Chapter One

It was a special kind of tacky that greeted you on the postholiday shelves of the Sandfly, Georgia, Piggly Wiggly. Not exactly primo wrapping paper selection, particularly not for a hostess gift for one of the richest and oldest families in Savannah. Somehow, Sunny figured, their swanky bottle of Dom Pérignon wouldn’t look quite right presented in a tinfoil poinsettia sack.

She cast a wary glance at her best friend, Kate Rabineau. “You should’ve bought a gift bag downtown, Katydid. The selection would’ve been much better than here at the Pig.”

“Let’s just grab something that the bottle wil fit in.” Kate glanced impatiently at her watch. “We’re late as it is.”

“Oh, and whose fault would that be?” Sunny reached for a bag covered in lime green elves and frowned.

“Sunny Renfroe, don’t you get started on me,” Kate said. “You know I had to look just right today.”

They were having brunch with the Angel family—Mason, Jamie, and Shay were fifth-generation demon hunters, and although lately two of those siblings had become friends to both Sunny and Kate, Jamie Angel was a bit of a holdout. He didn’t much respect Kate’s kind; something to do with her being a vampire and his being a hunter and al that. In other words: Jamie was among the uninformed, the kind who natural y sought Kate’s blood and life. It had taken a good deal of persuasion by his siblings for him to cal off the hunt on the Rabineau family.

But in the end, the fact that Kate was now engaged to Mason Angel’s best buddy, Dil on Fox, had won that battle. Since then, Dil on had permanently joined Jamie’s paramilitary group of demon hunters, and Jamie had respected the vampiric cease-fire. But it didn’t mean Jamie liked Kate any better, and for some reason, his sister, Shay, was determined to change that fact.

Hence, they’d arrived here, at the Piggly Wiggly down the street from the Angels’ plantation, surveying nearly week-old wrapping paper and cards.

Sunny planted her hands on both hips. “Al that’s left are marked-down Christmas leftovers.” She retrieved a poinsettia-adorned bag, the kind made specifical y for champagne and wine gifts.

“This thing’s tackier than my mama’s light-up lawn reindeer.”

Kate snorted impatiently. “I’m not the one who wants to impress Jamie Angel.”

“Which is why you took an extra thirty minutes fixin’ your hair?”

“This is your cockeyed plan, not mine,” Kate disagreed.

“And Shay’s. Don’t forget, this get-together was her idea, too.”

Kate retrieved the bag covered in neon lime elves. “Let’s make her laugh . . . and snub Jamie at the same time. We can tel him this was closest thing we could find to the Grinch.”

Sunny wasn’t so sure; maybe it was her Southern manners, but she wanted something pretty.

“Give me another second,” she told her friend. “I’m gonna look down in the wine section.”

Kate glanced at her watch again. “Dil on’s waiting for us out in the car. I don’t like leaving him so long.”

Sunny smiled at her friend. “Honey, Dil on’s fine! He hunts demons and you never fret for a minute. Why should you worry if he’s sitting out in the parking lot?”

Kate glanced away, saying nothing, but Sunny understood. Dil on had been blinded by a mortar round while serving with his unit in Iraq, and although his guide dog, Lulu, was with him nearly everywhere, and he was ful y independent and part of the Shades, Kate’s love for him ran deep.

So every now and then she became a bit too protective—usual y when Dil on wasn’t around to catch her doing so.

Kate released a tight breath. “Okay, sure, and I’l keep looking in this aisle.”

Sunny strol ed toward the shelves fil ed with wine and beer. Bingo—at the very end of the row, she saw an absolutely lovely bag with sequins and tassels. She was about to grab it when a horrific stench reached her nostrils. The hair on her nape prickled, her body tensed, and her otherworldly senses kicked into high gear.

With one sideways glance, she saw the demon over near the checkout lines. His blazing red eyes were laser-locked on Kate, who stood obliviously looking at gift cards. Even if Kate had turned, she never would’ve seen the rapacious creature. She wasn’t a hunter, didn’t have the sight

—and she wasn’t what Sunny was, either.

Kate Rabineau was, however, a magnet for creatures of darkness who craved her blood because of the supernatural strength it would give them. Demons like this one regularly stalked Kate—and Sunny, because of her unique destiny, routinely destroyed them. Day in, day out, Sunny safeguarded her dear friend, al without Kate’s knowledge that Sunny wasn’t human, not even close.

