by Elicia Hyder
Essex sprayed us both with warm water. Then he laughed and shook his head. “I was searching for bodies when I found the paint can in the laundry room.”
“I was too when you yelled.” We both laughed really hard. I looked at the red covering my hand. “Think it could be toxic to dogs?”
“I called the vet when I realized it wasn’t a homicide. They said it should be fine, and the knucklehead doesn’t seem to have eaten any. Maybe sniffed it a little bit.” Essex tapped Karma on his red nose.
“What are you going to do about the house?”
“I dunno. Burn it down?”
I laughed again.
He lathered Karma’s body with shampoo. “What did the chief want?”
“The DA is charging Teek with the murders and the fire.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“But Teek wasn’t there.”
“I know. So does everyone else. They even have the gas-station video footage proving he wasn’t.”
“I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over it. There’s no way those charges will stick.”
“I don’t know. Magnus seemed pretty worried about it.”
“Why did he come to your house to tell you?” He hosed Karma down again, soaking my pants as he washed off the pink suds.
“He also came to tell me Morris is getting the narcotics position.”
Essex stopped spraying. “That’s ridiculous. Everyone knew you were going to get it.”
“Apparently, not everyone. He wants me in investigations.”
“Not a bad move. Did he say why?”
“Yes. I need to talk to you about that.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“I need to talk to you about a lot of things.”
He held my gaze until Karma squirmed to get free of my legs. “Let’s get him out of here.” He reached for a towel on the rack behind him, and I cloaked the dog with it. Essex examined his paws as he dried them. He showed me one. Still red.
I smiled. “I hope you like that color.”
“Right?” He got up. His T-shirt was ruined. “I’m going to grab him and carry him to the backyard.” He handed me another clean towel. “On the count of three? One . . . two . . . three.”
I lifted my outside leg over Karma’s back, and like a rodeo bull being released from its pen, the dog scrambled out of the tub. I caught myself against the wall to keep from falling. Before Essex could grab him, Karma shook out his brown coat, showering us with bathwater.
Essex lifted him off the floor. “Be right back.”
I was completely soaked. I dried off with a towel and stepped carefully onto the paint-speckled floor, then I tried to sop up as much of the mess as possible. It was pointless. The entire room looked like a speckled egg, and the paint was there to stay.
As I pulled down my wet ponytail, I heard Essex swearing in the kitchen. I hung the towel on the rack and joined him. He put the open paint can into a bag then washed his hands at the sink. “What a mess.”
“What are you going to do about work?”
“Baker’s covering for me. Right before I wrestled Karma into the tub I sent a photo to the lieutenant and to the group chat. Enough said.”
“In that case . . .” I retrieved two beers from the fridge, twisted the top off one, and handed it to him. “Here.”
He sighed, looking around at the disaster. “Thanks.”
There were even paw prints on the coffee table. “Seriously, what are you going to do?” I asked.
He tilted his beer toward the living room. “Buy a new couch and repaint the walls.” He looked at the floor. “I’ll pick up some paint thinner in the morning and try to save the tiles.”
I grimaced. “You should replace the tiles. You should have replaced them years ago.”
“What’s wrong with the tiles? They match the rest of the place.”
“Exactly.” I took another swig of beer. “There is a reason you’re still single.”
A grin crept across his face. “You think the tiles are why I’m still single?” He came over and stood in front of me.
I used my bottleneck to gesture around the room. “I’m saying it’s the whole damn package.”
Laughing softly, he closed the gap between us. I backed up until my tailbone connected with the Formica countertop. He came even closer, shooting my heart rate through the stratosphere.
He took my beer bottle and his and put them on the counter behind me. “This shitty house”—he pressed his body against mine—“has nothing to do with me being alone.”
“No?”
His arms slid around me, and he slowly shook his head. “No.”
When he touched his lips to mine, the rest of the world went away, and his damp warmth against my cold, wet clothes sent a chill through me. I shuddered with excitement in his arms as he parted my lips and dragged his tongue across mine.
He smiled against my mouth. “Cold?”
“Not even a little bit.”
“You’re wet.”
I dug my fingertips into his hips. “And you are doing nothing to help that.”
A quiet growl rumbled deep in his chest, and he grasped the hem of my tank top. As he peeled it up and away from my skin, I stopped his hands. “We need to talk first.”
He bent so we were nose-to-nose. “If you wanted to talk, we should have done that before all the blood vacated my brain. Right now, all I care about is being inside you.”
Smiling, I bit my lower lip.
“There is nothing you can say that will make me want you any less. If I’m wrong, you have my full blessing to say I told you so.”
“What about work tonight?”
He glanced around the room. “If this mess doesn’t qualify for an emergency night off, I don’t know what could.”
I laughed and bit my lower lip.
His eyes fell to my mouth. “Anything else? Because I’ve waited years to fuck you, woman. I don’t plan on stopping once I get started.”
I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.
He cupped my chin and dragged my lower lip down with his thumb. “You nervous?”
