"All you need to do is focus on taking care of yourself, our son, and our daughter. I will take care of the new vampire and everything else."

Ahmose stood, kissed Starla lightly on the cheek, mindful of Jacob, and then grabbed Jacob's hand. Jacob returned the gesture by wrapping his other hand around Ahmose's.

"Be safe, brother." Then Jacob leaned in and whispered in Ahmose's ear. Whatever he said made Ahmose smile ear to ear.

Starla watched the entire exchange as she bit off a piece of garlic bread. Her sharp eyes missed nothing. Ahmose had been incredibly distracted since he returned from America. She'd thought it might be because of the battle with Lamont, but now she knew...someone had gotten to him. Glancing around, she saw Luka, the new vampire, at another table, alone.

Well, he wouldn't be for long.

Ahmose looked back at Starla and Jacob as Jacob dropped a hand into her lap.

He turned away. What they had, their love, their connection that was sanctioned by the universe, was beautiful. He didn't begrudge their love at all, but he envied it.

He'd never been in love before. He wasn't now, he was sure, but he had not been able to forget his time with the detective in Los Angeles. Luka was a constant reminder.

Even when he tried to move forward, to forget how good it felt to have her buck beneath him and pull on his hair as she came, he found himself sitting alone imagining she was here with him. Strangely, he didn't dream of her, not when he slept, but when he was awake, she occupied much of his mind.

That's why he knew that he had to go back and see her again. The desire to touch her was overwhelming.

He had to hold her in his arms again. He had to pump into her and drink from her. No other woman had tempted him since. His community would notice. Somehow, he needed to purge his attachment to Mal and free himself to be interested in any of the myriad beautiful women in his village.

The best way, he thought, was to go back to her, get his fill, and come home. Like gorging on a favorite food so that you're completely satiated and don't want another bite. That was what he needed to do with this woman. He'd return to her, whisk her away from her daily life, make love to her until he couldn't do it again, a s.e.xual gorge, and leave her with erotic memories and no details of who he was or what they had done together. Because he knew, it wouldn't be just s.e.x, he wanted to drink from her again, too. Desperately. Blood was blood, for meal purposes, but in this case, hers was the only blood he craved. And that desire must be purged too!

Starla watched Ahmose walk away, then turned to Jacob. "Jacob, I would love some of that strawberry swirl ice cream they just brought in. Would you mind getting some for me? In a nice big bowl? You know I'll be very grateful."

"It's in the kitchen. They haven't brought any out tonight."

"I know love, it will take a few moments, but I'm craving it."

"Anything for you, my love. I'll take Eras with me."

Starla nodded with a huge smile. As soon as he was gone, she turned to face Luka.

On the perimeter of the garden, Luka sat alone finishing his third plate filled with food he hadn't allowed himself to have in years, and several things he'd never tasted before. While everything had incredible flavors, he couldn't enjoy it. He felt wrecked, like nothing would ever be okay again, even if he was still alive. He felt guilty, though, that he hadn't embraced the gift that this Ahmose said Mal had begged him to provide. At this point, he wasn't sure if it hadn't been better to just let him die.

He just had no idea how to live like this! The blood was too alien and tasted rank. No one and nothing was familiar. He couldn't be a cop and he could never see Mal again. How the f.u.c.k was he supposed to be okay with this?

He upended a tall gla.s.s of wine. At least that tasted familiar. As he lowered the now empty gla.s.s, he watched as a very pregnant, beautiful brunette approached him with a disarming smile.

"Hi. Luka, isn't it?"

"Um, yeah." Articulate. I'm sure I'm really impressing these people, he thought.

"I'm Starla, Ahmose's baby mama. It's a long and complicated story."

She took a seat opposite him, awkwardly lowering herself down. "That's harder than it looks." Then she leaned across the table and took his hand. "Luka, tell me about the woman that Ahmose met in California. I a.s.sume she's a friend of yours."

"Why?"

"Luka, don't be argumentative. I'm a highly volatile vampire with unstable hormones and some powers I really have no control over. Ahmose was involved with someone in America. He's troubled, and it had to have something to do with you. So I a.s.sume it's a woman, and I a.s.sume she's the reason he converted you. So, talk. Leave no details out. If you tell me, you will have a new friend for life."

She was aggressive, overwhelming, overbearing, and completely charming. Luka couldn't help himself. He smiled, genuinely, with pleasure, for the first time since he was taken from California and made vampire.

"They weren't involved. I don't know why he did this for her, but Mal wouldn't have known him, so she would have just been professional with him."

Starla shook her head, dark curls bouncing, as she leaned closer. "Uh, uh. No, he was involved. Deeply, because he's so troubled. They made love, I'm certain of it. So, tell me about your Mal."

"You're wrong. But I'll tell you. She's beautiful, brilliant, and about as f.u.c.ked up as I am when it comes to relationships. Neither one of us has ever been able to keep someone in our lives."

"You can't let them in, I can feel that. She's the same way?"

