CHAPTER TWENTY

Southampton, New York

December 30, 1998

Meghann felt an icy hand brush her cheek, and opened her eyes, smiling up at the intrusion to her dreams.

"Forgive me, sweetheart," Simon said and leaned down to kiss her, his lips still carrying the chill of the frigid winter night. "You looked so sweet I couldn't resist waking you."

"It's okay," Meghann said drowsily and accepted his help to get into a sitting position. "Tired of sleeping during the night. Where did Charles and Lee go?"

"They retired to their cottage for a late dinner, and speaking of which…" Simon presented her with a silver tray laden with cheeseburgers, fries, and the thick vanilla shake she'd expressed a craving for.

"Want some?" Meghann asked after he balanced the tray over her knees.

Simon selected one thick french fry but instead of eating it he fed it to her. "When you finish your third meal of the night, I have a surprise for you, little glutton."

"I'm eating for three," Meghann said primly and devoured the second rare burger. "What's the surprise?"

"A belated Christmas present." Simon smiled and handed her a large square box wrapped in cheerful red paper embossed with poinsettias.

"Monopoly!" she squealed in happy surprise after she tore the wrappings. "The 1935 version… Simon, did you get this just because I went on about my father buying it the first year it came out?"

"Didn't you say this game engrossed you and your siblings during various illnesses and vacations? I thought it might provide some diversion since you've become bored with your novels and psychology journals, watching movies, and you dislike chess so much."

"I like chess just fine—as long as I'm not playing against you," Meghann said and stuck out her tongue. "What fun is a game where you're defeated in five minutes?"

"Did it take me that long to trounce you?" Simon questioned and ducked the pillow launched at his head. "Of course, I'm aware that with this particular game, it may be a few hours before my superior skill does you in."

"I think you know where you can put your superior skill," she said sweetly and as they began playing, Meghann reflected that no one but Simon could have made the past five weeks of enforced bed rest not only bearable but also actually enjoyable.

An icy tentacle of fear still wrapped around her heart when she remembered that night five weeks before when she had gotten out of bed and felt a warm gush of blood run down her legs. Only Simon's unruffled calm had kept her from complete hysteria while he hurriedly summoned Lee.

An ultrasound had revealed placenta previa… a condition of pregnancy where the placenta attached itself to the lower half of the uterus, partially or entirely covering the cervix. Lee had explained that placenta previa could cause hemorrhaging and usually necessitated a caesarian delivery. He had gone on to explain that any bleeding during the pregnancy could irritate the uterus to the point of contractions, thus bringing on premature labor.

Fortunately, Meghann had experienced no contractions and the bleeding had stopped as inexplicably as it started. Lee had said the ultrasound revealed the placenta was only partially, as opposed to completely, covering the mouth of the uterus, which was good news. Since there hadn't been any sign of fetal distress, it was decided Meghann's pregnancy could continue but Lee had ordered complete bed rest.

Since the disturbing show of blood, Meghann's pregnancy had progressed uneventfully, though she was often tired and had started catnapping throughout the night. When she was awake, she felt restless and bored, though Simon, Charles, and Lee did all they could to bolster her spirits.

"Thank God it's only three more weeks," Meghann said, triumphantly placing a hotel on Boardwalk. In three weeks, she'd reach the thirty-seventh week of pregnancy. According to Lee, that was the perfect time for a C-section. He'd explained that natural childbirth was dangerous because contractions could cause severe bleeding, endangering Meghann's life as well as the twins if she hemorrhaged. In anticipation of premature delivery, Lee flooded her system with beta methizone to develop the twins' lungs. Fortunately, they didn't appear to have a vampire's immunity to drugs and the latest ultrasound showed their lungs were so mature they might be able to breathe on their own even if they were born now.

"Will you concede defeat?" Simon taunted after Meghann had a disastrous turn, landing on one of his hotel properties for the third time in a row.

Grimly, Meghann mortgaged most of her property and came up with the necessary money to pay her debt without going bankrupt.

At the next throw of the dice, Simon seemed about to breeze past Boardwalk but one die mysteriously turned over from a three to a two… landing him smack on Meghann's hotel.

"Pay up!"

Simon reached across the board and yanked her into his lap. "Using your power to cheat at a game… you must pay a forfeit."

Meghann wrapped her arms around him, kissing him hungrily and cursing the damned placenta previa that barred sexual intercourse.

A sudden thump made all the pieces on the board scatter as Max jumped up on the bed.

"Game called on account of dog walk," Meghann said when Max handed Simon the leash carefully balanced in his mouth.

He cuffed the setter affectionately and attached his leash. "I know… you have no desire to walk alone since that foolish hunter mistook you for a deer. Aren't you fortunate he merely grazed your hind leg?"

