.

“She dropped her mug. It shattered and at minimum she cut her foot.” He stared back at me. “Although, I think she might have fractured it, too.” Lucien shook his head. “She’s bleeding everywhere and needs to go to the hospital. If you’re finished posturing?”

Hank and Lucien stared each other down until Hank relented with a terse nod. “I’ll follow you.”

“Hank. No.” My thoughts were spinning from Lucien’s information. I couldn’t deal with anything else right now.

His lips pressed together, but he didn’t say anything. Hank spun on his heel and headed back to his truck.

Lucien slid into his vehicle and winced at the sight of my foot. “That was not really a delay we could afford.” Concern showed in his vivid blue gaze. “Are you alright?”

“My foot is killing me.”

Lucien turned back around and started the car. “I was not just referring to your foot.” He looked like he was going to say something else, but he shook his head instead and pulled into the long drive on my property.

My teeth were chattering and I winced every time we hit a bump.

“I am so sorry, Helen. Perhaps I should have encouraged you to put the mug down before I told you anything.”

“How can they do that?”

Lucien glanced in his rearview mirror. “They plan to try something called rescission.”

“Elaborate.”

“It’s usually used by a buyer. So say you purchased a home and found out the foundation was shot. Only you had an inspection on the house and the inspector said it was in great condition. Normally a home inspector is immune to lawsuits for something like that. But say you found out later the home inspector was related to the realtor and had a vested interest in ensuring the home sale. That could open up an opportunity for a little wiggle room in the contract.” He waved a hand. “Not the greatest example, but non disclosure is one of the biggest things that could result in winning a rescission case.”

Lucien’s soothing baritone was distracting me from my foot. “So...I love my property. How are they claiming anything about it?”

“The former owner of the property has been found. And I suspect paid off handsomely. He’s claiming he was under duress to sell his property by another agent he refuses to name. In turn, he was forced to sell to you. He wants the property returned to him and has hired our firm as his realtor.”

“This sounds shaky at best.”

“That isn’t all. He’s claiming you were working in tandem with said agent and pressured him to sell at a lower price point.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“I quite concur.” Lucien turned into the emergency room parking lot, smoothly pulled right in front of the doors, and put his vehicle into park.

Just as I was trying to get out, the passenger door opened and Lucien reached in with very little effort and plucked me out of the car, careful not to jostle my injured foot. When I protested, he shushed me, and carried me gently through the doors.

Lucien was all right. Even if he’d been the one to deliver the news that could ruin my life.

The Midnight Cove General Hospital dispensed the good stuff like candy. I had thirty stitches, a cast, crutches, and a refillable supply of a narcotic so good I was currently watching butterflies dance above my best friend’s head.

“Helen?” Pepper asked again.

“Mmmm?”

Lucien’s deep chuckle made me smile. “You’re so super cute, Lucien Nightingale,” I said.

Pepper let out a strangled laugh. “Perhaps you should leave, super cute Lucien,” she said in a low voice. “Before it gets really weird.”

“I quite like this version of Helen. She’s been grumpy ever since I met her and now she’s not only complimentary, she’s charming. I may stick around and see if I can convince her to marry me before the evening is over.”

“I do!” I crowed.

Pepper facepalmed herself.

“Great!” Lucien said, grinning widely at my friend. “Pepper, I trust you know a minister and have an appropriate dress for the occasion.” He waved his fingers up and down at her somewhat strange attire.

Pepper’s mouth thinned. “You aren’t marrying anyone today, friend. What you are doing is staying the night in the hospital. You lost too much blood.”

My focus was on Lucien. “How did you get such good control?” It came out way more slurred than that but he understood me.

“Control?”

“I bled everywhere and ruined your leather.”

“The good thing about leather is it’s cleanable. It would have been worse had it been upholstery.”

I waggled my fingers at him. “Subject changer.”

Pepper was looking at him with marked interest. “You drove her here?”

Lucien nodded. “You look surprised. Her little wanna be boyfriend showed up but he was unwelcome.”

I frowned. “It’s complicated.”

“Darling, he led a woman on and made out with you in a car right after his date. What’s complicated about that?”

“How do you even know about that?” I blinked and my eyelashes felt like enormous caterpillars on my face.

“My family has a vested interest in the events of this town. Plus we have a police radio.”

Pepper’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that illegal?”

“Not even a little bit. What is appalling though is the level of detail the operators give over the radio. No one has privacy here if the right ears are listening. Of course, Hank didn’t help when he made his little soliloquy about why he punched out his brother.”

