Jake grunted softly. “Pretty sure Mrs. Ravenwood will object to leaving home, but I think I can convince her.”
“No doubt.” Kincaid had a way with the ladies, even with his mother-in-law, who doted on him.
“To be on the safe side, I think I’ll take the whole family to Italy,” Jake said. “Lena loves it there. I’ll talk to Micah and we’ll work out the details. I’ve got a vamp friend in Venice who’s a bodyguard. I’m sure he can round up a couple of friends to help us out if the need arises.”
“Sounds good,” Saintcrow said. “How does Rosa feel about it?”
Kincaid shrugged. “She’s always happy to spend time with her family wherever they are. What about you and Kadie? You staying here?”
“I’m not sure. Leaving seems like admitting I’m afraid of that damn witch.”
“Are you?”
“No.” He didn’t care what happened to the town. He wasn’t worried about himself. “I’m only afraid for what might happen to Kadie if Elowynne wins.”
~ * ~
Two days later, the Ravenwood clan left for Italy. Kadie felt strangely bereft. Sofia and Rosa and Holly were her only real friends. She had made acquaintances with some of the hiredhelp in town, but they didn’t really count as friends. There were too many things in her life that she couldn’t share.
As the days passed, she was filled with a sudden restlessness. She was used to being busy, taking photographs, uploading them online, laying out ad copy. She’d gone shopping and to the movies with Rosa, and sometimes with Sofia and Holly when they were staying in town.
Now, Morgan Creek was a ghost town. Winter was coming. At night, the wind howled down from the mountains. Clouds gathered overhead, threatening rain.
“Why doesn’t she do something?” Kadie complained late one night while they were playing cards. “I’m going crazy waiting.”
“I’m sure that’s just what she wants,” Saintcrow said, laying his cards on the table. “Gin.”
“You always win,” she muttered as she shuffled the deck.
“I cheat.”
She glared at him. “As if I didn’t know.” She was too upset to effectively block her thoughts. “Maybe she’s given up.”
“I doubt it.”
Kadie stared at him, her head cocked to the side, her expression thoughtful. “You want to fight her, don’t you?”
He didn’t deny it.
“Why?”
“Why? How can you ask that? She put me through hell.”
“It hurt your masculine pride, didn’t it?” she accused, tossing her cards aside. “She hit you with some sort of dark magic that you couldn’t beat. For the first time in your life, another vampire got the best of you and you can’t stand it.”
Saintcrow glared at her, dark eyes narrowed ominously, mouth a thin line.
“It’s true, isn’t it?” Kadie said. “It’s killing you inside. Admit it.”
In the blink of an eye, he had her on her back on the floor, his hands holding her arms over her head, his body pinning her down. “If a man had dared say that to my face, I would have killed him.”
She met his angry gaze, unflinching. “The truth hurts, doesn’t it?”
“Damn right.”
She writhed beneath him, grinding her hips against his groin. His reaction was immediate.
“You’re not playing fair,” he growled.