The funeral home smelled like tulips and Pine-Sol, which proved to be a heady combination for my fragile senses, and I had to continually check my balance even with Vincent keeping a vigil at my side. He was nursing a guilty conscience from our ill-fated tryst the night before, while I hid the bruise under a black scarf.

I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who showed up to pay their respects to my surly neighbor. Besides my family and friends, Dr. Travejo from the VA popped by, as well as Henry's in-home nurse, Kathy. Rose, the weekend cashier at Jin's market, was also there, along with an ex-boss who claimed to have kept in touch with Henry, although I'd never heard a word about the man.

Mr. Pearlman's grandson, Steve, arrived late but admitted to having a fear of visiting the city. He'd scheduled his flight in and out so tightly that he had just over an hour to say goodbye to his grandfather.

"I appreciate you taking care of my gramps," he said as he stared at the simple, gold urn holding what was left of Mr. Pearlman. "I know you probably think I didn't care about him, but after I got mugged in Rockefeller Center, I had a hard time getting my lousy ass back here."

"Mr. Pearlman never told me you got mugged," I said, wishing I could calm the guy down. His hands wouldn't stop trembling, although it may have been my six foot three husband causing it.

"Gramps never knew. Nobody did. I couldn't bear having anyone think I was scared to visit. Pathetic, huh?" He glanced up at Vincent, proving I was right about the source of his nerves.

"It's not pathetic," I told him. "A lot of people have a hard time getting past traumatic events. I don't think Mr. Pearlman would have thought any less of you. At least he would have known why you weren't visiting."

Steve looked down at his scuffed, brown loafers. "Yeah, I should have told him. I guess there are a lot of things people wish they could do after it's too late."

"I will agree to that," Vincent put in as he rubbed my back. "Now that you've admitted it to someone, why don't you do something about it? Stay in the city as our guest. I'll pay to reschedule your flight. Do you like Italian food?"

Steve looked stricken, like Vincent had asked him to skydive off the Empire State Building. "Uh, sure."

"We have reservations at The Olive and Chive. It's in a quiet part of town."

"I didn't know there was such a thing." Steve attempted a smile as he glanced at his watch. "Well, I don't have anyone waiting for me at home, so... I guess that would be okay. Thanks."

A smirk had grown on my face that I didn't know was there until I found myself alone with Vincent and he called me on it. "What's with the smirk? I hope it means you're feeling better."

"I'm thinking about your invitation to Steve. I knew you were charitable, but I thought it was geared toward preserving architecture, not steeling the nerves of a cowardly lion."

"Maybe I had an ulterior motive," he said with an innocent shrug. "I thought you might want to get to know Henry's only living relative."

Despite my three-inch boot heels, I had to lift onto my toes to kiss his cheek. "Your altruism knows no bounds."

Sylvie appeared and whispered loud enough for both of us to hear. "Don't look know, but I think someone is here to crash the party."

We all followed Sylvie's not-so-subtle gesture toward the door where Christoph was walking in. Rather than his usual hoodie, he wore a black button-down shirt, and he'd done something different with this hair. Was that gel making his buzz cut shine?

"What's he doing here?" Vincent growled, ditching his charity and replacing it with his ego.

"He asked if he could come. That's why he texted me last night."

"Simmer down, big guy," Sylvie said as she patted Vincent's sleeve. "We're in a funeral home not a honky-tonk."

"I won't start anything if he doesn't." The death stare Vincent gave Christoph said otherwise.

"Really, Vincent." I left my overzealous mate and went to greet Christoph, who was walking slowly around the edge of the room as he scanned faces. When he noticed me, I saw him exhale, but his eyes quickly flicked to something behind me. Probably Vincent on my heels. "Hi Christoph. Thanks for coming."

"I wanted you to know there were no hard feelings between me and the old guy." Christoph looked at Vincent and jutted his chin. "Vincent."

"Christoph," Vincent jutted back.

"There's a shitload of paparazzi outside," Christoph said. "You'd think it was the pope inside that urn."

I couldn't keep the smile off my face. The guy tended toward the irreverent side of manners, which was fine by me. He and Mr. Pearlman would have gotten along great under different circumstances.

"Sadly, they're only here to get a look at my baby bump. They think I hogtied Vincent by getting pregnant on our first date." I patted the swell beneath my form-fitting dress like I'd just finished off a whole plate of ribs.

"Even if the press knew the truth, they would still print what they thought would get the biggest reaction. How are you feeling? Have the fevers subsided?"

Christoph's question earned him a snort from Vincent, who seemed to be barely holding it together beside me. "It's going on four days with no fever. Also, no word from you-know-who."

"Really? I wonder what he's up to? I'm surprised Vincent hasn't ripped the guy's lungs out already." Christoph turned his cool gaze on my mate, looking unimpressed by Vincent's impersonation of a statue. "I'd be happy to help out if you need it. Just let me know."

