Amanda nodded, wondering if she'd ever be able to sleep again.
Terrified, she finished dialing her sister's number. Now that she knew more about what they were dealing with, she needed to get her sister to watch out for Lord King Badass, and the Dark-Hunter who was their only hope.
Kyrian spent the entire night hunting the streets of New Orleans to no avail. Desiderius was still in his bolt-hole and there was no sign of him or any other Daimon anywhere. It may have been that his powers still weren't up to their full capacity or that the Daimon had some way of shielding his location. Whatever it was, Kyrian couldn't find a trace of him. Not even his electronic tracker helped.
He cursed his luck. Never in his Dark-Hunter existence had he been so uncertain. He didn't like the feeling one bit. Especially not when Amanda's life balanced on whether or not he could find the fiend and stop him.
Disgusted and weary, he made his way into his house. Everything was dark and silent. Amanda was upstairs in the house. He could feel her presence like a touch and it soothed him in a way he didn't want to contemplate. Just knowing she was here… Happiness surged through him.
But he didn't seek her out. He had too many things on his mind. Things he needed to sort out. Think through. He entered the billiard room and grabbed his glove and baseball, then went to pitch it. Focusing on the ball, he let his mind wander. Wander through his painful past, and to the doubts that still lingered.
Why couldn't his wife have loved him?
Since the day Theone had betrayed him, he had been suspicious of anyone who came near him. He had given his wife everything he had, and still it hadn't been enough. If he couldn't win her love, then he could win no one else's. He knew it.
Over the centuries, Kyrian had convinced himself that it didn't matter. That he needed no one at all. Until Amanda. She had breached his defenses and now he felt naked before her. She, alone, had opened his heart and touched him deep inside it. He wanted her. Mind. Body. Soul. There was no part of her he didn't want to claim.
A movement to his left caught his attention.
Turning his head, he saw Amanda coming through the doorway, dressed in sweats. He couldn't believe how sexy he found them on her. She had her hair in two braids down the side of her face. There was something innocent and almost childlike in the way she was dressed, but there was nothing girlish about the woman approaching him.
She shook the man in him all the way to his foundations.
"How long have you been home?" she asked.
Kyrian would have answered, but she chose that moment to walk up to him and kiss his cheek. A strange sensation ran through him. Her actions were those of true affection.
"What are you doing up?" he asked. "It's after four."
"I couldn't sleep."
She left his side to walk to the other end of the atrium room. When she turned to face him, he saw Nick's baseball glove on her hand. Like a pro, she held the glove up to catch the ball. He smiled and tossed the ball gently to her.
She caught it, then fired back a fast ball that hit his glove with a resounding smack and burned his palm beneath the leather. "Ow!" he teased at the sting on his hand. She threw better than Nick did. "I'm impressed."
She winked at him. "I was the closest thing to a son my poor father had. He taught me to play." Kyrian tossed the ball back to her. "He taught you well."
Her smile widened. They tossed the ball for several minutes in silence. Gods, he had never thought to find a woman willing to do this with him at such an unholy hour. Even Nick complained, but Amanda seemed content just to be with him.
"How did it go?" she asked. "Did you find him?"
"No." He sighed. "I just can't figure it out."
"You will."
He hesitated as he heard the utter confidence in her voice. "You have no doubts?"
"None. I know you won't let him hurt us."
"I couldn't help Rosa."
"I'm sorry," she said as she caught the ball and returned it. "It must be hard for you to accept that fact, but it wasn't your fault. You did your best to protect her."
Kyrian clenched his teeth. "It hurts. More than I thought possible. I can't believe he got to her."
Her eyes were sympathetic and warm as she smiled sadly at him. "I guess it explains how he got into our houses to start the fires."
He nodded. "He probably used Allison. I found her passed out in her room, much like Rosa. I think the human mind can't handle the stress of it."
"If it helps, Tabitha said Allison is fine and back home now, so Rosa should heal and be back to normal without any lasting damage."
"That's good to know." Kyrian watched her as she played ball with him. And with every toss of the baseball, he felt himself slipping more and more. He knew he was falling for her and he was powerless against it.