He tossed the syringe into the trash and stumbled to the bathroom for a glass of water. When he looked into the mirror and saw his reflection, he dropped the glass, shattering it on the counter.

His personal symbol, the hourglass, had changed. Oh, it was still an hourglass, still inverted. But more of the sand had drained to the bottom, marking time he didn’t have.

Eight

“He’s crashing!” Gem moved away from her patient’s head, where she’d been securing a Sora male’s breathing tube, and quickly crunched a set of compressions into his broad chest. “Page Shade,” she snapped, and Chu-Hua, a Guai nurse who resembled a wild boar on two legs, dove for the intercom.

“It’s not working!”

“Shit! Then get him.”

-Chu-Hua lumbered off, and Gem cursed under her breath. Things were breaking all over the hospital, always at critical moments—Murphy’s Law in action. Wraith had better get into that human’s pants, and fast.

“I’ve got a pulse.” Shawn, a vampire physician assistant, didn’t bother to hide the relief in his voice. This Sora was a victim of an Aegis slayer’s stang, and no one wanted to see a demon die at the hands of the enemy.

“We need to get him into surgery. That hole in his gut needs to be plugged.” Gem hit the intercom button, remembering too late that it didn’t work. “Anyone know if the OR is ready?”

-Chu-Hua stepped into the room. “I can’t find Shade, but Dr. Shakvhan is ready in OR two.”

Within moments, Gem had the patient, whose normally bright red skin had faded to a bleached brick color, wheeled to the operating room. She volunteered to assist, but Shakvhan and Reaver could handle things more expertly there than Gem could. She was better at adrenaline-fueled emergency patch jobs and routine, minor medical procedures than she was at surgery, which required stamina, patience, and a steady hand.

Exhausted, she tossed her bloody gloves and gown and headed back to the emergency department. She’d been working for sixteen hours straight, and still there was no end in sight. The hospital was seriously understaffed, and naturally, the slayers had been extra busy.

The only break she’d had since the underworld had gone nutso was last night, when she’d met an impossibly handsome demon named Lore, and he’d asked her out for coffee. Apparently, he’d been heading into the hospital because he was interested in a medical career, so he’d picked her brain about the hospital, how it got started, the staff… anything she cared to share.

Afterward, she’d invited him to Vamp, the Goth club where she liked to hang out, and he’d agreed. They’d spent the evening doing some rather daring dirty dancing, though he’d never taken off his jacket and gloves.

She wondered if he was scarred beneath his clothes, or maybe if he was hiding some demon feature unique to whatever species he belonged, like scales or quills.

Maybe next time she saw him, she’d get him undressed.

It was about time she got over Kynan and got back on the dating horse, and Lore, with his off-the-charts danger-and-sex vibe, might be just the guy to ride.

And this time around with a guy, she was calling the shots.

The doors to the ambulance bay slid open, shaking her out of her thoughts. She hoped like hell whoever entered wouldn’t be another patient.

“Hey, Gem.” Kynan Morgan walked into the ER like he owned it, halting mere feet away, so close she could smell the leather of his jacket and the natural male spice that made her world tilt, and she had to catch herself on a crash cart.

With spiky dark hair that begged her to run her fingers through it, eyes the color of new denim, and tan skin stretched over perfect, angular features, Kynan was as handsome as ever. Beneath his jeans, black henley, and bomber jacket, he had a lean, powerful athlete’s body to freaking die for. She’d seen it back when he used to come into the human hospital where she’d worked, way back when she thought he was nothing more than a married man who took in street kids and put them on the path to a good life.

The truth, that he and his wife had headed a local Aegis cell, hadn’t changed her feelings for him. Sure, he’d killed demons for a living, but her heart hadn’t cared about that. Especially after his wife died and he quit The Aegis to work at UG. She’d actually believed she had a shot at him.

Fool.

“What are you doing here? When did you get back?” And why did her heart have to jump around like it was excited to see him even after he’d broken it?

She could still remember the day that Runa, whose brother also worked for the R-XR, had invited her to the house she shared with Shade, handed her a margarita, and then said, “Kynan gave me a message for you. I’m sorry… but he said to tell you not to wait for him.”

God, Gem had been devastated. She’d waited anyway, until last night, when Lore had caught her on a particularly bad day. She’d been exhausted, worried about Wraith. To top it off, that morning Runa had brought the babies by the hospital.

