A few of Dekes's men who'd escaped our hunting party and the fire milled around on the grass and stared up at the burning house as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. I wondered if they were waiting for their boss to stroll out of the dancing flames. If so, they'd be waiting a long, long time. If there was any justice in the great beyond, Randall Dekes was already getting ripe and toasty in hell.

Vanessa spotted Jo-Jo and Victoria and ran across the lawn to them. The others were turned the wrong way, so they didn't see me step out of the shadows behind the Fire elemental.

But Donovan did.

The detective had noticed Vanessa running out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to follow her movements - and that's when he saw me. His eyes widened, and he did a double take, just like he had that night in the Sea Breeze when we'd first seen each other again.

His mouth dropped open, and he blinked and blinked, as if his eyes were playing tricks on him, as if he couldn't believe that I'd somehow survived the giants, Dekes, and the fire. He should have known by now that I always came back - no matter what.

I braced myself for what I knew was coming next, for that old, familiar, bitter disgust to fill Donovan's face at the knowledge that I was still alive and kicking and that I hadn't met the messy demise I so richly deserved. But instead of looking conflicted and disappointed as he had when I'd shown up on the hill above Tobias Dawson's coal mine, relief filled Donovan's face, and he did a most unexpected thing - he smiled.

He actually smiled at me.

It was a wide, welcoming, beautiful smile, full of relief, warmth, concern, and other, deeper things that shocked the hell out of me. It was the smile I'd expected to see that day outside the coal mine; it was the smile I'd hoped to see a dozen times before. It was all that and so much more - it was everything I'd ever wanted from Donovan.

The others were standing behind him, so I headed in that direction. Donovan hesitated, then took a few steps toward me, then a few more, then a few more still, until he'd walked halfway across the lawn - meeting me in the middle. He didn't say anything, and neither did I.

I stood there a moment, my eyes trailing over him, starting with his black hair and bronze skin and working my way down his strong, lean body. Despite the smoke that boiled up into the dark, humid night, I could somehow still smell his clean, soapy scent, the one that used to appeal to me so very much. Finally, I raised my eyes to his, so that our gazes locked, gray on gold.

Desire glimmered in Donovan's gaze, more desire than I'd ever seen him show before - desire for me. For the first time since I'd been in Blue Marsh, he let me see just how much he wanted me, maybe just how much he'd always wanted me. Desire, heat, raw, naked longing. They were all tangled together in the sharp planes of his face, along with other, softer emotions. I stood there and just stared into his eyes, looking at all the things I'd hoped to see, all the things I'd thought he'd never feel for me - ever.

Finally, Donovan held out his hand to me, palm up in supplication and a silent, agonizing question. I knew that if I took his hand, if I wrapped my fingers in his, he'd kiss me and pull me close, even though his fiancee was less than a hundred feet away.

I stared at his outstretched hand. Once upon a time, I would have given just about anything to have Donovan look at me like he was doing now, to reach out to me like he was doing now. The old feelings rose up in my heart then, all the electricity that had sparked and hummed between us, all the desire we'd felt toward each other, all the delicious things we'd done to each other the few times we'd been together.

I stood there, and I remembered all that.

And then I walked right on past him.

I saw surprise fill his face, but I kept on going, heading toward the others, heading toward Owen.

"Gin?" Donovan called out behind me. "Gin?"

I kept walking, and I didn't look back.

A few seconds later, Bria spotted me. My sister let out a shriek of glee and pointed me out to the others. They all ran in my direction, but Owen was the fastest.

My love caught me in a fierce embrace, lifting me up off my feet and spinning me around and around. I laughed at the dizzying feel of it, and the rush of emotions that tightened my chest to the breaking point. Owen put me back on my feet and rained kisses down on my cheeks, nose, and forehead before finally capturing my lips with his. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back twice as hard.

I didn't look at Donovan, and I didn't give him another thought. Not once. I didn't need to. Not now, not ever.

Dekes's massive mansion continued to burn well into the night. The island's fire department was eventually called out, but the house was too far gone by the time they arrived. There was nothing the firefighters could do but stand there with the rest of us and watch the mansion disintegrate.

