sight. Had he changed his mind about giving it back to her? She had hoped to call her mom and dad and assure them she was all right.
She lingered over a cup of coffee, wondering if she should tell Marti and the others that the vampires might be leaving. Thirty minutes later, she was still trying to decide. Grabbing the bag of chocolates, she drove to Marti’s house for a little girl talk.
“Hi, come in,” Marti said, smiling brightly. “I just made some cinnamon rolls. Would you like one?”
“I’d love it.” Kadie followed her into the kitchen and sat at the table while Marti dished up cinnamon rolls still warm from the oven and poured two glasses of milk.
“So,” she said, sitting at the table, “what brings you here so early?”
“I brought you a present.” Kadie pulled one of the gaily wrapped boxes of candy from her tote bag and slid it toward Marti.
“A present? Why?”
“No reason.” Kadie took a bite of the cinnamon roll. “These are great.”
Marti quickly tore the paper off the box, her eyes widening with surprise. “Godiva chocolates!” she exclaimed. “My favorite. Where on earth did you get them?”
“I went shopping with Saintcrow last night. I bought some for everyone.” She took another bite of her roll, then licked the sugar from her lips.
“Well, bless you,” Marti said. She popped a truffle into her mouth, then closed her eyes, sighing with pleasure.
“You look like you’re having great sex,” Kadie remarked.
“Oh, chocolate is better than sex,” Marti replied with a grin. “Except that sex doesn’t go to your hips. So, where did you go? What was it like, to be outside?”
“We went to a mall. Rylan . . .”
Marti’s brows shot up. “Rylan?”
“That’s his name,” Kadie said defensively.
“You’re on a first name basis with him now?”
“Anyway, he bought me some new clothes. And he said I could have my phone back.”
“He did! Kadie, that’s great. Where is it? I can call Brad.”
“He still has it. And even if I had it with me, it wouldn’t be wise to call for help. Anyone who comes here would be trapped with us.”
Shoulders sagging, Marti rested her elbows on the table, her chin propped in her hands. “Then what good is it?”
“It’s a victory, of sorts. We can find out what’s going on in the world.”
“What difference does it make? We’re no longer part of it.”
“Saintcrow was attacked in the parking lot.” She hadn’t meant to share that, but the words slipped out.
“What? By who?”
“Vampire hunters. Four of the biggest men I’ve ever seen. He killed two of them. Tossed them around like they were matchsticks.”
“Why didn’t you run away?”
“I don’t know. I thought about it, but”—she shrugged—“I couldn’t leave him.”
Marti stared at her. “I don’t believe what I’m hearing. You had a chance to get away from this place and you didn’t take it?”
“Forget about that. I have something to tell you, but it’s a secret. You can’t tell anyone else, at least not yet.”
Marti leaned forward, her dark eyes alight. “What is it?”
Kadie hesitated. Should she tell? Saintcrow hadn’t told her not to. “The vampires might be leaving Morgan Creek.”
“Leaving?” All the color drained from Marti’s face.
“I thought you’d be happy.”
“Happy?” Marti shook her head. “They’ll kill us before they leave.”
“Why would they do that?”
“So we can’t tell anyone what happened here.”
“No! No, they won’t. You’ll all be fine. Saintcrow will still take care of you.”
“Why would he do that? If the vampires leave, there’s no reason to keep us alive.”
“Yes, there is, because I’ll still be here.”
“So?”
“So you’ll all be staying, too.” Kadie took a deep breath. “To keep me company.”
Marti plucked another chocolate from the box and nibbled on it. “Well,” she said, licking the chocolate from her lips. “I guess it’s a good thing I like you.”
Kadie spent the rest of the morning handing out boxes of candy. She was relieved when none of the women blamed her because Saintcrow refused to let them leave Morgan Creek.
She saved the men for last.
“Well, this is a first,” Jeremy remarked when she handed him one of the boxes. “I’ve never had a lady buy me candy before.”
Kadie went to Claude’s house last. Grouchy as always, he was scowling when he opened the door. “What do you want?”
Kadie thrust the last box at him. “I brought you a present.”
“Yeah? Why?”
Kadie shrugged. “Why not?”
He stared at the box for a moment, as if debating whether to give it back, then with a barely audible “thank you” he shut the