5 Darkness Falls (3 page)

Kai opened the front door
, watching
me closely as I approached Drexel, who was
casually
leaning against his army
-
issued vehicle.

Drexel turned his gaze to Kai
before looking
over
at me.
“Everything okay?”

I nodded. “He’s going to take me shopping. He said that he would protect me though.”

Drexel crossed his arms,
flexing his muscles and glaring
in Kai’s direction. “Do you trust him to protect you?”

I grabbed one of Drexel’s hands, pulling his attention back to me. “Yes, I do. So don’t worry about me.” I leaned in closer, lowering my voice as not to expose his secret. “Sanders gets off
work
at six today. Why don’t you plan a nice
,
little romantic night for the two of you?”

Drexel grunted, but his eyes
shimmered
with amusement. “I see when I’m not wanted.”

“Oh, stop.” I laughed. “I’ll see you later.”

“Take care,” Drexel said. I turned
, heading
back towards the front door
when
, all of a sudden
, he glided past me
, making
a beeline for Kai. I froze, unsure of what I’d do if they started fighting. “If she gets so much as a scratch on her, I’ll burn you alive.” Drexel’s voice was sickeningly sweet,
but the tone he spoke in
sounded more menacing than his usual gruffness.

“As much as I’d like to see you try
…
she’ll come back unscathed. They’ll get to her over my dead body,” Kai assured him.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Drexel
walked away, shaking
his head in acknowledgement
.

“Have fun, Baby C
akes,” Drexel winked
as he strolled
back to the car.

Standing at
the door, Kai lifted a brow
when he heard my
nickname. I shook my head, ambling towards the house and him. “Don’t ask.”

***

Baby shopping with Kai was surprisingly fun. “Are you sure you haven’t done this before?” I asked as we browsed the clothing section of a
huge
baby store.

“I’m sure.”

“Do you want kids?”

His expression hardened,
and then, only
his eyes softened as
his thoughts seemed to drift away.
“My life is too dangerous to bring a child into. Security precautions are
just that…
a
precaution.
You can
never truly
escape danger
when
you’re a powerful target, and as a leader, I’ll always be a powerful target.”

His words
weighed
heavily
on my spirit; he
was right. I
, too,
would always be a target because of my lead in the vampeen guard.

I focused on the pale yellow, one-piece outfit in front of me. Booties were built into the bottom of the piece; snaps lined the inside of the legs and up the center of the frock to the collar. I ran my fingers over the fabric. It was soft to the touch, like a chenille blanket. There was a grey and white owl stitched on the left side of the chest.

I didn’t realize I was crying until Kai
reached over and brushed the moisture
from my cheek. “I’m sorry.” His voice was soft.

I bit my lip, looking at the outfit. “Don’t be. It’s the truth. Unfortunately, it’s too late to change things
now.”

“You and Kellan are working on that though. I may not like him, but he’s driven just like you. You’ll both make it happen.”

I
swiped
away the last of my tears. “I’m going to make sure of it.” Somehow, saying those words
out
loud reignited the fight in me.

“I know you will.” He
picked up
the outfit I’d been staring at. “Now let’s go look at the fun stuff.”

“What’s the fun stuff?”

“Toys.” He
beamed, grabbing
my hand and le
a
d
ing
me towards the infant toys.

We spent a good hour
fiddling
with every toy on the shelf. Eventually we wandered over to the bouncers and swings. Kai helped me pick out a swing.
The one he selected
could sway in two different directions
and had a
built
-
in music player
with
sixteen soft melodies
. Rather
than something hanging down over the baby, it had a mirrored light show. What I loved
most
about it though
,
was that the white and off-white fabric draping around the swing gave the illusion
that
the baby
was
being carried by a stork for delivery, or as Kai had put it, being delivered to me by an angel.

He carried the box with the swing along with the outfit to the register
.
After paying, he
handed me the small bag with the outfit to hold
as walked to his car
.

Watching him struggle to squeeze the large box into the small trunk of his sports car was comical. Apparently
,
there was no advantage of being a vamp
when it came to fitting things into tight spaces.

I chuckled as he closed the trunk, a weary expression on his face.

He narrowed his eyes at me. I covered my mouth, but couldn’t hold back my amusement. Finally, he joined
in my reve
rie
,
a smile lighting his expression. His eyes shined as he gazed at me. “This is definitely not a family car.”

“I could have told you that.”

We walked around the car, together, so he could open the passenger door for me,

Before I
could over think anything,
I turned and hugged him tightly, burying my nose in his chest
and inhaling
him. “Thank you.” I
mumbled, pressing
a
tender
kiss over his dead heart.

