Shades of Moonlight by Stephanie Julian

sure you’re careful, sweetheart. I have a feeling my son would be lost if anything happened to you.”
    * * * * *
     
    “They want to meet here? At a park? Where anyone can see?”
    Mara’s incredulous tone cut through the silence that had held throughout their drive to the address the Mal had indicated. He’d figured she was worried but now he heard anger in her voice.
    They were a few minutes early and he didn’t see Quinn or any unusually large gray dogs among the people milling around the park.
    “Promise me you’ll stay in the car.” Race had to make her understand how important that was to him. “No matter what, okay? I don’t want you anywhere near these people. We’ll get Lark and we’ll get the hell out of here and you will not expose yourself to any danger. Understand?”
    Mara smiled at him and put her hands on his cheeks, drawing him close for a quick kiss that eased a little of the anxiety inside him.
    “I’ll try.”
    “No, you will do it.”
    “I’ll—”
    Mara’s eyes widened as she looked over his shoulder and Race turned to find a man standing by the door. Not that old, maybe a little younger than Race. And definitely not as big. Race could take him with one hand behind his back.
    Except for the fact that he reeked of magic.
    The guy wore a pleasant smile that Race had no doubt was false. If he didn’t stop directing it at Mara, Race was going to rip it off his face.
    “Thank you for coming.” The man didn’t raise his voice but Race and Mara heard him plainly through the window. “Why don’t you step out and we can talk?”
    “Stay in the car, Mara.”
    He didn’t turn to see if she responded in any way. He could scent her fear and anger and he wanted to rip out this guy’s throat. Time enough for that later. First he needed to get his brother. He could smell Lark but didn’t see him. And he really didn’t like that.
    This guy was fucking with him.
    Race opened the door and stepped out, keeping his arms at his sides. “Where’s my brother?”
    “He’s here. And I see you’ve kept your end of the bargain.” Looking in the back window, the man must have been satisfied to see the car seat. Hopefully he didn’t realize it was empty but Race knew it wouldn’t fool the guy for long. He was surprised it had so far.
    “Nice to see you again, Mara.”
    “You don’t speak to her.” Race didn’t bother to hide the growl in his voice. “Let me see my brother.”
    The guy looked amused and it was all Race could do not to shift and tear his throat out. But he had no backup. Where the fuck was Quinn?
    “Look across the parking lot.”
    A van sat on the opposite side of the lot. The side door opened and Race saw his brother in the back. He didn’t look injured but then he didn’t exactly look completely awake either.
    “Don’t worry. He’s perfectly fine. Just dosed with a little Bullet. Wouldn’t want him to turn and expose all these lovely people to the Etruscan dirty little secret.”
    The bastard had given his brother the drug used by the lucani to stop their change. He was going to enjoy ripping out the guy’s throat.
    “Now, where’s my son?”
    Race felt as if he’d been kicked in the gut. Son of a bitch. No wonder Mara had gone sheet-white.
    After a split-second struggle to submerge the shock and fight off the urge to kill the guy, Race took a deep breath. “The brat’s in the back. You send Lark over and I’ll get the kid.”
    “And don’t forget Mara. She produced something extraordinary the first time around. Can’t wait for the second.”
    Holding on to his rage by the barest of threads, Race deliberately turned his back on the guy. In the reflection of the window, he saw two men help Lark out of the van. His brother stumbled and between one blink and the next, both men had vanished.
    It only took a millisecond to realize what had happened and, letting instinct take control, he turned and grabbed for the bastard behind him.
    But he wasn’t