"Maybe worse. But she has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known. That's why we love each other so much. Kindred spirits. We got each other, and if nothing else in our lives worked very well, we had each other's backs through it all. Not that that matters now, I guess, since I'll never see her again."

"Oh, newbie, you'll learn that nothing is immutable. You never know what the next day might bring."

Luka was startled when the beautiful woman reached out and touched his cheek. "You made a handsome vampire, Luka. Don't waste this gift. I was made vampire against my will, too, but my life was nothing before this. You have eternity waiting for you, and if you want, you can do so much good. You can transform lives and touch tomorrow. I can feel what a great heart you have. Your Mal must be the same for you to love her so much. And for my Ahmose to be lost to her. I see exciting moments this year. Okay, I won't bother you any longer. I see my mate is back and he is going to have all kinds of questions. I'd better answer them before he demands them of you." She got out of the chair, but it was more of a struggle than she'd had getting into it. "Uh, oh, this baby is ready, I tell you, and so am I."

Starla watched a confused and aggressive Jacob making his way towards her with a smiling baby boy and a huge bowl of ice cream that she really didn't want.

ON MOLOKAI.

Bev was laughing so hard, tears streamed down her cheeks. They were sitting around a table on the deck watching the sky change from day to night.

"No, no way! You, dressed like a woman? Kai, your arms are as big as a WWF fighter!"

"I didn't say I was a pretty woman. But you'd be surprised by how many offers I got." Kai finished off a pack of French fries he had been sharing with Mal.

"Cops have to do all kinds of freaky things in the fight. You should have seen Luka in bright blue yoga pants! His boys were crushed!" Mal said, then felt nauseous, and it wasn't because of the pregnancy. A sudden memory of Luka, shot, more than once, like her bizarre memory of the gorgeous dead naked man. Vibrant, intense images, memories, she was sure, of the gorgeous man carrying Luka's dying body into a beach house, of her pain in knowing it was too late, of begging the gorgeous naked man...what? What had she asked of him? Exactly what did these memories mean? Then, just as abruptly, a strange sense of serenity...that Luka was all right and she mustn't worry.

She opened her eyes to see her father and Bev leaning over her, Bev had her wrist in her hand and was speaking to her. Mal was lying on a lounger.

"Mal, are you all right? Can you speak?"

After drawing a long breath, and blinking too many times, Mal nodded. "Um, no, I mean yes. I'm okay. I just had...I'm not sure what you'd call it. A memory, a vision, hallucination, I don't know. G.o.d, it was awful. Luka, shot, bleeding out, dying."

"Oh, Mal, you don't know that. You can't think like that. He's probably fine."

Mal shook her head. "I don't think so. But I also don't think he's dead."

"That's the hope you cling to, babygirl. Half the L.A. police force is searching for him. They'll find him." Pop knew what to say because he'd been in her shoes. His own partner had been knifed on duty, and died from the wounds two days later.

"No, they won't. I don't know how I know that, but I do."

Mal looked up at her father and Bev and sat upright.

"Guys, I have to tell you this. This crazy thing that's happening to me. I don't understand it at all, I'm half terrified, but I believe every bit of it is true."

Kai sat on the end of Mal's lounger and Bev adjacent in an upright chair, both riveted on Mal as she turned to face Bev.

"Bev, I told my father this morning. I just found out myself, and I'll explain how in a minute, but I want to tell you that I'm pregnant."

Bev looked like someone cold-c.o.c.ked her.

"Wha...I...but, you aren't seeing anyone. Anyone, Mal. You would have told me. You tell me everything."

"I do. I've told you what I thought was true, but now I know different. The gorgeous homicide victim, the one with the bullet hole in his forehead? He wasn't dead. He's the one that held me hostage for a night. He told me that he was, oh, h.e.l.l, this is going to sound nuts, but, he told me he was a vampire and that a gunshot would not kill him."

Mal looked back and forth between her father, who sat quietly, expressionless, and Bev, who she could see was wearing her therapist's understanding face.

"Yeah, I know it's ridiculous and sounds impossible, but I watched that man get up after I'd checked his pulse. There wasn't one. And I saw the wound, literally close within a day. Anyway, he said he would release me, but that he needed my blood to finish healing. He fed from me, and I had s.e.x with him."

Kai shot out of the lounger, fury radiating.

"Consensual, Pop. Consensual."

"How was it consensual? You were a hostage!"

Mal smiled and looked at Bev. "Well, Pop, you didn't see him."

Bev smiled now, because she clearly remembered the "dreams" Mal had told her about the gorgeous naked dead man.

Mal nodded. "Yes, that's him, Bev. Forget about that, Pop, that's minor compared to what I'm going to tell you. Luka came looking for me, and when he found me the second day, someone shot him, almost point blank. Four rounds in the chest and belly. I don't have to tell you what that means. This man, this vampire, he told me that he can convert humans, can heal them. I begged him to do it for Luka, and he resisted, but finally agreed. It worked, I swear it. Luka survived the shooting. But when someone becomes a vampire, they can't stay in their life, so the man took him. He used a mind control, a forced compulsion, to empty my memories and plant the idea that Luka was okay."

