Marna’s cheeks reddened. “I know, but I’m still hungry.”

Ginger pursed her lips, giving her sister a challenging glare.

Kaidan took the mashed potatoes from my hand. “Give it a rest, Gin. Let her eat.”

He passed the bowl across the table. Marna was too upset to take it now, so Jay did. He gave Kaidan a grateful look before spooning more onto Marna’s plate for her. Then Jay kissed her cheek. She stared at her plate without moving.

“If you so much as gain a pound, Astaroth will notice.” Ginger’s voice was steely.

Patti wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin, clearly not comfortable with the direction things were heading.

Still staring at her plate, Marna said, “We all know I’m going to gain a lot more than a pound. I’ll just have to find ways to avoid him. We rarely see him as it is.”

“So, you’re just going to let your appearance go and hope for the best?” Ginger challenged. “Fine. Have at it. Enjoy.” She waved a hand toward Marna’s plate.

“Ginger—” Kopano eyed her, and Zania placed a hand on his forearm.

“No, it’s fine, Kope,” Marna said, standing. She dropped her napkin onto her plate. “I need the loo.” She rushed from the dining room, and every set of eyes at the table went to Ginger.

“What?” Ginger said to us all. “Would you prefer Marna and the stupid baby be killed before she even has a chance to have it?”

“Don’t ever say that again,” Jay said in a low voice.

She glowered at him. Kaidan reached down and took my hand.

“It’s the truth,” Ginger said, her voice rising. “And don’t presume to understand things you can’t possibly. You’re just a stupid human boy, and this is all your bloody fault!”

“I know she’s in danger! I know it’s my fault, and I know what’s at stake—”

“You’ve no clue!” she screamed.

“I know she needs her sister now more than ever, and her last memories are going to be of you yelling at her!”

“I’m the only damn person trying to keep her safe!”

“Okay,” Patti said. “Both of you. Please . . .”

Jay and Ginger were seething, shaking. Sadness swept across the room.

“You both love Marna,” Patti said. “And you have different ways of showing it. Ginger is right that Marna needs to be careful and keep the pregnancy hidden as long as possible, in a healthy way. And she’s going to need everyone’s love and support, especially yours,” she said to Ginger. “Emotions are running high, for good reason. But you’ve got to stick together.”

Jay clenched his jaw and nodded. Ginger let out a breath through her nose, visibly calming a fraction, but her face was still stony.

“Sweet Ginger,” Patti said. “I know she’s your world. Please make the most of your time with her.”

Ginger’s jaw trembled.

Patti said, “Come on.” She put an arm around Ginger and led her from the room.

Jay was still breathing hard. I swiped a stray tear from my cheek.

“This bites, man,” Blake whispered.

“Let’s put this behind us and try to have fun tonight,” I said. Everyone nodded.

When we finished eating, we took the plates and dishes into the kitchen. Kope and Jay both started rinsing.

“I got this,” I told them, nodding to the sink.

“Y’all cooked,” Jay said. “It’s only fair that we clean.”

“What should we do?” Blake asked. He and Kaidan looked lost as they glanced around at the mess.

“You can put away the leftovers and wipe down the counters,” I told them.

They looked at each other with big eyes as I took Zania’s hand and left the kitchen, trying not to laugh.

They made surprisingly quick work of the cleanup then joined us in the family room. Z sat next to Kope on the Persian rug. Patti was standing, explaining the game of charades, as I squeezed next to Kaidan on the love seat. He immediately twined his fingers through mine. I was happy to see Marna nestled between Ginger and Jay on the couch, looking cozy under Jay’s arm. Blake sat on Ginger’s other side, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and paying close attention to Patti’s instructions.

“So,” he said, “we just have to act out the word for our team to guess?”

I watched his competitive nature emerge.

“You’ve never played charades?” I asked.

He shook his head. In fact, all the Neph shook their heads.

“Heard of it, but never played,” Kaidan told us.

“Wow,” Jay said.

“We’ll do girls versus boys, and I’ll be the judge,” Patti explained. “Anna will go first to show you how it’s done.”

Kaidan gave me a little push to my feet, grinning big at my discomfort. I’d never been outgoing enough to enjoy games.

“Only the girls can guess,” Patti reminded the room, holding out the stack of cards with charade subjects.

I picked one: Pirates of the Caribbean. Oh, great.

Patti flipped the sand timer, signaling me to go. An immediate rush of adrenaline hit me as I pretended to wind a movie camera by my eye.

“A movie!” Marna said. I gave her the thumbs-up.

I held up four fingers, and all three girls yelled, “Four words!”

I nodded and held up one finger to show that this was the first word.

I closed one eye tight and made a circle like a patch over it, then made an “Arrgh” face, which was difficult when you couldn’t make any sounds. The room broke into laughter. I pointed to my shoulder and made a hand gesture like a bird talking.

More giggles.

Did I mention I sucked at games?

“Dude, I know it,” Blake said, sitting back and crossing his arms.

“Me, too,” Jay chimed in. They both looked smug.

“Hush.” Ginger smacked Blake’s thigh.

I made the eye-patch gesture again and swung my arm in that ridiculous pirate gesture.

“That’s sexy,” Kai said, making the room laugh. I glared at him.

“Pirates of the Caribbean!” Zania shouted.

“Yes!” I pointed at her, and the girls all cheered.

“About time,” Blake teased.

I fell back onto the love seat and sighed with relief. Kai patted my knee.

Oh, if the Dukes could see their children now.

“I’m next!” Blake stood. Just as he made his way to Patti, his hand stilled on the top card. I felt Kaidan freeze next to me. Across the room, Kope sat up straighter. I recognized the glazed-eye look they got when they were listening to something from a distance. The whole room quieted, and my heart rate spiked.

Kaidan signed silently to the room: Hide.

Patti rushed the twins, Zania, and Jay up the stairs. Kaidan tried to push me to go with them, but I shook my head, unstrapping the hilt from my ankle. If it came down to a fight, the others could come down and join us, but we needed to keep our allies secret as long as possible. Together the three guys and I silently went to the front of the house and peeked through the curtains.

A nondescript small gray car had parked in the driveway. An African American man who appeared way too large for the vehicle stepped out, making the car bounce upward with the release of his weight. In the span of one second my mind took in a myriad of details about our visitor. He was one of the biggest men I’d ever seen—extremely tall and stacked with muscle like a bodybuilder. He wore a fitted black do-rag on his head, a sleeveless muscle shirt, baggy jeans low enough to show half his black boxers, and he walked with a serious swagger. But the thing that stood out most was the amber Duke’s badge at his chest. And the fact that he looked really familiar . . .

Oh. My. Gosh.

“Nuh-uh,” Blake whispered.

Kaidan let out a deep breath of relief and said, “It’s Belial.”

I ran to the door and opened it, looking up as he approached. He had been a large man in his former body, but now his presence was overwhelming. And it was driving me nuts that I couldn’t place him. I would remember meeting this body in real life. Why did he look so familiar?

“What’s up, baby girl?” he said from the front step. His voice was deep, but not gruff anymore. Definitely a smooth baritone.