“It’s been a while.”
“Want me to be gentle?”
“What the hell do you think?” Keeping my eyes locked on his, I lifted my foot and reached for the ergane holster on my calf. His gaze fell to my hands as I unsheathed the dagger and carefully and slowly trailed its deadly tip up the center of his chest.
Near the base of his throat, his breath hitched as I slipped the blade through the thin fabric of his T-shirt. He didn’t exhale again until I sliced through the collar and put the dagger safely away.
“Holy shit.” He panted.
Stretching onto my toes, I kissed him. While my lips worked his, I grabbed each side of the slit in his shirt and pulled the fabric apart. I pushed the sleeves back off his shoulders, trapping his arms behind him as I kissed a path down his throat.
“Fuck, Nyx.” His rough voice was barely above a whisper. He pulled his arms free from the shirt and grabbed my waist. Taking a step back, he hooked both index fingers around the spaghetti straps of my shirt.
Slowly, he pulled them down my arms, enjoying the unhurried exposure of my cold, wet skin. Only he didn’t stop when the tank top was bunched around my waist. He gathered the fabric of my waistband and pushed the entire outfit down past my hips.
His hands cautiously slowed as he leaned for a closer look at the purple-and-red splotches from my accident. “Spectacular ass bruise indeed. Does it hurt?” He pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the sensitive flesh where my hip bone met my thigh.
I took a sharp, flustered breath. “I can’t feel anything right now.”
“Let’s see if I can’t change that.”
My clothes bunched around my ankles. As I stepped free of them, he kissed the inside of my thigh. Then his tongue teased and tasted its way back up the length of my body. Stars twinkled around my dazed vision by the time he made it upright aga
in.
There was no pause.
No hesitation.
His strong hands slid lightly over my bruised ass until they settled behind my thighs. When he lifted me, I wrapped my legs around his hips, and he carried me to his bed.
Sometime later, I awoke to a finger tracing the inked lines on the back of my shoulder that covered the jagged edges of my scars. Leaning over my back, Essex replaced his finger with his lips.
I moaned as his hand slid down my bare back. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Not long. I didn’t mean to wake you, but when I came back to bed, I couldn’t keep my hands to myself.” He kissed my shoulder again and smiled against my skin.
“You were up?”
“I had to take care of Karma. I put his bed in the other bedroom, since it’s the only space in this whole house without paint.”
I hugged the pillow and laughed.
Looking down the length of my body, he sighed. “I can’t believe you’re finally here.” His warm hand drifted over my ass and dipped between my thighs. Then he took a deep breath, setting his jaw with determination before pulling the sheet up over me. “You wanted to talk.”
I really didn’t.
“Yeah.” I turned onto my side, pulling the sheet up over my breasts as I sat up against the headboard. Essex bent his arm and propped his head up with his hand.
My pulse throbbed in my ears, and I took a deep breath.
His hand rested on my stomach. “Whatever it is, I’m not going anywhere.”
We’ll see.
“Would it help if I made an admission first?”
My brow rose.
“I talked to the chief and pushed you so hard for narcotics because I wanted you off patrol.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I was determined to help you get what you wanted, but my motivation was purely selfish. I knew there was no way you and I would keep things platonic once I took over your shift, and this”—he gestured between us—“can’t happen while we work together.”
“So what are we going to do?”
“I’ve already talked to the third-shift sergeant with Washoe County. He’s going to help me get on there. It won’t be as a sergeant, but you and I will still be working the same hours.”
“You would do that for me?”
“Of course I would.” He covered my hand with his. “I can be a cop anywhere, but there’s only one of you.”
I sank down in the bed, resting my head against the headboard as I closed my eyes.
“What’s the matter? Did I say something wrong?”
I slipped my fingers between his. “No. You said everything right.” Too bad nothing about his admission made mine any easier.
“Then what is it?”
How the hell do I even begin? “How long have we known each other?”
He didn’t even have to think about it. “Two years, nine months, and a few days.” My face must have shown my surprise because he laughed. “We met around Christmas. The math isn’t that hard.”
“OK. In that time, we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well, right?” I asked.
“Yes.” He moved his hand down to my thigh and squeezed. “And even better in the past couple of hours.”
“Focus, please. This is serious.”
He bit down on the insides of his lips to rein in his smile. “Sorry. Serious.”
“Is it safe to say you believe me to be an honest and levelheaded person?”
“Absolutely.”
“Please remember that with what I’m about to tell you.”
He laughed. “Enough with the suspense already.”
“I am the direct descendant of the Goddess of Night, Nyx.”
Essex stared at me, his jaw slack.
“My father was before me, and since he died, I inherited the power that comes with our bloodline. When I sleep, my spirit can detach. I can leave my body and roam around.”
I expected laughter. Or a snarky comment. Instead, without remark, Essex lay on his back, draped his arm across his forehead, and stared at the ceiling.
I scooted toward him and put my hand on his chest. “I’m not crazy.”
