Eye of the Beholder

judge to issue the warrant for Grimm and Sons. This, with actual evidence, would be a piece of cake.

Jamie grinned when her brothers Magnus and Morgan showed up at the condo for lunch, sniffing the air appreciatively.

Ah, the lure of the Philly cheesesteak. She bit into her sandwich, slapping Jeff’s hand away when he reached for her hot peppers. “Get your own,” she mumbled around a bite of gooey, cheesy goodness.

Magnus just shook his head at her as he settled on the floor in front of the coffee table. Her love of hot peppers was something of a legend in the family, as was Jeff’s attempts to steal them. He popped the tab on a can of soda and took a healthy drink before unwrapping his sandwich. “How’re you feeling, munchkin?”

“Like I was run over by a truck.”

Magnus winced, unable to keep from visibly tracing her bruises.

“I don’t blame you, Mag.”

“Don’t matter. He blames him.” Morgan sat next to his twin and unrolled his sandwich. “Hell, I blame me too.”

“The only one to blame is Grimm, and you know it.” Travis sat next to her on the sofa, his can of soda right next to hers. He had a bowl of chips cradled in his right arm. He waved away her attempt to take it from him, placing it between them after he’d set his soda down. She’d never had the chance to watch him so closely before. Seeing how he handled his lack of a right hand had been something of an eye-opener.

Things she took for granted, like holding her phone and texting her friends at the same time, Travis had to find work-arounds for. But not once had she ever heard him complain or seen him act uncomfortable. More than once her fingers had twitched, wanting to help him button his shirt, but she’d held back. He didn’t need her help, and frankly she didn’t have the right to touch him that way.

“Here.” A hand reached around and gave Travis his sandwich.

“Thanks, Jeff.”

Her twin slid onto the third spot on the sofa next to Travis. “Welcome.” He bit into his sandwich with a happy moan. “Mmm. Geno’s.”

“Heathen,” Magnus coughed.

“Pagan.”

“Children.” Kir joined the brothers on the floor. “Play nice.”

“Or what?” Morgan asked, balling up and tossing his empty wrapper at Jeff.

“Or Logan will keep all the cheesecake for himself.” Logan helped Jordan into the chair, handing her a soda and a sandwich before heading off into the kitchen again.

Jeff frowned. “Since when do you drink Sprite, Jordy?”

“Since today.” She took a sip and made a face. “Blech.”

“Gimme, I’ll drink it.” Jamie stood to take the can of soda from her sister.

Travis pulled her gently back down. “Let her be.”

What the hell? “I was just gonna switch drinks.”

“Sit.” Travis’s eyes narrowed, but something about his expression was off. He was hiding something from her, and she didn’t like it one little bit.

“Woof.” Jamie matched Travis’s glare, but it was hard. At least most of the swelling was finally gone, so glaring at him was no longer painful. Of course, now she looked like a goth Rainbow Bright, all greens and purples in unattractive places.

He sighed. “Trust me. Don’t switch drinks.”

“Why not?”

“Yeah, why not?” Jordan stood, but got put back in her seat by Logan, who sat on the arm of her chair.

Logan stared down at Jordan, a frown on his face. “Do you want me to tell them why not, or would you rather tell them?”

Jeff was watching them, speculation in his eyes. “You’re pregnant.”

All sound ceased as Jamie and her brothers stared at Jordan.

Jordan rolled her eyes, and pandemonium erupted. It was so loud Jamie barely heard the doorbell ring.

“I’ll get it. Stay put.” Travis got up and answered the door, letting Uncle Val into the condo.

Seriously, what do these guys eat? ’Cause I want me some. It suddenly shocked her how good the men in her family looked. Uncle Val could have been a model. Admittedly, he’d be selling guns or motorcycles, but still. M’row. She bit down on her cheesesteak with a grimace. And ew for thinking that.

Uncle Val had to be in his mid to late forties by now. Instead, he looked like a man in his late twenties or early thirties.

She frowned. Come to think of it, how old is Travis? He had barely changed at all since the first time she saw him nine years ago.

She blinked. How the fuck old were Magnus and Morgan, for that matter? She stared at her brothers, visions of vampires running through her head. They hadn’t aged, either.

Not one. Damn. Day.

She swallowed hard, the steak nearly choking her. Oh hell.

She looked over at Jeff, who was frowning at her. What? he mouthed.

She turned back to Magnus and Morgan, watching them devour their second set of steaks. Okay, maybe werewolves? How long does the furry set live for, anyway? Her big brothers were serious carnivores.

“Hey, pumpkin.” Uncle Val leaned down to give her a hug, and she winced. “Did I hurt you?”

The genuine concern on his face helped ease some of her fears, but not all of them. Couldn’t vampires hypnotize people with their eyes? “Um, no.”

Those icy eyes of his narrowed. “What’s wrong?”

She bit her lip, wondering how to head him off. Uncle Val was like a bulldog when he thought something was wrong with any of his nieces or nephews. “Nothing.”

He studied her intently, joined by Travis. The two men looked like they were trying to see inside her soul.

Are two vamps stronger than one vamp? She didn’t know, but she wasn’t eager to find out. She squeezed her eyes shut. It was a stupid gesture, she knew that, but it wasn’t like she could go running down the hall for the elevator and freedom.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Someone slip magic mushrooms onto your sandwich?”

She opened her eyes to see Jeff frowning at her curiously. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.” She gave him a weak, sickly grin, signaling with her hands that he should drop it.

“It’s finally worn off.” She looked over to find Travis grimacing and exchanging a loaded glance with Uncle Val.

“We knew it would.” Uncle Val picked up a sandwich, but the easy expression he’d walked in with had turned hard. It was his game face, the one he showed when he was about to get down to business. On anyone else that expression would have terrified her. But this was Uncle Val, who wouldn’t harm a hair on her head.

Would he?

“We knew what would?” Jeff stood off and faced his uncle and friend, his hands clenched at his sides.

He’d angled his body between hers and theirs, protecting her, his expression fierce.

Travis held up his hand. “Down, boy.”

Jeff held up his hands, but she could tell her twin had hit the limit of his patience by the way his whole body tensed up. He was about two seconds away from losing it. “Look, nice as it is to know, you didn’t call a family meeting to tell us my sister is pregnant. So what’s up, and how does it affect Jamie?”

“The last person on the face of the earth I would ever hurt is your sister, and you know that.” Travis gestured back towards the sofa. “Sit down, Jeff. I promise, we’ll explain everything.”

“Wait. Jordan’s pregnant?” Uncle Val turned with a happy smile to hug Jordan, ignoring the way Logan scowled at him. She knew the two of them had some issues with each other in the past, but she thought they’d