"Alessandro and I will assist you," Edward announced, and then added, "I presume one
of us was to be the recipient of the stake he was reaching for? That being the case, it
seems only right that we assist in handling the man."
Victor nodded reluctantly and turned the mortal to make him exit the restaurant.
Lerner had been docile ever since he'd touched his wrist. Victor was able to control his
mind and behavior somewhat so long as he was touching him. He continued to be
unresisting as they led him outside.
They dealt with Lerner quickly. Edward, Alessandro, and Victor circled him, each
touching his arm or face as they invaded his thoughts and wiped them from his mind.
Once finished, the man was unconscious. They moved him, leaning Lerner against the
building next door, then Victor took out his cell phone and flipped it open to press a
quick‐dial number. Edward and Alessandro waited patiently as he called Argeneau
Enterprises, explained the situation, and arranged to have the man picked up.
"Do we wait here for them to collect him?" Alessandro asked as Victor flipped his
phone closed.
Shaking his head, he pocketed the phone. "He isn't going anywhere and they shouldn't
be long. Come on."
He led them back inside.
"All taken care of?" DJ asked as the trio reentered the restaurant. The other men still
stood by the door.
Victor nodded and asked, "Do we meet Elvi now?"
"Soon," Brunswick said, and then glanced around. "We'll need a bigger table now that
you're all here. I'll see what I can arrange."
"And so there are four of us," Harper said as the officer slipped away.
"You mean five," Alessandro corrected.
"DJ is only here because he drove me," Victor explained.
"Ah." Alessandro nodded, and it was Edward who said, "That's still more competition
than I expected."
"No competition at all, really," DJ pointed out. "She can't be the lifemate for all of
you."
"That's not entirely true," Harper corrected, and when the other immortals turned to
him with surprise, he said, "I had a friend back in Germany in Victorian times. He and
his cousin met a woman neither of them could read. She could have been a lifemate to
either of them."
DJ's eyebrows drew together. "What happened?"
"They both courted her. She chose his cousin." He glanced away briefly before
admitting, "My friend was sure he would never meet another who would suit him so
well. Unable to bare the thought of watching his cousin enjoy the happiness he might
have had, he destroyed himself."
Silence fell in the group as they absorbed this news and then Brunswick returned.
"I've arranged to switch tables with Jenny Harper and her friends. Follow me, boys."
Brunswick didn't wait for agreement, but turned and headed off.
"I have never quite gotten used to being called ' boy' by men who look older, but are
really far younger than myself," Harper commented.
Victor merely smiled as he started forward.
"Sit down," Brunswick instructed once they'd reached the table.
"Actually," Harper murmured as the rest of the men sat, "I think I'd like to go thank Ms.
Harper and her friends for giving up the table for us. If you'll excuse me."
Without waiting for Brunswick's permission, Harper moved away, slipping through the
tables to the booth they'd been at earlier.
Brunswick frowned after him, but then turned back to the table and said, "I need to go
in the back and see if Mabel and Elvi have arrived. I shouldn't be long."
He started to turn away, but paused, eyes narrowing at something by the entrance.
Victor turned to glance that way, eyebrows rising at the sight of an agitated, gray‐
haired man in the vestments of a priest rushing toward the officer.
"Teddy Brunswick!" The man was flushed and obviously agitated. "Louise Ascot just
told me that you've actually brought half a dozen soulless vampires to Port Henry!
What are you thinking?"
"Now, Father," Brunswick caught the priest by the shoulders and turned him back the
way he'd come. "There's no call getting all upset over this. Everything's fine."
"Fine?" the man exclaimed, drawing to a halt and turning on him with disbelief. "There
is nothing fine about this, Theodore Brunswick. Elvi's one thing, she's a good God‐
fearing woman even if she doesn't have a soul anymore, but bringing in six more of
these beasts?"
"Father, this is neither the time nor the place," Brunswick said firmly, urging him to
continue walking. "If you want to talk to me about this, drop by my office in the
morning. This is Owen's birthday celebration and I won't have you ruining it for him."