"Have fun," Meghann called as they left the room. She knew the hunter's body had landed in the ocean after Simon had fed on the idiot that almost killed her dog. She returned the game to its box and made a few notes on a yellow legal pad concerning Jimmy Delacroix's care. Since she'd become bedridden, Charles had taken over his therapy with the assistance of Meghann's directives. He too was puzzled by Jimmy's condition. Though he drank blood docilely and groomed himself, Jimmy made no attempt at communication. Meghann refused to speculate that perhaps this zombielike state was a full recovery, that Jimmy would make no further progress. If that were so, she'd have to consider beheading him rather than let him spend immortality as a vegetable and she simply couldn't bring herself to do that, not when she was so sure she could reach past that inexplicable blankness and bring him back to complete awareness…

Maggie, help me! Please help me!

The desperate howl went through her head like a knife. As she put a hand to her aching temple, Meghann's eyes flew open—frowning when she saw no one in the room with her. Could that scream really have reverberated only in her mind? It was so loud she would swear it was audible and not mental…

Maggie!

"Jimmy," she whispered, feeling joy in spite of the pain in her invaded mind. Without another thought, she got off the bed and sprinted, as much as her bulk would allow her to, toward Jimmy's room, grateful that he was installed on the same floor so she wouldn't have to attempt the stairs.

Maggie, don't let him hurt me!

It's okay, Jimmy, she tried to tell him, unsure if he heard her or not. Poor Jimmy… why hadn't she foreseen this? Imagine coming out of a catatonic state and waking up in a strange room… he must be terrified. And his last memory was probably of Simon transforming him… no wonder Jimmy was begging her not to let her hurt him.

Maggie!

Meghann staggered into the wall, the force of Jimmy's terrified plea striking her like a physical blow.

I'm coming, Jimmy, she thought back and felt the panicked presence boring down on her recede slightly. No one, not even Simon, had ever invaded her mind like this. Then again, Simon had never called out to her in a state of hysteria, with no idea what the raw power of a vampiric scream could do to its receiver. For all she knew, Jimmy might not even know yet that he was a vampire… what was that little surprise going to do to his newfound sanity? She'd have to break the news of his immortality very gently.

Meghann straightened up and hurried toward Jimmy, startled when she saw that the door to his room was ajar. He was stuck in that room until Simon released him—maybe his howls made the door swing open? She ran down the hall and stopped dead in the doorway, shocked by the tableau before her.

Simon stood over Jimmy, curled up in the fetal position. Jimmy's eyes were still unfocused and his lips were trembling like he was trying to speak but couldn't quite remember how.

"What are you doing to him?" Meghann cried. She clung to the heavy brass doorknob to stay upright, overwhelmed by the malevolent force that emanated from Simon. She looked down at Jimmy and knew that her abrupt appearance was the only reason Jimmy's mind wasn't obliterated… Simon was focusing all his power on destroying Jimmy; that's why he hadn't been aware of her presence.

Meghann thought of the past few months… of that mysterious block in Jimmy's mind that prevented recovery. Not so mysterious now that she saw Simon towering over Jimmy… he'd been coming in here and undoing all her work, suppressing Jimmy's mind with the power of his own. All Simon's vows to leave Jimmy in peace were lies… treacherous lies. With a sudden sense of foreboding, Meghann wondered what else he'd lied to her about.

After a long moment, Simon raised his eyes from Jimmy and looked Meghann over coolly, not at all perturbed by the aghast fury in her eyes.

"Get back into bed this instant," Simon said in greeting, his tone brooking no refusal.

"Bed?" she repeated before she remembered her condition. No matter what Simon had been up to with Jimmy, he was right about the need for her to get off her feet. Never moving her eyes from Simon, Meghann inched over to Jimmy's twin bed and gingerly eased herself down.

Simon sat down next to her, giving her a rueful smile. When she tried to spring away from him, one hand lashed out to imprison her wrists in an iron grip.

"I'd hoped this could wait until you'd delivered." he said and gestured to Jimmy, still curled up on the floor.

"What did you hope could wait? Jimmy's been getting better, hasn't he? You despicable bastard," she said, her voice full of the old revulsion and anger that hadn't colored her conversations with Simon for months. "How long have you been undermining Jimmy's progress… creeping in here and holding him down?"

"Meghann—"

"Goddamn you, how long?" she screamed and bit at the hand clamping down on hers with her blood teeth.

In one fluid movement, Simon wrapped his free hand around her neck and forced her head back against the headboard. He loomed over her, gold eyes blazing with the air of simmering menace that always made her quake and back down.

"Don't you look at me like that!" she shouted, working furiously to suppress her tears. What was the matter with her—wanting to cry like a child because the dreamlike sweetness of the past few months had vanished the moment she saw Simon leaning over Jimmy and she realized every honeyed word out of Lord Baldevar's mouth had been part of a calculated plan to make her drop her guard and trust him?

Nothing had changed, Meghann realized. With a sinking heart, Meghann asked herself how she could put her heart in the hands of a creature with no love inside him, just a sick desire to dominate and hurt everyone around him.

"Don't be melodramatic. I have no intention of harming you. I'm simply restraining you until you're capable of discussing this matter calmly and not biting me like some savage, untrained dog."

