Night Play (Dark-Hunter #6)(21)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

And Tabitha would. She made it a habit through a friend of hers in the police department to stay on top of all murder investigations.

"So what do you think?"

Tabitha held her hand closer to her face. "It looks Greek in origin. Tell you what, let’s make a break for my sister’s house. We can ask her husband what he thinks."

"Which sister?"

"The twin one." Tabitha released her hand.

Bride balked at the thought of going to Amanda. "Amanda knows my psycho boyfriend-turned-serial-killer. She even set us up on our date!"

Tabitha made a disgusted sound. "Figures. Mandy has always been a rotten judge of character. Jeez! Never let her set you up with any guy."

"I thought that’s what they say about you, Tabby?"

Tabitha ignored her. "You know, it might be a good idea for you to pack a bag and camp out at Amanda’s at least for tonight, until we find out more about your serial-killer friend. If he does know Amanda, then he knows enough to leave her alone."

Bride didn’t argue. In all honesty, she didn’t want to be home alone even with her wolf to guard her. If Vane really was psychotic, he could kill her pet and then her.

"Okay, give me a sec."

Tabitha petted the wolf while Bride grabbed a change of clothes, her makeup, and something to sleep in.

Vane lowered his head as he watched Bride packing. He was relieved at her actions and Tabitha’s suggestion. Kyrian lived in a house that not even Vane could break into. It was protected against not just human criminals, but otherworldly intruders as well.

There, the rest of his pack couldn’t trespass unless Kyrian allowed it, and the former Dark-Hunter knew better than to let a pack of Were-Hunters in.

He nuzzled Tabitha’s leg, grateful she wasn’t a complete lunatic.

In no time, Bride was packed. She turned off the lights and opened the door. They tried to leave him behind, but Vane refused.

"Let him come," Tabitha said as Bride tried to drag him away from Bride’s SUV. "Yeah, but doesn’t your sister have Terminator now?"

"She does, but he’s friendly enough with other dogs. It’s vampires he hates."

Bride didn’t comment on that. Instead, she let the wolf into the back seat of her Jeep Cherokee. She put her bag in beside him, then got in and waited for Tabitha to jump in. They pulled out of the drive and Bride’s heart stopped as she caught sight of Vane’s motorcycle outside her shop.

"What is it?" Tabitha asked.

She pointed toward the motorcycle. "He’s still here."

"Gun it," Tabitha said as she pulled out her Glock and checked its magazine.

"Oh, good grief, Tabitha. You can’t shoot him."

"Trust me, I can." Tabitha touched the scar on her face. "Now go before he finds us."

Bride did as she said.

It didn’t take long to reach Amanda and Kyrian’s antebellum mansion in the Garden District. The Greek-revival house was one of the best preserved in the state. It was also one of the largest.

Bride pulled into the driveway and paused in front of the massive iron gates that had to be opened from inside.

Tabitha used her cell phone to call Amanda.

"Why not just buzz the house?" Bride asked.

"Because Kyrian can be a dickhead about letting me in sometimes."

Bride frowned. "Why?"

"I tried to kill him once and he hasn’t gotten over it. I swear, that man can hold a grudge like nobody’s business." She paused. "Hey Mandy, it’s me.

We’re out here in the driveway. Could you buzz us in?" She winked at Bride. "It’s me and Bride McTierney yeah, okay."

The gates opened. "Thanks, sis. See you in a minute."

They drove up the driveway and Bride whistled low. She’d never been inside the gates before, but everyone in town knew about this house.

It was even more beautiful up close than it had been from the street.

They drove up the semicircular driveway to the front door, which swung open the instant they stopped. Amanda Hunter stepped out, holding her infant daughter on her hip.

The baby girl started bouncing the second she saw Tabitha. "Mama, mama, mama!"

the baby cried in her infant gibberish, reaching for Tabitha, who scooped her up and hugged her.

Before Tabitha’s face had been scarred, the only way to tell the two women apart had been their wardrobes. While Tabitha preferred a goth chic look, Amanda was mainstream to the extreme. She wore a pair of black slacks and a thin, dark green cashmere sweater.

"What brings you two here?" Amanda asked.

"She has a psycho chasing her," Tabitha said while Bride let her wolf out of the car and grabbed her bag.

Amanda looked at her with concern. "Are you okay, Bride?"

Bride held on to her wolf. "I think so. I’m really sorry to impose."

"No, not at all," Amanda said as she neared Bride. "I know how much my sisters love you. I’d hate to see anything happen to you." Amanda froze as she caught sight of the wolf with her and frowned.

"Do you mind that I brought him?" Bride asked. "Tabitha said it would be okay."

Still frowning, Amanda looked at Tabitha. "Okay"

Amanda held her hand out to the wolf who went immediately over to her.

"You probably want to go inside, don’t you, boy?"

The wolf moved back to Bride’s side.

"Or not," Amanda said. "Well now, why don’t we all go inside and find out some more about this lunatic who’s after Bride?"

They followed Amanda into the house. Bride pulled up short, a bit intimidated by the size of the place and the pristine collection of antiques that looked like they belonged in a museum. She’d never seen anything like it.

But the oddest part was that the antiques were balanced out by contemporary furniture such as the plush black couches and an expensive entertainment system.

Not to mention strange vampire bric-a-brac. They even had a coffin-shaped coffee table.

How very odd A gorgeous blond man entered the room from the hallway to the right and cursed the instant he saw Tabitha in the foyer.

"Love you, too, Kyr," Tabitha said with an open, friendly smile.

He took a deep breath that said he would need patience to deal with Tabitha.

"Kill any vampires lately?" he asked.

"Apparently not, you’re still breathing, huh?" Tabitha clucked her tongue at Amanda. "When’s Geritol here gonna drop dead from old age, anyway?"

