Chapter Twenty-Four

Aubrey, Mick and Josef all turned to look at her. Miranda swallowed again, lifting Zoe from Mick's lap and setting her onto the ground. "Sweet pea, could you go get a candy from the vending machine down the hall?" Zoe nodded, taking the dollar Mick handed to her while he waited for Miranda to explain why they couldn't return to their lives.

The moment Zoe was out of hearing range, Miranda whispered, "I made a deal with Michael to get them released." She held the file out, with Mick took and looked over.

"What deal?" Josef asked, through clenched teeth.

"To kill Armando de la Gardie," Miranda let her head fall into her hands.

"You made a deal to kill someone," Aubrey whispered, shock evident in her voice.

Miranda looked up. "What choice did have? Not only did they have those girls, who were going be forced into the life of a freshie at their ages with no choice in the matter, but they also had my husband!"

"We can't kill someone," Mick said, waving the file.

"He'll kill her," Miranda sobbed, her emotions breaking free. "He'll kill Zoe. If we don't kill this man, he will kill our Zoe."

The group gave a collective angry sigh. They all turned as Zoe reappeared, smiling. She had broken her Butterfinger candy bar into two pieces and held one out to Miranda. Miranda looked down at the innocent face of her daughter.

Zoe looked very sad, "Mommy, why are you crying? Please, stop crying. I don't like it when you cry." She wrapped her tiny arms around Miranda's thin frame.

Mick sighed. He didn't know what he would do. He didn't know who this man was or what he had done to piss of Lord Michael Ruthven. He wished he knew Armando de la Gardie was a worse man or something.

Miranda pulled Zoe up into her arms, squeezing her gently. Zoe held onto her mother tightly. "Mommy, what's wrong?"

Unable to speak, Miranda just held Zoe. The girl didn't understand, but she let her mother hold her and rock her. Within a few minutes Zoe fell asleep, safe her mother's arms.

Mick watched his wife, whose face was buried in their 'baby's' hair. He heard Zoe's breathing slow and steady, indicating that the girl had fallen asleep. Mick wrapped in arm around Miranda's shoulders. "Honey, let's go home. We'll worry about this there."

The group left. Aubrey and Josef followed them. Mick carried Zoe to bed while Josef, Aubrey and Miranda sat in the living room. The moment Mick appeared he looked at Miranda, who looked ashamed. "I didn't mean to agree to this but I didn't know what else to do at the time."

Josef looked at them. "Let me handle this."

Mick and Miranda looked at him. Aubrey gaped openly. "You'll do what?"

"I have many people who would be more than happy to take someone out for me. Four hundred years is a long time to collect favors and debts."

"If you have all these people why wouldn't you send someone to take out Alec," Aubrey growled.

Josef turned to face the woman who appeared to the only one who had an argument. "That was tad more sensitive of a case, if you remember correctly."

"He wants me to take care of this," Miranda whispered, curling up. Mick picked her up gently and set her in his lap, letting her head rest on his shoulder, while he pet the hair that fell down her back.

"We'll take care of this," Mick whispered, dropping a kiss onto his wife's hair.

Josef and Aubrey were glaring daggers at each other. Josef took a step toward Aubrey, glaring down at her. "You, human, do not tell me what to do."

Aubrey didn't back down, instead she glared right back. "You, vampire, don't scare me."

Shifting, allowing his vampire side to come forward. "I should."

Unable to stop herself, Aubrey shoved him. Josef, having given the vampire reign, slammed the tiny woman into the wall.

Miranda was up, hissed and attacking before Josef even had a chance to do anything more. Aubrey's eyes were wide as she watched the two vampires, attacking and ripping at each other.

"Aubrey, go upstairs," Mick growled, his own vampire side, coming to the surface.

Josef pulled his vampire side down, but Miranda was too angry to bother. Mick had to grab her around the waist and hold her down. Suddenly as her vampire side had come out, it vanished, leaving a small tearful woman, who slumped in her husband's arms.

"I didn't mean to…I just-I meant to stop her. I just meant to scare her," Josef said, taking a step towards the limp figure.

Miranda looked up. "Never touch my sister again."

Letting his head down, Josef nodded. "As you wish."

"I mean it, never, ever touch her again" Miranda said. "In any way."

Josef lifted his head. He wanted nothing to better to tell the girl to back off. Who was she to tell him…? "She's a human. The relationship was doomed before it beginning."