* * *
“We’ve never been to the ranch,” Brenna said when Roshan told her about Mara’s text. “It might be fun.”
“Somehow I doubt it,” he said, ruefully. “I think we’ll be more likely to encounter murder and mayhem.” He tugged on her ear. “Your witchy powers just might come in handy.”
Chapter 43
Cassie was packed and reluctantly ready to go when Johnny rose the next night. Between them, they managed to hold on to their suitcases and each other. She closed her eyes as he whisked her through time and space. When she opened them again, she found herself standing in the middle of a large living room.
“It’s lovely,” she murmured. The walls were a pale gray, the carpet a deeper shade. Heavy drapes in a gray-and-white print covered the front windows. A dark leather, high-backed sofa, a love seat, and a pair of matching chairs were grouped around a mahogany coffee table in front of a white stone fireplace.
“Do you want to look around?”
With a nod, she dropped her suitcase next to his. A door to the left led to a kitchen. She was surprised and relieved to discover it came with all the regular appliances. A round oak table sat in front of a window that looked out on a side yard; dark granite covered a long counter. A washer and dryer could be seen through an open doorway.
A narrow hallway led from the living room to a den, what appeared to be a guest room, and a bathroom.
Back in the living room, Giovanni picked up their suitcases and led the way upstairs. Four bedrooms lined either side of a wide, carpeted hallway. The door to a fifth bedroom stood open at the end of the hall.
Cassie peeked into each of the rooms. Three of them were furnished with double beds, small desks, a chair, and a chest of drawers, the only differences being the wood finishes and the colors of the walls and bedspreads, one being beige, one sky blue, one sea green. The fourth room, larger than the others, had obviously belonged to a family member. It held a few high school mementos, a shelf of well-worn books, a photograph of a lovely young woman with dark brown hair astride an Appaloosa mare, and a pillow embroidered with the words, I Love New York.
“This must be Abbey Marie’s old room,” Giovanni said.
“Abbey Marie? Oh, right, I met her at Mara’s the night of the shower.”
He nodded.
The last room was the master bedroom. Cassie shook her head. “I think we should use one of the other ones.”
“I’m sure Rane wouldn’t mind.”
“No, but his wife might. Bedrooms are intimate spaces, you know.”
“Whatever you think best, cara. Pick one.”
“The blue one, I guess. It has a nice view.”
Giovanni carried their bags into the blue bedroom, set Cassie’s on the floor at the foot of the bed, then started down the hall to the next room.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Cassie asked, following him into the hallway.
Pausing, he glanced over his shoulder. “I didn’t know what you . . . if you . . . ?”
“I don’t want to sleep alone if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“I didn’t want to make the decision for you.”
Cassie shook her head. “Honestly, Johnny, how many times do I have to seduce you?”
Between one breath and the next, he dropped his suitcase, gathered her into his arms, and carried her into the blue bedroom. A whisper of power flooded the room and the next thing she knew, she was lying naked on the bed next to an equally naked, blatantly aroused male.
Lips twitching, she said, “One more time, I guess,” and then gasped as he rose over her, eyes blazing with barely bridled desire as he captured her mouth with his.
* * *
She was drifting, floating on a calm sea after a hurricane, her whole body throbbing from the storm that had engulfed her. A storm named Johnny. Always before, he had been gentle, almost tentative. But not tonight. Tonight, he had made her his in a way no words, no wedding ceremony, could have done.
Eyes closed, she smiled when he kissed her cheek.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice husky.
“Hmm. More than all right.” She looked up at him through heavy-lidded eyes.
His gaze searched hers. “I was afraid I’d hurt you.”
“Oh, I hurt all right,” she said, her eyes sparkling with merriment. “I can’t wait for you to hurt me again.”
* * *
It was long after midnight when Giovanni left the blue bedroom. Not wanting to wake Cassie, he went to take a shower in the downstairs bathroom. He couldn’t stop smiling as the hot water sluiced down his back. They had made love before and it had always been amazing, but tonight . . . He shook his head. Tonight was beyond anything he had ever imagined.
After stepping out of the shower, he grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his waist, then strolled out onto the veranda. Overhead, millions of stars shared the night sky with a bright yellow moon. An indrawn breath carried the scents of grass and hay, sage and pine—and the faint stink of a dead animal. A slight movement caught his eyes. Glancing to the right, he saw a gray wolf slinking through the shadows. The wolf stopped. Hackles raised, it let out a low growl when it saw Giovanni. For an endless moment, his gaze met the wolf’s—two predators, he thought with a wry grin, and wondered what the lobo would do if man suddenly became wolf. Would they fight, or run through the night together? Had he not been afraid of leaving Cassie alone in the house, he might have shape-shifted to satisfy his curiosity.
The wolf whined low in its throat, then lifted its head and howled at the moon. A half-dozen others answered his mournful cry before the animal melted into the shadows.
After taking a last look around, Giovanni returned to the house. Making sure that the doors and windows were locked, he warded the house against all comers, then willed himself upstairs and crawled into bed beside Cassie.
