Hard Days Night (The Firsts Book 8) (20 page)

You must seek my father
.

Mal woke suddenly, shocked, amazed, frightened,
overwhelmed.  She shot upright, pushing against the firm surface, against blankets piled on wood floor.  Her hands moved beneath her satin pajama pants to curve around her flat belly, where she now believed…
No, she knew!
  She was with child.

As impossible as all of this was, the gorgeous man had been real and she was pregnant with a little girl.

Standing, she looked around the room that had been her parent’s love nest decades earlier when her mother had been carrying
her. 
Now, more than anything, she wished her mother could be here with her while she carried a child.

With moist eyes, she slid back down onto the bundle of
cozy blankets, looked upward, and spoke to her mother for the first time since she’d left Hawaii.

“I don’t really know who the father is, and or even exactly how this happened, but I know
I’m going to have a little girl.  She’s beautiful and can’t wait to be here with me.  Mom, I need you.  My childhood was perfect, I felt safe and loved every moment.  How do I give my daughter that childhood?  Please, help me to do right by her.”  She stopped, then smiled.  “How about this?  Your little girl is having a little girl.”

Rising, she walked out to the deck, where she saw Bev and her father lying side by side on two of the loungers.

Bev laughed at something he must have said as Mal joined them.

“Oh, hi, honey.  Are you feeling better?” Bev asked, sitting up.

Did she seem startled?  Did she look uneasy?
  Mal looked at her father.  He seemed very relaxed all of the sudden.  Then it struck her.  They had been enjoying each other’s company.  Oh, God, were they attracted to each other?

It seemed likely.  Bev was flushing now and got up. 

“I’m going to go and check on what we have for breakfast.  You know, besides the cookies.”

Bev walked away quickly after snatching her coffee cup and the glass she’d brought for Mal earlier.

Mal faced her father.

“How are you doing this morning,
Pop?”

“Better.  You know how hard it was for me to come back here.  But, yeah, I’m better.”

“Have anything to do with Bev’s charming company?  It’s okay, I noticed a spark.  She’s a kind woman, she’d be good for you.”

“Oh, babygirl, that isn’t even on my radar.”

Mal stepped forward and pushed his legs aside to sit down on the bottom of his lounger.  “It should be.  You haven’t really hooked up with anyone all of these years, have you?”

“I’ve seen some women.”

“I doubt that.  But, just know that I’m okay if you and Bev would like to get to know each other.  I want you to be happy.”

He leaned in and put a hand on her cheek.  “I’m happy now.  I’ve missed you. 
Mal, I know I’ve been a lousy father.”

“No.  You took care of me. 
Like now.  You’re taking care of me again.  I know the Captain sent you here.  You two were good friends once, I remember.”

“He adored you.  He was shocked when you showed up on the force in his division.”

“He takes care of me, too.  But I’m a big girl, now, with a big gun, I don’t need an army to protect me.”

“Don’t expect us to stop.”

“I don’t imagine you will.  I’m glad you’re here, Pop.”

“Yeah, well, someone’s threatened my babygirl.  They won’t get near you.”

“You know that he threatened you, too.  He threatened everyone I love.  And now Luka’s missing.  So you need to be on guard for anyone targeting you.  So far, he hasn’t been interested in hurting
me
.”

“It’s what he wants from you that
interests me.  Mal, if they can’t get to Canzone, legally, I promise you, I’ll get to him in my own way.”

“No!  You don’t get to come in at this point and play hero!  You’ll only get yourself killed anyway.  That man has all angles covered. He’s protected. Besides, there’s something else that I need your help with. 
Sometime soon.  Maybe in about nine months.”

Mal watched her father as the realization hit.

“What?  Oh, babygirl, your mother would be…”

His eyes watered, and he held out his arms.  Mal went into them without hesitation.  Her father was home. 
Pops.
Daddy.
  All the things they’d been to each other when they were a happy family before life threw them the curve ball that destroyed it all.

“It’s going to be okay, Mal.  I’m going to make sure of it.”  He paused.  “Is the father still in the picture?”

“I…uh, it’s complicated.  Let’s just say I’m not quite sure how that’s going to play out.”

“It doesn’t matter. If it is all right with you, I’d like to be a part of
its life, of yours, now.  It’s past time for me to come home, more than this, more than back here.”

“I’d really love that,
Pop.  I will need your help with her.”

“I won’t disappoint you.”

“Breakfast!”  Bev announced from the doorway, and came onto the deck with a big tray.

Kai hurried over to help her lower it to a table.

“How about French toast and bacon?”

“Perfect.  Thank you, Bev,” Mal said, swiping at her eyes.  “I’m starving.”

“Your stomach feels better?”

“Much.  I think I just needed to rest.”

“Okay, then, dig in. I’ll go get some more coffee.”

“Let me,” Kai offered.

“Well, thank you.”  Bev took a seat opposite Mal as she handed her one of the plates.  Her eyes followed Kai as he disappeared into the house.

“He’s a good man,” Mal said.

“What?  Oh, I’m sure he is.”

“No, I mean, if you’re interested, he would be good for you, and I know you would be good for him.”

“Oh, no, no, not at all,” Bev protested, but her eyes followed Kai’s trail as she watched for him to return.

IN SOUTH AFRICA

“We’ve received a message from the mercenary soldier that worked with Koen and Eillia in Switzerland.  He’s embedded in the lab facility where Claude and Lamont are holed up.  They’re in England.”   Chione leaned over
the table at second meal to touch Ahmose’s hand.  “They want you to join them.  Do you wish to do so?”

Ahmose stood.  “I will.  That psychotic murderer has to be stopped.  It’s the major reason I stayed in L.A. last month to try to track them.”

Jacob coughed into his hand. “And the vacation.”

Ahmose shot him a look.  “That was ancillary. 
And only after the trail ended.  You know why.”

“Oh, I know why.  The idea of another woman ruling our ruler was probably freaking you out
, even if she’s just a baby.”

“The leader of the children of the moon does not “freak” out.  I welcome our daughter as much as our precious son.  But after we finish
our meal, I will join Koen at his villa.  Chione, will you make the arrangements once you’re finished?”

“Yes, master.”

Ahmose shot her the same look he’d fired off to Jacob moments earlier.

Chione lowered her head and the volume of her voice. “I’m sorry. 
Ahmose.”

“Better.  Let’s enjoy.  It may be a while before we dine
together again.  After we finish in England, I may return to America.”

Starla had been buried in her plate, ravenous since she was eating for two again. 
She lifted her head.

“Why?” she asked, perhaps more harshly than she intended.

“I have some unfinished business.”

“What kind?”

“Star, it is of a personal nature.”

“He wants to get laid,” Starla said to Jacob,
then turned back to Ahmose.  “There’s a girl, isn’t there?  You’ve been particularly good at the brooding since you got back from California.  You may as well admit it.”

Ahmose was silent, but drew a long breath.  “Yes, there is a woman.”

“Who is it?  What’s she like?  Is she vampire? How did you meet?” Starla shot out rapid-fire questions between bites.

“
My dear Star, I will tell you all about her when I return.”

“She has something to do with the new vampire you’ve sired, doesn’t she?  I knew something was up.”

“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 sexual 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 sex, 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 fuck was he supposed to be okay with
this?

He upended a tall glass of wine.  At least
that
tasted familiar.  As he lowered the now empty glass, 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.