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longer,” he said, stopping from touching her face as he was about to do.
    She had her hand on her forehead as she leveled her gaze at him. “I know you want to hunt this thing, but please don’t leave me alone.”
    No one had ever asked a Chiasson – much less him – to stay. It felt as if the sun had settled on him after eons of winter. Vincent had to remind himself that it was only because she was scared, and nothing more.
    She had made her life away from Lyons Point, away from him. There was no kind of future for them, and he needed to keep remembering that.
    “We’ll be staying until dawn. After that, you and Maria need to think about leaving town for awhile.”
    A small smile turned up her lips as she closed her eyes. “You know my grandmother. That’s not going to happen.”
    The door opened and Lincoln walked inside. “We have a problem, Vin.”
    Vincent pulled his gaze from Olivia and went to his brother. “What is it?”
    “We found tracks.”
    “Where?”
    Lincoln paused. “Everywhere. It’s like the beast is circling the house waiting to get to her, and yet we can’t see it.”
    If it could disappear and reappear at will, Vincent didn’t know how to fight it. He fingered the hilt of his machete at his thigh as his mind ran through different scenarios.
    “What makes you think this thing will stop at sunrise?” Olivia asked into the silence.
    Lincoln leaned around him and said, “It has every other night. Why should tonight be any different?”
    “Because it didn’t get its prey,” Vincent said as realization hit him. He shifted his gaze to Olivia to see fear cloud her features.
    Something slammed into the back of the house. Olivia jerked as Vincent rushed to her side to protect her while Lincoln ran to the back of the house. Outside, Vincent could hear both Beau and Christian shouting at each other.  
    The second hit came from the front of the house near the porch.  
    Vincent unsheathed his machete just as Lincoln came back into the living room. Olivia rose from the couch and stood behind him, her hands on his waist.
    Everything grew quiet, including Beau and Christian and the profusion of insects outside. The stillness was eerie, sending warning bells clanging in Vincent’s head.
    Olivia screamed as the lights flickered and something materialized in the kitchen, only to disappear almost immediately.
    That’s all it took for Vincent to grab her and head to the door. Lincoln fell in step behind them, a Bowie knife in each hand.
    Vincent let out a two-toned whistle to signal his brothers as they stepped onto the porch. Christian was the first to appear, his crossbow at his shoulder and aimed. Beau was right behind him with the sawed off double-barreled shotgun.
    As soon as Olivia’s foot touched the wood of the porch there was a loud growl and the creature came out of the corner of the porch for her.
    Vincent yanked Olivia against him, turning his back to the creature. He winced as he felt something slash his back. The grunts and shouts behind him told Vincent that his brothers had the beast cornered.
    It was going to be over. Olivia was going to be safe.
    Which meant he had no reason to be with her.
    Regret surged within him. How he hated himself for it, too. Olivia’s safety was more important than the stark need roaring through him.
    He reveled in the feel of his arms around her, of how her body molded to his. Of how she clung to him. He bit back a groan at the feel of her breasts pressed against his chest.
    “Son of a bitch!” Christian bellowed.
    Lincoln touched Vincent’s arm. “It’s gone, Vin. We didn’t get it.”
    Vincent slowly pulled his head back, letting his cheek rub against Olivia’s. Her mouth was inches from his, and her full lips were parted.  
    He made himself look into her eyes thinking it would cool his ardor. Instead, it was like adding gas to the flame when he saw desire reflected in her black depths.
    Her hand on his chest flexed, and he found his arms