Night's Mistress (Children of The Night 5)

“Kyle?” She walked through the house calling his name, a tendril of fear expanding in her chest when each room she looked in proved to be empty.

Quickening her pace, she hurried outside. There was no one in the backyard. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Kyle’s car was in the garage. So, he hadn’t gone far. It was such a nice day, he had probably decided to take the baby for a walk.

Chiding herself for overreacting, she went into the kitchen for a drink of water, then went into the den and booted up the computer.

Calling up the file that held her life story, she read through what she had written the day before. It wasn’t long before she was completely caught up in the past, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she wrote about a liaison she’d had with a handsome young Italian back in 1750. Lucian had courted her with music and poetry, sent her flowers every day. She had been contemplating bringing him across when he was killed by a highwayman.

Sitting back in her chair, Mara lifted her arms over her head and stretched her back and shoulders, only then noticing that night had fallen.

Rising to switch on the light, she glanced at the clock. It was after five.

Fear twisted her insides when she realized Kyle and the baby still hadn’t come home. Where could they be?

Going out onto the front porch, she glanced up and down the street, surprised to see that a sudden storm had swallowed up the sunshine. She wrapped her arms around her midriff as lightning split the skies, followed by an ominous roar of thunder. Not long ago, she had been able to control the weather. She had called lightning from the skies. If only she had her powers now, she would be able to find Derek with no trouble at all.

Where were they? She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. It wasn’t like Kyle to do something like this. He knew how she worried whenever the baby was out of her sight. Why didn’t he call? Had he been in an accident? Was he lying hurt in a ditch somewhere? And what of her son? Was he hurt? Should she call the police?

Mara shivered as her imagination ran wild. Kyle could have been mugged and left for dead. Her son could be out there in the rain, crying and afraid.

She stood on the porch until the cold drove her back inside. She paced the living room floor, her worry increasing with every passing moment. Never had time moved so slowly. She told herself not to worry. Maybe Kyle had run into an old friend. Maybe he had holed up somewhere to wait out the storm. Maybe he was having an affair. Not that she could blame him. She hadn’t been much of a wife, but even as the thought crossed her mind, she thrust it aside. A man having an affair didn’t take a baby with him.

At eight o’clock, she picked up the phone and punched in Rane’s phone number. He answered on the first ring.

She had barely finished asking for his help when he materialized in her living room.

Mara stared at him, overwhelmed by memories of her vampire life. She had once been able to will herself anywhere she wished to go. She had been able to dissolve into mist, move faster than the human eye could follow, drift on the wind. She had been lighter than air then. Now, her body felt heavy, earthbound.

“Mara?”

She blinked up at him. “Oh, Rane! Kyle’s gone. He’s taken the baby. I don’t know where they are.”

“Has he ever done this before? Taken the baby somewhere without telling you?”

“No. He was gone when I got home.” She crossed her arms under her breasts, breasts now heavy with milk. “It’s past Derek’s feeding time. Where can they be?”

“I don’t know. I’ll go outside and sniff around, see what I can find.”

With a nod, she followed him out the door, stood on the porch while he walked around the yard, then around the house. Lightning slashed through the clouds; thunder rolled across the skies.

Dripping wet, Rane returned to the porch a few minutes later.

“Did you find anything?” she asked anxiously.

“I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“I followed his scent out the back door to the side gate. And then it just disappears.”

“What do you mean, it disappears? That’s impossible. What about my baby? Where’s Derek?”

“His scent ends at the gate, the same as Kyle’s. I don’t want to pry into your private life, but did you and Kyle have a fight or anything?”

“No.”

“Can you think of any reason why he’d leave?”

Her gaze slid away from his. She could think of a dozen reasons, and all of them her fault.

“Mara? This is no time for secrets.”

“We haven’t been intimate for a long time.” The truth was, they hadn’t been intimate since Derek was conceived. She took a deep breath. Might as well tell Rane the rest. “I think Kyle knows that I’m in love with Logan.”

Rane scrubbed his hands over his face, then ran his fingers through his hair. “Women,” he muttered. “If I live forever, I’ll never understand them.” He looked at her, his eyes filled with frustration. “If you’re in love with Blackwood, why the devil did you marry Bowden?”

She lifted her chin defiantly. “You know why.”

“Yes, I guess I do, but you must have seen this coming. Hell, it doesn’t matter now. You stay here, by the phone. I’ll get hold of Rafe and my old man and see if we can find anything. All right?”

Mara nodded. There was a faint shimmer in the air, and then Rane was gone.

Fighting back her tears, Mara went inside. She closed the door, then leaned back against it for a moment. If Kyle had left her, wouldn’t he have packed a suitcase for himself and the baby? Wouldn’t he have taken the car?

She went into their bedroom. Kyle’s clothes were still in the closet, their suitcases were still on the shelf. She looked into the baby’s room, but everything seemed to be in place.

Frowning, she ran out to the garage and checked the car. It was spotlessly clean, as always. Kyle’s sunglasses were tucked away on the visor, the baby’s car seat was in its usual place.

Returning to the house, she went into the living room and curled up on the sofa, feeling more alone than she ever had in her life. She hadn’t prayed since Dendar forced the Dark Gift on her, but she prayed now, promising Heaven that she would be the best wife any man ever had if only Kyle would bring their son safely home.

Rafe and Vince showed up at Rane’s house at the same time he did.

Savanah greeted her father-in-law with a smile, gave her brother-in-law a hug, and sent a questioning glance at her husband. “What’s going on?”