"There are plenty of able bodies willing to step up." Vincent spoke as if each word were a blade he was throwing at Christoph, and I elbowed him gently.

Christoph smiled slyly, as if he'd noticed my subtle nudge. The dueling scents of the man-beasts assaulted my sinuses, and I heaved out a sigh.

"Speaking of help, Christoph..." I said quickly. "About that favor I mentioned. How often do you make trips to the Dakota hive?"

"I haven't been sent there since I moved to Manhattan. So, about five years. Why do you ask?"

"Well, we have a demon friend who needs a message delivered to his niece, but he doesn't want the queen to know about it. We thought you might be able to do that for him."

"Another demon friend? And here I was thinking I was the only one." Christoph cocked his eyebrows suggestively. Was he stupid or just trying to push Vincent's buttons? Something told me it was the latter. "Who is this demon?"

"His name is Titan. He left the Dakota hive when he became disgruntled with his queen. He's been living the life of a rogue for a while now."

"Disgruntled with his queen, huh? I can relate to that. And you want me to deliver this message so they won't suspect I'm on a covert mission for my gollum friend?"

"In a nutshell, yes. Will you do it?"

"That depends. Did your friend tell you which guard he wants the message delivered to?"

"His name is Serge. Do you know him?"

"Yeah, I know Serge. He's pretty ancient. And he's a little off, so I'm not sure why this Titan guy would trust him. The problem is, Serge hasn't been a guard for years. I'll have to come up with a legitimate reason for requesting him. My movements are still heavily monitored. I'm assuming there's more to this little exchange? Something that will benefit the Valentinos?"

"Yes, but not just the Valentinos. Titan has agreed to help us destroy the cube if I find him a demon to deliver the message. That's his one condition."

A devious smirk arrived on Christoph's face. It was an expression I'd become quite familiar with. "Let me guess. Vincent suggested I take the bullet, but you told him no."

Vincent took in a sharp breath. "Listen, you little prick..."

"Stop. Remember where we are." I cut-in just as Christoph was throwing his shoulders back. "It wasn't just Vincent's idea. All the magisters discussed it. Now that we know who the necromancer is, and we know he won't share the cure to my fevers until he has the cube, we needed to find a willing demon to snatch the cube back from Dmitry after we hand it over. Titan even agreed to let himself get caught. We figure Dmitry will be on the hunt for demons to turn into zombie soldiers once he has the cube."

"Geez, Reese. That's a big ask. And you say Titan is no relation to you?"

"Well, there's some connection. He tried to save my life when I was about four years old, but Vincent's dad saved me instead. It's a long story."

Christoph's eyes went wide. "I'd like to hear that story some time. So, he feels like he owes you, huh? What about Willem? Isn't he willing to risk his neck for his granddaughter?"

I glanced at the tips of my boots. The conversation was feeling more and more like an inquisition, and I wasn't even the one being questioned. "Willem disappeared from Titan's hideout after they were attacked by one of those zombie demons. Titan hasn't seen him in several weeks."

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry."

"Thanks. I'm trying not to think the worst."

Sylvie walked up and nodded at Christoph. "Hi, Christoph. How're they hangin'?"

"Good. And yours?" He grinned, and I caught Vincent rolling his eyes.

"Can't complain. Hey chica, your parents were asking about lunch. Are we all meeting somewhere?"

"Yeah. Tell them I'll be right over."

Sylvie kissed my cheek, and when she was out of earshot, I wrapped things up. "I really appreciate you coming to see Mr. Pearlman off, Christoph. Please, just think about what I said. I know it's a lot, and I know you're under Hadria's thumb, but if this works out, it will help everyone. Not just me and the baby."

Christoph closed his eyes as he breathed heavily through his nose. Clearly, he wasn't happy about our request, and I hated like hell to put him in that position, but he was our only hope. "Let me see what I can do. I'll let you know in the next forty-eight hours. Will that do?"

"Yes. Thank you, Christoph. Your help means the world to me."

"I know. You're the only one I'd go out on a limb for, Reese. And just in case I don't see you for a while, I wish you the best with your baby. I know you'll be a great mother. And, Vincent, we have rarely been on the same side of a fight, but I admire your commitment to duty and family. Keep yourself alive. Reese deserves that." Christoph stuck out his hand, forcing Vincent to suck-it-up and shake it. Then he was gone.

I held my emotions in check as I watched Christoph disappear out the door. Why did he think we might not see each other for a while? Was there something he wasn't telling me? My feelings finally betrayed me as a tear slid down my cheek, but Vincent made no further comment as he tucked me under his arm. While I didn't think I needed to hide my emotions, we were at my friend's funeral, after all, I did refrain from rushing after Christoph to hug him, although I really wanted to.