Summoning her power, Sunny created a shield il usion. Everyone in the store would see an image of Sunny, just another African-American woman shopping in the aisle of the Piggly Wiggly, when in fact she was already moving faster than any human eye could track. She had surging handfuls of power in both palms, and threw that destructive energy toward the vicious demon.

He glanced up, red eyes growing wide in surprise.

“Eat this!” she cried in a voice that only the demon or other angels might hear.

Long fangs were exposed as the demon roared in terror, but the sound and his paltry life were instantly snuffed out by her assault. The blazing glory engulfed him instantaneously, and he dissolved before her eyes. Only the echo of his hoarse cries remained, and even that extinguished a moment later.

Sunny stood there, gasping for breath, and couldn’t help smiling when she realized she was standing by the express checkout lane. That was exactly what she’d served that sinful creature: an immediate departure from the world. No more torturing of humans, no more stalking of vampires for their rare blood. She had the urge to don a cashier’s apron. “Next!” she’d love to cry, and get some more vile beings dispatched. As it was, though, she had a brunch to attend. Which pretty much summed up her life here on earth; it was like being a supernatural double agent, where you pretended to be normal while kicking ass on the sly.

Summoning her power, she bounded back to the place where she’d stood in the aisle, released the mirage that she’d kept in place, and grabbed the gift bag.

One enemy down, al in a day’s work for a vampire’s guardian. Now to make sure that Kate didn’t suspect a thing, which was always the trickiest part of the job.

“So let me get this straight. You want a vampire to spend New Year’s at our house.” Jamie Angel looked at his younger brother, Mason, who, just like Jamie, was committed to hunting and destroying al creatures of darkness. Vampires included. At least until very recently.

“That’s the idea,” Mason agreed, his expression pure innocence as he raised the newspaper just high enough to avoid Jamie’s sharp gaze.

In a city the size of Savannah, the paper was stil relevant, especial y in their line of work.

Checking out the obits, reading about unsolved local crimes, even scanning the business section

—al were important in pursuing leads regarding paranormal activity.

At the moment, however, Mace was using the newspaper as a shield, which pissed Jamie off, seeing as how he had every right to be worked up. The Angel family had spent generations battling demons and vampires, and now Mason’s marine buddy, Dil on Fox, had gone and gotten engaged to one. A vampire. That was bad enough, especial y since Dil on was part of the Shades, their elite paramilitary group of hunters. But no, apparently it wasn’t bad enough: Now Mason had invited Dil on and his bloodsucking fiancée over to watch bowl games on New Year’s Day.

Jamie took a long sip of sweet tea. “You know where I stand on Dil on’s upcoming marriage to that . . . that . . . Oh, good God, I can’t even say it, much less imagine her on our property. Daddy’s probably rol ing over in his grave as it is.”

Mason lowered the paper just enough to give him a pointed look. “Don’t be a vampist, Jamie.”

“Political correctness doesn’t extend to vampires, brother. Nor do social invitations, at least not from me. Isn’t it enough that I’ve cal ed off the hunt for the Rabineaus?”

Mason sighed. “It’s a party. Everyone’s coming.”

“Everyone,” Jamie repeated, and then cursed under his breath.

“Everyone who matters, at least to me. I’l have Nik. Shay’l have Ajax. The rest of the Spartan brothers are coming. And you can invite whichever skanky chick you’re seeing right now. Who is it this week again? Tori? Tawny? Titty?”

Jamie flipped him off. “Her name is Terri Lynn Sweeney, and she’s a nice girl.”

“Just like al the women you date. Natch. Met her at a strip club, did you?” Mason snickered, his green eyes fil ed with mischief.

“I’ve only been out with her a few times,” Jamie said. “And it was a bar, thank you very much.”

“Okay, wel , shit yeah, you bring your girl, I bring my guy, Shay brings her husband . . . and Dil on Fox brings his fiancée. No biggie at al .” Mason resumed reading the paper as if they were discussing the latest shift in stock prices.

Jamie stepped forward and yanked the newspaper out of his brother’s hands with an irritated gesture. “I’m not gonna sit back and let this house get desecrated by a vampire, not even a supposedly ‘friendly’ one. Not on my watch, bro.”

