"I'm staying. Just a few days, just to check around. Please, you and Koen go home. I'm fine."

"You're not," Eillia countered. "But you will be."

Ahmose nodded. His eyes landed on the blood and he suddenly needed to leave the room.

"Excuse me," he said politely, and left quickly.

Eillia turned to Koen. "He needs to do this. We'll go home and let him deal with this on his own. Even our presence won't help him."

"I know. I remember when I thought I'd lost Alisa. There was nothing in this world that could lessen my pain. My life halted. I hope he wasn't that invested with this woman yet."

"As do I. Come, let's leave this morbid place. Humans are so fragile. I wonder how I would deal with such a limited lifespan."

"Something as grand as you must live forever," Koen said, his hand on the side of her face.

"Charmer. I can't believe I never took you all those years ago."

"We always knew we were family. It was never in our destiny."

"True. I am glad you are back in my life. Let's never lose each other again."

"Pinky swear?"

Eillia smiled softly. Koen's incessant sense of humor, and that he loved with amazing intensity, was what she loved most of all about the big vampire.

She lifted her finger and intertwined it with his.

"Pinky swear. Let's go say goodbye to Ahmose."

As daylight began, Ahmose, safe inside an interior room in a high-rise hotel in downtown L.A., lay on a cozy mattress with a huge room-service cart beside of it, trying to eat. He thought the food was probably very good, but tonight, he ate because he needed to. There was no enjoyment.

Closing his eyes, he pictured Mal's acerbic response when he told her what he was, then her pa.s.sionate o.r.g.a.s.m the first time he'd entered her as he fed. G.o.d, he could never forget that connection. He wanted her biting humor and aggressive lovemaking, here, in this bed. He wanted to feel her beneath him, her sharp fingernails dug into his back. He needed her.

A large well-cooked steak lay untouched in a bed of sauteed onions, the scent heavenly. But Ahmose laid in the bed, naked, stretched out, his eyes open, staring into the dark. This was not unfamiliar, this pain. He'd felt it when he thought that Starla and his son were dead, murdered by a woman who had been with his community for a thousand years. His pain had almost destroyed him, but in the end, it turned out that Starla and the child had survived the fatal attack because she was Shoazan.

Here, now, again, the pain overwhelming, he felt his body shut down because he couldn't process the loss. This woman, who he only now began to suspect had been a possible mate for him, was gone forever.

"I can't fix this," he whispered to the universe, to Mother Earth, to the sky, whoever might listen. "I can't unmake this deed."

If it weren't for his children, for Starla and Jacob, he didn't think he could make it through this. No, that wasn't quite right...he didn't think he wanted to make it through this.

But his role in the first blood children's lives, in the future of his race, was important, so his only option was to deal with Mal's death and go home to his family.

He rolled up onto his side, tears sliding down his cheeks across his nose and right cheek. He just kept mentally repeating what Eillia told him before they parted tonight.

I'm not all right, but I will be. I'm not all right, but I will be, I'm not all right, but I will be.

"I'm not all right," he whispered into the darkness before he finally fell asleep.

Chapter 15.

Frantic, Kai rushed into Kordalis's office.

"Where is she?"

"She's disappeared. I haven't been able to find any trace of her. No credit card use, no identification anywhere. I put a couple of men on Canzone, but she hasn't come anywhere near him."

"I should have expected this. That girl never plays by the rules and she's never done anything I've asked her to do, even when she was five."

"I remember. Kai, we've done all that we can do. There comes a time you have to just let things happen the way they need to. She's a good cop, Kai, and we're just going to have to trust her."

"But she's off-mission. She has no back-up and no plan."

"I bet that's wrong. Mal usually knows exactly what she's doing and exactly what she expects from her actions. I'm here for her if she needs me. You need to be, too."

Kai paced, looked up at Kordalis, then paced more, glanced out of the gla.s.sed-in office, then walked closer to Kordalis. He looked him directly in the eye.

"She's been with a vampire. Jeff, she's pregnant."

"What? That isn't possible."

"It seems it is. Erin says there are ancient vampires called first bloods that can do that."

"Seriously? f.u.c.k. Trust Mal to find one of them, then. Is she all right?"

"Yeah, she was great. Until she disappeared to come back here and get herself killed. I'm going out there."

"Check in every hour, Kai. I'll give you anything you need."

"Thanks, Jeff. Let me know if you hear anything as well."

Kordalis nodded and watched Kai disappear around the edge of the office wall.

Mal with a vampire? d.a.m.n, the train was off the tracks lately. His own experiences with the vampire community over the years had been both fascinating and unsettling. He had never been completely okay with the knowledge that supernatural beings existed. And now this with his best friend's daughter...G.o.d, it was no wonder he had trouble sleeping at night.

Canzone's office was silent. He sat in front of his computer screen, the sun rising over his shoulder, four men stationed outside of his door, armed with AK's and a whole lot of att.i.tude. He glanced at the ball of fire that brightened the sky around other skysc.r.a.ping buildings, the milky yellow glow filling the room with a softer light than the LED's that normally burned for illumination.

This morning, he'd turned on no artificial light, the glow from his monitor the only light in the room until the sun brought its billion watt smile. His head and eyes hurt from little sleep the past two days. G.o.d, he hated where things had gone lately. He knew it was going to get much uglier before it was finished.

Evidence to that effect occurred moments later when a scuffle outside of the door made him palm an automatic pistol that was never more than inches from his hand. He still kept his seat at his desk as the door opened.

"Sir?" Tyrone said, stepping through. "I hate to disturb you, but there's a man here, says he's family."

Ah, f.u.c.k. Yeah, that shouldn't surprise him.

Canzone laid the gun back on the computer keyboard.

"Send him in."

