John slipped his arm around her shoulder. The vein in his neck pulsed. “No, that’s all right. I’ll get her home.”
The left side of Sean’s mouth lifted in a grin. “All right. I’ll see ya real soon, darlin’.” He tapped the table, glided out of the booth, and headed for the exit.
Agent Green waited for him to leave and followed him out the door.
The grip on Tracy’s shoulders slackened as John took a deep breath. “Dak said he felt an entity. Was that the guy from the bar?”
Nodding, she looked away. “I really want to get out of here.”
Tracy’s skin crawled, an odd sensation alongside the spiraling, writhing entity within her. Why, why, why couldn’t Adonna react this way with Dak?
John brushed his hand along her cheek. “Why didn’t you warn me? I never would have left you alone with him.”
“I tried to. I couldn’t get the words out. Adonna—”
Agent Green reappeared. “I paid both our checks and got our meals to go.” He inclined his head to Tracy. “Sorry to steal him away earlier than expected, Ms. Seavers.”
She nodded, her eyes catching a gold glint beside a crumpled napkin. Sean’s toothpick case. She glanced to the door, but he was already gone.
Tracy grabbed the intricately painted metal container and rubbed her thumb over the embossed peach.
“Leave it,” John said.
She should.
No. She should throw it across the room; break it into a million pieces.
But the tin had been in his family for generations. He wouldn’t have just left it there.
Unless he left it on purpose.
Her veins iced. “Oh, God. He’s going to use this as an excuse to see me again.”
Adonna billowed out, sizzling inside her.
“Like hell, he will.” John’s eyes brimmed with fury. “Give it to me.”
She clutched it closer to her. “He’ll still come looking for me.”
“I don’t want you within a mile of that piece of shit.”
Agent Green’s phone rang. He answered, thanked the person, and turned to John. “I ran Casanova’s plates. He has a few parking tickets but everything else came up clean.”
John piffed. “Yeah, I’ll be wanting to look at more than his misdemeanors. You have a full name and address?”
Green nodded.
John held out his hand to Tracy. “I’ll shove it in his mailbox.”
The agent’s gaze flashed from John to Tracy. There was obviously something the agent wanted to say without her hearing, but she couldn’t bring herself to move.
How long had Sean been driving around in circles, hoping to feel that pull that drew him to her? He was a deeply disturbed guy, but this?
At least she knew that he wasn’t wanted for assault or anything. Assholes with parking tickets she could deal with; but John was right. It was probably better if she didn’t go anywhere near Sean.
She handed the toothpick case to John.
There. Done. She’d never have to think of that jerk anymore.
She shuddered. Never, ever again.
57
The breeze kicked up as John walked Tracy to her car. He didn’t button his coat.
That fucking asshole walked in on their date and tried to… John took a deep breath, tightening his grip on Tracy. Now he wished he’d said no to dinner when she’d called him earlier. If they hadn’t been in the restaurant, this wouldn’t have happened—unless that ass was stalking her. With an Ambient involved, who knew what he was capable of?
Agent Green waved. “I’ll catch you back at the precinct.”
John would have smiled if he wasn’t so pissed. Green wouldn’t be going back to the precinct. At least not right away. He’d tail a car behind so Tracy wouldn’t notice, and after John dropped her off, they’d go back to the precinct together.
But that’s not what John wanted to do. This Sean guy had crossed the line with Tracy. He and the little shit were going to exchange some words. Fists, if necessary. Fists would definitely be good.
“If you and Agent Green are partners now, why didn’t you drive together?” Tracy asked.
John laughed, allowing her warmth to quiet his desire to beat and dismember. “That would have been awkward, picking you up for a date with another guy in the back seat.”
“He could have gone to a different restaurant and met you later.” She shivered. “I don’t like feeling like people are watching me.”
Did she mean Green or Sean?
Maybe both. Green, he could steer away. Sean was going to be a problem. He knew the type. Loud, proud, and territorial. His Ambient probably amplified the little shit to a super big shit. Yeah, he and Sean were definitely going to have a talk.
The traffic light turned yellow in front of him with plenty of time to get through but he stopped anyway, giving Green a chance to catch up. The kid would lose his badge if he lost the ACDHS’s number one suspect in this killing spree. John wasn’t thrilled with the current situation, but the kid had saved Dak’s life. There was no reason to make this hard on the guy.
Green’s car coasted up behind a sedan and a minivan before the light changed. He appreciated the agent’s discretion. He was surprised Tracy hadn’t asked more questions already. The less she knew at this point, the better.
Beside him, Tracy fidgeted and looked at the floor. She was a smart girl. She had to know something was up, especially since he’d been using her as a crutch for the past week. Damn, she was easy to talk to. Something about being with her made everything right. Maybe that’s why his blood boiled when that jackass put his arm around her.
“So, what’s really the deal with Sean?” John asked. “Anything I should know about?”
She flinched.
Crap. There was something between them. His pulse quickened.
She adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder, set the bag on the floor, then picked it back up before meeting his gaze. “It happened a few weeks ago.”
A few weeks ago. When she and John had already been together? His knuckles tightened on the wheel. He counted back from ten, glanced in her direction, and then back to the road. “I’m listening.”