Mason scowled at him. “This isn’t a church, Jamie.”

“No, but it’s something just as sacred to me. My home. Our family’s home for six generations.”

Jamie stalked over to the credenza, where Shay had laid out Sunday brunch, and began loading a plate with biscuits and cheese-grits casserole and scrambled eggs. “Color me impolite, but I just don’t like the idea of your pals eating hoppin’ John and lounging around on Mama’s favorite settee.”

“Jesus, you’re the one who recruited Dil on for the Shades. Hasn’t he done good work since joining the team?”

“Of course,” Jamie acknowledged softly. Blind or not, Dil on Fox had turned out to be one hel of a hunter, with an almost uncanny sixth sense for tracking demons. “But he loses points for his choice of spouse. He was supposed to investigate her, remember? Not fal in love and get engaged to her.”

Mace sat back in his chair. “Kate Rabineau’s a good woman. If you spent any time with her . . .”

“I’ve known her since I was eight years old!” Jamie bel owed. “And I’ve known she was a vampire and to be avoided at al costs since then, too. Your battle buddy’s got some piss-poor judgment with his choice of a mate.”

Mace leaned back in his seat and stared at Jamie for a long moment. “Do you even realize how many times Dil on had my back while we were in combat? He saved my life more than once, just so you know, and that means I give him the benefit of the fucking doubt. In al regards. If he’s in love with Kate, if he says she’s to be trusted, then that’s good enough for me.”

Their sister, Shay, whistled as she walked in the dining room. “Plus, he’s hotter than Sunday pancakes.”

Mason got a gleam in his eyes at that observation. “Yeah, wel , there’s a reason I nicknamed him Foxy.”

Since Mace had come out to them two months earlier, he’d become more forward and vocal about his sexual orientation—including how hard he’d fal en for one of the Spartan immortals, Nikos Dounias. Lately Nik spent almost as much time at the plantation as he did over at the warriors’ compound, and just as many nights in Mace’s room.

No wonder Mason had so much sympathy for Dil on’s fal ing in love with someone unexpected, someone otherworldly to the extreme. His own lover was a good twenty-five hundred years old, hardly the girl—or even boy—next-door type.

Jamie sank down into the chair again, spreading a starched napkin on his lap. Since their mother’s death nine months earlier, Shay had worked hard to fil the void she’d left behind, and that included upholding their family traditions: Sunday brunch, fine linens, pimento-cheese sandwiches, antique china, the whole nine yards. This while she was emerging as one of the best demon fighters Jamie had ever seen. Which meant that Shay, in a very real sense, had become the lady of their family home, and if she wanted to entertain vampires, her vote carried more weight than his own.

Which irritated the ever-living tar out of him. He was their big brother, damn it. He led the Shades, and he was supposed to cal the shots around here . . . but he was also supposed to be a gentleman. That was how his mama had raised him, and it was obvious that putting the kibosh on Dil on and Kate’s invitation didn’t fal under the “mannerly” category.

But it was more than that, and deep down he knew it. He was the eldest, but both of his younger siblings had settled down, while he kept burning through girlfriends like a book of matches. Hel , who was he fooling? It had been years since he’d had a legitimate “girlfriend.” He dated. He hooked up. He prowled. But he rarely had the same girl in his life for more than a few weeks, and until recently, he’d liked it that way. His line of work wasn’t exactly conducive to healthy, intimate relationships, not when he spent nearly every night patrol ing the streets of the city and taking down vile, evil creatures.

Shay walked over to where he sat, and wrapped her arms about his neck. “Come on, Jamie. It’l be good for you to open your mind a little. Besides, Kate is bringing a friend,” she tril ed, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, and releasing him from the embrace.

“Sissy cat, I’m not interested in dating anyone seriously. Least of al a vampire.” He wasn’t about to admit that over the holidays, starting at Thanksgiving and culminating on Christmas Day, he’d realized how very alone he was.

Mace leaned back in his seat, sipping his iced tea. “She’s not a vampire. She’s what Kate cal s a ‘Normal.’ ”

Shay pul ed out a chair and sat down beside him at the table. “Just chil and it’l be fine, Jamie.

