the stone house, he carried the grocery bags and her suitcase into the kitchen, then stood in the doorway while she put the groceries away. The appliances were all state of the art. There were dishes in the glass-fronted cupboard, a set of stainless-steel utensils in the drawer. Since he had no use for the stove or the refrigerator or anything else, she supposed he kept all of it for his human slaves.
“Slaves? That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?” He’d never thought of it like that. True, most of the residents would rather not be here, but they had stopped asking for their freedom. After all, life here wasn’t that bad. The people lived in nice houses. They had enough to eat, stores to shop in, a movie theater, a park, and a swimming pool. The ones who wanted to work had jobs. Hell, they were a lot better off than most of the people living in the outside world these days. They didn’t have to worry about the high price of living or anything else.
Startled, Kadie whirled around. “How did you know what I was thinking?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t you know?”
Grimacing, she put away the last of her groceries. She would have no secrets from him, she thought irritably. No privacy at all.
Sweeping past Saintcrow, she ran up the stairs, entered the first bedroom at the top of the landing, and slammed the door.
The sound of Saintcrow’s amused laughter followed her all the way.
Chapter 7
Needing some semblance of reality, Kadie went to visit Marti first thing in the morning. Marti hugged her as soon as she entered the house.
“Oh, you poor thing!” Marti exclaimed. “Is there anything I can do?”
“You heard?” Kadie asked.
“It was all over town this morning, how Vaughan let Saintcrow take you without a fight.”
“But how did it get around so fast?”
“Vaughan told Pauline. Of course he didn’t say it right out like that. And Pauline passed the word. Let’s talk in the kitchen. Rosemary is here. I just made a pot of coffee. Judging from the circles under your eyes, you look like you could use a cup.”
“You’re right about that,” Kadie said, trailing Marti into the kitchen.
“Kadie, we heard all about it,” Rosemary said with a sympathetic smile.
Kadie nodded as she took the seat across from Rosemary. Morgan Creek might not have a morning paper but that didn’t keep people from knowing the latest news.
Marti set another mug on the table, filled all three cups, then sat down. “So, what’s he like?” she asked, cutting right to the chase.
Stalling for time, Kadie added sugar and cream to her coffee. What was he like? “I really have no idea,” she said at last. “He seems nice enough on the surface, I guess.”
“Nice!” Rosemary rolled her eyes. “He’s a killer. They’re all killers.”
“Maybe you’ve misjudged him,” Kadie suggested. “I mean, I asked him outright if he was going to kill me. . . .”
“You what?” Marti shook her head in disbelief. “What did he say?”
“He said I wasn’t in any danger.”
“And you believed him?” Rosemary asked.
Kadie stared into her coffee cup. “I have to,” she said quietly. She had to believe him. It was the only way she could get through the days ahead without going crazy with fear. “He let me drive his car to the store last night. Told me to buy whatever I needed, and then he showed up and followed me to the checkout line.” She shook her head. “It was all so . . . so . . . I don’t know. Bizarre.”
Rosemary and Marti both sat back, their expressions thoughtful.
“He’s probably just lulling you into a false sense of security,” Rosemary remarked. “They’re all monsters.”
Kadie nodded, remembering that Saintcrow hadn’t denied it when she accused vampires of killing humans. What had he said? It is, indeed.
“You’re not wearing your scarf,” Marti observed.
“I know. He said I didn’t need it, that none of the other vampires would dare touch me now, on pain of death.”
“I wonder why he keeps the other ones here.” Marti glanced at Rosemary. “Do you know? You’ve been here the longest.”
Rosemary shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe he just wants the company of his own kind.”
Marti snorted. “I never thought of vampires as being social creatures.”
“Me, either,” Kadie said. “But then, until I came here, I never thought of them at all.”
Marti and Rosemary both looked at her, and then, to Kadie’s surprise, they burst out laughing.