As Twilight Falls

“A little information,” the older man said.

“Sir?”

“I’m looking for my daughter. Kadie Andrews. She lived here a while back. Have you seen her lately?”

“Last I heard, she went home,” Shirley said. “And her boyfriend with her.”

“You’re sure?”

Shirley nodded. “Do you need more time to decide?”

“No. Is there anyone else in town besides the three of you?”

“No one else lives here,” Shirley said.

“I’m sure of that,” Andrews said dryly. “I’ll have a roast beef sandwich and fries.”

“I’ll have the same,” the younger man said.

“Coming right up,” Shirley said, and hurried into the kitchen.

“What did they say?” Donna asked.

“They’re looking for Kadie. The older man is her father.”

“Her father? Really?” Rosemary spread mayonnaise on four slices of bread. “Well, she should be safe then.”

Shirley pulled a package of roast beef out of the refrigerator. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“But he’s her father,” Donna said. “You don’t think . . . ?”

“You didn’t see his eyes,” Shirley said. “That man scares me.” And suddenly she wasn’t worried only for Kadie’s life, but for Saintcrow’s and Micah’s, as well. If those men were hunters, there was nothing to stop them from breaking into the lairs of the vampires. Nothing at all.

Saintcrow stirred, his vampire senses warning him that someone was prowling through the house upstairs. He swore when he realized there were two hunters on the premises and one of them was Kadie’s father. Damn. He should have known Andrews would show up in Morgan Creek sooner or later. Andrews had been here before. It was inevitable that he would show up again.

Rising, Saintcrow smoothed the covers over Kadie, then moved toward the door. With his preternatural hearing, it was easy to follow the movements of the two men as they explored the house, making lewd comments about the Undead as they opened doors, poking inside closets and cupboards.

Saintcrow shook his head. Did they really expect to find him stretched out in the linen closet, or holed up in one of the kitchen cupboards?

“What makes you think she’s here?” Andrews’s companion asked.

“I don’t know where else to look.” Andrews slammed a door. “He took her out of the hospital and I haven’t heard from her since. For all I know, she’s . . . Dammit, Harry, keep looking.”

“I don’t think we should even be here,” Harry remarked. “You know what happened to Gordon and Rob and Clarke when they came nosing around this place. Hell, they don’t even know who they are anymore.”

“Let’s check the upstairs,” Andrews suggested. “Maybe we’ll find your cojones there.”

Harry snorted. “Are you even listening to me?”

“No. You’re not saying anything I want to hear.”

Saintcrow swore softly as the two men tromped up the stairs toward the turret rooms. And then they were in the one that led to his lair. No one had ever gotten past the door that led to his inner sanctuary. There was no reason to think Andrews would succeed where others had failed.

He heard their feet shuffling as they circled the room.

“Hey,” Andrews said, a note of excitement in his voice. “There’s a door here!”

As Saintcrow listened to the two men move cautiously down the stairs and along the narrow corridor, he pulled on a pair of jeans. Defending himself in the nude was something he had done only once before, and vowed would never happen again.

Moments later, he heard them at the door, rapping, pounding, hammering, swearing, but the door, made of reinforced steel and warded with preternatural power, held fast.

He listened with growing amusement as the hunters returned to the door at the top of the stairs and discovered that the way in did not allow for a way out. He heard the rising panic in their voices, the rapid beating of frightened human hearts as the hunters realized they would be the hunted when the sun went down.

Assured that there was no imminent danger to himself or Kadie, he went back to bed.

Kadie woke enfolded in Saintcrow’s arms. For a moment, she was content to lie there and contemplate the events of the last few days. Amazing, how quickly her life had turned upside down. She had discovered that her father was a vampire hunter and that her mother knew all about it and had faithfully kept his secret. Kadie still had trouble accepting that fact. Hardest of all to wrap her mind around was the change in her own life. It didn’t seem possible that her world had changed so drastically in such a short time. She was a vampire. There was no way to deny it. She had fangs. She had consumed human blood. But it didn’t seem real.

When a familiar scent reached her, she bolted upright. Her father was here! When she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, Saintcrow laid a restraining hand on her arm.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“My father’s here.”

“I know. He’s been trapped in the tunnel since early this afternoon.”

“Is he all right?”

“For now.”

Her gaze searched his. “What does that mean?”

“It means he’s here with another hunter.”

“Does he know about me?”

“No.” He sat up, head cocked to one side. “Shirley and Ravenwood are here.”

“In the house?”

“Knocking on the front door. Let’s go see what they want.”

“What about my father?”

“He’s not going anywhere.”

Saintcrow took her by the hand. A moment later, they materialized at the front door.

“Good evening,” Saintcrow drawled. “What brings you here?”

“We came by to make sure you two were all right,” Ravenwood replied. “Shirley thought there might be a couple of hunters in town.”

“Yeah, they’re trapped in my lair.”

Shirley looked at Kadie. “So, you know one of them is your father?”

Kadie nodded, then looked at Saintcrow.

When he shrugged, Kadie invited Micah and Shirley inside.

Shirley hesitated before following Micah across the threshold, but curiosity prompted her to enter the house. In all the years she had lived in Morgan Creek, this was the first time she had been inside a vampire’s lair.

Saintcrow and Kadie sat side by side on the sofa.