And I real y think you might like her friend Sunny. She’s nothing like your usual type. . . .”

“Booby and blond and none too bright,” Mason volunteered helpful y.

“Nope, none of that describes Sunny, but she’s . . .” Shay stared into space for a moment, smiling. “She’s kind of weirdly magical. I don’t know how else to put it.”

Jamie took a bite of scrambled eggs and said, “In other words, she’s got a great personality.

Code words for ‘not very attractive.’ ”

“Oh, not at al .” Shay laughed. “She’s absolutely gorgeous.”

“And single,” Mason clarified. “I might be gay, bro, but I can stil appreciate a nice-looking woman. Trust us—Sunny’s hot.”

“Why else do you think I made sure Kate was bringing her along?” Shay laughed, giving Jamie a conspiratorial wink that he pretended not to see.

Great, his siblings were tag-teaming like crazy. Were they reading him like one of the lore volumes their family kept down in the cel ar, deciphering his emotional codes like some complex and ancient text? Or maybe he’d been more obvious than he realized. On Christmas Eve, Jax had given Shay a gorgeous ruby ring . . . and then he’d walked in on Nik kissing Mason under the mistletoe. It had been like a one-two punch, proof that he was painful y single while everyone else he cared about had found true love.

After that, he’d poured himself a double Scotch and gone to bed. Alone. And wished that, just once, he had someone special of his own to hold close on the unseasonably cold holiday night.

He stabbed a fork into his cheese grits with an irritable gesture. “So what y’al are saying is it doesn’t matter what I want. Kate and company are coming, and that’s it.”

“No.” Shay reached for the frosty iced tea pitcher and began pouring herself a glass. “But I am saying you’d better deal, because they’re gonna be here in five minutes—ten, tops.”

“What?” Jamie roared. “It’s not New Year’s for another three days!”

Shay slid into the seat beside him. “Wel , it’s like this. Apparently someone—not saying who . . . ”

Very slowly Shay swung her gaze in Mason’s direction. He got a sheepish look, and stared down at his plate. “But someone slipped the word to Dil that you’re not too keen on this whole thing.”

Jamie flung his napkin onto the table and shoved out of his seat. “Bastard.”

“Vampist,” Mace shot back. “They’re my friends. And as I recal , you’re the one who told me you’d always accept me and the people I care about.... Remember that tap dance? Nothing I’d ever do that you’d judge, yada, yada?”

Mace had him there. It had been his big-brother pep talk the night Mason told him he was gay.

Jamie sighed and stared at the ceiling. “I think I’l go sit on the veranda and smoke a cigar until they leave.”

Shay frowned at him, her light blue eyes narrowing like lasers acquiring a target. “Oh, no, you don’t, James Dixon. They’re coming over for brunch so we can plan the menu for the party.”

“Be sure to pick lots of garlic recipes. And I do mean lots of ’em.” With that retort, Jamie grabbed his plate and stormed off toward the kitchen. Maybe he could hide in the pantry until the invasion was over.

Sunny sat up in the backseat of Kate’s BMW. “Holy cats! This place is crazy big.” She peered out the window at the mile-long sandy drive and the long row of live oak trees that lined both sides of it. “I can practical y smel the money.”

Kate grunted, glancing at Sunny in the rearview mirror. “Don’t be too impressed. . . . Trust me, I grew up with these people.”

“You grew up with me, too.” Sunny rol ed down the window, the smel of the nearby river and marsh fil ing her nostrils. She smiled, closing her eyes, savoring the familiar low-country scents.

The river and marshes and creeks ran in her veins at this point, and she offered a quick prayer that she could always stay in Savannah, al the more because of how Kate needed her protection.

The run-in at the Piggly Wiggly had been only one of a dozen such encounters in the past few weeks alone.

Kate made a sound of disgust. “Yes, but unlike the Angels, you never wanted to destroy me, my family, and anyone else like me,” Kate retorted, speeding up a little as they continued down the seemingly endless driveway.

“No, girl, I love you. Always.”