"There's nothing to discuss," she said shakily, trying without success to move away from the hand locking her head into place. "I asked one thing of you—"

"You asked a great deal of me—including that I shelter your friend, a friend that caused our needless separation. But I did that gladly, just as I forgave your stake and running off to my enemy forty years ago. I was even willing to overlook your cheap promiscuous ways all the years we were apart. But I must draw the line when you have the gall to expect that I'd stand by and allow you that wretch on the floor."

"Allow?" Meghann questioned and burst into bitter, slightly hysterical laughter. "How could I forget… I'm not allowed to have anything the lord and master doesn't approve of, am I? Like a family and people to love! You took all of that away from me the night you forced this damned cursed existence on me… never letting me contact my family, forbidding me to have any friends. Goddamn you, Simon Baldevar—you're not going to take Jimmy away from me!"

"I did not think I'd have to," Simon said, giving her the overpleasant, sardonic grin that made her skin crawl. "You did a rather good job of removing yourself from Mr. Delacroix's life. Or will you not admit that you neglected your patient shamefully once you rediscovered the joys of my bed?"

"No!" Meghann shouted, hardening her eyes. She wouldn't let the bastard see how his words cut into her, that he was right about her ignoring Jimmy over the past five months. Meghann sagged into the bed, and squeezed her eyes shut. A hellish vision floated into her mind, not the appalling picture of Simon leaning over Jimmy but over another man… Johnny Devlin.

Johnny, her childhood sweetheart, wartime fiance… and her first victim. Meghann saw herself, deathly ill from transformation and frenzied with the desperate need for blood. Oh, she'd been desperate but not desperate enough to do as Simon ordered and kill her terrified, half-conscious fiance. It was only after Simon dragged her to him, keeping her head firmly positioned over his jugular, while he kept pressuring her to drink, drink, drink, that she finally sank her blood teeth into Johnny's neck and drained him of life.

Meghann had never forgiven herself for Johnny but her one weak consolation was that if she had a second chance, she'd have found a way to refuse the hideous choice Simon put before her. Now even that pathetic straw was gone. Once again, Simon Baldevar got her to betray a man she professed to love.

But what happened to Jimmy Delacroix was far worse than Johnny. How could she have done this… seen the pathetic shell Simon had reduced Jimmy to and still fallen back under his spell?

Because it was easy, Meghann told herself with loathing. So much easier to fuck Simon than fight him, easy to stop struggling and put her faith in him… faith he'd just ripped out of her, along with her heart.

"There's no need for weeping, little one," she heard him whisper. Now that she lay broken and sobbing on the bed, the overbearing brute was gone… now Simon would offer his silly little doll some more of his false soothing.

"Leave me alone," she sobbed, moving away from the arms that tried to pull her against him.

"You're being foolish," Simon said softly, though he did remove his hands. "Why castigate yourself for making a wise choice? Really, sweetheart, only a complete featherhead would continue to battle me. Naturally you chose to accept love and all the comfort I wished to bestow upon you in place of that futile resistance. Why should you have held yourself chaste and bitter, slaving in behalf of a witless creature, instead of embracing me and all I can give you?"

"I don't want anything from you!" Meghann screamed and slapped him across the face with all her strength, wondering if he'd dare strike her back while she was pregnant.

Simon only smiled, rubbing his wounded cheek. "I'd heard breeding women have black moods and unpredictable behavior. You need to rest, little one. I'll take you back to our room so you can calm down and stop endangering our children's health with all this aggravation—"

"Get your filthy hands off me before I bite them off!"

"Stop behaving like a wayward brat," Simon said, ignoring her furious struggles when he tried to gather her up to carry her away from Jimmy's room.

"Put me down, damn you! Put me down!"

Roughly, Simon grabbed her, giving her a small shake about the shoulders. "Cease that caterwauling and fighting immediately. Do you wish to bring on premature labor?"

"Leave me alone…" she started to say, and Simon simply clamped his hand over her mouth, all her frenzied attempts to pull away from him having as much affect as a fly against his impenetrable strength.

"Get off her, motherfucker."

Meghann felt Simon's arms slacken as they both turned stunned eyes to the figure standing by the door—Jimmy Delacroix, looking more than a bit bewildered but ready for battle with the leg he'd ripped from the solitary wood chair in his room serving as a makeshift stake.

"Jimmy?" Meghann said hesitantly, peering at him from her position behind Simon. She couldn't believe that her eyes weren't deceiving her, that Jimmy Delacroix was really standing and talking, the hateful blank stare replaced by a guarded expression that made Meghann smile in spite of her misery.

"Don't worry, Maggie," he said brusquely, not moving his eyes from Simon or his appraising amber gaze. "I'm not gonna let this freak hurt you anymore."

"Jimmy!" she said joyously and took advantage of Simon's momentary shock, leaping past him to fly toward Jimmy, her arms open to embrace him.

