She looked up at Vince. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” he said, “but I think maybe the cavalry is here.”
She stared at him askance as he took Raphael from her arms and then followed Roshan and Brenna out of the bedroom. They stopped on the landing.
The staircase was gone. Nothing remained of the first floor but the walls, the fireplace, and the foundation.
Brenna took Rane, Roshan took Raphael, Vince swung Cara into his arms, and they all floated down to the first floor. The cement was surprisingly cool beneath their feet.
Moments later, the front door opened seemingly of its own accord.
Cara stared at the woman who entered the house. She knew, somehow, that it was the vampire who had named her children. Vince confirmed it when he greeted the woman.
“Thanks, Mara,” he said fervently. “I thought we were goners.”
“I couldn’t let anything happen to my godsons, now could I?”
“No,” Vince said, remembering how she had tasted the blood of his sons so she would know where and how they were. “I guess not.”
“I brought you a present,” she said. “I left it in the back yard. You might want to dispose of it before anyone sees it.”
Roshan stepped forward and bowed over Mara’s hand. “If there’s ever anything we can do for you…”
Mara dismissed his thanks with a wave of her hand. “Just take good care of my boys,” she said, her gaze lingering on Vince’s face. “All of them.”
Gliding across the room, she kissed each baby in turn, and then she smiled at Vince. “I’ll be around,” she said, and vanished from sight.
Cara looked at Vince. “How did she know we were in trouble?”
“I’ll explain it to you later,” he promised.
“Mom, Dad, I’m so sorry about your house,” Cara said. “You can stay with us while you rebuild.”
“I don’t think we will rebuild,” her father said. “We’ve stayed here too long as it is. We should have moved a long time ago.”
“Move?” Cara exclaimed. “You’re going to move?”
“Not far,” Roshan assured her. “Just to the next town, where no one knows us.”
“But what about this house?”
“We’ll tear it down and sell the land.”
Cara shook her head. “But where will you spend the day tomorrow?”
“Don’t worry about us,” Brenna said with a wink. “We’ll find a place. Here, take Rane.”
Cara took Rane from her mother and Vince took Raphael from Roshan. “But…” Cara shook her head. Everything was happening so fast!
“Ready, love?” Roshan asked, taking Brenna by the hand.
“Ready.” Brenna smiled at her daughter. “Don’t worry about us,” she repeated. “We’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Cara nodded as she watched her parents dissolve into mist and drift away. There were some things she didn’t think she would ever get used to.
“I still don’t understand how Mara knew we were in trouble,” Cara remarked.
“Like I said, I’ll explain it all to you later,” Vince said. “But for now, let’s go home.”
Epilogue
Two years later
Cara sat in front of the fireplace, watching her sons roll around on the floor like two feisty puppies. Much had happened since the night of the fire. Vince had disposed of Anton’s body. The insurance company had been reluctant to pay her parents’ claim since they could find no cause for the fire but, in the end, they had come through.
Her father had razed what was left of the house and her parents had moved in with her and Vince until they had found a new home.
She often found herself watching her boys, looking for signs that they had inherited a lust for blood from their father, but as near as she could tell, they were just normal kids. She held her breath each time she took them to the doctor, fearing their pediatrician would find something wrong, but thus far, he had found nothing out of the ordinary.
Now, watching her sons play, she found herself yearning for another baby. Because they didn’t know if she could get pregnant again or not, they had been using a contraceptive.
But not tonight, she thought.
She put the boys to bed early, showered, and shaved her legs.
When Vince came home from work, she met him at the door wearing a smile and a whisper of black silk.
He whistled softly, then swung her into his arms and carried her up the stairs where he fulfilled her every desire.