Saintcrow blew out a sigh as he settled on the sofa and toed off his boots. Opening a notebook, he jotted down a few of the things that needed replacing or repairing in the hotel: one of the faucets was broken in Room 16, there was a large hole inthe carpet behind the hotel reservation desk, the TV in Room 9 didn’t work, neither did the one in Room 14.
He laid the notebook aside, thinking Kadie had been gone longer than she should have been when his cell phone rang. He picked it up, expecting to hear Kadie apologize. Instead, he heard a deep, masculine voice.
“Is this Saintcrow?”
“Who’s this?”
“The man who has your wife.”
“Who the hell are you and what do you want?” Fighting down his fear and his anger, Saintcrow opened his senses, searching for his link to Kadie.
“Trelaine. Ever heard of me?”
“Can’t say as I have.” Where the hell was she? Something had cut the link between them. He had a pretty good idea that it was dark magic blocking his link to Kadie.
“Maybe you remember Elowynne?”
Shit!She had mentioned a lover. At the time, he and Izabela had assumed the witch had made him up. “Where’s Kadie?”
“She’s safe. For now.”
“Let me talk to her.”
“No.”
“Let’s cut to the chase. What do you want?”
“I’ll let you know, in time. You’ll be more agreeable after you’ve had a few days to think about it.”
“Dammit, tell me now!”
But there was no answer. Rising, Saintcrow paced the floor, his mind in turmoil. Once again, Kadie’s life was in danger because of him. He didn’t know how long the kid had been crying before the noise penetrated his mind.
Muttering an oath, he went into the kitchen. He found a bottle in the fridge, warmed it with a glance and carried it up to thenursery. The boy lay on his back, arms and legs flailing, his face red.
Striving for patience, Saintcrow lifted the kid from the crib, sat in the rocker, and shoved the bottle in the kid’s mouth. “I don’t have time for this,” he growled. “Dammit, I need to be looking for Kadie, not sitting here with you.”
The baby looked up at him, blue eyes wide, as if he understood every word.
Saintcrow tapped his fingers impatiently on the arm of the chair, willing the boy to drink faster, relieved when he finally fell asleep. He placed the baby back in the crib, covered him with a blanket. A clean diaper would have to wait.
Going downstairs, he grabbed his phone and called Kincaid.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I need a favor.”
“Sure what is it?”
“I need a babysitter.”
“What?”
“Elowynne’s boyfriend has kidnapped Kadie. I don’t know what he wants, but I don’t have time to mess with the kid. Do you think one of the Ravenwoods would agree to take him in until I find Kadie?”
“Let me ask Rosa.”
Saintcrow paced the floor while he waited for an answer.