But Jimmy took a step back, looking at her body with bewilderment. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Huh?" she said and then realized what a shock her swollen figure must be to him. She stopped cold, her arms falling limply to her sides while her face suffused with a blush of deep humiliation.

But Jimmy didn't seem upset. Shaking off his momentary disconcertment, he swept her off her feet and planted a huge kiss on her surprised lips.

"What the hell's been happening, Maggie?" Jimmy said gleefully and kissed her again. "Have I been sick? I mean, Jesus, when did you get so pregnant?"

"What?" she asked, acutely disturbed by Simon's continued silence.

"Have I been sick?" Jimmy repeated and then he glanced at her in perplexed confusion. "Maggie, something's the matter with me… I feel different."

"Oh, honey," she whispered, feeling an aching wave of pity for the man still cradling her to him. "You… you're a vampire now, have been for nearly eight months."

"Eight months?" Jimmy echoed and sank to the floor, Meghann petting his long hair consolingly. "No, it's not possible, it…"

But he broke off and Meghann saw that he knew it was true. Besides being in her bloodline, Jimmy was far too young a vampire and too distressed for his thoughts not to reach her. She saw his bewilderment at the odd strength that coursed through him, the suddenly keen hearing that made him hear the tide of the ocean as clearly as though he stood on the shore though he was in this homely room he'd never seen before. And worse, there was a need… a sudden craving…

"No!" Jimmy howled. It was on him, a desire for blood a thousand times stronger than the worst time he'd ever needed a drink.

Meghann left him momentarily, reaching into the small refrigerator in a corner of the room. She returned to him with a transfusion pack of blood that Jimmy looked at for a split second with a mortal's loathing before he snatched it from her grasp and drank thirstily.

"It's okay," Maggie whispered to him while he devoured the blood. God, how she knew what he was going through, knew what it was to hate yourself for enjoying the taste of copper and iron, for feeling a sudden sense of well-being and power.

Do you see now? Meghann said and felt a brief moment of amusement at Jimmy's shock to hear her unspoken words. Most likely, Simon would hear every word but she had to try and bar him from these words she meant only for Jimmy.

This is the blood lust? Jimmy questioned back, looking like a shaky toddler just learning to walk when he answered her back telepathically.

Meghann nodded and stroked his long hair comfortingly. This is why I never wanted to transform you, Jimmy. Maybe we do gain longevity and some powers I'll teach you but there's always the blood lust. That's the curse of a vampire's existence. It's bad enough fighting it myself… I never wanted to see you struggle with it too.

But what changed your mind? Why did you transform me?

Oh, Jimmy…

"Wait," Jimmy said and tossed the empty plastic bag away. At the unwanted memory, the ability to speak telepathically abandoned him and his agonized shriek filled the room. "You didn't transform me… it was… oh, God, no!"

"It doesn't matter," Meghann said and glared at Simon, lounging on the bed and looking more like a hawk than ever with his tawny eyes focused on her and Jimmy… a hunter ready to swoop down on his prey but holding back, savoring their terror before making the kill.

Finally, Meghann looked away, turning her attention back to her shattered lover. Over and over she crooned that it didn't matter who transformed him, he was still capable of finding peace within his new existence. She and Charles would help him tame the blood lust and he'd never have to do anything that shamed him or made him feel he was some unholy monster.

"Jimmy," she said, forcing him to look at her. God, she prayed, don't let this shock make him slip back into the catatonia. "When that fiend transformed you, he deliberately made it difficult… he wanted you to fall into the insanity that makes so many transformations a failure. And you did—Jimmy, you were out of your head, completely mindless and unable to focus on anything but your need for blood. But I kept talking to you, pleading with you to come back, and you heard me… you got your mind back! No vampire has ever recovered his sanity after a bad transformation—only you! That proves how strong you are, that you're capable of anything, anything at all…"

Slowly, Jimmy raised his head from her tear-drenched shoulder and took a sniffling breath. "Yeah," he agreed and gave Meghann a timid, hopeful smile. "I kind of remember hearing you. It was like I was at the bottom of a well and your voice was coming at me. I wanted so much to tell you I heard you but he held me back." From Meghann's protective embrace, Jimmy threw Simon, still eerily quiet, a ferocious look.

"You're right, Maggie," Jimmy said firmly and stood up, helping Meghann to her feet. He clutched her shoulders and gazed lovingly at her bloated body, causing Meghann to give him another puzzled glance.

"Wow," he said and his hands grazed her abdomen gingerly. Then, he raised his eyes again and gave her a reprimanding glance.

"You shouldn't have done this, you know," he said reproachfully and indicated Simon. "Don't think I'm not grateful that you saved me from whatever hell he had me living through but Jesus Christ, Maggie! You didn't just risk your own neck this time… what if he hurt our baby?"

"Our baby?" she repeated numbly and then heard the malicious laugh behind her. Turning, she saw Simon rise off the bed and make his leisurely way toward her.

Before she could move, he came behind her, putting one hand around her stomach while the other shoved Jimmy away when he moved to protect her.

