“Is he someone you know?” Logan asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“Not a friend, I take it.”
“No.” She tugged on Logan’s arm. “Let’s go.”
Out on the sidewalk, her heart pounding, Mara took several deep breaths. Ed Rogen. The last thing he had ever said to her was that, one day, he would destroy her. Judging by the ominous glint in his eyes, he hadn’t changed his mind.
“What the hell did you do to him?” Logan asked, and then answered his own question. “You turned him against his will, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” Looking back, she realized how thoughtlessly cruel and heartless she had been. She had never asked any of her fledglings if they wanted the Dark Gift. She had bestowed it upon those she cared for and when she tired of them, she had severed her connection to them and moved on. How many of them still existed? As a vampire, facing her enemies hadn’t been a matter of concern. Confident and uncaring, she could have easily destroyed them all. It hadn’t mattered how many were left; now, stripped of her powers, she had no way of knowing which ones still existed. In the way of vampires, they would have changed their names through the centuries. She was the only one, of all the vampires she had known, who had stubbornly and arrogantly refused to change her name. She had been Mara, Queen of the Vampires. Back then, it had been a name to be reckoned with. Now, for the first time, she wondered if she should take on a new identity.
“You’re trembling,” Logan said. “Are you cold?”
“No.” Not cold, she thought, only afraid. Not for her own life, but for that of her unborn child.
“Come on,” Logan said, “let’s go get a room.”
After registering at the Peppermill, Logan settled Mara into a hot bath, hoping it would relax her. He had been a fool to bring her here. This close to the baby’s birth, he should have known better. She tired easily these days. He could have just taken her to a movie, but no, he had wanted to take her out and show her off. Pregnant or not, she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and he was proud to be seen with her. One thing he had never expected was to run into one of her fledglings. He had seen the hatred in the other vampire’s eyes, smelled it on his skin.
Logan swore softly. He could understand the other vampire’s hostility. It was a terrible thing, to be turned against one’s will, to lose everything you knew, everything you loved, to a woman’s whim. He, himself, might have hated Mara if the circumstances had been different, if he’d had a decent life, a home, a family. But even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew it wasn’t true. It wouldn’t have mattered. Even knowing how quickly she would tire of him, he would gladly have given up anything, everything, to be with Mara. It had been true then; it was true now.
He would order her something to eat and then take her home, where she belonged.
Mara reclined in the tub, her eyes closed. She didn’t think she would ever get over the shock of seeing Rogen, or forget the hatred smoldering in the depths of his eyes. The last time she had seen him, he had been mining for gold in Virginia City. Back then, Reno had been nothing but a small community that had grown up alongside a toll bridge that connected Virginia City and the California Trail. The bridge had been built by Charles Fuller in 1859. Two years later, Fuller sold the bridge to Myron Lake, who added a kiln, a grist mill, and a livery stable. When he wasn’t mining for gold, Rogen had worked at the stable.
Mara recalled deciding to take a moonlight ride late one summer night. She had cajoled Ed into lending her a horse, and then invited him to come along. She’d had her eye on him for weeks, admiring the flex of his muscles as he curried the horses or mucked the stalls, wondering what it would be like to feel his strong, work-roughened hands moving over her flesh.
Like all men, he had been powerless to resist her once she had decided she wanted him.
They had ridden out under the stars. Later, they had stopped alongside the river and there, in the lush grass in the light of a full moon, she had let him seduce her. He had been boyish and charming and completely smitten with her, totally unaware that it was she who was doing the seducing.
One night, when she was bored and hungry, she had brought him across. When he rose the next night, he had been confused by what had happened, and then furious. Overcome with rage and a hunger he couldn’t control, he had vented his anger on the town, leaving Mara to clean up the mess he left in his wake. When his temper was again under control, she had tried to appease him and when he refused to listen, she had turned her back on him, as she had so many others.
Thinking of it now filled her with guilt. How could she have been so callous? With a sigh, she stepped out of the tub and reached for a towel. Would he listen to her now? Would he accept her apology? Recalling the animosity she had seen in his eyes, she thought it unlikely.
She was drying off when Rogen materialized between her and the bathroom door. With a startled gasp, Mara hugged the towel to her chest.
“I see you remember me,” Rogen said, his pale eyes glinting malevolently.
“Of course.” She glanced past him to the door, wishing her mind was still linked to Logan’s. If she called for him, could he make it into the bathroom before Rogen killed her?
Rogen took a step forward. “I knew if I survived long enough, one day I’d find you again.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he clapped his hand over it, forestalling her.
“Shut up!” he hissed. “I don’t want to hear anything you’ve got to say. You took my life, and now I’m going to take yours.” Frowning, he leaned closer, his nostrils flaring, his eyes filled with confusion. “Mara?”
She felt a rush of hope. Since she no longer smelled like a vampire, he wasn’t sure of her identity. She thought of lying, of telling him that he had the wrong woman, but her pride wouldn’t let her. Instead, she lifted her chin and squared her shoulders, wishing, as she did so, that she was wearing something more dignified than a towel.
Dropping his hand from her mouth, Rogen took a deep breath. “What’s happened to you?”
“Nothing,” she replied imperiously. “Get out of my way.”
“What are you gonna do if I don’t?” Rogen asked with a sneer.
“Maybe you should ask what I’m going to do.” Rogen tensed visibly at the sound of Logan’s voice coming from behind him. Hands clenched at his sides, Rogen slowly turned around. “Are you the poor fool who’s fighting her battles now?”