Shadow Man.
Panic flooded through me. My hands shot up and I pressed back into the couch in the second it took my brain to realize it was Karson. At least I got the hands right this time.
He frowned as he took in my mild overreaction in. “I frightened you.”
A statement not a question, but I answered anyway as my hands went back to my heart. “Jesus, yes, you scared me. I almost threw you.”
“I can see that.” He stared at me silently as he shifted in front of me. His hair was damp but neat, his clothes immaculate; he looked like he was about to step out, not returning. When he spoke his voice was soft, filled with concern. “Has something happened to you at night, Amelia?”
It was weird that a grown adult was scared of the darkness. He’d never pressed or asked why, until now. I couldn’t tell him about Shadow Man. He’d featured in my nightmares when I was younger—still visited sometimes. It would earn me a trip to a psychologist, like it did when I first was taken in by my adoptive parents.
“No.” I untangled my legs, reached for the coffee, and took a sip. “Did you find her?”
I was grateful when he didn’t press further. Instead, he sat down beside me, clasping his hands between his thighs. “Not yet. Lester called though. She murdered the social worker who was responsible for taking her kids from her.”
Horror turned my stomach to slush. That woman was just doing her job, and she killed her. “That’s awful.”
He ran a hand through his dark hair. “We picked up her scent, but with the rain, we lost it.”
I placed the mug down. “Are the foster parents safe?”
“I placed a couple of vampires around their house in case she shows up there.”
“How many vampires do you have here at night?”
“Eight.”
Eight blood-thirsty vampires around children who were accidents waiting to happen. Mostly the vampires were outside, except for Monique, Michael, and Josh … and when the others came in to feed.
“If the children fall and scrape their knees, will Monique, Michael, and the other vampires be able to handle it?”
“We are not monsters, Amelia,” Michael responded, striding into the room. “Children have never been, nor will they ever be, on the menu.”
I cringed, feeling guilty for even thinking they would hurt a child. “Michael, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean …”
He met my apology with a steely gaze. He was within his rights to be annoyed; he’d been nothing but gracious toward me, and he seemed in control of his blood lust. I always felt safe around him.
Karson straightened and his eyes flared with warning at the annoyed vampire. “Michael knows you meant nothing by it. You are just concerned for the children’s well-being, as we all are.”
Michael moved to the end of the room and poured two whiskeys, handing one to Karson.
“I trust you … sorry,” I repeated.
Michael inclined his head, his face relaxing slightly.
“What’s got the witch groveling this morning?” Monique strutted in and stood in front of the fireplace, the orange light dancing around her legs. “Did she kill someone during the night, or knife someone in the back, or my personal favorite, create some wicked spell to disable her victim?”
She took every opportunity to remind Karson what I was and why he shouldn’t be with me.
I bristled. “You don’t need a spell to disable a vampire, you just need a dart filled with enough tranquilizer to knock out an elephant.”
It was a low blow, and it struck.
Monique’s eyes narrowed and darkened until they were black as train tunnels—soulless, devoid of all humanity, chilling. Her lips curled into a snarl, teeth sharp as nails glinting in the dim light. “Why don’t you try to take me down, then?”
A growl, low and deep, rumbled from Karson’s throat. “Touch one single hair on her head, Monique, and it will not be a witch you need to worry about.”
Monique glared at him. “Are you threateningme?”
