“No.”
He lifted a skeptical brow.
“I’m just tired of feeling like a prisoner in my own home. If Elowynne was planning some sort of retribution, you’d think she would have done it by now.”
“I don’t know about that. She waited a hell of a long time to avenge Eleni.”
“And she’s not done yet, is she?”
Saintcrow shrugged.
“This won’t be done until one of you is dead,” Kadie said. “The waiting is driving me crazy.”
“I’m guessing that’s exactly what she wants,” Rylan said, taking her in his arms. “I’ve tried to contact her a couple oftimes, hoping to get this over with, but she doesn’t respond. Are you ready to go?”
“Where are we going?” They had been hunting in a different state each night.
“How about Montana?”
Kadie nodded. A moment later, they were in Bozeman. It was Friday night and the streets were crowded with people, citizens and tourists alike. A group of excited teenagers were waiting in line at the movie theater. Kadie smiled when she saw them, remembering her own childhood, the good times she’d had with her sister, Kathy, and her high school friends. She hadn’t seen Kathy in a long time and she made a promise to herself that when this trouble with Elowynne was over, she would go visit her sister.
“How about him?” Saintcrow said, gesturing at a young man walking with his date.
Kadie nodded.
Moving up behind them, Saintcrow spoke to the couple, who stopped in the shadows beneath an awning. Kadie approached the man, wondering how many times she had done this as she bit him gently. His blood was warm and sweet. Even after so many years, even though she wasn’t causing him any harm, she still felt a little guilty for what she was doing. She glanced at Rylan when she finished, wishing she was more like him. He never felt any guilt at all.
After he released the couple from his spell, he took Kadie’s hand and they walked back to the business district. He found a nightclub with a dance floor and Kadie spent the next hour doing one of her favorite things, dancing with Rylan. He held her close, his dark eyes filled with love. They danced until the club closed and then he took her home where they spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms.
Kadie was almost asleep when Saintcrow jackknifed into a sitting position, a vile oath on his lips. She didn’t have to ask what was wrong. She’d heard Elowynne’s voice in his head threatening to destroy everything he loved.
He looked at her, one brow arched. “You heard it, too?”
Kadie nodded. “I guess it isn’t over.”
“Did you really think it was?”
“No, but I was hoping.”
“She isn’t the kind to give up.” He’d warded the house, the town, and the mountains against her, he thought, frowning, but was that enough? She was a powerful witch. Was she powerful enough to burn down the town from a distance? He had no family, but Kadie had a sister. Micah, Sofia and Rosa had family in Arizona. Families that were vulnerable.Shit!What were the odds that Elowynne was unaware of them?
Kadie sucked in a breath when she caught snatches of Rylan’s thoughts. “You don’t think she’d come after my sister, do you? Or the Ravenwoods?”
“I wouldn’t put it past her.”
Kadie felt a sudden chill. Kathy had twin daughters and a son. And the Ravenwood clan had a number of young kids. “What are we going to do?”
“I’ll talk to Kincaid and tell him to take all the Ravenwoods on vacation, preferably out of the country. As far as I know, Elowynne has no way to track Jake. And I doubt if she’s aware of the Ravenwood family, but better safe than sorry. As for your sister, she’s probably safe enough. I don’t think Elowynne knows you have a sister, let alone what her name is. And now that Kathy’s married, her surname is different. And so is yours.”
It wasn’t much comfort. Still, the fact that Kathy lived in California, and that she’d had so little contact with her sister, probably worked in their favor.
“So, what arewegoing to do?” Kadie asked.
“I don’t know. We can leave the country. We can go stay at our place in New Orleans. We can stay here. It doesn’t really matter. Sooner or later, the witch and I are going to have to settle this once and for all.”
~ * ~
Saintcrow met with Kincaid at the saloon in Morgan Creek later that night to discuss what he and Kadie had talked about earlier.