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needed. They made their hosts the perfect predator, giving them increased strength, speed, and fangs to gain the needed blood. And because sunlight dehydrated the body and increased the need for immortals to feed, it had also given them amazing night vision so that they could live and hunt at night to avoid the damaging rays of the sun, in effect, making them vampires.

    “Thank you, Allen,” Jackie murmured as Vincent greeted his aunt.
    Nodding, the man backed out of the kitchen, allowing the door to close behind him.
    “How was your flight?” Vincent asked as the two broke apart.
    “Fine, fine. We had a two-hour delay, though, which is why I’m late getting in.”
    “Oh, yes. Bastien said your plane was landing at six,” he murmured.
    Jackie glanced at her wrist watch. It was now well past eight. Obviously, they’d both forgotten about his aunt. The fact that Bastien’s mother was flying out to California had slipped her mind entirely. She wished it had slipped the woman’s mind. Jackie hadn’t considered her visit a problem until Bastien had suggested she not mention what was happening here unless she wanted Marguerite’s interference.
    Jackie wasn’t keen on interference from anyone, but would never be rude to Bastien’s mother. Not telling her anything seemed the smartest move. She just hoped Vincent had the sense to keep his mouth shut on the matter too.
    “And who is this?”
    Jackie let go of her thoughts and forced a smile as Marguerite turned bright, curious eyes toward her and Tiny.
    “Oh.” Vincent’s smile was stiff as he introduced them. “This is Jackie, my P.I.—”
    “P.A,” Jackie corrected quickly, giving him a meaningful stare. She then smiled brightly and held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Argeneau.”

    “Thank you, dear. It’s nice to meet you too,” she said, taking her hand. “Call me Marguerite.”
    Jackie’s smile froze as she felt a ruffling sensation in her mind. Her defenses immediately kicked in and she thought of a brick wall, then started to recite “Itsy Bitsy Spider” in her head for good measure in an effort to keep the woman out of her thoughts.
    Marguerite’s eyes widened briefly, then narrowed, but Jackie just forced a wider smile. If the woman felt rebuffed, it was too bad. In her opinion, it was rather rude to intrude on people’s thoughts. Not that most people would even have realized she was doing it.
    Marguerite fluttered at the edges of her mind for another moment, then released her hand and turned to Tiny.
    “And this is my…er…cook, Tiny,” Vincent added with a pained expression.
    Jackie watched Tiny, relaxing when she saw his lips begin to move as he shook Marguerite’s hand. He was reciting “Little Bo Beep.” At least that was what he’d once told her he did when he thought a vampire was trying to rifle through his thoughts.
    Their efforts might have kept Marguerite out of their heads; Jackie couldn’t be sure. Unfortunately, the very fact that they’d tried had the added side effect of making Vincent’s aunt suspicious. Jackie could see the emotion flicker in her expression as she glanced from one to the other. After a moment of tense silence, the vampire turned suddenly to Vincent.
    “Did Bastien send a package on ahead as promised?”
    “Yes, it arrived this afternoon,” he assured her. Then he realized, “Oh, of course. You must be hungry after your flight.”

    Vincent moved across the room to the refrigerator and opened it, revealing bagged blood stacked up neatly in amongst the cheese and veggies. “One or two bags?”
    Marguerite stiffened at the sight of the blood in plain sight. Her gaze slid to Jackie and Tiny, taking in their inscrutable expressions before she answered.
    “Two, please. I’ll have them in my room,” she added, apparently uncomfortable with the idea of feeding in front of them.
    Vincent grabbed a couple bags, then ushered her out of the room.
    “She’s pretty,” Tiny commented as