Lethal Rider

Shade gave Than a droll stare. “I’m a demon. You want professional, haul her over to the Mayo Clinic.”

Thanatos snorted and gestured for the daywalker vamp to come over. “See if you can touch her.”

Doing her best to not recoil, Regan held out her hand. The vampire’s fingers skimmed harmlessly over her knuckles.

“Weird.” She frowned. “I had a doctor appointment just last week and there were no issues. Maybe the baby only reacts to demons?”

“Maybe.” Shade held out his arm. “Can you touch someone? Try me.”

Couldn’t hurt. At least, couldn’t hurt her. The demon might not be so lucky. Tentatively, she placed her fingers on his forearm. Nothing happened.

“Interesting.” Shade handed Than a thermometer. “Can you get her temp?”

Thanatos stuck the thing in her ear, and a moment later, it beeped. “Ninety-eight point eight. Is that bad?”

“Perfectly normal. Looks like the baby protected you from the frost demons. Regan, what’s your due date?”

“August twenty-ninth.”

Shade glanced at his watch. “Ten days. You’re close.” He went down on his haunches beside the bed and lowered his voice. “Are you okay? Any concerns you want to share? Do you want to talk in private?”

Her opinion of the demon shot up about a million points. Somehow, she hadn’t expected him to be sensitive to her needs or considerate of her privacy.

“I’m fine,” she said. But ten days? How did the time sneak up on her like that? “But if you could get a message to Kynan to let him know what’s happened, I’d appreciate it.”

Shade nodded. “Any medical concerns? Has the pregnancy been normal?”

“There was a minor incident at the beginning of my sixth month. Some cramping and bleeding.” When she saw Than stiffen out of the corner of her eye, she added quickly, “Everything’s okay. The docs suspected placenta accreta, but the ultrasound didn’t reveal anything.”

“What is that?” Than asked.

Shade frowned. “It’s when the placenta attaches itself too deeply into the wall of the uterus. It can require surgery after the baby is born to remove it.” Shade stood. “Are you on any special treatment?”

“Bedrest for a while, but it was just a precaution.”

“Okay,” Shade said. “Since I can’t do much more here, get some rest and food, and call if you need anything. I’ll have Eidolon come by when he gets a chance.” He shouldered his medic bag, but before he could leave, she shocked herself by calling out his name.

“Shade, wait.” When he paused at the door, she chewed her lower lip.

She wasn’t used to having civil conversations with demons, and besides, the first time she’d met Shade, a couple of years ago in Egypt, he and his brothers had been antagonistic sons of bitches with no respect for The Aegis. They’d all gotten off on the wrong foot, for sure.

“Was there something else?” Shade finally asked.

“Yeah. Um…thank you.”

Shade grunted. “Look at that. A thank you from a slayer. The Apocalypse really is here.”

“I take it back,” she muttered, and fell back into her pillow as he stalked out, not even bothering to smother his laughter. Thanatos followed him, leaving her alone.

Normally, she’d be grateful. She’d always been comfortable with her own company. But for some reason, she didn’t want to be alone right now. What she wanted was to go home. To the only home she’d ever known.

The Aegis.

* * *

Thanatos followed Shade out of the room and stopped him when they reached the great hall. “Tell me the truth, demon.”

Shade’s expression shuttered. “What makes you think that anything I’ve said was a lie?”

“I don’t think you lied. I think you omitted.” Than smiled grimly. “I deal in death, and I sensed your fears for Regan.”

“I’m a paramedic,” Shade said as he adjusted the medic bag on his shoulder, “not a doctor. You need Eidolon.”

“Yeah, well, he’s apparently not available, and don’t give me the paramedic bullshit. You know more about medicine than most human doctors, so spill.”

Shadows flickered in Shade’s eyes, and Than wondered what gifts this Seminus demon possessed. “The baby is fully formed and ready to be born, but he’s big. It could be a difficult birth, made more so by her earlier problem and the fact that right now it appears that there can’t be any medical intervention as long as no one can touch her.”

Women had been giving birth since the beginning of time, and although Thanatos knew how dangerous it could be, he tried to comfort himself with the fact that females were designed for reproduction, and there was nothing more natural than having a baby.

“If she were able to be touched, what would a human doctor do in this situation?”

Shade shrugged. “Monitor closely. Probably induce labor by now to make sure the baby doesn’t grow any larger. Maybe schedule a C-section to be safe.” He shrugged again. “I haven’t kept up on human obstetric medicine, so I could be talking out my ass.”

Thanatos suspected the demon was covering his ass. “You have non-demons on staff. Maybe one of them can handle her case. A vampire at least, since we know vampires can touch her.”

“We do have a vampire medic,” Shade said. “And we have a lot of non-demon doctors. It’s possible one of them can deal with this.”

“What can I do in the mean time? What would you tell me to do if things were normal?”

One black brow arched. “Fuck her.”

Than wasn’t sure he heard that right. But the demon couldn’t have been clearer. “Ah…what?”

“Have sex with her. It can help induce labor.” Shade smirked. “And unless you’re jumping up and down on her belly, it’s not going to hurt.”

Thanatos rolled his eyes. Stupid sex demons. “Tell Eidolon I want to see him immediately.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing, Horseman,” Shade drawled. “You don’t order Eidolon to do anything.”

Most demons had more respect for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but not these Seminus brothers. It was annoying as shit. The only one Thanatos liked was Wraith, but that might be because in a lot of ways, the laid-back demon reminded Than of Reseph.

“You said you like the planet the way it is. You sure about that? Because the female in my bedroom is carrying a child that could make or break the world. And I probably don’t need to remind you that your sister started this all.”

“No, please remind me, asshole. There’s never enough blame to throw around.” Shade paused, oddly hesitant. “Ah … speaking of blame, you should probably know that I’m the reason Regan is pregnant.”

Thanatos jerked as if he’d closed his hand around a live wire. Teeth clenched, he growled, “Explain.”

“I hooked up her egg and your sperm. I didn’t know any details about the situation at the time, and I’m guessing Kynan kept them from me so I wouldn’t have to go through some overly moral internal struggle.” He shrugged. “Humans. Anyway, there you go.”

Than wasn’t sure if he should kill the demon or give him props for admitting what he’d done. Took balls, for sure. “If you’d been aware of the situation?”

“Does it matter? It’s done. But I will say that when it comes down to it, I’d sell my soul—hell, I’d sell your soul, to keep my mate and kids safe. I’d do whatever it took. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t. You’ve got a kid on the way, so think about how far you’d go to protect him.” Shade spun on his heel. “I’ll tell E to come by. In the meantime, keep Regan safe.” The demon disappeared through the front door.

Keep Regan safe? What did Shade think Thanatos was trying to do?

Needing to make sure she was still okay, he quietly pushed open the door to peek into the bedroom. Regan was sitting on the bed, one hand clutching a sandwich, the other stroking her belly. A hint of a smile curved her lips as she looked down, and no, that wasn’t the picture of a woman who was prepared to easily give up a baby she