Gem was thrilled for Shade and Runa, but their happiness had been like a blow. Kynan was gone, probably for good, and she wasn’t sure she’d ever have children. She wanted them, but she was half demon, stuck between two worlds, and she refused to subject any child to what she’d gone through.

“I got back last night,” he said in his gravelly voice, a result of a battlefield injury he’d suffered years ago while serving as an Army medic in Afghanistan.

“So why are you here?” She tried to keep her hopes in check because while she wanted to hear that he’d come back for her, she’d been stomped on hard enough to know she needed to be realistic. Not that realistic was a possibility when his masculine scent swirled around her, embracing her like a lover.

“I can’t get into that right now, but we need to talk.”

“I think you said it all with the message you gave to Runa.” She spun on her heel, intending to leave him high and dry like he’d left her.

Which might have been a good plan had he not grabbed her arm and hauled her around.

“Why are you being like this?”

“Why?” she asked, incredulous. “Why? Because you broke my heart. A dozen times. And I finally decided I’m tired of being stomped on.”

“I’m just asking for a talk, Gem.”

Of course, a talk. He couldn’t ask for more than that, could he? No, not Kynan Good Guy Morgan. Mr. Honorable. Though, if she could calm down for a second and be honest with herself, she could admit that much of his honor and purity and just plain goodness had been scoured away by the betrayals he’d faced nearly two years ago. He’d gone through a period of darkness, had taken wounds and let them fester.

She knew, because her Soulshredder self had seen them. She’d helped to heal them, though she’d had to be careful, because when she was angry, hurt, or jealous, the wicked desire to exploit weakness and pain grabbed hold of her like a powerfully seductive drug.

And right now, her inner demon wanted out something fierce.

“Sorry, Kynan,” Gem said, “but you can’t just pop back into my life after so much time and expect me to fall at your feet.” She brushed past him and headed for the staff break room, mainly to get away from him. “I’m over you. Leave me alone.”

The next thing she knew, she was against a wall and he was covering her, his big body pinning her so she could hardly move. He moved between her legs as his mouth came down on hers. She was furious, spitting mad, so why had she grabbed his jacket and tugged him as close as he could get while still being clothed?

He kissed the hell out of her, and when he was finished, they were both panting. “That,” he said, “doesn’t feel like you’re over me.”

“Fuck you,” she breathed.

“Maybe,” came a low, controlled voice that had them both whipping their heads around to Eidolon, “you could find a private room before the f**king starts?”

Groaning, Gem let her head fall back against the wall. There would be no f**king, but she certainly was f**ked.

Busted.

Kynan pushed away from Gem and faced Eidolon. The guy looked like he’d been dragged through a knothole backward, and Kynan wondered what the hell was going on. The hospital appeared to be seriously understaffed, and were those cracks in the walls?

“Hey, E. I need to talk you. Your brothers around? And Tayla?” He glanced at Gem, who was glaring at him. “You too.”

“Oh, so the fact that you need to talk to me didn’t really mean you needed to talk to me.”

“We’ll talk,” he swore. “In private. But business first.”

Eidolon gestured for Kynan and Gem to follow him into the break room. Inside, Eidolon and Kynan sank onto the couch, while Gem staked a claim near the coffeepot, which was usually Wraith’s territory. “Where’s everyone else?” Ky asked.

E studied the ceiling fan. “Shade is with Runa. Tay’s at work.”

“And Wraith? He out getting into trouble?”

“He’s already done that,” E said quietly, and Ky listened in shock as the demon filled him in on the shit that had gone down with Wraith and the hospital.

“Damn.” Ky’s voice was strangely raw. There had been a time—right after Ky had witnessed Wraith feeding on Lori—that he’d wanted to kill the demon. Ky had loved his wife, and Lori’s betrayal had stung to the bone. But Ky had learned to like Wraith, liked all the brothers in fact, and this had to be hitting them hard.

“Yeah. Then there’s always the fun uncertainty of another assassin being after me and Shade. Haven’t seen any evidence of it so far, but we’re keeping our backs to the wall.” E shoved his hand through his hair. “So now you’re caught up on the latest episode of Underworld General Hospital. What’s your deal? Why are you here?”

Gem crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot. Her green eyes sparked, but her twin black-and-pink pigtails softened her furious expression.

“You’re probably aware that something is happening in the demon world.”