"Get the fuck away from her!" Jimmy growled and Simon laughed again, keeping a firm hold on Meghann, squirming and clawing at the arms encircling her.

"You may rest assured I will not harm her." Simon ran his hand over Meghann's cheek, purring out, "Mr. Delacroix seems confused as to the paternity of your child, little one. Shouldn't you enlighten him or may I have that delightful task?"

"Maggie, what the hell is he talking about?" Jimmy questioned uneasily, and Meghann saw the appalling knowledge bloom in his eyes as Simon's hands caressed her distended stomach with familiar, loving hands. He knew Simon Baldevar wouldn't touch her that way if she were pregnant with another man's child.

"Maggie, no!" he screamed, eyes and voice pleading for her to refute the hideous truth Lord Baldevar put before him.

Meghann brought her foot down with all her strength, feeling grim satisfaction when she heard Simon's big toe crack under the assault. He loosened his grip and she ran to Jimmy.

"It's true," Meghann said quietly and took a deep breath, determined that her confession not be the victory Simon wanted. "But he raped me… that night he killed Alcuin and kidnapped me…"

"I know, Maggie. When I went to the house to rescue you, I saw what he did to you. Fucking rapist," Jimmy snarled and hurled the chair leg at Simon's heart.

Easily, Simon sidestepped the missile and stalked toward Jimmy but Meghann placed herself between them. At the amused scorn in Simon's gaze, something cracked inside her. Meghann was past anger, past any sane emotion, her only desire to make Simon hurt as badly as she did.

"It used to make me sick, knowing I was carrying the child of a bastard like you," she said coldly. "But I love my children enough to overlook the unfortunate accident of who their father is. And I'm going to spare them that knowledge—these children will never know you, never! Alcuin was right—you destroy everything you touch. I don't know why the hell I didn't listen when he begged me to see through all your phony love. Kill me or let me leave this room with Jimmy, Lord Baldevar. Those are your only two choices because I'd die before I let you be a part of my children's life."

Abruptly, Jimmy shoved her behind him. "Maggie, get the hell out of here before he kills you!" he screamed.

Simon gave Jimmy a brief look of annoyance before lifting him off the ground with one hand and flinging him halfway through the brick wall of the fireplace behind him. Stunned by a blow that would have killed him if he were mortal, Jimmy could only watch help lessly as Simon grasped Meghann's chin.

"Mr. Delacroix," the vampire said calmly, and Meghann felt more than a little panic at the flat glint in his eyes, his bone-white skin and lips stretched into a narrow, grim line. "Even if I believed Meghann's words, I would not kill her now. I'd wait until she served some purpose and gave me my heir." Visibly dismissing Jimmy, he turned back to Meghann and favored her with a faint grin. "Words are cheap, pet. What say you to backing that little speech with action, Lady Baldevar?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Meghann nodded and Simon sank to his knees before her, laughing at her perplexed look.

"You claim to regret not heeding my uncle's warning to spurn my love. As I recall, he did not simply caution but offered you a way to rid yourself of me once and for all. Remember? You must call out to the great Alcuin and allow him to possess your body so he may slaughter me. Summon my old enemy… you know I shall make no attempt to strike you now. Even a fiend such as myself would not kill a woman bearing his son. With me destroyed, you and your lover can live happily ever after… perhaps he'll even be good-natured enough to play father to our child. Come now, Meghann, achieve your heart's desire with one word—Alcuin."

Meghann raised her hands, and her mouth opened but no sound came forth… she could push nothing past the lump in her throat. Alcuin, she tried to say but a bittersweet kaleidoscope of memories flashed before her. The small bedroom faded into the vastness of the Nevada desert, where she had nearly lost her life and clung to Simon, begging him not to leave her alone while he had held her close and assured her no one would hurt her again. Then she saw Simon crush her to him when she shyly offered him her father's ring after he had asked her to marry him. Unbidden, she felt herself back in the rustic little wedding chapel softly lit with dozens of candles that blurred and became indistinct when she had blinked back tears of joy as she placed the ring on Simon's finger.

"Something wrong?" Simon inquired silkily and gave her an arch grin that made her curl her fist and land a staggering blow on his chest.

"I hate you!" she screamed and hit at him blindly, wanting to kill him when she heard his triumphant peal of laughter. "It's not true, it's not! You… you've spelled me somehow, warped my mind!"

"If I had you under any spell, you'd be far more amiable, I assure you. Come now, sweetheart—enough of this foolishness. We both know your cruel words had no substance behind them. You still love me, no matter how piqued you are by my treatment of that nonentity." Simon swung her into his lap, pinning her arms to her chest to keep her still. "Can't you see I had to keep him unaware so you would not be burdened with the upheaval of his reemergence? Look how upset you are and I admit I am to blame for part of that, but I did not shatter our bargain. I was willing to give him his freedom after you gave birth. I still might allow him to live… if you fulfill your part of our deal."

"Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe you tortured Jimmy out of concern for my health or that you had any intention of letting him go?" Meghann snapped, glowering at the condescending gold eyes. "You just don't want any competition, you… you insecure prick! And what deal are you talking about?"

"You'll have to curb your tongue around our children—I'll not have my heirs exposed to such sordid language. I'm sure you don't recall our deal… you have no desire to at present. But I shall refresh your selective memory. You agreed that once Mr. Delacroix regained his faculties, you would tell him all that has happened between us… or I would. Shall I start with this?" Simon held up his hand so the plain gold wedding band was reflected prominently in the overhead light.

Though Jimmy was a few feet from them, his vampire eyes gave him the ability to make out of every detail of the gold ring… a ring he'd seen a thousand times before around Meghann's neck.

"Your father's ring?" Jimmy said incredulously, and Meghann resisted an impulse to hide her head in her hands so she wouldn't have to see the hurt disillusionment in his eyes. "Why the hell is that thing wearing your father's ring?"

"Because I gave it to him," she said tiredly. She sighed and glanced at the floor, unable to meet Jimmy's eyes when she told him everything that had happened while he was insensible.

Meghann spared herself nothing, suppressed no truth Simon could later use against her. She started at the beginning, telling Jimmy she'd barely had time to grieve over Simon's kidnapping him when she discovered she was pregnant. She explained why she needed to drink Lord Baldevar's blood, their bargain that she could work on healing Jimmy in exchange for carrying Simon's child willingly.

She told him about the friendship that sprang up between her and the fiend, how it deepened when she clung to Simon in terror after Guy Balmont's surprise attack. There was no joy, only shame in her voice when she said she'd not only been Lord Baldevar's lover the past five months, but his wife.

"There's no excuse for what I've done… none at all. I'm so sorry, Jimmy," she said through her bitter sobbing. "You were my best friend, next to Charles, and I never wanted you to be hurt. Believe me, I'd never have taken a lover if I knew Lord Baldevar was alive. The fiend will kill anyone I try to love. Now that I'm pregnant, I'm stuck with him—if I want to be in my babies' lives, that is. And it's more than that… in some twisted way, I do love him—almost as much as I hate him. Leave, Jimmy, please. Just forget me."

"Maggie, no! It's a joke, right?" Jimmy pleaded. "Like before—you're tricking him and you'll kill him when the moment's right. Maggie, there's no way you can love this asshole."

"I'm sorry," she began but Simon put a finger over her lips, pressing down so she couldn't open her mouth to bite him.

"You do not owe him remorse. Never apologize to those beneath you, little one. Mr. Delacroix has his wits, what little there were to begin with, as well as the gift of immortality. If he hungers for you, that is his dilemma." Simon placed his chin over Meghann's head and gave Jimmy a grin full of mock compassion. "I truly sympathize with you, Mr. Delacroix. Of course you fell in love with Meghann… I cannot fault your taste, but this extraordinary creature was never meant for such as you. Go and find some bland little sparrow to share your nights with and never cross my path again if you wish to remain alive."

"Meghann?" Charles and Lee stood in the doorway, their eyes darting between the couple by the bed and the man that stood a few feet from them, brick dust clinging to his hair while he slumped and blinked back tears.

"She's simply absorbing the shock of Mr. Delacroix's startling recovery," Simon said and glanced at Charles, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture at Jimmy. "Do with him as you will. I'm taking Meghann back to bed so she can relax. Doctor Winslow, come with me… I'd like you to make sure this distress hasn't aggravated her condition."

"No!" Jimmy yelled and yanked his arm away from Charles. "I'm not going anywhere… especially not with you! Maggie thinks she loves this psycho… why the hell didn't you get her away from him when he first started to fuck with her head?"

"She needed his blood," Lee started to explain.

"Who the hell are you?" Jimmy demanded but turned his fury on Meghann before Lee could reply. "And you! You used to have a mind of your own—wouldn't give a creep like this the time of day. After all you told me he did to you, if you stay with him you're nothing more than a damned stupid bitch!"

"What did you call me?" Meghann said incredulously, and Simon deposited her on the bed.

"Do you see now why I tell you all your altruistic efforts are for naught… that they will not be appreciated?" Simon scolded. "Look at this cur… you salvaged his mind and in place of thanks, you receive insults. Doctor Tarleton, please escort Meghann to her room while I deal with this worthless specimen that thinks he can address my consort in such a manner."

"Fuck you! She's not your consort and she never will be!" Jimmy screamed. "You've done something to Maggie, twisted her somehow. Come on, motherfucker… Maggie may not be able to kill you, but I won't have any problem with it. When you're gone, she'll be herself again."

"Simon, no!" Meghann yelled when he stepped toward Jimmy, and all four men flinched at the high-pitched shriek that cracked the window behind her.

"Please," she said and clutched at his hands. "What do you care what he says or calls you? I said I love you… isn't that enough? Please don't hurt him!"