“I know,” he said, easing the panic in my heart.
“You asked the other night why I knew so much about the hypnox case. I know because my father created hypnox.”
He looked at me. “What?”
“He didn’t do it on purpose. Hypnox grows where magic like mine, when I’m out of my body, has spilled on the ground. Elias was stabbed, and the poison from the wound is what made him so sick.”
“Who stabbed him?”
“I don’t know, but I could be in danger too. For now, we must find that plant, or a lot more people will die.” Perhaps the whole world as we knew it, if the gods had their way.
“You don’t know where it is?”
“No, but once it’s found, it must be destroyed.”
“Destroyed how?”
“Fire is the only way.”
“It’s that serious?”
I nodded. “The drug is every bit as powerful as narcotics warned us, but what they don’t know is that it can cause a spirit to detach. Do you remember what Gregg told us about what happened to Norina Grumley when she was high on hypnox?”
“She said she left her body.”
“Correct, and her vacant body created a doorway to another world. That’s exactly what happened the night of the fire at the Drexler. The three victims weren’t murdered by a human. They were killed by a nightwalker, a demon from a place called the Boundary. It used one of their vacant bodies like a portal to come here.”
“Nightwalkers?” he asked, clearly unsure if he’d heard me correctly.
“Yes. And the more lives they take, the stronger they become. It’s what killed my father in his prison cell.”
“The thing that ripped him apart?”
“Exactly. They’re combustible with sunlight, so he trapped it in that daylight cell to kill it. It’s why I can’t detach at night. They only come out in the dark.”
“But there was no daylight at the Drexler.”
“No, but there was fire.”
“Who started it?”
“A guardian spirit from the Boundary who’s also looking for the plant.”
Essex let his eyes drift back to the ceiling, like he was trying to make sense of all the shit I’d just spewed from my mouth.
I touched his arm. “Please don’t think I’m crazy.”
“Never.” He reached up and cradled my jaw. “It’s a lot to take in, but I know you’re not crazy, and I know you wouldn’t lie to me.”
The weight of everything lifted off me. Had I been a crier, I might have unleashed a river of tears. Instead, I collapsed over him, pressing my lips, and my naked body, against his.
He immediately responded, rolling on top of me and settling between my legs. After a deep and earnest kiss, he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. “I don’t suppose this guardian spirit could testify in court to get Teek set free?”
“Unfortunately not. Do you know what they could possibly have on him?”
Essex leaned onto his arm on the mattress. “Only the tape from the gas station as far as I know.”
“What about the security footage from the Drexler? Surely they have cameras on those chalets.”
“They do.”
“Did you see the footage?”
“I saw it right after the fire. It clearly shows Ryder Stone, his girlfriend, and a person wearing a hood entering through the front door. That’s where I stopped watching. I don’t know what else is on it.”
“If Teek didn’t even enter the place, there’s no way he could have committed the murders.”
“That’s true. They should also have the tapes from the main parking lot where Kush’s car was found. I’ll bet it shows Teek leaving the property.”
“I wonder where those tapes wound up.”
“The DA should have them. I hope they aren’t
locked in a drawer somewhere.”
“Is Birch dirty?”
“Desperation can make anyone dirty. He’s up for reelection this year.”
“Stupid fucking politics.” I looked toward the window. “In the morning, I might drop by Birch’s office and see what I can find.”
“After all the chaos of that press conference, you should probably call and make an appointment—” He stopped when he realized I was staring at him. “Oh. You mean . . .” He couldn’t even say it aloud. “Who else knows you can do this?”
I dragged my fingertips down his neck. “I haven’t trusted anyone but you enough to tell.”
He pushed his hips into me, and he kissed me again. Before we got too carried away, I turned my face to add, “But my family knows, and Magnus knows.”
“How the hell did Magnus find out?”
“No clue. It worries me though. Someone murdered my father. Until I know who, I’ll have a hard time trusting anyone. What do you know about him?”
“I don’t know him well, but he seems like a good guy. Although, come to think of it, he did approach me to talk about you. It wasn’t the other way around.”
“The goddess Nyx had several immortal children. One of her sons, Hypnos, fathered Icelus, the God of Nightmares. He could be responsible for all that’s happening now. He created the nightwalkers, and they’ve been here in Nevada since my parents started messing with hypnox the last time.”
“Where is this God of Nightmares?”
I lifted my shoulders. “I’m starting to worry the chief might know . . . or worse.”
“You think it could be him?”
“All I know is everything I didn’t want to be true has come to pass lately, so I’m not ruling out anything. He said if I don’t take the job in investigations, he’ll have to fire me.”
“Why?” His question was way louder than necessary. “Seems like what you can do would be very valuable to the department in any capacity.”
“He agrees with that much, but I guess my doing it in another role doesn’t fit his plan of how to make the information I can come up with admissible in court.”
“Huh. I can see how that could be problematic, but I can’t believe he’d really fire you.”
“I didn’t imagine the conversation.”