Pepper was staring at me like she’d never seen me before. “You and I have a lot to talk about when the drugs wear off.”

I held my hand up and watched as rainbows came from my fingertips. “I hope they never wear off.”

I woke up to a dark room. The drugs had, for the most part, worn off. I reached over and felt for the trigger squeezer thing to get some of that sweet, sweet relief, but saw something else instead.

A man was sitting on one of the chairs directly across from me.

“Lucien?”

The man sighed.

“Hank.” I shifted a little bit but hissed as my foot screamed in pain. He stood immediately and pulled up the morphine drip button for me.

“Thanks.” I squeezed it once, twice, three times the charm and sighed as I felt the cool drug pour into my veins. “You have about one minute before I get loopy. Speak.”

“I am so sorry. I spoke with Charity this morning. What I did was inappropriate. In my defense, it was mostly ignorance, but that doesn’t excuse it.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. I couldn’t make out his expression in the dim light of my room, but he sounded tortured. “I have never had someone who gave me more than half a glance but, if they did, I didn’t even realize it. Not until you.”

The morphine was starting to kick in. “You punched someone for me.”

“I did,” he said. “I’d do it all over again.”

“Why did you push me away so much?”

“The last thing I wanted to do was push you away. But you never showed even a hint of interest in me until that stupid letter arrived.”

“I think that’s what they do. Stick us all in a cup, shake us up, and see who doesn’t drown.”

“Her methods are certainly unorthodox,” he admitted. “So...Lucien stayed?”

I nodded. “I fell asleep but he and Pepper were here for quite a while.”

“He doesn’t seem like a bad sort. For a vampire.”

“He isn’t.” I really didn’t want to delve into the vampire’s good qualities while on a morphine drip. “Lucien came by to give me some news. That’s what caused the accident.”

“First tell me you’re okay. The fact that you’re still here is concerning.” Hank pulled a chair over to my bed and sat beside me.

“Thirty stitches and a fracture. I’ll be on crutches for quite a while.”

“Damn. What happened?”

I filled him in on what Lucien had told me and my stupid accident with the mug.

“That’s ridiculous. Do they have any legal standing?” He scrubbed his hand across his chin.

We both knew the court systems in Midnight Cove were different. Whether or not they could actually get the case listened to in court was up in the air.

Hank stood. “I’m going to talk to Portia.”

I snorted. “Portia Kadish? Hank, that’s insane. She hasn’t opened the door to anyone in years.”

“Portia was just recently seen by a friend of mine. She showed up at his girlfriend’s house.”

I stared at him convinced the morphine was affecting my judgment. “What?”

“Yes, apparently she has a daughter she gave up. She’s trying to make amends. I’m going to go see them right now.”

“Hank, wait!”

He was already half out of the room. “No. They want that door. This is Portia and that stupid agency’s fault.”

He left me sitting there slowly slipping into morphine dreams.

The next morning, the doctor visited. He was a short, portly man with a friendly demeanor and a nose that could have had its own zip code. He made sure the cast was still intact and ready to go and told me the stitches in my foot should dissolve on their own within a few weeks. I was under no circumstances to get my foot wet, nor should I overexert myself. Pepper and Lucien walked into my room right after he left.

“Ready to go, gimpy?” Pepper asked as she rolled in a wheelchair.

“I’m not getting in that thing.” They’d cut my pain meds down and I was a smidge grumpy.

“Doctor’s orders,” Lucien said and bent down to help me up. He wrapped an arm around my waist and lifted me. I wobbled a bit, but he steadied me. Piper wheeled the chair over so I didn’t have to move too much and I sat down gingerly. She lifted the bottom contraption so I could elevate my leg. Lucien grabbed my crutches and bag and she wheeled me out of the hospital.

Getting into Lucien’s car was another story and the frustration resulted in Lucien once again lifting me like I was a helpless princess and depositing me into his car. He buckled my seatbelt for me, but it was still uncomfortable because I couldn’t bend my leg very well.

“We’re less than ten minutes away. I’ll try not to hit any bumps,” he said as he shut the door.

I shoved my prescription at Pepper once she was in the car. “Can you get this for me? Please, please, pretty pretty please?”

She took the slip from my hands. “Of course.” She glanced at it and whistled. “That’s some pretty good stuff they gave you.”

“Oh crap,” I whispered half to myself. “When am I going to be able to work again?”

Pepper dug through my release paperwork until she finally found the discharge instructions. She winced.

“When?” I demanded.