She made a soft, contented sound as he drew her body against his, her back to his front, his nose buried in the flowery fragrance of her hair.
Sighing her name, he tumbled into oblivion, one hand cupping her breast, a smile of contentment on his face.
* * *
Cassie woke with a start, wondering what had roused her. She frowned when she heard the unfamiliar noise again. Was that a horse? She grinned, thinking she shouldn’t have been so surprised. They were at a ranch, after all. She had seen the barn from the bedroom window. Still, she hadn’t expected to find any animals since the owners were on vacation. Of course, it was likely they had hired someone to look after the place in their absence.
Careful not to disturb Johnny, she slipped out of bed and took a quick shower, then grabbed her robe and went downstairs, hoping to find something to eat.
A note on the refrigerator informed her that there was food in the fridge and the cupboards. She smiled at Johnny’s thoughtfulness, even as she wondered when he’d had time to shop.
With a shrug, she looked out the kitchen window while waiting for a pot of water to heat for coffee. In addition to the barn, there were a couple of corrals. A dozen or so chickens wandered around, clucking and pecking at the ground. Trees and rolling hills stretched away as far as the eye could see. And over all, a clear blue sky dotted with puffy, white clouds.
The whinny of a horse drew Cassie’s gaze to the barn again. She was sorely tempted to go have a look but the memory of being at Alric’s mercy was enough to keep her inside. Maybe when Johnny woke up, they could go outside and have a look around.
She was about to turn away from the window when she saw a dark-haired man dressed in faded jeans and a plaid shirt come around the far corner of the barn.
Fear coalesced in the pit of her stomach as she ducked out of sight. Was it Alric? What was he doing in the barn? She had a sudden image of him setting the place on fire, burning the horses alive.
She was about to go upstairs and wake Johnny when the man came outside leading three horses. After unlatching the corral gate, he turned the animals loose inside, clo
sed the gate, then climbed on the rail to watch them run and kick up their heels.
Relief washed through her, leaving her knees weak. Just a hired hand, she thought, here to look after the stock.
Cassie smiled as she watched the horses—a bay, a chestnut and an Appaloosa—gallop around the corral, snorting, bucking and kicking up their heels. She had loved horses ever since she was a little girl, although she’d never had occasion to ride one.
Cassie was about to turn away from the window when the man glanced over his shoulder. When she met his gaze, she felt a cold chill run down her spine. Telling herself it was just her imagination, she moved away from the window, then went through the house, making sure all the doors and windows were locked.
When she looked outside later that morning, he was gone.
* * *
Thinking Cassie might be bored or maybe uneasy at being alone, Giovanni rose several hours before sundown. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before heading downstairs.
He found her in the kitchen, washing her dinner dishes. “How was your day?”
She spun around, one hand pressed to her heart, the other clutching her crucifix. “Oh, it’s you.”
“Were you expecting someone else?”
“No. No, of course not, but . . .” She blew out a shaky breath. “It’s nothing.”
“It looks like something to me. What happened?”
“There was a man outside this morning. I wasn’t expecting to see anyone. He gave me a start, that’s all.”
“What man?”
She shrugged. “Someone who’s looking after the ranch, I guess. He turned the horses out in the corral so they could get some exercise. When I looked outside later, he was gone. I never saw him again after that.”
Giovanni nodded. He knew Rane had hired someone to keep an eye on things while he and Savannah were gone. Yet he couldn’t shake off a sense of unease.
They spent the evening playing cards. He beat her at poker, lost at gin rummy, a game he had never played before.
Later, after Cassie had gone upstairs to get ready for bed, Giovanni strolled down to the barn to have a look around. He hoped Cassie was right and that the man who had been there earlier did, indeed, work for Rane and Savannah. He walked around the barn and the house, but found no hint that Alric or anyone associated with him had been there.
Deciding to widen his search, he headed toward the pasture. He’d hadn’t gone far when he caught the faint scent of blood.
Human blood.
He found the body partially hidden beneath a pile of leaves. The man’s throat had been cut. From the look and the smell of the corpse, Giovanni figured he’d been dead more than twelve hours—too long for it to be the man Cassie had seen. A search of the man’s pockets turned up a wallet that was empty of cash but held a driver’s license issued to George A. Carlson with an address in Auburn, California.
“Carlson,” he muttered. The guy Rane had hired to look after the stock while he was in Italy.
So, who had Cassie seen sitting on the fence that morning?
Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he called Mara.
She answered almost before the phone rang. “What’s wrong?”
He quickly told her about finding the body.
“I guess Angelica passed the word to him,” she said, her voice thoughtful. “Either that or he tracked Cassie. Either way, he knows where you are.”
The thought tied Giovanni’s stomach in knots.
“Did the man make any attempt to contact her?”
“No. She said he turned some horses loose in the corral and when she looked again, he was gone.”
“I’ll send someone to pick up the body.”
“Thanks.”
“Be careful,” Mara said. “Alric might be closer than we think.”
“I didn’t sense his presence.”
“I don’t think that matters. Don’t forget, he’s got a witch working for him, and I think this one is stronger and more devious than Angelica.”
Giovanni grunted softly.
