THE AGENTS they've allowed into the kitchen are sopping wet.

The woman, with blonde hair, flattened from rainwater, and a tight-fitted pantsuit, stands in the doorway of the kitchen with scrutinizing brown eyes. "Reid Kimberk."

From the chair he's draped in lazily, with a shin resting on Hannah's thigh, Reid enunciates carefully, "Maybe."

Reid keeps breaking the intense eye contact the woman is giving him to take in the man, who's doing nothing to hide the fact he's looking over the kitchen with an assessing gaze.

The only person seemingly enjoying this nightmare is Rowan, who's taken the third chair across, and her green eyes sparkle with excitement.

The woman's jaw twitches. "I'm Agent Nyx. This is my partner, Agent Stanton. The Bureau of Magic needs some questions answered, and then we'll be on our way."

Nyx gives her partner a glance that has them sharing something unsaid, and Hannah stiffens in her chair beside Reid. Despite her sordid past, she's never been questioned by law enforcement, and she's beyond nervous.

"Or..." Kane says, glaring at Nyx from where he leans against the back door with his arms crossed and bulging his biceps. Hannah has to pull at the collar of her shirt, feeling out of breath. Her fingers holding Reid's ankle tighten.

Then Kane dares to smile menacingly, and she's close to hyperthermia. "You could fuck off and leave."

"Kenneth Rainer," Nyx says with an icy gaze. "Your car was found abandoned in a parking lot where a bomb was set off during an auction. There was a high number of casualties."

Kane snorts. "I don't own a car."

Nyx parts her lips, but before she can dispute that obvious lie, their unexpected saviour, Kiernan, leaning against the counter's edge, says coldly, "Your agency is not permitted to question the boy."

The blood has been hastily cleaned, and now Kiernan's healed, and once again, his presence is close to overwhelming every time Hannah accidentally catches his dark eyes. He somehow manages to wear the engulfing sweatshirt, joggers, and sock-clad feet with an air of superiority, his chin tipped just so, and his eyes hooded with unshakable confidence.

Nyx reveals with a bite of anger, "Your car was found in the parking lot of the Pancake Express in question, Kiernan Moreno—yes, we know who you are." She says smugly, "Just for your information, it's been impounded."

Hannah has a pang of guilt to churn her stomach that's already twisted up with nerves. They kidnapped Kiernan, drove his car, and got it impounded. The Bureau is going to have all their cars at this rate. They only have Reid's left. She's not convinced that he even uses it; she's never once seen him drive the shiny vehicle parked on the grass beside the gravel driveway.

Expression never faltering, Kiernan says coolly, "You could be inciting a war by overstepping tonight."

"As an agent, for your information, I can do whatever the hell I want." Nyx's lips rise into a cutting smile that has Hannah tensing. "You're far from home and far from Gabriel's protection. That bastard might think he owns the Bureau, but there's those of us that don't get on our knees for vampires and their interests."

Agent Stanton is clearly trying to keep Kane close. He's much shorter, but he has bulk under his jacket, and there's something in his dark eyes that makes Hannah think he might be trouble in a fight. She watches him closely.

Stanton's voice is naturally deep when he says, "The boy was untouchable, but now he's an unregistered vampire with an unregistered maker. We'd be in our rights to take him in tonight."

Reid laughs nervously. "There's paperwork?"

Nyx says, "You have twenty-four hours after turning to file. I'm going on a whim to assume you're over that time. We'll give you some leeway if you answer our questions." She takes a familiar silver cell phone from her pocket and wags the device in the air. "This is yours. Isn't it? Do you know where it was found this morning?"

Reid winces. "No..."

Nyx places the cell phone on the countertop screen up. "At a Pancake Express this morning, magical fluctuations went through the roof, destroying the restaurant, and over ten vampires were found slain. Two humans were also found shot dead."

Hannah's heart sinks. Of course, someone got caught in the crossfire, but hearing it said aloud makes it real. She feels nauseous.

Kane groans, "You're such an idiot."

Reid tries, "That's not—"

Stanton interjects, "It's locked by a password, but there's a message that came in on screen, and before it's cut off, it reads, and I quote, 'Reid Kimberk, if you were at that Pancake Express this morning...'"