Kyrian narrowed his eyes at his sister-in-law before he looked at his wife.

"You know, I always thought I had faced evil incarnate. And then I met your sister.

She makes a total mockery of all known malevolent forces."

"Would you two stop?" Amanda said to them. "We have company, and speaking of evil incarnate. Why don’t you go face it in the nursery and change your daughter’s diaper?"

"Anything to get her out of Tabitha’s clutches before she corrupts her. It’s even worth facing the toxic waste."

Tabitha snorted at that. "Go on, little Marissa, and make sure you do something really nasty to Daddy when he changes you, okay?"

The baby laughed as Tabitha handed her over to her father.

Kyrian started for the stairs, then stopped as he caught sight of the wolf sitting quietly behind Bride.

"Is that who I think it is?" Amanda asked him.

Kyrian cocked his head. "Yeah, I think so."

Bride’s heart stopped. "You know his owner?"

Kyrian looked a bit uneasy with her question. "He doesn’t really have an owner per se. How did you end up with him?"

"He turned up at my house and I took him in."

Kyrian and Amanda exchanged a puzzled look. "He let you?"

"Well, yeah."

Tabitha opened her mouth as if she understood what they were thinking.

"Oh, dear Lord, don’t tell me he’s one of your cockamamie friends."

"They’re better than yours," Kyrian snapped. "At least mine aren’t insane."

"Yeah, right. They’re just" Tabitha snapped her mouth shut, then passed a fake smile to Bride. "You want to show him your hand? I’m sure he’s going to know all about your mysterious serial killer."

Bride hesitated. "He knows serial killers?"

"He knows lots of truly unsavory people."

"And Tabitha leads off that list."

"Kyrian!" Amanda snapped.

Tabitha crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged nonchalantly. "It’s okay, Mandy. Let him pick. At least I’m not the one with the receding hairline."

His face suddenly ashen, Kyrian ran his hand along his hairline.

"You’re not going bald," Amanda snapped, then she turned to her sister.

"Would you stop picking on my husband?"

"Geritol started it."

Bride wasn’t sure what to think of them now. This had to be the weirdest house she’d ever been inside. "Maybe I should have called the police."

"Nah," Tabitha said in a blasi tone. "No doubt your serial killer would kill them, too. Show him your hand."

Slightly hesitant, Bride moved forward to do so. "Have you ever seen anything like it?"

Kyrian nodded.

She swallowed in fear. "Am I going to die?"

"No," he said, locking gazes with her. "It’s not a death symbol."

Bride let out a relieved breath. "What is it, then?"

He cringed a bit before he responded. "That I really can’t tell you. But I can promise you this, whoever has a matching mark would sooner kill himself than see you hurt."

Bride closed her hand. "That’s what Vane said."

Kyrian’s gaze went to the wolf. "Well, you can trust him. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a diaper with my name on it."

"Is that all you’re going to tell her?" Tabitha asked as he left them.

"It’s all I can tell her," Kyrian said meaningfully, heading up the stairs.

Tabitha huffed. "Well, aren’t you Mr. Information?"

"Tabby," Amanda said, taking her arm and pulling her toward the couches.

"Leave him alone." She smiled graciously at Bride. "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

"No, thanks. I’m okay. At least as okay as I can be given the weirdness of this day."

Bride sat down on the couch in front of the windows while her wolf dashed up the stairs after Kyrian.

"Oh no." She got up to go after him.

"It’s okay," Amanda said, stopping her as she rounded the coffin coffee table. "Let him go. Kyrian will bring him back down in a few minutes."

"Are you sure it’s okay?"

Amanda nodded.

Kyrian had just finished changing Marissa’s diaper when he felt a Were-Hunter presence outside his door. "Is that you, Vane?"

Vane pushed open the nursery door. "Thanks for not ratting me out down there."

Kyrian tossed the dirty diaper into the pail and picked Marissa up. She slapped a wet palm against his face before she squeezed his cheek playfully. "No problem. So what’s up with the two of you?"

"I don’t know. She’s the human I was asking you how to date."

"I figured as much when I saw her. You should have told us it was Bride."

Vane sighed in frustration as he ignored that. "How do you tell a human what you are? How did Amanda react when she found out you were a Dark-Hunter?"

"She handled it with remarkable grace and dignity. Of course, it helps that her twin sister is certifiable. So, all things considered, I was the lesser of two evils."

Vane gave him a droll look.

"Does Bride have any loons in her family?" Kyrian asked him.

"Not that I know of."

"Then you’re screwed."

"You have no idea," Vane said under his breath. "My pack knows I’m in New Orleans. They’ve already called out a tessera for me."

Kyrian felt for the wolf. He’d been in a similar situation and it was hard to be true to your preternatural nature while your heart was entangled with a human.

"You want to leave her here?"

Vane looked at the baby in Kyrian’s arms and a part of him ached at the sight. He’d never really thought about having children before he’d found Bride. And in truth it was strange to see the former Dark-Hunter playing daddy.

What would it be like to hold his own child?

In the back of his mind, he could see a small daughter with red hair and pale skin like her mother.

"I can’t endanger your family," Vane said quietly.

"I might be mortal now, but I’m still capable of fighting."

Vane shook his head. "No you’re not. Neither is your wife. My people live their lives commanding magic and the forces of nature. You’ve never fought the Katagaria before and you have no idea what they’re capable of."

Kyrian shifted his daughter in his arms as she started fussing. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don’t know." And honestly, he was getting tired of not knowing. A year ago, Vane had known exactly who and what he was.

Exactly how to live his life and how to kill anyone who threatened it.

Ever since the night Anya had died, he’d been lost.

It wasn’t until that evening in Bride’s shop that he’d felt something other than despair.