“Two weeks.”

I let out a long string of curse words and flung my head back against the supple leather seats. I’d already been out of work for over three days and had to move all my appointments up.

“You have almost a full three weeks of pain meds there. That’s pretty extreme. You must have really jacked your foot up.”

I saw Lucien wince in the rearview mirror.

“Yeah. Accidents happen sometimes. I’m just mad I spilled my coffee.” I looked at my friends hopefully even though they weren’t looking at me. “Speaking of coffee?”

Pepper snorted. “Can you drive through Midnight’s Best?”

Lucien nodded and turned at the next light. “Only if she’s buying.”

“Hey! Injured woman back here.”

“I’ll buy,” Pepper said. “As long as Helen tells me what made her do that. Especially since I know you were there, Lucien.”

He cleared his throat. “Is coffee worth it?” he asked me.

Coffee was almost always worth it, but I didn’t want Pepper to worry. On the other hand, she was going to beat me down until I told her and right now I still felt achy and exhausted. My pain meds had mostly worn off and I wasn’t looking forward to getting out of the car.

“Fine,” I said. “But I want an extra large.”

“A venti, Helen. Get it right.”

“Whatever. I want a big ol’ enormous cup of frothy joe. A cappuccino actually. That sounds better.”

Lucien pulled into the drive-through.

“But make sure they put extra sugar in it!”

Pepper let out an annoyed huff of breath. “I’m your best friend. I know what you like.”

Pepper leaned over and placed the order. From my vantage point in the back of the car, I noticed Lucien’s eyes glazing over a little bit when a lock of her wild black hair escaped its braid.

My gaze narrowed. Interesting.

Less than ten minutes later we were back on the road with enormous coffees and Lucien was explaining what rescission was. When he finished, I added, “and Hank stopped by.”

Lucien swerved a little bit. “He did? Are you okay?”

I chuckled. “I’m fine. He’s not a serial killer. He’s just kind of…”

“Dumb?” Pepper supplied.

“Some days.”

“That end in Y,” Lucien added.

“Anyway, he said something pretty interesting about Portia. He said she’d been coming around to his friend’s girlfriend’s house. He plans to confront her.”

Lucien let out a low whistle. “That does not seem wise.”

“What’s so scary about a woman who runs a dating agency?” I asked. I’d never gotten the gist of why she was so feared.

“It’s not the agency, really. It’s her power. She created this place. She runs the entire town. She’s the one who decides which business open. Which businesses die.”

“Which relationships suit her, too?” I asked.

Lucien gave a shake of his head. “From my understanding, Portia is heavily invested in ensuring her matches are beyond the pale. I don’t think you can see this, but she’s pulling the strings. Always. Even if you don’t realize it.”

“I haven’t seen her since she dumped a puppy on my porch.” I frowned. “Even then I didn’t see her. I just had a letter from her.”

Pepper’s gaze went fuzzy for a minute. “But right after that, Hank delivered your plants. Then you hired him for landscaping. Then he discovered that door.”

“That doesn’t seem like a coincidence,” Lucien said, even as I wondered about the wisdom of telling him what was on my property. Too late for all of that. It was done and I hoped I could trust him. If he was a good enough person to let me bleed all over his fancy upholstery, he could keep a secret.

“I don’t know. But we’re in a better place right now.”

“Oooh,” Pepper crowed. “Do tell!”

Lucien pulled inside of the long drive leading up to my home.

“Nope. Stick me on the couch and get my meds, please.”

Pepper grumbled but didn’t argue. When the vehicle stopped, Lucien jumped out and carried me to the porch. Pepper had an extra key she used to open the door.

Oh my god. I had forgotten about Margo!

“Oh no,” I whispered.

The door pulled open before Pepper got her key in. Hank stood there wearing a pair of jogging pants and a snug white t-shirt. Margo sat right beside him looking no worse for the wear.

“Hank?”

“I figured someone needed to feed Margo,” he said. “Lucien didn’t lock your door when he left.”

I couldn’t blame Lucien for that. It was a whole lot of blood and drama to deal with in a short period of time. I was feeling a little disconcerted seeing him all rumpled and sexy in my house, but he had done me a huge favor.

Lucien was still holding me in his arms like a white knight. The look Hank was giving him was a smidge frosty so, of course, Lucien tightened his arms around me and said, “She’s had a rough night. I figure I’ll stay with her this evening.”

Pepper let out a snort laugh from behind us.

“That won’t be necessary,” Hank said. “I think we have it under control.”