Stanton retains his cold expression to match his partner's, even when the kitchen erupts in Kane's drunkenness and Reid's breathless laughter. Hannah can't overlook the absurd hilarity either, and she's losing her composure against the palm of her hand with them.

Kiernan's posture relaxes. "You have no evidence save for this cellphone message you've unjustly found that you've hinged this entire late-night interrogation on." He smiles with fangs at Nyx's deepening frown. "You won't find what you're looking for here."

He slowly slides the cell phone closer with his fingertips. "This phone was stolen. Unless you have camera evidence... "

Stanton clears his throat, and before his partner blows, her brown eyes glowing brighter with awakening magic, he says hastily, "We've been investigating a series of human murders; the victims have all been ordinary, with no connection to our world.

"We believe that the incident at the auction, that we know you attended, has something to do with the perpetrator. The Pancake Express that was decimated this morning holds evidence that it was connected as well. We only want to stop anyone else from falling victim."

Kiernan hums uncaringly and slowly picks up the device, swiping his fingers across the screen, and Hannah can feel the way Reid stiffens at the sight.

Rowan shifts in her chair and says to Nyx thoughtfully, "Vampires take care of their own. You're an agent, so you effectively work separately from the Bureau on your own investigations. Why are you interested in this? You should be on the south side, stopping the werewolves from infighting or looking into the drugs that the Sinclair Coven has been smuggling through the pier on cargo ships."

"Hey," Reid growls as Kiernan continues swiping, obviously bypassing the password on Reid's phone easily.

Reid drops his foot from Hannah's thigh to thud loudly against the tile. He rises from his chair in one fluid motion.

Nyx, along with her partner Stanton, are both on the defensive instantly, reaching for what Hannah assumes are weapons concealed under their clothing.

Kane doesn't move away from the back door, but his gaze sharpens and his muscles are visibly tense.

Kiernan's dark eyes flicker up at Reid, slowly narrowing, and then he turns away, facing the sink.

He starts typing faster.

And he doesn't so much as flinch when Reid crosses the kitchen with angry stomps and ignites a tense struggle for the cell phone that has the pair of Bureau agents in their kitchen gawking.

"Reid!" Hannah gasps, horrified.

Reid has no qualms about draping himself over Kiernan's back and grabbing for the phone, but Kiernan is stronger than he was this morning.

Kiernan's breathing heavily and goes as far as to lean over the counter and outstretch his arms far from Reid's prying fingers so the vampire can finish whatever he's typing with such haste.

Reid snarls, "How do you know my password?"

Kiernan growls, "It's one, two—get off me!"

"I told you to change that," Kane says gruffly. "Moron."

The tap of Kiernan's thumb hitting send has Reid's fingers in his hair, yanking harsh enough for Hannah to wince in empathy.

Stanton has a hand under his jacket. "Do you...need assistance?" He sounds very unsure.

Everyone takes in a perceptive flinch when the phone is tossed onto the kitchen table with impressive accuracy by an angry Reid.

Kiernan tosses an elbow back, and the hard bone collides with Reid's stomach, knocking the air from Reid's lungs in a sharp exhale. He's not the limping vampire they've been keeping in their parlour anymore. He grabs Reid's face, pudging his cheeks, and has him pinned against the wall before anyone can react—even Reid, blue eyes wide with shock.

"Hey," Kane growls in warning, shifting away from the door as if to stop the abuse but seemingly thinking better of it at the last minute. His frown deepens, and his form wavers. Hannah doesn't think the unsteadiness is from the bourbon this time. Reid is giving off anger in waves, and it's dizzying.

Reid glares and shoves Kiernan's chest, and they're in a strange fight, if this could be called such. Hannah doesn't know, just that Reid isn't putting much strength into shoving Kiernan away, half-hearted. Kiernan doesn't seem to be trying to hurt Reid either, even when he takes a hold of Reid's wrists that move to shove him away and subdues him with jarring ease.

Reid has lots of emotions passing over his expression, anger in his dark eyes, but his lips are quivering at whatever Kiernan is murmuring in an angry, low tone that shivers the air. Hannah catches a few stray words: 'Stop', 'Stupid', 'Only...' The rest of that sentence is cut off by Reid snarling back in a low, icy tone.

She can't hear, but whatever Kiernan says through clenched teeth spurs Reid's anger to soar, and he uses his strength to retake his wrists.

