He hesitated once again, his eyes lingering, then got back into the truck and threw a hand up as he drove back around the tree-lined dirt road.

Mal smiled. She'd seen the spark of interest. He was attractive, no doubt, but she had no interest in a relationship at this point. Her child was her priority now.

Besides, as handsome as Jack was, Mal found herself automatically comparing him to Ahmose, and he just didn't measure up. She remembered the size of Ahmose's c.o.c.k and grinned. No, not likely!

Mal would love to have had a chance to hook up again someday with Ahmose. But what Erin told her, that nothing would stop him from taking the baby, spooked her too much. It wasn't worth the risk. She clearly remembered being frozen, and the forced compulsion. There was no way she could stop him if he came and tried to take her.

The local bread was soft, with a unique flavor due to the blend of whole grains. She added meat, cheese, and some of the potato chips for crunch and wandered back out onto the attached deck to enjoy her sandwich while she watched the ocean caress the earth.

This was the closest she'd been to nature in a lot of years. Since she'd come here, she'd captured numerous little sea creatures and released them. Now, she watched seabirds looking for their own lunches, and geckos running all over the grounds. The small lizards were plentiful here and, while at first they creeped her out, she'd adjusted and made fast friends with them. Her daughter's influence, Mal thought.

That was another thing she'd had plentiful time for since she'd come here, thinking. Mal's life had been nothing more than action and reaction for so long that it felt strange, yet good, now that she had time to just sit and ruminate. She shook her head, wondering where that word had even come from. That was a dictionary word for a girl like her, not a word you ever used. Certainly not one she ever had.

But now, her mind clear, her body and spirit calm, she was thinking about her life, about choices, about time pa.s.sing and making decisions that lead you where you wanted to be. The concept that Ahmose was a thousand years old had reminded her of her own brief life and that she was spending it trapped in endless engines of someone else's agenda. Not anymore. Now, she was a footloose, fancy-free, carefree, mom-to-be. Stretching out bare toes, she slid her new pale pink sundress up and revealed her legs to the warm UV rays to get a little color so she wouldn't stand out quite so badly when she went into town tomorrow.

Ummm. Erin might have a permanent house-guest.

IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Starla was thrilled. Ahmose was finally home and they could get back to normal.

"Ahmose, honey, I'm so sorry about the woman. But I'm glad you're back where you belong. Your daughter has been wondering where you've been. Not to mention your son, who has actually been asking for you."

"I am sorry, my Star. I am home now to stay. The need for vacation or time away has been satisfied. I am sorry if my absence has posed any problems for you."

Starla grimaced and held her belly, which felt as if it was expanding exponentially faster than it had with Eras.

"Now, I feel awful. Ahmose, you were more than ent.i.tled to take a break. Oh, h.e.l.l, I sounded b.i.t.c.hy, I get that. Please, my friend, take what you need. Eillia told me that you're hurting from this loss and maybe getting back to the normal village activities will be too difficult. But do stop and see Eras right away. He's with Jacob in the waterworks that Jacob installed near our dwelling. Over and above everything, I am grateful to have you home and well, and that psychotic Lamont gone forever."

"As am I. I will go straight to our son, and then, if you will indulge me, I would like to dine alone tonight."

Starla knew then that the big gentle-natured man she loved so much had been really damaged by the loss of this woman she hadn't even known he cared for. Ahmose loved his village and his family, and never failed to show up with a smile and warm greetings for everyone.

As he walked away, her best friend here in Zambia, a first blood, Chione, was coming up the hill towards her. Chione's elegant gait was quick, but with the grace of a deer, light and purposeful.

"Is he okay?" Chione asked.

Starla shook her head. "He is not. I wish I had known he was so involved. He only knew her for a few days, but I swear, he's acting like a man who has lost his love. And he might be."

"He has always had the greatest heart of anyone I have ever known. We have always known that when he fell in love, it would be everything to him. When I thought it was you, and that you could not be together, I didn't think he would ever be well again. I hope, too, that this time, he will be able to move past her loss with no deep emotional scars. He couldn't bear it. I will never forget his pain when he thought that you had been killed and you were not even his mate."

"We'll all be here for him. I'm going to follow him. Do you want to come?"

Chione stepped back and bowed slightly. "I think he will not need my presence or witness of his pain. Perhaps another time. Besides, I must go tell Luka that she is dead. He will be just as despondent."

Chione sighed. "I think I'll pick up a bottle of MoonShine before I go home."

Starla watched Chione head back down the hill. Talk about someone who wore his heart too openly, so did this beautiful woman who had come to be like a sister to Starla. Chione was a strong, powerful vampire, but her heart was fragile, with thin gla.s.s walls that could break or shatter too easily. Starla remembered a phrase she'd heard once and she thought it applied to her friend.

There are men too gentle to live among wolves.

That was Chione, who hurt too easily. Starla knew she would be leaving soon, to follow her destiny, to follow that open heart, to seek her own path. She would miss Chione, but Starla knew with complete confidence that once that journey was complete, Chione would come home to Zambia, to the beautiful Victoria Falls and the people who loved her so much.

