“I'LL help. But so help me God, Althea, if any of my men get hurt during this...this idiocy, I don't give a damn how powerful you are, you're going to have to answer to me."

Rachel nodded, her face solemn.

“She hears, sweetheart. And she thanks you."

“But what I still don't understand," Alex said, “is what Jeremy is doing here. No offense, man," he said as the former intern turned towards him. "I know why the rest of us are here. Family, you know? And since Maria and I are together, her being here makes sense. But why him?"

Rachel sat down beside her husband, seemingly oblivious to the fact she was naked from the waist down. She leaned in towards him and smiled as he reached around her and cupped her breast in his hand. She wiggled against him, sighing happily as a firm nipple rose to challenge his palm. "It's very simple, darling. I'm simply protecting everyone me or my family has been intimate with since Althea joined with me. Anyone who Kincaid would view as contaminated by a succubus' love."

Alex blinked, then stared as the full import of her words hit home.

Across the room, Jeremy blanched, Looking at Josh nervously, as if he were afraid he would leap off the sofa and disembowel him on the spot.

"Mom?" Sarah asked. "You? And him?"

She nodded, unembarrassed. "It was right after Althea joined with me. I think...no, that's not right. I know she had been working on me for several days. Trying to get me to be more open about my body and my sexuality. Jeremy was available. So I took advantage of him. Though I don't think he was terribly upset with the way things turned out." She smiled warmly at the young man, whose face was flaming.

Sarah looked at her potential boyfriend, then at her father.

“Daddy?

You're...you're not upset about this?"

“If you think about it, your mother and I were divorced at the time,

Pumpkin," Josh said mildly. He shrugged.

“Hell, to be strictly honest, we still are. I had no idea your mother and I would ever be getting back together again. Why should I be upset? For that matter," he said, his gaze sharpening, “Why should you be upset? It's not as if you had even met Jeremy yet. So don't be pissed at him for sleeping with your mother before he ever saw you.”

Sarah nodded, but Rachel thought she looked unconvinced. "So are we agreed on Jeremy's plan?" Nods and muttered agreements followed. "ALL right, then." She picked out Maria, Alex and her husband with her eyes.

“We're going to go out and get the truck and trailer ready for tonight. Together," she stressed. "Until we deal with Kincaid, no one is to leave this house alone.

“What, Jeremy?" she asked impatiently as the young man raised his hand.

“We're not in grade school, you know. You don't have to ask permission to speak."

“My parents will be expecting me back home this evening,” he said.

“Does that rule apply to me as well?"

“Yes. I don't know if Kincaid knows about you. But I don't know that he doesn't either. And a demon-spawn will stop at nothing. He would kill you and your entire family as easily as you would kick over an anthill.

And with as little remorse. You stay here. We'll think of some excuse to give to your folks.

She swept her eyes around the room.

“Any more questions? No? Then let's get to work."