Not putting up resistance, Kiernan's shoved away. He gives Reid a warning look that has Hannah nearly laughing aloud because it's the same one she's seen fathers give an unruly child. Reid glares back, but doesn't speak.

With a pinch to her slender brows, Nyx clears her throat and gives Rowan her entire attention. The agent, at a glance, appears to be in her late twenties. Near her hairline, she has a curved scar, and her blonde, rain-dripping hair sticks to pale, lightly freckled cheeks.

Nyx asks authoritatively, "What's your name, ma'am?"

"Ma'am?" Rowan parrots happily.

"You don't have shit," Kane growls, finished with the runaround. "Get out of my house."

Stanton looks at Nyx and shakes his head.

Disregarding her partner, Nyx doesn't back down from Kane's taller stature, holding his gaze unwaveringly. "You seem to think you have a choice. You don't. This killer has taken someone important to me. You're going to tell me everything you know."

There's a threat there.

Kane moves closer to the woman; in that intimidating way, he does so well. Nyx doesn't blink, not even a flinch, when Kane comes to a stop an arm's length away from where she lingers in the doorway.

Kane growls, "Get out."

Nyx says, "Azrael. That's the name that keeps coming up. Survivors of the bombing named him the leader of this vampire cult."

Reid's blue eyes are dark, glaring at Stanton.

The agent glares back, even though Hannah's shuddering with trepidation from Reid's animosity that's making a full breath difficult.

Kane glares down at Nyx, unimpressed. "You must be hard of hearing. I said, get the fuck out of my house."

Nyx takes a step forward without a care. "Gabriel Kimberk is connected to this, and his son knows something." She has to tip her chin back to hold Kane's fiery gaze. "If I have to take him in, I will, screw the consequences."

Hannah rises from her chair slowly. She can see the green of Kane's eyes glow with rage.

"Kane," Hannah warns.

Kane bends close enough that Nyx must feel his breath on her face, but her icy gaze never falters. "Try, and you'll never leave my property alive." He lets the words settle to raise the tension in the kitchen before saying lowly, "There's wards that'll go off the moment someone crosses that's an enemy. You won't reach the main road before you burn up."

Stanton scoffs. He keeps his gaze on Reid. "That's bullshit. He's lying. There's no ward that powerful."

Nyx's lips have a ghost of a smile. Her eyes flash brightly. She enunciates slowly, "I'm not leaving. If you have to die for my questions to be answered..."

It's not clear who attacks first, but Hannah would bet it's Nyx. Her lips rise into a smirk that promises nothing good. And Lucas's claim that these are killers is laid true before Hannah's widening eyes.

Kane's drunk, but, he's Kane. He takes a kick to his stomach, but in seconds he has Nyx's wrists, but she's absolutely trained to fight close quarters, and Hannah can hardly keep up with Nyx's catlike movements.

"Nyx!" Stanton growls. He's begun backing up the moment his partner smirked. He reaches into his jacket—the gleam of a gun glints from the overhead light.

Hannah has to decide who she's going to help in mere seconds. Nyx is too nimble for Kane to subdue. He manages to grab her from behind, but the sole of her shoe hits the framing of the door, and she kicks off with a guttural growl.

They both stumble into the hallway. A painting falls, and glass shatters loudly.

Seemingly calm despite the chaos, at Reid's hand gesture, Rowan quickly slides under the kitchen table.

"Put down the gun," Reid orders Stanton authoritatively, and Hannah shivers with the obeying power the growled words hold.

Gun shaking, Stanton resists and strains, "Put your—"

Before the agent can finish, Kiernan tosses a mug from the drying rack. The ceramic hits Stanton dead-on, shattering and splattering blood over Hannah's face.

Disgusted but needing to act, Hannah rushes forward, grappling for the gun, but even staggered and bleeding, Stanton won't give up his weapon, holding tight.

She's struggling, and a fist grazes her cheek, until another set of hands are over hers, trying to wrestle the pistol from the agent's fingers. She catches a glimpse of Kiernan's dark eyes, which are apathetically cold, but his breathing is ragged with adrenaline.

Her hold is stopping Kiernan from being able to relinquish the gun fully, but she can't let go for fear that the weapon will be used against her.

Stanton either slips or he's tripped. They fall to the ground in a heap of limbs.

And in the chaos, the gun goes off with a bang.