“Listen! Things about me…your mother…”

Savanah stared down at her father as he struggled for breath. What was he trying to say? Whatever it was, it would have to wait. He needed help and he needed it now. “You can tell me later.”

“No time.” His hand tightened on her arm in a viselike grip. “My desk…envelope…” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “Envelope…behind…bottom drawer…for you.”

“Yes, whatever…” It wasn’t important, not now, when he was growing paler, weaker, by the moment. A prayer rose in her mind. Only one word, Please, please, please repeated over and over again. She grabbed his cell phone from the bedside table. “I need to call…”

“Too late…” His fingers dug into her flesh. “Be…careful.”

“Dad, please, just hang on…. I can’t lose you, too.”

“Love…you…” He looked up at her, a faint smile on his lips, and then, with a sigh, his hand fell away from her arm, the light went out of his eyes, and he was gone.

“Dad? Dad! No, please, no.” Gathering him into her arms, she rocked back and forth, her tears dripping onto his face.

Guilt speared her heart. She had hardly spent any time with him in the last few weeks, what with spending her days at work and her nights with Rane.

If only she had come home earlier, or called to see how he was. Time lost all meaning as she sat there cradling her father’s body.

She held him until her legs cramped. Rising, she went into the bathroom and washed her hands and face. Returning to the bedroom, she pulled a blanket from the bed and covered him, only then noticing that someone had gone through his dresser and the drawer on his nightstand.

Someone had broken into the house. Who? And why? Had her father surprised the culprit in the act? Choking back her tears, she went into the living room and called the police. While waiting for their arrival, she went through the rest of the house. Every drawer had been ransacked, every bookshelf had been searched, but as far as she could tell, nothing had been taken. What had the robber hoped to find? There was no sign of forced entry, no broken windows. Had her father been acquainted with the robber? Knowing someone had gone through her personal belongings left her feeling violated.

The police arrived a short time later. Savanah answered their questions, a growing sense of numbness enveloping her as a crime team arrived to dust for fingerprints. A policewoman escorted her out onto the front porch and informed her that she would have to stay outside until the police finished their investigation.

Savanah glanced toward the front door. Her father was still in there; she needed to be with him. “How long will that take?”

“We could be finished here in a few hours, or a few days. I really couldn’t say. Do you have somewhere you can go? Is there anyone you can call?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t leave town,” the policewoman said. “And I’ll need a number where we can reach you.”

Savanah gave the woman her cell phone number.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” the policewoman said before going back into the house.

Savanah stood there a moment, and then she dialed Rane’s number.

He answered on the first ring, almost as if he had been waiting for her call, and promised he would be right over. He arrived less than two minutes later. In a distant part of her mind, Savanah wondered how he had gotten clear across town so fast.

Rane caught the mingled odors of blood and death the minute he approached the house, and beneath it, the scent of Vampire. He drew in a deep breath. The Vampire’s scent was unfamiliar, but one he wouldn’t forget.

Rane took one look at Savanah’s tear-streaked face and drew her into his arms. “What happened?”

He stroked her back lightly as she explained, her voice a dull monotone. When she fell silent, he said, “You can’t stay here.”

“That’s what the police said.”

Taking her by the hand, he led her into the house and spoke to the policewoman, who allowed Savanah to go upstairs and pack an overnight bag.

“Ready?” Rane asked when Savanah came down the stairs, a small suitcase in one hand, her handbag in the other.

She stared at him out of grief-stricken eyes.

“Where are your keys?”

She pulled them from her purse and handed them to him, then followed him out of the house. He unlocked her car door and tossed her suitcase into the backseat.

She didn’t ask him where his car was, and for that, Rane was grateful, since he hadn’t driven to her house.

“Savanah, do you want to go to my place or a hotel?”

“I don’t care.”

He dragged a hand over his jaw. As tempted as he was to take her home with him, a hotel seemed the wiser choice. Having her in his room, in his bed…He shook his head. Definitely not a good idea.