“I’m going to call the family and tell them to be there before sundown tomorrow instead of Saturday.”
“Probably a good idea.”
She paused a moment, then said, “I’m going to have Derek leave immediately. He can guard the perimeter. He’ll stay in wolf form until the rest of us get there.”
“Thanks.”
“If you need us sooner, call me. Is everything else okay?”
“As far as I know.”
“You’d better warn Cassie.”
“I will. See you tomorrow evening.”
“Be careful, Giovanni.”
“Right.”
He stood there a long while, staring into the distance, before returning to the house.
* * *
Cassie looked up from the sofa when Johnny materialized in the room. “Where’d you go?”
He shrugged. “I just went out to have a look around. I thought you were going to bed?”
“I’m not as tired as I thought I was.” She paused a moment, her gaze searching his. “What’s wrong?”
Johnny settled down beside her, one arm draped around her shoulders. “I found a body in the pasture.”
“What?”
“Yeah. It’s the Cordova’s hired man.”
She stared at him for a breathless moment as his words registered. “Then that man I saw this morning . . .”
“Was likely sent by Alric to keep an eye on us.”
Cassie felt the blood drain from her face. He’d found them already.
“The family will be here tomorrow before dark. In the meantime, Derek’s going to patrol the property.”
She bit down on her lower lip, wondering if Johnny could hear the fearful pounding of her heart. What if Alric came tonight? She went cold at the thought, and then hoped he would. She was tired of running, tired of being afraid. Let him come, she thought, her fingers wrapping around her crucifix. Better to have it out once and for all. So, he was a vampire. He wasn’t indestructible. He might be Undead, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be destroyed.
Giovanni grinned as he read her tumultuous thoughts, amused by her bravado and yet proud at the same time. She might be afraid, but there was no shame in that. He was afraid, too, not of dying, but of losing her.
“What are you smiling about?” she asked.
“Just thinking I’m lucky to have you at my back.”
She frowned at him. “I can’t imagine why.”
“It doesn’t matter. I brought you something.”
“A present?”
“Not exactly.” Rising, he made his way upstairs, only to return moments later carrying a small canvas sack.
She eyed it dubiously. “What’s in there?”
Sitting on the edge of the coffee table, he handed her the bag. “Take a look.”
She opened it warily, then took out the contents one by one—three sharp, twelve-inch wooden stakes, a clear glass bottle labeled Holy Water, a silver-bladed knife in a leather sheath, and a lighter like the one she used to ignite the wood in the fireplace at home. The last item in the sack was a small pistol.
Brows raised, she looked at Johnny. “Just what I always wanted. A vampire-killing kit. How did you know?”
“Keep those handy.”
“I will,” she said, her expression solemn as she laid the pistol aside. “Is it loaded with silver bullets?”
“It’s not for Alric. It’s for any mortals he might bring with him.”
She stared at him, then shook her head. It was one thing to destroy a vampire trying to kill her, but an ordinary mortal? How could she?
“I know what you’re thinking, but any mortals with Alric will be under his spell. You won’t be able to reason with them. Have you ever handled a gun before?”
“Of course not.”
He spent the next half hour teaching her how to hold it in a two-handed grip and how to load it, then had her dry-fire it a couple of times.
“Just point and shoot,” he said.
Cassie nodded, though she doubted she would ever find the courage to pull the trigger. “It’s really going to happen, isn’t it? He’s going to come here.”
“I’m afraid so. And probably not alone.”
* * *
Cassie snuggled close to Johnny in bed that night. She tried not to think that their days together might be numbered, that Alric might win the coming battle, that they might never marry. She told herself she was being too pessimistic, that there was nothing to worry about. They had Mara and her family on their side. How could Alric possibly win?
She sighed when she felt Johnny’s fingers massage her neck.
“Stop worrying,” he said. “It doesn’t do any good.”
“I know, but . . .” She rolled over to face him. “Make love to me.”
Enfolding her in his arms, he murmured, “Always my pleasure,” as, with a word, her nightgown and the pajama bottoms he’d taken to wearing to bed disappeared.
“Mine, too,” she whispered, and pressed her lips to his.
Giovanni moaned softly as her hands moved over him. If they spent a thousand years together, he would never get enough of the exquisite pleasure of her touch, or the wonder of knowing that she loved him in spite of everything.
Whatever the future held, he would always be grateful for this woman, this moment.
He gasped her name as he buried himself in her velvety softness, felt his heart swell with emotion as the warmth of her love poured over him.
* * *
In the morning, Cassie slid carefully out of bed, tiptoed into the bathroom, quietly closed the door, and turned on the water in the shower. When it was hot, she stepped inside and shut the door. Closing her eyes, she sighed as the water sprayed over her back and shoulders. It was nerve-racking, waiting and wondering when Alric would strike next. The thought of being in his clutches again made her blood run cold.
She let out a shriek when someone touched her arm. Whirling around, she drove her fist into the intruder’s face two seconds before she realized who it was. “Johnny!” she exclaimed as he recoiled. “You scared the crap out of me! What are you doing out of bed so early?”
“I didn’t want you to be alone today.”
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