With a curt nod, Tyrone closed the door. There was another scuffle, some harsh voices he didn't understand, then the door opened and closed abruptly.

A man stood against it and didn't advance into the room.

Neither man spoke for several long moments as the sun continued to bring more golden light into the dark, cavernous room.

"Come on in, brother," Canzone finally said quietly.

Kai walked closer, slowly.

"Hardly. Never."

"I considered you brother from the moment you married my sister. You never embraced the family you married into."

"We were on opposite sides of the law."

"And now my niece brings us back together. This isn't my fault."

"You killed her partner. That's unforgivable for a cop, you know that."

"She was a dog with a bone. I had to interrupt her. Would you rather I had my man kill her?"

"I would rather you drop dead and solve the problem."

"You'll understand if I don't comply with your request. Anyway, I did everything I could to discourage her. Now, her fate is out of my hands. I have to answer to people above me too, Kai."

"Where is she?"

Canzone looked surprised. "I don't have her. Not yet, anyway. Why, is she missing?"

"You better not be f.u.c.king with me. If you have her, for Brigitte, for family, let her go and I'll get her out of here. You'll never see her again."

"I don't have her, but if I did, I'd give her to you. I don't have any family left, and even though she doesn't know who I am, I still care about her."

"Sure. Good. Then, you'll release her?"

"You always had trouble with trust."

"Just with the untrustworthy." Kai took a deep breath. "You don't have her. You're telling me the truth? You really don't have her?"

Canzone shook his head. "No, I don't. If she comes, I'll hold her for you. Here, give me a number to contact you, and I'll text you. But Kai, if I can't stop her from trying to take down my organization, I can't protect her."

"Don't hurt her, Lawrence. I'm only going to ask once. If something happens to her, I can't honor Brigitte's wishes."

"Then stop her before she gets here." Canzone turned to face the vibrant sunlight filling the big gla.s.s wall. "It was nice to see you Kai. You can let yourself out."

Kai turned and walked back to the door, opened it and closed the door behind him. As he walked to the elevator, his jaw tight, he knew that he'd better find his daughter before his ex-brother-in-law did.

He woke slowly, aware that the sun must have dropped, but he didn't get out of bed. What was the point? Even if he found her body, which he still planned to search for, it didn't change the fact that she was gone forever.

Ahmose rolled over onto his back and just stared up at the ceiling. It was almost pitch dark in the room so he stared into blackness that created a canvas for his active mind. Her image floated past and he closed his eyes again. This was useless, he needed to get up and look for her.

In seconds, he was in the main kitchen of his hotel room waiting for room service to bring a healthy meal and some coffee. He had a long night ahead. He planned to start at the police station where she'd worked, and go out from there. Surely someone had some idea where she might be. These were the people who worked with her, who loved her, he was sure that if anyone was trying to find her, to solve her murder, it would be the men and women who had worked beside of her for so many years.

And her Captain. Ahmose knew that the people she'd worked with were very close by how she spoke of them, by the depth of her plea when Luka had been shot.

Someone should know something to help him.

IN THE WESTERN ATLANTIC.

Ah, she could get used to this...

She strolled lazily along the soft white sands of the beach, the sea just as lazily caressing the sh.o.r.eline as she watched the sun rising over her right shoulder. Mal was breathing easier, and so was her child. The baby hadn't made her presence known since Mal landed here three days ago, she just lay comfortably in her mother's womb and slept, like normal babies did.

Mal glanced at the charming house up a slight incline nestled into some trees for protection from the midday sun. It had a deep underground chamber with a big, luxurious bedroom and no access to daylight. Erin had graciously loaned this beach house to Mal while she considered how to deal with her situation. It would have been much harder to disappear without her help, and Mal was forever grateful for another unexpected vampire in her life.

She rubbed a hand across her slightly curved belly. She was grateful for the first one, too. Ahmose had brought her something she'd never wanted...or more accurately, never knew that she wanted. Now, though, she realized how much loss she'd felt so intensely, of a mother that had died too soon, and a father that detached shortly afterward and had never really been there for his daughter either. This baby would always know how loved she was because Mal planned to be there for her every moment of her life.

Suddenly a grumble pushed against her hand. How long had it been since she ate? She couldn't remember, and that usually meant too long, so she headed back to the house to make a sandwich and grab some chips from her full larder. Erin had called ahead and had a local man drop off supplies sometime before Mal arrived. Fresh linens, a large variety of food items, sundries, even lightweight sundresses, a bathing suit, nightshirts and satin underwear were all waiting for her. Mal hoped she would get a chance to thank her and maybe pay her back someday.

As she climbed the steps into the house, Mal heard a vehicle arriving and stopped to watch.

A small truck slowly rolled to a stop a few yards from her. The man who got out had brilliant white teeth and a shock of bright blonde hair, skin tanned golden from the sun, and tight fitting shorts that showed very tight buns when he leaned into the truck and pulled out a small box.

When he turned back, the smile widened. "Hi, I'm Jack. Welcome to Whitby. I'm your handyman, for lack of a better term. I take care of the property for Erin when she's not around."

"You're the one who brought the supplies," Mal supposed.

"I am. If you need anything else, let me know. My number is on the fridge. When I was here, I forgot to drop off a box of back-up batteries. You will likely need these at some point."

"Thank you, I can see that. I'm Bridget. Erin is allowing me to stay here for a while."

"She informed me. Have you been to North Caicos before?"

"I haven't."

"It's paradise. Pretty much as good as it gets. Are you here on vacation? Or for work?"

Mal had her cover set. "I'm a painter. Trying my hand at seascapes for the first time. This is sort of an artist's retreat."

"Outstanding. Well, it's nice to meet you. Like I said, if you need anything, let me know." He started to get back into the truck, then turned. "That includes anything. Tour of the island, advice about anything, transportation."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks again, Jack."