Page 119 of Twilight Destiny

“Yeah. It’s a small two-story house crammed with furniture, books, and knickknacks. As you’d expect, she has a cat.”

“A black one?” Rosa asked with a grin, then shuddered, remembering the big black cat in Luca’s house.

“No, it’s gray.”

With a sigh, she rested her head on his shoulder. “Jake, I don’t like any of this.”

Kincaid grunted softly. “I can’t say as I do, either.” He brushed a kiss across her cheek. “But I’m crazy about you.” He slid his hand under her sweater as he ran his tongue along the side of her neck.

Little fires of desire kindled inside her everywhere he touched. “Jake.” She moaned softly as his tongue slid across her lips, then delved inside.

The next thing she knew, they were lying on the floor, naked, in front of the hearth. The heat of the flames was nothing compared to the blaze he lit inside of her as he whispered that he loved her, would always love her. His bite was gentle, letting her feel what he was feeling. In a distant part of her mind, she wondered why she had ever been afraid of what he was, and then there was no more time for thought. There was only Jake carrying her away to heights and depths she had never dreamed of.

Chapter Fifty

Rosa paced the floor, her nerves taut. She found herself constantly glancing at the clock, as if she could make time stand still. Jake and Kincaid were taking Rhinehart to some remote desert to try to separate Luca from the hunter. They had left an hour ago to pick him up. She had begged to go with them, but Jake had adamantly refused, and Saintcrow had agreed with him.

She scowled, thinking that if she was a vampire, she could have followed them whether they liked it or not.

She tried to pray, tried to assure herself that no matter how powerful Luca was, surely he was no match for the combined power of two ancient vampires.

Fighting tears, she sank down on the sofa, hands clasped tightly in her lap as she tried to petition Heaven. But all she could do was murmur, “Please,” over and over again.

Chapter Fifty-One

Rhinehart stared at them as they approached the cage. There were dark smudges under his eyes, his cheeks were sunken, his hair lank. He looked like the walking dead, Kincaid thought, as Luca’s malevolence crawled over his skin.

“Do you think Rhinehart’s still in there?” Saintcrow asked.

“Beats the hell out of me.”

Saintcrow pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket. “We need to bind him.”

“How do you suggest we do that?”

“See if you can mesmerize him. I’ll go inside the cage and handcuff him.”

“Right.”

“It’ll be an adventure,” Saintcrow said with a jaunty grin.

Kincaid summoned every ounce of preternatural power he possessed as he met Rhinehart’s gaze, hoping all the while that the hunter was still in there, that he had some modicum of control left.

For a moment, it was touch and go and then, abruptly, Rhinehart went still.

At the same time, Saintcrow materialized inside the cage and bound the hunter’s hands behind his back.

“That was too easy,” Kincaid remarked.

Saintcrow shrugged. “Let’s go.”

They had timed it so that they would arrive in the Chilean desert three hours after sundown. It was a desolate place, not fit for man nor beast. Barren mountains rose in the distance. The sky overhead was a dismal gray, the air hot and thick.

“I did some research on this place,” Saintcrow said. “One website remarked that when Hollywood wants to simulate Mars, they come here. I read that this part of the desert gets less than an inch of rainfall a year and that even insects can’t survive in parts of it.”

“So there’s no one else around?”

“Not for miles. Are you ready to put your plan into action?”