Page 55 of Twilight Destiny

Kincaid shrugged. “Just curious. I’ve never had a family.”

“My daughter’s six months old. The boys are five and three.”

“I got the talisman from a black witch a long time ago. I have no idea where she is now. She could be dead for all I know, although witches tend to live a pretty long time.”

“Tell me about it. Luca’s got to be well over a hundred if he’s a day. So, you have no idea where she might be?”

“When I found her, she lived in New Orleans. She went by the name of Izabela.”

“Thanks. Any chance you’d be willing to try to get in touch with her for me?”

“I’ll think about it,” Kincaid said grudgingly. “Careful,” he warned when Rhinehart reached inside his jacket.

“I’m just getting my card,” the hunter said. Moving carefully, he plucked a business card from his inside jacket pocket and handed it across the table.

Kincaid glanced at it, then shoved it into a pocket of his jeans. “I’ll be in touch if I find anything.”

“I appreciate it,” Rhinehart said, rising.

Kincaid nodded, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he watched the hunter leave the club. But Paul Rhinehart was the least of his worries.

What was he going to do about Rosa?

Chapter Twenty-One

Rosa sighed as she switched off the nine o’clock news. It had been two days since she had seen Jake. In that time, she hadn’t heard from him, either. Had he gone home? She frowned, thinking she didn’t even know exactly where he lived, just that he had a lair somewhere in Montana. He had been constantly in her thoughts, even at work, so much so that she had mixed up several appointments and neglected to enter two of them in the computer. If she kept that up, she’d soon find herself looking for another job.

Friday night, she thought morosely, and she didn’t have a darn thing to do. Especially now that Bria was engaged and rarely available for a girls’ night out.

And tomorrow would be just as bad. A whole Saturday with nothing to look forward to. Well, not nothing, she amended. Micah was coming by to take her out to dinner. As much as she loved her brother, she wasn’t looking forward to seeing him, worried that she might accidentally mention she was seeing someone. Once she let that slip, her brother wouldn’t rest until he knew who she was seeing, where they’d met, if it was serious. She had never been good at keeping secrets from Micah. He always knew when she was hiding something and she didn’t want to talk about Jake. Or come up with a lot of lies about the good time she’d supposedly had in Florida. For one thing, she was a terrible liar. For another, Micah could always tell when she was skirting the truth.

Rosa glanced at the book on the end table, but she wasn’t in the mood to read. There was nothing good on TV. She hated going to the movies alone.

She wondered what Kadie and Saintcrow were doing.

She wondered what Jake was doing.

Why had she been so anxious to get back home and go to work? She wished she was still in Morgan Creek. She missed Saintcrow and that surprised her. She had been afraid of him at first. But she knew him better now. Under that gruff exterior, he was a pretty nice guy. Maybe she would quit her job and move to Morgan Creek. Saintcrow could probably find her employment as a waitress or a maid, or maybe a receptionist at the hotel.

She huffed a sigh. Admit it, she thought glumly. It isn’t really Saintcrow or Morgan Creek that you miss. It’s Jake. She bit down on her lower lip. If she called his name, would he hear her when they were so far apart? She frowned, thinking that if she called and he didn’t answer, she wouldn’t know if it was because he was avoiding her, or because he hadn’t heard her.

Jake Kincaid, if you can hear this, please let me know. I … I miss you.

A minute passed. Two. Five. Nothing. Had she really expected it to work?

She went into the kitchen for a can of soda, let out a startled gasp when she returned to the living room and found Jake standing in front of the fireplace, his back toward her.

Apparently sensing her presence, he turned slowly to face her.

Murmuring, “You came,” she picked up the unopened can she had dropped and placed it on the coffee table.

“Did you think I wouldn’t?”

“I think you’re afraid of me.”

He glared at her, then lowered his gaze. “You’re right, I am.” He sucked in a deep breath, and slowly released it. “But I’m a hell of a lot more afraid of what I might do to you.”

The tension between them was a palpable thing as they stood facing each other. She wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly she was in his arms, those strong arms that felt like home. She rested her cheek on his chest and closed her eyes, thinking she would be content to stay there the rest of the night. The rest of her life. She shivered as he brushed a kiss across the top of her head.

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