"Maggie, shut up!" Jimmy snarled. "Let me hear you say you love him one more time and—"

"And what?" Simon inquired icily, throwing off Meghann's hands and stalking toward Jimmy.

Jimmy took an uneasy step back… where the hell had that unreasoning anger come from? Was this part of the blood lust too, that rage that made him want to wrap his hands around Maggie's throat and take all of that I love you talk out of her by force? And why was he yelling at Maggie, calling her names when none of this was her fault, when the cause of all the hell of the past year was standing right in front of him, those damned yellow eyes daring Jimmy to come closer?

"I'm not gonna back down," Jimmy said, so furious he wasn't even afraid of the homicidal rage brewing in Simon's gaze. "I'll die before I stand by and let Maggie stay with you… she doesn't know what she's doing."

"You wish to lay down your life for a woman you mean naught to? Very well, such an imbecile has no business being a vampire anyway." He spared a brief glance at Charles, unable to do anything so far except stare in shock at the two enraged vampires before him. "Take Meghann from this room now."

"No!" Meghann screamed before Charles could move toward her. "Simon, please listen…" she started to say but Jimmy flew at Simon, a frenzied desperate attack as he pummeled and clawed, trying to get him down on the floor.

For one moment, his hate actually lent him enough strength to surprise Simon and a ragged line of scratches appeared on one cheek but Simon soon regained his equilibrium and flung Jimmy from him with an outraged roar.

Now he stood over the prone vampire but didn't continue the physical assault. Instead, he lifted his hands far above him and began a low, even chant that made a strange dark light illuminate his hands.

"Jimmy, get away!" Meghann screamed and broke away from Charles. She knew what Simon was doing… had done it herself to kill a vampire when she had no stake or weapon to aid her. He was using a Druidic ritual, appealing to an ancient Celtic goddess to give his hands the strength to plunge past Jimmy's breastplate and remove his heart. If she could stop the chant, she could prevent Simon from gaining the power he needed and maybe distract him long enough for Jimmy to escape.

Jimmy heard her terror and broke the paralysis Simon's words already held him in. He managed to get one foot up and slam it through his enemy's groin, making him fly off his feet.

"No!" Charles screamed when Simon flew at Meghann, scrambling toward the two creatures fighting over her. Though Simon swiftly regained his balance, he wasn't able to stop himself from crashing into her.

Meghann didn't simply fall to the floor; she slammed through it, a choked cry of pain issuing from her.

"Meghann!" Simon turned her over gently, his face turning an unnatural shade of white when he saw the crimson stain spreading over her nightgown.

"Help me," she panted, barely able to speak through the monstrous pain ripping through her.

Lee ran to her and pushed the nightgown up. "It looks like placental abruption and she's hemorrhaging—must be disseminated intravascular coagulation for her to bleed like this." Simon and Charles both blanched at the prognosis as well as the river of bright red blood pouring down Meghann's legs. "She's lost the ability to dot Pick her up easy, I've got to do a caesarian stat… may even have to do a hysterectomy to save her."

Simon picked her up, flinching when Meghann moaned and clutched at her abdomen. Swiftly, he followed Lee out of the room, not even seeming to notice Jimmy backed against the wall.

"Get out of here, Jimmy," Charles said when they left the room.

"I didn't mean it!" Jimmy burst out, eyes beseeching Charles to understand. "I didn't see her behind him! Jesus, I'd let him kill me before I hurt her like that."

Charles nodded briefly, some of the panic leaving his expression as he turned to Jimmy. "It was just a terrible accident but that doesn't matter. You're lucky Lord Baldevar really does love Meghann. If he weren't so concerned with saving her life, you'd be dead by now. But whatever happens, he's going to hunt you down. Here," Charles said and withdrew a fat wad of bills from his wallet. "Get to the house in Rockaway. Under Max's doghouse, Meghann put the address of your sister… she moved your family after Simon transformed you, to keep them safe."

Jimmy flinched at that information, that even if Maggie had done something he really didn't want to think about with Simon Baldevar, she'd still cared enough to look after him and his sister.

"I can't leave… I have to help Maggie…" Jimmy didn't care if Simon hurt him. He had to go to Maggie and do whatever he could to save her.

"You can't do anything for her now," Charles said but softened his tone at Jimmy's shattered expression. "Look, you know I'll do everything I can for her, and the other man is Lee… the most gifted obstetrician I know. I'll let you know what happened… send a letter care of your sister. Please, Jimmy, get away from here before Simon destroys all her hard work to bring you back by slaughtering you."

Jimmy nodded and stepped into the hallway with Charles, feeling something start to block him but then ease away.

"One thing," Jimmy said and put his hand on Charles's shoulder. "Please tell Maggie I didn't mean to hurt her. Tell her that I love her."

"Of course," Charles said and without another thought for Jimmy Delacroix, flew the astral plane, his destination the large ballroom that had been transformed into a surgery and state-of-the-art neonatal ICU for the twins, should they need it.

Charles arrived and saw Simon and Lee already scrubbed and masked, Meghann prepped for surgery on the operating table.