I closed my eyes and counted to ten. “I don’t give a crap who stays but someone needs to get their butt in a car and go pick up my pain meds. Stat.”

“Your wish is my command,” Pepper said with a little bow. Lucien stepped in and deposited me gently onto the couch.

I could practically hear Hank’s teeth grinding. Lucien made it worse by gathering a stack of pillows and elevating my leg. He grabbed a blanket and fussed with tucking me in. My gaze caught Pepper’s and her eyes were sparkling with amusement.

I finally waved him away. “Lucien! I’m not four. Please go get my meds.”

He gave me a wink and with one last fuss over the blanket, he left with Pepper.

“Thank God,” I said with a groan.

Hank sat down at the end of the couch. “I had some coffee brewing but I see you already stopped.” He reached over and handed me my cup.

I took it with a grateful smile. “Sorry. I’ve been deprived. I fell asleep last night before my cardboard dinner came so I’m starving, too.”

“I can help with that,” Hank offered. He stood and Margo padded after him into the kitchen.

“Please don’t go to any effort!” I called only to be ignored.

I snuggled into the soft couch cushions and was lulled to sleep by the sounds of Hank clanking around the kitchen. I could really get used to having a man around.

Less than an hour later, something delicious was wafting through the air and Lucien and Pepper were back with my drugs. I sat up, groggy and in pain, and reached for the glass of water someone had put on the coffee table in front of me.

“Helen!” Hank called. “Don’t take your pills before you eat something.”

“Yes, mom,” I croaked. “Where is it?”

Hank walked in wearing an apron and carrying something that smelled like angels were singing.

“You cook, too?” I rubbed my messy hair. “Where have you been all my life?”

“Being an idiot and playing in the dirt?”

I chuckled and reached out for the bowl he was carrying. “What is it?”

“Chicken stew. It was the heartiest thing I could think of with using what you had in the fridge. Also, you need to go shopping. I had to go to my vehicle and clip herbs from the newest shipment I had.”

I lifted my bad foot a little, wincing. “Shopping later. Food first.”

Hank handed me a spoon and I dug in. Pepper and Lucien came out of the kitchen holding bowls of their own.

When we finished eating, Hank cleared his throat. “I have some news.”

Lucien leaned forward. “You have three weeks to live and you have suddenly decided to move to Europe to find yourself?”

Pepper cracked up but sobered when Hank glared at her.

“While I find your antics minimally amusing, I must decline to participate.”

Oooh. Annoyed Hank was verbal.

“I was able to catch Portia, much to my friend’s annoyance and her surprise. She was quite shocked to learn what was going on with everything. But...she did admit she pressured the former owner of the land to sell to you. So, that part of the accusation is correct. However, there’s a caveat.” Hank scratched behind his ear as if he were uncomfortable with the next part. “The owner of this land somewhat acts like a guardian of that door. Portia said she has been remiss in visiting you to speak with you about it.”

I wish I hadn’t taken my pain meds because I would be on my way to visit Miss Portia right now. “That might have been nice to know before I bought the property.”

Lucien’s brow wrinkled. “So the guy who owned it before.” He paused and his mouth turned down.

I interrupted. “He knew about the door, kept it a secret for all those years, then decided to betray her? What happened?”

“That’s a longer story,” Hank said. “He revealed the secret of the property to an organization who tried to take her down. Unsuccessfully, I might add. I don’t know who it was, but, according to Portia, they are no longer operating in Midnight Cove. She forced him to sell and made him sign what was supposed to be an ironclad non-disclosure agreement.”

“Except it wasn’t,” Pepper added.

“Well,” Hank hedged. “It actually was. If this lawsuit goes through, Mr. Haverstock is going to be in a bundle of trouble. Even if it doesn’t, he’s going to have a lot to deal with. But if Midnight Cove Realty succeeds in getting a rescission, Mr. Haverstock is going to be a rich man.” He shifted on the couch, careful not to jostle my foot. “I also suspect he will be swiftly relocated to avoid Portia’s wrath. Right now no one knows where he is.”

“Back to me,” I said. “What if I don’t want that responsibility? I was never asked.”

“There’s something else,” Hank hedged. He slid a guilty look my way.

“Spit it out,” I said. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. I loved this property. I loved everything about it. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to be some kind of makeshift guardian of a door that I didn’t fully understand.

“Your magic.”

That got my attention. I tried to sit up a little bit straighter. The pain meds were slowly kicking in. Not as gratifying as morphine, but the intense pain had dulled somewhat. “Okay. What about it?”

