.

the corner of her eye, she saw Vince lift his glass in a farewell salute as she made her way toward the door.

      Cara went up the outside entrance to her room when she got home. She felt a little guilty for not going in to tell her folks she was home and kiss them good night, but she wasn’t in the mood to answer a lot of questions about where she’d been and what she’d done. Besides, Di Giorgio would give them a full report and let them know that she was home safe and sound before he retired for the night.

      She often wondered about Frank Di Giorgio. Being her bodyguard didn’t give him much time for a life of his own. He lived in a house out back. To her knowledge, he never had any visitors, he never took a vacation, and he rarely had a night off.

      After undressing, she slipped into a pink T-shirt and a pair of comfy pajama bottoms, then opened the French doors and stepped out onto the balcony. It was one of her favorite places. During the day, she had a view of the backyard and the mountains beyond. Taking a seat in one of the two wicker chairs, she stared up at the sky. It was a beautiful night, warm and clear. Stars twinkled brightly overhead. Moonlight bathed the leaves of the trees with a pale silver sheen.

      The night. There was something mesmerizing about it. Her parents loved it. They went out for a walk together every evening; sometimes they were only gone for a short time, sometimes for hours. At home, they frequently sat outside in the gazebo, holding hands. Sometimes, her mother and father seemed so wrapped up in each other, Cara felt like an outsider in her own home. It was more than the fact that she was adopted. Sometimes, it seemed like they were communicating silently, sharing secrets she would never know. She told herself it was just a part of their being married, but she knew it was more than that. She just didn’t know what.

      Sighing, she was about to go inside and go to bed when she had the oddest sensation that she was being watched. She glanced over her shoulder, thinking maybe her father had come upstairs to say good night, but there was no one there.

      Rising, she looked over the balcony railing, then thought how foolish that was. Even if there was someone down there, it was too dark to see anything lurking in the shadows. Frowning, she leaned forward. What was that? Was she imagining things, or was that a pair of eyes—a pair of glowing red eyes—staring back at her? She might have thought it was a cat, but she’d never seen a cat with eyes that color!

      Spooked, she turned on her heel and sprinted into her bedroom. She locked the door behind her and closed the curtains over the windows, then she stood there, breathing hard, one hand pressed to her heart.

      That was how her father found her when he knocked on her door a moment later.

      “Cara, may I come in?”

      “Yes!”

      Stepping into the room, he took one look at her face and asked, “What’s wrong?”

      “Nothing.” She gestured toward the balcony. “I…I thought I saw…I don’t know what it was.”

      He moved toward the French doors, opened them, and stepped outside. “Think, Cara. What did you see?”

      “I’m not sure.” She went to stand beside her father, unafraid now that he was there with her. “It looked…it looked like eyes. Red, glowing eyes.”

      He looked at her sharply. “Red eyes? Are you sure?”

      “Yes, why? Does that mean something to you?”

      He took a breath. “No, of course not.” Putting his arm around her shoulders, he led her back into the bedroom, then closed and locked the doors. “Probably just a cat.”

      “With red eyes?”

      “A trick of the moonlight,” he said with a reassuring smile. “Di Giorgio tells me you went to The Nocturne again.”

      Nodding, she sat on the edge of her bed.

      “Two men spoke to you tonight.”

      She tried to subdue her annoyance at having her every move watched and reported, but it came out in an angry breath. She was twenty-two years old! Was she never to have any privacy?

      “Yes, Dad,” she said irritably, “I saw two men. I danced with two men. They bought me drinks. I came home alone. Is there anything else you want to know?”

      “I don’t care for that tone, young lady.”

      “I’m sorry.” She was instantly contrite, and a little confused by her growing resentment.

      He sat down beside her. “I know having Di Giorgio follow you is wearisome. I know you don’t fully understand or appreciate the necessity of having him there, but it’s for my peace of mind and for…”

      “My own good,” she finished, having heard it all a hundred times before.

      “Cara…”

      “Dad, I’m twenty-two years old! No one’s ever even looked at me sideways. What’s the big deal? What are you really afraid of? I think I have a right to know.”

      “Perhaps it’s time,” he allowed. “I’ll discuss it with your mother.”

      “You promise?”

      “If you think it’s necessary, then you have my word.”

      She smiled at him. “Thanks, Dad.”

      With a nod, Roshan kissed his daughter on the forehead, then left the room, closing the door behind him.

      Brenna looked up when he entered the living room. “Is everything all right?”

      “She’s starting to chafe at having Di Giorgio trailing after her, and she’s starting to ask questions.” He shook his head, surprised that it had taken her this long.

      “Maybe we’re worrying for nothing. It’s been over twenty years. Surely if the coven meant to take some kind of revenge, they would have done so by now.”

      “Maybe.” Roshan sat beside his wife, his expression grim. “We should have moved years ago.”

      “I know, but I love this house.”

      He was as guilty as she. It was a big old place located on a quiet street in a respectable part of the city. Once, it had been a dark and lonely place, but Brenna had changed all that. She had brought light and color into his home just as she had brought it into his life.

      He blew out a sigh that came from the very depths of his being. “We can’t hide the truth from her forever.”

      “I’m afraid,” Brenna said, clutching his hand. “This isn’t like telling her she was adopted. That’s normal. But what I am…what we are…what if she refuses to accept us? What if we disgust her? I can’t bear the thought of losing her.”

      “I know.” It was a fear he had lived with since the night Cara had wrapped her tiny, dimpled finger around his thumb and captured his heart and soul. He had rehearsed ways to tell her the truth over and over again in his mind, but how did you tell your only child that her mother and father were vampires, and that her mother was a witch? Telling Cara the truth would only lead to more questions, questions with ugly answers. There were parts of his past that he wanted to forget, parts of his existence best left unmentioned. He could lie to her, of course, sugarcoat the truth, leave out the gruesome details, but there was always a chance, however unlikely, that she would learn about it later, and that would be even worse.

      Vince stood in the deepening shadows across the street from a house big enough and fancy enough to qualify as a mansion. He had followed Cara home, not because of any dark or depraved intentions, but simply because he was bored and she was pretty and he was curious to see where she lived.

      He had been surprised to find that he wasn’t the only one who followed her from The Nocturne.

      A man built like a bull had followed her out of the parking lot in a silver Lexus.

      The jerk from the nightclub had followed her