"Burn, baby, burn," I said, echoing Vanessa's words and encouraging the flames with a smile.

The Blue Marsh Police Department arrived as well. Donovan stood off to one side of the yard, talking with several men in suits and spinning some story about what had happened, while Bria stood behind him, listening and occasionally adding to the conversation. The higher-ups in the department had already come out in full force to make sure that all the i's were dotted and all the t's were crossed, since Dekes had been one of Blue Marsh's leading citizens. Of course, the po-po didn't know about the had been part yet, but they would when the ashes cooled and they found whatever was left of Dekes's body in the library.

While we waited for things to calm down, I filled the others in on my battle with the vampire and how Vanessa had helped me defeat him. Vanessa crouched down on the lawn a few feet away, her arms wrapped around Victoria, who was now awake and sitting up. Both sisters stared at the burning mansion with grim, satisfied expressions on their faces. I got the impression that if they could have, they would have blasted the structure again and again with their Fire and Air magic to make it burn that much hotter and faster.

Finally, Bria broke away from the group of cops and came over to where I was standing with Owen, Finn, Sophia, and Jo-Jo.

"So what's Donovan telling them?" I asked.

Bria shrugged. "Some lame story about a gas leak getting out of control, exploding, and causing the fire with the added unfortunate consequences of Dekes and several of his men being trapped and burned alive by the flames."

"And what's he going to say about the busted gate and all the bodies with bullets in them?" Owen asked. "Especially the ones outside?"

He jerked his head. The giants that Finn, Bria, and Sophia had killed on their way inside the mansion lay strewn about the lawn like oversize garden gnomes that had been toppled over onto their sides.

Bria shrugged again. "Donovan's claiming that he came to rescue Callie from Dekes and that the giants wouldn't stand down and forced him to fire on them. Apparently, he's going to hang the four bodies Gin and I left in the pool at the Blue Sands on the vampire and his men as well. I heard Donovan say something about infighting among Dekes's men, some feud that got out of hand."

Well, that was a rather convenient way for Donovan to clear his case, but I wasn't going to complain, since it would keep the cops from looking at Bria and me in connection with those deaths. For once, the detective was actually doing me a favor. Maybe I wasn't the only one who was mellowing.

"I don't think anyone will be too concerned about Dekes, his men, or how they really died," Bria added. "The folks the vamp threatened will just be glad that he's gone. So will the other power players on the island, since his death will let them grab a little more of his empire for themselves. Pretty soon, it will be business as usual again."

Eventually, Vanessa helped Victoria up to her feet, and the two sisters drifted over to us. Victoria still looked frail, weak, and ashen, but Jo-Jo had claimed she'd be all right in a few weeks now that Dekes wasn't around to continually suck out her blood and magic anymore.

Vanessa walked toward me, her arm around her sister's slim shoulders. "I just wanted to thank you. For coming back for us. If I could have spared you what Dekes did to you in the library last night and again today, I would have. I hope you know that."

I waved my hand, dismissing her concerns. "You tried to warn me about him during the press conferece. It was my own fault that I didn't listen to you. But I think things turned out okay in the end, since the bastard is burning in hell right now. The question is where will you two go? What will you do now that you're free of him?"

Vanessa shook her head. "Honestly, I haven't thought that far ahead. I'm just trying to figure out how I can put clothes on our backs and find us someplace to stay while everything gets sorted out. Even though I hate this place with every bone in my body, I almost wished that the mansion hadn't burned. At least then I'd have something to start with to help us get back on our feet."

I pointed at the diamond and pearl choker and cuffs that she still wore. "Those baubles you have on will be a good start. The diamonds are especially exquisite."

"Really?" Vanessa asked, looking down at the cuffs on her wrists. "I thought they were glass, fakes, just as fake and twisted as Dekes was."

"Oh, no," I said. "I know a thing or two about gemstones, and those are the real deal. You won't have any problem hocking those for cold, hard cash - quite a bit of cash, actually."