Tracy took a deep breath. “I think we were drawn together, like Dak drew you to me.”
*I told you that entity was focused on her.*
Quiet. This is hard enough.
She gulped. “I think Adonna pushed away Dak because she wanted whoever is inside Sean.”
Dak flipped over in John’s chest three times, expelling the breath from John’s lungs. Jealousy was a new, very uncomfortable sensation that he hoped he’d never feel from Dak again.
Gasping for air, John pressed the brake and turned into the first parking lot he saw. Green shadowed, parking a few car-lengths away. He’d have to thank the kid for that later.
John turned off the car and faced her. He did his best to pipe down the heat burning his face. “What happened between you two?”
Tears filled her eyes. “I didn’t want anything to happen. I was there, but I had no control. I screamed for her to stop. It was like I was a puppet, and someone else had the strings.”
Dak’s angry rolling stopped as if he were shot dead. The entity sank from John’s chest down toward his stomach.
John rubbed his forehead. “Adonna made you have sex with him.” Bile rose in his throat.
“No.” Tracy grabbed his right hand. Her eyes seemed to search within him. “It didn’t get that far. We kissed.”
His grip on her tightened. His hands shook, more from Dak’s screaming than his own brewing jealousy.
He steadied himself with a deep breath. “The entities are very tactile. If she had control, you didn’t just kiss. They like contact. And lots of it.”
Her eyes widened, speaking thousands of words he didn’t want to hear.
A sound emanated through his mind that started as a growl, grew to a scream, then ended as a whimper. John tried to keep a level head as Dak bounced against hi
s organs. One of them had to keep themselves together.
And Tracy, dammit, the regret in her eyes.
John knew very well what it was like to be controlled. He’d felt an Ambient’s craving for touch. It was undeniable. He needed to understand that this was Adonna’s doing, not Tracy’s. That didn’t help Dak much, though.
Tracy closed her eyes. “I’m so ashamed.”
John forced the image of her in Sean’s arms from his mind. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he thought. “Tell me what happened.”
“We didn’t have sex, I swear it. I guess she didn’t need to.”
“They only need their hosts to touch.”
She nodded. “I wasn’t wearing much. He still had his pants on. I guess that was enough skin for her to get what she wanted.” Tracy covered her face. “Shit, I feel so used.”
It could have been much worse. He drew her into his arms. “It’s all right. I understand.”
She leaned back and looked into his eyes. Hopefully she couldn’t see Dak’s pain.
“I didn’t want to do it,” she said. “Please believe me.”
He nodded but gritted his teeth at the same time. “I do. It doesn’t stop me from wanting to pummel that jackass.”
“Sean didn’t mean it, either. He was as confused as I was.”
“He didn’t seem so confused tonight.”
“No. Tonight he was just being a jerk.”
John drew the metal toothpick container out of his pocket. “You don’t know how badly I want to throw this out the window.”
“Please, don’t. He’s going to come looking for it.”
“He doesn’t know where you live, does he?”
Tracy shook her head. “It’s always been chance meetings.” She flinched. “Well, not really chance. He seems to be able to sense me from a distance.”
“From a distance?” John stifled the growl in his throat. “Dak, what do you think?”
The Ambient pulsed twice. *I can’t sense anyone past a few hundred yards. But I’m not all that strong a tracker.*
“Is it possible for him to sense her from a mile away or more?”
Dak shuddered. *With concentrated effort, yes.*
Shit. Sean being able to find her didn’t bode well for them. He needed to keep Tracy as far away from this prick as possible. The first step was to return that stupid tin and keep himself from knocking on the door and punching the bastard’s lights out.
He squeezed the box, denting the metal. Returning that piece of crap kept Sean away from her. That’s all he needed to do. In time, Adonna would forget about whoever was inside that scumbag and realize there was a decent Ambient waiting for her right here with open arms.
The entity fizzled like John had taken a drink of soda.
We can still make this work, buddy. You’ll see.
John slipped the toothpick holder back into his pocket. “You don’t need to see him ever again. I’ll shove the tin in his mailbox tomorrow. Then we’re done with him.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
The swirling within him continued. Dak’s movements seemed erratic. You okay, buddy?
The entity’s essence shook. Maybe it was better to leave him alone, for now. John wondered how he would feel if he’d set his heart on someone, spent his nights watching her, protecting her while she slept, only to be shoved aside for the first piece of alien ass that sauntered by.
Visions of Tracy, half naked and rolling on the floor in Sean’s arms, flashed before him. He believed her when she said that she wasn’t in control, but she never said she didn’t enjoy it. Was he really in a different position than his alien friend?
“Are you all right?” Tracy asked.
“I’m fine.”
He wiped his cheek and stared at his damp fingers. Were they his tears, or Dak’s?
“None of this was your fault.” He returned his gaze to Tracy. “I’m not happy, but I understand. Keep away from that guy, okay?”
She nodded. He hated the pain in her eyes. What was Adonna doing inside her? Gloating? Laughing? Would there ever be a future for the four of them, now that she’d tasted something she apparently liked?