After Mal finished that part of her tale, she let it sink in for a few moments. Then she looked back and forth again between her audience of two.

"Okay, no questions. That's good. So the last part is just as weird. Pop, I threw up this morning and went to rest after Bev gave me some medication. While I slept, I found out that I am carrying the child of the man who claimed to be a vampire. Again, you're going to think you need to lock me up, but I swear this is true. My daughter sort of spoke to me, not in words, of course. She told me she can't wait to be out here and meet me, and that I should find her father."

Once more, Mal stopped to let the information settle. It sounded ridiculous to her own ears, too.

Bev and Kai exchanged glances.

"I'm not crazy," Mal repeated. "And I see how impossible it is that you would believe me, but that doesn't make this any less true." She lowered both of her hands and put them on her belly. "My daughter is here, I know this as well as I know both of you are here. Anyway, I just needed to hear myself say this out loud to see if I sounded as looney as I thought I did. I do. So, just let what I told you kind of float out there in the distance, and let's go get some dinner. My treat."

Kai came over next to Bev, and squatted down in front of Mal.

"It's been a tough time for you. We're going to get through this. All of us together."

Mal smiled. "I know. It's okay, I would be reaching for some serious medication for you if you were telling me the same thing. Just try to trust in me, just a little, until I can prove to you that I'm not losing it."

"Sure, babygirl. How about I take both of you lovely women to town for a nice hibachi dinner? My treat."

Mal nodded. "Okay. Let me clean up. Bev do you need the bathroom?"

"No, you go ahead. Let me know when you're finished."

Mal got up carefully and walked back into the house.

Kai looked at Bev. "PTSD?"

"I think so. She's been kidnapped twice and Luka's missing. They drugged her and G.o.d knows with what, so she's probably having a great deal of trouble dealing with all of that. And you know your daughter, she's been trying to deal with it alone. The last thing that girl will do is admit she's having trouble and needs help. But I'm on it, I'll get her through it. I guess I'd better call Kordalis and let him know I may not be back in two weeks."

"Anything you need from me, just let me know."

"Your presence will make the difference. She loves you. You're the most stable influence in her life."

Kai rolled his eyes. "G.o.d help her then."

"The last time she was truly happy was here with you and her mother. Really, Kai, this place is good for her."

"When she told me she was pregnant this morning, I was overjoyed. I suppose that's a figment of her imagination."

"I think so. Likely a coping mechanism. It's going to be okay. Above it all, that is one strong woman you raised there."

"She's amazing in spite of me, not because of."

Bev paused and watched Kai's face. "You've had a lot of pain, too. Let yourself be human, Kai."

He moved closer and laid a hand on one of Bev's cheeks. "I think it's time to move forward. Step past the pain. We can't live for yesterday when our lives are ahead of us, right?"

Bev felt it, the flush, the sensuality. She really liked the feel of his hand against her skin. She was beginning to think Mal was very right about Hawaii. This was a place of healing and it was paradise.

"They didn't believe me." Mal smiled, realizing she was already in a habit of speaking to her unborn child. Maybe that seemed a little crazy, but she knew it wasn't. This child spoke to her in feelings, but she still understood exactly what her daughter meant. This, this strange reality, the new world she had been drawn into, included things that most people would never understand, but it made it no less true.

The greater question now, was how could she find her child's father? She had already done a people search on the internet for men with the first name of Ahmose in South Africa, but it wasn't uncommon, and she had no last name or address.

She also was aware now, intuitively, that she wasn't supposed to remember anything at all about him other than an exotic sensation of their time together. As she thought of him naked, moving against her heated skin, her fingers, which had been curled around her belly, slid lower and brushed the top of her s.e.x.

The memories were coming back, hard and detailed, and she remembered him completely, every second, every touch, every o.r.g.a.s.m. And the memories that he had wiped flooded back.

Memories of Luka, dying, her own voice, pleading for Ahmose to save his life. Ahmose, kind, gentle, couldn't turn her away, so he had done so. Ahmose, warning her that Luka would live, but she would never see him again. Mal telling Ahmose it was the only choice. Then nothing. She'd awakened without Ahmose or Luka.

Now, this incredible gift, this extraordinary child.

"I will find him, my darling babygirl," Mal whispered.

Chapter 10.

Ahmose arrived in France at Koen's villa to join five first bloods that would travel to England to try, once again, to capture and ultimately eliminate, the man who operated the SRS. He wanted this finished before his daughter came into this world.

While she was inside of her mother, his unborn daughter and Starla were practically invincible. Being Shoazan seemed to be the most powerful magic of any first blood. This had been discovered when Starla had been brutally murdered, a death she should not have survived, but did. Since the child within was first blood, that unknown power protected the vessel carrying the baby. No one had ever seen anything like it. All Ahmose cared about was that his children, and Starla, were completely safe while she was pregnant.

The two first blood children that Lamont had kidnapped recently, and Ahmose's son, did not bear that protection. While they had retrieved the abducted children, the fact that Lamont had gotten to them at all was unacceptable.