“Kadie? Are you out of your mind. You know she’s gonna want to keep it.”
“I know,” he said glumly.
“Well, good luck with that.”
“I’ll need it. What did you do with the witch’s body?”
“Took it out in the desert, dug a hole twelve feet deep, tossed her in it with a match, and poof! She was gone.”
Saintcrow nodded. The old ones went up lightning fast.
Kincaid blew out a sigh. “Let’s hope Elowynne is the last nasty witch we have to deal with, at least for a while.”
Saintcrow reached for the wine bottle. He filled his glass and poured one for Jake. “I’ll drink to that.”
~ * ~
Needing some time alone, Saintcrow spent the night and the following day resting in the hotel. He told himself he was a coward for not going home, but he just wasn’t ready to see Kadie with the baby. Maybe it wasn’t the temptation of the kid’s blood that bothered him, but an unwanted wave of jealousy. When Kadie loved, she gave a hundred percent. She would care for the boy’s every want, love him with every fiber of her being. The baby would be in no danger. Unlike most vampires, Kadie’s instinct to hunt, to kill, was almost non-existent. She rarely drank for the pleasure of it, only to satisfy a need that was undeniable. He wasn’t sure why, though he figured it had something to do with her becoming human for a time and then being turned again. As soon as the sun went down, he went hunting to take the edge off his hunger. And then, knowing he had to do it sooner or later, he went home.
Kadie had been busy in his absence, no doubt about that. He found her in the living room giving the baby a bottle. She looked up, her expression unreadable when he entered the room.
Taking a deep breath, he settled into the chair farthest from the couch. “I guess you want to keep it.”
She nodded, her expression wary. And then she frowned. “We can’t.” She swallowed hard. “He must have parents who are going out of their minds wondering where he is. Missing him.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Knowing Elowynne, she likely killed the parents.”
Kadie worried her lower lip between her teeth. He was probably right. But what if he wasn’t?
“Even if his parents are still alive, there’s no way to find them, Kadie. The witch could have picked him up anywhere – another state, a shopping mall, who knows?”
Kadie felt a wave of guilt for being relieved that there was no way to return the baby.
“He’s going to complicate things,” Saintcrow muttered.
“I know,” she said, and frowned. “Why would Elowynne bring a baby with her?”
Saintcrow shrugged one shoulder. “I’m guessing she was going to drink from him after she defeated me.”
Kadie hugged the child closer, her dark eyes filled with horror at the thought of sacrificing an infant.
“I think I’ll spend the next few days at the hotel,” he said, ashamed of the hot flare of jealousy that knifed through him.
“If you think that’s best.” She tilted her head to the side. “Why did you bring him home, Rylan?”
“What you mean is, why didn’t I drain him dry?”
“That, too.”
“I was tempted, believe me, but I knew how much you wanted a baby. This was the only way I could give you one.” He laughed, a harsh, bitter laugh. “The kid will never know how close he came to dying when I found him.”
“You wouldn’t have killed him,” Kadie said.
“You sure about that?”