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“Call Harriet,” I said. “She might be able to help with the ritual.”

“Do you really think this guy’s going to sit still long enough for you to complete a blood ritual?”

“He will if he’s unconscious,” I said. “I’m sure we can manage that much.”

Gage appeared in the doorway. “I’m afraid your offshore plans will have to wait. Ben called. The monster is in the marsh behind his house again.”

Because of course it was. “Timing is everything,” I said, not without bitterness.

Vale held my gaze for an extra beat. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Gage looked between us. “Should I round up the troops?”

“I was about to do that anyway. Have them meet us outside in five.”

Gage shot out of the room like a bullet.

The hunt was on.

By the time Vale and I descended the steps to his courtyard, Gage, Cowboy, and two other vampires were waiting for us.

“This is Chris 1 and Chris 2,” Cowboy said. “This is Maya.”

The vampires grunted in unison. With their Neanderthal brows and thick brown hair, they looked like twins, which was odd given they shared the same first name.

We piled into Vale’s SUV. I noticed that the others left the front passenger seat open for me. I accepted it without comment.

Vale called Harriet and passed the phone to me so that I could explain what I needed regarding the ritual.

“Tell her to use my library if she needs it,” Vale said.

“I can hear you, Vale,” Harriet’s voice echoed loud and clear inside the SUV. “I’ll head over there right now.”

“Text any updates,” Vale said. “As soon as we finish with the monster, we’ll be heading over to Evermore.”

“Busy day,” Harriet said.

I exhaled. “Aren’t they all?” I set the phone in the cup holder and glanced in the rearview mirror. “You have a straight nose,” I told Gage.

The fae met my gaze in the mirror. “Um, thanks?”

“Sorry, ever since Meemaw said I have an isosceles triangle for a nose, I can’t stop noticing everyone else’s.”

“You mean a right angle,” Vale said, with a quick glance at my face.

“That’s what I said to her.”

“Consider us blessed,” Cowboy said. “We all have good noses in this SUV. I think it’s the most hated body part for humans.”

“No, that’s the stomach,” Gage countered. He poked his head between us to gaze at his reflection in the rearview mirror. “I’m happy with all my body parts, even my teeth. They’re naturally perfect. I don’t even use whitener.”

“I drink too much coffee for perfectly white teeth,” Cowboy said.

The charming bungalow came into view. Vale parked along the road, just short of the driveway entrance.

“Why couldn’t the monster settle on the beach?” Gage complained.

Cowboy rolled his eyes. “Or why not behind the bar of your favorite restaurant?”