“Portia isn’t just the founder of that agency. She’s incredibly powerful. She’s able to sense disturbances…” His voice trailed off.

“In the force?” Pepper quipped.

“Sort of,” Hank said with a rueful laugh. “In the veil.”

My heartbeat picked up. I had a horrible feeling I knew where he was going with this.

“Midnight Cove lies directly underneath the veil between the living and the dead. The town was designed so Portia could keep an eye on it.”

Lucien’s gaze narrowed. “What is Portia exactly?”

Hank shook his head. “I don’t know, but power beats off of her like moonlight.”

“So Portia is some kind of guardian?” Pepper asked.

“Sort of,” Hank said. “She wasn’t forthcoming with too much information. Portia said the veil has been weakening over our town for the past several years.”

“I weakened it further, didn’t I?” I knew something was off with that spell.

The look in Hank’s eyes told me the answer.

“But what does that mean?” Pepper asked. “Can it be fixed?”

I had no need to raise Dolores anymore, though I wasn’t sure now if I should work anymore at all.

“I can’t tell you specifics,” Hank admitted. “Portia wants to meet with you soon.”

I chuckled. “She may have to come here,” I said. “I won’t be driving for awhile.”

An apologetic look crossed his face. “She plans to be here this evening.”

“Hank!” I glared at him in outrage. “What the hell?”

He raised his hands in defeat. “I couldn’t stop her! She’s a bit of a steamroller.” He looked at my friends. “This concerns all of us. All of the town. It isn’t Helen’s fault, but when she attempted to bring someone back through the veil who had been gone so long it caused a rift. Portia wants to discuss it with all of us.”

Lucien looked horrified. “Why me? I haven’t been involved in any of this.”

“You became involved when you started spying on Helen,” Hank barked.

Lucien had the grace to look ashamed, but his expression quickly turned mutinous. “First I almost get attacked by a rabid puppy. Then I get fired and Helen ruins my upholstery.” He gave a dramatic sigh. “You’re like Typhoid Mary,” he grumbled.

“Margo isn’t rabid,” I said as she let her head flop onto her paws. “Getting fired is probably going to keep you out of jail. Now you can do the community a service by testifying against them if it gets that bad.”

“And who will protect me?” Lucien pouted.

Hank looked Lucien with barely concealed patience. “You’re a vampire.”

Pepper laughed and tried to disguise it by coughing.

“Yes,” Lucien drawled, “but corporations are way more dangerous than my pointy teeth.” He gnashed said teeth for a second before rewarding us with a wide grin.

I rolled my eyes. “Can it, folks. So Portia is coming here. Soon. Is there anything we can do to prepare?”

“Hor d’oeuvres?” Lucian said hopefully.

Pepper threw a pillow at him.

“I’m afraid not,” Hank said. “She didn’t say much more after that.”

“Great,” I said. The pain medicine was dragging me down. “Mind if I take a nap?”

Pepper and Lucien popped right up. “Sorry!” Pepper said. She turned to Lucien. “Can you take me home?”

“As you wish,” Lucien said. “I need to spend some time job hunting anyway, so it works out.” Lucien leaned down, lifted my hand and kissed the top of it. “Farewell, lady. I shall see you soon.”

I tried not to grin but failed. “See you later, weirdo. Thanks for saving me. I’ll reimburse you for having your leather cleaned.”

“No need, my dear. It’s rare I get to act as champion to a lady so fair.” He set my hand down, straightened, and motioned for Pepper to lead the way. He left Hank with a long look.

When the door finally shut, Hank let out a long breath.

“Oh, God, there’s more?”

“There is. Do you want to take a nap now or later?”

“Meaning do I want the bad news first?”

Hank adjusted the pillow and pulled my foot onto his lap carefully. “It’s up to you.”

“How bad is it?”

“You’re going to be busy once your foot heels up.”

“That doesn’t sound bad. I need to get back to work.”

He laughed. “Helping Portia repair the veil. You’re the only necromancer in Midnight Cove. She needs your specific powers to help. Souls are slipping out. She can’t control the dead but you can.”

“I should have taken a nap first.”

Hank gently moved my foot up from his lap and gathered up my dishes. “The end result would have been the same. Portia needs you right now.”

I snuggled back down into the couch. “Did she say anything about you and me?”

“Not a word. I don’t think it’s in her policy to comment on anything.” He gave me a hopeful look. “Is there an us?”

“Ask me when I finish my next nap.”

Hank barked out a laugh. “Will do.”