Dak formed a ball and the spinning slowed. John wished he could comfort his friend, as the entity had done for him so many times.
“I’m not so sure Dak is going to get over this all that quickly. I’ve never felt him this upset.”
A half-hearted smile crossed Tracy’s lips. “Tell him I’m sorry.”
He ran his fingers along her cheek. “You’re not the one who cheated.”
Tracy trembled. Her eyes widened and searched a faraway space. Had Adonna spoken to her? “I don’t think she meant to hurt Dak. I don’t think she was really thinking about anyone but herself.”
Typical.
John bit back the thought. He didn’t know Adonna yet. He didn’t have the right to pass judgment. But at the moment, all he felt was Dak’s pain.
“I’m sure she didn’t mean to hurt him.” He turned on the car. “We’ll get through this.”
Taking care not to lose Green, John drove from the parking lot. He really didn’t need this extra crap on top of everything else going on. Personal problems weren’t a luxury he could afford, but this was the life he chose. He was damn lucky that Tracy was willing to work with his insane job. Any other woman would have bolted by now.
After pulling into her driveway, he walked her to her front door and held her for nearly a minute. Dak tingled beneath his skin, not reaching out for the touch John knew his friend craved. A pang of guilt twisted his gut. It seemed wrong to enjoy the warmth of a woman while his friend suffered within.
Tracy pushed up on her toes and kissed the side of his mouth. He turned, drawing her back for a full kiss. Her mouth opened and her heat, her taste flooded him. He drew her tongue into his mouth and she relaxed as he tightened his grip. He groaned, sensing her acquiescence, her agreement, her willingness.
Shit, he wanted her. Needed her. He needed to pull her inside and make her forget Sean ever existed. He could do that for her. Clear her mind. Show her what she already had. Cover her body with his and protect her from that fucking asshole.
He blinked and released the kiss. What was he thinking?
No. Not like this.
She dropped back on her heels and opened her eyes. “That was nice. I wish I could convince you to come in.”
John cleared his throat. “You don’t know how much I would like that.”
But she deserved better than him screwing her to make her forget about Sean. John wasn’t thinking about her right now. He was thinking about himself and his bruised ego.
Dak twitched, startling him. He needed to refocus. Dak’s life was still at stake.
He glanced over his shoulder to the dark blue sedan parked a few houses away. “I really need to get back to work.”
He kissed her fingers, then leaned down to her lips. Her kiss started sweet but deepened. She opened her mouth like a woman promising more. And goddamn, did he want to give it to her. But that would take time Dak didn’t have.
He gently pushed her away. “When this is all over, we’ll pick up right where we left off.”
Disappointment marred her features before she nodded. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Biting his lip as he turned to the car, he ignored the raging hard-on pressing against his zipper. Dak shook within. You all right, buddy?
*I thought you might go in. You wanted to.*
“I sure as hell did.” He opened the car door.
*I don’t want to mess this up for you. I won’t touch Adonna if you want to go back.*
“Finding the killer is my first priority. It has to be. Not because it’s my job, but to get you safe again. We’ll have time for our relationships later.”
*She wanted you, John. You could have…*
“I know what I could have, but I didn’t. I’m getting you off the suspect list. Period. No more Tracy and Adonna until that’s accomplished. Got it
?”
*John?*
“Yeah.” He slipped into the driver’s seat.
*Thank you for not letting them take me.*
“Don’t mention it.”
He pulled out and headed back toward the highway. Tracy’s kiss still burned on his lips. Why did he have to meet her now, when his time wasn’t his own? Making love would be so much more fun than spending the night mulling over more case files and…
Making love?
Had he actually thought that? He’d only known Tracy for what, a few weeks? He couldn’t possibly be in love, but he couldn’t ignore the attraction between them. And for the first time, the idea of waking up in a woman’s arms every day didn’t spook him.
He shook the thoughts away. Happily ever after would never happen unless he got his head in the game.
His grip tightened on the wheel until his knuckles whitened. Maybe Dak was right. He should have stayed with Tracy. He wanted to go in, stay with her, be with her.
Shit, maybe he should go back. Maybe she was scared. Maybe she wanted him to come in, so she wouldn’t be alone.
But could she ever really feel safe with that rat bastard around?
Maybe not, if the other Ambient was seeking her out and pushing her and Sean together.
The wheel squeaked beneath his grip. No. That wasn’t even an option. He needed to put a stop to the stalking, now.
John pulled into a convenience store and parked in the back. A lone streetlamp lit up a single red doorway and a stockade fence hid the dumpsters from residential housing. Agent Green parked alongside him. They both got out of their cars.
“What’s going on?” Green asked.
“Give me lover-boy’s address.”
The kid raised a brow. “You’re not serious.”
“I’m dead fucking serious. Give it to me.”
A cat mewed nearby.
Green’s voice remained settled. “I don’t think you’re in the right mindset to talk to anyone right now.”
“Who the hell do you think you are, telling me what kind of mindset I have?”
“I’m the guy who sees the look on your face.” He held up his hands. “I don’t believe you’re our killer, but don’t lie and tell me you’re not angry enough to strangle that guy.”
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