The Kelton Inn was located at the end of town. If it wasn’t for the adjoining restaurant, the place would probably have gone bankrupt years ago. Rane asked for the best room the hotel had to offer. He signed the register with an old alias; then, lifting Savanah into his arms, he carried her and her overnight case up the stairs, all too aware of the hotel clerk’s curious gaze on his back.

The room was spacious and well-appointed, although the furnishings were sorely out-of-date. Dropping Savanah’s bag on the floor beside the sofa, Rane sat down, cradling Savanah in his arms.

For a time she just sat there, stiff and unmoving, and then the tears came, slowly at first, then building in intensity as the full impact of her father’s death washed over her. Knowing the healing power of human tears, Rane said little. He simply held her, one hand lightly stroking her back, wondering all the while if the Vampire he had scented had killed her father and if so, why, and if it had anything to do with Savanah’s mother being a hunter. Savanah had said the house had been ransacked. What had the Vampire been searching for, and had it been found?

After a time, Savanah’s tears subsided and she rested in his arms, her body limp.

Blinking back her tears, she looked up at Rane. “I’ll miss him so,” she murmured, her voice little more than a whisper.

“Of course you will.”

“I can’t imagine my life without him. He was always so good to me, so patient.” She sniffed. “He tried to be both father and mother to me. It wasn’t easy for him, but he did it. He helped me with my homework, he went with me to buy my first prom dress, he held me in his arms after I broke up with my first boyfriend.” She sniffed again. “When I got older, we took care of each other. And now he’s gone…. Oh, Rane, what am I going to do?”

“You’ll grieve a while,” he said, brushing a lock of hair from her cheek, “and you’ll miss him, but, with time, the pain will get a little easier to bear. You’ll get on with your life, and eventually the hurt will go away and you’ll be able to remember the good times without crying.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience?”

“In a way.” He hadn’t buried anyone he loved, but he had grieved when he cut himself off from all contact with his family.

“Thank you for coming over.”

“I’ll always be here if you need me.”

She blinked at him. That sounded like a commitment, which was odd, since they had only known each other a few weeks. Still, there were times, like now, when it seemed as if she had known him her whole life.

Rane brushed a kiss across her cheek, and tasted the salt of her tears. “I should go so you can get some sleep,” he said, though he didn’t intend to go far. Until he discovered otherwise, he would assume that one of the Undead had killed her father. It would be an easy thing for him to find out. A quick trip to the morgue after Savanah was asleep would tell him everything he needed to know. But whether the killer was mortal or Vampire, Rane intended to stay with Savanah tonight and every night until he was certain that whoever had killed her father hadn’t also marked her for death.

“I don’t want to be alone tonight,” Savanah said, her voice little more than a whisper. “Will you stay with me?”

“Sure, darlin’, if that’s what you want. Go brush your teeth and put on your nightgown and call me when you’re done.” He winked at her. “And I’ll come and tuck you in.”

Blinking back a fresh wave of tears, she slid off his lap. Retrieving her overnight case and her handbag, she went into the bedroom and closed the door. She unpacked her nightie, her robe and her toothbrush, and then went into the bathroom.

Were the police still at her house, searching for clues? Would they be able to gather enough evidence to find and arrest whoever had killed her father? The culprit had ransacked the house from top to bottom, but as near as she could tell, nothing was missing. What had the intruder been looking for?

With a shake of her head, she splashed cold water on her face, then brushed her teeth. She had packed the most modest nightie she owned, a plain white cotton gown that fell to midcalf. She slipped it on and then brushed out her hair. Going into the bedroom, she crawled under the covers, and then she called Rane.

He appeared in the doorway as if by magic. She knew it was only her imagination, but his presence seemed to fill the room.

“They were looking for something,” Savanah said. “Whoever killed him was looking for something.”

“Any idea what it was?”

“No. We don’t keep anything valuable in the house.” She smiled faintly. “Not that we have anything of value to anyone else. Oh, Rane, they killed him for nothing.”

“Try not to think about it now.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, he bent down and kissed her cheek. “Get some rest. I’ll be nearby.”

She grabbed his hand when he started to rise. “Don’t go.”

He gazed at her for stretched seconds, then nodded. “All right.” He took off his shoes and socks, removed his shirt, and slid under the covers.