He sighed, wrapping his arms around me.
I could feel him smiling as he kissed my head.
“You’re welcome.”

I slid into the front seat of his car
while he went around to the driver’s side
. He
started
the car
and
backed out of the parking spot
,
heading
towards the interstate.

“Have you told Gabi?” he asked casually.

I groaned. “I haven’t told her, Mel or Kalel. I don’t know if Kellan’s told Craig or not. I know Gabi and Mel are going to grill me before they come around. I guess I’ve been avoiding it.”

“Don’t wait too long. The baby’s heart will start beating any day now.”

“I know.” I stared out the window. “How are things with Kalel and Francesca?”

“Wouldn’t know. I barely see him anymore. I imagine they’re good if they’re spending that much time together though.”

I gazed wistfully at him. I felt for Kai. Everyone else had pretty much been partnered up except him. Even Will had found a woman. That couldn’t be easy on him.

“You do realize that you’ve left your thoughts open all afternoon, right?”

I felt heat hit my cheeks. “Sorry.” I promptly closed them off.

He pressed his hand to my thigh. “Don’t worry about me, Leka. Either I’ll find someone or you’ll come around.” He winked at me, removing his hand and focusing on the road.

“I hope you do, Kai.” I truly meant it. He deserve
s
happiness
; he
deserve
s
to have everything
he
is
so willing to give to me
reciprocated
.

Chapter 3

Kai

I escorted Leka up to her condo
,
carrying the swing’s box in one hand and the bag with the outfit in my other. Today was wonderful,
albeit
heart wrenching. Shopping gave me a glimpse into what it would be like to have a baby with her
; though,
I hated the sadness that settled in my chest. I’d had almost two centuries to mate with someone
,
and experience this
kind of
joy, but hadn’t. Somehow I knew it wouldn’t have been the same even if I had. No one called to me like she did. She ignited
a
fire in me
…a
drive to be her everything. I was a bastard to a lot of people, but I’d move heaven and earth for
just
one shot with her
, but likewise,
I would
also
move heaven and earth
not
to feel this way towards her.

One time she’d let her guard down and shown interest, but she was a new vampeen. They were often emotional and somewhat unstable in the beginning. I should have dismissed it at that and n
ever
let my walls down. She made it clear to me on several occasions that Kellan would always be first, but with how he’d been acting lately, I
couldn’t
understand why she would keep him
on that pedestal.

I knew if I wanted her to continue
coming around, and counting on me as a friend,
I
would have
to keep my mouth shut about certain things. From what Gabi told me, it was a good thing I wasn’t there when Kellan went off on Leka. I would have snapped his neck right then and there.

“I could have carried something. I’m pregnant, not handicap,” Leka said, darting her eyes at me before returning their focus to the elevator doors.

“I’ve got it.” I didn’t want to push the issue.

V
amp or not, pregnant women
are more
vulnerable
.
  Their bodies
are no longer
their own which cause
s
some emotional issues. I’d seen the depth of her
s
trife
in the store. I
was so
stupid to reveal my true feelings
about
having a baby under the
se
circumstances.

The elevator doors opened and we strolled towards her door. She stopped
, shuffling
her feet before meeting my gaze. Her brows pulled together; her bottom lip was slightly puckered
.
“I’m sorry again that things didn’t work out the way you may have wanted them to
.
I hope you know it was never my intention to hurt you.”

I was sorry things didn’t work out for us too, but I didn’t say that. I w
ill
suffer in silence. She d
oesn’t
deserve to be pulled down with me. I
’ll
just take it out on the criminals and trespassers that dare
to
step onto Bladang property.

“I hope he does right by you, Leka. You deserve happiness, regardless of who it ends up being with.”

I watched her swallow hard, probably trying to suppress her emotions. She pressed her lips together. I knew she felt bad, like she was at fault for the way
I
felt. I didn’t blame her though. I blamed myself. I just hope
Kellan figure
s
out what a great woman he ha
s
and start
s
treating her like I would.

She faced the door, punching in the code and pressing her thumb to it. We listened silently as the lock clicked open. She pushed the door open and stepped through, immediately holding it open for me.

We faced the dining room together. She gasped, her hands flying over her mouth. Her eyes immediately watered. Kellan stepped
forward, holding
yet another bouquet of flowers
.
Vases of various blue and pink flowers covered every visible surface in the home. Tears streamed down Leka’s face
,
as she responded to
the obvious baby
-
themed display. She giggled, looking around
and
taking it all in. For the first time in a while, she seemed genuinely happy.

I pushed past the pain
of knowing it wasn’t because of me
and focused on her happiness
instead. When
you love someone, their happiness
is
most important; not your own.