As she arrived at the small fenced-in water area with slides, swings, and rides in bright colors, she watched Ahmose as he picked up his son and held him.

Ahmose buried his nose in the little boy's soft hair. Starla smiled, because she often did the same thing. His hair always smelled like fresh spring. The love between father and son was obvious, she could feel the deep emotional connection even across the five or so yards between them.

Jacob came up to her and put his arms around his mate. "He's a mess," he whispered into her ear.

"I know. Do you think she might have been the mate he's waited for? G.o.d, I hope not."

"No way to know, my love, but she was something special."

"It would seem so. He's requested to be left alone to dine tonight."

"Wow." Jacob knew what it meant, too.

After holding his son in his arms, Ahmose felt some of the intense pain wane. He had a spectacular life here with his new family. Starla would carry one more child, another girl, before the prophesied three first blood children were here. His special destiny was coming true and he was ungrateful to ask for more. This is why he knew he would never get the mate he thought he sought. He had been granted so much already, how dare he be greedy. It was okay. All was going to be fine.

With a bottle of pale MoonShine, he left the village and traveled a well-worn path that led him to the top of a cliff overlooking the waterfalls. Thousands of gallons of water crashed to the rock below as he watched the beautiful scene lit by a shining moon.

He threw the cork of the wine bottle in a wide arch to fall many feet and be swept away on the rushing water.

It was a gesture of release. "I cannot believe how much I miss you already, little detective. None of this was your fault and I will never forgive myself for bringing this to you. Sleep well in the cradle of the heavens, my lovely girl."

For the next several hours as the moon moved across the dark sky, Ahmose killed the entire bottle of powerful wine and let his mind wander. It wandered back to California, but he knew that it would.

IN L.A.

Kai couldn't find his daughter. No matter where he looked, what corner he checked, none of his contacts or sources, none of Kordalis's resources either. She was just gone.

Bev was back from Hawaii, too, frantically doing everything she could to help locate Mal, but with no more luck than Kai or the L.A. police department.

"She can't evaporate," Bev said at one point. "Unless he has her. Otherwise, she would have called either you or me."

"Not if she took off," Kai said, under his breath, but she heard him.

"Why would she take off? Kai, do you know something you're not telling me? I'm Mal's best friend, if you know something, you need to tell me."

He shook his head slowly, and Bev watched incredulously, and wondered if he was trying to convince her or himself. He wasn't convincing her.

"So, more mysteries and lies. I'm glad I didn't sleep with you, Mr. Kalani. After ten years as a police psychiatric specialist, I already have trust issues. You may be the s.e.xiest man I've seen in a long time, but I can already see the heartache you'll leave behind. Just, if you can't confide in me, just go."

Bev turned away, went into her office, and slammed the door. Kai heard the lock slide into place and knew the conversation was finished. It was probably a good thing. He liked Bev, but she deserved better.

Well, call it a night, he guessed. But instead of heading back to Mal's apartment, where he was staying, he headed to Kordalis's office.

"No trace, eh? Well, good for her. Maybe she got a little of the old coot in her after all."

"Mr. Canzone, do you want us to continue?"

Canzone paused. He should say yes. He should send a team after her until she was gone. But he'd loved his sister, and he had an attachment to her kid.

"No, pull everyone back in. If she's off the grid, she'll stay off the grid. It's time to get back to work."

Chapter 16.

FIVE MONTHS LATER.

First meal was always everyone's favorite. The chefs prepared the best of everything because they knew that their guests would be starving after a long night's asleep.

Ahmose came down the hill from his elevated dwelling with Eras on his shoulder. The boy could easily ride on his father's shoulders now, able to maintain balance and hold onto his neck. Ahmose s.n.a.t.c.hed a fried pastry from a tray as he pa.s.sed by, took a bite, then held it up and behind him for his son to nip at. Eras giggled and only managed to capture a small bit as he bounced on top of his tall father.

Chione was already dining, Luka at her side as he had been now for months. Their relationship had grown very close, not romantic, but as close as family.

Whenever Luka looked at Chione, he couldn't help but smile. She made him happy much in the same way his partner had before he had died and then she had been killed months ago. It still hurt when he thought of Mal, but he was past the point now where he had been devastated. Now, he remembered her with love and the sense of loss that was common when someone died so young, and a relationship that meant so much to him was gone forever.

Ahmose picked up a large platter-plate and watched Chione drop her head and laugh, while Luka slid his fingers along her forearm. He wondered, not for the first time, if he was witnessing fledgling love, but only time would tell. Chione was such a beautiful soul, and deserved only the best mate possible on Mother Earth. Ahmose hoped that if she was falling for Luka, that he was good for her, and that he would honor her as she should be.

He'd just reached for a ladle full of gravy when someone grabbed Eras from his shoulders and the little boy erupted with giggles.

"Ya thought ya could escape me, did ya? Aarrgghhh!"

