Night's Touch

Cara stared at the man leering down at her through the window. He had spiked blond hair and a skull tattooed on one cheek. Four other, equally rough-looking young men stood behind him. Feeling like a rabbit caught in a trap, she stared back at them. Her first thought was that she was in big trouble, but then she remembered Di Giorgio. For a moment, the thought of her bodyguard comforted her-but only for a moment. Di Giorgio was good, but was he good enough to take on five men in their prime?

Even as the thought crossed her mind, Frank was there, gun in hand, demanding that the hoodlums move away from the car.

What happened next happened so fast, it was nothing but a blur. The five men all whirled around to face Di Giorgio. Moonlight and streetlights glinted on the guns and knives that appeared as if by magic in their hands.

She screamed as a hail of gunfire punctuated the quiet of the night.

One of the men fell back against the car, then slid to the ground. A second man collapsed on top of him.

A third staggered away into the night, a dark stain spreading across the back of his shirt.

Another gunshot shattered the stillness of the night. Cara screamed Di Giorgio's name as he stumbled backward, fell, and lay still.

The two remaining thugs were turning back toward her when a feral growl rose out of the darkness.

Cara peered out the window, but clouds had drifted across the moon and she couldn't see anything clearly. Determined to defend herself or die trying, she opened the door and snatched up a gun one of the hoodlums had dropped, then closed the car door and locked it. She had never held a gun in her life or imagined herself in a situation where she would have to use one.

She looked out the window again, wondering what had happened to the remaining two men and if Di Giorgio was still alive. The street was eerily quiet and empty.

She had to get out of there, she thought frantically, but she couldn't just drive off and leave Frank lying in the street. What to do, what to do? Go, she thought. Getting out of the car would be foolish when there were still three men out there somewhere in the dark. Once she was safely away, she could call 911.

She was fumbling with her car keys when a face appeared at the window.

A scream rose in her throat as she raised the gun, her finger curling around the trigger.

"Cara!"

Vince's voice.

With a cry of relief, she dropped the gun on the passenger seat, opened the door, and practically fell into his arms.

"Are you all right?" His gaze moved over her. "Cara?"

"I'm... I'm fine. Di Giorgio..."

"He's badly hurt. Open the back door. We need to get him to a doctor, pronto!"

She did as she was told, unable to stop the convulsive tremors that shook her from head to foot.

Vince settled Di Giorgio on the back seat, took one look at Cara's pale face, and said, "I'll drive."

She didn't argue. She put the gun on the floor and scrambled into the passenger seat. "What about the men that Di Giorgio shot? Are they dead?"

"The two in the street are dead," Vince said flatly.

Cara glanced out the back window. "Three of them got away. I think one of them was wounded.

Shouldn't we call the police?"

"They didn't get away."

Cara stared at him. "But..."

"They're all dead," he said, and his voice was as cold and implacable as death itself.

Sinking back into the seat, Cara wrapped her arms around her middle, colder than she had ever been in her whole life. She wanted to ask how the men had died, but she was suddenly afraid of the answer.

When they reached the hospital, Di Giorgio was put on a stretcher and whisked away into surgery, leaving Cara to answer questions and fill out forms, only she lacked the information necessary. She realized then that, except for his name, she knew very little about the man who had watched over her for almost half of her life.

After saying, "I don't know," for the fifth time, she asked to use the phone and called her father.

"We'll be there in five minutes," Roshan said, and hung up.

They made it in four.

Leaving Brenna and Cara to take care of the paperwork, Roshan took Vince aside.

"What happened?" he asked curtly.

Vince shrugged. "I'm not sure. When I got home, I saw Cara's car parked out front. Di Giorgio and five thugs were shooting it out. He got two of them. I got the other three."

"Where are the bodies?"

"In the dumpster behind my garage. I'll dispose of them when I get home."

Roshan nodded, his admiration and respect for the younger vampire growing in spite of himself. "I owe you a debt for rescuing my daughter and saving Di Giorgio's life."

Vince shook his head. "You don't owe me anything."

"Nevertheless, if you ever need anything, you have only to ask. In the meantime, you might want to go home and change your clothes."

Frowning, Vince glanced down, surprised to see his shirtfront was splattered with blood-his own blood. He grunted softly. He'd been shot and hadn't even realized it. Lifting his shirt, he saw that the wound was already healing. Even as he watched, all sign of the injury disappeared. He stared at it in

astonishment. He knew he healed quickly. He often got minor scrapes and cuts at work, but having a gunshot heal in minutes was nothing short of miraculous.

He looked up as Cara appeared at his side. Her eyes widened when, for the first time, she noticed the blood on his shirt.

"You're hurt!" she exclaimed.

"No." He removed his shirt and tossed it in a nearby trash container. "It isn't my blood." He didn't like lying to her, but there was no other way to explain it. She would never believe he had been shot and healed in the same night. He could hardly believe it himself.

She stared up at him, her eyes wide, her face almost as white as the walls. "I think I'm going to..."

"Faint," he finished for her, and caught her in his arms as she pitched forward.

