I never doubted karma was real. The good and the bad, because sometimes shit happened that you knew came directly from an action you took not two hours earlier. This time, my karma came in the form of a phone call from Christoph.

"Willem bolted," he said as soon as I answered. "He left while I was at the market, so he has at least thirty minutes on me. I followed his scent to the river. He's headed west."

"What are your chances of catching up with him?"

"I can probably track him. Is that what you want, or should I head to the hive?"

Christoph's question stumped me. Was he asking my permission, or was he already thinking about the pardon he had just been granted?

"You need to do what's best for you, Christoph. The burden of Willem should fall on one of his relatives, not on you."

"My relationship to Willem is not as distant as you think, Reese. I care what happens to him."

"I didn't mean it that way."

"I know you didn't." Christoph took a moment to breath heavily through the phone, probably pacing, and this gave Vincent time to walk out of his office and join me in the kitchen. His wary gaze told me he had been privy to my conversation, so far. "The fact is, Willem has shut me out," Christoph went on. "Even if I do catch up to him, I won't be able to convince him he's better off here. I don't think anyone could."

Despite my worries about Willem, I couldn't argue against Christoph's logic. There was a time to push and a time to observe from a distance.

"You've done all you can for Willem. He has to help himself now. Go check on your friends at the hive. If Willem wants to come back, he knows where to find us."

"Okay. I'll let you know when I've made it, but once I'm in the hive, I'm sure my phone will be confiscated."

"Don't take any risks on our account. Hopefully, the next time you call you won't need a hospital."

He chuckled but it sounded flat. "That's the plan. Take it easy, Reese, and if you want to follow Willem's trail, don't wait too long. I can give you the coordinates, if you want to write them down."

"That won't be necessary," I said, glancing up at Vincent. "I know exactly where Willem is headed."

"Chicago?"

"Yep." I ended the call and Vincent was at my waist, wrapping his arms around me. "Willem took off," I said into his chest.

"That's what I gathered."

"I figure he's headed for Chicago to see Petula. I told Christoph to go to the hive and not worry about tracking him down."

"I would have suggested the same thing."

"Do you think Willem will be hindered significantly by his wound? He probably shouldn't grow wings in that condition." I lifted my gaze and found Vincent shaking his head.

"Taking his demon form will accelerate the healing process. That was probably what saved his life when he received the wound."

"Oh. What about his survival instincts? He said he hasn't left the hive in twenty years. There are serious pitfalls to being alone in the world."

"I would put Willem against any human survivalist, young or old, injured or not. If he really is headed for the convent, he knows the way, and he will be in good hands when he gets there."

I had to agree with Vincent on this one. Once Willem got to Chicago, Petula would take care of him. That's what a nun would do.

~ ~ ~

The duties of Mr. Pearlman beckoned me at five AM, and he laid awake and alert when I clicked on the light.

"You're starting to become an early bird," I said as I watched him swallow his pills.

"It's not by choice," he grumbled. "Griffin and her mother think I need company at four in the morning. And then they want to cook for me at that ungodly hour. They don't even let me have my morning smoke." He stopped to cough and I handed him his water glass to soothe it.

"Should I slip a hint to them that you would rather sleep-in and have your smoke?"

He downed another pill, making me wait for his answer, but I had a feeling I already knew it.

"Naw, I wouldn't want to hurt their feelings. Besides, they cook as well as my wife did."

"Ask them to cook you a meal your wife used to make. I'm sure they would love to do that for you. I'll order everything from Russell's grocery."

He looked up at me after swallowing his sixth and final pill, and his gaze lingered on my face a little longer than usual, making me think he was actually glad I had dragged his butt over here. I suddenly felt the urge to hug him, so I did.

"For an old guy, you're pretty cool, Mr. Pearlman." 

"What did I do?" He shrugged, pretending he didn't know exactly what I meant.

My cellphone chimed in my pocket and I quickly checked the message, knowing it could be news about Christoph or Willem. Nope.

I'm going to assume you're not into ropes or tricks.

It surprised me Deidra waited this long to poke her head out of her hole again. It probably drove her crazy that I hadn't responded to her first text, or was I proving her right? Why should I care? Vincent didn't love her. He didn't even like her, and I wasn't obliged to play her game, which meant I didn't have anything to lose by offering a little tit for her tat.

I don't need to trick my mate into bed.

I hit send and looked up find Mr. Pearlman watching me. "Everything okay with you and Vincent?" he asked. "He and his brother, Colin, seem to have one of them sibling rivalries."

"Oh, sorry about that. They act like juveniles when they disagree on something."

"Are you sure it ain't one thing in particular they're disagreeing on?" Mr. Pearlman attempted to raise his eyebrows, but he really didn't have any to speak of, so I raised mine instead.

"Did you know that's called leading the jury? C'mon, you have to pee."

Once Mr. Pearlman had been tucked into his recliner with his coffee, I escaped back home to find Vincent filling his work-out water bottle at the fridge.

"How's the old timer?" he asked.

"Getting older by the minute, but still stubborn as hell," I said as I made for the coffee maker. "He wants Amelia and Griffin to cook him chicken fried steak and chocolate pie, which is way off his post-surgical diet."

Vincent grinned as he kissed me on the forehead. "Your concern is touching, but the guy is eighty-four, let him have his pie."

As I prepared my colorful retort about pies, my cellphone chimed in my hand, and I set it on the counter. I didn't have to look. I knew exactly who it was.

"What's wrong, Reese? Is it Christoph again?"

"No, it's Deidra. She's been hassling me." I swiped to read the new message and realized I couldn't read it. "She's written this in Latin. What does provoco ad singulare certamen mean?

Vincent leaned over my phone as another text popped up with the words Two Weeks, and he grimaced as he read the first message. "It says I challenge you to a duel. And she's giving you two weeks to prepare."

"Oh, crap. I guess I should have expected that."

"Yeah. It looks like you provoked her," he said as he pointed to my previous text. I scrolled up so he could read Diedre's original taunt from Friday morning, the one that mentioned the rope tricks, and his eyebrows cranked up. "So, that's why you were interested in learning about Kinbaku. Don't let Deidra get into your head. Believe me, you don't want her there."

"Well, it looks like she's going to be there for the next two weeks, at least. Maybe I should join you in the rec room," I said, eyeballing his water bottle. "That's where you're headed, isn't it?"

"Yes, but... Jonathan and Colin are joining me. It's going to get rough in there."

Based on the way he held his lips slightly pursed, I figured his worries were less about my safety and more about his brothers engaging with me, specifically Colin. My boobs had a habit of escaping my cami top during mock combat, and more than once Vincent got himself an eyeful, which usually progressed to a mouthful.

"I'm going to fight a jealous gollum who teaches Krav Maga to marines," I offered.

"You don't have to accept her challenge, Reese. I've told you that."

"I know, and I'm giving both options my full attention before I respond to her. In the meantime, more battle training can't hurt."

I could tell Vincent wanted to smile at my smooth rebuttal, or rhetoric as he would put it, but he offered a surrendering sigh instead. "Go change. And wear a sports bra under your shirt for extra protection."

I managed to keep my grin hidden as I scurried off to get ready. Extra protection, my fanny. He wasn't fooling anyone.