Jacob swung the boy around and tossed him into the air to catch him easily on the way down.

"Don't break our son, Jacob," Ahmose said over his shoulder, while he finished filling his plate. "Where's Starla?"

"Close. There. See that angel carrying the smaller angel?"

Both men's eyes went to the same hill they had just descended. Starla landed on level ground and smiled at her children's fathers. She carried a baby wrapped in the softest cotton she had ever felt in her life, which she thought was only appropriate for the most beautiful little girl in all of existence on the Mother Earth. Starla was barefoot, a diaphanous gown flowing in the breeze. They really did look like angels.

"Good evening, gentlemen," she said with a wide smile, then her eyes moved to the little boy hanging almost upside down from Jacob's hands.

"And that includes you, handsome."

Ahmose reached for another plate. "I'll prepare your meal, Star, if Jacob wants to hang onto Eras."

Jacob nodded, and escorted his mate to the table where Chione and Luka were finishing their first meal.

Chione put her hands up and wiggled her fingers.

"Gimme, my friend," she demanded.

"Umm," Starla moaned. "Deal. Babies are a twenty-four-seven project. I haven't had much time to just hold my man."

She handed the tiny baby girl to Chione's waiting arms.

"There you are, my darling," Chione whispered and cradled the soft bundle. "You are more beautiful tonight than you were last night. That's great magic, my little lady."

"It's great magic indeed. We already know she's going to overpower our generation like the others some day."

Ahmose approached with a full plate, his own left abandoned on the buffet table.

Starla sat daintily as her two men took care of all of her needs. She wasn't about to complain. While she may be vampire, caring for her new daughter and her toddler son was wearing her out. It was true that she had a huge village to help her, but right now, she wanted her children close. It was a ridiculous amount of work, but she wouldn't trade a moment of it for anything.

Starla glanced at the baby in Chione's arms, smiling up at her beautiful G.o.dmother. Shani, a daughter that destiny brought to this unique triad of parents. The name was Egyptian and meant "wonderful." Every moment of this journey with her babies, Ahmose, Jacob, and this entire village of lovely people had been wonderful. This night, too, of soft breezes, family and friends close by, her children safe and well, and finally, Ahmose, healing after all of these months.

Ahmose. He was smiling again. Just recently, but he'd finally allowed himself to let go of the lost love that had been gone now for nearly half of the year. It had been heartbreaking to watch him try to smile, try to behave like everything was fine, when he knew it wasn't.

But when Shani was born just last month, she'd crawled inside of his heart and he had blossomed back into the caring, gentle, loving man she'd fallen for after she had been kidnapped two years ago.

So, as Starla watched her baby in her closest friend's arms, she was happier than she could ever have imagined. The only thing that would complete this perfect circle would be the final birth, next year, of the third child destined to come to them.

"What do we have tonight?"

Ahmose presented the plate he'd prepared and watched Starla tear into the freshly made American food that had become common now for their nightly buffets. He himself had become accustomed to hamburgers and French fried potatoes.

He glanced over at Chione, her eyes glowing, literally, as she looked at the newest first blood baby. His eyes dropped to her small face, smiling up into Chione's dark eyes.

Shani, his baby girl, the daughter he'd wanted for centuries, here and in their arms now, the perfect representation of a dream finally coming to fruition. The fates would have their way, he thought.

He just wished...

No, there was no point in wishing. Making a wish after the fact never made a difference, and it was way past the fact now that the pa.s.sionate detective was gone. He was healing, but he still had mornings when he came to his bed and tears would gently slip free as he remembered how it felt to hold her in his arms. He knew, in time, even those memories would fade and lose the ability to hurt.

He figured that the reason that he was so obsessed with her was that he never had a chance to close the relationship. He never had a chance to see if she was the one who might belong with him forever. The memory he kept of her, it wasn't her, but what it represented, the lost possibility. He hoped.

He'd learned to embrace his joys, which were all around him right now. Life was as it should be. He was as happy as he thought he would ever be. He was sure that a mate was not in his future. It was okay, he had a lovely family and there were plenty of willing young women for companionship. Not that he'd availed himself lately.

"It's all good," he said out loud to himself, as he walked back up to the buffet to fill his plate and grab some of the pastries still left for Eras. The boy liked his pastries.

As he sat to have his meal, he admitted that he was okay. Eillia had once commented that first blood vampires who lived these many centuries learned early that change and loss were immutable. And she was right. Just another day in the life, Ahmose thought.

Yet when a new young vampire with long tawny hair walked across the garden, his mind returned to Mal. How long, he wondered, before he stopped seeing her everywhere?

ON NORTH CAICOS ISLAND.

"Stop it, I can't take the pain in my side!"

Mal was laughing too hard, and with her enormous size, and everything below her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and above her thighs compressed, the st.i.tch in her side hurt like a mother.

"Jack, I cannot listen to one more asinine small-town-soldier-goes-to-war story. You had to be the goofiest soldier in the Middle East."