"I'm going to go check on Di Giorgio," Roshan said. "I trust you'll look after Cara until I return?"

Vince nodded. Cradling Cara against his chest, he sat down on a puke green plastic chair. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have cared if Di Giorgio lived or died, but the bodyguard had been wounded trying to protect Cara, and for that, Vince owed the man a life debt. As for the five thugs, Vince didn't know who they were or what their intentions toward Cara had been. They might have intended to do nothing more than rob her or steal her car, but it didn't matter. They had accosted her, frightened her, and for that, he had killed the surviving three men. But first, he had drained them dry.

When Cara opened her eyes again, she found herself staring up at Vince. For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was or what had happened, and then it all came back in a rush. The five men staring down at her. Di Giorgio coming to her defense, being shot...

"Is he dead?"

"He's gonna be fine," Vince said, smiling. Di Giorgio would, in fact, be more than fine since Roshan had gone into the man's room and given him a bit of his blood.

"I feel so silly," Cara said. "I've never fainted before."

"What the devil were you doing sitting out in front of my place so late at night?"

"I wanted to see you."

"Dammit, girl, you could have been killed."

"But it's a nice part of town. I didn't think..."

"The world's a different place late at night, darlin'. People might tell you not to be afraid of the dark, that there's nothing in the dark that isn't there in the light, but it's just not true." He stroked her hair, slid his knuckles down her cheek. "Promise me you won't ever pull a fool stunt like that again."

"I promise."

"What did you want to see me about?"

She shrugged. It didn't seem important now, not with Di Giorgio in intensive care.

"Cara?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I took your advice and went to see my parents... and you were right...

and..." Tears welled in her eyes. "He could have been killed and it would have been all my fault."

"Shh. He's out of danger. Your parents are with him now."

She rested her head against his shoulder, thinking what a comfort he was.

A short time later, her parents joined them.

"Is it true?" Cara asked anxiously. "Is Frank going to be all right?"

Her mother nodded. "He'll be home in a few days."

"I have to go see him. I have to tell him how sorry I am... for everything."

"It will have to wait until tomorrow," her father said. "He's sleeping now."

"And you should be sleeping, too," Brenna said.

"But..."

"Your mother's right," Vince said. "You've had a rough night."

"We'll take you home," Roshan said.

"I'll take her home," Vince said.

A muscle worked in Roshan's jaw. Hands clenched, he took a step forward, only to be stayed by Brenna's hand on his arm.

"Call us tomorrow night, dear," Brenna said.

"I will."

Rising, with Cara still cradled to his chest, Vince followed her parents out of the hospital.

"I don't like it," Roshan said, watching Vince pull out of the parking lot. "I don't like it one damn bit."

"Unfortunately, she's old enough to do as she pleases," Brenna said.

"Maybe you could put a spell on him," Roshan muttered. "Turn him into a lizard or a toad."

Brenna laughed softly. "It's too late for that. She loves him."

"And what happens when she finally realizes what he is?"

"Who can say? Either it won't matter, or it'll break her heart. All we can do is be there for her when the time comes."

Roshan shook his head. Women! Old or young, there was no understanding any of them. "Come on, wife," he said, slipping his arm around her waist. "Let's go home."

Vince refused to let Cara walk. When they reached her house, he carried her inside, undressed her, and

put her to bed. He gave her a glass of warm milk to relax her, then sat beside her, her hand lightly clasped in his.

He glanced at the curtained window, sensing the approach of dawn. Soon he would have to either leave or risk spending the day in her house.

She made the decision for him.

"Stay the night with me," she said. "I don't want to be alone."

"Sure, darlin'." He brushed a kiss across her brow. "But I'll have to leave early."

"I don't care."

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he removed his boots and socks, stood to remove his jeans, and then crawled in beside her. It was only a few hours until dawn, but he cherished every minute he could spend with her.

She snuggled against him, her head resting on his shoulder, one arm curved over his waist.

Her eyelids fluttered down, and she was asleep.

Vince slipped his arm around her. It scared him to think how close he had come to losing her. Had he arrived a few minutes later, there was no telling what might have happened.

He wrapped a lock of her hair around his hand, inhaling the flowery aroma, along with the scent of her skin. Her blood. It called to him, warm and sweet. For the first time, he thought about bringing her across. He wouldn't have to worry about losing her then.

He stared up at the ceiling. Because Mara had made him, he could move about during the day. Would his blood have the same effect on Cara, or would she have to get it directly from Mara?

His gaze caressed the face of the woman sleeping beside him. She was beautiful now; as a vampire, she would be radiant.

Even as he let himself imagine what it would be like if she joined him, he knew she wouldn't agree. Her parents were vampires. She'd had time to accept the idea, had made peace with them, but she had never mentioned accepting the Dark Gift for herself; never, as far as he knew, had she even wondered what it would be like. Indeed, though she had accepted that her parents were vampires, she was still repelled by the whole idea.

What would she say, what would she do when she learned the truth about him? Should he leave her now, go without a word before she found out? Would it be kinder in the long run to let her think he had only been toying with her affections or tell her the truth?

He blew out a heavy sigh. Either way, she was bound to hate him.