Bria cleared her throat. "Speaking of cash . . ."

Her voice trailed off, and she looked at Finn, who winced.

"Aw, come on. Do I have to?" Finn grumbled.

Bria cleared her throat again and gave him a little shove forward.

Finn sighed. "All right, all right. You know you were talking about cash, Gin? Well, these might help too."

He reached into his pants pocket and came out with a fistful of gold doubloons. I recognized the gleaming coins as being part of Dekes's collection of pirate treasure. Bria cleared her throat a final time, and Finn stuck his hand in his other pocket, drawing out a lovely ruby necklace, three bracelets, and several rings. He stared down at the jewel-crusted booty in his hands before sighing again and handing everything over to Vanessa.

"Finnegan Lane," I drawled. "You should be ashamed of yourself. When did you have time to stop and raid one of Dekes's treasure rooms? Some of us were fighting to stay alive, you know."

Finn shifted on his feet. "It was right after you said that you guys had found Vanessa and Victoria. We were retreating out of the mansion, and we passed one of Dekes's pirate rooms. I knew that if you had your way Dekes wouldn't be missing it, so I stopped long enough to slip a few items in my pockets."

We all looked at him.

"What?" he muttered. "You can't blame a guy for looking out for himself."

I laughed, leaned over, and rumpled his hair. "No, you certainly can't do that."

Chapter 26

"You know," I murmured a few days later. "I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this vacation thing."

"Really?" Owen said, pressing a soft kiss to the hollow of my throat. "It certainly took you long enough."

It was early Wednesday morning. Owen and I had left the others sleeping in the beach house and had slipped out to the cove so we could have a little privacy. The sun had just come up over the eastern horizon, and we were lying on a couple of blankets, protected once again by the striped umbrella over us.

And once again, we were completely, blissfully naked.

We'd already made love and were basking in the warm, soft afterglow, watching the rest of the world wake up around us. The seagulls were once again flying their usual circles above, while the heat of the day had already started to shimmer up in waves from the golden sand. The ocean rolled in and out of the shore on its endless journey, the sparkling water looking just as bright and blue as the cloudless sky above.

"I can't believe we're going home this afternoon," I said, snuggling a little closer to Owen.

"Don't tell me these past few days have turned you into a beach bum," he teased.

"No, but it has been nice to just relax. As much as I hate to admit it, Finn was right. I needed a vacation."

And I'd finally gotten one these past few days. We'd all decided to play hooky from work and stay in Blue Marsh a little while longer to help sort out the consequences of Dekes's oh-so-timely demise. Really, though, Donovan had done most of the heavy lifting, dealing with the police and their questions and keeping the rest of us out of things. I didn't know exactly why the detective was being so helpful, but I wasn't going to question his motives too closely, since his handling of the investigation had left the rest of us free to while away the hours as we pleased.

Jo-Jo had spent her days by the beach at the Blue Sands hotel, sipping tropical drinks and flirting with the cute cabana boys and lifeguards. More often than not, Sophia joined her older sister, although the Goth dwarf was more interested in swimming and relaxing than flirting. Finn also frequented the hotel to get his long-awaited massages and other lavish pampering, along with Bria.

My sister had also spent quite a bit of time with Callie, helping the other woman come to terms with everything that had happened. Callie had been more than a little shaken up after being kidnapped and smacked around by Dekes, and Bria was helping her friend deal with things as best she could. I thought that hanging out with Callie was good for Bria too, and that it might get her to face her own lingering demons about being tortured by Mab. I hoped so anyway.

As for me and Owen, we'd taken more than one long, cliched walk on the beach to the cove. In between walks, we'd gone out and explored Blue Marsh, from the downtown shops and restaurants to the island's nature preserves and parks. We didn't talk much, but just being with Owen soothed me and made my own nightmares about Dekes and his attack on me a little easier to bear. I would never forget what the vampire had done to me, how he'd stolen my blood and my magic and had almost killed me, but that was all right. I'd add the hard lessons that the vamp had taught me to all the other painful ones I'd learned over the years.