Kate had been Sunny’s best friend since the fateful day in fifth grade when trashy Raylene Gibbs had cal ed Sunny the N-word, and Kate stood up for her. Of course, Kate hadn’t known that Sunny wasn’t your average ten-year-old—just as she remained unaware of Sunny’s true nature even now, some sixteen years later. And that Sunny had been planted in Kate’s life for a very particular reason. Certain secrets had to be kept, no matter how much you loved and cared for someone, and Sunny’s careful y guarded mission fel into that category.

Dil on spoke up from where he rode in the passenger seat, his guide dog, Lulu, curled across his feet. “Y’al are pals with Shay, and Mason’s good people,” he drawled, his Nashvil e accent sultry as ever.

“I have no problem with Mason. In fact, I’d say we’re friends now,” Kate said. “It’s his stupidly arrogant and prejudiced brother I can’t stand.”

Sunny gave Kate a look in the rearview mirror. “Jamie doesn’t like black people?”

If that was the case, then this brunch shindig wasn’t going to be very enjoyable—at least not for Sunny.

Kate shook her head. “Far as I know, he only has issues with my kind. Thinks he’s some big-deal hunter. Smel s of too much cologne. Reeks of sexist ladies’ man. And as we al know”—Kate glanced sideways at Dil on, who appeared slightly amused—“he despises vampires.”

Dil on reached for her hand, staring ahead, eyes unfocused. “Aww, Jamie’s not that bad. He’s just a little misinformed, especial y about the woman I love. I’m gonna straighten him out today, baby.

“But tel me, real y,” he said, rapping the window with his knuckles. “What does it look like here?

Mace was always so embarrassed about his family’s money. Real y played it down when we were in the corps. I never even realized he was loaded for the first few years I served with him.”

Sunny gazed up at the expansive live oaks, their branches gnarled like an old woman’s hands, Spanish moss dripping downward like heavy lace. “Beautiful,” she murmured appreciatively. “A little eerie. Magical. The whole place feels like something from a fairy tale.”

And she’d seen plenty of magical, beautiful, amazing places over the centuries. But this particular property felt as if it were under a heavenly spel .

“You haven’t even seen the house yet!” Kate laughed. “Sunny Renfroe, you better be strong when we face off with Jamie Angel. If you’re this starstruck by his family home, you might drool al over him when I introduce you.”

Although she’d lived in Savannah for most of her human life, Sunny never had met Jamie. Her own circle didn’t intersect with his high-society one, and even though Kate was old money, their friendship was unique. Beyond that, the Rabineaus were old guard, but kept their distance from most of Savannah society because of their vampire heritage.

Then a thought occurred to her. Although she’d not met Jamie, his brother, Mason, was certainly easy on the eyes, not to mention smart and thoughtful. Maybe Jamie had at least some of Mason’s tough-yet-sensitive appeal.

Sunny perked up. “So, tel me, Katie, girl. Is Jamie handsome?”

“Yes, he’s hotness,” Kate muttered. “And it sucks. It’s why he’s so ful of himself. He’s got these big green eyes, dimples . . . He’s like six foot three, I think? Six-four maybe? Broad shoulders, rock-hard physique. He looks sorta like Mace, but tal er and . . . prettier. Know what I mean? Mace has that rough edge to him, whereas Jamie’s smoother. A little preppy.”

Dil on laughed. “I don’t think I’d ever cal Jamie Angel pretty. Then again, I’ve never seen him.

But I’ve heard him with a semiautomatic taking on a legion of demons, and smel ed their blood al over him. And al the while he’s using that smooth Southern charm on the bastards. If I were a girl, I’d say that’s smokin’ hot . . . not pretty.”

For some reason, Sunny flushed at the thought of meeting Jamie. Dating and boyfriends did not fal under her job description. The implications of forming a romantic relationship for someone like Sunny were, wel , just too complicated. So she avoided those kinds of entanglements, but lately she’d been feeling restless. Maybe it was because Kate had fal en in love, and her friend’s happiness highlighted the differences in her own life and those of the people she cared about.

She was so alone, and even though her bosses forbade love relationships with humans . . . the longer she lived as one, the harder that mandate became. And the truth was, it hadn’t been easy to begin with. Just as Kate had done for al those years before meeting Dil on, Sunny longed to feel normal.

The fact was, Sunny ached to have a man’s strong arms about her, yearned to feel more human than she did on most days. And she desired something that could never happen, not for her. She dreamed . . . of fal ing in love.