"Let me," Charles said to Simon after he scrubbed up and inserted the feeding tube in Simon's hands through Meghann's nose. He attached it to one of the packs of Simon's blood, prepared weeks before at Lee's suggestion. "You concentrate on keeping her calm."

Simon nodded and wiped a cold cloth across Meghann's clammy brow, holding the hand that gripped his with bone-crushing intensity.

"Promise me," she gasped, fighting to speak through the agony that gripped her.

"Anything, little one."

"Don't… don't forget me…"

"Don't you dare talk that way," Simon said fiercely, meeting her pain-glazed eyes. "I won't forget you because you're going to be at my side, raising our children."

"I hope so," Meghann said and smiled through her tears. No matter how angry she was over what he'd done to Jimmy, this might be the last time she talked to him and she didn't want it to be a conversation of remonstration or hate. "But if I'm not… please, you raise these children like I want… you be soft and tender… like you are with me. Don't… please say it wasn't an act, that you really can live like that—"

"Hush," Simon said. "I'll be everything you want in a father for your children and if I'm not, you'll be here to nag and carp."

"One more—ow, Jesus! Lee, what's going on?"

Over his surgical mask, Meghann saw the fear in Lee's eyes and felt grateful when he didn't try to lie. "There's some fetal distress. Are you ready for the caesarian?"

Meghann swallowed back her apprehension, knowing the pain she was in would only get worse when Lee cut into her, and nodded. "Just one… Simon, don't hurt Jimmy Delacroix. He didn't want this to happen… promise me you won't go after him."

A narrow slash of red appeared in his cheeks but Simon only said, "Anything you want, Meghann. Now relax and think only of the wonderful little babies you're going to see soon."

Dimly, Meghann heard the fetal heart monitor and knew that one of the babies was in trouble, or maybe both. The heartbeat was too slow… their only hope was delivery. Please, she prayed to anyone that might be listening, let Lee complete the caesarian before they die.

The pain was hideous, worse than anything she'd ever felt before… worse than transformation even. She knew she was in shock, knew it by the horrible shaking cold that gripped her. She felt the sweat pouring off her clammy skin and the nausea that gripped her through the pain.

"Gonna be sick," she slurred and felt someone, Simon or Charles, grab her by the shoulders and pull her up so she wouldn't choke on the vomit.

"Help me," she whispered, not sure whom she was addressing. She felt a hand grip hers and managed to open her eyes, gazing into Simon's eyes. His eyes were narrowed and his jaw clenched as though he were in pain too and then Meghann understood… he was taking some of her agony into himself, trying to lessen it for her. In that moment, she felt any remaining anger fall away. All that mattered was that this was the father of the children she wanted so badly to live.

"Thank you," she tried to say but in that moment she suddenly found herself standing over her supine body.

Charles stood guard by the machines that monitored her vital signs and frowned. "She's passed out from the shock."

"Might be the best thing," Lee murmured and made a neat, vertical incision from her navel to the pubic bone, spreading the abdominal muscles apart before making another vertical incision through the wall of her uterus. "Good thing she can't feel the pain, doesn't know what's going on."

But I do know, Meghann tried to say. Why couldn't they hear her? She glanced at Simon, frowning down at her bloodless, still face.

Simon, don't you hear me?

Abruptly, his head jerked up and when their eyes met, Meghann saw something in his eyes she'd never seen before—terror.

Meghann, don't you drift away, he said and she moved toward his outstretched hands, finding herself back in her body, almost welcoming the fierce pain. Let her feel pain as long as she remained here, didn't die.

"Don't let me die," she whispered, her voice so weak that only Simon, positioned right by her mouth, could hear her. "I… I have to know the babies are okay."

"You won't die," Simon promised and leaned down to kiss her, pulling back in shock at her ice-cold flesh. He turned to Lee, a hard-driving edge in his voice. "Hurry!"

"What is it?" Charles demanded.

"She's dying," Simon told him, looking almost as pale as the semiconscious woman on the operating table.

"Damn… I can't stop the hemorrhaging! Charles, I need your help!" Lee said, handing Simon two incredibly tiny, bloodied figures that Meghann knew were her children. She wanted so much to hold them but she felt herself fading away again.

Was that really her—that still figure with a mop of fiery red hair framing a face that resembled white dough? Look at those deep creases around her eyes and mouth, she thought with an odd sense of detachment from the dying body on the operating table.

Just a little more time, Meghann pleaded with an unseen force but it kept dragging her away from the nightmarish scene of seeing her body die, watching the life drain from her as blood spurted up from the sickly green sheet covering her and drenched Lee's surgical gown. The blood kept coming despite all Lee's frantic efforts to save her, and Meghann was hurtling away, drifting toward some strange place…

Come back, Meghann!

Take care of my children, she tried to say to Simon, and her last emotion before the peaceful blackness claimed her was a soft pity when she saw Simon clinging to the empty shell that was her body and pleading with her not to die.